Dear Kingsmead Community,
This is definitely the season for many events and celebrations. We held our first Speech Evening since 2019, last week and it was such a wonderful celebration of all that Kingsmead stands for – our values, our founding and our ethos.
Thank you to the Chair of our Council, Mr Simon Fifield, for reporting on the school’s strategic plans and the building plans going forward. He also commented on the work being done by the various sub-committees of the Council: the Human Capital Committee on retaining and attracting staff; the Legal Sub-Committee and the challenges that they are facing; the Finance Committee for keeping the school in such a good financial standing and the Transformation, Diversity and Inclusion Sub-Committee for the ongoing debates and discussions around TDI in the school.
Our guest speaker, Dr Colleen Lightbody, is an alumna of Kingsmead and is the owner of Brainwise: Mastery Through Neuroscience. She is a respected Master Coach, Trainer, and an International Speaker. Dr Lightbody enthralled us with her talk on the plasticity of the brain and how we can use our neuro super-powers to change our thinking.
Thank you to our outgoing Head Girl, Tayyeba Peer, for her wonderful speech which the students thoroughly enjoyed. Her tributes to her family were filled with emotion and were so moving.
We say farewell to our Class of 2023 this Friday and wish them well as they prepare for the Final Examinations. This class has been filled with positive energy and they have been so committed to the school. I thank them for all their inputs over the past 5 years. We look forward to seeing their excellent results at the start of the new year as they reap the rewards of their hard work.
Fond regards,
Lisa Palmer
Executive Head: Kingsmead College
Academics
Growth Curriculum
Grade 9 Kingfisher Module
The ‘Kingfisher’ module started the term off with a bang! The project launched with the theme announcement of ‘Awareness Days’. Each team of Grade 9 students will be expected to create an advertisement for their allocated day. Over the course of the first two weeks of term, we hosted three crucial workshops. The first of which featured a presentation by Xfacta, a bespoke strategic design, brand, and concept agency who works closely with Kingsmead College. This gave students integral insight into the creative processes involved in the everyday advertising and marketing fields. It was wonderful to hear from these experts in the field on how the Grade 9s can approach their given theme with an unique perspective.
Secondly, our Grade 9 students were treated to a workshop on copyright by SAMRO (South African Music Rights Organisation) This was an excellent opportunity for our students to be exposed to the legalities around copyright. Especially as they will have to create their own music for their Kingfisher advertisements. SAMRO’s Mikateko and Akhona were two absolute powerhouses on the day, fielding questions around artistic rights and royalties as well as the ins and outs of the industry. We look forward to inviting them to the Awards later on this term.
The third workshop reflected on the legacy of the Kingfisher module. As the Kingfisher Awards have existed for more than ten years at Kingsmead, it is important to expose our students to the successes and failures of past advertisements. From the days of film, where students worked without iPads or smartphones, to the exposure to copyright experts and Loerie Award winners, the project and the created advertisements have evolved exponentially. We wish our students the best as they begin to present their storyboards to their English teachers and enter the next phase of their Kingfisher process.
Grade 9 Resistance module
As part of the Grade 9 Growth Curriculum Resistance module, students started the term off in a different way to the usual ‘chalk and talk’. The Dramatic Arts component for the module is centred around physical theatre and protest theatre as performance styles and students are required to create, make and present a piece of physical theatre to protest about a current social issue. Theatre professionals from ZikkaZimba Productions, Ryan Dittman and Daniel Buckland, introduced the students to physical theatre in a workshop where they explored their bodies as tools for storytelling. A lot of fun was had by the students as they enjoyed starting off a busy term in an entertaining and diverse manner. We look forward to the work that they will produce for their performances at the end of the term.
Geography and Commerce
Grade 8 Love Jozi Red Bus Tour
As part of the Growth Curriculum, Love Jozi module the Grade 8 group ended off the first Friday of the new term with a unique way to learn about the history and geography of Johannesburg from the vantage point of the City Sightseeing red bus.
Chloé Lyle in Grade 8 shared the following about her experience:
“We went on the trip to learn more about Johannesburg. This was my third time going but it was still enjoyable!
Johannesburg was founded in 1886 and the city was named after two men Christiaan Johannes Joubert and Johannes Rissik. When gold was first discovered on the Witwatersrand people from all over the world left their countries and came here in search of gold. The discovery of gold is one of the reasons why Johannesburg is nicknamed the “City of Gold”.
On the red bus tour, we went past many interesting sites. Zoo Lake is a nice park where you can go canoeing on the lake or you can have a picnic with your family, and you can also enjoy the playground there. We also went past the mining district where they originally mined gold and we passed the military museum where historical military equipment is displayed.
My highlight of the trip was being on the top of the bus and enjoying the sites but also chatting with my friends.”
Rangoato Phogole, Cindy Delport, Ashlea Martin and Bianca Rademacher
Grade 8 Love Jozi module team
Grade 8 & 9 Junior SANGO Geography Olympiad
On Tuesday, 20 September our first ever group of (38) Grade 8 and 9 students participated in the Junior South African National Geography Olympiad. They were presented with questions testing their geographical general knowledge and current events.
Overall, they found the questions interesting, the multiple-choice format did help, making it easier to work out the answers! Here is some of their feedback:
“It was a lot of fun and extremely interesting. I liked how there were learning opportunities in every question, and it expanded my general knowledge. I also liked how I could make an educated guess when I did not know the answer which made it less stressful. Overall, I really enjoyed it and look forward to participating in it again next year.”
“I found my first Geography Olympiad moderately difficult. The questions were quite challenging, but they were a great extension of my knowledge and understanding about Earth’s natural history.”
“I found it fun and interesting. It was interesting to see what we will be learning about in Geography in later grades. I liked it as we had a long time to finish it.”
This Olympiad was so interesting, I did not find it too difficult. Majority of the questions were understandable. For my first Geography Olympiad I would say I would do it again!”
We look forward to sharing their results later this term!
Danielle Tillier and Bianca Rademacher
Geography Department
Grade 10 Geography – Rock Experiments Day
The Grade 10 Geography students had a delicious lesson in which they explored the formation and creation of different rock types. With the aid of a variety of delicious sweets, chocolates, and biscuits the Grade 10s crushed, crunched, dunked, melted (and ate) a variety of sugary treats. Students explored and tested porosity and permeability; created sedimentary rock and in the process improved their understanding of geomorphology, rock types and their various properties.
“It was very fun as all the ingredients had different meanings and when all put together, we could create different types of rocks.”
“It was so much fun! Geography is my favorite subject.”
Danielle Tillier
Geography Department
Business Studies and Consumer Studies
Grade 12 Business Studies – Banango Traders
On 9 September, our Grade 12 Business Studies students took part in the highly stimulating and competitive business simulation game, Banango Traders. Their curriculum content was brought to life. The Banango Traders simulation game was facilitated by a presenter from the Johannesburg School of Finance and covered valuable financial, planning, and strategising skills. We are immensely proud of our Grade 12 Kingsmead College Business Studies group who finished in first place nationally for 2022!
Liezel van Lith
Business Studies Department
Grade 10 Business and Consumer Studies Outing – The Counter
We were excited to be able to take the Grade 10 Business Studies and Consumer Studies students to ‘The Counter’ at REEA Foundation in Craighall Park on Thursday, 22 September 2022. This outing gave students an opportunity to experience the production process hands-on and explore the purchasing and marketing functions which are covered in Business Studies and Consumer Studies.
Rangoato Phogole, Liezel van Lith and Phumzile Masetlwa
Business and Consumer Studies Departments
Art & Music
Dance
At the end of September, three of our Kingsmead students, Meera Luksmidas, Melokuhle Zungu and Thandeka Nzimakwe competed in the International Dance Open in Croatia, Novalja. This competition is one of the biggest dance competitions in Europe and had over 4600 participants, competing from twenty-nine countries. The South African team from Jozidance dominated and achieved an impressive number of awards at this prestigious competition. We are incredibly proud of these three Kingsmeadians who did spectacularly at this event!
Meera Luksmidas was awarded three 1st places: in a duet, and two contemporary group performances, a 3rd place for a lyrical solo and two 4th places, for a ballet solo and open solo.
Melokuhle Zungu was awarded 1st place for a contemporary group performance, a 2nd placed in a contemporary duet with Thandeka Nzimakwe and went to the finals with her contemporary solo where she was placed 4th as well as going through to the finals for her lyrical solo where she was placed 5th.
Thandeka Nzimakwe was placed 2nd for the contemporary duet with Melokuhle Zungu and achieved 1st place for her contemporary group performance.
Drama – Save the Date!
The Grade 11 Drama students are working towards staging their own modernised adaptation of Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ on Wednesday the 19th of October.
Debating
The Kingsmead debaters participated in the Gauteng provincial trials, where they won two of their six debates and were ranked 28th overall in the competition hosting approximately sixty schools. It was the first time in a few years that Kingsmead participated in the tournament and our debaters showed great tenacity and vigour. Our debaters also took part in the Think Uhuru Debating and Public Speaking festival, hosted at Kingsmead, where they won three of their six debates and narrowly missed the finals; another great achievement for our team.
Public Speaking
This term our public speakers participated in the Think Uhuru Public Speaking competition. It was a great platform for speakers who have not competed in Public Speaking events yet to get experience.
Music
The Music department has had a busy and exciting term thus far. It has been a joy to get back to performing for large and appreciative audiences. On 17 September our Grade 4-7 Marimba bands performed at the open-air Grayston Prep Arts Festival.
On 19 September our Senior School Choir and Glee performed at the annual St David’s Choir Festival where they did Kingsmead proud with an energetic performance to great applause.
To celebrate Heritage day, the Senior School Choir did a flash mob performance at The Zone Rosebank on Friday the 23rd of September. The audience support was amazing, and the choir had a great experience.
On Saturday 24 September, the Senior School Choir, Glee, Orchestra and Jazz band participated in this St Peter’s Cultural Annual Festival. This was such a viby event, we will definitely be adding it to our annual performance calendar
Our Grade 3 Choir performed at the ‘Sound of Children’ Choir festival hosted by The Ridge at the Linder Auditorium on Monday the 26th of September to great delight of the audience.
The Choir, Glee, Orchestra and Marimba bands loved being part of Speech Night.
Upcoming events in October:
• Tuesday 11 October: Grade 4-7 Choir to perform at The Ridge Choir Festival at the Linder.
• Saturday 15 October: Jazz Band performing at the KCA Lunch.
• Tuesday 18 October: Junior School Orchestra to perform at the St Mary’s Ensemble Festival.
• We hope to launch our 1st Kingsmead Concerto festival on the 25th of October.
INTERHOUSE ARTS COMPETITION
The annual Interhouse Arts competition took place in the last week of the 2nd term and was absolutely wonderful as always.
Kingsmead’s Interhouse Arts provides the first glimpse of leadership for the grade 11s. However the three days of mad, but the best kind of chaos is, not only enjoyed by them !
This year the theme was each house’s complementary colour: Purple for Baker; Green for Kruger; Orange for Timlin. On top of that, each house also had to include a line and a prop. Baker had to use “Quite frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn” and include a ladder as a prop; Kruger had to us the line “To be or not to be” and showcase a clothes rack while Timlin had to include “I am your father” and incorporate an ironing board.
Despite the rather challenging brief, each house took on the challenge with gusto which would rival that of the ‘evil’ contestants participating in Baker’s game show themed play. Every student in the senior school spent the full three and a half days in a wild flurry line – learning lines and music, painting backdrops and props, running backstage, plotting the text and programme, choreographing dance sequences and band rehearsals. The hard work paid off and the moaning a groaning turned to smiles as bright as the orange jumpsuits worn by Timlin’s cast.
The spirit on the night of performance was only matched by gleeful laughter after Shrek’s “Donkay!” in Kruger’s play. And it remained this way throughout, climaxing at the prize giving with the well-deserved triumph for Baker.
Some might think that this was a little much to populate our time after the exam period, especially those unaware of the gobsmacking results thanks to interhouse plays being cancelled by Covid – we forgive your grumblings Grade 8s and 9s. But this, albeit intense, school event brings together the grades like no other. Friendships, beyond our usual classes and age groups are quickly forged in this time, and will last long after the final applause.
By Leah Falcon
Grade 11
Thank you to our Kingsmead community for your continued support of the Kingsmead Arts & Music Department.
Elsabé Fourie
Director of Arts & Music
efourie@kingsmead.co.za
Sport
Squash
Well done to Rachel Shannon who participated in August at the World Squash Federation Women’s World Junior Individual Championships. The Championships took place in Nancy, France.
At the recent awards evening, the following squash teams achieved excellent results.
U14A – Won their league
16A – 2ND in their league
2nds – Won their league
1st – Won their league and runners up at Top Schools.
Well done to all our squash teams and coach, who did remarkably well this season and ended the league on a high note. During the award ceremony, they achieved the following awards:
U14A Squash team were winners of their league
Milli Seekins
Charlie Dalling
Priyanka Geness
Chloe Brickhill
Absent – Nicole Dyer
U16 Squash was placed 2nd in the league
Sumayya Forssman
Olivia Thompson
Naafia Nanabhai
Lyoné Marnewick
Cara Nicholson
U19B Squash are winners in their league
Amy Falcon
Nazrana Jhavary
Tasmiyya Bham
Alice Behr
Lara Gush
Philippa Rörhs
Jessica Robinson
Absent: Dayannah Joosub
U19A Squash are winners in their league and top schools’ runner ups:
Megan Taylor
Emma Shannon
Rachel Shannon
Natalie Solomon
Linda Shannon (Coach)
Leah Falcon
Equestrian
Our Equestrian Team has had an exceptionally good season by winning their section. The team was made up of
Ella Hunt
Sarah Warren
Mia Byrne
Amy Falcon
Sarah Florence
Rania Motara
The following team members are to be congratulated on being selected for the Gauteng team to attend Nationals at the end of September.
Amy Falcon
Sarah Florence
Ella Hunt (c)
Rania Motara
Water Polo
Congratulations to Caitlin Stott who participated in the Junior Women’s u18 FINA Water Polo team at World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia this past August.
The following students have been selected into the Gauteng Water Polo Training Squad:
U19
Alison Gace
Caitlin Stott
U16
Kate Chapman
Olivia Cooke
Emma de Kock
Kagano Khoncha
U15
Lucy Davis
Holly Franks
Annabelle Smith
U14
Ariana Boyd
Charlee Davis
Clea Ellens
Lola-Rose Jooste
Elena Rovelli
Bethany Sinclaire
Our u15 team played in the Annual Collegiate festival in Port Elizabeth where they finished 9th out of 16 teams.
Our 1st team played in the Annual St Anne’s festival in Pietermaritzburg where they finished 9th out of 16 teams.
Diving
We recently had 2 of our divers attend Gauteng Trials. Sophia Pearse finished 7th in the u14 section and Katharine Jones finished 3rd in the u17 section. Katharine Jones has been selected for the Gauteng Diving Team.
Tennis
Kingsmead A and B tennis teams travelled to Sun City to take part in the Egalite Sun City Tennis tournament during the last week of the holidays. The competition was fierce as there were only A sides, however our students managed to finish 3rd and 4th and performed well throughout the tournament.
Astro update
After lifting the Astro, we found that the e layer was not up to standard and was sent for testing. It failed and we had to replace the complete e layer which is now finished. The Astro will arrive at the end of September and laying of the Astro will start at the beginning of October and we hope to finish around mid-term (weather permitting).
Gymnastics
We would like to congratulate Zaynah Nosarka who will represent Central Gauteng in Artistic Gymnastics.
Service
GOODWILL DAY FINAL DETAILS
Goodwill Day is back after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, and we are excited to welcome you to our beautiful campus for a fun-filled day on Saturday 9 October 2022. Join us for a jam-packed programme, shopping galore and delicious food. Relax in the Champagne Garden or Tea Garden, enjoy beautiful art, get your adrenaline rushing in the Fun Park, donate blood, cook a Pot of Hope – there is something for the entire family! Please see the attached programme and visit the Kingsmead College website for information on the vendors, activities and partner organisations represented on the day.
PARKING
Please note that there will be road closures (Tyrwhitt Avenue, Cecil Avenue, Melrose Street and Tottenham Avenue) from 07h00 until 09h00. There will be limited parking available around the campus. Safe and secure underground parking is available at 19 on 9th Street. Due to security and safety regulations of the building, parents will have to register to use this parking. Please complete this online registration form to book your parking before Friday, 7 October at 14h00. Please note that no bookings will be accepted after this time as we will need to hand a guestlist to the security in the building. A Kingsmead bus will be available as a shuttle service in Tottenham Avenue and Uber drop-off will be in Baker Street.
PAYMENTS ON ZAPPER
Some of the external vendors and stall holders will have card machines available. For all internal activities, we encourage the community to download the Zapper app for ease of payment.
WALK AND GREET IN COLOUR
The Goodwill Day programme starts with the ever-popular Walk and Greet in Colour in aid of the Kingsmead Trust. Please complete the donation form handed out in LEAD and Form classes and wear your green wristband for access to the Walk and Greet in Colour starting at the Tyrwhitt Gate entrance at 08h30.
FUN PARK
The Fun Park promises hours of adrenaline on more than 20 inflatables and includes carnival games hosted by the Grade 9 students. Yellow wristbands for access to the Fun Park can be purchased from Music Reception for R150. Children under 6 must be under strict parental supervision. Please note that all games are played at the child’s own risk and parents are encouraged to monitor their own child’s welfare regularly.
POTS OF HOPE
Show off your culinary skills at the first ever Kingsmead College Pots of Hope competition. Contestants are invited to prepare and donate a pot of food that will be judged by our panel and then served to our partner organisations joining us on Goodwill Day.
CLOTHES TO GOOD
In lieu of an entrance fee, please donate gently worn clothes and shoes in support of Clothes To Good. Donation bags are available from Music Reception and donations can be delivered before or on Goodwill Day.
We look forward to a memorable Goodwill Day!
Jenny Venter
Director of Service
The Johannesburg Junior Council’s recent fundraising events
The Johannesburg Junior Council comprised an exceptionally busy August Holiday and early September with the councillors taking part in many different fundraisers and activities.
Starting on the 7th of August, the Junior Council along with the Mini Council partnered with a few different Pick and Pay Hypermarkets for a mass feeding project: Feeding the Future. For the span of five weeks various councillors collected food donations every Sunday. Last weekend the council packaged the meal bags and in total over 2000 were made. These meal bags will help to feed over 8000 people across Johannesburg.
In celebration of Women’s Day on the 9th of August the JJC hosted a Women’s Day Speakeasy where we had the youngest ever black-female attorney, Nomlayo Mabhena share her journey with us. We listened to many enlightening and motivating speakers on the night and celebrated the power of women and how far the women’s rights movement has come. The event was inspiring and incredibly moving.
On the 20th of August the Sports and Recreation Committee hosted a five-a-side JJC Soccer Tournament where over 10 teams participated. The day was filled with enjoyment from both the teams and the council. The event was a success and will hopefully become a yearly Sports and Recreation Committee tradition.
The 11th of September saw one of the biggest events on the Council Calendar unfold. The annual Kids Carnival was truly one to remember and one that touched every person in attendance. The day started with all the councillors assembling to create supply and treat packages for all the children and care givers who were about to arrive. The day involved spending joyful and meaningful hours with the children on the jumping castles, playing games with many of them and witnessing their wonderment and awe at a magic show. The day ended with lunch and treats for the children before we said farewell and sent them off with their supply and treat packs. It felt as though a small difference was made in some of those children’s lives when we saw the smiles on their faces. This day was one that will never leave us and one that I feel so privileged to have been a part of.
As the council year draws to a close, we have a few final events to look forward to and a whole year of events and projects to reflect on. So far, the 2022 Junior Council year has been an awe-inspiring experience and I cannot wait to see what the last few months have
In store for us.
Megan Taylor
Gr 11 Student
2022 JJC Councillor
