October 2020 Highlights

Kingsmead College students and staff were very busy throughout October. From saying farewell to our matrics to making a difference in our community through our Goodwill Week activities, here are a few of our October 2020 highlights:

Kingsmead College launched a partnership with Isipho Primary School in Soweto this year. With funds raised from Dance Marathon we were able to donate Dignity Dreams sanitary packs to all the Grade 4-7 girls at Isipho. Sharon Gordon from Dignity Dreams presented a session to the Isipho girls on menstrual health. We were also happy to deliver 158 sets of multiplication flashcards made by the Kingsmead Senior School students to contribute (although remotely) to the Mathematics programme that we started at the beginning of the year.

Joining in on any of the Goodwill Week activities put the participants in the running to win a Dlala Nje 360 Virtual Hillbrow Tour. Seven tickets were up for grabs and a lucky draw was held every day during Goodwill Week. Instead of actually hitting the streets, Dlala Nje takes you on a voyage of discovery through Johannesburg without leaving your lounge. Filmed in HD with surround sound, the virtual reality, “This Is Hillbrow” tour takes a digital stroll with a professional Dlala Nje tour guide through busy Hillbrow. Explore the inner-city of Johannesburg through an entirely new lens, from the magnitude of the Hillbrow Tower and the business of Pretoria High street to the stupendous views of the infamous Ponte Tower.

A huge thank you to the the whole Kingsmead Community for your participation in Goodwill Week. While we missed celebrating at school we achieved so much and will be able to make a difference in the lives of so many.

We achieved the following:

• A Conscious Fashion Virtual Exhibition raised awareness for sustainable, conscious and ethical fashion habits;
• More than 1.4 tons of clothing donated to Clothes To Good;
• 530 toys were made from recycled clothing for the Clothes to Play programme (these toys will be donated to ECD centres in Diepsloot);
• 78 flower crowns and packets of vegetable seeds were donated to Sefokeng Primary school;
• 52 books were creatively adapted into sensory books for Adapt-a-Book and donated to Sunshine Association;
• 42000 meals were packed at the Rise Against Hunger meal packing event;
• 108 people participated in Walk for Good and R12550 was raised for the Kingsmead Trust;
• 46 units of blood were donated at the SANBS Goodwill Blood Drive;
• 17 paintings were sold in the Show of Courage Virtual Arts Exhibition in support of Courage Child Protection;
• The Grade 12s donated 3 trees, many succulents and beautiful stepping stones with their names on them to the Kingsmead gardens.

Congratulations to the all winners of the Goodwill Week: Dlala Nje 360 Virtual Hillbrow Tour:

• Juwairiyya Arain
• Muj Padayachy
• Zarifa Seedat
• John Dixon
• Victoria Kahwa
• The Pon family
• Mieke Costa

 

The Show of Courage Virtual Arts Exhibition is now live! Click here to view the site.

What a beautiful way to wrap-up the first half of term with a Junior School picnic in celebration of the Kingsmead Birthday! We hope our Kingsmead Community had a wonderful break.

5 October 2020 marked World Teacher’s Day, and what a year for teachers it has been!

The following is the joint statement from Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, Guy Ryder, Director-General, International Labour Organization, Henrietta H. Fore, Executive Director, UNICEF, David Edwards, General Secretary, Education International on the occasion of World Teachers’ Day 2020:

“In this crisis, teachers have shown, as they have done so often, great leadership and innovation in ensuring that #LearningNeverStops, that no learner is left behind. Around the world, they have worked individually and collectively to find solutions and create new learning environments for their students to allow education to continue. Their role advising on school reopening plans and supporting students with the return to school is just as important.”

To the incredible teachers at Kingsmead College and schools around the country, we salute you! Thank you for all you have done.

 

Dear Kingsmead Matrics of 2020, you have tackled so much this year and have shown true grit and courage in the face of adversity. On 21 October, you wrote your first final as a whole group. We wish you strength and Courage Always as you embark on this last leg of your school journey.

We said farewell to the Matric Class of 2020 in an incredibly special celebratory assembly and chapel service on Friday, 9 October. What an emotional and fitting tribute to such an incredible group of students who have epitomised Courage Always during this year.

We wish them well for the final leg of their school journey.

“Something more is required, something to make these dry bones live. A spirit behind them, a purpose towards which to strive, some breath, a soul and spirit so that Kingsmead may become a life-giving force in the world” – Kingsmead’s founder, D.V. Thompson.

10 October 2020 marked Kingsmead College’s 87th birthday. Kingsmead House, the original residence, pictured here, became the centre for the new school and today houses the Executive Team and school administration offices.
The past 87 years have seen the school grow, thrive, and breathe soul into the school buildings and grounds.

Happy Birthday Kingsmead College!

The Goodwill Walk took place on Saturday, 10 October.

 

Congratulations to our student Heads of School for 2021: Sabeeha Banwa (Deputy Head Girl, Discipline and Organisation), Ammaarah Wadee (Head Girl) and Alexandra Liston (Deputy Head Girl, Pastoral). We wish you everything of the best in your new positions as you lead the school next year.

 

The last KCC draw for 2020 will take place before the end of this term. Buy tickets and stand a chance of winning back 50% or 25% of this term’s fees. Entries close on 13 November. Find the link on the Kingsmead College App.

 

Celebrating Adventures Big and Small…

On 14 October, we held an exciting webinar where we chatted to Dr Adriana Marais, theoretical physicist, technologist and aspiring extraterrestrial.

Our Bluebells and Butterflies responded with Wonderment and Awe as they explored nature this month. From ladybugs to silkworms, plants to chicks, it has all been very exciting!

The Kingsmead Junior School had arranged a sports tour to Durban this past April. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, the tour was cancelled at the last minute. The tour was to allow Grade 6 and 7 students the opportunity to play one of three sports: Hockey, Netball or Tennis. Here are photos of the players with their sponsored kit.

We enjoyed meeting prospective Kingsmead families on 21 October and sharing our beautiful campus with them.

We were very happy that we were able to assist Tayla Jade Roberston with her challenge by letting her use the Kingsmead pool. She chose to embark on a 10km (400 laps) swim in the hopes of raising the funds needed to provide the necessary learning materials for Sparrow Combined Technical Skills School learners to complete their Foundational Learning Competence (FLC) exams.

 

As part of our Leadership Programme at the start of this term, our Grade 7s considered how songs are indeed POWERFUL agents for change and can create leadership movements! They joined the worldwide Jerusalema Challenge that is leading people out of a kind of lockdown inertia.

 

We were thrilled to unveil the gift from the Grade 7 class of 2019 to the Junior School: the beautiful ‘Courage Always’ statue. The presentation was led by class representatives, Roha Pillay, Sange Sibiya and Sophia Eckoldt.

Roha said, “for many whom may look upon our gift in the future, they may simply see a small statue, but for us and all who have been with us throughout our journey, it symbolizes so much more.”

Sange added, “the Courage Always statue’s position shows strength, balance and stability. The reason we chose a gymnast is because they need to have flexibility, endurance, strength and confidence which are all qualities our grade lead with. The Courage Always statue has no race, age, religion, sexuality or cultural group. It represents every single one of us. It is all of us as one. All the courage we each possess and the courage that comes from being a part of a whole, a tribe, a family.”

Sophia closed with a blessing.

We were also able to unveil the refurbished St. Francis statue. We are grateful to Mrs. Marina Walsh for her incredible work on both of these projects.

The Grade 0 to 3 students participated in an annual fun sports morning. This year’s theme was based on The Olympics. Our students all competed with enthusiasm and courage in various sport disciplines. Congratulations to all of the participants!

In the last week of the month, we bade farewell to Mdjadji Shiburi, as she left us for a well-deserved retirement after more than 18 years of service to Kingsmead College. We thank Mdjadji for all she has done for our school and the students that have passed through over the years she’s been with us and we wish her well as she begins this retirement chapter. All the best Mdjadji!