Our Connection Issue: 1 2022

Dear Kingsmead Community,

2022 is here and we are loving it! The students, parents and staff have come together and celebrated many opportunities to connect and learn. In a short space of time, we have invested energy in collaboration; orientation weeks, inquiry learning, camps, music and sport. This newsletter will show just how committed we are to warmly welcoming our entire community; our students and staff are happily engaged and set up for a year of reconnection, restoration and recovery.

“Whenever you are creating beauty around you, you are restoring your soul” Alice Walker.

Join us as we step into 2022 with Grace and Gentleness. Let’s Do 2022!

With Love and Courage Always,
Kim Lowman

New Staff and Student Welcome:

We welcomed our new Junior Primary Teachers and students on Friday, 14 January to celebrate their arrival and place at Kingsmead within the beautiful Isivivane Garden, which sits outside Mrs. Lowman’s office.

Isivivane
Three sanctuaries of Stone, Tower, Becoming
Individually our stones are Known, cherished, celebrated
Our differences make us strong, our hopes make us one
Our heart beat. Dun Dun
The drum. Dun Dun
Lifting we Rise
Girls of Grit we rise
Woman of courage we rise
Franc ha leal

We look forward to their committed journey in teaching your daughters at Kingsmead, as well as growth for our students who have joined our community.

RISE

Resilience and Hope for the year ahead:

There continues to be a necessity to preserve our wellbeing and build resilience at this point in our history, where it is genuinely needed, but beyond this – there is light at the end of the tunnel, I feel, as we face 2022.

At Kingsmead we want to support your daughter’s educational journey and aim to get her ‘school fit’ for a new academic year. More importantly, as we navigate our way through these extraordinary moments in our history, our goal this year within the Senior Primary is to teach your daughter the tools that will best equip her in becoming far more resilient and aiding self directed growth. This will have a positive impact on how she responds to ‘healing’ and change and ultimately enables her to ‘rise up’ in the best way possible. To support this goal, your daughter has been guided through a well-planned Orientation Programme during her first week of Term 1 onsite.

In line with our Orientation slogans ‘Rise by Lifting Others’; ‘Rise up’, we ultimately want to raise our students’ awareness that rising up is a trait that can be developed, skills that can be learnt when they are exposed to the right kind of experience, training and practice. Alongside teaching our students the value of ‘rising’, is that of GRIT. GRIT is not merely goal setting or problem solving. Nor is it just being willing to go the extra mile. GRIT is the ability to see the long-term goal, set the goal, define the steps, work towards each step and approach the obstacles and setbacks with solution-focused thinking. This, too, connects to the Habit of Mind of Persisting.

Another form of rising is when someone “rises to the occasion.” This happens when someone performs at a higher level when faced with a new challenge. Sometimes situations arise that are impossible to prepare for, and people need to rise up to the occasion. Another key goal to develop within our students for the year ahead.

Raising and developing resilience starts with personal resilience. This involves supporting your daughter in helping her to build her self-awareness by recognising what might be getting in her way of success and helping her notice what is going well and celebrating her strengths and victories. To launch this Orientation Programme, we were privileged to host our online guest speakers – several Grade 12 students from the class of 2021. These students shared in their stories of resilience and rising up at Kingsmead and their own journeys of growth during their 12 years of school.

Not only is this theme of ‘Rise’ about self growth and reflection but also that of social and emotional development of one’s peers by the very nature of being kind. Lifting others along ‘my’ own journey of success.

We look forward to getting to know your daughters’ ambitions for their future selves and to make sure that we teach them what is relevant during these current times. We must remember that resilience and hope go hand-in-hand; they fortify each other, and together we will help your daughter move forward into a prosperous future.

Tarryn McLaren
Deputy: Senior Primary

Arts & Music

Welcome back to all our parents and students. We are thrilled to be on campus, hear music around us every day and plan some exciting events for the term and year ahead. Music heals our hearts, brings people together and gives us joy.

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” ~ Confucius

The Arts & Music department strives to provide a space where all students feel welcome and know that there is a place for them to get involved and express themselves. If we had our way, every student in the school would play an instrument!

“Music has real health benefits. It boosts dopamine, lowers cortisol and it makes us feel great. Your brain is better on music.” ~ Alex Doman

Apply for music lessons by clicking here:

It is when we play or sing together that music really comes alive. Encourage your daughter to join the Choir, Orchestra, Strings group or start a Band!

Watch this video to find out more:

Congratulations
Well done to all our students who did Rockschool Voice examinations in November last year and achieved fantastic results:
Grade 1: Julia Sequeira, Emma Gray
Grade 2: Elana Rolls, Neo Mkwanazi, Jordyn Knowles, Isabella Lux

Please contact us should you have any questions regarding Arts & Music at Kingsmead.

Elsabé Fourie & Mia Loock
Director of Arts & Music/ Head of Junior School Music
efourie@kingsmead.co.za /mloock@kingsmead.co.za

Junior School Sport

What an action-packed first week of school and extra-curriculars. It is wonderful to see the students enjoying themselves on the fields, courts, and in the pool once again. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for your patience over the last couple of days as we get back into the swing of things. We will continue to do everything we can to provide our students with a productive and pleasurable extra-curricular programme that allows them to be active while having fun.

Sport offered this term:
This term our focus will be on swimming, water polo, diving and tennis:

New addition to the Kingsmead College App
We will now be posting an updated week ahead each week for Junior School Sport. This week ahead document can be accessed on the App under the Sport icon.

December Holiday News
Diving
The Junior School had some spectacular diving results over the December holidays. The below divers participated in the South African Schools Diving Championships hosted in KZN:

• Milan Williams and Maya Rono participated in the 11 years Elite event. Milan placed 3rd and Maya in 1st, Maya is now the SA Schools champion in her age group!
• Jada Williams and Grace Hefer participated in the 12 years Elite event. Jada placed 3rd and Grace in 1st, Grace is now the SA Schools champion in her age group!
• Ella Watermeyer participated in the 12 years Novice event and placed 2nd.

Our Grade 7 divers competed with the Senior School divers and did a phenomenal job. Grace Hefer placed 2nd and Milan Williams placed 3rd in the U13 section. Congratulations divers!
Overall placings as follows:
1. St Mary’s A
2. St Stithian’s
3. Brescia House
4. Kingsmead College
5. St Andrew’s
6. St Mary’s B
7. Parktown

Water Polo
The following students were selected for the Gauteng Schools Water Polo Teams which participated in the Inter Provincial Tournament which took place in Cape Town from 15 to 19 December:

U13B:
Jessica Galloway
Lola-Rose Jooste
Amy Oberholzer
Elena Rovelli

U12A:
Emily Kennedy
Katherine Raats

Summer Splash
On Saturday 22 January, our swimmers participated in the annual Summer Splash gala and our Grade 7A divers competed in the diving. This annual competition is not an easy one and we are very proud of each swimmer/diver who competed. The results as follows:

Swimming
1. St Mary’s A
2. St John’s Diocesan School for Girls
3. St Stithian’s
4. St Andrew’s
5. Brescia House
6. Kingsmead College
7. Holy Rosary & St Mary’s B
8. Assumption/Parktown

Hockey
We would like to wish the selected hockey players below all the best for the District 9 Hockey trials which will take place on Saturday 29 January:

U12
Stephanie Walker
Omolemo Tebeila
Olivia Turck
Scarlett Grundlingh
Zoe Kennedy
Carla Palmer
Emma Clowes
Sofia Allison

U13
Jessica de Zeeuw
Emily Kennedy
Chloe Chapman
Ella de Goede
Katherine Papadopoulos
Briony Grubb
Annabelle Rattray
Neo Mkwanazi

Staff news

We would like to thank Mrs. Annelie Koekemoer for her many years of service at Kingsmead as she goes off for retirement. Mrs AK will still be helping in the sport department as well as in the Junior Primary with swimming sessions.

A few reminders for parents & guardians:

1. Please send any sport achievements (school & non-school) to Mrs. Hanekom – shanekom@kingsmead.co.za
2. A reminder to please download the Kingsmead App as this will be the direct method of communication to parents on sport fixture days.
3. All team lists will be published on the App by no later than the Wednesday before the fixture.

Yours in sport
Shavaun Hanekom
Head of Junior School Sport

Grade 6 camp

Konka Tours: Magaliesburg

After a soggy, wet start, we were treated with beautiful sunshine to participate in fun activities. The aim of the camp was to allow our Grade 6 students the extraordinary opportunity to show courage by pushing themselves beyond their comfort zone to overcome various obstacles and practice team building and problem solving skills. Our students were able to form relationships and to bond as a grade and they rose and shone with every opportunity they were presented with. This was also a wonderful opportunity to create a sense of belonging for our new students. Our students participated in kayaking, wall climbing, ziplining and Capture the Flag, to name a few. These are some of the comments received:

Ava Naidoo: “I loved the food at camp and my favourite activity was kayaking.”

Yusayrah Peer: “My favorite activities were ziplining and kayaking.”

Kwezi Ngqula: “One way to describe camp was the fun activities we did!”

Grade 7 camp

It was an absolute delight to kick off the year with a memorable Grade 7 camp to Parnassus. The students got to hike in the beautiful Magaliesburg mountains, climb through mud on the obstacle course, swim in the refreshing pool, participate in the ‘Water Olympics’, challenge themselves mentally and physically and work together as a team. One of the highlights of our time away was the Grade 7 sisterhood singing their Grade 7 song around the campfire which echoed across a star-studded night sky. The memories made and the lessons learned will be carried with each of the girls as they return as leaders, ready to Rise into 2022.

KCC Draw

The KCC draw for Term 3 2021 was held on Friday 21 January 2021.

Second prize: 25% off Term 3 2021 school fees
Minana Bwerinofa

First Prize: 50% off Term 3 2021 school fees
Zoe Starke

Congratulations to the winners!