Dear Parents, Guardians and Staff,
Thank you for the wonderful welcome I have received at the Junior School. As I have mentioned to several people, I feel that I am in my phase of learning, unlearning and relearning. Not many people can say at this stage of their careers that they have been moved out of their comfort zones and are learning new things on a daily basis.
My observations are that the Junior School is a hub of creativity, learning, discovering, playing and happiness. The start of the year has been a smooth one and I am in awe of the time and effort that the teachers have put into making the transition into the next grade a smooth one, with their classrooms decorated and all preparations completed for the start of the term. I am really enjoying listening to the sounds at breaktimes which are definitely heightened. The passion of the staff is palpable, and I am aware of just how they keep the needs of the children they teach at heart.
I have had a few parents ask if things will remain the same in the Junior School. I can assure you that the vision and guiding values of Kingsmead, as per our founder’s wishes, remain at the foundation of all that we do. These will continue to be our cornerstone and our ethos of nurturing well-rounded individuals who achieve their full potential.
The Junior School forms the basis for a wonderful journey through the Senior School and I believe our latest Matric results bear testimony to this. I remind our parents that we do not have an entrance exam into the Senior School and yet we achieve such outstanding results. We continue to achieve an excellent balance between our academics, sport, the arts and service and this definitely adds to our students’ overall success.
I wish you all a happy and fulfilling term ahead and I look forward to meeting with you at the cultural and academic events; on the side of the sports fields and around the school.
Fond regards,
Lisa Palmer
Kingsmead: Executive Head and Acting Head of the Junior School
Beyond the Classroom
Arts & Music
Congratulations!
Well done to the voice students who completed their music examinations at the end of last year. We are proud of these excellent results, all above 80%!
Grade 1 Rockschool Vocal Examination:
Morgan Chen-Heyneke, Akhani Mahlangu and Talia Sibanda
Grade 2 Rockschool Vocal Examinations:
Nalayethu Mkhize, Aimee Schloss, Mbalenhle Shabane, Taylor Simpson

SAVE THE DATE:
Meet our Music Teachers Week: 3-7 February
Meet our Music Teachers Coffee Morning:
6 February

We want to partner with you to ensure the best experience for your daughter in her musical journey. Please pop in for coffee on Thursday, 6 February, from 07h15 to 08h00 at the Music Lawns to hear about our exciting music offering and meet the music teachers.
Throughout the week of the 3-7 February, parents are invited to visit their daughter’s individual music lesson or a group rehearsal to see what we do. We are eager to connect with all our Kingsmead music families!
If you have any more questions about Arts & Music at Kingsmead, please get in touch.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & RECOGNITION IN EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
If your daughter has participated in a Sports or Arts & Music competition, event, external examination, festival, eisteddfod, or any other event outside of Kingsmead, we would love to hear about it so that we can celebrate your daughter’s achievements in assemblies, newsletters, and social media.
Complete the Acknowledgement and Recognition form on the Kingsmead app in the Extra-curricular folder, which will be checked weekly.
For queries or questions about the extra-curricular offering at Kinsgmead, contact Elsabé Fourie at efourie@kingsmead.co.za.
Wishing all our Kingsmead families a wonderful term ahead!
The Beyond the Classroom team
Elsabé Fourie
Director of Arts & Music
efourie@kingsmead.co.za

Sports
Welcome to the 2025 sports season! We are thrilled to announce that the year has officially kicked off, and we can’t wait to see what it has in store for our talented athletes.
A heartfelt thank you to all the parents who dedicated their time and effort by bringing their students to the pre-season sessions. Your support has contributed to a remarkable turnout, and I am confident that the hard work our students have put in will shine through in our upcoming fixtures.
As we embark on this action-packed sporting year, I encourage all parents to continue supporting the sports department. Please motivate your daughters to participate actively and remain committed to all fixtures.
To help avoid any scheduling conflicts, be sure to check the live calendar weekly. This resource will assist in ensuring that parents do not schedule weekend getaways, birthday parties, or other activities that might clash with our interschool fixtures.
Let’s make this a fantastic sporting year together!
Physical Education/IC Sport
Our staff have exciting lessons prepared for the students. This is a friendly reminder for all students to remember to bring their PE kit and swimming costumes for all sessions, in case of inclement weather preventing swimming activities.
Upcoming Events
Thursday 23 January – Grade 4 – 7 Tennis vs St Teresa’s
– A/B play at Kingsmead, C/D play at St Teresa’s
There will be a bus departing at 14:00. All players are to please travel to the fixture on the bus. Parents may collect students at the venue after the fixture.
Friday 24 January – Grade 5,6 & 7 A/B/C Gala
– All swimmers will be swimming at St Andrew’s School for Girls.
There will be buses departing at 13:00. All swimmers are to please travel to the fixture on the bus. Parents may collect students at the venue after the gala.
Saturday 25 January – Grade 4 – 7 St Mary’s Summer Splash Gala & Diving (selected students only)
Please note that there will be no transport provided for this fixture. Students are to please meet at the venue.
Sunday 26 January – U12 & U13 District Hockey Trials (Round 2 – selected players only)
Thursday 30 January – Grade 4 – 7 Tennis vs St Katharine’s Preparatory School
– A/B play at St Katharine’s, C/D play at Kingsmead
There will be a bus departing at 14:00. All players are to please travel to the fixture on the bus. Parents may collect students at the venue after the fixture.
Friday 31 January – Grade 6 District Netball Trials – Kingsmead College
All grade 6 students who would like to be selected for the district netball trials must attend.
Saturday 1 February – Grade 3 – 7 Gala
(A Team – St Mary’s, B Team – Kingsmead, C Team – St Stithians)
Please note that there will be no transport provided for this fixture. Students are to please meet at the venues. Please refer to the app for the meeting times.
Saturday 1 February & Sunday 2 February
SANESA Equestrian Qualifier 1 – Kyalami Equestrian Park
(Teams are to be confirmed on the app by Tuesday for Thursday fixtures, and by Wednesday for Friday/Saturday fixtures.)
A few reminders for parents & guardians:
1. Please send any sports achievements (school & non-school) to Mrs Hanekom.
2. A reminder to please download the Kingsmead app as this will be the direct method of communication to parents on sports fixture days.
3. All team lists will be published on the app by no later than Tuesday for a Thursday fixture and the Wednesday before the Friday fixture.
Please download the Kingsmead app as this will be our primary method of communication to parents about sports in general and on fixture days.
Yours in sport
Shavaun Hanekom
Head of Junior School Sport
shanekom@kingsmead.co.za


Service
Service is an integral part of the extra-curricular programme at Kingsmead College and at the core of our ethos. Our main focus is to encourage students to be actively involved in community engagement and to be active citizens.
From Grade 0 – 7, each grade has a Service partner who they visit, one class per term.
• The Grade 0s enjoy a termly visit from Paws 4 U, and besides lots of love and cuddles, the girls feed the dogs and learn more about the important work that these dogs do.
• The South African Association for Guide Dogs is the Grade 1 Service partner and the girls love these interactions.
• The Grade 2s visit Siyakhana Gardens, where they learn about sustainable food gardening. The girls weed, plant, and eat fresh produce.
• The Grade 3 Service partner is The Sensory Space at The Children’s Memorial Institute. The week of their visit, the Grade 3s each plant a succulent in an upcycled milk bottle to take to add to the Zen Garden.
• The Grade 4s visit Fight with Insight at The Children’s Memorial Institute. The girls participate in a high-energy boxing class, explore the FWI kitchen, and visit the library.
• The Sunshine Centre for Children with Disabilities is our Grade 5 partner, where our girls can meet and engage with the children, enjoy playtime, and bake together.
• The Grade 6s love selling hot chocolate in the second term to raise funds for ForAfrika and the Little Stars and Moseka ECD Centres in Diepsloot. At the end of the year, the Grade 6s have the joy of visiting Little Stars and Moseka.
• Our new Grade 7 Service partner is The Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital. The girls learn about the animals and reptiles, their rehabilitation and reintroduction to their natural habitat.
The service team organises wonderful service activities, outings and collections during the course of the term and year, and we will keep you updated as we go. Watch this space!
The Service Team: Karen Landi, Raeesa Kaka and Claire Rowan


Alumnae
The Kingsmead College Alumnae are so excited to announce their first fundraising event of the year. If you are in Johannesburg and would like to support the KCA bursary fund, please join us on Thursday 13th February at 18h00 for THE MESSENGER, a talk by Michael Charton.
THE MESSENGER is the story of Bobby Kennedy’s forgotten tour of South Africa in 1966. A story exploring the curious parallels between the United States and South Africa in the 1960s, while extracting lessons from those fractured times for application today. The talk features information about Kingsmead College alumna, Margaret Marshall.
This YouTube preview will provide a better understanding of what the talk entails: https://youtu.be/jnx9VIJ1rGk
Please see the invitation below for more details. The talk will take place at the Mkwanazi Theatre, Kingsmead College.
Tickets can be purchased via Quicket using the following link: https://www.quicket.co.za/events/290305-the-messenger/
Tickets cost R260 per person which includes wine and snacks.

Lara Bugarin
Advancement Officer

