The Importance of a Good Night’s Sleep, for Adults!
Believe it or not, we spend a lot of time talking about sleep with your daughter at school. I certainly hope that these conversations have filtered through to you during your daily chats, as we place an emphasis on the importance of sleep and the role that it plays in our development and learning. Thanks to research and more insight into the neurological development of our students, we are able to help students to develop healthy sleep patterns and plan their sleep better during times of stress.
However, as a parent, have you considered how important sleep is for you, in your adult life? I found the article below from Dr Kathie Nunley, (who recently made a trip to South Africa to visit Kingsmead and train our staff on brain development and differentiation strategies) a poignant reminder on ensuring balance in our lives and hope you enjoy it too. Sleep well!
| Sleep Is Too Important to be Treated as a Spare Time Event
Sadly, if you’re like most people in the industrialized world, sleep is something you do in your spare time. You plan your day, your work schedule, your leisure activities, all the things you need to do with your family, and then with whatever time is left over, you sleep. Sleeping needs to be pushed up into a higher priority slot… especially for those of us who work with young people. We are their role models. We have known for years how important sleep is for the learning process. It is during the time of sleep that our brain consolidates all of the learning from the previous day. It allows complex connections between different regions of the brain and different problem-solving components. And sleep is also the time when our brain determines what is important from the day and what is unimportant and can be removed. In addition to the research showing that sleep is important for learning, there has been a wealth of new research in the last couple of years showing us the correlation between sleep and life expectancy. People who shortchange themselves on sleep have a shorter life expectancy. It’s that plain and simple. One of the other things that has been recently linked to sleep is the adequate production of our cerebral spinal fluid. Cerebral spinal fluid is that fluid which bathes the outside of the brain and up into the center ventricles. It’s job is to remove the metabolites – waste from the brain’s activity. This fluid replenishes itself every six hours throughout our day and keeps our brain in top condition. Adequate production of this fluid depends on sleep. (It’s interesting to note here that many children with autism have abnormal levels of cerebral spinal fluid which may be related to the sleep issues that they commonly face.) One of the ways you can tell whether you are getting enough sleep is to ask yourself if you require an alarm to wake up each morning. If you do, you are probably sleep deprived. Your goal should be to sleep equally every day of the week to completely maintain your brain. Once you have a regular sleep cycle, your body will only sleep as long as is needed and will wake you up once maintenance has been completed. This will also help eliminate the weekend jet lag habit so many people have fallen into. We cannot really catch up on sleep over the weekend. Sleep needs to take place on a daily basis for proper brain maintenance. Your goal should be to sleep equally every day of the week allowing for some seasonal changes due to day length. It’s also important to find out how much sleep you need. Generally as people age they need less sleep. We do have average sleep ranges but sleep need is an individual characteristic based on genetics and brain chemistry. The typical 3 to 12 year-old needs about 10 or 11 hours of sleep a day whereas the typical adult needs about 7-8 hours a day. By maintaining a sleep log you can determine how much sleep you personally need. As adult role models of young people, we need to make sleep a priority in our lives. Determine how much sleep you need and then schedule your day around your sleep needs, not the other way around. This will lead to longer life, better mental and physical health, and stronger learning abilities. |
Dr. Marisa Di Terlizzi
Deputy Head: Head of Senior Primary
STAFFING
We welcome Ms Itumeleng Sehaswana to our Kingsmead Community, Ms Sehawana will join us in the the Junior School Reception in the role of Junior School receptionist.
INTERNS
We are thinking of our interns as they prepare for their June exams. Palesa Leta and Jessica Makamba-Otto are in their second year of the B.Ed Foundation Phase Degree at the University of the North West. Celiwe Magubane is in her third year of her Degree B.Ed Intermediate Phase from the University of South Africa – Unisa.
Our interns have thoroughly enjoyed their weekly conversational sessions at Pridwin Preparatory. This initiative started at the start of Term 2. During these collaborative sessions the Headmaster elects topics for the interns at Pridwin and Kingsmead to discuss. Topics that have been discussed include:
- Professionalism; during this discussion dress code, social media, lesson planning – specifically the layout and lesson objective were discussed
- Human Evolution; here language diffusion, brain function and ancestral heritage were discussed
- The next topic to be discussed is Free Will.
Our PTA have been incredible in supporting the interns with their needs in their boarding space. Blankets, bathroom mats, towels, an L-shaped couch, curtains, mounting the television onto the wall and connecting DSTV, to name a few have been purchased and organised for them. We are grateful for the generosity and thoughtfulness received from our PTA.
Helen Schreuder
Junior School Head of Differentiation and Learning
KRC Representatives Term 2 – 2019
KRC – Kingsmead Representative Council is a Grade 4 – 7 leadership opportunity for our girls. It allows the girls to practise skills for representing one’s peers and being the ‘student voice’ for compliments and suggestions to improve the student’s daily experience of school. Other duties of a KRC include:
- Meet half-termly with Academic Head for feedback discussion/sharing
- Buddy for absentee peers
- Assist new girls to settle into Kingsmead
- Remind/encourage peers to keep bags/shelves/locker-rooms organised
We thank them for their commitment to our school
Tarryn McLaren
Junior School Teacher & Cognitive Education Co-ordinator
SERVICE NEWS
Please support our Winter Warmer collection and warm up the winter for those in need.
Dance Marathon
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our amazing Kingsmead community. We managed to raise an incredible R121 991. Thank you so much for your generosity. It will make a huge difference to so many. We will hold an assembly in due course to hand over the donations to our community engagement partners.
Bunny Hop Haven
A group of Grade 7 girls signed up to attend the Service Excursion to Bunny Hop Haven. The girls spent time working in the vegetable gardens and of course, cuddling the bunnies.
Lauren Myburgh
Junior School Head of Service
Grade 7 Production – Drought Breaker
The countdown to our annual Grade 7 Production has begun. With less than 4 weeks remaining, you do not want to miss this show! The script, Drought Breaker, is based on an African folk tale tradition and explores elements of the Ancient Greek choral verse and Medieval mystery plays. It is a truly original piece that showcases the talents and hard work of our Grade 7 students. Every aspect of this theatre production is managed by the students from make-up and costumes to back-stage and marketing.
Book your tickets now to avoid disappointment. Visit: Please click here to book your ticket
Optional supper can pre-purchased via Please click here to order your supper
Soft drinks, chips and sweets will also be on sale by the PTA.
MUSIC
Well done to all our music students who played ABRSM Practical Examinations last week Friday and our young musicians who played in the Kingsmead Music Eisteddfod on Saturday. Music teaches you to FACE YOUR FEARS and be courageous. We are proud of you!
Kingsmead Music Celebration 11 June at Rosebank Union Church
Have you booked your tickets yet? Please see the Kingsmead Live calendar on the app for all the information you need about this wonderful event. The Grade 2, 3, 4-7 and Senior School Choirs, Glee groups, Junior and Senior School Orchestras, Marimba Ensembles, Senior School String Ensemble, Jazz, Rock and Grade 12 Percussion bands and Drum Gym will be performing.
Tickets are on sale through Quicket @ R100 for adults and R75 for children.
KC Music Celebration 11 June: Click here to buy your tickets
Tickets will also be available at the door.
Vegetable soup, bread and drinks will be served from 18h00 to audience members. The concert will take place from 18h30 – 20h00. Please see the letter on the live app for exact details regarding the times to meet for each age group. Participants will be seated in the auditorium for the duration of the event and are expected to stay until the end. Performers do not need tickets. Girls are to look smart in their normal winter school uniform.
Elsabé Fourie
Director of Arts & Music
SPORTS NEWS
From the Sports’ Desk
Netball
We have come to the end of our Netball season for the year. I would like to commend the girls for the grit and determination they showed throughout the season. I would also like to thank the coaches for the passion they have for the game. It is when we instill a love for the game first that enables us to create a firm foundation for skills.
Kingsmead will NOT be participating in the Grade 3 festival on Thursday 13 June 2019. We will use this time to begin our preparation for the Grade 3 Interhouse Netball to be held on Wednesday 26 June 2019. Matches will begin at 10h00 and end at 11h30.
Parent, Guardian and Daughters Netball fun morning will take place on Saturday 22 June 2019. Please refer to the school APP for more information. Deadline for signing up will be Friday 14 June 2019. Please bring the whole family to a fun-filled morning of Netball.
Grade 4 -7 Interhouse Netball will take place on Friday 28 June 2019 at 10h30 – 13h00.
Netball practices will continue as per current EC schedule in order to prepare the girls for Inter House,
Hockey
Please see Hockey fixtures below for 2019.
| Date | Teams | Grades | Venue |
| 21 June | TBC | 4 -7 | Friendly TBC |
| 12 July | SM vs. KC | 4 – 7 | 4&5 (H) 6&7 (A) |
| 13 July | Gr. 6 & 7 B & C team festival @ St Mary’s and St Stithians | ||
| 18 July | KC/HR/APPS | 3 | Kingsmead |
| 19 July | BH vs. KC | 4 – 7 | 4&5 (A) 6&7 (H) |
| 19 July | DSG Festival | 6A & 7A | DSG Pretoria |
| 24 July | Gr. 3 festival @ Roedean | ||
| 26 July | KC vs. SP | 4 – 7 | 4&5 (A) 6&7 (H) |
| 27 July | Gr. 4 festival @ St Peter’s College and Gr. 5@ St Andrew’s | ||
| 1 August | ST/KC/SS | 3 | Kingsmead |
| 2 August | SS/KC/ST | 4 – 7 | 4&5 @ St Stithians |
| 6 @ Wanderers | |||
| 7 @ Kingsmead | |||
Co-curricular
Term 2B co-curricular will run from Monday 8th July 2019. This programme will be published for your perusal by Friday 14th June 2019.
Special Achievements
Ela Jekwa recently took part in the Gauteng Gymnastics Competition as a Level 3 contestant where she won a silver medal and qualified to represent Gauteng in the Inter-provincial competition in Bloemfontein next week.
Sheillah Denenga
Head of Junior School Sport