Dear Kingsmead Community,
DOING WHAT WE CAN, WHEN WE CAN.
With just less than eight weeks left of our school year, I am so grateful for all we have to celebrate! On behalf of the Junior School, we wish our matrics many blessings as they prepare for their final examinations. As they have officially closed the chapter of their Kingsmead journey, we also wish the 2022 newly elected leaders all the very best for their time to serve ahead. May you leave a legacy of compassion, courage and community building for the generations to follow!
This week we have been fortunate enough to celebrate an evening of Wonderment and Awe as well as the most innovative Enquiry Learning module in the Senior Primary. Our sports teams are excelling as they re-enter competitive sport. We are most grateful for the opportunity to engage in person during our annual Goodwill Day celebrations. Thank you to our community for the incredible support. Your generosity will go a long way in supporting future students supported by the Kingsmead Trust. Thank you to our Matric Dance committee, Service Team and of course the PTA for their time, energy and persistence in making days like this happen!
Last week we also celebrated World Teachers Day. I would like to personally acknowledge my teaching team for holding onto hope, prioritizing their students and taking care of one another during what has been the most challenging two years in our teaching profession. During our recent Speech Evening, we were blessed to hear feedback from some of our alumnae who shared their paths in various directions as they succeed as resilient, strong and influential leaders across the globe.
Now we look ahead at finishing the term well. Our mantra is to DO WHAT WE CAN, WHEN WE CAN. We will seek every possible opportunity to fill our days with joy and a love of learning.
I ask us to take a step back two months and remember the hopes and dreams we had for an onsite term filled with events and learning which brought us joy and promise of renewal. It was a time, as you may recall, that we were preparing the voices of our students and their messages of HOPE to be shared with our community. Thankfully we stand here at the end of the most incredibly rewarding few weeks. Thank you to each and every team member across the entire school who has made this month one we will remember for a while to come. The learning has been phenomenal, we have met new families, participated competitively in sport and loved our music, dance and drama experiences and enjoyed some proper rain. Our Grade 5-7 students are looking forward to their school camps next week. Mornington is looking absolutely incredible and the sound of happy laughter is rising higher each day.
Greta Thunberg recently said at a speech in Italy “ We can no longer let the people in power decide what hope is. Hope is not passive, Hope is not blah blah blah. Hope is telling the truth. Hope is taking action”. May our purpose as teachers and parents always be to teach our daughters the importance of intentionality, purpose and action as we create hope for our world.
With love and Courage Always
Kim Lowman
Junior School Head
Please note:
- The Junior School closes for half-term break on Thursday, 21 October at 10h00. To avoid car park congestion, please can all JP (Grade 000-3) students be collected at the Cecil Road entrance and the SP (Grade 4-7) students be collected from the Tottenham Road entrance.
- 1 November has officially been declared a public holiday. Calendar events planned for this day will be moved accordingly.
SERVICE
We would like to extend a huge thank you to all the families who supported the Goodwill Day activities. The beneficiaries of our Goodwill Day are Dlala Nje (Meal-in-a-Bag), Walk in Colour (the Kingsmead Trust), and the SANBS. It was so wonderful to be together again.
Lauren Myburgh
Junior School Head of Service
ARTS & MUSIC
Congratulations!
Well done to Talia Sibanda who has been selected for a part in the Joburg Ballet production of The Nutcracker. What a wonderful opportunity! We are so proud of Talia and wish her all the best for this exciting experience!
MUSIC FESTIVALS
In 2020 we were planning to host the 16th Senior Schools Ensembles Festival, 9th Junior Schools Ensembles Festival and launch our brand new Junior and Senior Choir Festivals: ‘Masicule Sonke’.
This year we scheduled all these festivals for May… and then had another lockdown. But we don’t give up! Music brings hope and joy and these events give our musicians a sense of purpose. Although we had to press pause a few times, we are finally going ahead with our events albeit online.
Join us this Wednesday, 13 October for the inter-schools Choir Festival and on Thursday, 14 October for the inter-schools Ensemble Festivals. Links to the videos will be posted on the App. We have a very exciting line up, please join us on YouTube! Please note that these events are unlisted videos, so you need the link to access the event.
BALLET
Mya Summer Brown (Grade 4) and Paula Anderson (Grade 6 ) competed at the American Dance Awards which were held from 4 – 9 October in Centurion. Both girls represent the Russian Ballet School in their respective categories. Paula danced in the Novice Ballet age 11 for which she achieved a Gold and Mya danced in the Novice Ballet solo age 9 for which she achieved gold. Congratulations on this wonderful achievement!
IBL Week Reflection
From Monday 27 September to Friday 1 October, our Senior Primary students engaged with an Inquiry Based Learning unit focused on ‘Biodiversity: Since all things are connected, how important is diversity?’
The critical skills we strived to strengthen and evaluate throughout this week were as follows:
Questioning – This is all about the student’s ability to formulate questions and frame relevant inquiries around the specific topic. It is also a measure of how she remains open to all possible curiosities.
Use of Information – Information is everywhere today and the amount we have available is growing exponentially. Students need to get more experience in how to find information that is useful and relevant. Students practise how to use the information to structure their approach towards the task at hand and begin to validate the accuracy of all information.
Communication and Collaboration – The classrooms and workforces of today and tomorrow are places of teamwork and trust. Learning how to manage a role in a collaborative group is an essential modern skill. Students are encouraged to listen to others’ input and combine their own to produce an all-inclusive understanding. She needs to ensure all team members contribute and feel valued according to their personal strengths. Students practise how to act efficiently in multiple team roles, making effective contributions. She also strives to always be supportive and encouraging and manage conflict in a mature and non-judgmental manner.
Drawing Conclusions – When we draw conclusions, we see the true purpose of an information/discovery quest come to its fruition. It gives us an opportunity to clarify whether or not our question was answered, or our challenge was met. It is also recognition of new learning. Students practise how to offer a clear and concise summary of their learning process. Reflection is considered and deliberate. Students also strive to critically check their work against the success criteria and modify it, if not feasible. Students are also learning how to identify areas of further research and consider next steps. They remain life-long learners.
Take delight in watching our highlights reel from the IBL week below:
Click Here: IBL Week Reflection
A big thank you to our Senior Primary Teaching Teams for all the effort and planning that went into this most successful IBL Week and to our students for remaining so curious!
Tania O’Maker
Inquiry based Learning Co-ordinator
GREENING
The Green committee would like to encourage every student to Wear it Wild on Thursday, 14 October by adding something wild to their school uniform in support of WWF. For information about the day Click Here: WWF Information
Should you wish to, you can donate by following the link: Click Here To Donate
Cindy Dalling
Senior Primary Teacher
Evening of Wonderment and Awe
Children, most of all, have great ability to see the world with excitement and
amazement. Our Habit of Mind, Responding with Wonderment and Awe, is described by Art Costa and Bena Kallick as the habit of finding the world awesome and mysterious, and of being intrigued with phenomena and beauty – this has become synonymous with our purpose for our annual Evening of Wonderment and Awe.
Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc launched a new imprint of Britannica Books in October 2020 with its flagship title, edited by international author and World Historian Christopher Lloyd, The Britannica All New Children’s Encyclopaedia: What we Know and What we Don’t.
During the Covid 19 lock-down, Christopher Lloyd developed an innovative virtual quiz show, based on the new Britannica Children’s Encyclopaedia and we did not hesitate to book Christopher as our guest speaker for this year’s Evening of Wonderment and Awe. Families experienced this fun-filled, high-paced, curiosity-sparking event online with Christopher on Wednesday 6 October.
A big thank you to all our participating families, it was incredible to witness over 130 families participating on the night! Well done to our 8 round winners, each winning themselves an Exclusive Books voucher:
- Aliyah Dada Grade 1
- Alexis Rossouw Grade 1
- Awande Kumalo Grade 3
- Megan Lamb Grade 3
- Faye Greenberg Grade 3
- Malaika Sibanda Grade 4
- Adiva Tickoo Grade 5
- Mira Naidoo Grade 7
Congratulations to our overall final Winner, Adiva Tickoo, who won her very own copy of The Britannica All New Children’s Encyclopaedia: What we Know and What we Don’t.
May the world around us continue to spark our interest and ignite our sense of wonder. Let’s always be inspired to learn, to explore and to imagine possibilities.
Tarryn McLaren and Tania O’Maker
Evening of Wonderment & Awe Co-ordinators
SPORT
We have recently kicked off our sport for the third term and it has truly been a very proud and grateful moment for both girls and staff. We are thrilled to be able to see Kingsmead participating against other schools once again.
With the above being said, we must also be mindful of our athletes, especially with regards to early specialisation in sport. I would like to share a very interesting article in the interests of providing balance, motivation as well as having an open mind to participate in many sports and not just focus on one sport too early in a sports career. Click here
It is critical that we seek for daily balance by establishing an efficient and productive routine that reflects the perfect balance of academics and physical activity for our children. Always keep in mind that sports provide life lessons that cannot be taught in a textbook. Sportsmanship, passion, responsibility, putting others first, being unselfish, and giving your all to what you love are all qualities that may be found in athletes. That is something that can only be learned via experience and sport is the most effective approach to gain that experience.
Shavaun Hanekom
Junior School Sports Coordinator
Athletics
On Friday 1 October 2021 we competed in our first athletics meeting since 2019! The athletes were all very excited, positive, and motivated to do their best.
Unfortunately, the meeting was called off early due to lightning, however, the following events were completed, and excellent results were achieved:
Grade 3:
Long jump:
Kate van Dyk 1st
Saara Hassim 3rd
60m:
A – race:
Keodirelang Maqubela 1st
Kate van Dyk 2nd
B – race:
Stephanie Rees 1st
C – race:
Lilia Thomas 1st
La Lu Hu-Grobbelaar 2nd
D – race:
Thoriso Motshegoa 1st
Grade 4:
Long jump:
Noa van Zalk 1st
Grade 6:
Long jump:
Grace Hefer 1st
Ella de Goede 3rd
Grade 7:
Long jump:
Priyanka Geness 3rd
Grade 7:
High jump:
Carlè Combrink 2nd
Hurdles:
Grade 6:
A – race:
Ella de Goede 1st
Grace Hefer 2nd
B – race:
Neo Mkwanazi 1st
Grade 7:
A – race:
Erin van Dyk 1st
B – race:
Chloe Brickhill 3rd
Junior 800m:
Noa van Zalk 3rd
Senior 800m:
Hannah Schwegmann 2nd
Congratulations and thank you to the whole athletics team — your behaviour on the stands and support were OUTSTANDING!!!!
Diving
The Kingsmead divers are super excited for the upcoming season. Our first diving competition was held at St Andrew’s and our divers did an exceptional job:
Grade 3
Darcy Anderson 2nd Stephanie Rees 3rd
Taylor Palmer 12th Sarah Jensen 11th
Thoriso Motshegoa 10th
Grade 4
Milan Williams 2nd Kylie Dugmore 1st
Charlotte McLay 1st Mikayla Rono 5th
Grade 5
Maya Rono 1st Shané van Lith 11th
Scarlett Haslam 7th Reneilwe Ramutla 4th
Olona Mbele 8th
Grade 6
Jada Williams 3rd Grace Hefer 1st
Ella Watermeyer 2nd Robyn Herold 1st
Grade 7
Amy Teeling-Smith 3rd Camden Williams 2nd
Sophia Pearse 1st Charlee Davis 4th
Victoria Kahwa 5th
Furthermore, we would like to congratulate the following divers on being selected to participate in the Gauteng School Diving trials:
Maya Rono
Shané van Lith
Grace Hefer
Jada Williams
Robyn Herold
Ella Watermeyer
Chloe Mandy
Amy Teeling-Smith
Camden Williams
Sophia Pearse
These trials will be held on the 30th of October at Roedean School. Good luck!
Waterpolo
The Kingsmead waterpolo U12/13 team played against St Mary’s on Wednesday the 29th September and did such a great job. We would like to congratulate them on 12-5 win. The following players scored goals; Robyn Herold, Chloe Chapman, Ella de Goede, Amy Oberholzer, Lola-Rose Jooste and Jessica Galloway.
We then went head-to-head with St Dominic’s the week after and grabbed another win for the books:
Final Score: Kingsmead won 10-5
Goal scorers: Lola-Rose Jooste, Elena Rovelli, Amy Oberholzer & Jessica Galloway.
We look forward to the next festival.
Tennis
We played our first tennis matches for the season against St Peter’s. All our players were very excited and played with enthusiasm as well as courage. Well done to all of the players and good luck for the rest of the season.
Hockey
We would like to congratulate Charlie Dalling on playing in the Southern Gauteng hockey tournament. Charlie made phenomenal saves and did not let a single goal past her. Her team won every match they played which left them undefeated at the end of the tournament.
Well done Charlie, we are so proud of you!!
Outside sport
Gymnastics
We would like to congratulate Grace Hefer on an outstanding achievement. We are proud to announce that Grace became the overall South African gymnastics champion (Level 7). She got gold for beam and on average was top across all four disciplines.
Grace has always been committed and her hard work and dedication is acknowledged.
Keep up the fantastic work, Grace!
Ella van Der Hijden also participated at the SA Gym Games. We are incredibly proud of her. She participated in a big group of 54, finishing 15th overall. She also won a bronze medal for the most beautiful bar routine. Congratulations Ella!!
Amy Teeling-Smith was awarded her Gauteng colours for gymnastics this past weekend at the National Gymnastics Championships.
Congratulations Amy!
Karting
We would like to congratulate Georgia Lenaerts on her recent achievements. She finished 7th in the Rotax SA Karting Championships and 6th in the Africa Open Karting Championships. This is phenomenal achievement.
Well done, Georgia!!
SANESA National Championships
Kingsmead Primary Equestrian riders Francesca Logan, Katherine Papadopoulos and Jade Anderson were selected to represent Gauteng, and competed at the National Championships held 6 to 9 October.
Congratulations to the riders on the following outstanding results:
Jade Anderson:
1st place Open Showjumping level 7
1st place Open Equitation Level 7
Katherine Papadopoulos:
1st place Handy Hunter Level 3
4th place Working Hunter Level 3
Francesca Logan:
3rd place Intermediate Equitation Level 6
Congratulations to all of you for your courage, dedication and enthusiasm whilst training as well as during your competitions. Your hard work does not go unnoticed.
On Friday, 15 October, our Grade 7s will be hosting a fundraiser; ‘2021 Fun-tober Fest’ for all our Grade 0 – 6 students. The event will take place within designated timeslots throughout the school day. This event is a first of its kind and in lieu of the traditional Grade 7 Cake and Candy sales held each year.
A R30 entry fee entitles your daughter to:
• wear civvies on Friday showcasing her ‘funkiest’ colours from her wardrobe,
• play a range of Grade 7 carnival games set up outside the Joel Hall, and
• receive a delicious sweet doughnut at the end of the event.
The cost of R30 will be debited directly to school accounts for all students present at school on Friday. There is no need for your daughter to bring any cash. This is a cashless event.