Our Connection : Issue 4 2023

Dear Kingsmead Community,

“Let us have wings- wings of courage, far-sightedness, hope and joy, but let us be quite sure that we have roots too. It is no good flying unless you know to what goal to fly” DV Thomson 1945

The increasing responsibility in raising children today can be daunting. It seems that there is an ever-growing list of things to consider in our parenting world. Our children are exposed to many contrasting truths via the internet; conflict and ethical dilemmas are openly shared on radio stations and tv programmes; adult conversations revolve around loadshedding, petrol prices, connectivity and politics. We are invited into spaces as parents to discuss emotional regulation, free-range parenting, the impact of social media, the escalation in teenage vaping, identity, anxiety and now even ChatGPT. It is no surprise that parents and teachers are feeling somewhat exhausted and overwhelmed by the responsibility of raising healthy, happy, independent children.

Where do we even start? While all these external influences are overwhelming, if we were all focused on some basic principles, perhaps we could raise children confidently, despite these new challenges coming at us so quickly. To feel safe in a whirlwind of change, children look to us as their adults. When they feel safe, they learn and grow independently. Safety for children requires attending to their basic needs, but it also means creating boundaries where they know what is expected of them and how to make choices within a framework of expectations. Let us join in teaching our daughters the value of commitment, hard work, ethical decision-making and honesty. Let us focus on our values as a community when discussing choices with our daughters. Without core values, our youth are at risk. Without boundaries, they will feel insecure and anxious. As the adults, we set these boundaries and we are explicit about our expectations.

Our Kingsmead values provide us with a good starting point for conversation.

Possibility: Teach our daughters to use their God-given talents wisely. Our children should be seeking possibility to learn and grow in every experience, both at home and at school. Teach them to look up and see the beauty and wonder the world has to offer.
Responsibility: Let us teach them to take care of themselves, others and their environment. Encourage chores from an early age. Your daughter is a contributing member of your family. She is not a guest. Allow her to help around the house and at school to feel a sense of worth and accomplishment.
Happiness: This is not handed to us on a platter, but rather earned through hard work and commitment. Teach her to stick to her goals and persevere. Teach her about winning and losing. Teach her about helping others find their joy too. It is through this that she will find her own sense of happiness.
Purpose: There is magic in knowing that you have a reason for waking up each day. Ask your daughter what she looks forward to, what she aims to complete; what her purpose is for the day.
Service: Teaching our children about gratitude starts with first understanding the importance of giving generously of her time and energy. Encourage an act of service weekly in your homes. This might even mean smiling, greeting and engaging in meaningful conversation with someone they don’t ordinarily spend time with.
Courage: This looks different for different children. Start with small moments of encouragement. If our daughters feel that they can achieve something today that they couldn’t yesterday, then this is a win. Excellence lies in witnessing progress from one point to another. Courageously stepping up and leaning in, will encourage the type of leadership so necessary in the world today.

Despite what the world is busy doing, let us stay grounded in our values and raise children who have a sense of worth. Children, who can consider the needs of others and make decisions in a safe space where respect for others and self is central, are children who will one day not only contribute to the whirlwind of change, but who will make sense of it.

I do hope that you have all made the time to rest during this half-term break and are excited for the possibilities which lie ahead for the remainder of the first term.

With love and Courage Always,
Kim Lowman
Head: Kingsmead Junior School

Car Park reminders

It is unfortunate that we need to remind our community of the importance of driving carefully within our school premises. Please role model appropriate behaviour and language when engaging with one another. Let us remember to be patient and kind and acutely aware that we have children walking between cars.

A specific reminder of the following road rules:

• Use the pedestrian crossings when crossing the road
• Avoid blocking the pedestrian crossing when parking your car
• Maintain a slow speed when driving within the car park

The safety of our children remains our priority.

Arts & Music

MAJOR PRODUCTION 2023!
The Senior School Major Production forms part of the school’s 90th Birthday celebrations for 2023.

The Custodians of Courage tells Kingsmead College’s story through the eyes of our founder, and other significant women who shaped our history, as well as from the perspective of new Grade 8s.
The script and music were written, composed and shaped for this special event and brought to life by Senior School actors and musicians.

Tickets are available from Quicket: https://www.quicket.co.za/events/208043-kingsmead-college-major-production-custodians-of-courage/#/

R120 for Adults and R90 for students under 18 (students must attend in school uniform)

Matinee Performance: Tuesday, 7 March: 15h00 – 17h00
Opening Night: Wednesday, 8 March: 18h30-20h30
Gala Evening: Thursday 9, March: 18h30-20h30

All performances will take place in the Lange Hall.

The PTA will sell food, snacks and drinks from 45 min before the start of each event as well as during the interval.

Singing Sistas Choir Festival
The Grade 4-7 Choir will be performing at the annual Singing Sistas Choir event on Thursday, 9 March at St Mary’s, Waverley. We are so excited to perform with our neighbouring schools and wish our choir all the best. A letter with more information of this event can be found on the App in the Arts & Music folder as well as the WhatsApp group for Choir parents.

Kingsmead Ensemble Festival
Our own annual Kingsmead Ensemble Festival for junior schools will take place on Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 March in Lange Hall. The Junior School Orchestra will perform on Monday 13 March. These events promise to be a wonderful display of the joy of making music together. There are no tickets or entrance fee, and everyone is welcome to come and support our young musicians. A letter with more information of this event can be found on the App in the Arts & Music folder as well as the WhatsApp group for Choir parents.

Upcoming Music Concert:

The Music department offers termly concerts for students who take individual music lessons. These concerts cannot include every music student in our school but provide a performance opportunity for those students who have a piece ready to perform at the time of the concert. If your daughter does not have a piece performance ready at the time of the concert, she hasn’t missed her chance! We also have class concerts, assembly performance opportunities and many more concerts during the year. Your daughter’s instrumental/voice teacher will let you know should your daughter be ready to play in the concert. Should your daughter take lessons privately, outside of Kingsmead, and would like to participate in any of these concerts, please contact Mia Loock via email: mloock@kingsmead.co.za

Students must wear their summer school uniform for these concerts and be at the Joel Hall at least 10 minutes before the start of the concert, or as indicated by their teacher.

Sport

As we return after a restful half-term break, I would like to remind parents of the change over of our extra-curricular sport schedule. Our priority sports for Term 1B are netball, tennis (Top 10 on ladder) & squash as we prepare for the upcoming seasons/tours.

Netball – All students are welcome to attend the netball sessions as well as trials which will take place during the practise sessions as we prepare for the upcoming season.

Tennis – We will continue with tennis practise on Monday morning for the top 10 players on the ladder. These players will continue with practise in preparation for the St Stithian’s Sport Festival as well as the very exciting Tennis Tour later on this year.

Squash – There is an additional team squash session for the players who will be preparing for the St Stithian’s Sport Festival as well as the weekly fixtures which will take place in Term 2. Please refer to the App for the list of students required to attend this session.

We encourage students to participate in at least 1 summer sport as well as 1 winter sport and we would love to have parents behind us encouraging your daughters to participate.

If you have any queries, please feel free to email me shanekom@kingsmead.co.za

Swimming
On Wednesday 15 February, our swimmers participated in the Valentine’s Night Gala which took place at St Stithian’s. We looked amazing both on the stands and in the pool. The swimmers’ spirits were high, and they were hungry for 1st place in each race. Congratulations to the swimmers that participated and placed 4th out of the 11 schools. The results were as follows:
1st St Mary’s Waverley
2nd St Andrew’s
3rd St Peter’s
4th Kingsmead
5th Brescia
6th APPS
7th Holy Rosary
8th St Stithian’s A
9th St Mary’s DSG
10th Roedean
11th St Stithian’s B
As we approach the end of the season, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our parents for the unbelievable support that we have received at the galas. The swimmers have made us extremely proud, and we wish them all the best for the inter-school’s gala taking place on Saturday, 4 March.

Tennis
After a long wait of not playing due to rain, the tennis girls were excited to play their fixture against St Stithian’s. The A and B team players, unfortunately, did not manage to play full matches due to rain, however, the C and D teams gave their best and played beautifully.

Kingsmead also played in the annual Inter-Schools Tennis Festival last weekend. The matches were played at various schools in their grades. The players were excited to compete, and they showed courage and played exceptionally well. We are very proud of them.

Hockey
Congratulations to Zenoyise Gqoli who has been selected for the u12 D9 Hockey team. This is a great achievement. Well done, Zenoyise!

Service

Thank you so much to our amazing Kingsmead community for their incredible generosity on Footloose Friday. We collected just under 2000 pairs of shoes for our community engagement partners who are all extremely grateful.

Lauren Myburgh
Junior School Head of Service