Dear Parents, Guardians and Staff,
It never ceases to amaze me how synchronous the world is, and I am also sure that you have had a similar experience that when you start seeing something or hearing about something specific, then you seem to “see” that thing everywhere and it appears to you in many different forms.
This happened to me when I was tasked with running the Valentine’s assembly on 14 February this year. The overarching symbol that I kept “seeing” was that of the heart. Which is really not surprising considering that it was Valentine’s Day. In my assembly I looked at all the different types of love and hearts that we use daily in our lives – from the beating of our human hearts to kindness, to love for a pet, to love of a friend, to romantic love. We also use our heart to symbolise one of our main values – Courage.
On the next Monday morning, I attended the Sports Assembly in the Senior School and the sports leaders’ theme was “playing with heart.” Finally, in my admission interviews for Grade 8 2026, many of the students made reference to Kingsmead being the school with heart.
Martha Beck writes the following about synchronous events or symbols:
“Next time you experience an incredible coincidence, keep in mind that your brain is programmed to seek patterns—that’s how your ancestors spotted predators, created language, and remembered the way back to their cave.
Psychiatrist Carl Jung had a term for meaningful coincidences: synchronicity. He wasn’t just talking about interesting surprises, like getting a lottery number that matches your birth date. Synchronicity is what happens when seemingly unrelated events coincide in improbable ways that have some sort of significance for you.”
I encourage you to keep looking for the heart in everything that you do. I certainly will be doing this.
Fond regards,
Lisa Palmer
Executive Head: Kingsmead College
Beyond the Classroom
Arts and Music
KINGSMEAD MASICULE SONKE JUNIOR PRIMARY CHOIR FESTIVAL: WEDNESDAY 19 MARCH 2025
A Reminder to all our Grade 2 and 3 parents of our Kingsmead Masicule Sonke Junior Primary Choir Festival on Wednesday, 19 March, at Rosebank Union Church in Hurlingham. The letter with more information can be found on the app. Click on the date of the event in the Live Calendar.
SAVE THE DATES OF OUR UPCOMING MUSIC CONCERTS
Monday 24 March
Thursday 27 March
Saturday 29 March
18h00-19h00
18h00-19h00
09h00-10h00
10h30-11h30
Grade 4 & 5 Music Concert
Grade 6 & 7 Music Concert
Grade 1 & 2 Music Concert
Grade 3 Music Concert
- Music concerts provide valuable performance opportunities for students who take individual music lessons and have a piece ready to perform at the time of the concert.
- If your daughter does not have a piece ready at the time of the concert, she will have a chance to play later in the year.
- Your daughter’s instrumental teacher will let you know if she is ready to
perform in a concert. - Students who learn an instrument outside of Kingsmead may also participate in our concerts. Reach out to Elsabé Fourie at efourie@kingsmead.co.za
- Students must wear their summer school uniform.
- Meet your teacher at least 15 minutes before the concert starts.
- We expect students to remain until the end of the concert.
Elsabé Fourie
Director of Arts & Music
efourie@kingsmead.co.za
Chatterbox at Kingsmead
On Thursday, 6 March, Kingsmead had the privilege of hosting the Chatterbox Public Speaking Festival. Eight schools participated, each entering 12 students from Grades 4 to 7, giving a total of 96 students the opportunity to showcase their public speaking talents.
We are incredibly proud of our Kingsmead students, who spoke with confidence and eloquence throughout the evening. Congratulations to all on a fantastic performance!
Grade 4 Speakers
Dedani Mahlangu
Ella van Dyk
Gabriella Stephano
Grade 6 Speakers
Mieke Pretorius
Rafaella Karasavvidis
Mahdiya Cassim
Grade 5 Speakers
Aila Hoosen
Anna Herb
Sofia-Lucia Allan
Grade 7 Speakers
Madison Brady
Georgie Kennedy
Kate Redshaw
Sports
Netball Clinic
On Friday, 7 March 2025, the Kingsmead courts were alive with energy and excitement as we hosted our first Grade 4-7 Netball Clinic. With around 150 students participating, the afternoon was filled with fun, skill-building, and teamwork.
A heartfelt thank you to every student who attended, showing great enthusiasm and sportsmanship throughout the clinic. We are also incredibly grateful to the parents for their support and to our dedicated coaches who made the event possible.
The highlight of the afternoon was undoubtedly the friendly matches between the parents and their daughters. Laughter, determination, and a bit of healthy competition made for an unforgettable experience!
We look forward to many more events like this, where we can celebrate our love for sport and bring the Kingsmead community together.
D13 Trials
Well done to the following players for attending the D13 Netball trials which were held at Brescia on Saturday 8 March:
U12
Luthando Kobus
Leah Renshaw
Liani van Lith
Michaela Stephano
Milisuthando Mabusela
Shanaya Tickoo
Grace Cornish-Bowden
U13
Vuyo Mkwanazi
Kate van Dyk
Ava Booth
Keodirelang Maqubela
Francesca Pardini
Lillia Thomas
Thoriso Motshegoa
Further congratulations to Luthando Kobus for being selected to attend the second round of trials. Well done, Luthando!
Hockey
Congratulations to Sarah Jensen and Vuyo Mkwanazi for their participation in the U13 JHL tournament last week. Vuyo, representing the Central Samurais, secured 6th place, while Sarah’s team, the Mzansi Hawks, made it to the semi-finals, narrowly missing out on bronze and finishing 4th.
Furthermore, a special shoutout and congratulations goes to Amelia Kohler, Emma Abdo, and Isolam Sithebe, who played for the Mzansi Hawks U12 team and triumphed in the finals, winning the gold after topping the log. Well done to all the players for their outstanding performances!
Equestrian
Congratulations to Isabel Munro for obtaining 1st place in Dressage (Freestyle) & 2nd place in both novice Dressage classes.
Karate
We are thrilled to announce that Amelia Southey has achieved an outstanding victory at the JKA Karate Trials on 14 March! She won two gold medals — one for Kata and one for Kumite, showcasing her skill, determination, and dedication to the sport.
Her impressive performance has earned her a well-deserved spot on the Gauteng Karate Team, and she will be representing us at the National Championships in May.
Congratulations, Amelia! We are all incredibly proud of you and can’t wait to cheer you on as you take on the best in the country at Nationals. Keep up the fantastic work.
Upcoming Events
29 March: Grade 4 – 7 Netball Fixture
(Grade 4 & 5 – Roedean, Grade 6 & 7 – St Mary’s)
3 – 5 April: St Sithian’s Sports Festival
We are pleased to announce that we will have teams competing in 3 different sporting codes for the festival.
Tennis – Top 6 players
Squash – Top 4 players
Netball – Grade 5A, 6A & 7A
Communication regarding teams & meeting times will be communicated by the teachers in charge of each sport.
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 sport 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/Saturday fixture.
Shavaun Hanekom
Head of Junior School Sport
shanekom@kingsmead.co.za
JP Morgan Corporate Challenge
The JP Morgan Corporate Challenge took place on Thursday 13 March, and 14 staff members from across the school took part in the event.
We were scheduled to run the 5.6km course but walked down from Kingsmead, joining the other 15,000 runners and started through the streets of Melrose – running and walking.
We all looked amazing in our new Kingsmead Running and Walking t-shirts, soon to be available from the school shop – thank you, Karen Landi.
All 14 staff completed the event and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
The fact that the school closed early to assist parents and staff who were not part of the event was also very well received as students were able to take an afternoon off.
Many more staff have asked to join the event for 2026 and we will ensure that the school calendar in 2026 again accommodates this event.
Well done to all the runners and walkers:
o Amy Bunce
o Bianca Meyer
o Bianca Rademacher
o Carolyn Grainger
o Liezel van Lith
o Nobuhle Ngwenya
o Phelokazi Nomvalo
o Philisiwe Malevu
o Roxy Harman-Leak
o Russ Stroud
o Tammy Stippel
o Tessa Stobie
o Tracy Gardner
o Tracey Lee Minnie
Thank you, Kingsmead, for the assistance in entering the team and for our wonderful t-shirts.
To enter, please click on the following link:
https://jgf.org.za/event/kingsmead-young-writers-competition-2025/