A note from Kirsten Legg
Head of the OKA
The Old Kingsmeadian Association (OKA) has hardly drawn breath between functions this year. In the first term, we held a very successful Bridge Drive in the Lange Hall. Amazing prizes were donated for this event.
In March, we held our very first Let’s Connect breakfast at the Arbour Cafe in Birdhaven (owned by a Kingsmead Old Girl). It was a lovely morning sharing memories of special times at Kingsmead and what each of us has achieved since school. Great connections were made; with two girls now working together.
In the second term, the sensational Dads’ and Daughters’ Dance took place. The theme was Frozen, and the hall looked beautiful. The tickets were sold out in two days. The food was catered for by a Kingsmead mother, Sandy Wood. Sandy pulled out all the stops, even flying her sister up from Cape Town to help with the massive task of feeding 125 Girls and their Dads. The girls looked very beautiful dancing with their proud fathers. It was a night to be remembered!
Frank and Nomathemba Magwegwe
Another Let’s Connect breakfast took place at Voodoo Lily, previously owned by a Kingsmead Old Girl, but now owned by a Kingsmead family who have a daughter in the Junior School. Old Kingsmeadians love networking at these meetings and we intend to make them a regular event.
In the third term, we organised the annual Old Girls’ Lunch. We hosted a very special group of ladies who celebrated their 40th reunion and a group who celebrated their 20th reunion that day. We had a photo booth set up so that each table could capture the special event. Caroline in the Kitchen catered for the lunch. Caroline Waddams is also a Kingsmead Old Girl. She made us incredibly proud and the food was sensational as always. Please try to support businesses run by Kingsmead Old Girls whenever you can.
Back row: From Left: Neryne Burgess (Maiden name Prevost), Ann (Steyn) Taylor,
Rev Hansie Wolmarans, Eliane Lidchi, Cathy van Niekerk (Beard), Vanessa Rosseau(Hefer), Julie
Rathbone (Westwood), Suzanne Poorter (Lowson), Karyn Poltera (Pryke), Shonagh Levieux (Garrett)
Middle Row: Rosemary Bultermann (Shave), Penny Southey (Venter), Hazel Coetzee
Front Row: Wendy Adams (Rowe), Lynne Mackie (Hancock), Sue Perbrick
(Dunningham).
Seymour Smith attended the lunch as an honorary guest and as a “Kingsmead Old Girl”. Seymour was the groundsman at Kingsmead for 27 years and is still working as a groundsman, at Montrose Primary.
Maureen Ellis, who is retiring as facilities manager after 17 years, and Seymour Smith.
I spoke about my new-found passion after my teaching career is creating bouquets of flowers whereby I attach the meaning to each flower on a tag so that a message is created for the recipient.
In the 1800’s, in England people ‘spoke’ through a language of flowers. Everyone knew the meaning of each and every flower and so they gave bouquets with meaning.
The Kingsmead Rose, which is a magnificent cream rose, means thoughtfulness. At Kingsmead we were constantly taught to be thoughtful about others’ feelings, to those that are underprivileged and to those physically suffering through no fault of their own.
The second rose I spoke about was the red rose which we all know means love but it also means respect. May we all hold Kingsmead close to our hearts forever, with love.
I spoke about the orange rose next which means fascination and a spirit of gratitude. There was a lovely saying that I recently read that struck me. It said, “It doesn’t matter if the glass is half full, or half empty, the important thing to remember is that it is refillable”.
May we always see an opportunity in everything that comes our way.
The white rose means innocence and eternal love. I wish that you all feel appreciated and loved.
The yellow rose means friendship and joy. The fact that so many Old Girls attended the lunch shows how important their school friends are to them after leaving school, which for some of them is over 60 years ago. Peggy Garrett, who is 92-years old now, attended the lunch. What a blessing to have such a special lady in our midst.
Margaret “Peggy” Tingle Garratt (1941) at the annual Old Kingsmeadian luncheon. Peggy was a boarder and her headmistress was our founder, DV Thompson.
Peggy’s daughters and granddaughters were also present.
Lastly, I mentioned the pink rose which means perfect happiness. I wished everyone perfect happiness in their marriages, workplaces, with their children, and with their parents and friends. The tables were decorated with many different coloured roses and amongst the roses were cardboard bunnies with pink and green ribbons around their necks. They were to remind the Old Girls to reproduce as many little girls as possible so that the legacy of Kingsmead could continue.
On the 26th August, Jane Scott Grounds, one of Kingsmead’s special Headmistresses, passed away at the wonderful age of 96. Her husband passed away a week later. I had the privilege of attending her memorial service and what a beautiful tribute it was to her. Mrs Grounds will be fondly remembered by all who knew her.
This year would not have been as successful if it wasn’t for the unwavering support of our Headmistress, Lisa Kaplan, the dynamic Marketing Department led by Old Kingsmeadian Hayley Pienaar (Schonborn, 1988) and Lara Greeff; my committee Lara Braun, Lara Buttifant-Sewel, Bronwyn Roberts, Linda Courtnay, Caroline Berry, Vicky Newton-King, Milano Visser and Tayla Golach, Gillian Wilkinson, Maureen Ellis, Derek Hird and the Kingsmead Council. Thank you for all you have done for the Old Girls’ Association. It was all greatly appreciated.
If any of your contact details change, please e-mail Lara Greeff at lgreeff@kingsmead.co.za. We do not want to loose contact with you.
Let’s remember all that Kingsmead has taught us. We have so much to be grateful for. I look forward to meeting many more of you next year. We will be sending out Save-the-Dates each term, so that Old Girls are given the opportunity to see Kingsmead as it is today and all that it has to offer.
Free and loyal yet, we will not forget, the ideals we cherish today.
(DV Thompson)
God speed
Kirsten Legg (Jasper, 1987)
Kirsten Legg (Jasper) addresses the Old Girls at the annual reunion lunch.
Annual Speech Evening 2015:
Lisa Kaplan’s Address
Good evening Doctor Ord and Mr and Mrs Ord; Mr Kabuya and Council members, past and present, past Heads of school, staff, parents and a special welcome to the girls of Kingsmead College and to our Matric class of 2015.
The world is indeed topsy turvey and seemingly in more of a mess than ever before. David Remnick – a prominent New York journalist – who is a social commentator, says: “The world is a crazy, beautiful, ugly complicated place, and it keeps moving on from crisis to strangeness to beauty to weirdness to tragedy.”
Man’s humanity to man is being questioned on every front. More than ever we need to be giving our girls the skills they need to deal with the world in which they will find themselves and more than ever they will need to make a valuable contribution to the world.
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day in March was “Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity: Picture it!”
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s message for this day was: “When we unleash the power of women, we can secure the future for all.”
And this brings me to my theme for this evening – Unleashing the power of women. Everything we do at Kingsmead must be designed to build girls’ confidence and to encourage the girls to make a difference in whatever they ultimately choose to do.
International Women’s Day was established more than 100 years ago, and – despite concerted efforts to reduce inequality and discrimination based on gender – it still needs to be an event of significance around the world.
While considerable progress regarding gender equality has been made in most Western nations, there is still a lack of women in public life, on Boards and as CEOs of public companies.
I, however, don’t believe that statistics alone can explain the ongoing prevalence of gender inequality. A much bigger question that we need to answer is how much is a consequence of that universal, uniquely female internal block, described as ‘fear of failure’, ‘lack of confidence’, ‘self-doubt’ or ‘lack of self-belief’?
Sheryl Sandberg in her book, “Lean In”, says that often this is created by women themselves and we need to guard against this happening. A quote from her book says the following: “If you ask men why they did a good job, they’ll say, “I’m awesome. Obviously. Why are you even asking?” if you ask women why they did a good job, what they’ll say is someone helped them, they got lucky, they worked really hard.” We need to be seeing and telling ourselves how obviously awesome we are.
We let ourselves down when we also worship certain role models.
I have always seen it as a tragic commentary on our culture that not one, but a whole herd of Kardashians are famous. They have their own shows, clothing lines, perfume – you name it. It defies logic. They are good at very little except being very, very, good at marketing. The sad part is not that the Kardashians are so successful, but for some unknown reason, we have made them that way.
What we value in our role models, our celebrities, our sports stars, is not necessarily because of who they are, or more importantly, what they give back to the world.
We have to look for authentic leadership – where the leader knows herself before she can lead others. This is important to grow in our own girls.
We need to identify women who can provide role models and help the next generation overcome the peculiarly female lack of self-belief if we are to enable our society to progress.
Every year I mention risk-taking and girls – and I encourage our girls and our parents not to be afraid of failure.
In the book, “The Romance of Risk: Why Teenagers Do the Things That They Do,” Dr. Lynn Ponton writes: “Adolescents, take risks as a way of developing and defining themselves. Risk-taking is the major tool that adolescents use to shape their identities.”
Because life is full of risks. Navigating through them effectively fosters confidence. Understanding what risk entails, weighing the options and deciding when to take the leap is a necessary skill to develop in order to succeed in life.
What if I raise my hand in class when the answer is really wrong? What if I apply for university and I do not get in? What if I get an interview for a job but it’s in another part of the country? Should I travel overseas? We want our girls to be able to make those choices—not out of fear, but out of a realistic understanding of the risks and the benefits, in keeping with their values and dreams.
In line with girls unleashing their power, I have compiled a list of female anthems that I think should be belted out by every girl:
“Brave” Sara Bereilles
“Beautiful” Christina Aguilera
“Roar” Katy Perry
“Fight Song” Rachel Platten
“Stronger” Kelly Clarkson
“I am invincible” Cassadee Pope
Music and lyrics aside, as educationalists, we have a responsibility and an obligation to support the next generation in helping them build their self-esteem and in recognising that they can and should aspire to be what they want to be.
The challenge for 21st century educators is to prepare the next generation of young people for their lives as adults in a world which none of us can envisage.
I am proud that at Kingsmead we are not just meeting, but embracing this challenge through our exceptional teaching and learning, delivered by a most superb staff, in what can only be described as a world-class learning environment.
We have committed to developing “world-ready women” and it is a huge privilege to be entrusted with this responsibility. At Kingsmead we are focused on developing and guiding values needed to shape their future and contribute meaningfully to both local and global communities.
Our recent strategic planning sessions, which looked ahead to 2020, will position Kingsmead at the forefront of ongoing innovation and achievement providing students with a world-leading education, which will open doors into exciting and fast-paced futures.
I was recently struck by a BBC article entitled “The role of women and youth in discovering Homo Naledi.”
The expedition in the beginning was largely dominated by female scientists who could fit through an 18cm wide cave opening. Talk about unleashing the power of women.
It now falls on me to mention the staff who will be retiring at the end of this year. They have in total accumulated almost 89 years of service at Kingsmead and we thank each one for her contribution to the school in so many different ways. We will be holding farewells for these ladies to pay tribute to them and to express our immense gratitude for the roles they have played.
Maureen Ellis – 17 years
Jenny Dugmore – 18 years
Dossie Southey – 26 years 8 months
Linda Pines – 28 years
Thank you to the Council, led ably by Phillip Myburgh, for their guidance this year and for the role they have played in the strategic planning of the school.
To the PTA under the superb leadership of Nasira Vallee and Lee Baylis; to the OKA under Kirsten Legg – it has been wonderful working with all these ladies in their various roles.
To the staff – the admin, service and academic staff – you are lauded for your commitment to the school in all respects. To Cyril Mitchley and to Maureen Ellis and their teams of staff – I am sure you would all agree that the campus is looking magnificent and the functions are always superb.
To the Whole School Executive team and, in particular to Sue MacEwan, thank you for the many debates and exciting changes we have made this year. To Saartjie Venter – it has been wonderful working with you as my Deputy Head. You really have the well-being of our girls in your core.
And then to the Matrics: I would like to end with lines from a poem about a heart by ee cummings, as this is our symbol for courage at Kingsmead. Carry Kingsmead and all it has taught you in our heart and with love and courage, you will be able to unleash your own individual power and will certainly make a difference in the world.
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)…
i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)
Leigh Ord, Ashleigh Ord, Lisa Kaplan, Kate Ord and Jeremy Ord
Gillian Wilkinson, Margaret Edwards and Maureen Ellis
The announcement of the
Larraine Segil Scholarship
Click to see the Motivational Video
Chantel Maina and Georgie Taylor, joint Scholarship winners.
Jenny Dugmore’s Farewell Speech,
Thursday 5 November 2015
Today I would like to take you on a brief journey through the past, down memory lane, as seen through my eyes.
Picture the scene- the year 1998, entering the Kingsmead gate. On the left, three lovely old cottages. The first was occupied by Gillian Wilkinson- she was often seen in her garden, surrounded by her precious rabbits. Cuddling these bunnies soothed many an unhappy child. The second and third cottages were home to the Facilities Manager Mrs Greenwood and the chef Mrs Kennedy. I often spotted them sitting on their verandahs, purring cat on knee or chef’s hat on head. Mrs Kennedy was really fierce, but was a wonderful cook! One of our greatest treats was at Christmas time when all the staff were allowed into her kitchen to have a stir of her famous Kingsmead Christmas pudding.
On the right was the old house called Seven Pines. It also had a history serving as a boarding house, but it was the place where I first started as a Grade 0 teacher in a large echoey room with a high ceiling. Ann Garven had pride of place at the front door and I still smile at the occasions when Sue and I felt that possibly the friendly ghost had been creaking up and down the passage or moving in the ceiling.
In those days school ended at 4pm. One of my afternoon duties was enrichment- teaching the older girls to knit with Di. We spent most of the lesson picking up dropped stitches and fixing holes! What a mission that was!
While Seven Pines was being pulled down and the new office block and the Junior Primary and Grade 0 block were being built, I moved with my Grade 0 class and the second of the Grade 0 classes to a house called The Warren near the old swimming pool. That pool is of course now the Waterpolo pool. Lizzie was my teaching assistant right from the start and it has been wonderful to see her grow and develop into the competent isiZulu teacher that she is today. After Lizzie, Surprise assisted me and we spent many happy and fun-filled times together with the girls and Charmaine Stewart.
I have so many flashes of very happy memories of this wonderful school. I remember Mr Mayne the bursar in his best suit striding down the driveway to chase away the ‘hooligans’ as he called them – the boys who had come to visit our Matric girls! I remember having a birthday ring for a girl in my Grade 0 class. Generally just the parents attended this special occasion, but that day her birthday ring was attended by her parents, grandparents, carer, and her enormous Great Dane dog. During the birthday ring the school alarm suddenly went off and we had to evacuate the classroom and all line up on the field. I remember the incredible visit to our school by Nelson Mandela. I remember him walking into the hall holding onto Sue’s arm for support. A once in a lifetime happening for me.
My journey down memory lane includes 15 wonderful years of teaching in Grade 0. During my years of being head of the Foundation Phase, Mornington became the Bluebell and Buttercup home. I have seen the Music Block and Sports Centre being built and the renovation of the Senior Primary classrooms. I have been delighted to witness and be part of the amazing transformation of the Media Centre and Joel Hall. This has been the cherry on the top for me!
When I came to Kingsmead there were about 200 girls. Today we have over 500 girls in the Junior School. From one class in each grade we have increased to three in January. Kingsmead’s reputation as a school of quality has certainly spread.
I love the gardens, the buildings, I love the girls, the staff and the community. Please note that I use the present tense, love not loved, as these will always be in my heart forever. And now the time has finally come for me to slow down a little and spend more time with my patient kind husband Alan and my wonderful family, my son Warren and Kirsten, my son Stuart and Lau , my daughter Leanne and her husband Warren. Most of all, my two little granddaughters Kylie and Lexi and my two new granddaughters who will be born in January. Thanks to my sister Pam, Allan and Craig for all their support and interest in me and Kingsmead over the years. My grateful thanks to you all for sharing my journey.
Finally words are never enough to express the immense gratitude that one feels to so many people. Maureen thank you for bringing me to this very special place and for the superb tea this afternoon. You always add a special touch. To Jenny Mundell, Mandy Mitchley and Charisse Le Roux. No one can explain the camaraderie and support that we had together over the years. Thank you also more recently to Sue MacKeown and Ingrid Beekhuizen. I wish Irene Ilsley everything of the best as the new JP leader.
The wonderful ladies in the office Shamila and Anne. Sorry Shamila that Anne and I never learnt to photostat back to back!
Thank you to the precious Kingsmead Staff both in Senior and Junior school. To the teacher assistants, admin staff and support staff- you are all just awesome. Thank you to Philip Myburgh and the Council. Thanks to Stella and the PTA and also the generous and caring parents. I have got to know many of you well over the years and taught many of your daughters. Thank you to Georgie and Marina and all the wonderful Kingsmead girls. The best part of my teaching at Kingsmead has been teaching most of you girls. You are all very special. Lisa Kaplan thank you for always caring, for your lovely sense of humour and always supporting our Junior Primary, Grade 0, Bluebell and Buttercup concerts.
And then to a very special person- Sue MacEwan. Thank you for 19 wonderfully happy years at Kingsmead. Sue, your strength, support and tremendous wisdom make you the incredible leader that you are. I value so much all that I have learnt from you over the years. Thank you for always believing in me and your interest in and kindness towards my family. You have listened intently to all my family related stories and you know each member of my family by name!!
Together we have tried to epitomise the values and ethos that Miss Thompson planned so carefully.
I would like to close my journey down memory lane with three quotes from Audrey Hepburn.
“I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls.”
“I believe in being strong when things go wrong.”
“I believe that tomorrow is another day…”
Jenny Dugmore
Thinking
Ingrid Beekhuizen
July marked one year since we received our accreditation as a Thinking School from Exeter University. Since we started our Thinking journey in 2010, it has been wonderful to see how the thinking tools and strategies have become an integral part of learning at Kingsmead.
We have changed our thinking with regards to intelligence, by continuing to work at developing a school environment that supports a growth mindset. Thus, learning is seen to be a process of asking questions, developing effective learning strategies and reflecting on ways to improve.
To encourage collaborative learning and deepen the teachers’ and girls’ understanding of the “Habits of Mind”, we embarked on a project involving all the grades in the form of the ‘Inyoni Indaba’. This aided us in making Thinking visible at Kingsmead.
The Drive Team invited girls from each grade to help in planning the next stage of our Thinking journey. They were asked the following questions: What have you got out of Thinking at Kingsmead so far? What should we be doing that we are not doing yet? How do we freshen up Inyoni for spring? These were a few of their insightful responses:
‘Inyoni needs a friend because we get help from others when we learn.’
‘Inyoni’s friend should not be a bird, because we all learn in different ways’.
‘Inyoni should have colourful feathers because she represents all the Habits of Mind that we learn about.
‘We loved the Thinking lessons because they were fun and they gave us a time to relax and talk about our thinking and feelings about learning.’
‘We would like to form a Kids’ Drive Team and meet with other Thinking schools to hear about how they are learning about thinking.’
Arts 2015
The Drama Department started the year’s Arts activities, staging a feminized version of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar entitled CAESAR. This was an enormous undertaking of a complex theatre piece and the girls impressed with demanding physical theatre scenes and confidence in their rendition of the Shakespearian characters. They displayed depth in their understanding of the themes of the text and evidently engaged successfully with this challenging work. The Art and Drama Departments worked together to create the setting of a woman’s prison and enormous thanks go to the teachers involved; Mrs Frances Wilmot and Ms Lynette Jonker for the time and effort to guide the girls in putting this production together.
Amukelani Mnisi
A first for Kingsmead this year was entering the 2015 POP Poetry Challenge. This is a slam poetry competition – slam poetry is the competitive art of performance poetry. Kingsmead entered two teams who performed original poems with passion. The girls were 1 point short of making the top 10 finalists – not bad for the first year of competing. We hope to compete in 2016 with more girls and achieve a place in the top 10.
In the second term, a small cast of Kingsmead girls participated in this year’s Festival of Excellence in Dramatic Arts (FEDA) – Kingsmead’s second year of participating. The girls directed and performed a piece called The Weirdest Honeymoon Ever and the audience was truly delighted. Some of the feedback from the adjudicators was how pleased they were to see a good old-fashioned piece of entertaining theatre for a change, and commended the girls for their commitment to their roles. Certificates were awarded to the cast members for Excellence in Acting.
In the third term, the Grade 12 Drama pupils presented their final IEB Practical Examinations, and their dedication to excellence and thorough preparation ensured that their performances were of the highest quality. Just before half term, the Grade 11’s staged an Original Works Festival. The Drama pupils created original pieces of theatre based on the techniques of Workshop Theatre and Bertolt Brecht’s Epic Theatre. Their pieces were issues-based and dealt with areas of life that the girls feel are directly relevant to them and their immediate society. Their courageous and thought-through work is testament to long hours of committed hard work.
The Art department continues to intrigue with their interesting and thought provoking sight specific Art. The Grade 12’s end of year exhibition was, as always, a wonderful display of talent and hard work.
During the 1st term, we participated in the Annual Speech and Drama College of South Africa Public Speaking Festival. Our Grade 8 teams, with guidance from Ms Lisa Van der Want, achieved an A s and A+ for their speeches. The Grade 9 teams, with the guidance of Mrs Dossie Southey, achieved an outstanding A+. The Grade 10’s, under the guidance of Mrs Janine Lovatt, were awarded an A and the 2nd team a B+. Our experienced Grade 11 teams both achieved A symbols. The Grade 12’s, with Mrs Bronwen Roberts’ help, achieved an A. With the guidance of Ms Suzanne Cambitzis, who heads up Public Speaking, our Prestige Team attained an A+ in the grueling elite Trophy division of the festival. Minyon Ferrero, our Head of Public Speaking, achieved an A+ in the Individual Speakers’ Event. Palesa Mogodi was congratulated on being an excellent MC and Naledi Mmoledi was thanked for her accurate timing and co-ordination of the impromptu speeches.
In Debating, Kingsmead participated in the SACEE debating league. The Junior Team made it through to the Provincial championship that took place in May. They participated against 49 other schools and ranked 10th overall, which is especially impressive considering that most other teams were Grade 9s with far more experience that our girls. The Senior team fiercely debated in the SACEE Provincial Championships in June, winning four out of six debates. They ranked 6th overall and made it through to the provincial quarter-finals. Both the Senior and Junior team were invited to participate in the Gauteng Provincial Schools’ Debating Championship 2015. While we entered untested teams, who participated in a grueling two-day tournament in September, it proved a wonderful growth opportunity for all who took part. Special mention must be made of Amelia Warren. Over her five years at Kingsmead College, she has continued to shatter all previous precedents for achievement in this Extra-Curricular activity. This year, she has represented Kingsmead and South Africa with grit and humility. One of her many highlights this year included making up part of the South African team at the Eurasian Schools Debating Championship in Istanbul, Turkey. Our national team won the overall competition, with Amelia placed 4th overall. She also participated in the World Schools Debating Championship in Singapore in July, where she was an integral part of the South African delegation. After an incredible quarterfinal round they were knocked out by the host nation, Singapore, who went on to ultimately win the championship.
Amelia warren
The Music department had much to celebrate this year. Our Choirs, Orchestra and Ensembles participated in our usual annual events: ‘Singing Sistas’ for the Choir and Glee Group; the Interschool’s Orchestras Festival with OWLAG, Trinity House and St Stithians in Term 1; the 11th Kingsmead Senior Schools’ Orchestra & Ensemble Festival; two wonderful evenings with St David’s and St John’s; and our Marimba Ensembles participated in the International Marimba and Steelpan Festival & Competition in Term 2. Our Choir and Glee participated in the Interschools’ Choir Festival in Term 3; not to mention all the Music performances at school events, such as Goodwill Day, Speech Night, school concerts and assemblies.
The Choir toured to Cape Town in April, which was a brilliant week of concerts while having fun, exploring the tourist attractions on offer in the Mother city.
We are particularly proud of some of our girls’ exceptional achievements. This was a year that stands out because of the truly remarkable accomplishments of a few of our musicians. Mbali Masinga was placed third in the annual ‘Viebz’ contemporary Music competition. Jessica Storey and Jocasta Durr achieved the highest result for their respective Rockschool examinations nationally. Many of our instrumentalists participated in the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra Company Orchestras & Ensembles: Amy Stessl, Georgia Burnett, Cayley Fitzgerald, Marilena Boutselis, Caitlin Gallagher and Mikayla Tolksdorff.
Cayley Fitzgerald performed as a soloist with the Randburg Symphony Orchestra and participated in the National Artscape Music Competition in Cape Town, where she went through to the semi-finals.
Georgia Burnett performed as a soloist with the Randburg Symphony Orchestra. She participated in the National Artscape Music Competition in Cape Town, where she went through to the semi-finals, and also performed as a soloist with Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra.
Amy Stessl toured briefly again with the MIAGI Youth Orchestra at the beginning of the year; was the winner of the Roedean Lovemore Music Competition and one of six finalists in National Muziq Competition; was invited to perform as a soloist with the KZN Symphony Orchestra, and participated in the National Artscape Music Competition in Cape Town where she went trough to the finals and ended 2nd in her category, a truly magnificent achievement for a young musician. While preparing for all of these events, she still managed to write the Grade 6 UNISA Theory examination and achieved an excellent distinction. It is rare for one school to produce musicians of this caliber all at once, and these girls are commended on their incredible hard work and dedication to constantly strive to be the best they can be.
Cayley Fitzgeral, Amy Stessl and Georgia Burnett
Sporting Achievements
Many of our girls made the Gauteng teams in hockey and netball.
Hockey
U18B Southern Hockey team- Mohini Rayment
u16D Southern Hockey team: Jamie-Lee Clogg , Anyah Shah
U16B Gryphons Hockey team: Naledi Modiselle
U14C Gauteng Indoor Hockey: Emma Davis, Tayla Schwegmann, Kristen Eddison
Orlanda Amoes, Mohini Rayment, Jamie-Lee Clogg and Anya Shah
Netball
The under 14 and 13 netball teams won their leagues and made it to top 8 schools district play-offs.
Sandton Indoor Netball u14A: Natalya Meyerowitz, Palesa Malebana,
Sandton Indoor Netball u14B: Aleksandra Marek, Jessica Shephard, Ntsoaki Masinga
Sandton Indoor Netball u16A: Frances Butcher, Carina Afonso, Olivia Chalwin-Milton, Jocasta Durr
Sandton Indoor Netball u17A: Nkati Makelane
Equestrian
Many girls made the Gauteng teams as well as National colours team: Paula Duggan, Giverny Lugard, Jessica Winn, Annabel Dennison, Ashley Pretorius
Paula Duggan
Waterpolo
Gauteng u16B: Robyn Blackwell
Dancing
Hip Hop dancing South African team: Annabelle Eedes
Annabelle Eedes
Diving
Some girls selected to attend World Juniors Championships in London
Gauteng Diving Team: Olivia van Vollenhoven
Sarah Benning
Gymnastics
Senior colours Artistic gymnastics: Vutomi Mageza Level 4 u14, Clair Naidoo Level 6, u12
Tennis
Our Tennis Team was promoted to the Premier League; and we built new courts across the road.
Swimming
A few girls competed in the CGA galas and achieved great results
Storm Hansen
Our Coaches were chosen and exposed to International sports- Dominique Philippopoulos and Tracey Minnie.
Matric Leavers’ lunch
Annabel Greig, Christopher Greig, Old Kingsmeadian Susan Greig, Gillian Wilkinson and Lisa Kaplan
Lisa van der Want, Saartje Venter, Lisa Kaplan and Piers Cruickshanks
It has become a tradition that; after the final Matric assembly, the girls of the school form an arch. The Matric girls follow the arch from Lange Hall to the Chapel where they each ring the Thomspon Bell – symbolising their exit from the school
Old Kingsmeadian Kate Sidley and Alexandra Sidley
NEWS ITEMS
1945
Helene Gonski (Kornovsky) Head Girl. Helene mentioned how often she still thinks of her wonderful years at Kingsmead as a boarder. Helene is so grateful for the broad education she received. Helene has written books on grandparents and run groups for grandparents. She has five grandchildren, and she thinks that grandchildren will be the topic for her next book. She lives in Australia.
1950
Six old Kingsmeadians from the class of 1950 met up in October for their 65th reunion. They were Pam Jameson (Kimbell), Gerry Gallow (Shield), Binkey Matter (Hams), Donna Frost (Airth), Ursula Ratcliffe, Irene Menell (Mandleson). Their classmates Joss Berman and Marita Glenton live in Cape Town.
1952
Merileen Marsberg (Wepener). Merileen recently turned 80. Her family organised a trip for her to England. Two of her children, Barbara and Kevin and their families live there as well as her elder daughter and husband James were there from Perth and her eldest son Alan came from Johannesburg. They spent a week together in France. It was the first time they’ve been together in 13½ years. Merileen lives in East London in a retirement home.
1971
Mary Cassidy (Barkhuysen). Mary lives in Reading in Berkshire and she works as a school librarian in an independent primary school. All of her children are over 21 but still living at home. Two of her children work in London. Church commitments are an important part of her life. Margy Spradbury, Mandy Spiegel, Jenny Finlay and Rose Long live in the South of England and they meet occasionally. Even more occasionally they meet up with MA Ruticiman from Australia. Margy Thennis who lives in Umhlanga Rocks visited Mary in London recently too.
1972
Claire Gebers (Heney). Claire has lived in Brisbane for the past eight years. She works as a pathologist in clinical microbiology and is involved in the diagnosis of infectious diseases. Claire enjoys travel, photography, Bible Study and teaching (www.revealingyeshua.org.za). Claire can be contacted on cgerbers@gmail.com.
1975
June Denny (Jameson). June lives in the UK. June was Head Girl in her year, even though she confesses to have been very naughty. June had the privilege of doing the reading at Ms Paver’s funeral. The birth announcement of quite a few of June’s friends classmates were mentioned in her 1958 magazine too.
1976
Shan Muller (Marais). Shan has been married to Dave Muller for 33 years. They have two children, Garreth and Ashleigh. Garreth is married to Monika and they have a son Dylan. Shan did a law degree and she has been doing the school fee collections exemptions for Bryanston High School for the past 14 years. Shan lives on a farm in Lanseria where they farm honey and sheep as a hobby for when they retire. Shan can be contacted on shanmuller@bryanston.com.
1977
Lisa de St. Croix. Lisa lives in Santa FE, New Mexico, USA. Lisa has two sons Noah 24 and Simon 22. She has published an award winning Tarot deck and Lisa has exhibited her paintings . She teaches art workshops internationally. Lisa can be contacted on lisadestcroix@hotmail.com.
1978
Patricia Taylor (Vieyra). Patricia is married with four grown up children. Two are girls and two are boys. The boys are studying at Stellenbosch and the girls are working. Patricia lives in Cape Town. Patricia and her husband own the Henry Taylor Gallery and they deal in SA investment art. Patricia runs a blog/website with her two daughters called Life Retreat which is aimed to inspire their readers to live healthy, happy lives. Patricia published a book last year and is writing another book on motherhood.
1978
Bev Jacobs (Collins). Bev pursues a career in Human Resources. Bev has been with TFE (The Foschini Group) since 1990. Bev is currently the Head of Human Resources for the Africa Division. Bev travels to Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Swaziland, Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho, Nigeria and Namibia. Bev has twin boys who are 16 and are at Rondebosch Boys High School, where they live in the Cape.
1980
Ceri Von Ludwig (Tilch). Ceri practises as a divorce, family and mediations attorney. She has her own practice in Sandton. Ceri has been married for 16 years to Carl who is an aircraft maintenance engineer. They both ride horses of which they have 4 and 6 dogs.
1981
Karen Martin
Writer
I graduated in 2014 from Syracuse University’s top-ranking creative writing MFA programme, where I worked with poets Michael Burkard, Christopher Kennedy, Brooks Haxton and Bruce Smith, novella expert Brian Evenson, novelists Arthur Flowers, Rivka Galchen and Dana Spiotta, visual artist Juan Juarez, memoirist and poet Mary Karr, writer-activist Minnie-Bruce Pratt and short story writer George Saunders. Jonathan Franzen and Zadie Smith visited. I have also worked with veteran writing teacher Lesley Cowling in Johannesburg. And online with short-short writer and poet Barbara Henning and personal narratives teacher extraordinaire Anja Achtenberg. The gifts to me of these devoted teachers, inspiring artists and high order human beings are what I want to share in my Highveld Reading and Writing Studios.
My fiction won me a fellowship at the Norman Mailer Writers Colony, where I worked with Jeffery Renard Allen. I also won an artist’s residency at the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild. Caine Prize winner EC Osondu awarded my 2013 short story “Re-Enactments” the Stone Canoe prize for an emerging fiction writer in Upstate New York. My first work was published in ITCH in 2010. In 2010, I was also ITCH’s e-intern.
Writing Teacher
At Syracuse University, I taught critical reading and academic writing to undergraduates, as well as a literature appreciation class. I taught fiction to a summer class for high school students. My MFA in Creative Writing required participation in three semester-long workshops, which included written and verbal presentations on my fellow writers’ work, and focused group discussions on aspects of literary craft. I took classes in the short story, memoir, Proust, Ulysses, the novella, contemporary American fiction, Western poetry, the visual arts, music and writing, and literary hoodoo, among others. These seminars required close reading, and written and verbal presentations.
Editor
The anthology I developed and co-edited, Queer Africa: New and Selected Fiction, won the prestigious 2014 Lambda Literary Award for a fiction anthology, the first African book to win a “Lammy”. Queer Africa 2 is in the making.
Technical Editor
I have 20 years’ experience as a freelance technical editor. Among my specialities is Plain English, and I am highly regarded for my interpretive skills. My clients include the South African National Treasury and other government departments, civil society organisations, research institutes, museums, and individual writers. I have international accreditation in copy editing, and I am a member of the UK Society for Editors and Proofreaders and the South African Professional Editors’ Guild.
Karen Martin
1984
Linda Courtenay (Kelly). Linda is married to Tim. Linda has two daughters at Kingsmead. Linda studied at UCT and then at Wits.
1986
Diana Sanderson. Diana is currently working at Camerastuff as a PA/Project Manager. Diana teaches swimming and does professional photography. Diana recently caught up with Mayuri Mulji (Madhu), Catrina Henderson, Emily Moslein, Mpho Mogotsi and Angela Zeibari (Henwood). Diana was the recent winner of the Johannesburg Heritage Photography Exhibition. Her winning image was of one Art Deco building taken during a photowalk with the Johannesburg photowalkers.
1987
Vicki Straw has started her own recruitment agency supplying top talent to the IT industry. Vicki worked at Dimension Data for 15 years. (www.emptychairtalent.co.za).
1987
Kirsten McKenzie. Kirsten is an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney, Australia. Kirsten’s most recent book will be published by Cambridge University Press in January 2016. Imperial underworld: An escaped convict and the transformation of the British Colonial Order. Cathy Haslam and Kirsten recently reconnected and Kezia Lange and Kirsten remain very close friends.
1987
Kirsten Legg (Jasper), Chairlady OKA. Kirsten has three children Emma (15), Bradley (5) and Jessica (2). Kirsten opened a florist from home last year where she tags the name of the flower and its meaning to create a message. Kirsten can be contacted on kirstenlegg2@gmail.com. Kirsten also runs a fertility support group in Johannesburg, anyone struggling to conceive is most welcome to attend. Kirsten enjoys being so involved in the life of Kingsmead and has enjoyed connecting with so many dynamic Old Girls.
1988
Jacqui Lion (Cachet). Jacqui is living in Sydney with her three boys. Jacqui works as a property auctioneer for a leading real estate agency.
1988
Hayley Pienaar (Schönborn). Hayley is the Kingsmead College Director of Marketing and The Kingsmead Book Fair. Hayley has three children aged 16, 13 and 9. Hayley loves being back at Kingsmead and still sees Kingsmead friends from the 1980’s including Alice Rennie, Claire Walsh, Christina Beatty, Jacqui Lion-Cachet, Sue Morris and Samantha Smirin.
1989
Left to right
Janet Barrow, Julia Green, Nicky McGaw, Michelle Frangos, Shannon Drysdale, Gemma Stowell, Lara Ehrentraut, Kate Waller, Adrienne Scott, Angela Parnell, Julie Saxton
1990
Caroline Berry (Waddams). Caroline taught autistic and visually impaired children for six years then started her catering business called Caroline in the Kitchen. Caroline can be contacted on caro@isdial.net, www.carolineinthekitchen.co.za or 083 963 8974. She does catering for any event. Caroline has two daughters Emma 7, and Lucy 4, they are in Bluebells and Grade 1 at Kingsmead. She enjoys continuing the Kingsmead legacy through her girls.
2000
Merryn Robertson (Weedon). Merryn is working as a paediatric physiotherapist in Auckland New Zealand. Merryn has lived there for almost seven years. She loves being a mom to her two busy boys.
2002
Aimee Fowler (McCallum). Aimee owns and runs Aimee Lloyd Macaroons where she makes delicious authentic French macaroons for restaurants, corporate clients and private customers too. Aimee learnt the art of making macaroons in Paris, and she loves what she does. She can be contacted on 082 391 5959 or aimeelloyd@gmail.com.
2003
Jackie Righi (Righi-Boyd). Jackie is the daughter of ex Assaggi owner Luciana Righi. Jackie went to study industrial and organisational psychology at UCT. After her under grad she completed an honours in Entrepreneurial Development through UTC’s Genesis program. It didn’t take Jackie long in corporate for her to realise it wasn’t the creative environment she was seeking. So in 2013, Jackie started a pastry course through the Food and Beverage Institute in Johannesburg. Thereafter Jackie started creating cakes and cupcakes from home for special occasions, while still working full time. I