What's happening in Boarding? 

Weekend Rec Activities

Rock Climbing 

The Kambala boarders recently enjoyed a rock-climbing REC outing at ClimbFit. This gave the girls the chance to test their skills and try something new. The ClimbFit centre catered to all levels, allowing everyone to participate and find routes suited to their abilities.

From novice climbers to more experienced enthusiasts, everyone experienced both the thrill of scaling new heights and the satisfaction of conquering personal challenges.

Throughout the day, the boarders supported each other, offering encouragement and advice as they tackled various climbs. The outing provided a great opportunity to build confidence, work on teamwork, and enjoy a physically engaging activity.

Overall, it was a positive experience that promoted both personal growth and community spirit. This outing also fostered physical fitness and reinforced the values of teamwork and perseverance. It was a memorable experience that left the boarders feeling accomplished and more connected as a community.

City to Surf

The Kambala boarders in the house this weekend enjoyed walking part of the City2Surf this weekend. The fun atmosphere, sunshine and live music made for a very fun REC outing. The girls did an amazing job walking all the way from Kambala to Bondi and back. The girls enjoyed spotting some of the amazing costumes along the way as well as seeing dogs that were joining their owners for the race. 

10,000 steps later the girls enjoyed having a well-earned acai bowl in Rose Bay. It was so great to see the girls take on the challenge of the City2Surf (or “Kambala2Surf” as we are calling it!) with a positive attitude and embracing the community spirit of the event. Well done girls!  

“I decided on Sunday morning to join in on the city2surf action, I texted Annie a day girl and thought we should run from Kambala to Bondi. It was lots of fun with heaps of music and water along the way. We saw some of year 9s including Chloe and Layla at Bondi where we all were enjoying some food and rest after the run.” Polly (yr 11)

Boarder Birthdays

Scarlett (Yr 12) celebrated her 18th birthday on August 1st. Phoebe & Hayley woke her up with balloons, chocolates & singing - to add to her already full collection of presents and goodies from her family in the UK. She was then off to her Engineering course at UTS for the day. Mum Leigh had organised fantastic donuts, pizza and treats and the Yr 12 boarding cohort were joined by their Head of Year Mr Tim Hay for a special dinner.

Week 3:

Sophie from (Yr 11) celebrated her 17th birthday on the 6th of August. Some of the year 11 boarders planned an early morning walk while others got to work decorating the common room to surprise Sophie when she returned! Lots of gifts from the girls and Sophie’s family.

Happy birthday to Eve (Year 9) for 11th August who enjoyed time out with her Mum on her birthday.

Tivoli Afternoon Rec Activities

In Week 2 we had several fun filled afternoon Rec activities. We had Mabel, one of our  School staff’s beautiful chocolate Labrador, join us on Tuesday afternoon and everyone enjoyed spending time with her. There were many cuddles and games of fetch, it's lovely to see the girls enjoying her company. 

Thursday afternoon was a washout so instead of playing some games we watched some!! The Olympics were very exciting for the Tivoli girls, there were lots of questions about events and teams and huge excitement at the knowledge of all the gold medals being won by the Australian female Olympians. They then finished off with their own event, a race to find the hidden mini chocolates around the house! GO AUSSIE GO!!!

In Week 3 Monday afternoon was a very special one for the girls as they had an international visitor from Taiwan named Ryan come join them. Some girls were learning how to write Chinese characters with him and the whole group made Hama bead souvenirs together. They all got a great insight into his life and all the while teaching him how to belt out Taylor Swift in Kambala style.

On Tuesday, it was a beautiful sunny afternoon and the whole boarding cohort joined  with Yalari students and Indigenous students from Taiwan, Ascham and Scots for games on the Oval. Everyone was mixed into two big teams and had a blast playing capture the flag and touch footy. Since touch was new to the Taiwanese students, the Kambala girls showed them the basics before getting competitive in a fast-paced game with lots of laughter. 

Saturday Sport

After a week of early morning training sessions, the Tivoli girls have seen their hard work and commitment pay off during their Saturday sports games. Emily and Eva in Year 9 won their netball game 29 -16 in Week 2, congratulations! Year 7 were very excited for their netball games this weekend because they’ve had some games cancelled due to weather recently and Saturday’s weather was beautiful and sunny. They all did a fantastic job at their games and the girls reported that they had lots of fun too. Isabelle’s team managed to win their game, well done! 

Scarlett and Audrey (Yr 12) were very happy to have their first netball game without rain, but unfortunately, they were down a number of players and ended up losing to Reddam House. 

The senior hockey team had an exciting win over Ascham 1-0 with a highlight of the game being Polly scoring the winning goal. The challenge was great with their strong goalie keeping our girls on their toes, but our seniors prevailed and remain undefeated this season! Hilary (Yr 11)

“This past weekend the Kambala hockey girls played against Ascham, which was a fast-paced game from the first whistle. By half-time, we were able to score a goal to put us in the lead 1-0. Thanks to Poppy's sliced oranges at half-time, combined with some strategic talk with our coach, we were able to keep this lead for the rest of the game, resulting in a win to add to the leaderboard!” Ava (Yr 11)

“On Saturday we played Pymble, and it was a tough but good game. We scored 2 goals in the first half and one in the second to make the final score 3-0. We all played together as a team and probably was our best game as we practised what we learnt at training.” Polly (Yr 11)

Boarding Developments and Upgrades

On Tuesday the Tivoli based students went to Fernbank to look at the prototype rooms and had an opportunity to give feedback on the layout and functionality of each room. They also spent time looking at the common spaces and thinking about what they might like to do in those spaces to connect with each other and how the layout could enable those activities.

Their feedback and ideas have been collated and will be put forward to assist in decision making on the final designs. There was a lot of excitement around the move and opportunity to contribute to the new spaces.

Events

Both formal dinners over the past two weeks have had added excitement for those in attendance. 

In week 3 we had a theme dinner “Leaving on a Jet Plane” put on by Cater Care. The dining room was decorated with aviation holiday styled decorations, including captain's hats, and we listened to a fun flying playlist. The theme generated some interesting conversations about where we have travelled and where we would like to go on our dream holiday.

In Week 3 we had special guests join us from the Heping Junior High School in Taiwan as part of an exchange with our languages department. Chloe in year 11 did a fantastic job translating the announcements into Mandarin. Charlotte from year 9 shared a Welcome to Country, and Ava and Hilary welcomed the visitors and explained why the dinner is important.

Fernbank

Year 12 had a surprise delivery to start off the first week of trials - Good Luck doughnuts! 

Organised by Mrs Sarmiento, this little treat put a smile on all the girls faces and the sugar hit was enjoyed by all of our nervous Year 12’s.  The girls studied so hard in the build up to their first exam but made sure to have some fresh air breaks & social breaks before hitting the books again. At one stage there was also some Irish Dancing going on in their common room to break up the monotony of the study.

“I am so proud of how our Yr 12’s has dedicated themselves to their study while still being able to take breaks and time out for themselves and have a laugh” 

Megan - (Head of Fernbank House)

In week 2 the Yalari “Pay It Forward” Bake Sale was held to help raise money for Yalari scholarships. A number of our girls spent Thursday afternoon busy baking lots of yummy treats to sell. Some of the Tivoli girls came over and joined in making marshmallow treats, cupcakes and more. The day was a success with the sun shining and all the treats being sold!

The first Yr 12 trial on Monday in Week 3 was English and the girls seemed to come out of it relatively unscathed. They all worked hard and after enjoying a special “first day of exams” spread of food treats (healthy & sweet!) set up by Megan, they were ready to hit the books again to back up for the second day.

In Week 3, the lovely Kate Hallman (mother of Phoebe Yr 12) came in and cooked up a storm for the Yr 12 girls to enjoy in Fernbank before getting back to study. It was lovely to have a parent in the house to help the girls unwind after their first few days of trials - thank you so much Kate!

What we are reading...

“The Last Thing He Told Me” by Laura Dave - “This little book was an easy read and tells an interesting story of a stepmother and her begrudging stepdaughter when they find themselves without their loving husband and father. A story of women's strength and resilience in the situations they sometimes face because of the men in their life, this intriguing mystery is also a beautiful journey to motherhood. I really enjoyed it, even though it wasn't the kind of book I’d usually read”  Emily (Staff) 

“Parade” by Rachel Cusk” - The new novel from one of the most distinctive writers of the age, Parade sets loose a carousel of lives. It surges past the limits of identity, character, and plot, to tell a true story-about art, family, morality, gender, and how we compose ourselves. “I’m finding it quite interesting because it shows people can live completely different lives yet somehow intertwine and also about how each person composes themselves” Eliza (Yr 11)

Prep

Year 7 have been working on their “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” essay. Year 8 have been focusing on organisation, so they’re prepared for their assessments later this term. Year 9 have been working hard on a history article about WW2’s impact on Sydney and have also been planning ideas for their upcoming Commerce ‘Market Day’. 

Over the past two weeks the A Team tutors have been active at prep to offer study support to Yr 7-11 on Monday and Wednesday nights. Please encourage your daughter to make use of this resource.

Year 10 have been diligently working on their English formative task. Meanwhile, Y11's have been focusing on both Economics and PDHPE practise essays and responses. 

Year 12 HSC students have been studying hard for their trials. Having the first week completed has been a relief to the girls and they are now able to allocate more time to their remaining subjects. The trials are an important tool in preparing for the end of year.

Quote of the week

Early in the morning upon waking up Emily asked Charlotte in Year 7 if she would like her blind opened or the light on, she replied whimsically “no thank you, my eyes are bright enough!”