Principal's Message

Dear Students, Parents and Guardians, Staff, and Community Members

It has been an extremely busy Term Two. This term has also seen us celebrate Harmony/Cultural Day. This coincided with a free dress day. Harmony/Cultural Day is one of my favourite days of the year. It is one that truly reflects the diverse and accepting culture and environment Kambrya College has created over the years. Watching the happiness of our students, who not only participated but also were there to cheer on and celebrate with their peers, was so heartfelt. The college value of respect for everyone was well and truly on display, making Kambrya College a school for everyone. The event is growing and growing every year - this was the first year the celebration was moved to our gymnasium to allow more students to participate and spectate a magical display of culture. 

Our annual Student Attitudes to School surveys was completed for 2026. This survey is completed by all students in the school and provides us with valuable insight into student perceptions about many different aspects of the College. Upon receipt of the survey data, we will then be engaging our student leaders from across the College, as well as our staff and the parents on school council, to unpack the data further to plan for improvements, and to also celebrate improvements.

Term Two also means the start of our Year 7 transition and our 2027 enrolments. Over two evenings late in Term One, we had over 500 families attend which rolled in to onsite school tours during Term two. As per previous years, we had a number of staff involved, which helped showcase some of our incredible programs we have on offer.

Regarding our 2027 Year 7 enrolments, we once again face increasing student enrolments. Our College School Zone has changed now for our 2027 Year 7 and Year 9 enrolments. Please visit the Find My School website for updates on this. This will mean we will continue to be unable to accept students outside of the Kambrya College school zone unless they already have a sibling here. This includes students who are applying for any of our special programs, e.g. SEAL.

Exam week also took place prior to our semester changeover, all of our Year 8–12 students participated in their mid-year exams. Prior to exams students were very busy completing coursework and spending time on revision to support them being able to complete their exams at their best. During the week itself  it was amazing to see the focus and dedication students were displaying. The exam weeks help all students identify strengths as well as areas that they can continue to build their capacity in.  

I recently had the pleasure of meeting all of the newly elected School Council. Kambrya College has a long tradition of working with School Council openly and transparently to ensure good governance. I have no doubt that this tradition will continue. I warmly welcome newly elected parents to our college council. 

 Student Semester Two reports have now been uploaded to Compass. All parents should download them and facilitate a discussion with your child alongside their Learner Profiles to unpack them. Learner Profiles can be accessed in the students compass accounts. It is a great way for students to see in depth how they are progressing and performing within each of their subjects. Parent Teacher interviews are also now open for booking through Compass for week of Term 3. 

Course selection processes have commenced for all students in Year 8 to 11 for our 2027 academic year. All students should be taking the time over these holidays to sit with their parents/guardians to review the year level handbooks which have been sent out via MS Teams and Compass. When completing the online form, please take the time to make sure you complete your preferences correctly. All students will be notified of their 2027 subjects towards the end of the term in September for Year 9 or early Term 4 for senior students.

 At the beginning of Term 3 there may be some changes to classes’ timetables, including days of the week for some subjects, and in some cases a change of teacher. Wherever possible we aim to limit these types of changes and try to time them at appropriate times such as the start of a new semester or a new term. Unfortunately, sometimes they are unavoidable. If you have any concerns regarding these, please email the subject teacher or your Sub-School Leader to discuss this further. Thank you for your patience with these changes.

I would like to touch on our Kambrya College uniform. We have been actively working with our uniform supplier over the last few weeks as we understand it has been a challenge for some families to adhere to the College uniform policy due to not being able to purchase the items due to availability. Can I please express again to the community that if you are purchasing the shorts or tracksuit pants outside our uniform shop, then these still must be navy blue and also adhere to the college uniform policy. 

A couple of quick reminders for all of our College community. Firstly, can I please ask parents and caregivers to be patient with our front office administration staff. While they are here to support you, please note they are not directly involved in student administration and may not have detailed knowledge of your child's specific program. Their role is to guide you to the appropriate staff member who can best assist with your enquiry.

Please also understand that the staff member you may wish to speak with may not be immediately available due to various commitments, but they will make every effort to get back to you as soon as possible. 

To finish off, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire Kambrya College community for your hard work this term. It continues to make me humble and proud knowing that we have such hard-working staff and supportive community.

Wishing all a safe and relaxing break, and I cannot wait to see everyone again at the beginning of Term 3. 

Kind regards,

Martin McDonald

Principal

Kambrya College