Senior School 

“You’ve always had the power my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself” 

• The Wizard of Oz

That was the final message left with us from one of our guest speakers, old girl Rachel Scanlon, Managing Director and Head of Asia for the legal consulting firm D2 Legal Technology, at last week’s International Women’s Day (IWD) breakfast. This could not have been more evident over the past few weeks, as I wandered our halls watching our girls dive deep into the heart of their Term 1 learning. We have so much to hope for in witnessing how our Kambala girls approach their studies, their extra curricular pursuits and their passions. 

At our International Women’s Day Assembly this week, I proudly listened to many of our students stand up and share student-led initiatives, many of which aim to promote young women’s voices and agency. Do you know that we have a variety of student committees existing around the school, where students volunteer and spend their lunch times working together to identify ways to make a difference in our world? 

This week alone, I watched Katie Greenwood, Lara Chersky lead a Girl Up meeting, investigating issues that matter for girls across the world, and setting focus to how they might advance advocacy, fundraising and education in their chosen area. Our first student-led newsletter of the year, the Kambala Kourierwas published, overseen by Anna Mavrakis and the Communications Committee. Ziva Mortimer and Zara Dempsey promoted their Model UN Club, and the Cultural & Global Connections Committee under Wendy Adu-Osae’s guidance released a cultural consensus, with the hope to highlight the rich diversity amongst our student body and celebrate traditions amongst families. (Look out for our student involvement in Harmony Week next week, an opportunity for students to recognise differences and to share what we have in common!).  

I could go on to name many other groups of students who are encouraging the voices of young women and supporting our girls to know their participation matters. 

Our other inspirational speaker at the IWD Breakfast, Naomi Shepherd, Group Industry Director at Meta and Kambala parent, acknowledged that we cannot always rely on our minds for the encouragement needed to tackle challenges. She reminded our girls to silence the inner doubts and instead, amplify their positive self-talk (I enjoyed her analogy here of a pesky thought ‘carousel of hell’, and how hard we must work to ignore it). And it is with this sentiment, I leave you with this quote from Mrs Shepherd: 

 “Your future self is already cheering for you.” 

See you on Sunday evening at our highly anticipated Festival of Music. It will be a joyful experience for us all, and a reminder that Monday 17 March will be a rest day for students, following a big day of preparations on Sunday 16 March, where student attendance is compulsory for both the day rehearsal and evening performance.   

For all details, please CLICK HERE for my earlier letter to Parents/ Carers, including an extra communication with details for Wentworth Parents/ Carers. 

Ms Samantha Gooch 

Deputy Principal - Pastoral Care 

Additional Senior School information

I trust that our senior students have had a productive and enjoyable start to the academic year as they settle into their new classes and subjects. Many students will have already sat assessment tasks and indeed, the weeks after the Festival of Music tend to be busy with tests scheduled and assignments due. If they have not already done so, I would encourage students to create a study planner to manage their commitments ahead of this busy time. Curriculum booklets and the school assessment calendar (both available on Sundial) are useful sources to consult when planning. Teachers will always provide a detailed assessment notification at least two weeks prior to the due date so that students are clear on the exact requirements of the task and the support available.

Parent teacher conferences

Parent-teacher conferences are an essential opportunity to discuss student progress. Feedback in recent years has suggested that the online format allows a greater number of families to engage with teachers. We strongly encourage students to join their parents on zoom during these 5-minute meetings. Further instructions about how to access teacher zoom links will be sent to families at least two weeks prior to the dates listed below.

Year 12 – Thursday 3 April

Year 11 – Tuesday 8 April

Year 10 – Thursday 12 June

Year 9 – Thursday 8 May

Year 8 – Tuesday 3 June

Year 7 – Thursday 19 June

Conferences times will be available from 4.00pm to 7.30pm on each of these evenings. If you are not able to book a time, please contact your daughter’s classroom teacher to organise an alternative. These conferences provide a summary of your daughter’s progress to begin the year, and we do encourage parents to contact the classroom teacher if they have questions or concerns at any time throughout the year.

Year 12 Early Entry University Applications

The beginning of autumn is especially busy for senior students as they manage their various commitments. On top of these commitments, many of our senior students are completing applications for early entry at Australian universities – early entry applications for the Australian National University opened in the last fortnight and many others will follow in the coming months. I would encourage anyone interested in this pathway to university to consult the Beyond Kambala Sundial page – this continues to be updated by our Future Pathways Advisor Mr. Ian Pettit and is a great source of information for our girls. 

Mr Sebastian Knox

Acting Deputy Principal - Academic

Kambala - A Global Sisterhood

If someone asks you why Kambala, we can not only speak to academic success, the collaborative community, an emphasis on lifelong learning and girls at the forefront, but also to the concept of sisterhood, A Global Sisterhood.

So, what does A Global Sisterhood mean?

Every student who attends Kambala is part of A Global Sisterhood - a welcoming group of globally minded girls who support and empower each other. 

The Sisterhood embraces every individual girl and unites them in solidarity. 

One Kambala girl is strong, but the Kambala collective - past, present and future - is transformative.

Shoulder to shoulder, the girls place trust in their peers and the Sisterhood, knowing that together they can learn without limits.

Kambala is fiercely proud to champion an all-girls education, we believe it gives girls more opportunities to be remarkable, as part of A Global Sisterhood, our girls are unstoppable.

Kambalafeatured in a double page spread in the Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday 8 March to celebrate International Women's Day. We were delighted to not only showcase A Global Sisterhood, but we were also excited to feature the success of our Old Girls in shaping tomorrow's female leaders. 

Mrs Rebecca Hambour

Head of Marketing, Communications and Engagement

Strengthening Sisterhood and School Belonging

When individuals feel well, they function well. As educators, research supports our lived experience that students' academic achievement goes hand in hand with mental and physical wellbeing. Students with a strong sense of belonging feel valued and know their unique abilities contribute to our school community. The relationship between wellbeing, belonging, and academic attainment is multi-layered and creating a supportive and authentic learning environment is vital for students to achieve their personal best.

At Kambala, our whole-school commitment to belonging is also multi-layered and involves connecting peers within their cohort as well as across all year groups. Our House system supports students to develop a strong sense of belonging. Inter-House relationships are strengthened through fortnightly House Meetings, termly Carnivals and regular opportunities for older and young students to connect. 

One example of strengthening belonging was earlier in the term, Year 12 connected with their Year 7 ‘little sisters’ at lunchtime with conversation and ice blocks. As Year 7 settle into the routines of Senior School life, their Year 12, big sisters were on hand to answer any questions and be curious about how the first two weeks of school had been for their little sisters. Sisterhood solidarity was strong, and we look forward to more opportunities of connection throughout the term.

Ms Julie Laytham

Head of Student Life

SHAKESPEARE IN HOLLYWOOD by Ken Ludwig 

Kambala is incredibly excited to share an update on our 2025 middle school production: Shakespeare in Hollywood by Ken Ludwig. The cast of 30 have been working hard, meeting 2 - 3 times a week to get to grips with this ridiculously farcical take on the classic “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” They are doing an excellent job and can’t wait to share what they’ve created! 

SYNOPSIS

Take the glitz and glamour of 1930s Hollywood, populated by real-life, yet delightfully exaggerated, personalities of the movie scene. Add a sophisticated German director with an artistic vision, a couple of misplaced supernatural beings, and one of William Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies of all time, and you get Ken Ludwig’s Shakespeare in Hollywood.Oberon (Played by Emily Carman) may be the all-powerful King of the Fairies -- but he has never dealt with ambitious starlets, prying gossip columnists, or the King of Censorship - Will Hays. And Puck (Played by Zara Jindrich) may be an old hand at jolly mischief, but he has encountered nothing like the cool sunglasses and hot babes of Hollywood! 

When the enchantment of the silver screen meets the magic of Fairyland, havoc ensues as the magic flowers are lost, dropped and used with wreckless abandon!Shakespeare in Hollywood is a supernatural farce, full of entertainment, miscommunications, and even a little bit of education. For one night only: Friday 4th April 2025, 6pm - 8.15pm. [Includes an interval]

Ms Alice Bendall

Director of Year 7 and Year 8 Production

Cast List: