KITE
Leading Excellence through Collaboration
In The Adaptive School, Garmston and Wellman (2016) affirm that “collaboration is the essence of teachers’ professional community in schools.” Launched in January 2025, our Middle Leaders in Action program, has reflected this principle with an emphasis on cultivating teams of highly effective leaders who recognise interdependence, strategic thinking, and shared accountability as essential foundations for whole-school impact.
From implementing a range of transition initiatives designed to build connections across the whole school to delivering whole-school Sisterhood Circles with an emphasis on belonging, our leaders have demonstrated the powerful way middle leaders can work together for transformative impact. Our pastoral care leaders have enacted meaningful initiatives that empower students to consider their role in the world and amplify the important work of class mentors, while key leaders across the school have contributed to communicating the values of global mindedness. Our Heads of creative and expressive subjects have likewise united to ignite inspiration for teachers and students to incorporate play-based learning in the classroom. Through their collective presentations to Principal Jane Danvers sharing their evaluations and reflections on their initiatives, often shaped by student feedback, our leaders have shown that their excellence becomes even more evident when they collaborate with purpose.
This commitment to collaborative leadership is equally evident in the work of our students. For example, Co-Presidents of Model UN, Cecilia Wang and Antonia Lin, have both brought to life and proposed a series of initiatives that exemplify how empowered students can drive meaningful change when working in partnership with their peers. Their leadership saw the creation of a vibrant Year 5 Outreach Program, the strengthening of club visibility across multiple year groups, and the development of a forward-looking scope for 2026 that builds on the legacy of the previous Co-Presidents. These student leaders embody the dispositions at the heart of authentic leadership as their courage, curiosity, and commitment to community offers a powerful example of what shared vision and teamwork can achieve.
Across these collaborations, in teachers, leaders, and students, a consistent theme emerged: shared leadership amplifies our excellence.
Lauren Walsh
Executive Director - Professional Practice & Learning Culture (KITE)
Fostering Connections through Global Awareness: Model UN Year 5 Outreach Day
On the 24th of November, Cecilia Wang and Antonia Lin hosted Kambala’s first Junior School Model UN conference as the senior schools Model UN presidents. Below they outline the day:
We organised this conference to foster global awareness in our school community and to introduce younger students to the opportunities offered by our Model UN program. We wanted Year 5 delegates to experience international issues in an engaging, supportive environment that would spark curiosity and build confidence.
Behind the scenes, we invested significant time planning every part of the day. We gathered accessible, age-appropriate materials, refined country briefs, and created activities that would encourage active participation. We also considered what topics and formats would resonate most with younger students, ensuring the experience felt both challenging and enjoyable. A major part of our preparation involved recruiting and training dedicated high school mentors who could guide the delegates, answer questions, and model strong leadership. Their involvement helped create a welcoming atmosphere that allowed the Year 5 students to explore global politics and discover the excitement of Model UN.
Our conference turned out to be a huge success, with the Year 5 delegates showing remarkable engagement from start to finish. Despite minimal prior experience, they were very eager to discuss their country’s perspective with their high school mentors. They participated enthusiastically in debates and discussions, confidently sharing the perspectives they had developed with the support of their high school mentors. It was especially impressive to see how keen they were to answer questions!
Working in their assigned committees, the girls collaborated to draft thoughtful resolutions on their allocated topics, showing strong teamwork and growing confidence. Our high school mentors were outstanding leaders and role models, guiding the students with patience and encouragement. The ended with a feeling of shared joy (even though tired!) and connection. We look forward to these Year 5s one day joining our club when they come to the Senior School.
Here are two responses from Year 5 participants:
The model UN day today was a very interesting event, where we got to learn a lot about countries and also work with older senior schoolgirls that we don’t usually get to know. I learnt that 95 percent of Saudi Arabia consists of sand dunes! It extended our thinking and debating skills. The debate not only helped us with daily debating skills but also gave us an understanding of politics around the world today. I really enjoyed this rare opportunity and would love to participate in any future ones! - Ellen Wu
I learned in the UN model that America makes alliances with many different countries such as Mexico, Egypt and China. One thing that model UN helped me with was public speaking and debating. I also like working with my friend Georgie and having the Year 12 student Bianca to help us and talk to us. It was a really fun day. - Greta Gribble
