From Mr Coppin

Book Review: Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg

Last evening’s Webinar Co-raising Our Daughters Growing Up in the age of AI highlighted the need now more than ever for connection. This prompted me to recommend a book I recently came across Supercommunicators.

In Supercommunicators, Charles Duhigg explores the science and practice of having better conversations. One of the book’s most useful ideas for parents is that conversations often have different purposes: practical conversations focus on solving a problem, emotional conversations focus on sharing feelings, and social conversations help us connect. Duhigg encourages us to identify what the other person needs before responding. For example, when a child is upset about a friendship problem or a disappointing result at school, our first response does not always need to be advice or a solution. Asking, “Do you want me to help you solve this, or do you just want me to listen?” can help establish what kind of support they need.

The book also provides practical strategies that parents can use in everyday family conversations. Duhigg emphasises deep listening, which means giving someone our full attention rather than planning our response while they are speaking. Parents can demonstrate this by putting away phones, maintaining eye contact and reflecting back what they have heard: “It sounds like you felt left out when that happened.” He also recommends asking questions that invite a genuine response rather than questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no. Instead of “Did you have a good day?”, parents might ask, “What was the most interesting part of your day?” or “Was there anything today that surprised you?” These small changes can create more meaningful opportunities for children to talk.

Ultimately, Supercommunicators offers parents a useful reminder that strong communication is built through small, consistent habits. When disagreements arise, parents can pause before reacting, ask questions to understand rather than to prove a point, and acknowledge a child’s feelings even when they do not agree with their perspective. Duhigg also highlights the importance of noticing conversational cues and adjusting our approach when a discussion is becoming tense or unproductive. For busy families, the book’s strategies are realistic and immediately applicable: listen first, clarify what the other person needs, ask better questions and make an effort to understand before offering solutions. These habits can help create a home environment where children feel heard, respected and more confident about communicating with the adults around them.

House Celebration Day – Friday 18 September 2026

We are looking forward to celebrating the spirit and connection on Friday 18 September.

Girls are invited to wear their House shirt with sports shorts and may add House-themed dress-up items over the top to show their House pride.

During the day, girls will come together to share lunch with their House on Tivoli Lawn, strengthening the special bonds that form when students of different ages connect, celebrate and belong as part of a House community.

At Assembly, we will also hear the results of the Inter-House Netball and Touch Competitions and celebrate the winning Houses. We look forward to a colourful and joyful day filled with House spirit!

Preparation and Kindergarten Drop-Off Wednesday 23 September 2026

Dear Preparation and Kindergarten Parents,

On Wednesday 23 September 2026, we kindly ask that Preparation and Kindergarten students be dropped off at Bayview Hill Road Carline between 8.25am and 8.45am. Ms Wynne and Mrs Zadelis will be there to welcome the girls and assist with their arrival.

This adjustment has been made to ensure a calm and settled start for our younger students, as the Year 12 Guard of Honour will be taking place at the Tivoli Avenue gates that morning.

Kindergarten Parents please note that girls need to wear full winter uniform (dress).

Thank you for your understanding and support.

Kind regards,

Stuart Coppin

Deputy Principal - Head of Junior School

Spotlight on Public Speaking: The Ingrid Holden Cup Competition (IHC)

This term, our Year 2-6 students are stepping into the spotlight as they have embarked on their journey for the Ingrid Holden Cup public speaking competition. Designed to help girls learn to 'communicate for impact,' this initiative combines speech writing and public speaking to sharpen persuasive communication skills learned in the classroom. In honour of Mrs Ingrid Holden, a former Deputy Head of Junior School at Kambala, we will be holding our annual Ingrid Holden Cup public speaking finals in Term 4.

The Preparation

The girls’ are learning effective oral presentation skills, such as posture, eye contact, gestures and the 5Ps for voice: projection, pace, pausing, pitch and pronunciation. When presenting their speeches, they will be assessed on their Manner, Matter and Method.

What to Expect

In the Classroom: As part of their English writing curriculum across Terms 3 and 4, students will draft two persuasive speeches based on topics provided by their class teachers. Students in Years 3-6 will also create an impromptu speech, with just 20 minutes to prepare once given the topic.
The Pitch: The girls are encouraged to apply a range of persuasive devices to convince the audience of their opinion on the topic.
Practice at Home: Rehearsals can be completed as part of homework, though speech content should remain unchanged once finalised in class.
Classroom Presentations: All students will present their speeches in front of their own class.

The Finals

Once all speeches have been presented, class teachers will select two finalists from each class- these will be announced in Term 4. Year 2 students will present one of their prepared speeches during a Massie Assembly in Term 4. Years 3-6 students will present an impromptu speech based on a topic given to them on the morning of the final. Parents of the finalists will be invited to attend and celebrate their achievements.

Encourage your daughter to embrace the process, express her ideas with confidence, and enjoy finding her voice!

Curriculum Overviews and Homework, Kindergarten to Year 6

Parents can now view a detailed Curriculum Overview for each subject on their daughter’s Sundial page. This feature provides clear visibility into the specific learning areas scheduled for each term. You can also check your daughter’s weekly homework tasks to ensure she is completing set tasks.

To explore what your daughter is studying and locate her weekly Homework tasks, simply log into Sundial and navigate to the following tiles:

Preparation - Year 6 Semester 2 Parent Teacher Zoom Interviews - Monday 15 Thursday 17 September 2026

Junior School Parent-Teacher Interviews

Parent-Teacher interviews with Class and Specialist teachers will be held during Week 9 of Term 3 (Monday 14 September - Thursday 17 September). Specialist teachers available for interviews are:

Year 2 - French, Music, Science

Year 3 - Drama, French, Science

Year 4 - Drama, PE, Science

Year 5 - Mandarin, Music, PE

Year 6 - French, Mandarin, Music

Interview times with your daughter’s teachers will be offered both before and after school hours. Most parents find 10 minutes sufficient time for interviews with their daughter’s Class teacher, plus 5 minutes with Specialist teachers and if their daughter’s Maths teacher is not their class teacher. If you feel that more time is necessary, please contact your daughter’s teacher to arrange a convenient time and date for a longer meeting. You may request interviews at other times throughout the year by contacting teachers directly.

How will these interviews work?

We will continue to utilise Zoom for our interviews as feedback indicates this works best for our busy parents and carers. Parent-Teacher interview bookings can be made using our online booking system at https://kambala.meettheteacher.com/ Once you click on the link you will be directed to the online booking system to schedule your appointment/s. The booking portal will be open from 4pm on Thursday 20 August and will close at 4pm on Thursday 10 September.

A Parent-Teacher Booking Appointment Guide has been created to assist parents with their bookings. Please click here to access this Guide. Once you have made an appointment time, confirmation of your appointment time will appear on your screen. A confirmation will also be sent to your parent email address. If you need to amend your booking time, please do so via your confirmation email.

On the day of your Appointment

You can access Zoom links for all teachers on your daughter’s Sundial class page. Teachers will be alerted that you are in the virtual waiting room and will admit parents to begin the appointment at the scheduled time. Every effort to keep to the schedule will be made and we encourage parents to access the Sundial class pages ahead of the scheduled meeting times to support timeliness. Please note if you are running significantly late, you will need to reschedule your appointment as teachers must follow their pre booked interview times with other families. We kindly ask that you respect our teachers’ time and notify them in advance via email if you are unable to make your scheduled appointment time.

IT support

Should you experience technical difficulties during the event, please access ICT support by clicking on the ICT Support tile on the Sundial homepage. While we are doing all we can to prepare for a smooth experience, we appreciate your flexibility should there be any disruptions.

Year 3 Sport Registration for Term 4 - Soccer

Please click here to access all the information in regards to the Term 4 Sports Choice for Students in Year 3.

Read the letter carefully as it contains information regarding the key dates for next term.

In Term 4, Year 3 will play in a Soccer competition alongside Ascham and SCEGGS Darlinghurst. All games will be held on the Moore Park Synthetic Field, located on Lang Road Moore Park.

Please note that registrations are due on Tuesday 15 September. All registrations received after this date will go on a wait list and will not be guaranteed a position in a team.

Hampshire House Elevator Upgrade

Kambala is investing in some important upgrades to better serve our School community.

Over the past months, we have been upgrading the elevators at both of our elevator sites, replacing each with a brand new installation. The Tivoli Lawn elevator has now been completed and is back in service.

Hampshire House Elevator - elevator out of service from 24 August to 19 October 2026

End of Term 3 Church Services at St Michael's, Vaucluse - Friday 25 September, 2026

We appreciate our diversity and take the opportunity to honour our Anglican Heritage.

Girls in Kindergarten - Year 3 will walk up to St Michael’s Church on Friday 25 September 2026 at 1.30pm to attend end of term church service and our Year 4 - Year 6 girls will walk up at 2.15pm to attend their end of term service.

As a mark of respect, girls are to wear full Winter Uniform on the day including Blazers and Panama Hats. If students have a timetabled sports or PE lessons on Friday 25 September, they are to bring their sports uniforms in their Kambala Sports bags.

End of Term 3 - Commencement of Term 4, 2026

Please note Term 3 concludes at the end of the school day on Friday 25 September and Term 4 commences on Tuesday 13 October, 2026.

Term 4, 2026 - Summer Uniform - Kambala Outfitters

Outfitters will be closed for the school holidays from 3.45pm Friday 25 September until 7.30am Monday 12 October 2026.

Outfitters are typically open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during Term time.

Please note that students return in Term 4 in summer uniform. We therefore ask that you take the time to check the size of your daughter's summer uniform and arrange to place an order prior to the end of term (Fday 25 September).

Junior School Events

Please see the next page for exciting Junior School Events and Dates for your Calendars!