Senior School 

School Leadership 2024/2025

The process of electing prefects at Kambala is a time-honoured tradition that underscores the values of leadership, responsibility, and service. Each year, our Year 11 girls eagerly anticipate the opportunity to run for these prestigious positions, marking the start of an exciting journey that fosters personal growth and collective pride.

This year, the election process began with an open call for nominations. The Student Executive was appointed first, followed by House and Portfolio Prefects in the coming weeks. Students who exhibited strong leadership qualities and a commitment to the Kambala values were encouraged to apply. The nominees submitted written applications, followed by speeches and voting by students and staff.

The highlight of the election process for the Student Executive was the candidates' speeches, where each nominee addressed issues she was passionate about and outlined her vision and plans for making a positive impact. This moment offered a chance to inspire and connect with the student body. Students and staff came together to cast their votes, participating in a democratic process that emphasised the importance of civic engagement. The anticipation built as votes were tallied, and the announcement of the new prefects was met with joy and celebration.

The elected prefects will embark on a journey of leadership and service, playing a crucial role in representing the student body, organising events, and acting as liaisons between students and faculty. Their tenure is not only about fulfilling duties but also about learning valuable life skills such as time management, conflict resolution, and empathy.

All of the nominees for the 2024/25 Student Executive were outstanding, demonstrating the high calibre of leadership that characterises Kambala students.

In conclusion, the process of electing prefects is more than just choosing student leaders; it is a celebration of Kambala’s spirit and a testament to the potential of our students. It nurtures future leaders, instils a sense of responsibility, and strengthens the bonds of belonging to the school.

It gives me great pleasure to announce that from Term 3, our new prefect executive for 2024/2025 is:

• Head Prefect: Sophie Alexander
• Deputy Head Prefect: Emma Antico
• Head Boarder: Ava Purvis
• Deputy Head Boarder: Hilary Guilfoyle

These students exemplify the school values to the highest standards, and we congratulate them on their appointments. We look forward to seeing the impact they will make following their official induction in Term 3. House and Portfolio prefect applications are currently open, and we look forward to announcing those positions later in the term.

Ms Jane Danvers

Principal

Year 7-10 DaVinci Decathlon

In mid-May teams of eight from Year 7-10 headed off to Knox Grammar School to compete in the DaVinci Decathlon. This is a competition in which teams from all over New South Wales compete against one another in ten different categories such as Science, Maths, Art and Poetry, English, Coding, Engineering and Cartography. Students also participate in a variety of engaging activities, including decorating our tablecloth, watching various rock band performances and completing a Trivia Quiz. Competition is always fierce, and our Year 8 team secured a second place in the Creativity section!

Kate Wu and Amy Wu; members of the Year 10 and 9 team respectively, reflected upon the day;

“The decathlon is a valuable opportunity for us to challenge ourselves and extend our knowledge beyond the curriculum. Through working on the problems, we also develop key critical thinking skills and problem-solving abilities.

The day was filled with many thrilling moments and highlights, such as the rush of adrenaline we shared with our teams, or the meaningful connections we made with decathletes from a variety of different schools. Another memorable aspect was the teamwork we demonstrated as we worked towards solving challenging problems. Producing responses, artworks and models that we were proud to hand in at the end of the day required resilience and collaboration, which strengthened our bond as a team in a way that could not be replicated.

Overall, our fellow team members immensely enjoyed participating in the Da Vinci Decathlon, and we have found the competition to be extremely fulfilling. We would like to thank Ms Campion, who was involved in the planning of the event, as well as Ms Horsley and Mr Curteis, who accompanied us on the trip, as this valuable experience would not have been possible without your dedication!”

Thank you so much to our wonderful teams for taking part and we look forward to another exciting event next year!

Year 7 Team

Elizabeth Chen, Emily Carman, Syndia Jin, Canchela Stolyar, Iris Liu, Aria Calabro, Sophie Elliott, Nicole Jin. Reserves: Hannah Samuel and Saskia Munro.

Year 8 Team

Zoe Terkasher, Amelia Chen, Candy Du, Chelsea Paleologos, Chantelle Dou, Luella Yim, Jacey Zhu, Apple Cui. Reserves: Ellie Rose Heimans and Georgie Doyle.

Year 9 Team

Emma Li, Georgianna Botros, Tara Chen, Skye Wells, Amy Wu, Lyn Bae, Allison Lee, Sofia Chan. Reserves: Neve Mortimer and Alice Chen.

Year 10

Caroline Lin, Kate Wu, Elsie Paton, Laura Janes, Jacqueline Li, Isabella Feng, Danica Zheng, Claudia Gerber. Reserves: Milla Sleijpen, Nicola Scarlis and Chloe Paleologos.

Embracing AI's Evolution at Kambala

Kambala continues to embrace the rapid evolution of AI technology. Feedback from a Senior School survey at Kambala reveals that our students appreciate AI's ability to streamline information processing, thereby enhancing understanding and efficiency. AI tools have become indispensable for studying, offering quick answers, alternative explanations, assisting with grammar checks and creative brainstorming.

Recently, Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, candidly remarked that the current version of ChatGPT "is mildly embarrassing at best". His statement highlights the continuous progression we can expect in AI technology, with even greater changes on the horizon. In his recent book, CoIntelligence, Ethan Mollick underscores this sentiment, asserting, “Even if AI development were paused, the impact of AI on how we live, work, and learn is going to be huge, and warrants considerable discussion… The reality is that we are already living in the early days of the AI age, and we need to make some very important decisions about what that actually means.” At a recent AI in Education conference organised by Informa Connect, I spoke about the essential role of preparing students for an AI-driven future, echoing the insights of Altman and Mollick. This preparation starts with understanding the ethics and the safe, wise use of AI tools.

This year, we have engaged our younger Kambala students at “Day of AI”, where Year 5 students explored AI's inner workings and ethical dimensions. Their enthusiasm and insightful discussions were particularly encouraging. 

In the upcoming semester, our focus will shift to the safe and ethical use of AI in the Senior School. We aim to guide students on leveraging AI tools like ChatGPT effectively, from brainstorming to initiating assignments, always emphasising academic integrity. 

I am inspired by the maturity our students have shown in adapting to these technological advances and am excited to continue guiding them through the evolving landscape of AI.

Congratulations Schools Challenge Theatresports Competition

The Intermediate heat of the Schools Challenge Theatresports Competitions was held at St Andrews Cathedral School last week and our fabulous team (Laura Halley, Maiya Griffiths-Green, Madi Kodak, Michaela Blier and Chloe Carman) made it through to the semi’s! 

Performing brilliantly on the night facing tough competition from seven other schools. We wish them all the best with the next step of the competition!

Ms Lisa Moir

Head of Drama

IGSA Dance Festival

Congratulations to both Bonnie Zhang and Coco Sweeney who represented the school at the Inaugural IGSA Dance Festival which was held on Sunday 28th April. 

Over two days, 52 dancers from 21 IGSA schools, participated in dance workshops taught by leading industry professionals from the Sydney Dance Company.  Complex and challenging choreography was learned in record time, culminating in three performances on Sunday at the Neilson Studio Performance Space. The experience allowed dancers to challenge themselves more deeply but also gave them the opportunity to connect with new friends from other IGSA schools in a non-competitive environment.

Well done girls, you both did Kambala proud and put on an amazing performance! 

Please click here to view a short video of the rehearsal process/ performance.

Public Speaking Update - Congratulations are in order!

Congratulations Zara Dempsey (Year 11) who as one of the top three winners of the Plain English Public Speaking Award 2024 progressed to this year’s Regional Finals! 

Bonnie Zheng (Year 11) and Zara Dempsey (Year 11), both performed phenomenally in the Plain English Public Speaking Competition held in the first few days of May this term. 

Bonnie’s prepared gave us a fantastic breakdown of the gender beauty gap whilst Zara’s prepared delivered an excellent analysis of the continual abhorrent perpetuation of the culture of acceptance when it comes to crimes of sexual misconduct across the globe. 

After competitors presented their 8-minutes prepared speeches on topics of choice, they were required to deliver a 3-minute impromptu speech on a mystery topic with only 3 minutes to prepare.

The impromptu topic for the local round was ‘Red Flags’ whereby Zara called attention to the ethical concerns of all-encompassing use of AI and Bonnie called attention to the grossly unequal distribution of resources and funds across the education system.

We congratulate Bonnie and Zara on all the incredibly hard work they put into preparing for this competition, as well as their engaging, awe-inspiring performances throughout. A particular congratulations to Zara, and best of luck to her competing in the Regional Finals set to be conducted later this month.