Senior School 

Leadership in Action

On the first day of term, I had the privilege of seeing our 2024/5 Prefect Team work together guided by their motto, Unite to Ignite. Weekly prefect meetings focus on portfolio initiatives and general happenings around our school. These student-led discussions showcase how competently our students engage in purposeful, respectful discussion that aims to better our school community. It is a pleasure to witness! 

Seeing all of our Year 11 students prepare for Sisterhood Circles reminds me that leadership is all around us at Kambala. Our younger grades always delight in their presence and having our older students take the time and interest in them. We thank each of our Year 11 students and their Head of Year, Ms McAtamney. 

A wonderful example of our Prefect team in action has been watching Ziva Mortimer (our Debating Prefect) coordinate and lead, with great care and dedication, the House Debates. Communicating with impact, our courageous and intelligent house debaters engaged in friendly, but also fiery debates… house points up for grabs! Congratulations and thank you to Ziva, and to all of our students who participated in this competition. 

This week I attended the Term 3 Senior School Leadership forum with three of our school representatives from our Prefect body. This forum was facilitated by Allegra Spender MP, Independent Member for Wentworth and focused on providing an opportunity for young leaders from local schools to meet and discuss issues affecting our community.  I was proud to accompany our Kambala students on this outing, they are a fine representation of our student body and the values we hope to uphold.

Leadership is not reserved for those with a badge, or those in Year 11 and 12. I delighted in seeing our Year 7s step in and volunteer their time to welcome and support our 2025 Year 7s on their Orientation Day. This one example of the initiative and leadership that I see every day from our students at Kambala. Leadership is ultimately about service, and we are proud that many of our Kambala girls are continually showing and growing their leadership capacity with such acts. 

We are right in the flow of Term 4, and we wish our busy members of Senior School well in all that is happening! 

Ms Samantha Gooch

Acting Deputy Principal - Wellbeing

The Year 11 Retreat to the Collaroy Centre

In the final week of Term 3, the Year 11 Retreat took place at The Collaroy Centre in Sydney’s northern beaches. After the intensity of our HSC preliminary exams, the Retreat was the perfect relief, allowing us to strengthen our bond as a cohort while preparing for the challenges ahead in Year 12.

The Retreat began on Monday with a digital presentation from The Resilience Project, which introduced us to the concepts of Gratitude, Empathy, and Mindfulness (GEM). These values are essential tools that will help build our resilience as we approach the final year of school. The session was eye-opening, encouraging us to reflect on how practising GEM can positively impact our well-being and relationships. Afterward, we enjoyed a peaceful walk to the beach, which gave us the opportunity to relax and connect with friends, taking in the natural beauty of our surroundings.

Back at The Collaroy Centre, the fun continued with board, card and sports games that sparked friendly competition and laughter. The evening’s activities featured a heated trivia competition and a lively karaoke session, where the room was filled with laughter and applause. These moments of unwinding, coupled with the camaraderie of our cohort, made the first day truly memorable.

On Tuesday, the focus shifted to leadership development with a workshop led by Y-Lead. The team engaged us in a series of interactive activities designed to boost our leadership skills and confidence. One standout activity involved running through a skipping rope as a team, which highlighted the importance of trust and collaboration. We also wrote gratitude letters to our peers, a touching exercise that deepened our appreciation for each other and reinforced the importance of empathy in leadership.

The Year 11 Retreat not only allowed us to recharge but also strengthened our sense of community and prepared us to take on new leadership opportunities in Year 12. As we return to school with renewed energy, we are excited for what lies ahead in our final year, ready to lead and support each other as we approach this next chapter of our school journey. A huge thanks to our Mentors and Head of Year for making this experience possible!

Ms Olivia McAtamney

Year 11 Head of Year

Year 12 HSC English Major Work's receive NESA Nominations

I was delighted to receive news that four Year 12 HSC Extension English 2 Major Works have been nominated for the Young Writer's Showcase, a selection of the outsanding works submitted for 4-unit English across New South Wales. 

This is a record number of nominations for Kambala and a rare honour. Nominations for the publication are reserved for major works that demonstrate excellence in their field. This is a prestigious recognition of student achievement. 

I congratulate Sasha van Onselen, (critical essay), Lily Thangaraj (critical essay), Eliza Andrews (radio drama) and Evangeline Chu (poetry). Their works demonstrated original and sustained inquiry, passion, courage and contributed new insights and ideas within their chosen mediums. 

As composers of extended works, they demonstrated significant thought leadership. They dared to challenge convention by experimenting with written and aural forms, took risks in exploring unchartered theoretical and literary territory, and demonstrated authenticity in the process of reviewing the existing literature, researching, drafting and refining works that had personal relevance to them. Furthermore, they contributed to emerging conversations and interpretations of texts that intersect with our contemporary social context.

The Extension 2 process enabled these students to demonstrate their capacity for extended research and highlighted future potential to translate their learning to higher degree research, academic and creative writing, or contributions to publications or showcases. 

Ms Greta Beaumont-Kennedy 

Head of English 

HSC Visual Arts Success

Congratulations on HSC Visual Arts success, with Misha Heazelwood, Lily Edwards  and Jasna Mrvic all being shortlisted for the 2024 Art Express exhibition. Working across drawing and painting, these girls have been nominated for potential inclusion at the Art Gallery of NSW or other galleries statewide.

Shortlisted from over ten thousand Visual Arts submissions, Misha, Jasna and Lily should be very proud of this acknowledgement. Best of luck for the next selection round!

Mr Drew Bickford

Head of Art & Design

Sisterhood Circles - Massie House Visit

In Week 1, our Year 11 students had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Year 1 students in Massie House as part of our ‘Sisterhood Circles’ initiative. The aim of the visit was to build connections between the youngest and oldest members of the ‘Sisterhood Circles’, helping the Year 1s feel more comfortable and supported. The girls enjoyed chatting with each other, sharing stories, and bonding over fun colouring-in activities. It was a heartwarming session, and the Year 11s did a fantastic job of making their little sisters feel welcome!

Ms Olivia McAtamney

Year 11 Head of Year

Year 7 - 10 English: T4 Extended Projects

Term 4 in English at Kambala is a space of curiosity, creativity, collaboration and inquiry. Year 7-10 benefit from 21st century student-centred teaching practices, which allow us to focus on deepening a culture of cooperation through inquiry projects, positioning students as agents in their own learning.

Year 7 students are working towards the creation of short films in response to their study of the literary, historical and cultural representations of the trope of the witch, whilst Year 8 are compiling production portfolios and subsequent films in light of their study of the Gothic genre. 

Continuing our focus on global mindedness, Year 9 are exploring the art of persuasion through the study of propaganda in various texts such as media, poetic, visual, advertising, fiction and non-fiction texts, working towards the creation of persuasive campaigns grounded in real-world issues. Year 10's study of 'the gaze', which considers the dynamics between the artist/muse dichotomy, has seen them adopt the role of critics of the representations of women and power on-screen, devising their own critical reflection statement whilst harnessing creativity to construct their own visual representations of a disruptive or neutral gaze.

We look forward to sharing their final works. 

Ms Greta Beaumont-Kennedy 

Head of English 

Year 7 2025 Kambala

Spring is a time of rejuvenation, renewal and growth. We see this season enacted at Kambala with flowers blooming and students growing taller almost by the minute! 

Last week we witnessed a key moment of growth and change by welcoming the Year 7 2025 cohort to their Test and Quest Day. Current Kambala Year 6 students and new incoming Kambala Year 7 2025 students had a day experiencing the transition to the Senior School. Activities included lunching with some current Year 7 students, the participation in an afternoon of activities, including the gift of goodie bags and rewarding conversations with their ‘big sisters’ in Year 11. The Year 7 2025 cohort were then introduced to the 2024/25 House Leaders who assisted them to navigate around the school to enjoy four taster lessons of Drama, Maths, Physical Education and Science. 

A huge thank you to all of the current students in Years 7, 9, 10 and 11 who supported the day, making the new members of the Senior School community feel comfortable, and welcomed. 

The Sisterhood is strong, and we are excited to welcome the Year 7 2025 cohort in January.

Ms Julie Laytham

Head of Student Life

Year 10 Recital

At the end of October, the Year 10 Recital Evening was held in the Performance Theatre. Year 10 elective music students performed captivating pieces on a wide variety of instruments, such as Milla Sleijpen singing What Do You Call a Man Like That by Brown, Lucinda Isert playing Carnival of Venice by Walton on clarinet and Valerie Tran playing Fond Recollections by Popper on cello. 

The recital was very enjoyable and was a great opportunity for students to perform the pieces they have placed much time and effort into polishing. Congratulations to all the students for performing and for their bravery and thank you to the audience for coming to watch. Finally, thank you to all the private music tutors for constantly providing support to your pupils, to Mr Sagar for accompanying everyone so well, to Ms Mitchell, Mr K and Ms Lewis for organising, and to the music department staff for your dedication and hard work, without which these recitals would not go ahead. 

Elsie Paton and Charlotte Cullen 

Year 10

Future Problem Solving

This September Kambala received a phenomenal 54 qualifying invitations to the 2024, 35th Future Problem-Solving National Finals, held at Carey Baptist Grammar School, in Melbourne. What an incredible result! The performance in the National Finals determines which teams and individuals will qualify for the International Finals invitations held in June 2025, in the USA. 

Future Problem Solvers from Kambala from Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, distinguished themselves in the National Finals in Week 1 of Term 2. Every student who attended Nationals should be proud and happy about reaching this important milestone. 

Five Kambala teams progressed to the finals for the Presentation of Action Plan including: Middle Division Combined Year 7 & 8 Team comprised of Ivy Hammerton,Leah Wilkinson, Sadie Hillier; Olivia Dan, Clara Khoury and Saskia Munro; Middle Division Year 9 Team comprised of Skye Wells, Adriana Becaravic, Tara Chen, Quincy Sheldrick, Chloe Choi and Jasmine Zhang; Year 10 Team Senior Division Team comprised of Laura Janes, Kate Wu, Elsie Paton and Danica Zheng; Year 11 Senior Division Team comprised of Bonnie Zheng, Bianca Zhu, Ziva Mortimer, Lilian Pack and Zara Dempsey; Year 11 Team Senior Division Team comprised of Wendy Adu-Osae, Miya Li, Ashleigh Gibson, Katie Fan, Katrina Lin and Alina Yi. We congratulate them all.

The Senior Division Year 10 team became 2024 National Champions in the Presentation of Action Plan competition: Elsie Paton, Danica Zheng, Laura Janes and Kate Wu.

The Senior Division Year 11 team comprised of Wendy Adu-Osae, Miya Li, Ashleigh Gibson, Katie Fan, Katrina Lin and Alina Yi came in 3rd place in the in the Presentation of Action Plan competition.

The combined Year 7 and 8 Middle Division team comprised of Ivy Hammerton, Leah Wilkinson, Sadie Hillier, Olivia Dan, Clara Khoury and Saskia Munro came in at 3rd place in the 2024 National Champions in the Presentation of Action Plan.

In the MAGIC Middle/Senior Division, Year 11 student Ziva Mortimer was in a team that placed 3rd.

In the MAGIC Middle Division from Year 7, Clara Khoury and Emma Simunovic came in at 2nd Place.

Also in MAGIC Middle Division, Alina Yi and Alissa Song were in the champion team. 

The top 10 teams in the Global Issues competitions are noted in the award ceremony. An incredible achievement this year is that the Year 7 team, comprised of Arabella Cochineas, Sam Cook, Iris Liu and Yukei Chan - came 6th out of 32 teams in the Global Issues Problem Solving Booklet Competition. This is the biggest and most competitive division in the whole competition and 2024 was the first time ever that Kambala had a qualifying Year 7 team in competition, so placing 6th marks a notable achievement. 

And in the elite Global Issues Problem-Solving Senior Division competition, the Year 11 IB CAS team comprised of Wendy Adu-Osae, Miya Li, Ashleigh Gibson and Katie Fan came 3rd in the competition and received an invitation to FPS International Finals in 2025. 

Coaches Alice Duthie, Katherine Tsingos, Priya Bahra and I, feel incredibly proud of Kambala’s 2024 National and International Finalists’ efforts and achievements. And for those FPS students who did not 'win' in a traditional sense, we genuinely hope that the sense of pride and achievement remains ever-present, in their regular and ongoing participation within the Future Problem-Solving program.        

Special thanks are owed to CAS Coordinator Ms Dan Lin for attending the event to assist with supervision and to learn more about the Future Problem-Solving program.

Ms Anna Messariti

Kambala Future Problem Solving Coach & Coordinator/ NSW Convenor Future Problem Solving            

Junior School Theatresports Success

Kambala's Schools Challenge Theatresports Team, Junior Division, have won both their Heat and regional Semi-final, competing against 16 other school teams! It has been a brilliant effort by Abby Leibman, Sienna Kirkwood, Laura Washer, Hannah and Ellie-Rose Heimans, who will now represent Kambala at the Grand Final in 19th November at St Andrews Cathedral School. What champs!

Ms Lisa Moir

Head of Drama