Welcome to Term 3!

It has been a delight to welcome Junior School students back to school for the start of Term 3. After spending many years as an educator in the Junior School, seeing their bright and energised faces arrive on Tuesday morning reminded me of what a special place our Junior School is, and what a rewarding role it is to educate our youngest Kambala students.

I am pleased to report that Mr Coppin has landed safely in the United Kingdom! As you know, Mr Coppin, after nine years of service at Kambala and 26 years in schools more broadly, has embarked on sabbatical study leave. What an excellent representative Mr Coppin will be for Kambala abroad. We very proudly wish him well and congratulate him on his presentation at Oxford University this week, where he spoke with school leaders about how schools can empower their students by developing in them ‘global mindedness’ and an ability to communicate with purpose and impact. Congratulations Mr Coppin!

This week we celebrate Kambala’s 137th birthday, our ‘Foundation Day’. On this day we are reminded of the rich history of our beautiful School, and the many students and educators who have come before us and who have moulded Kambala into the leading girls school that it is today. Here below are two sentiments that I think so perfectly encapsulate what a Kambala education means: one from Miss Fifi Hawthorne, Kambala’s longest serving Principal (33 years!), and one from our current Principal, Ms Jane Danvers:

“What is needed is education in the fullest sense of the word. We must be well-informed citizens, fit to carry out our duties as members of the community in which we live”

(Miss Fiji Hawthorne, 1934)

“As Principal of Kambala, I have the privilege of providing an education that prepares girls for the global challenges and choices they will face as women and citizens of the future. Through their education and beyond, we want them to think deeply about current social and political issues and to develop advocacy and action with passion and bravery”

(Ms Jane Danvers, 2023)

Tomorrow our P-12 students will join together in a Foundation Day Assembly, enjoy a delicious birthday cake, and sing ‘Happy Birthday’ - loudly enough for our neighbours to hear, no doubt!

NAPLAN return

Parents and Carers of students in Year 3 and Year 5 will receive their daughter’s NAPLAN Report in the week ahead. NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum. Individual student performance is shown on a national achievement scale for each assessment. This scale indicates whether the student is meeting expectations for the literacy and numeracy skills needed to participate fully in that year level. NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance, but it can provide teachers with additional information about students’ educational progress. Our teachers use the results to identify strengths and areas of need to improve teaching programs, and to set goals in literacy and numeracy for each student. If you have any questions about your daughter’s NAPLAN report, please contact her class teacher.

I feel fortunate that during my stay in the Junior School, two main events will be held - our Massie House Sports Day (Friday 9 August) and our Junior School Book Parade (Friday 23 August). Please mark these dates in your calendars and join with me to be a part of two memorable events for our students. I look forward to meeting many of you if not then, hopefully sooner!

Happy Term 3!

Miss Samantha Gooch

Music Concerts, Events & Excursions

Band Evening - Alexander Hall - Tuesday 30 July 2024 - 6.00pm

A reminder that the Band Evening is fast approaching.

Ensembles playing in this concert will be: Boambilly Percussion, Intermediate Percussion Ensemble, Junior Percussion Ensemble, Senior Percussion Ensemble, Tivoli Wind Ensemble, Joyce Gibbons Wind Orchestra, Symphonic Winds Orchestra, Kambala Jazz Orchestra, Kambala Big Band, Kambala Stage Band.

Incursions & Excursions

Kindergarten- Occupational Therapy Speech Screening - Thursday 1 August

On Thursday 1 August 2024, Speech Pathologists from Kids Spot Speech Pathology are coming to Kambala to screen our Kindergarten students. This will occur throughout the day and a summary report will be provided after the tests are conducted. The cost of this assessment is covered in the school levy.

Year 4-Excursion Eucalypt Forest at the Field of Mars - Thursday 8 August 2024

An excursion to the Eucalypt Forest at the Field of Mars Reserve has been organised for students in Year 4. Students will embark on a bushwalk through the forest, looking at evidence of animals and their interconnection with the environment. Fieldwork tools will include sensory observation, invertebrate hunts and recording through sketching, mapping, watercolour and tallies in a take-home field journal.

Students will travel by bus to and from the Field of Mars Reserve in East Ryde. Students will leave school at 8.45am and return to school at 3.00pm and are asked to bring their own recess, lunch and water bottles with them in their black Kambala excursion bags.

Please note no canteen lunches will be available on this date for Year 4. On this excursion, students should wear their full sport uniform, including their hat, house polo, long track pants and zip jacket. Please pack a raincoat in case of inclement weather. Students should apply sunscreen prior to arriving at school.

A permission form was sent for parents to complete on Monday 24 June 2024.

Other Reminders

ICAS Assessments (last day to register)

Kambala is pleased to offer our students in Years 3-6 the opportunity to participate in the ICAS Assessments, which will take place in Term 3. This year, our students can nominate to sit the English, Science and/or Mathematics assessments. The assessments are designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills.

The dates for each competition are as follows:

English - Monday 12 August 2024

Science - Monday 19 August 2024

Mathematics - Monday 26 August 2024

If you would like your daughter to enter any or all of these ICAS competitions, please submit the online form via the link below. Please note this is optional and the girls will be taken out of class to participate in this competition.

Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. All students receive a certificate and an individual student report with their score and achievement level.

Please consider carefully before choosing this enrichment opportunity for your daughter. It is a rigorous competition with many questions set beyond grade level. Participants are required to demonstrate a deeper, integrated and thorough level of learning. Please note that most schools only enter their most capable students, so the averages are very high.

More information about the assessments can be found at ICAS Assessments: Home

Please submit this Online form as soon as possible so that entries into the competition can be finalised. Please submit one form per sibling. The closing date for notifying your daughter’s participation is 12pm this Friday, 26 July 2024.

From the Deputy Principal - Head of Junior School

Kambala News

Issue 21 · 25 Jul 2024

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