Term 4 Week 6 Newsletter 2024

Attendance Check-In

Each term, we check in with our attendance statistics to see how we have been travelling.

Our school snapshot in Semester 2 shows a pleasing overall attendance rate of 91.8%. While this seems like a high rate of attendance, it is actually below our Semester 1 attendance rate of 93.7%, particularly with a drop in students attending more than, or equal to 90% of the time.

Our attendance target set by the Department is an attendance rate of 94.7% by the end of 2027, so it appears we still have some work to do to ensure that our students are optimising their learning and wellbeing with very high rates of attendance.

One statistic that is concerning is the percentage of students attending more than 90% of the time, which is sitting at just over 71%. This means that about 30% of our students are not attending school at a rate that would allow them to make the gains in learning and wellbeing that come with very high rates of school attendance.

The graph below shows that there is a large proportion of students doing the heavy lifting in terms of attendance rates. About 40% of our students attend more than 95% of school days. This shows that we are really just talking about a small number of students in each class who are consistently absent from school, with attendance below 90% equating to one day away each fortnight or more.

Carols Evening

Please see below a flyer for our upcoming Christmas Carols BBQ Evening. We look forward to seeing our wonderful parent community there!

Presentation Day 2024

Stage 3 Fete

On Wednesday 11 December, Stage 3 students will be holding their annual fete. Games and activities include: lucky dip, guess the teddy name, sponge the Year 6's, slushies, sports competitions, cupcakes, slip 'n' slide, spiders and baked goods, and many more. Activities and games will cost between 50c and $3.00.

No money will be transferred during the day and students will bring their money to their teacher prior to the event. Please have the money in an envelope or zip lock bag with your child’s name clearly labelled on it.

Please bring in your money to your class teacher by Friday 7 December.

The recommended amount for students to bring is between $5 and $15. Students will receive a personalised paper wallet on the morning of the Fete with the correct amount of tokens they have purchased. Tokens will then be used on the Fete and crossed off as they use them.

Students can dress in mufti clothes; however, we recommend that students bring spare clothes and a towel if they are hoping to do any water activities. Students will also need to wear enclosed shoes.

All proceeds will go towards our sister school, Sua Elementary School in the Philippines (Sua ES). Sua ES is a school located in Daram, Western Samar, Philippines. It is only accessible by boat and has approximately 150 students. The money raised will help the school to purchase items they require.

Stage 3 Teachers

SRC Events

The Student Representative Council (SRC) has been busy coming up with ideas to help raise funds for worthy causes. See below information about our upcoming Book Swap and Crazy Hair Day!

Great Book Swap

The SRC is organising The Great Book Swap on Thursday 21 November in support of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Funds raised will go towards providing books and learning resources to children living in remote communities across Australia.

We are asking students to bring in used (but in good condition) children's books to donate to the swap. Children can start bringing in books this week and putting them in the allocated boxes in each classroom, and continue until the day before the swap.

On the same day, students are invited to wear mufti clothes to school. Please remember to dress appropriately including enclosed shoes. Kambora students are asked to bring in a gold coin donation on the day to support the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

Crazy Hair Day

After such a successful fundraiser last year, the SRC has decided to hold another Crazy Hair Day on Wednesday 27 November for The Cerebral Palsy Alliance.

Kambora students are asked to bring a gold coin donation and ‘go crazy’ with ribbons, hair gel, hair spray, glitter and more! We will also be selling Zooper Doopers under the COLA at lunchtime for S1.00 each.

Your donation will help the The Cerebral Palsy Alliance teams working together to deliver a world of opportunity for people with cerebral palsy and similar disabilities, and their families.

Selective High School Applications 2026 (Current Year 5)

From 2025, the placement tests for selective high schools and opportunity classes will move from single version paper-based tests to computer-based tests. There will also be changes to the application process for 2026 entry to selective high schools and opportunity classes.

These changes will result in:

• a more engaging experience for students with computer-based testing
• a longer application period for parents and carers to apply
• more choice for parents and carers of when their child will sit a placement test
• outcomes being released earlier to parents and carers.

Applications for selective high school and opportunity classes will open from 7 November 2024 to 21 February 2025. There will be no late applications due to the longer application period, and the application closing date being closer to the test dates and logistical constraints around organising test centres and devices. The changes to the application period mean that parents and carers will now need to apply for opportunity class placement when their child is in Year 3 (or by the end of Week 4, Term 1 when their child is in Year 4). This change applies to students currently in Year 3. For selective high school placement, parents and carers will continue to apply when their child is in Year 5 and can now apply when their child is in Year 6 until the end of Week 4, Term 1.

Key dates – applying for entry in 2026

• 7 November 2024 to 21 February 2025 – parents and carers apply for selective high school or opportunity class entry in 2026.
• 2-4 May 2025 – students sit the selective high school or opportunity class placement test for entry in 2026.
• 19 May 2025 – make up test date (approved illness/misadventure requests) Term 3 2025 – placement outcomes and offers release to parents and carers.
• Term 1 2026 – students who gain entry begin attending their opportunity class or selective high school.

P&C Update

Last week, we held our annual Parents and Citizens’ Association (P&C) Annual General Meeting. The P&C is an association of parents and community members who support the school in its activities, plans and initiatives. Members of the P&C meet regularly to work alongside the Principal and Executive staff to help achieve outcomes that benefit students throughout their schooling. They support our school in areas such as the canteen, uniform shop and band program. The group also help to organise fundraising and social events and raise money to support the school to purchase resources to support teaching and learning.

The P&C have several positions that are voted for each year and any members of the parent community can nominate for these roles. At this week's meeting, parents nominated for the roles on offer and were voted into the following positions for 2025:

Executive:

• President: Jared Crouch
• Vice President: Belinda Mason & Lily Stewart
• Treasurer: Hans Zinsli
• Secretary: Natalie Thomassian

Sub-Committees:

• Fundraising: Jo Newling
• Grounds: Vacant
• Sustainability: Vacant
• Grant Coordinator: Vacant
• Class Parent Coordinator: Emma Slater
• PR & Promotions: Scarlett de Villiers

Please email the Kambora P&C if you're interested in one of the above vacant positions.

Congratulations to our 2025 P&C team and a HUGE thank you to our outgoing P&C team!

Bunnings BBQ Fundraiser