From the Junior School
From our Head of Junior School
A big thank you to all of you for helping us get so far on our mission to walk kindness to the moon this year. We have managed to walk/run/swim/play our way through 48,662km throughout the past four weeks. This is a magnificent achievement by our community. Whilst we haven’t reached the moon, we have spread kindness a very long way and we will continue the mission next year. It takes a long time of collaboration to launch a mission to the moon and so will keep trying in 2023! I am so proud of the way in which our girls embraced this mission. Together we really can change the world!
We are celebrating the end of this month of walking with a House Spirit event tomorrow. We are inviting all our girls to come in their House shirts for the day.
Looking ahead to 2023 – Junior School Parent Group
It was wonderful to see so many parents at the Junior School Parent Group (JSPG) Annual General Meeting last week. Thank you for your willingness to get involved and support our community. It was sad to farewell the outgoing JSPG leaders from this year as they have worked so hard to foster a strong sense of community after two years of disruption with COVID. Thank you, Aimee Birch, Kai Jones, Stephanie Pickford and Elizabeth Toh, for your commitment to the JSPG this year. We are so grateful for your dedication to our community.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for the amazing donation you have made to our Junior School. We plan to spend this money on STEM resources to continue to enable us to embed STEM in the curriculum for the girls. We will purchase some resources for both indoor and outdoor STEM learning and appropriate for all ages. I am proud to say that with the growing interest in Robotics across our Junior School we will be launching a Year 1 and Year 2 Robotics co-curricular program in 2023 and this donation will help equip that with the latest technology. We will also be purchasing more unstructured play equipment for our girls to explore their curiosity and connection with nature.
Student Voice
I am proud that our girls are using their voices for change and to think about the younger girls in our Junior School. This week we have had girls share their views in the focus groups around uniform led by Ms Lamia Rockwell, Deputy Principal Students. There has also been a group of girls who have worked with our horticulturalists to build awareness of the plight of bees and a group of girls have worked with Mr Jake Turnbull, Digital Learning Leader to design and plan Cybersafety lessons for younger girls. Huge congratulations to all these girls who are using their voices to advocate change in our community. A special shout out to Amber Chen for her poster design to support the message of balance between screen and offscreen time.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Elyséa Jones (Year 3) and Maria Zhan (Year 2) for being selected to be a volunteer at the NSW Tennis Open at Sydney Olympic Park last week. Maria received Champion at the Lil’ Jo Sydney Regionals, she was invited to join the National tournament during the Australian open at Melbourne.
We would also like to congratulate Adeline Wu, who received Highly Commended in the My Place Competition for her wonderful piece of writing. What an exceptional accomplishment for two of our girls to be recognised at this national level.
Congratulations to Lakshi Rajeev (Year 4) who was awarded first place in the My Place Competition. This competition asks students to reflect on change and continuity throughout time in their own community. Lakshi submitted this wonderful poem called “Home”.
Home
Ancient souls linger in the dust Swaying like columns in an earthquake.
Familiar.
Spirited.
Vivacious.
The untamed creatures amble
Through intervening roots
Wind, furiously hurling
Spherical, transparent droplets.
Dense, wild roots.
Reside in the undergrowth.
Gum, eucalyptus, banksia.
It is not ours to take
In a time where we do not belong
Our wildlife.
Our people.
Generations of fallen ancestors roam the barren landscape.
They forage and scavenge.
Unaware of prying eyes.
The ways of nature, followed through.
In unending chain.
The leaves are crisp and golden.
Satisfaction under my bare feet.
Laughing, dancing.
Singing, storytelling.
Unwritten, the words still linger.
Culture lives on.
Tradition cuts through.
Boomerangs whirl relentlessly
Crisply, slicing matted fur.
We have been through conflict.
Standing as one in a storm.
Delicate as a windswept petal in a hurricane.
Strong as the surface of concrete.
Ochre tans the warm of my skin.
Patterns radiate in blinding beams.
Colourful.
Tranquil.
Cultured.
Historical artefacts blaze proudly in the radiant sun.
Food.
Weapons.
Tools.
Daunting.
Dazzling.
Blinding my eyes.
The desire for freedom. Hope for culture.
The unwrinkled bark of ancient gum
Lush, flourishing leaves.
It welcomes newcomers to rest in the crook of a branch.
Decade after decade.
It has seen the past.
Heralding the presence of children.
All across the globe.
Bare feet patter.
What is in the past will never be resurrected.
But culture forever lives on.
Clapsticks beat continuously.
Chanting echoes serenely.
A fire in my eyes.
As I imitate the movement of kangaroo.
Quokka.
Platypus.
Wallaby.
Flora and fauna, healing to my soul.
A circular group of clan mates.
Smiles upon their faces.
Terror breaks out unexpectedly.
Story-the life of our culture.
Cautiously, I aim the intricate spear.
Patterned with the stars above.
Stalking the unsuspecting wallaby- Alas!
The hunt is finished.
Farms.
Orchards
Rich soil abounds.
All is left now-
An endangered community of blue gum-standing strong.
Forever.
Turramurra Big hill
Eastern Road.
Many names drape the close-knit community.
The only traces of our clan
Terramerregal
Engraved kangaroo footprints.
Meandering through rock holes.
We were the first Sri Lankans.
A multi cultured community
Diverse in all its history.
Ever changing.
Always growing.
Inching into the widespread branches
I eye the footprints of children.
Holding the vast secrets of this land
I will always remember that
I was not the first here.
Jacaranda Day – Tuesday 15 November
All Junior School girls are required to wear their white Pymble summer hat when attending our Jacaranda Day service on Tuesday. As this assembly is held outdoors please ensure your daughter wears sunscreen to school. Thank you to all our families for your wonderful donations supporting the Children’s Hospital and Exodus Foundation.
PE Uniform
As the weather is getting warmer, please make sure when your daughter is wearing her sport uniform that she wears her shorts underneath her tracksuit pants. This will allow her to take off her tracksuit pants if she is feeling hot on these sunny days.
Swimming Carnival – Travel for girls in Kindergarten to Year 4
Our Junior School SRC students have chosen Epilepsy Australia as the charity that funds raised by the JSPG stall will support. As bringing in cash can cause problems for our youngest students we ask you not to send money in with your K-2 daughter. Each of the girls in Kindergarten to Year 2 will be given an ice block at the end of their swimming carnival as a treat and a recognition of their House Spirit and participation.
As per the Portal notice, girls in Kindergarten to Year 4 will be dismissed from Mollie Dive Field. Please click here to indicate your daughter’s plans for the afternoon.
Celebrations of Learning – Kindergarten to Year 2
Term 4 will end for Kindergarten to Year 2 students after their Celebration of Learning on Thursday 1 December. Girls in Kindergarten to year 2 are not required to attend school on Friday 2 December. Should your daughter in Kindergarten to Year 2 need supervision at school on Friday 2 December, please complete the form by clicking here.
Booklists 2023 – Kindergarten to Year 6
As per the Portal notice, your daughter’s 2023 booklist is now available to order through Campion. Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 students will have their stationery kits delivered to the College during the holiday period ready for their first day of school. Years 3 to 6 will have their orders delivered to their home.
To gain direct access to Pymble’s textbook lists click here. You will need to select the booklist for the grade your daughter is in next year (2023) and type in code 2677.
Please order before Friday 18 November to ensure delivery before Term 1 2023 commences. Please contact Campion on 02 8905 8691 or via email at campionsydney@campion.com.au for any order enquiries.
Junior School Digital News – Term 4 Week 3
Our Week in Learning Photos
From Out of School Hours Care (OSHC)
Bookings are now open for the school holiday programs in December and January. All bookings can be made through KidSoft.
For more information on how to book a place, please click here or contact us via email at oshcadmin@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au
From the Junior School Parent Group (JSPG)
Swimming Carnival
Please join us in participating in our Swimming Carnival Stall on 17th November by clicking here.
The program of events is:
7.30am to 10.30am Championship Events
10.45am to 12.45pm Kindergarten to Year 4 (followed by lunch on Mollie Dive)
11.00am to 11.15am Diving Showcase
Noon to 12.45pm Year 5 and Year 6 lunch on Mollie Dive
12.45pm to 2.30pm Year 5 and Year 6
Please check your daughter’s schedule when you sign up to ensure you can still see her racing.
Year Events
Please see the invitations attached for Kindergarten and Year 4 end of year events. For any queries, please contact us at pymblelcjspg@gmail.com
Elizabeth Toh, Aimee Birch, Stephanie Pickford and Kai Jones
Reminders from the Administration Office
AFTERNOON TRAVEL CHANGES
Please email juniorschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au to advise any changes to afternoon travel arrangements. Late changes should be made prior to 2.00pm to ensure messages are received by staff and students prior to the girls end of formal day routines.
LOST PROPERTY
All items of uniform should be named including summer hat, play hat, uniforms, shoes, sneakers, socks, lunch box and drink bottle. Lost items can be readily returned if it they are labelled.
Winter should have your daughter’s name written in white pen inside the crown of the hat. If there is a circular label inside the hat, don’t use this as it is inclined to come loose.
Please be aware that unnamed items will only be held at each Junior School Administration Office for two weeks.
Dates for your Diary
Term 4
11 November Walk for a Kinder World final day and celebration
15 November Jacaranda Day
17 November Junior School Swimming Carnival
22 November Year 6 final Chapel and celebration of learning 8.45am to 11.00am
24 November Year 6 Disco
1 December Kindergarten Celebration of Learning 9.00am, term ends for Kindergarten children
1 December Years 1 and 2 Celebration of Learning 11.00am, term ends for Year 1 and 2 children
1 December. Years 4 to 6 Speech Day rehersals
2 December Years 3 to 6 Speech Day, 1.30pm
Mrs Kate Brown