From the Upper School
A message from Mr Riley, Head of Upper School
A very warm welcome to 2023 and the exciting start of a new school year!
We are particularly excited to welcome 35 new families to the Upper School and very much hope that you have enjoyed your first week as part of our Pymble family. We have also loved having our new Year 9s join us from the Middle School, as well as our new Deputy Head of Upper School – Mrs. Harrison, and can’t wait to see their contribution to the wider Upper School.
As we begin the year, I have been encouraging our girls and staff to ‘make space’ in their lives. Refreshed and relaxed from the break, now is the time to establish effective and healthy routines that will serve us well across the calendar year. As this article attests, holding space for yourself (i.e.. Making sure there is protected downtime and opportunities for self-reflection in your life) ensures we adequately listen to how our bodies feel, regularly check our direction, and develop supportive rituals. By making room for yourself, we make room for helping others in becoming better versions of ourselves.
We love hearing about holiday highlights and were particularly excited and proud to hear of Alethea Levy’s exploits in Fiji. Not only did Alethea represent her country, but she collected countless boots and footballs that she donated to local villages during her visit. What a shining example of Pymble gives back!
On Thursday, our Year 10s enjoyed a talk from Paul Dillon from Drugs and Alcohol Research and Training Australia. In his most humorous way, Paul explained how our girls can look out for each other at parties, how they can navigate safer forms of risk taking behaviour, and highlighted the potential dangers of vaping.
Next week, we have our swimming carnivals, and we encourage all Upper School students to have a go. In the spirit of inclusivity and positivity, two of our trademark behaviours, let us ensure we get out there, support our peers, and generate some house points!
COVID Information
The process for management of COVID positive cases in students remains in line with the guidelines in use during Term 4.
- To ensure the health and safety of our students and staff, any student who tests positive to COVID should stay away from school until feeling well again with no symptoms, as per the NSW Health guidelines.
- If your daughter is absent due to COVID, please follow the usual process of notification of her absence via the MyPymble parent portal.
- If your daughter is require to remain at home but is feeling well enough to continue learning, please encourage her to contact her teacher and/or access her learning via Canvas.
Key Dates
Thursday 2 February – Paul Dillon Seminar to Year 10 and parents
Friday 3 February – School Photo Day
Monday 7 February – Year 7 to 9 Swimming Carnival
Tuesday 8 February – Year 10 to 11 Swimming Carnival
Saturday 12 February – Saturday Sport begins
Monday 20 February – Urban Challenge for Year 10
Mr Tom Riley