From the Junior School
From our Head of Junior School
As we head into a mid-term break, we are asking the girls to give themselves space to ‘stop and breathe’ offline. This has been a busy start to our term and with the current need for learning online continuing for the next few weeks, we are keen to ensure our girls are able to continue to enjoy the laughter, the mindfulness, the joy in the simplest things and the sense of hope that play naturally enables.
This week we celebrated the Olympics with our Pymble Pentathlon. The girls were outstanding with their sense of House spirit, enthusiasm and creativity as they participated in their Field events (paper aeroplane and sockput) Gymnastics, Equestrian, Tower and Natural. These events were purposefully designed by Mrs Nerissa Davey, Acting Head of Junior School Wellbeing, and our PDHPE team to challenge the girls’ creativity, their physical skills, and their sense of connection to the natural environment.
Our Junior School Pymlympics Pentathlon was launched with a torch relay like no other! Please click on this LINK to see the Junior School teachers’ version of the torch relay which brought a giggle to the girls as we began our day of challenge and Olympics fun.
Our outstanding Co-curricular Captains crafted their own Pymlympics Oath which they shared to launch our Pentathlon:
‘’We promise to uphold the College values in the activities we participate in. We will be kind and caring to one another as we share joy online and in our community. We show trust when doing something as a Junior School. When taking part in our Pymlympics, showing our school and House spirit is something to show always to one another. Being a good sport to each person competing in the challenges and congratulating each every one of you.” – Lara Waterhouse (Year 6) and Amelia Lee (Year 6)
I am so proud of the way the girls are learning to celebrate themselves, their own voice and to therefore embrace diversity of thought. Our girls are continuing to learn to advocate for things that matter to them. They are also learning to give, and receive, constructive feedback to assist with the development of their own voice.
Friday Fun – Week 6: An SRC initiative
Our SRC girls have also used their collective voice to campaign for a Friday Fun Day of their choice in Week 6. The girls were delighted to know their campaign was successful and we will therefore enjoy a PJ Day on Friday Week 6. The girls are expected to wear appropriate pyjamas for a day ‘at school’ (online). They do not have to wear a Pymble sports top over their pyjamas.
Staff news
I am both sad and excited to announce that Mr Luke Byrne is leaving our Junior School at the end of August to relocate to England with his family. Mr Byrne is an exceptional musician and educator and he has been offered a position to study at the internationally renowned Guildhall in London. Mr Byrne was originally planning to relocate to London in 2020, but due to COVID-19 restrictions he was unable to travel so we have been blessed to have him as part of our team during this time. We are sad to farewell him as he has had such a positive impact on the girls’ skills and passion in all aspects of Music and Drama, but we are proud of this wonderful opportunity he has been given. The girls are working with me to create a surprise for him to wish him all the best in his new adventures. We will also farewell him in an Assembly in Week 8. Wherever he goes, Mr Byrne will forever remain a much-loved member of our Junior School family.
Mrs Kate Brown
Mrs Kate BrownHead of Junior School
Lens into Learning – Mrs Lara Bird, Acting Deputy of Junior School Curriculum and Learning
I am proud to be sharing the wonderful learning across the Junior School in this week’s newsletter, from designing Tour de France jerseys to presenting persuasive speeches on the issue of plastic in our oceans, the girls have continued to be positive adaptable learners as they navigate their learning journey as well as fulfil their passions and interests.
Year 3
Year 3 has been exploring the topic ‘What Matters to Me?’ through their speaking and listening unit in Literacy. The girls were asked to think about something deeply important to them and imagine what life would be like without it. This process helped them identify the reasons why it was so important and allow them to create a detailed plan. The girls then wrote, practised and presented a speech on Seesaw.
Bianca Ng’s drawing below reflects how she would feel without her family in her life:
“Have you ever wondered what littering does to the ocean? More than 100,000 marine animals die because of this. Littering causes sickness to sea animals. Littering affects everyone including us humans. Turtles get sea bags stuck up on their faces, whales think that plastic bags are fish and tend to eat them! This is something that harms our world. We should stop now to protect our oceans.” – Aaradhya Singh
“Do you know what takes up to 400 years to dissolve? There are more pieces of plastic than there are fish in our oceans! It is estimated 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic are in the ocean. I think this is totally unkind, cruel and very upsetting.” – Bethany Tucker
“Has anyone ever told you that you could not access a classroom? Well, about 2.3 million people have no access to education. That is not fair.” – Betty Su
“How do you think the world can be better?… if all children in the world have access to good education. There are 58 million children in the world who are not able to attend school. They are from countries with poverty and in wars. Let me share with you why I strongly believe all children should have an education.” – Zoe Chong
Library
These last few weeks in Library we have been enjoying revisiting our younger selves as we shared our favourite childhood books. Ms Itzcovitz has been reading her favourites and the girls and teachers have been sharing their favourites too. We’ve had lots of fun reminiscing about Enid Blyton, Paddington Bear, Charlie and Lola and Hairy Maclary while sharing our stories about why they are so special to us. Our beloved Library lessons continue to bring such joy to us all.
French
The girls have been visiting the French marketplace! They have been learning to name many fruits and vegetables as well as practising numbers so they can say how much their food will cost. Girls were asked to explore their kitchens and then name all of the fruits and vegetables they could find.
Year 4
Year 4 is focusing on Imaginative Texts. The girls have been learning to use story graphs to adapt fairy tales and write their own stories. Here Anika has utilised the story graph to adapt the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood and then write her own story, entitled The Girl and the Wolf:
“In Writing we have been learning about different story/narrative structures and different ways to plan them. This story was a different version of Little Red Riding Hood. It was really fun to write and by using the planner I was able to visualise my entire story.” – Anika Verman (Year 4)
Year 4 students have also been investigating historical fiction and using the text Meet Grace to build comprehension skills and develop a greater contextualisation of the time period around the voyage of the First Fleet:
“The book we are reading in Literacy this term is called Meet Grace. In what we have read so far, Grace is a mudlark orphan that lives with her Uncle Ord. Grace is very optimistic and can always find the bright side of things. Grace also has an extreme love for horses! I really like this book as it shows us how privileged we are and how, even though we have it tough, Grace has it tougher and still can find the bright side! In the chapter we have recently finished, Grace steals an apple, but no one notices! This book also ties in with our Inquiry topic where we are looking at the First Fleet and about how people committed crimes because they were so poor.” – Phoebe Scott (Year 4)
Art
The girls have been learning about still life and how artists such as Juan de Zurbaran use colour, shape and tone to create the effect of realism. They have applied these techniques to a vase, apple and their own selected object.
Year 5
Year 5 girls have focused on an Olympic sport to create relevant and engaging pieces of writing to educate and entertain their audience.
Music
Inspired by their Junkyard Beats incursion last term and demonstrating their newfound grasp of musical instruments in traditional cultures, Year 5 students were tasked with making their own instruments at home. Ella Gao played the chordophone (stringed instrument) she constructed, while Emily Woods-McConville gave a thorough explanation and demonstration of her aerophone (wind instrument). Geena Cheng experimented with various lengths of pipes in her aerophone and Abby Pisani even played a tune on her differently pitched bottles. We have been so impressed by our students’ resourcefulness and their application of principles of sustainability in Music.
Year 6
Our Year 6 girls are thoroughly immersed in their Migration Inquiry and impassioned by a desire to support refugees. The girls have been composing letters to the Refugee Olympians, which they will be posting on the Refugee Olympic Team page. The girls have written with such heart in these letters, and we are all very proud of their sense of humanity and compassion. Please enjoy reading these extracts from some of their letters:
French
Year 6 girls have been immersed in the culture and associated vocabulary of one of the World’s greatest sporting events, the Tour De France. They have been introduced to the historic context of this event, the stunning French landmarks and scenery along the 21 stages of the course, the nationalities and achievements of the competitors and the gruelling race regime. Girls were asked to design a new jersey for ‘Le Tour’ and justify why their design should be included.
“My jersey is for the most kind, generous and hardworking member of the race. The shirt’s base colour is rose gold, representing harmony. The polka dots are both silver representing strength and gold representing generosity. The background colour is nude meaning calm.” – Catherine Zeng
“This jersey would be for the woman who gets the fastest time in the time trials, because women are still at least allowed to do THAT part of the Tour de France. This would also encourage more women to get involved.” – Katie Boyce
Performing Arts
Year 6 girls have been examining the fabulous music which adds to the emotion, grandeur and excitement of the Olympic games. They have analysed the purpose of this music – whether it is to honour tradition, to inspire and unite, to educate audiences about a country’s cultural heritage or for pure entertainment. Girls were given a choice: Option 1 was to write their own stirring Olympic Anthem to the tune of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. Peita Christofis sang her wonderful lyrics and we can just imagine this anthem uniting an international crowd. Option 2 was to create a movement routine based on the sports pictograms used in the Tokyo Opening Ceremony. The girls demonstrated outstanding creativity and movie making skills in their pictogram video routines.
Compass Check In: Nerissa Davey – Acting Deputy Head of Junior School – Wellbeing
URSTRONG parent/student Language of Friendship Workshop Tuesday 17 August, 6.00pm to 7.00pm
We are excited to invite you to attend an online Language of Friendship Workshop on Tuesday 17 August from 6.00pm to 7.00pm from the comfort of your home. Dana Kerford (Founder of URSTRONG) will teach you and your children skills and language to foster healthy, feel-good friendships.
We would like to thank our very generous JSPG for sponsoring this event.
In order to attend the event, registration is required. Please CLICK HERE to register.
We look forward to your attendance.
Class Captains’ Corner
Moving online has meant the usual roles fulfilled by our Class Captains at school have been impossible. Thanks to Lauren, a very enthusiastic Captain in Year 4, the Captains met and the girls have now become digital journalists and photographers. Each week they will be sharing two photos from their class that depict the joy they find daily. These photos are then shared with our Junior School in a video each week in our assembly. We will also be sharing quotes from the girls in this ‘Class Captains’ Corner’. I am so proud of the way the girls are so flexible and resourceful with the many changes they face daily.
Managing wellbeing during lockdown – Freida Stemp, K-6 Psychologist
Being at home for an extended period of time can cause added stress and conflict for us all.
We know that many families are continuing to juggle work, school and family commitments simultaneously which can understandably take a toll on one’s mental health and wellbeing.
The restrictions associated with the Coronavirus outbreak and our sudden need to adjust to a different, (rather strange) way of doing life can be very difficult for children to understand. However, children are not always able to articulate their feelings and frustrations and so, it is not uncommon for parents to see a change in their child’s behaviour including increased meltdowns, crying, clinginess, defiance, lack of focus or even changes in sleep and appetite. Know that this is a normal response in children as they are trying to process changes in their world around them. Also know that this is temporary and should pass once they are able to return to their usual routines. Most importantly, know that you are doing the best you can and it’s especially important to be kind to ourselves and each other during such times.
Below is a link with tips and ideas on ways that might help you maintain family wellbeing during lockdown.
Essential Workers
If you are an authorised essential worker (please click here to view the NSW Government list of authorised essential workers) and need to send your daughter onto campus next week on Monday to Thursday between 8.00am and 4.00pm, please fill in this form to register your daughter’s attendance by 6.00pm on Sunday 15 August so that we can facilitate supervision. Please note that students will not be able to attend the campus on Monday 16 August as the College will be closed for the mid-term break.
Students who are on campus will be located in the Preparatory School. Please do not send your daughter to school without filling out this form as we are trying to minimise the amount of girls on campus requiring supervision. If you need to send your daughter to school for reasons that sit outside the list of authorised essential workers requirement, please contact her Head of School as soon as possible to discuss your request. Thank you for your understanding.
At-home childcare
Pymble has a small army of casual staff available, all of whom have experience working with our girls and Working with Children clearances. If you are looking for someone to care for your child/ren at home, please contact childcare@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au and we will email you contact details of our casual staff, to enable you to make childcare arrangements independent of the College. In line with government requirements, we are asking our casual staff to limit the number of families they work for. Please email your questions to childcare@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
A friendly reminder from our Healthcare Team
If your daughter has a Critical or Medical Alert plan, these need to be updated every 12 months with your GP and forwarded to the College. This includes, but is not limited to, medical plans for asthma, anaphylaxis and allergies. We appreciate the challenges of organising a consult with a GP during lockdown, but please know that you can also arrange a telehealth appointment to have your daughter’s plan updated. It is vital that we have a copy of the plan in Healthcare so we are aware of how to manage your daughter’s condition if an incident occurs on campus, or when she attends an excursion or camp. Before any camps or excursions, you are asked to fill in a permission form and a medical form. Please remember that students are not permitted to attend camps or excursions until these forms are completed. Please contact healthcarecentre@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au if you have questions regarding these plans. We are more than happy to help.
From our JSPG
Junior School parents have been invited to attend a URSTRONG online workshop on Tuesday, 17 August from 6.00pm to 7.00pm. This workshop gives our girls, parents and teachers a common ‘language’ for talking about friendships. Through interactive parent-child activities, parents will learn strategies to support their daughter towards healthy, feel-good relationships. Please click on the link register.
JSPG Events
Year 3/4 Parent Daughter dance will be moved to another date. More details to be sent out soon.
Year 5 Parent Daughter dance will be moved to a date in Term 4. More details to be sent out soon.
JSPG Quote of the Week
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela
