From the Boarding School
It is hard to believe that we are halfway through the term. It is great to hear that our Boarders have found their rhythm and are thriving in Pymble Online. Our weekly catch ups have been well attended with quizzes and competitions adding to the fun. Our Years 7 and 8 Marden House girls particularly enjoyed an online catchup with the Knox Boarders late last week. There was a fabulous Kahoot and it was great to see everyone getting into the spirit in their neon dress ups. We are all looking forward to more opportunities to connect in the weeks to come.
Learn It – don’t hesitate to sign up!
Our Learn It program has always been a highly valued component of our Boarding program. Ordinarily, the program runs during evening study time and allows the girls to seek extra support from our wonderful academic tutors and teaching staff. We recognise the challenges of learning online and are delighted to offer this program in an online format to ensure all our girls are feeling supported with their learning. This has been particularly important for our hard-working senior girls who this week started their Year 12 Trial HSC Examinations.
Boarders who are interested in signing up for the Learn It program should complete the Google form in the ‘Learn It’ channel of the Boarders’ Microsoft Teams site. From here, our Assistant Heads of Year, either Emily Behan or Emma Allsopp, will contact the girls to book them in for a one-on-one session with one of our excellent Academic Tutors. Our tutors can assist the girls with a variety of subjects or help with examination or assignment preparation. Our Learn It team is also available to assist with proofreading of assignments or essays.
If you have any questions about the program, please don’t hesitate to email Emily on ebehan@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au.
Introducing our Assistant Head of Year 10 – Mrs Emma Allsopp
Emma has been a lovely presence in our Boarding family for the last three years. I hope you enjoy reading the story of her pathway to Pymble.
I grew up just a few suburbs away in Roseville. I have four sisters, so my house was always very busy and loud, not too dissimilar to the Boarding Houses! I went to Roseville College where I tried to get into every aspect of school life that I could, from debating to school musicals to the Student Representative Council as well as a variety of sports including tennis, soccer and netball.
When I finished school, I decided to get out of my Roseville bubble and headed to the UK for a year. This is where I had my first taste of Boarding. I worked at a preparatory school in Surrey and spent many nights in the Boarding house looking after students aged six to 14 years old. I also caught a bad case of the travel bug as I toured all over Europe with friends.
From 2013 to 2015, I completed my first degree in Interior Architecture at the University of Technology, Sydney. I loved studying design, it was a lot of hard work and very time consuming, but it was a good creative outlet. I also worked as a party host at a children’s play centre which kept me very busy. Despite, my love of design I kept thinking about my time in the UK and decided that my real passion was for teaching.
Before I got back to studying, my now husband and I spent more than six months backpacking around Europe and Southeast Asia. I have now been to more than 50 countries. When we returned from our big trip, we decided we wanted to save up and buy our own place. I worked a few different jobs and in 2017 we purchased an apartment in Greenwich.
In 2018 I began my Bachelor of Education (Secondary Teaching) at Charles Sturt University with my subject areas being Design and Technology and Food Technology. I also started working at Pymble in Marden House. A lot has happened since I started at Pymble, I got married to my husband Alex in 2019, we welcomed baby Harrison to our family in 2020, and this year we sold our first place in Greenwich and bought our first house in Wahroonga.
I have loved working with our Boarders, every shift brings you something different. I can’t believe that the Year 7 girls I met when I started are now in Year 10. It is amazing watching these girls grow into young women from year to year. I have worked in all our Boarding Houses – Marden, Lang and now Goodlet. They are all unique, but all have the same great sense of community.
A View From My Window
I am delighted to share the ‘view’ of one of our youngest Boarders, Rose Kirkby. Rose, who joined us in Year 7 this year and has been a bundle of energy and joy since her arrival.
Hi my name is Rose Kirkby and I am 13 years old. I live on a farm 40 kilometres north-west of Moree. I live with my mum and dad, Sarah and Willy, and my brother, George as well as our six dogs, a big fat pig, and chooks. My dad is a farmer and grows wheat, barley, faba beans, chickpeas and his favourite, cotton. My mum works from home and does the book work for our family business.
When I look out my window, I can see a gravel road that winds through our paddocks. The paddocks are filled with wheat, barley and faba beans, however, not long ago these paddocks were just vast, dry dusty plains. This was due to the devastating effects of the drought. We had three long dry years with no crops and very little work to do. It was a very difficult time, but I had a lot of quality time with my dad before I came to Pymble this year. During the drought we also fostered orphaned lambs and even a calf.
What I love about being at home is spending time with my family and catching up with my friends. I think I am so lucky to live in the country because I get to experience so many things city kids can’t. At the moment I am at home, online learning whilst watching the crops grow. Everything is looking really damp and we even have a full storage dam to grow an irrigated cotton crop for summer. Even though I am enjoying my time at home, I am looking forward to getting back to Sydney and seeing my friends.
Mrs Carolyn Burgess