From the Boarding School
From our Head of Boarding
Love was in the air this week as our Boarders celebrated Valentine’s Day. With a delicious meal and special activities planned by our prefects, it was the chance for our girls to share the love and get to know each other even better.
Our Boarding Handbook
It has been great to feel the rhythm of each House emerge over these first few weeks and interesting to note the ‘vibe’ of the various Houses. Our Marden girls are full of energy and fun, bounding home each afternoon ready for whatever adventure comes next. Our grown up Goodlet girls are more subdued, always happy to chat and relaxed as they head off for the day. Then, there is the beautiful sense of calm and studiousness that prevails in Lang House. It is always a pleasure to call in to say hello to our Year 12 girls.
If you would like a deeper insight into Boarding life, please click here to link through to our Boarding Handbook for Boarders and their families. This is your ‘go to’ guide for all things Boarding – routines, leave, our various programs and much more.
Our Boarding Parent Group
As a Boarder parent, you are automatically a member of the Boarding Parent Group (BPG), which provides valuable support and information to the Boarding community. Throughout the year, the BPG committee meets with the Principal, Deputy Principal, Director of Boarding, Heads of Year and other key staff to discuss matters affecting our Boarders.
The BPG also organises functions for Boarder parents to gather in relaxed and friendly social settings to meet other families and Boarding staff. While our activities have been curtailed over the last two years, we are hopeful of some wonderful opportunities in the year to come.
Our first meeting for 2022 will be on Thursday 3 March at 7.00pm in an online format. A meeting link will be emailed in the coming week, for now please save the date for this special meeting.
‘Love It’
Last Saturday night was a huge night for our ‘Love It’ program. Twenty-four girls ventured up the train line and caught the train to Hornsby for a night at the cinema. With Valentine’s Day this week, the girls were excited to view Marry Me featuring J Lo and Owen Wilson. For some of our girls it was their first on the train. Sunday was a beautiful day and was an opportunity for our Marden girls to check out the Sydney sights with Mardi. They caught the ferry under the harbour bridge, climbed the steps of the Opera House and had an ice cream and a stroll around the Botanical Gardens. The Goodlet girls headed to Manly beach with Mrs Myles and did the Shelly Beach walk.
This weekend we are hitting the markets. Friday night will be the North Sydney Noodle Markets and Sunday will be the Rocks Markets. We are also hoping that Saturday night will feature a trip to the Holey Moley Mini Golf centre in Chatswood.
A reminder that the girls should all have access to an Opal card so that they can use public transport easily. Please let us know if you would like us to assist in organising this.
Mrs Carolyn Burgess
Director of Boarding
A View From My Window
Hey, my name is Marie and I’m in Year 10.
I came here at the start of the year all the way from Hamburg which is a northern city in Germany. The trip from Hamburg to Sydney is about 24 hours by plane.
My family consists of my Mum (Eun-Hea), my dad (Peter) and my three siblings Anna, Max, and Jakob. Some things my family do together are golfing on Saturdays, skiing in Austria every year and sometimes we get to go on weekend trips to Paris, Luxembourg, or Denmark since we can get there by car. We also go out to eat dinner every Sunday which is nice.
Some of my hobbies in Germany were piano, violin in the orchestra, tennis and hockey. It has been great coming to Pymble where I am trying volleyball and coxing for rowing which is amazing.
In my free time I usually go to the cinema with my friends since German weather isn’t really the best even in summer. But when we do have a sunny day, we go stand up paddling or sailing on Lake Alster.
Something else I love about Germany is Christmas time. We have huge Christmas markets, it snows, and everything is decorated. So, you basically go there every day and have crêpes with a beautiful view of the Alster and Christmas lights. The harbour is also one of my favourite places and definitely has the best view in Hamburg. Going for a run or bike ride there is probably one of the best things you can do in Hamburg.
Although I miss Germany and coming to Sydney and Boarding has been a huge adjustment, I am starting to feel at home and I am looking forward to all the fun on offer here in Australia.
Boarder of the Week
Giselle Kawane has been pure delight since arriving at Pymble just over 12 months ago. Joining us from Cairns, and now in Year 10, Giselle is a super star tennis player who, despite her busy schedule, always has time to be a beautiful friend. She is much loved for her sunny disposition and famous for her outstanding organisation. Our Goodlet House staff appreciate the way in which Giselle helps out around the house and are all grateful for her punctuality. Giselle is an outstanding Year 10 Boarder in every way, and we feel lucky to have her in our Boarding family!