From the Junior School
From our Head of Junior School
This week we celebrated with our amazing Kindergarten girls who reflect on their first 100 days of school. We are so proud of their courage, enthusiasm and tenacity for their learning and it’s wonderful that we are able to celebrate their creativity and growth with this special event.
One example of the creativity of our Kindergarten girls is the prototype each class collaborated to design and make for Heidi our Hedgehog. The girls were investigating push and pull forces and worked together to think about how they could help Heidi get to assembly on time and more easily with her own mode of transport. Each week throughout the term, Heidi will arrive in style in a vehicle made and pulled by one of our Kindergarten classes. This is a simple but effective way for our girls to see how real their learning is and how they impact others with their thinking.
As we celebrate our Kindergarten girls, I would like to thank all our Kindergarten families for their trust in us as your daughters begin their learning journey and for the support you show our teaching team. We delight in the partnership we are forming with each of you and look forward to celebrating your daughters’ continued growth through our Junior School. Please also note our Kindergarten Windows into Learning opportunity and Teddy Bears’ Picnic which is scheduled for Monday 12 September 2022.
Getting ready to Disco!
I am looking forward to sharing my passion for disco and dancing with our Year 2 and 3 girls and their parents this Saturday at the Parent Daughter dance in our John Reid Hall and Sunshine Square. It’s so wonderful that we are celebrating our sense of community together and in our hall which is the heart of Junior School.
Thank you to our amazing Junior School Parent Group (JSPG) committee who work tirelessly to plan and manage these events for us all to join. These dances create such special memories for our girls. As I mentor Year 12 girls who I also taught in Junior School it is moments like these that the girls treasure and still talk about many years later.
Thank you too to all the parents who assisted with our JSPG bake stall this week. There was such a wide array of delicious treats on offer for our girls and everything was sold! Thank you to all of you who baked or sent in treats and who helped manage the stall on the day.
Lens into Learning this Week – A focus on Year 2
Throughout the term we will share an insight into the girls’ learning in the words of the girls themselves. This week we are celebrating the voices of Year 2 as they reflect on their learning.
Year 2 are busy thinking about how they can meet the needs of our much loved College dog, Archie. He visited Year 2 and the girls had a lively discussion about they could design and manufacture items using different materials to meet his needs whilst he is here at school. The girls have shared their thinking with Mrs Jayne Mercer – Lead Co-Ordinator Years 1-3. Here are some of their thoughts:
Jessica Wang – I am excited to make a house for Archie using new materials. We need to think about how big to make it and how it will stand up.
Vivienne Guo – We are going to test whether it is waterproof so Archie stays dry and is comfortable when he is by himself.
Maggie Xing – We have to think about how to make it comfortable because if we use wood we need to put something on it to make it softer for Archie.
Arya Raman – We need to make sure that Archie has enough space. So we will have to measure him with a measuring tape and make it a bit larger than him so he can turn around.
Mathematics
Emma Ware – I have been using ‘friends of ten’ to work out how to add to 20.
Karena Lu – I can use the inverse strategy to check my answers in Maths.
e.g. 13+6=19, so 19-6 = 13, and 19-13 =6
English
Arin Sadananda – In writing we have been learning about persuasive writing. We used strong words to convince other people. Words like ‘must’ are strong words.
Staff News
This week we welcome Miss Penny Charalambous to our Year 5 team as Mr Jake Turnbull prepares to transition to his new role as a K-12 Digital Learning Leader. Whilst we are sad to farewell Mr Turnbull from the classroom, we look forward to partnering with him in the future as a member of our Digital Learning team and we are very excited that Miss Charalambous is joining our outstanding Year 5 team. Miss Charalambous will co-teach with Mr Turnbull this week to ensure a thorough handover for our girls.
Motherhood beckons for Mrs Melissa Kotian
This week we say farewell to Mrs Melissa Kotian as she heads off onto her maternity leave before the birth of her second child. We will miss her whilst she is away but look forward to meeting her new baby and we wish her and her family every happiness as they embark on this new adventure together.
Mrs Kotian will be missed by all the girls she supports in class and by all our avid readers of Book Club as she has led that so brilliantly for our Junior School over the last year. We will announce the teacher who will be covering Mrs Kotian’s maternity leave in the next couple of days.
NAIDOC Week – Mrs Kimberley Tyson, Deputy Head of Junior School Students
Our NAIDOC Week celebrations were in full swing last week. This year the theme was Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! and was all about how we can be active in our support for our First Nations brothers and sisters.
We had a variety of excellent learning experiences across the Junior School and used these events as a time to connect with the First Nations girls within our community. We are so fortunate to be able to share stories and connect through music, dance and traditional stories.
On Thursday, our Year 3 and 4 girls were excited to have a dance troupe from the senior school come down and share their story through storytelling, movement and music.
Year 5 and 6 welcomed the team from Wanyara who came to share in ‘play and paint’. The games the girls played were traditional Aboriginal games and the drawings the girls did were made from symbols telling their stories. This was a very engaging session and the girls really welcomed the opportunity to learn more about our First Nations People during this special week.
On Friday, our K-2 girls were delighted to invite some girls from the Senior School to come down and read First Nations stories to them. This was a lovely time to connect and celebrate—hopefully, the first of many opportunities to build connections.
Our kindness focus this term – Kindness to the Environment
Be of Service
As I Walk with Beauty
As I walk, as I walk
The universe is walking with me
In beauty, it walks before me
In beauty, it walks behind me
In beauty, it walks below me
In beauty, it walks above me
Beauty is on every side.
Navajo Prayer
At Pymble, we know that to live out our College values of Care, Courage, Respect, Integrity and Responsibility we must be stewards of the planet and walk gently with our deeds and actions. We invite our girls to be change-makers in all they do this term by being of service to our planet.
Our Term 3 Be of Service booklets were given out to our girls at the end of last week. A big shout out to our Term 2 Kindness Captains from Year 1 – Year 6 who generated all the wonderful ideas within the booklet. Unfortunately, after the editing and printing of 800 booklets, we found an error and as we didn’t want to do a reprint, out of respect to our environment, we have owned our Fabulous Failure and asked the girls to search out the spelling error in their booklet to be awarded a bonus House point!
We look forward to hearing about all the wonderful ways the girls show care for the environment throughout the term.
This week we held our first House Spirit Day for Years 1 – Year 6 and the girls worked collaboratively and creatively to plan and produce their own campaign to promote kindness to the environment. Each group was challenged to include Heidi our kindness Hedgehog, Myrtle the Turtle and a strong message advocating for change to protect our environment.
Our Year 6 girls shone as they led and inspired the younger girls through the day and each group produced an inspirational message and a powerful call to action. We are very proud of all our girls and their passion for change and kindness to our environment. Please enjoy this exceptional poem written by Jing Yuan Liu of Year 5.
Planet Earth
Planet Earth, our home,
Life, where animals roam,
Blossoms blooming, constant flowers,
But under this, a threat towers,
Drying glaciers, cracking land,
Foods, water, under demand,
Causing the air, to turn grey, blacking,
And suddenly, species are lacking,
Cutting trees, saws at use,
Here we all think, what abuse!
But only few people, rise and take action,
A tiny bit of the world, only a fraction,
Landfill piles, and we yet sit here,
Even though the problem is very clear,
Planet Earth is dying, our very own home,
But yet we still are in front of our computers, on chrome,
You see the damage, you see the cause,
But yet watch the leaders and give them applause,
To reverse our damage on Earth,
We all need to see our worth,
If every one of us did a little action,
Earth would flourish under the impaction,
The air would turn clear,
The icebergs and glaciers, all reappear,
So go take a shorter shower,
And plant more flowers,
Plant a tree in your garden,
Recycle the milk carton,
These little actions can help save Earth.
From Mrs Nerissa Davey, Deputy Head of Junior School – Operations
Next week Mrs Kate Brown and I have the privilege of taking six Year 5 girls with us to Dubbo and Goodooga to take part in the Indigenous Games at Goodooga Public School. We are very excited to be working alongside the Dubbo Hub to forge relationships with schools in remote North West NSW and to join forces with these communities to share our stories and learn from one another. We hope to invite two First Nations’ girls to join us at our Year 5 Outdoor Education Program to further build this bond.
We look forward to sharing our adventures with you all on our return. Watch this space…
Student Representative Council’s focus this term: Being kind to the environment
This term SRC will be joining forces with Sustainability and Kindness Clubs to find ways to be Kind to our Environment at school and in our communities. We look forward to hearing the girls’ ideas and initiatives to keep our flora, fauna and oceans safe.
Congratulations!
We are very proud of Feifei Wang who achieved 3rd place in Sydney Eisteddfod Classical Song (12 & under) during the holiday. The Sydney Eisteddfod is highly competitive, so we are extremely proud of Feifei’s remarkable achievement.
Congratulations to Cecilia Zhou (Year 6) who achieved 3rd place in the Sydney Eisteddfod Viola, Double Bass and other stringed instruments excluding Violin and Classical Guitar (20 and under) section. Cecilia played the GuZheng and we are extraordinarily proud of her success in such a competitive field amongst much older competitors.
And lastly a huge congratulations to Vivian Zhang (Year 4) who won two first place prizes at the recent Sydney Eisteddfod and St George Instrumental Eisteddfod:
Sydney Eisteddfod, Event 235, 20th or 21st Century Piano (9 & 10 Years): Winner
St George Instrumental Eisteddfod, Event P210, 9 years and under open: Winner
Our Week in Learning pictures
From Out of School Hours Care
Before School Care – 7.00am to 8.30am
After School Care – End of the school day until 6.30pm
If your daughter is attending a co-curricular activity that starts later in the afternoon (after 3:45pm), you are welcome to pick her up from school and accompany her to her activity. If this is not possible, your daughter will be required to attend the OSHC Centre and remain there until her lesson time (applicable charges will be applied). This is to ensure the safety of your child on the school grounds.
OSHC fees are as follows:
- BSC Regular and Casual attendance: $16 flat rate
- BSC Casual booking (less than 12 hours’ notice): $20.00 flat rate
- ASC Regular and Casual attendance: $37 flat rate
- ASC Casual booking (less than 24 hours’ notice): $39 flat rate
- 3-6 Pre Co-Curricular : $13.00 flat rate
- Non-notification fee of absence or changes to afternoon attendance schedules: $20.00.
- Late Collection fee: $5.00 per minute, per child after the Centre closing time of 6.30pm.
Payments withdrawn from your nominated account are paid in arrears on a fortnightly cycle. The Child Care Subsidy is credited via your Kidsoft account as a fee reduction based on the percentage entitlement
For more information on how to book a place, please click here. Alternatively, contact us via email at oshcadmin@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au or by phone (11:00am – 6:30pm) on 9855 7741.
From the Junior School Parent Group (JSPG)
We are so excited to be holding the Junior School Parent-Daughter Dances for Years K-5 over the next few weeks.
Years 2-3 – This Saturday 30 July
Click here to see the invitiation.
If you have not purchased your ticket already, please do so as soon as possible. Tickets will close on Friday.
The event will be held in the John Reid Hall from 5:30pm to 7:30pm
The theme is “Disco”, which is a great opportunity for the girls and parents (if you so choose) to get dressed up in sparkly or bright outfits or accessories. We have a photographer, photo booth, DJ and a variety of food and drinks.
We are also fortunate to have Mrs Brown, our Head of Junior School, attending on the night.
Our Years 2 and 3 girls are so excited to attend their very first dance event! It should be a fantastic night!
Years K-1 – Saturday 6 August
Click here to see the invitation.
Please register by this Friday!
The event will be held in the John Reid Hall from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.
The theme is “Parent-Daughter Masquerade”, which is a lovely chance for our littlest girls to choose whatever mask they like and their choice of party outfit. Our girls may even like to make a mask to wear! On the night, we will have a photographer, photo booth, DJ and a variety of food and drinks.
We are so excited for our Kindy and Year One girls to attend their very first dance!
Years 4-5 – Saturday 27 August
Click here to see the invitation. Book your tickets here.
The event will be held in the John Reid Hall from 6pm to 8:30pm.
The theme is “Sparkle and Shine” which is lovely for the girls and parents to dress up in a sparkly or shiny outfit or accessory. On the night, we will have a photographer, DJ and a variety of food and drinks. We are so excited for the Year 4 and 5 girls to attend their first dance in several years, and also the first dance for many of them! It will be a fabulous night!
Jeans for Genes Day Sausage Sizzle Fundraiser – Friday 5 August
The JSPG is holding a sausage sizzle in the Junior School at lunchtime for Year 3 to Year 6 students. Donations and all profit from the barbecue will be donated to the Children’s Medical Research Institute, which researches childhood genetic diseases. Students are permitted to wear jeans on the day and are welcome to bring a gold coin/note donation.
Please secure a ticket for your daughter by clicking here.
We are looking for parents to help with the BBQ and join the Dads of the JSPG! It will be a fun lunchtime activity and a chance to connect with your daughters.
Please sign-up here: https://signup.com/go/prWgRtf
JSPG House Event Stall
Thank you to our parent community for the amazing amount of help we received for our House Event Stall this week. We were overwhelmed with the generous donations of food, including baked goods (cupcakes, handmade cookies, chocolate brownies, banana bread, biscuits), lolly bags, home-made jellies, fruit salads, party pies, filo pastries and chips. T
he amount of talent exhibited by our parents and generosity of spirit in the Junior School is so inspiring to us and we are immensely grateful.
Also, a massive thank you to the wonderful parents who helped serve at the stall during the day.
Specifically, a big thank you to Year 6 parents Rosy Bayfield and Paola Gorton who signed on for the first shift but stayed for the duration of the day to ensure the stall would be adequately attended by parents. Also, our Year 5 parent Vanessa Gu, continued to be a pillar of support by assisting at Junior School Carline and on the stall during the morning.
A very big thank you to other volunteers who included Jen Sproull, Leah Deutscher, Monika Surana, Stephanie Borean, Sharunia Khan, Ellen Dai, Chloe Chen, Tuyet Suong Nguyen, Shirley Zhao, Donna Zhang, Amy Cheung, Vicky Li, Rachel Wang, Cici Li and May Tai. We were so grateful for your efforts and support.
Enter the Junior School Garden Party Poster Competition: First prize is an Unlimited Rides Pass!
Do you think you have what it takes to create the best poster for the Garden Party? If so, put on your creative cap, and if your poster comes first you will win an Unlimited Rides Pass for free rides all day at the Garden Party!
Entries are to be submitted to the Junior School by Tuesday 30 August 2022. All posters entered will be displayed in the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts foyer at Garden Party 2022. Prizes and certificates will be presented at Assembly in the week before Garden Party. Multiple entries are welcome.
Click here to download the poster. Good luck!
Volunteers Needed for the Sri Lankan Food Stall at Pymble’s Garden Party
Dates for your Diary
Term 3
29 July Year 4 Incursion
30 July JSPG Years 2 and 3 Parent Daughter Dance
1 – 4 August Kindergarten to Year 6 Learning Discussions
4 August Kindergarten to Year 2 Performing Arts Incursion
5 August Jeans for Genes Day
6 August JSPG Kindergarten and Year 1 Parent Daughter Dance
8 – 10 August Kindergarten to Year 2 Concert Rehearsals
12 August Kindergarten to Year 2 Concert, 2.00pm and 5.00pm
15 – 18 August Life Education Kindergarten to Year 2
18 August Year 5 Author Visit
19 August STEM Festival
25 August Book Week Parade
26 August Author Visit Kindergarten to Year 6
27 August JSPG Years 4 and 5 Parent Daughter Dinner Dance
30 August URSTRONG Parent Workshop, Online
1 September Year 5 ‘Spring into Leadership’ Day
2 September Fathers’ Day Lunch
12-14 September. Year 5 Outdoor Education Camp – Group 1
14-16 September Year 5 Outdoor Education Camp – Group 2
19-20 September. Year 3 Outdoor Education Camp – Group 1
21-22 September Year 3 Outdoor Education Camp – Group 2
Term 4
17 October Year 2 Outdoor Education Program
19 October Year 1 Outdoor Education Program
20 October Kindergarten Outdoor Education Program
25 October Year 6 Musical Performance, 7.00pm
26 October Year 6 Musical Performance, 7.00pm
28 October Links Day
1 December Kindergarten Celebration of Learning, 9.00am
1 December Years 1 and 2 Celebration of Learning, 11.00am
2 December Years 3 to 6 Speech Day, 1.00pm
Mrs Kate Brown
