From the Junior School

From our Head of Junior School

I am thrilled to see how many of our Junior School girls have been exploring their 100 Adventures to Complete in Junior School throughout the year. Many congratulations to Dionne and Grace Jacobs who have successfully completed all 100 adventures!

It takes courage to embark on adventure which is a concept our Year 3 girls have been exploring throughout their Inquiry investigations into explorers this term.

Mrs Lara Bird, Deputy Head of Junior School Academics, Mrs Jayne Mercer, Lead Coordinator Years 1-3 and I were deeply impressed as we explored the girls’ board games, interactive models and activities all the while building our knowledge of these famous explorers. The girls have researched widely over the term and then been courageous in choosing their own way to showcase their understanding.

Some of our Year 3 girls also demonstrated their courage when they presented their speeches in assembly last week. Congratulations to Emily Chen, Zining Wong and Isabella Yang for your thought-provoking speeches about how we can show and foster courage in ourselves and others:

‘Courage – something that helps you be brave, like a candle in the dark or an arm around your shoulders.’ – Zining Wong(Year 3)

‘Courage to me means standing up for myself and trying new things even though it can be difficult or scary… Courage helps you become brave and be proud of yourself.’ – Isabella Yang (Year 3)

‘To me, courage is just taking a little step forward. Three years ago, when I was sitting in my classroom, hoping that nobody would ever choose me to answer a question. However, I talked to my teacher, and she encouraged me. My classmates’ smiling faces also gave me a little more confidence. Now it doesn’t ever seem to be a big problem anymore. I received not only courage but also friendship.’ – Emily Chen (Year 3)

Our gymnasts, drama and filmmaking students have been showcasing their courage, commitment, skills and passion this week in their end of year showcases. Congratulations to all these girls on your wonderful achievements in your area of passion. I was very proud of some very kind Connection Club girls who helped Mrs Bird and me write positive good luck messages for all the Kindergarten to Year 2 Drama girls and their performance.

Staff News

Some of our permanent staff are also being courageous and embarking on new adventures next year. Mrs Chantelle Durrant is heading back to Perth to be near family as her daughter grows up. Mrs Monica Medeiros is moving to part time work next year to give herself more time with her young family. We are excited that whilst she is heading to teach in another school, she will also be teaching with us as a casual teacher throughout 2023! Mrs Alexandra Gordon is looking forward to further exploring her expertise in teaching within the International Baccalaureate system.

Mrs Jill King is heading off to work in a Kindergarten to Year 12 role in a school closer to home. We know she will bring joy, passion and a wealth of experience to all the students she will work with in years to come and we look forward to hearing all about her new creative adventures in the future.

We are very proud of Mr Stephen Robinson who heads off to be the Deputy Head of Junior School at Ascham next year. We know he will flourish in this role. We are looking forward to opportunities to explore kindness and learning partnerships with Ascham in the years ahead!

Whilst we are always sad to farewell staff, we are thankful for the years of dedicated service they have collectively given us, and we are so proud of their many achievements. Please join me in wishing these amazing staff members much love and luck in their future adventures.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Sophie Kidd and Annabella Bayfield (Year 6) who successfully qualified for VEX IQ Robotics Nationals on Friday at the competition at Barker.

Our Junior VEX IQ teams are now the highest ranked school in Australia on World Skills! This is a phenomenal achievement and testament to the success of this program and the girls’ dedication, tenacity and team spirit over the year. We had 5 teams in the finals at Friday’s competition, more than any other academy or school and we now have 4 teams heading to Nationals.

Congratulations girls and a huge thank you to Miss Charlotte Baker, Mrs Alison Tedesco, Jet, Fiona and Mr Brown who mentor the girls in our Robotics programs.

Congratulations to Aimee Qiu who achieved phenomenal results in the NSW Fencing Championships over the weekend. Aimee was awarded the gold medal for U8 girls’ Sabre and also achieved bronze in the U10 competition. These are fantastic results and a reflection of Aimee’s dedication and skills. We are Pymble Proud of you, Aimee!

Congratulations to Elyséa Jones (Year 3) for winning the U11 Nepean Tennis tournament on the weekend at Penrith.

Our Year 6 girls have been enjoying a huge week of celebrations this week as their end of Junior School draws near. In their final Chapel Service, I asked the girls to reflect on how far they have grown through their learning adventures over the last 7 years and gave them these 7 top tips as they look forward to their many new adventures in Year 7:

BE PRESENT – Take the time to treasure small moments throughout your journey. The journey is always more important than the destination. Remember to look up from your screens and see what’s around you!

LOOK CLOSELY – Always remember that you are never too busy to stop and see the beauty in nature. Make time to sit quietly and enjoy the peace nature offers you.

ASK QUESTIONS – Be curious, wonder, dream and question. Discover your own path. Seek out problems and be a change maker.

BE BRAVE – Take risks and try new adventures.

MAKE CONNECTIONS – Have a go at making friends with people like you and have a go at making friends with people unlike you.

BE KIND – Never underestimate the power of a kind word to others or to yourself.

BE YOU – Always be true to yourself and be proud of who you are.

The Year 6 girls lifted the roof of the Chapel with their exceptional performance in French, English and AUSLAN of the beautiful Kindness Mantra. Our Year 6 girls are leaving a powerful and positive kindness legacy for our incoming 2023 leaders to uphold.

Year 6 Surf Education Day – Mrs Michele Wilson, Year 6 Coordinator

On Friday, 18 November, Year 6 packed their beach bags with great enthusiasm and excitement and travelled to Manly Beach to participate in the Surf Education Australia Program focusing on swimming and rescue skills. The girls enjoyed many opportunities to ‘have a go’ and try new challenges as they participated in activities including wading, learn to surf, rip detection, duck diving, paddleboarding and ocean swimming with their trained surf instructors.

Some quotes from our Year 6 students sharing their surf stories –

When we went to do Surf Education, we got to float in the ocean and run in the waves! My classmates and I got to body surf in two teams, and it was so satisfying to get pushed in with the waves. Luckily, the sun was out and shining brightly so I wasn’t cold at all. – Elizabeth Liu
We enjoyed three rotations, survival skills, surfing without boards and surfing with boards. This was a very exciting and nerve-racking experience for me, but the only challenge I had was to get into the cold water. I’m very glad I tried this and I would love to do it again. – Amara Ahmed

Surf Education was a really fun experience at Manly Beach last week. We learnt to survive rips, water skills and how to catch waves back into shore on a board. My favourite part was when we got to catch waves without a board, because if you took a breath you stopped, but it was satisfying to get to shore without a board. Surf Education was very a lot of fun and I want to back and do it another time. – Eva Still

The Surf Education experience was amazing. I got to have so much fun. The only challenge I had was getting into the water because it was freezing! But all up, I think it was a great experience and I got to have fun with my friends. – Abigail Martin

Surfing at the beach is one of my favourite things that we have done in Year 6! We had to learn how to float in the ocean before we actually started surfing. One of the challenges for me was that swimming is something that I don’t do a lot and the sea water was freezing cold! Even if I’m not a great swimmer, I still had a go and I really, really liked it. – Sally Zhou

Junior School Swimming Carnival – Matt Tyson, Head of Sport K-6

On Wednesday, 17 November 2022, Junior School girls competed in our annual Swimming Carnival. We had to modify the carnival to fit with the capacity limits of the Aquatic Centre. As a result, we ran the carnival over 4 sessions; Championship events and Year based Race League Events.

Championship Events

During PE lessons, the girls competed in swimming trials. We used this data, along with times submitted on NSW Swimming Central database to then invite the top girls from each event to participate in Championship Heats.

25m Races and Race League Events

Girls competed in teams for their house in 25m races, novelty events and relays. The activities catered for all swimming abilities with emphasis being fun, participation and house spirit.

There were 2 new school records set on the day, along with more swimmers participating in all the events than in previous years. Results will be published in next week’s newsletter and our Age Champions and House winner will be announced at our Final Kindergarten to Year 6 assembly.

Library – last day for borrowing

All books are due back tomorrow Friday 25 November. Please contact Mrs Laretive or Mrs Itzcovitz if you have a concern about book loans. Thank you for your support.

Kindergarten to Year 6 Co-curricular Reminder

All Co-Curricular classes finish tomorrow Friday 25 November for 2022. Except for Competition Gymnastics and Swim lessons and Swim Squad continue. All girls should go to car line or their regular mode of transport home unless otherwise advised to Junior School Administration Offices juniorschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

Jacaranda Day

Thank you to all our families for your wonderful donations supporting the Children’s Hospital and Exodus Foundation.

Kindergarten to Year 2 may still donate up until end of this term if they would like to with a gift voucher or gift for a child, unwrapped, and placed in a gift bag for the Sydney Children’s Hospital. Please note that gifts should be new items/toys not pre-loved. Thank you to our K-2 families who have donated so far, we have collected $1,820 in vouchers and a lovely selection of gifts to be given to the Children’s Hospital and who will appreciate the kindness of our Junior School community.

Uniform

Please ensure your daughter has her play hat at school, to keep your daughter sun safe, the Junior School enforces with the girls a no hat no play policy and your daughter will be asked to sit in the shade if she has no play hat at recess or lunch.

All items of clothing should be clearly labelled so they can be returned to your daughter’s classroom if they are handed into the office.

Celebrations of Learning Kindergarten to Year 2

Term 4 will end for Kindergarten to Year 2 students after their Celebration of Learning on Thursday 1 December. Kindergarten to Year 2 girls are not required to attend school on Friday 2 December. Should your Kindergarten to Year 2 daughter need supervision at school on Friday 2 December, please complete the form by clicking here.

Booklists 2023 – Kindergarten to Year 6

As per the Portal notice, your daughter’s 2023 booklist is now available to order through Campion. Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 students will have their stationery kits delivered to the College during the holiday period ready for their first day of school. Years 3-6 will have their orders delivered to their home.

To gain direct access to Pymble’s textbook lists click here. You will need to select the booklist for the grade your daughter is in next year (2023) and type in code 2677.

Your daughter will need the items found listed under “additional stationery”. If you have these items already, please retain for 2023. If you do not have these items, please purchase them.

Please order before Thursday 8 December to ensure delivery before Term 1 2023 commences. Please contact Campion on 02 8905 8691, email campionsydney@campion.com.au for any order enquiries.

Junior School News

From Out of School Hours Care (OSHC)

Bookings are now open for the school holiday programs in December and January. All bookings can be made through KidSoft.

For more information on how to book a place, please click here or contact us via email at oshcadmin@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

Reminders from the Administration Office

AFTERNOON TRAVEL CHANGES

Please email juniorschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au to advise any changes to afternoon travel arrangements. Late changes should be made prior to 2.00pm to ensure messages are received by staff and students prior to the girls end of formal day routines.

LOST PROPERTY

All items of uniform should be named including summer hat, play hat, uniforms, shoes, sneakers, socks, lunch box and drink bottle. Lost items can be readily returned if it they are labelled.

Winter should have your daughter’s name written in white pen inside the crown of the hat. If there is a circular label inside the hat, don’t use this as it is inclined to come loose.

Please be aware that unnamed items will only be held at each Junior School Administration Office for two weeks.

Dates for your Diary

Term 4

1 December Kindergarten Celebration of Learning 9.00am, term ends for Kindergarten children

1 December Years 1 and 2 Celebration of Learning 11.00am, term ends for Year 1 and 2 children

1 December. Years 4 to 6 Speech Day rehearsals

2 December Years 3 to 6 Speech Day, 1.30pm