From the Middle School

From our Head of Middle School

Welcome to Week 3 in the Middle School and happy Chinese New Year for last week! The Middle School marked this important occasion on the Lunar calendar with a colourful display outside our office and along the Colonnade which contributed to the atmosphere of celebration across the College.

Our girls have had an exciting week with opportunities to demonstrate their House spirit at the Years 7 to 9 Swimming Carnival here on campus. Congratulations to all who participated. Thank you to Ms Carr and Ms Lombard for their organisation and facilitation of our first Middle School Mind Body Spirit Day on Tuesday. Year 8 enjoyed the experience together as they gathered in Compass groups and took time to get active whilst appreciating the rejuvenating natural surrounds of our Vision Valley campus. 

The 2022 academic timetable has provided students with more time for flexibility and independence with the introduction of a 40-minute supervised study period on Tuesday or Thursday. This is part of our Mind Body Spirit Wellbeing belt which occurs across each day of the week after Compass time. Your daughter’s Directions lesson is also scheduled within this belt of time, as is a Year Assembly and Compass X. The team has been busily planning a variety of initiatives for Compass X sessions which will include guest speakers, extended time for Compass activities such as our focus on the 5 Ways to Wellbeing and Service initiatives in an attempt to ensure our Middle School girls are connecting within their Pymble community as well as strengthening their awareness of the wider world.

It was great to see so many Middle School parents online for the Pymble Parent Association meeting on Tuesday night. We look forward to getting to know our new families in particular over the coming weeks. A reminder that we will be hosting an event for Year 7 parents on Thursday 24 February which will provide an opportunity for you to meet your daughter’s Compass teacher and learn more about the Year 7 program. Details to follow.

COVID-19: Important update and reminder for families

Please click here for:

• what to do if another member of your household tests positive while you are already in isolation;
• a reminder to inform the school if your daughter has to isolate at home and temporarily switch to learning via Pymble Online; and
• upcoming booster shots for eligible students.

Mrs Jenny O’Donnell

Head of Middle School

From our Deputy Head of Middle School

Middle School students have had an exciting start to the year building new friendships, reacquainting with old and busying themselves with academic studies and Co-curricular activities. The Middle School has been abuzz with the girls’ excitement and positivity.

It was wonderful to have worked with Year 7 as they commenced their Orientation program and participated in Connections week activities. Year 7 students connected with their Compass teachers and staff from across the campus as well as students from our Middle School and Senior School Leadership teams. Below are a few images taken from our Orientation program.

The theme of connections will continue over the next few weeks as our Year 8 Middle School Leaders and Year 12 Middle School Liaison Leaders prepare a term of Gloucester Gatherings. A calendar of Gloucester Gathering activities will be shared with Year 7 students in the coming weeks. In previous years activities included handball tournaments, biscuit decorating, crafting and origami. Gloucester Gatherings provide all Year 7 students with the opportunity to meet new students, connect with our student leadership team and build new connections over lunch.

We look forward to seeing your daughter at a Gloucester Gathering soon!

Mrs Sarah Budd

Deputy Head of Middle School (Acting)

From the IT Department

During the Orientation program, your daughter received her new laptop and charger. It is important to note that she will keep this device until the end of Year 9. The IT Department would like to remind you that it is a brand-new laptop, so please encourage your daughter to treat it with care. All laptops were tested and checked before allocation.

This form will help you understand our damage and repair policy – please click here to acknowledge you have read and understood this policy. Your daughter has completed a similar form acknowledging the receipt of her device and charger. If you have any questions about the form or the CYOD program, please email cyod@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au.

Directions

Year 7 

It has been wonderful seeing Year 7 settle into the Middle School so well. The girls are doing a great job of reading their timetables, navigating their way around campus, and getting to know their new teachers and peers. We have seen the beginnings of beautiful new friendships during recess and lunch and in the classroom. We look forward to spending more time getting to know the girls in the weeks ahead.

In addition to the preparation activities the girls experienced during Connections week, time has been spent working through the Year 7 Organisation booklet which is a great tool to help Year 7 students organise their learning and establish good routines for the year ahead. It would be helpful to ask your daughter about the activities she has completed in the booklet and to sign each page she has worked through. This is a great way check your daughter understands her schedule and for you to understand what we have been working on at school. We encourage Year 7 students to have a copy of their timetable in a prominent place at home and pack their bags the night before school so as to be well prepared for the day ahead.

Many girls have embraced the wide range of Co-curricular activities available at Pymble which is fantastic. This does add another location to find on campus so please make sure you have communicated this venue to your daughter as we may not always know where every single activity is held. This information will have been emailed to you by the relevant Co-curricular Co-ordinator or Sports Manager.

On Monday the girls experienced their first Years 7 to 9 Swimming Carnival. There was a great sense of fun and enthusiasm as the girls joined in the action in the pool. Well done to all those girls who swam competitively, contributed to House points and all those for showing great House spirit.

In our Directions lessons this week we have had great fun playing a range of icebreaker games as we get to know each other and ensure that we establish strong bonds for this special lesson each week. Establishing connections and positive relationships will be a focus of these lessons over the next few weeks to help the girls feel comfortable in the Middle School.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions during this time of transition and beyond. 

Year 8 

What a busy week it has been for our Year 8 students! Well done to all who took part in the swimming carnival on Monday. From our competitive swimmers to those who jumped in the pool to accumulate House points and our fabulous cheer squads – it was wonderful to hear the excitement and to share in some House spirit.

The energy continued on Tuesday with Year 8 once again donning their House shirts for a Mind, Body, Spirit Day at our second campus, Vision Valley. Students took part in an array of activities including Zumba in the soft rain on the lawn. It was a great way to shake off the bus ride and a busy start to the term! On the bush walk, students had the opportunity to practise awareness (5 Ways to Wellbeing) by meditating or drawing for five to ten minutes. Students and teachers reported that this reflection time gave them a valuable sense of calm. After a long summer break, it’s been lovely having these opportunities for students to reconnect and enjoy some time together.

Ruth Shen (Year 8) has kindly shared a brief overview of the day:

“Year 8 participated in the Mind Body Spirit Day on Tuesday 8 February. It was a relaxing and peaceful day spent at the beautiful Vision Valley. Girls were split into compass groups and each group spent the day canoeing, doing archery, mountain biking, swimming, and going down the exhilarating water slide, playing volleyball and even going on calming bush walks. It was a truly wonderful experience that will be remembered.”

To complement our Mind Body Spirit Day this week, Directions lessons have focused on the 5 Ways to Wellbeing, with classes centred around build connections and putting in place plans to ensure a healthy balance for the term ahead.

This year we have had the pleasure of welcoming seven new students into Year 8. We warmly welcome Sara, Grace, Neve, Sophie, Olivia, Libby and Vivian. The girls are to be congratulated on the way in which they have eased into life at Pymble, taking on a range of Co-curricular activities and getting involved in their classes. We are looking forward to sitting down with our new students for a morning tea in the weeks to come.

From the Head of Learning Support

Homework Help Term 1

Homework Help is an after-school service offered to all Pymble students in the Secondary School to provide assistance and support with everyday homework, assignments and research skills in a friendly, quiet environment. Homework Help is staffed by teachers from the Learning Support Team.

For further enquiries, please contact Mrs Lora Lim at llim@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au.

Mrs Lora Lim

Head of Learning Support