From the Middle School
From our Head of Middle School
As the Term 3 draws to a close, I would firstly like to express my gratitude to the team who continue to work tirelessly to support the girls. I would also like to acknowledge the true spirit of Middle School – which embodies a sense of inclusion, care and pride in all we do. We have seen examples of this demonstrated by our Year 7 and 8 students on so many occasions across the last 10 weeks. The growth and sense of responsibility embraced by so many individuals is well worth celebrating.
Thank you to all of the families who generously supported our MS Basket Stall at the Garden Party last Saturday. The creativity and thought that went into so many of the baskets was a testament to your willingness to enthusiastically get behind the initiative and give back. Middle School’s focus on Service will continue into Term 4 with new and continuing projects to contribute to during our Monday Mind/Body/Spirit time. We are already seeing the fruits of the girl’s labour with some unique creations being made to share with others outside the Pymble community.
Below is an impressive list of girls who have achieved outstanding results across a number of areas. Well done to each of you!
Our MS Robotics teams secured some spectacular results at the VEX Robotics Competition at Barker last weekend.
Year 7-8 65100A: Design Award and qualified for Nationals
Year 7 65100C: Innovate Award and qualified for Nationals
Year 8 65100F: Excellence Award and qualified for Nationals
Jenny Xu of Year 8, competed at the State Semi-final of the Legacy Public Speaking competition last Saturday and is now through to the State Final of the comp!
A special congratulations to Gemma Stanbury who has been selected by Basketball NSW to join the U16 D-League and the U16 ECC (East Coast Challenge). A fabulous achievement!
I was fortunate to be a part of the crowd of supporters at the Year 7 Netball finals held here at the college prior to the Garden Party. What an impressive game that kept us on the edge of our seats until final victory!
Congratulations to the fabulous cast and Crew of the Peter Pan production that entertained audiences last week. I attended the Thursday evening performance which was such a polished and enjoyable experience.
Good luck to our Artistic Gymnastics teams who will be competing at the Nationals on Friday.
Year 7 National’s Team: Stella Paterson, Gabriella Sheh, Isabelle Burke
Year 8 National’s Team: Mahika Swamy, Emma Baikie, Vivienne Eaton, Siobhan Hsu, Sasha Clark, Holly Graham.
Reminder lost property is available in the Middle School. Girls have been emailed to collect anything they may be missing.
Finally, I would like to wish everyone a wonderful holiday break with family and friends. The girls are tired and very much looking forward to enjoying some down time.
If your daughter requires assistance or needs to speak to someone urgently over the break, please consider contacting the following services and/or utilising the Mental Health Support Services and useful apps included below.
The NSW Mental Health Line: 1800 011 511
Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800
Lifeline: 13 11 14
eHeadspace: 1800 650 890
Mental Health Support Flyer – External Services and Helplines
Click here to view a list of helpful apps.
Year 7
This week we celebrate 140 days of being in Year 7. We have loved getting to know all our Year 7 girls over their first three terms of high school. Many wonderful new friendships have formed and it is pleasing to see that new friends are always welcome as older friendships change and expand. Many thanks to our Year 7s for donating such beautiful baskets to our Garden Party stall; it was a great success and a wonderful opportunity to celebrate with our Pymble community for the first time in two years.
This week in Directions Year 7 were able to connect with our Year 8 girls, forming inner and outer circles on Main Oval and chatting with each other about various topics and creating fun secret handshakes of which there was a play off. We look forward to more combined Middle School fun next term. We look forward to welcoming our girls back next term on Tuesday 11 October and in the meantime we wish you all a safe and restorative holiday break.
In Term 4 Week 1, Year 7 will attend a special presentation with Michele Chevalley Hedge. Michele will discuss the importance of nutrition and balance with study, sleep, exercise, friends and sunshine.
Michele Chevalley Hedge is a qualified nutritionist, health author and an expert in nutritional medicine, including mental health. She is the founder of A Healthy View, and the author of Beating Sugar Addictions for Dummies, Eat, Drink and Still Shrink – a joyful guide to living, and The Australian Healthy Hormone Diet is on the list of best-selling health books internationally.
Year 8
It was wonderful to see so many of our Year 8 families out at Garden Party on Saturday. Thank you for all who took part and assisted with the Middle School stall. For many of our Year 8 students, this will have been their first experience of Garden Party. Thank you to Zoe Blanks who has kindly written a brief reflection on her experience:
This was my first Garden Party experience and I was thoroughly impressed. It had such a warm and kind atmosphere and you could have conversations with everyone. The food was excellent and the people working on them were lovely and kind. There were many different stalls to choose from and very family-friendly rides. The stalls were filled with great jewellery clothes and more to choose from. It was a delightful experience, and I can’t wait to go again next year.
As we reach the end of another busy term, it’s important now for our girls to take some time to relax and recharge their batteries. For some, these last few weeks will have been jam-packed between rehearsals for Peter Pan, assessments and co-curricular commitments. We have been so impressed at the way our Year 8 girls have stepped up and given their best in all that they have undertaken.
In Directions this week, we had a lovely opportunity to combine with Year 7 for a Middle School connections session. The aim of the session was to build connections with Year 7 students through a range of activities, including a Speed Connections activity and a secret handshake challenge. Next term, Year 8 will also be reconnecting with Year 9 students as we start to prepare for the transition to Upper School.
A reminder that Myvanwy Carr will be on Long Service Leave for the first three weeks of Term 4, returning on the 1st November. Please contact Mariel Lombard or the Middle School team with any questions or concerns during this time. We wish you and your families a safe and restful break, and look forward to welcoming back our beautiful girls on Tuesday 11 October.
Our Middle School Maths Whiz
Amber Li (Year 8) has achieved some fantastic results in Mathematics! Last Friday, she was presented with a High Distinction in the difficult and prestigious UNSW Schools Mathematics Competition.
She was also awarded a Bronze Certificate in the Australian Mathematics Olympiad Committee’s Senior Contest. Amber was invited by the Australian Mathematics Trust to enter this contest despite only being in Year 8; a competition that is usually reserved for students in Year 11 and 12. Congratulations Amber on these phenomenal results!
From the Secondary School Parent Group
In Week 2 of Term 4, the final meetings, and annual general meetings (AGM) for the Pymble Parent Support Groups (PSGs) and the Pymble Parent Association (PPA) begin. At these meetings we get the opportunity to thank the 2022 volunteer committees and hear about the events and activities they have assisted with during the year. We will also hear from key Pymble staff and discuss plans for 2023.
These meetings also include inductions for our 2023 committees. There is most often no voting at the AGMs as positions are decided beforehand so that these meetings are more a chance to welcome in our new volunteers.
The PPA and PSGs are a vital part of our school, and many events and activities could not be run without the support of these volunteers. There are considerable advantages to being part of these parent groups. Being involved gives parents and carers a voice, allows for greater connection within our community and of course provides them the opportunity to spend time with their girls in the school environment.
We are currently calling for expressions of Interest for positions within these groups. All positions can be found on the MyPymble App or by clicking here (you will need to be logged into MyPymble to view) . If you are interested in getting involved, we would love to hear from you and would be happy to talk you through the various positions and what is involved. Please call us to discuss on 9855 7717 or email our Community Events Manager (events@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au) before Wednesday 12 October.
Meeting dates:
- PPA and Secondary School Parent Support Group meeting: Monday 17 October, 6.00pm to 7.00pm
- Junior School Parent Support Group meeting: Thursday 3 November, 8.45am to 9.45am.
More details to follow regarding the agenda and location of these meetings.
Year 7 Co-ordinators
Carol Bai 0450855866
Shiva Rich 0414322874
Year 8 Co-ordinator
Sunny Hres 0424878781
