From the Middle School

From our Head of Middle School

It was lovely to see the girls returning to the College on Tuesday. They seemed excited to catch up with friends and were obviously enjoying the return to summer uniforms. I do hope that our Middle School families enjoyed the break. Welcome back to the following Compass teachers: Angie White: Year 7 Marden A, Stephanie Centner: Year 7 Bennett B and Mary Nicolas: Year 8 Marden A who are returning from extended leave. Thank you to Mel Boyd who will be covering Narelle Moylan’s Year 7 Thomas A Compass group for the first five weeks of this term whilst Narelle is on leave, and thank you also to Shelley Xie who will be covering Kylie Cooley’s Year 7 Goodlet A Compass Group for all of Term 4 whilst Kylie is on leave. A warm welcome to our new Middle School families who joined at the beginning of Term 4. We look forward to getting to know you and your daughters.

On Tuesday, our Year 8 students had an opportunity to hear from Dr Hadwen, Mr Tom Riley (Head of Upper School) and Mr Stuart Clark (Head of Campus Vision Valley) regarding the Residential Program for 2023. This provided the girls with further insight into details about the exciting program on offer. Next Monday during lunchtime, students will have the opportunity to speak with a variety of co-curricular coaches to better understand how they can maintain their training routines whilst at the Valley. Parents will shortly also receive a link to a College survey which will help the team better understand thinking around decision making about committing to the program. We greatly appreciate your feedback.

Thank you to all the parents who joined us for the panel discussion on Wednesday evening: Speaking of Teens, Holding onto Love. Year 7 were very fortunate to hear from one of the panelists on Thursday – Michele Chevalley Hedge – who shared valuable insights into the importance of looking after ourselves and in particular the importance of good nutrition and sleep.

Congratulations to the following students who have been nominated for a Jacaranda Award as a result of their demonstration of our college values throughout Term 3.

Just a heads up to our Year 7 families regarding the traditional Year 7 Christmas Service which will be held in our Chapel from 1.15pm on 15 November, followed by an afternoon tea catch up. A formal invitation will be sent out to parents shortly, I just wanted to alert you so that you could save the date.

Year 7

It has been lovely welcoming back our Year 7 girls to campus this week for the start of Term 4. A special welcome to our new Year 7 students; we are very lucky to have two sets of twins join our year group this term. We hope that Maya, Amelie, Zoe and Mia have all had a great first week at Pymble and are starting to feel settled in. Thank you to their buddies and all our wonderful Year 7 girls for helping them to feel welcome.

A reminder that the girls have returned in summer uniform. We appreciate parents’ assistance in making sure that the girls are wearing their uniform with pride. Checking that their tunics are the correct length; shoes are regularly polished and that the students following the uniform guidelines is appreciated. The College uniform guidelines are outlined on page 28 of the College diary.

This week, Year 7 attended a presentation by Michele Chevalley Hedge about nutrition and sleep. Michelle is a very engaging and informative speaker who challenged the girls to think about their food and sleep habits. We are sure that the girls benefited from this presentation and hope that they will reflect on their habits to ensure that they are giving their bodies adequate fuel and recovery time.

Year 8

Welcome back to our Year 8 students for Term 4, and a special warm welcome to our two new students, Iman and Maddie who started with us on Tuesday. This term is a fairly short term but it’s likely to be a busy one for our Year 8 girls. Shortly, we will be launching our leadership applications for Year 9 2023. There are a great range of leadership roles available to students, including portfolios such as Wellbeing Leader, Intercultural Leader, Community Service Leader and Environmental Leader. More information about the roles can be found by clicking here. We encourage our students to have a go and to think about what they could bring to each of these roles.

As part of our preparation for the transition to Upper School, this term we will also be welcoming Pru Salter, a study skills specialist, to talk to Year 8 about the strategies they can adopt to counter procrastination and to work more efficiently. Directions classes will build on these themes by working with current Year 9 students to share tips and ideas.

It was great to see so many parents join us for the parent evening on Wednesday night. One of the presenters, Madonna King, an award-winning journalist and author, has written a book which may be of particular interest to our Year 8 families. The book, Being 14, explores some of the challenges and experiences faced by 14-year-old girls, and provides some interesting discussion on the topics of friendships, social media and family dynamics.

Finally, a gentle reminder to students to check their uniforms. Many of our girls have grown since last wearing their summer uniform in Term 1 and may need to lower their hem to adjust for the growth spurt. Students are also reminded to remove any make-up and extra jewellery, including necklaces and bracelets, that may have been left over from the holidays. We appreciate the support of our parents in ensuring students are wearing the correct uniform at all times.

From the Middle School Parent Group

As we get into our final term of the year, both Year 7 and Year 8 Parent Co-ordinators have organised an evening of fun for everyone to celebrate another school year coming to an end for the parents (and what a busy year it has been!). Please see notes from both year groups below.

Year 7

Dear Year 7 Parents,

We hope you had a wonderful school holidays break. Thank you so much for all your support and involvement with various school events so far this year.

It’s been great to be able to stay in touch via our Facebook Group and our Year 7 WhatsApp group and WeChat group.

We are looking forward to our Year 7 Parents’ Cocktail Dinner which will be a wonderful opportunity to catch up and also get to know the parents in your daughter’s year group.

Thank you to all the parents who have already RSVPd and made payment. A reminder to all parents to please RSVP and make payment if you haven’t already.

Wishing the girls all the best in their final term of Year 7!

Year 7 Coordinators (Carol Bai and Shiva Rich)

Year 8

Dear Year 8 Parents

We are looking forward to celebrating the end of year with you and connecting with our new Pymble families who have joined over the last couple of years. It is going to be a fun night!

The Year 8 Parent/Carers Social will be held on 29 October 2022 at the Governor Hotel. Please RSVP by clicking here by 22 October 2022, or contact us at Sunny.hres@gmail.com or Malinib.srivastava@gmail.com

We hope to see you there!

Year 8 Coordinators (Sunny Hres)

Pymble parent association (ppa) AGM agenda 

The PPA Annual General Meeting will take place this Monday 17 October from 6.00pm to 7.00pm at the David McFarlane Centre.

Please find a copy of the agenda here. 

We look forward to seeing you there.

Mrs Jenny O’Donnell

Head of Middle School