From the Middle School
From our Head of Middle School
This week we welcome back Ms Carr, one of our beautiful Year 8 Heads of Year. It is great to have the whole Middle School team back on deck as we speed toward the end of term. Last Friday, we celebrated Links Day for our incoming Year 7 2023 students and what a great day it was. Thank you to our Deputy Head of Middle School Mrs Budd for all of her organisation and energy.
This week, our Year 8 girls were treated to a weaving workshop facilitated by the TAS Department. This was a fun way of learning a new skill and connecting with others. A reminder to our Year 7 families that the End of Year Christmas Service invitation has now been shared. We would love to see as many of you as possible at this special event. Please RSVP by Tuesday 8 November.
Year 7
Monday Compass X time has been busy with ongoing service projects. As the program draws to an end we would like to showcase the creativity of Wylie B who have been working with their wonderful Compass teacher, Ms Harris, to make bowls and cards for the elderly residents of Uniting Northaven at Turramurra. The students’ works are beautiful and are above all, made with love.
In Directions this week classes are learning about the fourth digital wellbeing topic, that of digital security which is of course highly relevant in Australia at the moment. Managing passwords, identifying fake emails, phishing and keeping their identity safe while using the internet will be the focus in their class. They should be able to share some of their knowledge with family members and increase awareness about data security, in particular, how to mitigate risk in the online environment.
Year 8
Well done to all our Year 8 students who have submitted a leadership application. With applications having closed on Monday, we are now in the process of organising interviews which will start in Week 5. On the topic of leadership, it has been heartening to see the response to a request emailed to Year 8 for volunteers to act as New Student Buddies for our 16 incoming students in 2023. Within the space of about 15 minutes, we had received 35 offers to assist. And this with the knowledge that volunteers would be required to attend Orientation Day, the day before their first day next year. Thank you to all our beautiful volunteers who will be helping welcome our newest Pymble girls next year.
This week in Directions Year 8 have been setting up their Passport Portfolium by using the STAR model to write a meaningful reflection on an experience this year. The STAR framework involves describing a situation, identifying our roles and responsibilities in the situation, describing the list of steps taken, and recognising the subsequent results or outcomes. Whilst used here in the context of a reflection, the STAR model is a commonly-used interview response technique that allows individuals to prepare clear and concise responses using real-life examples.
From the Middle School Parent Group
We look forward to seeing our Year 7 and 8 parents at the upcoming dinners. Please see details on how to book below:
Year 7 Parents Cocktail Dinner
Date: Saturday 5 November
Location: Avondale Golf Course
