From the Upper School

From our Head of Upper School

As I write this newsletter, my final one as Head of Upper School, I’m reflecting on the fact that I’ve spent 3,088 wonderful days in the Upper School and had the incredible privilege of seeing more than 2,000 students move through Years 9 and 10. These Upper School years are so special in the lives of our girls. Your Year 9 daughter is vastly different from the one who presents at the end of Year 10. It’s a stage of rapid growth and maturity and a search (or demand) for independence and voice. There are mistakes to be made, risks to explore, new subjects to try, activities to master and ever-changing relationships with self and others to navigate. These are the years of identity formation; I have always likened the Upper School to the caterpillar’s transformation to a butterfly.

For our students and parents, this time is not always easy, and I’ve had many conversations with you along the away. Often, I say things like “hang in there” and “it’ll get better” to parents, knowing all the while that the extremes of adolescent behaviour will most often resolve with time and nature. Other times there have been more detailed interventions when complications arose. I’m grateful for the times we were able to work in partnership to improve outcomes for your daughter. I look forward to one day, writing a book about some of the things I have seen (de-identified of course!) and stories I have heard along the way. However, the thing that stands out for me the most about my time in the Upper School years is the passion of our Years 9 and 10 students. When guided into meaningful pursuits they are unstoppable. There have been so many generous acts of service, kindness and advocacy for the disadvantaged that have left us all in awe. As I move into my new role as Head of Secondary – Wellbeing, I will be keeping a close eye on our Upper School girls and look forward to celebrating their every success along the way.

I would like to wish Mr Tom Riley, our new Head of Upper School, all the very best as he begins his role next term. I am confident that he will enjoy the humour, energy and warmth that Years 9 and 10 have shared with me along the way. Mr Riley will be well supported by the wonderful Upper School Team: Mrs Hunt, Deputy Head of Upper School, our Heads of Year and Upper School Administration team.

Onto practical matters, it is wonderful to be meeting with the College leadership team to start making plans for our return to campus next term. I hope this idea is exciting for your daughter, but we understand that any change to routine can be met with apprehension; particularly in the throes of a pandemic. The Wellbeing team will be using some time in Directions to help students manage any uncertainty about transitioning back to face-to-face learning and supporting those who cannot.

This week, there has been much discussion about Yearly examinations for Years 9 and 10. Please refer to Mr Jake Plaskett’s article in this newsletter for more detailed information relevant to each year group. In a recent assembly with Year 10, he outlined the changes to routines to minimise stress, whilst providing an opportunity for students to experience examination conditions prior to their Senior School years. If the idea of examinations is causing your daughter distress or anxiety, please contact her Compass teacher or Head of Year. Our student’s wellbeing remains our first priority.

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful term break and that you are able to spend some time offline as a family.

Mrs Melissa Boyd

Head of Upper School

A message from Mrs Hunt, Deputy Head of Upper School

THANK YOU, MRS BOYD

Yes, Mrs Boyd, I am afraid it is time! Time to farewell you as Head of Upper School and wish you all the very best as you officially commence your new role as Head of Secondary – Wellbeing.

Last week the Upper School community (special guests, parents, teachers, our Reverends and students) held a special assembly to share memories and express gratitude for Mrs Boyd’s seven years of incredible love, compassion and care for our Upper School community.

Under the guidance of Mrs Boyd, hundreds of students have had the opportunity to experience diverse cultures due to the International Exchange program. The Service programs have enabled Upper School girls to travel to many communities throughout regional NSW and within Sydney, to care for our most vulnerable citizens.

Sony Camp is just one of Mrs Boyd’s passions and each year she co-ordinates this event. Pymble and Shore co-host a four-day ‘live-in’ holiday camp for children with a physical or mental disability. Mrs Boyd always tears up when she talks about the love and care that the program can offer these young people and the much-needed respite that families are able to enjoy. We appreciated Mrs Ann Ibbotson, one of our Sony camp volunteers, joining us to honour Mrs Boyd and her dedication to Sony Camp.

Thank you to the following Upper School Leaders who thanked Mrs Boyd and acknowledged her hard work:

On behalf of Year 9:

Jiya:

“Mrs Boyd has been such an incredible Head of Upper School. She helped to provide many community service initiatives like Easy Care Gardening, Northaven Aged Care and Retirement Village, Youth Works at Gordon Library, Turratots Occasional Care, Kids on the Block Playgroup (as part of Mission Australia), Days for Girls and Wrap with Love. She has been running most of these programs since 2014, starting new ones along the way, and interviewing hundreds of girls to enable them to have an opportunity. Even during lockdown, she has been constantly figuring out ways to engage Upper School students, for example the Read by US initiative. Mrs Boyd, your hard work and dedication drives the Upper School forward, and while we are all very sad to see you go, we’re beyond grateful for all that you have done for us and wish you the best of luck in your new position.” 

Abi: 

“The Year 9 Leaders were lucky to have Mrs Boyd’s support through working on the Knox Pymble Leadership and Year 9 collaboration. She made sure that we were equipped with the right skills going into meetings with Deans of Students and Knox Leaders and always provided us with feedback and hyped us up with ‘proud mum’ gifs. 

We are all fortunate to be working with her on this initiative for Upper School and appreciate everything that Mrs Boyd has done for us. We will all miss your massive smile, energy and warmth in the Upper School, and know that you will do just as well in your new position.”

On behalf of Year 10:

Sarah: 

“Mrs Boyd has overseen many exchange opportunities around the world including Argentina, England, New Zealand, Scotland, Canada and South Africa. She has organised for a variety of scholars to have the opportunity to attend seminars at Oxford and Cambridge Universities on the Cambridge/Oxford Summer trip. Mrs Boyd organised small groups of Year 10 students to visit The Modern School in New Delhi, India for the Youth Leadership Summit.”

Ellie:

“Mrs Boyd has also forged a connection between Pymble and Unity Grammar, an Islamic school based in Austral. With the help of her husband who is the Principal at Unity Grammar, they have allowed Pymble and Unity Grammar girls who would otherwise have no contact, to gain a meaningful and deep connection. Sarah and I were lucky to participate in hosting the Unity Grammar girls early this year before COVID-19. It was an amazing experience that gave us a greater insight into other cultures. Mrs Boyd always puts the wellbeing of all Upper School girls above everything else and since the beginning of her role, Mrs Boyd has made sure to create meaningful connections and experiences for us. Thank you, Mrs Boyd, for everything you have done, the Upper School will miss you dearly.”

Throughout the assembly we were able to laugh and cry over recounts of past adventures and photographic evidence of unplanned ‘swims’ in creeks, leech attacks, Zumba classes and endless Upper School events. What was most evident in preparing this farewell is how special Mrs Boyd is to staff members who have worked alongside her over the past seven years. Tributes and photos from past Year Co-ordinators, Connect/Compass group teachers and Administrative staff were plentiful and impossible to fit in one assembly.

Mel, one final ‘message’ on behalf of the Upper School Team: You are a spectacular human being, and we genuinely love you very much. May you continue to be a sneaky snake and when we least expect it populate our chats willy-nilly with all types of Gifs, Rick Rolls and Dear ‘friend’ memes. We wish you all the best!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Throughout the term we have seen our young women make the best of a tough situation and use the following tools to remain positive: exercise, organisation, gratitude exercises, balanced lifestyle, social contact and trying new things. Whilst we no doubt have it tough compared to life before COVID-19, we need to continue to help our young women find positives in each day and find gratitude in what we do have. I wish you a safe break and look forward to an exciting Term 4 when we commence our transition back to our beautiful campus.

Mrs Michelle Hunt

Deputy Head of Upper School

From our Heads of Year 9

Happy Week 10 to all our Year 9 families. Some say this term flew by and others think it has dragged. All we can say is that it is now over! A huge thank you to all our parents and carers who have supported Year 9 during this extremely difficult term of online learning. The students should be extremely proud of how they have conducted themselves as they worked with diligence and dedication while also showing kindness and looking out for one another.

On Monday, our girls enjoyed the Pymble Picnic and while the weather seemed to take a turn in Sydney, some lucky students managed to enjoy themselves on the coast – Giaan Jackson rounded up all the dogs for her picnic on Monday:

“It was great to see the students get involved and share pictures of yummy homemade food with their Compass groups. There was a range of food from sweet treats to homemade pizza. What a fantastic way to start Week 10.”

The Upper School Leaders team has worked extremely hard on the Pymble Knox Social which was held on Wednesday. With Mr Plaskett leading as Quiz Master, the students managed to engage with the Knox students while fostering teamwork and communication skills. The trivia questions ranged in content and the girls had a great time in break out rooms. Students were also given the opportunity to earn extra points by uploading challenge videos of themselves showing trick shots at home, things you are doing in lockdown and hidden talents. It was fantastic to see what the students have been up to while in lockdown and to finish such a challenging term with something fun. A very big congratulations to our Upper School Leaders on such a successful event.

These holidays take some time away from screens and enjoy sunshine whenever you can. Wishing everyone a safe and relaxing break.

From our Heads of Year 10

What a challenging term it has been! Year 10 should be proud of their ability to adapt to the evolving circumstances, all while maintaining their focus in class and co-curricular activities.

We hope you enjoy a well-deserved break and ensure that you get some time away from screens of any form!

Monday’s Picnic and House activities were met with excitement as the change of schedule signalled that the holidays are not far away!

Our Year 10 students got involved in a range of activities, with some students planning their time:

Boarder and Narrabri resident, Georgia Stuart, planned to spend “it under our mulberry tree and pick some of its fruit and listen to some music. I also might go for a ride on my pushbike down to the river. It will be lovely to have a break and spend a few hours away from the screen.”

Lucy Clarke planned to go “on a picnic at Wahroonga park and Sasha and I are going to climb some trees. If it starts raining we will have a board game picnic at home.”

Unfortunately, the weekend’s weather did not continue into Monday, but our girls still managed to use the time well.

Key dates