From the Upper School

From our Head of Upper School 

Wow! What a term, and what a year.

It certainly does not feel like I started eight weeks ago, but here we are at the end of the academic year. I would like to extend my thanks for the support you have shown the Upper School this year and for the kind welcome many of you have extended to me and my family. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Pymble to date and look forward to closely working with our Year 9 families in 2022. For those families in Year 10, we wish you well in the Senior School with Mrs Wyse and her team and look forward to seeing you continue to grow and flourish.

We have enjoyed celebrating our award winners this week, and I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate all of our students on their achievements this year. While we have the privilege of celebrating the worthy winners and their toil, passion, dedication and creativity, we must not forget those who provided the competition, the support, the laughs, the quiet achievement, and the aspects of life that do not necessarily lend themselves to an award. I firmly believe we should all be proud of what we have achieved this year, however big or small.

I hope you have a very merry Christmas when you get there, and wish you a safe and enjoyable break.

Mr Tom Riley

Head of Upper School

From our Deputy Head of Upper School

Thank you to the Upper School community for their donations thus far for the Exodus Foundation; Christmas giving is just one of the many ways the girls have displayed our College value of Care this year and their support was appreciated. 

As the holidays approach, we remind the parents and carers that there are many resources on the Office of eSafety Commissioner website which can support students, parents and families in navigating the contemporary issues of safeguarding our students online. Please find links for your reference:

Mental wellbeing resources for families https://www.esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-10/eSafetyParents%20-Mental%20wellbeing%20resources%20for%20families_2.pdf

Counselling and mental wellbeing support for young people https://www.esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-10/eSafetyParents%20-Mental%20wellbeing%20support%20for%20young%20people.pdf

How to look after your mental wellbeing on social media https://www.esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-10/eSafetyParents%20-How%20to%20look%20after%20mental%20wellbeing%20on%20social%20media.pdf

I would like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to our wonderful Upper School community.  Your daughters are such a gift and I am grateful for so many wonderful memories this year. A reminder to our Year 10s…don’t forget to visit us in 2022 and beyond! We will miss you.

I wish you a safe and restful break and look forward to an exciting 2022.

Mrs Michelle Hunt

Deputy Head of Upper School

From the Deputy Principal – Students

DARTA Webinar

It’s important to prepare yourself for issues around sleepovers, parties and gatherings. Putting things into place now can prevent potential problems in the year (and years) ahead.

This presentation will focus on the positive influence that parents can have on their child’s drinking behaviour, even during adolescence, as well as the barriers that they may face during this time. Peer influence is a significant issue at this time and it is important for parents to have clear rules and boundaries in the area of sleepovers, parties, gatherings and alcohol.

This presentation will also examine the latest data on Australian teen drinking behaviour and the growing evidence on the risks associated with this practice.

For further details and registration please go the following link: https://events.humanitix.com/parenting-alcohol-parties-and-sleepovers-in-year-9?_ga=2.98838558.1847493436.1636923312-467732293.1627864130

Save the date

Paul Dillon will be hosting a parent event on Thursday 10 February 2022. This event is for all Secondary parents who would like to attend. Further details will be advised closer to the date.

Ms Lamia Rockwell 

Deputy Principal – Students (K-12)

From our Heads of Year 9

What a term and what a year! Mrs Michie and I are extremely proud of how the students have conducted themselves during the ever-changing events that have occurred this year. We want to reach out and thank every single parent and carer for the support you have given both the College and the Upper School Team. We wish everyone a restful holiday and hope that you all get to spend it with loved ones, and that it is filled with laughter and happiness.

As we move forward, we are excited to be following your beautiful daughters into Year 10 and are thrilled to be front and centre as we watch them grow and mature even more than they have this year. It has been a privilege to see them smash goals and watch their phenomenal achievements and we cannot wait to see what the future holds.

This week was a big one, with the announcements of leadership positions for 2022 and the Speech Day Assembly with the presentation of the Vicki Waters Courage Award, and Helen Manners Dixon Achievement and Encouragement Award. A big congratulations to all.

The girls had some visitors at the Science building this week as they say goodbye to Year 9 and prepare for Year 10.

On Friday 3 December, we will welcome all our new Pymble girls who will be commencing in 2022. We are excited to see the girls with their buddies, touring the grounds and meeting teachers.

Similarly, we want to wish all students whose time is ending at Pymble all the best and want to thank you for a wonderful year.

From our Heads of Year 10

Well done Year 10. You have successfully navigated your second year in the Upper School with much grace amidst the ongoing challenge of COVID-19. It has been our pleasure working with you and we know that all the Upper School team will miss you greatly as you move into the Senior School. Mr Stern and I are very excited to start Year 11 with you and begin a new challenge that is the HSC.

Year 10’s final week of Term 4 certainly has been a busy one. The Connections afternoon on Monday was an absolute hit with students playing trivia and sports games and enjoying a barbecue lunch.

On Tuesday, PASS students were involved in a fun incursion.

Friday will mark the final day of term and the Year 10 Final Assembly. Congratulations to all award recipients. We will also welcome six new Pymble girls who will be commencing in 2022 for a transition event. We hope these new girls enjoy meeting their buddies and touring the school.

And finally, a big congratulations must go to Rhiannon Castle who has been invited by the Australian Biathlon Association to attend a Biathlon training camp in Martell, Italy, run jointly by the International Biathlon Union and the International Olympic Committee. We wish Rhiannon all the best.

Congratulations to our 2021 Duke of Edinburgh Award Recipients

Awarded Silver to the following students:

Awarded Bronze to the following students:

Head of Learning Area – Mathematics

Congratulations Amber Li (Year 7) and Alicia Ge (Year 9) who have achieved some outstanding results in the Mathematics world! In the Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) and the Australian Intermediate Mathematics Olympiad (AIMO) Amber was awarded a Prize – the highest award for both competitions. Additionally, Amber sat the three-hour UNSW Mathematics competition where she was awarded a credit. As a result of her performances, Amber has been invited to compete in two prestigious upcoming competitions – the international invitational Tournament of the Towns, and the Australian Mathematical Olympiad Committee School of Excellence. Alicia was also awarded a Prize certificate in the AMC, and has received the Cheryl Praeger Medal for the most outstanding performance by a female student in their year in Australasia. Alicia is the first Pymble student to win this award! Congratulations to Alicia and Amber on these outstanding results!

Mrs Catrina Kerr

Head of Learning Area – Mathematics

Key dates