From the Upper School

A Message from Mr Riley, Head of Upper School

And just like that, we reach the end of busy another term! I am so proud of the efforts of our girls and firmly believe they need a well-earned break after all their tireless pursuits. Last week, I particularly enjoyed watching our incredible Year 9s in Peter Pan and meeting with families at the Garden Party on the weekend. Wasn’t it great to get that exciting sense of community again!

Whilst some of our Year 10s might like to begin their revision schedule for their yearly examinations, I do encourage parents to be mindful of the time they are spending and to be sure to include adequate time for rest and relaxation. This article on the ‘Antidote to Burnout’ was shared with me during the week and I love how it closes in describing the need to be “unproductive to be productive”. Over the break it is so important that our girls spend time doing nothing, just being, and prioritising self-care. They live such busy lives and occasionally it is important to stop, to ponder, and to recharge those batteries ready for a big push to end the year. I too hope you manage to find time to spend with them and that you get some downtime yourselves.

A Message from Mrs Hunt, Deputy Head of Upper School

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a safe and restful break. Ms Sweetman, Mrs Boyd and I are most excited to accompany 30 talented Drama students on the Drama tour to London, Stratford-upon-Avon and Paris. We are looking forward to creating awesome lifelong memories and no doubt having some laughs overcoming some unusual situations as they arise. My wish is that our Upper School girls also have a joyous break and create fun memories to share when they return in Term 4.

A Message from Mr Levin and Mrs Richter, Heads of year 9

Garden Party

A massive thank you to all the students who assisted on the Photo Booth stall and to those who helped as student ushers. You were all fantastic. It was such a beautiful day and we hope all of our Year 9 community enjoyed the day. Thank you to those who contributed to the bottle bingo stall. There was a large variety of fabulous bottles. All proceeds from the day go to support Hornsby Women’s Shelter.

Directions this week

Mindsets are the series of beliefs people hold about themselves, which determine their behaviour, outlook and attitude. This lesson explored the concepts of ‘failure’ and ‘mindset’ and helped students understand the importance of approaching tasks and challenges with a growth mindset. This is critical for students’ development of resilience and confidence when approaching new tasks. The learning intention for this lesson is for students to understand that learning happens through failure, effort and hard work, and that a growth mindset is the key to this process and to making progress.

Peter Pan

Congratulations to all those involved in the production of Peter Pan. It was a fantastic performance with brilliant costumes and casting. Well done!!

Best wishes to all those families who have a Year 12 student as they graduate from school this week. Have a lovely holiday and enjoy time with family and friends.

A Message from Ms Beaumont and Mrs Michie, Heads of Year 10

Karen and I are extremely thankful for all your arduous work behind the scenes in preparation for the Garden Party. It was fantastic to see so many of you and to finally put faces to names of parents and carers who we have not met yet due to COVID. Bottle Bingo was a hit and sold out in only a few short hours. We are yet to hear the final count of how much was raised for the Hornsby Women’s Shelter, but we do know that it is all thanks to you and your daughters. We are extremely thankful for those last-minute, late-night shopping trips to purchase jars and miscellaneous things to put in them.

This week was a shorter week, and everyone is very thankful that we have a rest day before we say goodbye to our Year 12 sisters. Our Directions lesson this week was spent focusing on our minds and unwinding for the holidays. The weather was beautiful, so we encouraged classes to get out into the sunshine. Some classes coloured in, whilst others played UNO on the lawn. The students have done an excellent job moving through the Term 3 assessment period, and they can all now breathe a collective sigh of relief moving into the holidays.

We have a packed Term 4, with exams, the Future You Festival and Allwell testing to name a few. There are a huge amount of transition activities to get the students feeling comfortable to move into the Senior School at the beginning of 2023.

Of course, the big topic of conversation at the moment is the ‘Shormal’ which is a Pymble and Shore social event on the first Friday of next term (14 October). A gentle reminder, if your daughter is going shopping in the holidays for something to wear, it needs to be appropriate as this is a social event and not a formal. We have two years ahead of us filled with high heels and formal dresses, and this is merely an event to have fun and to socialise. We are encouraging the students to wear sneakers as there will be dancing and we do not want any injuries.

Karen, I and everyone here at Upper School wish both you and your families a fun, safe and happy holiday. We look forward to hearing about your trips and news upon our return in Term 4.

Key Dates

Friday 23 September Last day of Term 3

Term 4

Tuesday 11 October First day of Term 4

Thursday 13 October Year 9 Residential Program (Term 4) Parent Information Evening

Friday 14 October Year 10 Pymble Shore Dance

Sunday 23 October – Friday 18 November Year 9 Residential Program Term 4

Monday 31 October – Friday 4 November Year 10 Yearly Examinations

Friday 11 November Upper School End of Year Dance

Monday 14 November – 17 November Year 9 OEP Camp

Monday 21 November – 25 November Future You Festival

Pymble Parent Support Groups and the Pymble Parent Association Expressions of Interest

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.