From the Upper School

A Message from Mr Riley, Head of Upper School

It has been lovely to finally see some sun this week and to see our students outside, enjoying themselves. Let’s hope it stays around for our upcoming Outdoor Education experience in Year 9 and for our Year 10s during their exam week; I have always felt revising in nature helps to recharge the batteries that bit better!

One of the key features of the Upper School is to provide a range of experiences to ensure students develop their perspective whilst with us. This should help to ensure they understand that, whilst important, their examination block is not the be or end all of their existence and that missing out on a leadership position is more redirection than rejection. This certainly doesn’t mean that this makes these events any easier, but it helps students to learn that life is a marathon rather than a sprint.

Talking of marathons, I can’t help but think of the shining example of Nedd Brockmann who recently completed his 46-day run across the width of Australia. His superhuman feats have helped me plough on recently when feeling sorry for myself on a short run and help to signal what is possible when you fully apply yourself. I’m not advocating we all try to emulate such tasks, but I think all of our Upper School girls could take away something from his mantra of:

“Get comfortable being uncomfortable”
“Just keep showing up”
“Lessss go”

It was lovely to hear that Year 10 Boarder, Andie Hodder, got to celebrate with Nedd (her cousin) and for those who would like to donate to his cause, please click here.

A message from Mrs Hunt, Deputy Head of Upper School

We were incredibly proud of the Year 10 students who assisted in the smooth running of the St Edmund’s swimming carnival this week. While supported by our Year 10 volunteers, the St Edmund’s competitors were able to enjoy our first-class facilities and commented that they felt like they were “swimming in the Olympics”.

Thank you to Chloe and Sophie for their reflections:

The St Edmund’s Swimming carnival was such an enjoyable experience. It was so heartwarming getting to meet everyone from the school, including the teachers. I volunteered to swim in the water with the students and it was so much fun. Helping and cheering them on while swimming right next to them and watching the smiles on their faces when they reached the end of the lane, was such a wholesome feeling. The kids from St Edmunds were super cool and I made some great connections! This whole experience was such an eye opener for me that helping people really is one of the most important things in life.

Written by Chloe Brogan

A few of us (Year 10 students) were lucky enough to be able to help out at the St Edmund’s Swimming Carnival. My role was to encourage lots of House spirit and help the staff to marshal the swimmers. This meant I got to spend the day chatting and getting to know the beautiful students, who made the day an absolute highlight of the year. I can confidently say everyone involved loved the day as much as I did and I’m so grateful to have met each smiling face.

Written by Sophie Livingston

A message from Mr Levin and Mrs Richter, Heads of Year 9

Welcome to Week 3. Year 9 had the opportunity this week to choose a small group of friends to embark on the Outdoor Education program in Week 6. During Compass X time, Year 9 listened to Saxon from Southbound who spoke about what to look forward to and expect during the Outdoor Education program.

Careers Continuum: Future of Work #2030 is the focus in Directions this week. Students will enter a world of work radically different from today. Education needs to prepare students for a world of work where potentially the jobs they end up doing may not even exist yet. Students explore and understand what skills and knowledge will be needed to be well equipped, prepared and resilient to future changes in the world of work. This lesson highlights to students what employment will look like in 2030 and what skills and knowledge they will need to prepare for an ever-changing job market.

Congratulations to Sabrina Cooke who was able to share this wonderful news:

Last term, I entered the Immerse Education Essay Competition. The topic was ‘Would the termination of juries benefit the legal system’ and I was lucky enough to receive a scholarship to take part in the Law program at Oxford/Cambridge 2023. Next year the program will encompass expert teaching alongside other students across the world at Oxford or Cambridge for a two-week long program.

A message from Ms Beaumont and Mrs Stephanie Attley, Heads of Year 10

Welcome to Week 3. It has been a busy week with the opening of Archie’s café, the St Edmund’s swimming carnival, working towards leadership submissions and preparation for examinations. Year 10 this week continued to work on organisation and self-care in Directions to help prepare for next week and reflected on a range of strategies to assist self-regulation and motivation.

Examinations can be a daunting process but an important rite of passage for Year 10 as they prepare themselves to move from Upper School to Senior School. Examinations also give our group an opportunity to deepen their learning process, and we encourage each of them to self-test and use a range of active study strategies to make the most of the process. Rather than passively recalling information by reading and remembering by rote, we encourage our students to engage with content more actively by asking questions, searching their memory for links to other topics, using their knowledge in new contexts and intertwining this information together to form deep connections to their subject’s content.

It was a pleasure to see our girls assist with the St Edmund’s Swimming Carnival where the volunteers assisted with the running of the day marshalling students, engaging in war cries, swimming as a buddy and getting to know the students. Teachers from St Edmund’s were extremely grateful for the support and shared their appreciation for their many efforts. Well done to our wonderful volunteers.

Leadership applications will be due soon and we encourage all our Year 10 students to consider themselves leaders and search for how they can best lead others and the school in a range of areas from Sport, Chapel. House, Curriculum and more. Best of luck in this important process.

Save the Date: Shaping Your Future

From the Upper School Parent Group

It’s hard to believe it’s already Term 4! It was a very busy Term 3, and this term will likely only get busier. Hopefully everyone is staying dry.

Our lovely year co-ordinators have organised some get togethers, and we’d love for you to attend!

Year 10

Ginin and Vicki would like to invite you all for a coffee/breakfast at Brick Lane Espresso, West Pymble on Friday 28 October after school drop off from 8.15am onwards. Please RSVP by calling/texting 0412371224. If you are suddenly free on the day, please feel free to pop in.

Year 9

Key Dates

Term 4

Friday 28 October Year 10 Study Day

Monday 31 October Year 10 Yearly Examinations begin

Friday 4 November Year 10 Yearly Examinations completed

Friday 11 November Upper School End of Year Celebration Disco

Monday 14 November Year 10 All Well Testing

Monday 14 to Thursday 17 November Year 9 Outdoor Education Program

Tuesday 15 November Jacaranda Day

Friday 18 November The Great Return – Year 9 Residential Program

Monday 21 to Friday 25 November Year 10 Future You Festival

Friday 2 December Speech Day and Final Day of Term 4