From the Upper School
A Message from Mr Riley, Head of Upper School
It has been lovely to see the Upper School once again bathed in sunshine, albeit with a few gusty winds to contend with later in the week! On Campus it has been a little quieter than usual with our cherished Year 10s largely studying at home when not sitting their examinations.
For Year 9 we are gearing up for their upcoming Outdoor Education Experience in Week 6 and have enjoyed hearing news from our Pioneers currently living out at Vision Valley. I popped out on the weekend and was very impressed with their babysitting skills, as Hugo was passed from student to student!
Some of our Year 9 superstars have been excelling in High School Musical over at Knox and I am reliably informed by our Admin Team, who have been collating autographs throughout the week, that it was our students who really stole the show.
Finally, I’d like to congratulate all of the Upper School students who were involved in the Festival of Speech held at Pymble for the first time in 27 years. As I mentioned in Chapel last week, learning how to speak publicly, engaging in respectful and intelligent conflict, and mastering the confidence it requires to address an audience are such important skills for life in the 21st Century. As I am sure many parents can attest, there will be birthday and wedding speeches to come, an increasing volume of difficult adult conversations to be had, and important interviews to wow at. It is our hope that our girls who led the way at the Festival of Speech can impart their wisdom and know-how over the coming months to help each and every Upper School girl improve their confidence and public speaking ability.
A message from Mrs Hunt, Deputy Head of Upper School
Upper School Disco
The Upper School Leaders are delighted to present the Upper School Disco. We look forward to seeing Year 9 and 10 dress up as their favourite Movie Character and enjoy a fun night with their friends.
Year 10 Examinations
Congratulations to Year 10 who have nearly completed their examinations. The week ran smoothly; the girls arrived punctually, followed instructions and kept things in perspective.
Year 9 Residential Program
It was wonderful to visit the Year 9 residential students at Vision Valley this week. Students were enjoying various activities during lunch time and then settled down to focus on their Mathematics lesson.
A message from Mr Levin and Mrs Richter, Heads of Year 9
Welcome to Week 4. Last Friday, our new cohort of Peer Support Leaders for 2023 began their leadership with running icebreaker activities with the incoming Year 7 students. Our Year 9 Peer Support Leaders were outstanding and made all the new students feel welcome. The formal Peer Support training takes place on 22 November; thanks to Emily Rothery and Samara Bond for their reflection:
As a part of the peer support program at Pymble, we are given the opportunity to connect with girls in the Junior School and guide them through their transition into high school. Last week, we met up with Year 10 girls, who were Year 7 2022’s peer support leaders, to learn a few skills and games that we could use when meeting the new Year 7s. It was great to gather some advice (like bringing lollies to get them involved!) and get some ideas, so that we had a good plan for the following Friday. We were able to meet the incoming Year 7 2023 girls at Links Day and introduced ourselves (over lots of lollies!).
Throughout the day, we played games like bang, throw and catch, skipping and a little bit of arguing about which Taylor Swift song to play next! One game the girls really enjoyed was the fun fact game. We passed around a roll of toilet paper and asked them to take as many squares as they wanted. We then asked them to count their squares and that ended up being the number of facts you had to share with the group. It was funny to see the panic of some girls who took ten squares!
It was great to get to know them a little bit better, and answer the many questions they had about classes, getting around the school, and the College in general. We enjoyed a barbecue lunch with the girls on Gloucester Lawn and wished them the best of luck for their new Pymble journey. We can’t wait to spend more time with the girls next year in Peer Support sessions and help ease their transition from their previous schools or from the Junior School into the Middle School.
A message from Ms Beaumont and Mrs Stephanie Attley, Heads of Year 10
Welcome to Week 4, examination week for Year 10 with a range of subject assessments occurring. For many students, this can be a nerve-racking time as the formality of learning takes place. We have been impressed with the way the cohort have embraced the challenge and have demonstrated commitment and maturity in the way they have approached their studies. In Week 6 as results are progressively released, we encourage the group to adopt this same approach and to work on building resilience particularly if results do not go the way they would have hoped. By reflecting on their learning journey and seeking feedback from their teachers they can build further foundation academic skills that may be useful for years to come.
After the examination period we hope Year 10 enjoy a moment of self-care and reflection ready for a busy term ahead with the Future You Festival (Week 7), Urban Challenge (Friday Week 7), Upper School Final Assembly, Jacaranda Day (Week 6). Upper School Disco (Week 5) and Speech Days (week 8). We are looking forward to spending time with Year 10 in their final weeks here at Upper School.
ASX Sharemarket Game – Economics in Action
Within their investment topic, Year 10 Commerce students were able to engage with a national investment competition to put their skills and knowledge into action. On an exciting note, two of our Year 10 Commerce students, Christy Ju and Celine Cao, emerged successful from the annual ASX Sharemarket Game.
Within this competition, schools and teams from around the country enter an online simulation of the Australian sharemarket with $50,000 AUD to purchase and trade stocks on the S&P/ASX200 market. Christy and Celine beat out all the other teams to claim first prize in this prestigious competition.
Congratulations girls on this incredible achievement!
Save the Date: Shaping Your Future
Key Dates
Term 4
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
Mr Tom Riley