From the Upper School

From the Head of Upper School

And just like that, another year ends!

It has been a mammoth few weeks culminating our Year 10s time in the Upper School. I hope you all managed to access and enjoy the Urban Challenge pictures and videos, and we excitedly await the announcement of the winner in a special assembly this Thursday. We wish our Year 10s well as they embark on their new journeys and challenges in the Senior School. Like proud parents, we will be watching from afar and hope they come back to visit us!

For Year 9, they now take over as the custodians of the Upper School and we look forward to watching them grow into the wonderful leaders we know them to be, as we collectively develop our practical wisdom through experience.

This week also signals the end of Michelle Hunt’s time in the Upper School as our Deputy. We are so excited and thrilled for Mich’s promotion to Head of Wellbeing (7-12) but will miss her dearly. Her attention to detail, kind care, thoroughness, and genuine love for your/our girls has been outstanding. Fortunately, she is not going too far, and we look forward to collaborating well into the future.

As we approach the festive season, please encourage your daughters to have a genuine break. They need to switch off, to spend time with loved ones, and recharge their batteries ready for the year ahead. We have packed in a lot in our first post-pandemic year, and they need a rest.

Thank you for your support, understanding and kindness, and best wishes for the holiday season.

A message from Mrs Hunt, Deputy Head of Upper School

Recently I have been reflecting on change. We all know that change is inevitable, rarely easy and begins at the end of your comfort zone! The Upper School has been my comfort zone for many years, and I have loved my role as Deputy Head of Upper School. I cherished the students in our care, the staff who have travelled through with their year levels and the incredible Upper School team. What a privilege to watch our young women grow in confidence, developing lifelong strategies in preparation for the Senior School and adulthood. I am grateful for many experiences such as accompanying Year 10 students on the Leadership Summit in New Delhi, exchange students to Spain and more recently, students on the Drama tour to Paris and London. My involvement in Service initiatives has brought me great joy.

I would like to thank Mr Tom Riley and Mrs Mel Boyd, such professional and capable Heads of Upper School with whom I worked closely over this time and our wonderful Upper School admin team: Mrs Sally Seymour, Mrs Sabine Watts and Mrs Anthea Deschamps. Ms Lamia Rockwell has also been an incredible source of care and wisdom. I have been fortunate to work with many Heads of Years 9 and 10 and look forward to continuing that relationship in 2023 and beyond. I am proud of our Upper School team; we have worked hard to care for our students, we have supported each other, and certainly had some laughs!

To the Upper School parents, thank you for entrusting your daughters to our care. I often remind the students that the hardest job in the world is being a parent! Year 9 and Year 10 can be a challenging time as students mature, forge new friendships, embrace new subjects, and question the world around them. We all know that learning from mistakes is also inevitable. Thank you for working closely with us; I look forward to reconnecting with you in 2023.

Change also brings opportunity and I am looking forward to embracing Head of Wellbeing (Years 7 -12) and working closely with Mr Justin Raymond to implement an exciting Wellbeing vision. Additionally, I am delighted that in 2023 I will have the privilege to work alongside the wider Years 7 to 12 Wellbeing team.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas, a safe holiday and look forward to seeing everyone refreshed and ready for an exciting 2023.

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

Congratulations to all students on finishing Year 9 with a flourish of activities. A huge congratulations to all students for every achievement during 2022. We are very proud of Year 9 students for their energy, curiosity, and for their uniqueness. Please take the time during the holidays to reflect with your daughter on all the goals that they have achieved this year and consider what they would like to achieve in all areas of their life: academically, in co-curricular, performing arts and sporting pursuits.

The Yarning Circle officially opened last Thursday. A yarning is an opportunity to broaden non-indigenous students’ knowledge and strengthen indigenous students’ connections in a culturally safe environment. Having this garden open made me feel more comfortable sharing my culture with my peers. I believe it is important for non-indigenous students to learn about other people’s cultures, and having them learn about mine made me feel very special. I hope that this experience contributes to a more diverse and inclusive culture. It feels special to explore mine in particular as a multicultural school community. I hope Pymble continues to take on more initiatives like this in the future.

Written by Dezi Magann-Jones (Year 9)

What a privilege to attend the historic day for our First Nations students last week. Year 9 were invited to attend the official opening of our First Nations Garden and Yarning Circle. We entered this tranquil space and were welcomed to country with a smoking ceremony from local Indigenous Elder Uncle Neil. We were fortunate to hear the story of the emu from Uncle Neil and why the garden is shaped like an emu. The beautiful Dinawan Dance (emu dance) was performed by our own Pymble Song Ladies and First Nations Dance group. This was a lovely way for all Year 9 students to learn about First Nations Culture, acknowledge their stories and experience, and reflect on how we can all work towards a reconciled future.

Year 9 PASS students were fortunate to end the year with an excursion to Palm Beach to learn how to surf. As part of the PASS course, students have explored Australia’s Sporting Identity. Students investigated factors that contributed to how Australia is perceived as a sporting nation and gained an appreciation for how Australia’s beaches have led to the growth of water sports including swimming and surfing. Students participated in a practical surfing session conducted by Manly Surf School where they learnt essential surf safety skills and surfing techniques.

Wishing all students and families a wonderful break with cherished time with your loved ones. Many thanks for your support throughout 2022. We look forward to greeting the students as Year 10 in 2023.

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

Congratulations to our wonderful Year 10 students on finishing up in the Upper School, we’ve had a busy end of year with a range of activities designed to farewell them into Senior School and honour their time in the Upper School. Over the last week we had service-learning day, Urban Challenge, Gratitude assembly, walk for Cassius Turvey and our last Upper School Assembly where we gave thanks to everyone who has supported them this year. As the year ends, we are very thankful to Year 10 and the growth they have undertaken to be capable and kind young women ready for Senior School.

It was great to spend time learning, reflecting and giving back to those in need last Thursday. Our Year 10 Service Day meant that the year group was split in half with one half externally visiting ‘Cook for good’ cooking and learning about the homeless and the other half at school completing a range of Charity initiatives (packing birthing kits, knit for love and Days for Girls initiatives). The feedback from the organisations was overwhelmingly positive with volunteers inspired by our student’s ability to think deeply and get on with tasks with no fuss.

Urban Challenge as one student put it ‘was the best day of the year’ with a range of clues and fun activities organised around the city. The dress ups were fabulous, and the teachers had just as much (if not more) fun as the girls figuring out the clues and working with their teams to score the most points. The year group really showcased their competitive side, but this was complemented very well by the strong teamwork and relational skills developed on the day.

Week 8 is all about gratitude and we have enjoyed a range of assemblies to thank those around us. We also want to share our thanks to you our supportive parent body for going out of your way (in every way) to support our wellbeing initiatives and programs here at school. We hope you enjoy a wonderful holiday period with close family and friends, and we look forward to welcoming you and your daughters back in 2023 as proud year 11 students.