From the Acting Principal

It was fabulous to see the sun come out this week, along with 81 beaming faces in Kindy who shone so brightly for their 100 Days of Kindergarten celebration on Tuesday. Our newest parents clearly enjoyed the opportunity to visit the Kindergarten classrooms and gain a greater understanding of their daughter’s learning. Fittingly, our Head of Junior School, Mrs Kate Brown, used a rainbow analogy to highlight the broader achievements of our youngest Pymble girls at this point in their school journey.

Red represents the courage of each student for letting go of their parent’s hand on that milestone day way back in January and coming to Pymble each day to learn and make new friends.

Orange denotes harmony and their openness to building respectful relationships and sharing ideas, toys and playtime with others.

Yellow is the colour of kindness that sits at their core.

Green represents the environment they are learning to care for, and the gift of a plant for each student to nurture, just as their teachers nurture each girl to grow and flourish.

Blue is for the creativity our Kindy students bring to everything they do.    

Indigo symbolises the pride we have for these bright young sparks who show up every day with a passion for learning, while violet reflects their sensitivity and growing ability to express their own feelings and respect the feelings of others.

Thank you to all the parents who came to celebrate their daughter’s achievements and to acknowledge our wonderful Kindergarten teachers for their incredibly important foundational work.

Please enjoy KC and KD singing their special song for the day.

On the other end of the school spectrum, Year 12 students are embracing their final 100 days at Pymble – give or take a few days – and gearing up for two weeks of HSC Trial examinations commencing on Monday. Go well, Class of 2022. We have every confidence in your ability and your preparation. Just remember Dr Hadwen’s golden rule of always reading the question twice before you begin!

 Conversations about Research

This week, the Pymble Institute hosted our third annual Research Conference, Conversations about Research, where Pymble staff gave short, informative presentations on research based in our teaching practice, their PhD and Masters projects in progress, and research investigations from a new professional learning opportunity, the Bright Field mentoring program.

Keynote Speaker and College Board member, Dr Kate Highfield opened the event with an excellent discussion on the relevance of early childhood education in the broader edusphere. Five Big Ideas from under Fives: Early Childhood Education and Why We all Need to Know about This highlighted the first 2000 days (or first five years) of a child’s life as the ‘golden zone of possibility’ when synaptic pathways are established as a base for future learning and outcomes in education, health and wellbeing. Interestingly, these five big ideas, summarised below, are throughlines for teaching and learning across K-12 at Pymble as well as influential in the development of our own Early Learning Centre.

1. Child-led learning and inquiry learning is ideal for young children as it places children’s engagement in the world at the core of their learning. Parents and educators can use the environment around them to provoke all sorts of ‘invitations to learning’ while helping to redirect confusing conclusions or inaccuracies.
2. Sustained, shared thinking impacts the quality of the child’s learning. This is where adults and children bring ideas together and adults help children to build upon their initial ideas. It’s about following a thought or question from the child and continuing to stimulate their curiosity with further conversation and questions.
3. Documentation is key to making learning visible for parents. It involves sharing photos, videos, text and artifacts that reflect the student’s activities in their learning and working together to set learning goals.
4. Importance of whole family collaboration and relationships. In early learning (0-5 years), the law mandates that educators report on student learning and build a constructive relationship with each student and their family, much like our three three-way relationship between students, parents and teachers at Pymble.
5. Strong theoretical underpinning should inform teaching and learning, as evidence-based learning is the key to a high quality education.

Thank you to all who took the time to attend the conference, and congratulations to our Director – Pymble Institute, Dr Sarah Loch and all our wonderful staff presenters: Ms Mariel Lombard, Ms Alexandra Ibbotson, Mrs Karen Ahearn, Ms Debra Owens, Mr Liam Hume, Mrs Natasha Stanfield, Rev Punam Bent, Mr Ryan Stewart, Mrs Kate Brown and Mrs Victoria Adamovich.

Helping a school in need

As mentioned in last week’s column, Pymble is committed to supporting the Sathya Sai College in Murwillimbah to replenish essential learning supplies after two recent floodings destroyed the school’s facilities, buildings and resources.

To date we have raised more than $6300 for Sathya Sai through proceeds from our Term 2 Ensemble Concert, PAC Week donations and this week’s Spuds for Floods fundraiser. This is a fantastic start, but we want to do more.

At our request, Sathya Sai has sent through a comprehensive list of items required for their Kindergarten classes and Science Room, ranging from iPads, solar system kits and robotics floor mats to stationery, mini whiteboards, paint smocks and textbooks.

Rather than holding a drive and ending up with too many or not enough of the specified items, we are asking our community to donate an amount which will help Sathya Sai purchase exactly what they need. Please, if you can, click here to make a donation.

$20 = two of 30 paint smocks for Kindergarten students.

$50 = two of 25 solar system kits for the Science Room.

$100 = one class set of coloured pencils.

$729 = one of 25 iPads the school hopes to replace.

A huge thank you in advance to all in our Pymble family who will be moved to help Sathya Sai College become fully operational again. I also would like to acknowledge Ms Kate Howie and Mrs Kellie Stapp for going above and beyond to organise and promote the Spuds for Floods fundraiser, the many staff volunteers who didn’t hesitate to put up their hands (and put on a pinny) to dish up hundreds of hot potatoes, and Maddie Lyster, Isabelle Ho and Nina Breckenridge in Year 12 as well as our Years 7 to 12 Community Service leaders for helping to make this such a successful for event. It is heartening to see the love and care from our community to Sathya Sai’s in action.

Speaking of love, we hope you enjoy this video featuring music and lyrics of a famous Beatles song performed by 150 co-curricular music students in isolation during last year’s lockdown. Set to footage of our Secondary School students having fun with the theme following their return to campus, the message from our Pymble girls rings loud and clear – all you need is love.

Mrs Julie Shaw

Acting Principal

From our Chaplains

I was unable to welcome you all back to Term 3 as I was ill with COVID last week.  It taught me to rely on a sofa and doona which got me through with of course, the cold and flu tablets.  I really longed for Lemsip but this is hard to find as stocks are low. I finally shook it off and was able to return to work on Monday, still feeling a bit worn out.

Winter and rain seem to have washed us out and for those of us who stayed at home during the holidays or didn’t have a break, returning to Term 3 may not be such a joyous homecoming. For those of us who travelled, and perhaps lost luggage overseas, or stood in line for hours at border security, there is relief perhaps at returning home and a predictable routine is welcome.

Whatever your scene is, I hope that the occasional bouts of sunshine may spruce your spirits.  I had the privilege of visiting family and friends overseas and am really thankful for the break but it is great to be back again.

This week in chapel we are learning a new Taize song, the words of St Teresa of Avila, a 16th-century Spanish mystic and spiritual writer.  I also remember our grieving families this week as well as those who are sick in our community. May God’s comfort be yours in this time of deep sadness.

As I think of the Year 12s starting their Trials and of the stress that exams can bring, these words are most welcome for our week:

Nada te turbe,

Nada te espante

Quien a Dios tiene

Nada le falta

Nada te turbe,

Nada te espante

Solo Dios basta.

Nothing can trouble,

Nothing can frighten.

Those that seek God shall

Never go wanting.

Nothing can trouble,

Nothing can frighten

God alone fills us.

Blessings and love.

Reverend Punam Bent

College Chaplain

From the Director of Student Learning (Years 11 to 12)

HSC Trial Examinations

Year 12

Year 12 have been busy preparing for their HSC Trial examinations which are taking place in Week 3 and 4 of this term. 170 students attended the Study Camp in the first week of the holidays to kick start their planning.

In assembly this week, I reminded students that completing Trials is a unique experience and provides invaluable practice and feedback for the external HSC examinations. 

My message to students is to focus on what you can control, your own study and performance. Everyone prepares in line with their strengths and preferred techniques. All study is valuable.

Click here for a link to the presentation.

The examinations onsite will take place in the Senior Centre. Students will sign in on rolls on arrival and will be directed to their exam room.  

Click here to view the 2022 Year 12 Trial HSC Examination Timetable.

Dates for the Trials 

The examinations will commence on Monday 1st August and conclude on Friday 12th August. 

Friday 29th July will be a study day at home for all Year 12 students.   

Students will return to normal classes on Monday 15th August.  

Times 

Morning examinations begin at 8.25am.  

Afternoon examinations begin at 12.25pm. 

Girls should arrive at school 30 minutes before the start of their examinations to sign in and get settled and wear a mask during this time. 

Illness

Students follow the usual Illness/misadventure procedures.

• Email the Senior School and CC in their teacher to notify that they are ill and unable to do the exam
• Obtain a medical certificate and attach this to the IMA form and submit to curriculum@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au
• Students will be emailed with the catch-up time for their exam which will be completed within the Trial examination period.

Year 11

Year 11 students will have yearly exams in Week 6 and 7 this term.

Exams are an opportunity for students to display their understanding, their ability to analyse unseen questions and apply their knowledge. They test work from the whole year in most subjects.

They are important preparation and practice for the trial and HSC examinations which they will be doing this time next year.

The manner in which students prepare and perform in their exams will be one helpful tool in deciding which combination of subjects to pursue into Year 12.

My message to year 11 is to start your planning and study early. Click here to view the presentation which will be followed up in Directions. 

The Year 12 2023 online subject selection evening on 14^th September to talk about the options moving into Year 12.

Mrs Natasha Stanfield

Director of Student Learning (Years 11-12)

COVID-19 Response Plans and Advice

Please note the following health and safety guidelines for students and staff in Term 3.

Stay at home if unwell

Students and staff are asked to stay at home if they have any COVID, cold or flu symptoms. Please do not allow your daughter to attend campus until she is symptom-free in addition to having returned a negative RAT result.

If your daughter is not well enough to attend school, please follow the normal process of reporting the absence to her teacher/sub school via the MyPymble app.

Testing positive

If the result of your daughter’s RAT (or PCR test) is positive, please follow the normal College procedure of emailing health@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au and reporting the absence to the relevant teacher/sub school via the MyPymble app.

Students who test positive will need to isolate at home for seven days and follow NSW Health Advice for managing positive cases. 

Changes to reinfection period

NSW health has revised the COVID-19 reinfection period from 12 weeks to four weeks, effective immediately.

This means a person who has previously had COVID-19 will be required to re-test for COVID-19 from 28 days after their last isolation period ended if they experience symptoms. A positive result is regarded as a new case, which must be reported as such, and the person will need to follow the relevant health advice again.

Masks

• Students and staff are required to wear a mask at large indoor gatherings, such as assemblies and Chapel services.
• Students who travel to school via public transport or the Pymble Bus Service must wear a mask at all times during transit.
• Masks are strongly encouraged, especially in situations where it is difficult to maintain adequate distance between you and others.
• Students are encouraged to pack a supply of masks for each day.

Hand hygiene

• Sanitiser will continue to be provided at key points around the College.
  
• Unmissable new posters have been placed around campus encouraging frequent handwashing.

COVID boosters and flu shots

• Students who are due for a COVID-19 booster shot are encouraged to have their next vaccination.
• We encourage all eligible students who haven’t had a flu shot yet to do so, as the health authorities are also predicting a substantial flu season.

 Any further information or advice for Term 3 will continued to be shared by notifications via the MyPymble app.

Pymble Swimming – Winter Promotion

From the Junior School

From our Head of Junior School

This week we celebrated with our amazing Kindergarten girls who reflect on their first 100 days of school. We are so proud of their courage, enthusiasm and tenacity for their learning and it’s wonderful that we are able to celebrate their creativity and growth with this special event. 

One example of the creativity of our Kindergarten girls is the prototype each class collaborated to design and make for Heidi our Hedgehog. The girls were investigating push and pull forces and worked together to think about how they could help Heidi get to assembly on time and more easily with her own mode of transport. Each week throughout the term, Heidi will arrive in style in a vehicle made and pulled by one of our Kindergarten classes. This is a simple but effective way for our girls to see how real their learning is and how they impact others with their thinking.

As we celebrate our Kindergarten girls, I would like to thank all our Kindergarten families for their trust in us as your daughters begin their learning journey and for the support you show our teaching team. We delight in the partnership we are forming with each of you and look forward to celebrating your daughters’ continued growth through our Junior School.  Please also note our Kindergarten Windows into Learning opportunity and Teddy Bears’ Picnic which is scheduled for Monday 12 September 2022.

Getting ready to Disco!

I am looking forward to sharing my passion for disco and dancing with our Year 2 and 3 girls and their parents this Saturday at the Parent Daughter dance in our John Reid Hall and Sunshine Square. It’s so wonderful that we are celebrating our sense of community together and in our hall which is the heart of Junior School. 

Thank you to our amazing Junior School Parent Group (JSPG) committee who work tirelessly to plan and manage these events for us all to join. These dances create such special memories for our girls. As I mentor Year 12 girls who I also taught in Junior School it is moments like these that the girls treasure and still talk about many years later.

Thank you too to all the parents who assisted with our JSPG bake stall this week. There was such a wide array of delicious treats on offer for our girls and everything was sold! Thank you to all of you who baked or sent in treats and who helped manage the stall on the day.

Lens into Learning this Week – A focus on Year 2

Throughout the term we will share an insight into the girls’ learning in the words of the girls themselves. This week we are celebrating the voices of Year 2 as they reflect on their learning.

Year 2 are busy thinking about how they can meet the needs of our much loved College dog, Archie. He visited Year 2 and the girls had a lively discussion about they could design and manufacture items using different materials to meet his needs whilst he is here at school.  The girls have shared their thinking with Mrs Jayne Mercer – Lead Co-Ordinator Years 1-3. Here are some of their thoughts:

Jessica Wang – I am excited to make a house for Archie using new materials. We need to think about how big to make it and how it will stand up.

Vivienne Guo – We are going to test whether it is waterproof so Archie stays dry and is comfortable when he is by himself.

Maggie Xing – We have to think about how to make it comfortable because if we use wood we need to put something on it to make it softer for Archie.

Arya Raman – We need to make sure that Archie has enough space. So we will have to measure him with a measuring tape and make it a bit larger than him so he can turn around.

Mathematics

Emma Ware – I have been using ‘friends of ten’ to work out how to add to 20.

Karena Lu – I can use the inverse strategy to check my answers in Maths.

e.g. 13+6=19, so 19-6 = 13, and 19-13 =6

English

Arin Sadananda – In writing we have been learning about persuasive writing. We used strong words to convince other people. Words like ‘must’ are strong words.

Staff News

This week we welcome Miss Penny Charalambous to our Year 5 team as Mr Jake Turnbull prepares to transition to his new role as a K-12 Digital Learning Leader. Whilst we are sad to farewell Mr Turnbull from the classroom, we look forward to partnering with him in the future as a member of our Digital Learning team and we are very excited that Miss Charalambous is joining our outstanding Year 5 team. Miss Charalambous will co-teach with Mr Turnbull this week to ensure a thorough handover for our girls.

Motherhood beckons for Mrs Melissa Kotian

This week we say farewell to Mrs Melissa Kotian as she heads off onto her maternity leave before the birth of her second child. We will miss her whilst she is away but look forward to meeting her new baby and we wish her and her family every happiness as they embark on this new adventure together.

Mrs Kotian will be missed by all the girls she supports in class and by all our avid readers of Book Club as she has led that so brilliantly for our Junior School over the last year.  We will announce the teacher who will be covering Mrs Kotian’s maternity leave in the next couple of days.

NAIDOC Week – Mrs Kimberley Tyson, Deputy Head of Junior School Students

Our NAIDOC Week celebrations were in full swing last week. This year the theme was Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! and was all about how we can be active in our support for our First Nations brothers and sisters.

We had a variety of excellent learning experiences across the Junior School and used these events as a time to connect with the First Nations girls within our community. We are so fortunate to be able to share stories and connect through music, dance and traditional stories.

On Thursday, our Year 3 and 4 girls were excited to have a dance troupe from the senior school come down and share their story through storytelling, movement and music.

Year 5 and 6 welcomed the team from Wanyara who came to share in ‘play and paint’. The games the girls played were traditional Aboriginal games and the drawings the girls did were made from symbols telling their stories. This was a very engaging session and the girls really welcomed the opportunity to learn more about our First Nations People during this special week.

On Friday, our K-2 girls were delighted to invite some girls from the Senior School to come down and read First Nations stories to them. This was a lovely time to connect and celebrate—hopefully, the first of many opportunities to build connections.

Our kindness focus this term – Kindness to the Environment

Be of Service

As I Walk with Beauty

As I walk, as I walk

The universe is walking with me

In beauty, it walks before me

In beauty, it walks behind me

In beauty, it walks below me

In beauty, it walks above me

Beauty is on every side.

Navajo Prayer

 At Pymble, we know that to live out our College values of Care, Courage, Respect, Integrity and Responsibility we must be stewards of the planet and walk gently with our deeds and actions. We invite our girls to be change-makers in all they do this term by being of service to our planet.

Our Term 3 Be of Service booklets were given out to our girls at the end of last week. A big shout out to our Term 2 Kindness Captains from Year 1 – Year 6 who generated all the wonderful ideas within the booklet. Unfortunately, after the editing and printing of 800 booklets, we found an error and as we didn’t want to do a reprint, out of respect to our environment, we have owned our Fabulous Failure and asked the girls to search out the spelling error in their booklet to be awarded a bonus House point!

We look forward to hearing about all the wonderful ways the girls show care for the environment throughout the term.

This week we held our first House Spirit Day for Years 1 – Year 6 and the girls worked collaboratively and creatively to plan and produce their own campaign to promote kindness to the environment. Each group was challenged to include Heidi our kindness Hedgehog, Myrtle the Turtle and a strong message advocating for change to protect our environment.

Our Year 6 girls shone as they led and inspired the younger girls through the day and each group produced an inspirational message and a powerful call to action. We are very proud of all our girls and their passion for change and kindness to our environment. Please enjoy this exceptional poem written by Jing Yuan Liu of Year 5.

Planet Earth

Planet Earth, our home,

Life, where animals roam,

Blossoms blooming, constant flowers,

But under this, a threat towers,

Drying glaciers, cracking land,

Foods, water, under demand,

Causing the air, to turn grey, blacking,

And suddenly, species are lacking,

Cutting trees, saws at use,

Here we all think, what abuse!

But only few people, rise and take action,

A tiny bit of the world, only a fraction,

Landfill piles, and we yet sit here,

Even though the problem is very clear,

Planet Earth is dying, our very own home,

But yet we still are in front of our computers, on chrome,

You see the damage, you see the cause,

But yet watch the leaders and give them applause,

To reverse our damage on Earth,

We all need to see our worth,

If every one of us did a little action,

Earth would flourish under the impaction,

The air would turn clear,

The icebergs and glaciers, all reappear,

So go take a shorter shower,

And plant more flowers,

Plant a tree in your garden,

Recycle the milk carton,

These little actions can help save Earth.

From Mrs Nerissa Davey, Deputy Head of Junior School – Operations

Next week Mrs Kate Brown and I have the privilege of taking six Year 5 girls with us to Dubbo and Goodooga to take part in the Indigenous Games at Goodooga Public School. We are very excited to be working alongside the Dubbo Hub to forge relationships with schools in remote North West NSW and to join forces with these communities to share our stories and learn from one another. We hope to invite two First Nations’ girls to join us at our Year 5 Outdoor Education Program to further build this bond.

We look forward to sharing our adventures with you all on our return. Watch this space…

Student Representative Council’s focus this term: Being kind to the environment

This term SRC will be joining forces with Sustainability and Kindness Clubs to find ways to be Kind to our Environment at school and in our communities. We look forward to hearing the girls’ ideas and initiatives to keep our flora, fauna and oceans safe.

Congratulations!

We are very proud of Feifei Wang who achieved 3rd place in Sydney Eisteddfod Classical Song (12 & under) during the holiday.  The Sydney Eisteddfod is highly competitive, so we are extremely proud of Feifei’s remarkable achievement.

Congratulations to Cecilia Zhou (Year 6) who achieved 3^rd place in the Sydney Eisteddfod Viola, Double Bass and other stringed instruments excluding Violin and Classical Guitar (20 and under) section.  Cecilia played the GuZheng and we are extraordinarily proud of her success in such a competitive field amongst much older competitors.

And lastly a huge congratulations to Vivian Zhang (Year 4) who won two first place prizes at the recent Sydney Eisteddfod and St George Instrumental Eisteddfod:

Sydney Eisteddfod, Event 235, 20th or 21st Century Piano (9 & 10 Years): Winner 

St George Instrumental Eisteddfod, Event P210, 9 years and under open: Winner 

Our Week in Learning pictures

From Out of School Hours Care

Before School Care – 7.00am to 8.30am

After School Care – End of the school day until 6.30pm

If your daughter is attending a co-curricular activity that starts later in the afternoon (after 3:45pm), you are welcome to pick her up from school and accompany her to her activity. If this is not possible, your daughter will be required to attend the OSHC Centre and remain there until her lesson time (applicable charges will be applied). This is to ensure the safety of your child on the school grounds.

OSHC fees are as follows:

• BSC Regular and Casual attendance: $16 flat rate
• BSC Casual booking (less than 12 hours’ notice): $20.00 flat rate
• ASC Regular and Casual attendance: $37 flat rate
• ASC Casual booking (less than 24 hours’ notice): $39 flat rate
• 3-6 Pre Co-Curricular : $13.00 flat rate
• Non-notification fee of absence or changes to afternoon attendance schedules: $20.00.
• Late Collection fee: $5.00 per minute, per child after the Centre closing time of 6.30pm.

Payments withdrawn from your nominated account are paid in arrears on a fortnightly cycle. The Child Care Subsidy is credited via your Kidsoft account as a fee reduction based on the percentage entitlement

For more information on how to book a place, please click here. Alternatively, contact us via email at oshcadmin@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au or by phone (11:00am – 6:30pm) on 9855 7741.

From the Junior School Parent Group (JSPG)

We are so excited to be holding the Junior School Parent-Daughter Dances for Years K-5 over the next few weeks.

Years 2-3 – This Saturday 30 July

Click here to see the invitiation.

If you have not purchased your ticket already, please do so as soon as possible. Tickets will close on Friday.

The event will be held in the John Reid Hall from 5:30pm to 7:30pm

The theme is “Disco”, which is a great opportunity for the girls and parents (if you so choose) to get dressed up in sparkly or bright outfits or accessories. We have a photographer, photo booth, DJ and a variety of food and drinks.

We are also fortunate to have Mrs Brown, our Head of Junior School, attending on the night.

Our Years 2 and 3 girls are so excited to attend their very first dance event! It should be a fantastic night!

Years K-1 – Saturday 6 August

Click here to see the invitation. 

Please register by this Friday!

The event will be held in the John Reid Hall from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.

The theme is “Parent-Daughter Masquerade”, which is a lovely chance for our littlest girls to choose whatever mask they like and their choice of party outfit. Our girls may even like to make a mask to wear! On the night, we will have a photographer, photo booth, DJ and a variety of food and drinks.

We are so excited for our Kindy and Year One girls to attend their very first dance!

Years 4-5 – Saturday 27 August

Click here to see the invitation. Book your tickets here.

The event will be held in the John Reid Hall from 6pm to 8:30pm.

The theme is “Sparkle and Shine” which is lovely for the girls and parents to dress up in a sparkly or shiny outfit or accessory. On the night, we will have a photographer, DJ and a variety of food and drinks. We are so excited for the Year 4 and 5 girls to attend their first dance in several years, and also the first dance for many of them! It will be a fabulous night!

Jeans for Genes Day Sausage Sizzle Fundraiser – Friday 5 August

 The JSPG is holding a sausage sizzle in the Junior School at lunchtime for Year 3 to Year 6 students. Donations and all profit from the barbecue will be donated to the Children’s Medical Research Institute, which researches childhood genetic diseases. Students are permitted to wear jeans on the day and are welcome to bring a gold coin/note donation.

Please secure a ticket for your daughter by clicking here.

We are looking for parents to help with the BBQ and join the Dads of the JSPG! It will be a fun lunchtime activity and a chance to connect with your daughters.

Please sign-up here: https://signup.com/go/prWgRtf

JSPG House Event Stall

Thank you to our parent community for the amazing amount of help we received for our House Event Stall this week. We were overwhelmed with the generous donations of food, including baked goods (cupcakes, handmade cookies, chocolate brownies, banana bread, biscuits), lolly bags, home-made jellies, fruit salads, party pies, filo pastries and chips. T

he amount of talent exhibited by our parents and generosity of spirit in the Junior School is so inspiring to us and we are immensely grateful.

Also, a massive thank you to the wonderful parents who helped serve at the stall during the day.

Specifically, a big thank you to Year 6 parents Rosy Bayfield and Paola Gorton who signed on for the first shift but stayed for the duration of the day to ensure the stall would be adequately attended by parents. Also, our Year 5 parent Vanessa Gu, continued to be a pillar of support by assisting at Junior School Carline and on the stall during the morning.

A very big thank you to other volunteers who included Jen Sproull, Leah Deutscher, Monika Surana, Stephanie Borean, Sharunia Khan, Ellen Dai, Chloe Chen, Tuyet Suong Nguyen, Shirley Zhao, Donna Zhang, Amy Cheung, Vicky Li, Rachel Wang, Cici Li and May Tai. We were so grateful for your efforts and support.

Enter the Junior School Garden Party Poster Competition: First prize is an Unlimited Rides Pass!

Do you think you have what it takes to create the best poster for the Garden Party? If so, put on your creative cap, and if your poster comes first you will win an Unlimited Rides Pass for free rides all day at the Garden Party!

Entries are to be submitted to the Junior School by Tuesday 30 August 2022. All posters entered will be displayed in the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts foyer at Garden Party 2022. Prizes and certificates will be presented at Assembly in the week before Garden Party. Multiple entries are welcome. 

Click here to download the poster. Good luck!

Volunteers Needed for the Sri Lankan Food Stall at Pymble’s Garden Party

Dates for your Diary

Term 3  

29 July                         Year 4 Incursion 

30 July                         JSPG Years 2 and 3 Parent Daughter Dance  

1 – 4 August               Kindergarten to Year 6 Learning Discussions

4 August                      Kindergarten to Year 2 Performing Arts Incursion  

5 August                      Jeans for Genes Day     

6 August                      JSPG Kindergarten and Year 1 Parent Daughter Dance

8 – 10 August             Kindergarten to Year 2 Concert Rehearsals     

12 August                    Kindergarten to Year 2 Concert, 2.00pm and 5.00pm  

15 – 18 August           Life Education Kindergarten to Year 2 

18 August                    Year 5 Author Visit

19 August                    STEM Festival 

25 August                    Book Week Parade

26 August                    Author Visit Kindergarten to Year 6

27 August                    JSPG Years 4 and 5 Parent Daughter Dinner Dance

30 August                    URSTRONG Parent Workshop, Online

1 September               Year 5 ‘Spring into Leadership’ Day

2 September               Fathers’ Day Lunch

12-14 September.       Year 5 Outdoor Education Camp – Group 1

14-16 September        Year 5 Outdoor Education Camp – Group 2

19-20 September.       Year 3 Outdoor Education Camp – Group 1

21-22 September        Year 3 Outdoor Education Camp – Group 2

Term 4 

17 October                  Year 2 Outdoor Education Program

19 October                  Year 1 Outdoor Education Program

20 October                  Kindergarten Outdoor Education Program

25 October                  Year 6 Musical Performance, 7.00pm 

26 October                  Year 6 Musical Performance, 7.00pm 

28 October                  Links Day 

1 December                Kindergarten Celebration of Learning, 9.00am

1 December                Years 1 and 2 Celebration of Learning, 11.00am

2 December                Years 3 to 6 Speech Day, 1.00pm

Mrs Kate Brown

Head of Junior School

From the Middle School

From our Head of Middle School

Term 3 is off to a running start with the Year 7 camp last week out at Vision Valley. By all reports the girls had a fantastic time despite the weather, throwing themselves into each activity and challenging their limits to achieve rewarding results. We even had some brave souls who elected to enjoy the waterslide in the rain during down time! Please enjoy the student reflections below:

On year 7 camp I really felt I was challenged, and I had a lot of fun doing the activities. I especially loved the crate stacking challenge.  We got to go on the waterslide which was a highlight for lots of the people at camp. One of the nights we camped inside and had a lot of fun eating the marshmallows while we watched a movie in our tent. The other nights we were in cabins with people from our compass class. Overall camp this year was wet, but the rain didn’t dampen the fun we all had.

 Hattie Murphy (Year 7 – Lang A)

On Wednesday 20^th of July, Goodlet, Bennet, Lang and Marden Year 7’s headed off for our 3-day, 2-night camp at Vision Valley. We all spent one night camping in a tent and one night in the lodges. In the time we were in the tents we learnt how to put up a tent, enjoyed delicious barbeque meals and roasted marshmallows by the bonfire. Despite the rain we still got to get involved in activities like crate stacking, the vertical challenge, orienteering, team building, archery, nature connections, canoeing and more. On some afternoons, we got the option to have a go on the water slide. When it was our turn to sleep in the lodges, night activities included trivia night with a side of hot chocolate! Camp was so much fun, and we are so lucky to have had the opportunity to visit Vision Valley and participate in all the activities there. A big thank you to all the teachers who came with us and made camp possible.

 Isabelle Port (Year 7 – Goodlet B)

Camp was a very fun and exciting experience. My favourite activity was canoeing. We played lots of games while canoeing like world domination. In that game you were a country and you had to try and touch every canoe to make them your country. I also really liked the crate stacking; it was so fun and I got up to 9 crates high! I loved the dining hall. It was so big and it made me feel so connected to everyone as the tables could be connected and made into very long ones. The food was great too!

Sanaya Lakhani (Year 7 – Bennet A)

Our camp at Vision Valley was a fantastic opportunity for everyone that attended. We have grown as people, peers, and students. When we first arrived, we were immediately welcomed with fun games, as well as a delicious morning tea and lunch. After that, we went straight into our activities. These included abseiling, orienteering, canoeing, vertical challenge, crate stack, nature connections, archery, team activities and more. We were challenged to work as a team and think as one, as well as overcoming fears and rising to the occasion. Of course, we needed fuel after these activities, and we were presented with many delicious meals. In the afternoon, we were privileged to use the incredible waterslide, which many people said was the highlight of camp. On top of that, we participated in fun team trivia and putting up tents. Overall, camp was a fantastic experience that we will cherish for years to come.

Laranya Nanthakumanran (Year 7 – Marden A)

Thank you to Mrs Harrison – Head of Year 7 and Mrs Budd – Deputy Head of Middle School for all of their thorough organisation. I would also like to acknowledge the teachers who gave up their own family time to support the outdoor ed experience: Mr Fogale, Mrs Lovell, Ms Reed, Ms Brooks and Mrs Cooley – without your assistance we could not provide the girls with this opportunity.

This Friday our Year 7 Geography students will be visiting the Blue Mountains as part of their curriculum studies. Hopefully, we will be blessed with some sunshine.

A reminder that we will continue to run our Gloucester Gatherings across lunchtime on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This week the girls were invited to craft paper flowers which will be gathered into bunches as gifts for two significant staff members. Gloucester gatherings are a chance for girls to come together, make new connections, share skills and have some fun.

Thank you to those who supported the “Spuds for Floods” College fundraiser on Tuesday. Middle School will be launching our own Semester Two Service Program over the next few weeks. This will provide a variety of opportunities for the girls to elect to support a variety of initiatives within Compass groups during allocated Mind Body Spirit time over the next two terms. More details to follow soon.

A reminder that the well-loved Pymble Garden Party is set to make a comeback this year on Saturday, 17^th September. We are all very excited about sourcing and running the traditional Middle School Basket Stall. Girls across Years 7 and 8 will be invited to work with a partner to donate goodies to create a basket of their own choice. Their imagination is the limit! We have always had such a huge variety in the past, such as gardening themed watering cans, baby baths filled with gifts for a new born, cooking themed mixing bowls, Friday night TV baskets filled with chocolate and other goodies. Further details will follow closer to the date.

Congratulations to our newly appointed Year 7 Transition Leaders who will be training at lunchtime this Friday in anticipation of events they will run in Junior School later this term. These leaders play a crucial role in supporting our current Year 6 students as they begin their transition to Middle School.

Good luck to the following girls with this important responsibility:

Zoe Bloom, Stella Sharp, Mia Chen, Skye Macleod, Emily Raaff, Lulu Hargraves, Sanaya Lakhani, Chloe Wang, Cindy Jin, Eliza-Rose Griffiths, Brielle McDonald, Isabelle Port, Thenulya Gunasekera, Laranya Nanthakumaran, Emily Englund, Jessica Spence, Varada Vinay, Zoe Manning, Celine Chen, Addison Woods, Annabel Taylor, Grace McSweeney, Lucinda Martin, Dia Verma, Hayley Browne, Emily Huang, Raeya Bhat, Layla Abdel-Megeed, Celine Liu, Isabella Woodall, Lily Mancey and Leander McLaughlin.

Also, a big congratulations to Joy Yin of Year 7 who has received excellent results in her recent eisteddfod competitions:

• Sydney Eisteddfod – Piano Polyphony 15 years and under – 2^nd place
• St George Eisteddfod – Piano Solo Restricted 12 years and under – 1^st place
• St George Eisteddfod – Piano Solo Open 12 years and under – 2^nd place

Year 7

Our Bennett, Goodlet, Lang and Marden campers returned this week with stories of fun and adventure at Vision Valley. On Wednesday this week we supported the Write a Book in a Day initiative to fundraise for children’s cancer research by wearing our winter woollies – beanies, gloves and favourite jumpers. Best wishes to our Year 7 Write a Book in a Day team Ella Handley-Greaves, Grace Louw, Angela Tao, Alannah Tang, Kyraa Vig, Chloe Wei, Xiran Rong, Dia Verma, Jemma Huang, Abani Dhaliwal, Emily Huang, Cindy Jin, Leila Rich, Stella Sharp, Anjali Shah and Isabella Zhang who will be competing on August 8^th.

Directions this week has focused on another area of Digital Wellbeing, Bystanders and Upstanders. We have discussed the differences between these stands and how we can be better upstanders when we witness poor choices and treatment of others both online and in person. The eSafety Commissioner website includes excellent resources about how to be an upstander and strategies to use when young people want to help their peers. Senior Constable Lynda Hart, School Liaison Officer who has spoken with many Pymble students over the past few years, talked about cybersecurity, identity theft and internet safety. This presentation built on our Digital Wellbeing lessons this far – cyberbullying, screen time habits and positive bystander interventions.

Year 8

Congratulations to Jenny Xu and Alissa Xue who have been shortlisted for the international John Locke Essay competition (Junior Category) out of nearly 800 essays. The winner of the competition will be announced in Oxford in late August. What a tremendous achievement it is for our girls to have reached this far!

In Directions this week, students have reflected on their progress and personal achievements in Semester 1 in order to develop new goals for the semester ahead. By looking at their report, students have been able to reflect on whether their results have reflected their level of effort for each subject. The aim of this is to celebrate the strengths in their report and to think about how they could approach areas needing improvement.

REMINDER FOR ALL STUDENTS

Learning for Secondary School students will be face-to-face and on campus from Term 3 as advised via the Parent Portal at the end of Term 2.

Secondary students who test positive to COVID or are not well enough to attend school are to follow the normal procedure by contacting their subject teachers via email and/or referring to Canvas to catch up on missed work.

Homework Help in Term 3

Homework Help is an after-school service offered to all Pymble students in the Secondary School to provide assistance and support with everyday homework, assignments and research skills in a friendly, quiet environment. Homework Help is staffed by teachers from the Learning Support Team. 

When: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday after school: 3.30pm to 4.30pm 

Where: Classroom C3 (Top floor of the Colonnade Building) 

Dates: From Monday Week 3 (1 August) to Thursday Week 9 (15 September)     

For further enquiries, please contact Mrs Lora Lim, Head of Learning Support at llim@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

Volunteers Needed for the Sri Lankan Food Stall at Pymble’s Garden Party

FROM THE SECONDARY SCHOOL PARENT GROUP

Year 7 Co-ordinators                         

Carol Bai   0450855866

Shiva Rich 0414322874

Year 8 Co-ordinator

Sunny Ires  0424878781

Mrs Jenny O’Donnell

Head of Middle School

From the Upper School

A Message from Mr Riley, Head of Upper School

This week I had the privilege of attending the ‘Rise Up For Unity’ colloquium at Hornsby PCYC, a unique police force-led project involving students from 17 local schools, and our Year 9 Mind Body Spirit Day, ‘The Butterfly Effect’. The focus of both events was on building stronger connections within our community, and it was fantastic to see our girls leading the way.

As part of our involvement in the ‘Rise Up For Unity’ project, our Year 10 students (Maiya Foster, Chloe Kim, Ava Thomas, Margaret Wu, Yu Zhou and Yuki Wang) have been developing resources to share with their cohort at school to promote greater understanding, acceptance and connection.

I hope you enjoy their short movie clip titled #ditchthelabels that will be incorporated into assembly and our Directions program later this term.

A Message from Mrs Hunt, Deputy Head of Upper School

Year 9 Mind Body Spirit Day: The Butterfly Effect

On Tuesday, Year 9 received the opportunity to engage with “The Butterfly Effect” workshop in the Jobson Lecture Theatre. It was run by Enlighten Education and we received an awesome speaker, Nikki, who taught us about the importance of feminism and standing up for ourselves.

Some of the activities we took part in were writing compliments to our friends (i.e. how we appreciate them and everything we value about their friendship), and forming groups and writing slogans about how and why we are feminists.

We spoke about friendship and what we do and don’t value in our friendships and why it is important to speak clearly about how we feel. The Butterfly Effect was an awesome day and Year 9 really enjoyed it. Nikki was a great speaker and we all agreed she was one of the best speakers we’ve ever had.

Written by Grace Rew (Year 9) and Phoebe Paleologos (Year 9)

Oxford Tour Review

Having the unbelievable opportunity to learn alongside fellow students from all over the world at Oxford, one of the world’s most prestigious universities, was an experience that I will never forget. I gained fresh insights every day and made valued connections which I cherish dearly. As well as that, I built my confidence and independence as I tried to navigate the ups and downs of dorm life 11,134 km away from home. I needed to be self-reliant and responsible – a challenge which I rose up to with great eagerness (and more or less ultimate success…!).

As a business student at the academy, I had the incredible occasion to receive pearls of wisdom from my teacher, an entrepreneur and highly sought-after keynote speaker who has decades of experience in the world of business. His expert teaching style and poignant anecdotes created an engaging classroom atmosphere. He was also extremely attentive to all the students’ needs, allowing for a personalised learning experience. There was no need to worry if you didn’t have much prior experience in business studies – the lessons were fast-paced yet well-rounded, covering a lot of important content in the space of a few days. In addition to our time with our teacher, my class listened to lectures and presentations from other business experts, where we appreciated developing key skills like lateral thinking and innovation. At one point, we participated in a Venture Capitalism Seminar hosted by a high-ranking member of Google, which inspired many of us into thinking about a career in business management. Finally, we got to apply the knowledge we had gained by working in groups on an assignment, where we had to formulate our own business idea and present a pitch to ‘potential investors’ (i.e., our teacher and our class). There was plenty of teamwork and laughs involved, so that the whole task didn’t feel much like an assignment at all, but rather a passion project! 

Outside the classroom, the academy provided us with a jam-packed schedule full of enriching activities. There was punting, where we had a taste of the traditional British experience out on the river, a visit to Cadbury World (very popular amongst those of us with a sweet tooth – I mean, all of us!), and to top it all off, a magnificent Great Debate, where friendly competition and enthusiasm reigned. In our free time between classes and meals, we could stroll out to the beautiful town of Oxford to admire its antique buildings, cultivated flowers, shopping malls and gourmet food. I also joined a tour with a professional guide, who outlined the intriguing history of the university. Towards the end of my trip, the school organised for us to visit London for an exciting day of sightseeing and musicals (we were blown away by the spectacular performance of ‘The Lion King’). Each day felt like an ethereal mirage crammed with novel delights and pleasant surprises. 

Of course, I must mention the friendships that I made along the way. I met people from Spain, Greece, America, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, India, Argentina… The list goes on. All of these people brought a new perspective with them, and every time I have a conversation with any one of them, I feel that I have come away with a more nuanced understanding of the world. 

The tour also gave me a chance to strengthen the existing bonds that I had with my friends at Pymble. There is nothing that can bring you closer than travelling a whole exotic foreign land together!

I had such a wonderful journey of growth and discovery on the tour, and whilst I savoured every moment of it, I am also keen to use the knowledge that I have taken away from my experience back to my studies at Pymble. I know that I have come back stronger, more resilient, and more mature from being immersed in the unique academic and cultural landscape of Oxford. If luck allows it, I would be more than happy to leap onto Oxonian soil again in the future!

Written by Julie Sheng (Year 10), Business student at the Oxford Royal Academy

We would like to take the opportunity to congratulate the following students, and all attendees, of the Oxford Royale Trip and to thank the staff for giving up their break to attend the trip.

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

Year 9 have had a lovely start to Term 3. The Mind Body Spirit Day on Tuesday – ‘The Butterfly Effect’ – saw students examine friendships and cliques, learn about using their voice to stand up for their beliefs and was a wonderful reminder for the students to love the skin that they are in. 

In Directions this week we have been investigating the difference between goals and expectations. It is important that students are aware of the expectations that parents, the College and their friends have of them, as well as the expectations they have of themselves. By being aware of these many expectations, students can better manage their levels of stress and have conversations with others if their expectations are not met.

Congratulations to the many students who received Sports Colours from Semester 1 2022.

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

It has been a busy but exciting start to Term 3 for Year 10. On Monday, I was lucky to join the Marine and Aquaculture Technology students on an awesome whale watching excursion. After so many cold and rainy days and a cancellation the week before due to rough seas, we enjoyed an amazing day. We followed a female humpback whale and her juvenile as they headed north. They put on a fabulous display for us – breaching, fin slapping, tail slapping and swimming.

Later this week the Textiles students have the opportunity to show off their work at Textiles on Parade and next week the Agriculture students go on a three-day field trip to Dubbo. We look forward to sharing photos and updates from these exciting opportunities.

Learning to drive a car is one of the many rites of passage that students undertake around this time. Whether as a driver or as a passenger, our young people will start to find themselves in motor vehicles with friends over the coming years. Next week, Year 10 will attend the RYDA Road Safety workshop out at Homebush.  RYDA helps young people make positive contributions to safety from any seat in a car and is an important event for the students. Click here to view the RYDA brochure and learn more about the workshop. Please make sure you have signed the permission note and given approval for your daughter via the MY PYMBLE app.

This term in Directions, Year 10 will be focusing on their future with lessons centred upon the skills needed for future employment.

Key Dates

Tuesday 2 August – Year 10 Agricultural Science Three-Day Field Trip

Thursday 4 August – Year 10 Road Safety Education Workshop

Sunday 7 August – Year 9 Residential Program Community Day

REMINDER FOR ALL STUDENTS

Learning for Secondary School students will be face-to-face and on campus from Term 3 as advised via the Parent Portal at the end of Term 2.

Secondary students who test positive to COVID or are not well enough to attend school are to follow the normal procedure by contacting their subject teachers via email and/or referring to Canvas to catch up on missed work.

Homework Help in Term 3

Homework Help is an after-school service offered to all Pymble students in the Secondary School to provide assistance and support with everyday homework, assignments and research skills in a friendly, quiet environment. Homework Help is staffed by teachers from the Learning Support Team. 

When: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday after school: 3.30pm to 4.30pm 

Where: Classroom C3 (Top floor of the Colonnade Building) 

Dates: From Monday Week 3 (1 August) to Thursday Week 9 (15 September)     

For further enquiries, please contact Mrs Lora Lim, Head of Learning Support at llim@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

Volunteers Needed for the Sri Lankan Food Stall at Pymble’s Garden Party

Mr Tom Riley

Head of Upper School

From the Senior School

From the Head of Senior School

This week we are focusing on some exciting recent events that have taken place over the past few weeks, with reports written by the students involved. My congratulations to all those involved and the many students who took part in study camps, sports training for state and national teams, STEM activities and performing arts rehearsals.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish the Year 12 students all the best for their upcoming HSC Trials, on behalf of all of the staff in the Senior School. They have worked hard for these papers and should take extra care with their wellbeing – early nights and good food are essential during this time. Should students need extra support or advice, they should contact their Heads of Year or subject teachers.

Leave

I will be taking a short period of Long Service Leave this term from 8 August until 2 September. In my absence Ms Patricia Gallardo will be acting Head of Senior School.

Term Break Oxford Trip

During the term break eleven Year 11 students attended Oxford University to participate in a range of learning opportunities. They were all wonderful ambassadors for the College and for their country, earning a number of awards and certificates for their efforts.

Here are their thoughts:

Along with 19 other students in Years 10 and 11, I attended the Oxford Royale Academy, which is a 2-week long program held at a constituent college of Oxford. I stayed at Queen’s College, which had a beautiful campus and took the mathematics (age 16-18) course. There were people from across 5 continents staying at Queen’s College, so my Pymble friends and I got acquainted with a wide variety of people.

We would have 3 classes in the morning and afternoon, each 90 minutes, and were assigned a graded essay and presentation to complete by a deadline. In the evenings, there would be social activities and free time which allowed us to explore the city of Oxford, eat lunch, shop, and do activities such as punting!

Angie

My experience at Oxford Royale Academy was highly valuable for my perspective on academic learning and cross-cultural relationships. I was able to study areas of interest not typically available in the school curriculum, such as masterclasses in intersectionality and diplomatic decision-making, and the diversity of opinions that emerged from one classroom as a result of varying cultural backgrounds made every conversation interesting. What I loved most about my time at Oxford was the multitude of activities they prepared for us—punting, ghost tours, museum visits, day trips to London, debates—but most notably, the unforgettable friendships that were formed through these activities.  

Angelina

The environment that Oxford provided was awe-inspiring, and the academic experience was enlightening and felt tailored for personal growth and enrichment. Among the most engaging elements was the program’s cultural experience, and having the opportunity to gain insight and opinions from countries around the world. There was a refreshing balance between work and activities, and every day was memorable because of all the different experiences, whether it was exploring the city and visiting iconic landmarks, or interacting with new friends. 

Hayley

‘In the holidays I had the privilege to attend Oxford for a summer school where I stayed at Balliol College one of the oldest colleges in Oxford. I studied ‘Philosophy, Modern History and Literature’ where I engaged in essay writing, ethical and moral debates and critical historical events such as the Cold War. In my free time, I had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and explore the beautiful city of Oxford.’

Lucy

The Oxford Royale experience was, to put it briefly, incredible, and indescribable. Mr Kozyra initially described this as a ‘super-curricular’ and he was right in doing so; I am certain that I will never forget this experience. The opportunity to live in St Catherine’s College, to eat, sleep and learn like a real Oxford student, was thrilling. The class I took was called Philosophy, Literature and Modern History, a crash course of all of Modern History in just two weeks, starting with the Renaissance and working our way up, with focuses on important philosophical and literary movements, periods and eras. This was certainly a university level class. We moved quickly and with a high expectation of pre-existing knowledge. But that’s not to say we were expected to know it all- in fact, while I loved the lessons in which I had a lot to contribute, some of my favourites were those when I knew little to nothing about a subject and could sit back and listen to my peers and professor share their knowledge. 

While the classes were amazing, what I found perhaps even more valuable was the cultural experience. In my college of about 160 people, there were no other Pymble students and only two other Australians. I made new friends from Turkey, Brazil, France, England, Thailand, Bulgaria and so many more places around the world. In fact, my closest friend (who I am still texting on the regular and have plans to meet up with over the summer break) was from none other than New Jersey, in the United States. This was a truly multicultural experience, enriched not only by the people I met, but by the beautiful setting in which I met them. Oxford is an undeniably gorgeous town, and there is something almost magical about its atmosphere. I treasured my daily 20-minute walks through town to get to class, and often found myself pausing throughout the day to just admire the beautiful, historical places I found myself in. 

This was an experience I know I will never forget, and I could not be more grateful for this opportunity. In our final class, my professor, Rose Lyddon, asked us all to say one thing we had taken from the course. My response was “I think I’m actually just smarter than I was at the start.” This comment was met with some mild laughter and amusement, but it’s true. And that’s not something one can often say about a short two weeks abroad. 

Gen

Attending summer school at Oxford gave me so much insight into both the theoretical and practical aspects of medicine. I was privileged enough to engage with leading medical professionals, Oxbridge alumni and gain hands-on experience in a hospital – all whilst exploring the beautiful and historically rich city. Beyond that, I’m incredibly grateful to have been surrounded by some of the most brilliant, supportive and kind people, that I would never have gotten to meet otherwise. All things considered, the experience gave me so much motivation to work hard and pursue my passions, so that I can one day work in medicine among such individuals. 

Aileen

The Oxford University Summer School was an incredible experience, especially getting to live in the actual dormitories on-campus and following a similar routine to that of students. We got to meet so many other students from across the world and it was a great opportunity to develop a wide range of friendships and relationships with other likeminded young people. We were also able to explore possible university courses, and experience what those courses entailed, which has helped me to further develop an idea of what I’d like to study at university.

Rhedyn

In its entirety, my two-week experience at Oxford Royale Academy was memorable and incredibly valuable. My chosen course, Medicine and Disease, was very enriching; I was being academically stimulated every day in lectures, intimate classes, and excursions. Around me were brilliant and passionate international students who brought diverse perspectives and personalities to the learning atmosphere. However much of my experiences were also cultural, and I will always be grateful for the connections and memories I made with new friends, and my chance to explore the truly beautiful city.

Sophia

What could prepare you for medical school more than two weeks of medical school itself? From case reports and written assignments, to volunteer patients and practical examinations, Oxford Royale offered a truly exceptional experience and a glimpse into what studying medicine is like at Oxford University. This was a unique opportunity to sit down for lectures, tutorials and guest speakers in the famous Oxford campus itself, while being able to make connections with peers our age from all around the globe. I would highly recommend this to anyone who has the ability to attend, because of the memories it has left me that I will never forget.

Alex

The Oxford Royale Academy summer course was an extremely rare and unforgettable experience. It was an amazing opportunity to meet people from all around the world who share my passion for medicine and spend time together learning about what we truly enjoy. Being taught by doctors and medical students really extended my knowledge on medical research and practical skills, and the organised activities outside the classroom including touring Oxford, visiting Blenheim Palace and going to the movies made it a fun and fulfilling two-week trip.

Jolie

During the last holidays, I completed a two-week course of Law, Politics and Economics at Oxford Oriel College along with several other Pymble peers. There, I developed my interests in LPE with students from different countries, including Brazil, Switzerland, Greece, Pakistan, and many more through the classes that we attended together. At Oxford, we received a variety of opportunities to listen to guest speakers discuss topics such as International Governance and Intersectionality, explore the rich history of Britain and become immersed in the famous landmarks of Oxford, including Christchurch College and The Covered Market. Overall, Oxford Summer Course was a highly enjoyable experience that I would recommend students to consider next year!

Jessie

From the Heads of Year 12

With Term 3 well under way and Year 12 busy with their Trial examination preparation, the KM building has been full of energy, albeit nervous energy at times. The girls have been working hard on their studies and taking opportunities to meet with teachers to go over notes or to emulate examinations conditions and practicing past papers. In whatever way they have been preparing we know that they will use the trial examinations as an opportunity to show their learning and use them to receive feedback to develop for their final HSC examinations.

Here are some words from Year 12 about the upcoming trial examinations:

“I am interested to see how I perform under extended examination conditions. The trials feel like a good pre-HSC practice opportunity” – Hayley

“I am excited to get them (trials) started and show all the hard work I have put into Year 12 so far” – Freya

During the trial examination period we encourage Year 12 to balance their studies with some timeout to look after themselves. This may be a short mindfulness activity, walking the dog or spending some time with family and friends, something that gives them time to reset and take a little time away from the books.

We want to wish them the best of luck!

From the Heads of Year 11

Alyssa Yee, Thomas B, was a fundraiser for the Cathy Freeman Stride for Education charity. She writes:

The Cathy Freeman Foundation’s Stride for Education is a wonderful charity that helps Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children recognise the power of education and achieve their goals and dreams. I really appreciate the education we receive at Pymble and the opportunity to make a difference inspired me to be involved in this valuable cause. I walked over 70 km over the month of November, raising awareness and support for the cause, which helped Pymble become the highest fundraiser school for Stride for Education. As a prize winner, my Compass Class, 11 Thomas A, was given the wonderful opportunity to have an interactive Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural experience last Tuesday, courtesy of Wanyara.

Wanyara is an Indigenous Australian awareness and empowerment group who run cultural experiences to change how Indigenous culture is seen and aim to improve the lives of Indigenous youth. We were very fortunate to have representatives from Wanyara teach us about the work they do and lead us through a traditional Indigenous art painting session. We learnt about the different symbols used in Indigenous art and their importance in culture and storytelling. We were encouraged to create our own symbols to tell our own stories through art. The whole class enjoyed the experience to express ourselves and tell our stories through painting. It was wonderful to share this cultural experience with my Compass Class and learn and celebrate some beautiful Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditions.

REMINDER TO ALL STUDENTS

Learning for Secondary School students will be face-to-face and on campus from Term 3 as advised via the Parent Portal at the end of Term 2.

Secondary students who test positive to Covid or are not well enough to attend school are to follow the normal procedure by contacting their subject teachers via email and/or referring to Canvas to catch up on missed work.

Homework Help in Term 3

Homework Help is an after-school service offered to all Pymble students in the Secondary School to provide assistance and support with everyday homework, assignments and research skills in a friendly, quiet environment. Homework Help is staffed by teachers from the Learning Support Team. 

When: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday after school: 3.30pm to 4.30pm 

Where: Classroom C3 (Top floor of the Colonnade Building) 

Dates: From Monday Week 3 (1 August) to Thursday Week 9 (15 September)     

For further enquiries, please contact Mrs Lora Lim, Head of Learning Support at llim@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

Volunteers Needed for the Sri Lankan Food Stall at Pymble’s Garden Party

Mrs Nikki Wyse

Head of Senior School

From the Boarding School

From our Head of Boarding

After a wet and wild week, it was wonderful to see the sunshine at the start of the week. Some of our Boarders took full advantage of this taking a ferry trip to Manly, indulging in the mandatory fish and chips and the more daring, paddling in the waves. Other Boarders enjoyed being back on campus with their Boarding ‘sisters’ following a late Saturday night at the movies.

Garden Party is on its way!

We are so excited at the prospect of our first Garden Party in two years and planning is well underway. This week you will have received an email from our Boarding Garden Party Convenor, Kylie Levy outlining the fresh produce stall and seeking your support. Please email Kylie at k_levy@bigpond.com if you are able to assist and get ready for a fabulous day on Saturday 17 September.

Boarding Hits the Road – Mrs Katie White

Last week, I had the absolute pleasure of attending both the Moree and Tamworth Boarding Expo’s.  Not only was it a delight to meet the future families of Pymble Boarding, but it was also an opportunity to catch up with our current ones.  Moree was our first stop; we were able to visit some of the shops in town that are owned by current and future families in addition to sharing a meal at the Royal that night with current, future and past families. 

Tamworth was the second stop on the trip and a busy one at that!  Jackie and I were the talk of the top as we proudly wore our new RB Sellars staff shirts.  We did two days of the expo in addition to a meal with some of our beautiful families from the area at Deco.  Over the course of the trip, we spoke to many future Pymble Boarders and we can’t wait to now welcome them onto campus for the next step in their Pymble journey. 

View From My Window

My name is Lila Bourke and I’m a Year 12 Boarder; I’ve been boarding at Pymble since Year 7. I’m from Dubvegas, otherwise known as Dubbo: a large regional town that’s around 5 hours northwest of Sydney. I live in town with my Mum and Dad, who own a family run business, and my little brother Harry, who’s going to be in Year 7 next year!

My favourite views in Dubbo are the sunsets and sunrises from my front or back yard. There have been so many times where I’ve heard Harry yell out to come look at the sky when it shines beautiful purples, pinks and oranges. My camera roll is filled with the best sunsets from over the years, and I plan to capture many more.

Before COVID, my family and I didn’t get to spend much time together, as Mum and Dad were at work and I was always at school up in Sydney. We’d save up for end of year holidays, where I had the privilege to travel overseas, to places I dreamed of going to. My favourite is definitely Japan, and I hope to return one day.

My favourite thing about being home in Dubbo is being able to spend time with my family, especially when I get to play games, watch movies or cook with my family. Harry’s always making me laugh until I’m crying, and constantly impressing me with his passionate stories about each go-kart tournament he races in.

I’ve even brought day girls home to meet my family in Dubbo during holidays, where we’d spend whole days swimming in the backyard and visiting the zoo. I also love just catching up with my primary school friends, and I even worked at my local Maccas for two years where I met my one of my best friends, Destinee. Even though she moved to Coffs Harbour at the start of the year, we still call and text all the time.

I’ve gotten used to life in Boarding over the years, and have met some of the best people and made so many genuine friends. My friends and the boarding staff are like my family; however, nothing beats being home with my parents and little brother in Dubbo.

Boarder of the Week

Year 9 Boarder, Mia Chambers is our well-deserving Boarder of the Week. Mia hails from Wyee in the Lake Macquarie region of NSW and she has been with us since Year 7. Mia is an invaluable member of our Boarding family and a friend to everyone, always making people feel comfortable and welcome. Mia is the first to notice when someone is feeling down or left out and she goes out of her way to check on them and help them feel supported. Kindness and empathy are at the forefront of everything she does. Mia is happy to come and have a chat and always enjoys regaling funny stories and anecdotes. Her bubbly personality, sense of humour and ‘no nonsense’ attitude to life draws people to her and make her much-loved by all those around here

Save the Date

Please add the following dates to your Boarding calendar. If you missed out on a copy of our calendar, please let us know at boarding@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au and we will send one out to you. 

Sunday 14 August

Gordon and Pymble Uniting Church service (no leave for Boarders between 9.00am and 11.00am)

Friday 16 September

2:00pm Boarder Parent Group meeting

7:00pm Boarding Community Event (no leave for Boarders from 4.00pm) 

Saturday 17 September

Garden Party (no leave for Boarders)

Thursday 22 September

Year 12 Boarders and Parents’ Celebration

Friday 23 September

Boarders’ Travel Day

Tuesday 29 November
End of Term Chapel and Christmas Dinner

Mrs Carolyn Burgess

Director of Boarding

Co-curricular Administration

2022 Co-curricular Programs

Most Co-curricular programs started or continued in Week 1 of Term 3, from Tuesday 19 July, unless previously advised the program would not be starting until Week 2. Confirmations for all programs starting in Term 3 were sent on Tuesday 12 July. If you have not received confirmation of your daughters’ program or have any questions about your daughter’s registrations, please do not hesitate to contact Co-curricular Administration at ccsa@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

If you would like to withdraw your daughter from a program, transfer between programs, or have missed registering her for a program, registration requests can be made by clicking here and completing the Co-curricular Registration Request form. The cut-off date for submitting Term 3 and Semester 2 program change requests is 8.00am on Monday 1 August. Please note, we are receiving a high volume of emails, calls and registration requests at this time so we appreciate your patience as we get back to you which may take a couple of days.

A reminder that our conditions of Co-curricular registration were updated for 2022 and can be found by clicking here.

Term 4 Saturday Sport Registrations

This is a reminder that registrations for Term 4 Saturday Sports will remain open until Friday 5 August at 12.00pm. The options available to students are as follows:

• IPSHA Basketball (Year 3 to 6)
• IPSHA Cricket (Year 3 to 6)
• IPSHA Tennis (Year 3 to 6)
• Cricket Sixers (Year 7 to 12)
• Summer Rowing (Year 7 to 12)
• IGSA Tennis (Year 7 to 12)
• Santa Sabina Volleyball (Year 7 to 12)
• IGSA Water Polo (Year 7 to 12)
• IGSA Touch Football (Year 7 to 12)

All registrations are made via the online registration system, which can be accessed from the Co-curricular at Pymble pages of MyPymble (click here; parent log in required).

Co-curricular Communications

To ensure you are receiving the latest updates for your daughters’ Co-curricular programs, it is essential that all families download the Pymble app as all communication regarding changes or cancellations to classes will be sent via the app. Minimal communications about programs will be sent via email. For more information and download instructions, click here.

Mrs Susan Lindsay

Acting Head of Co-curricular Administration

Sports

On-campus Injury Assessment Clinic at Pymble

A reminder to all families, the College will have an onsite Injury Assessment Clinic (IAC), which students can access conveniently, without a GP referral, and at no cost.

The IAC provides prompt and accurate diagnosis, streamline and accelerate injury management, and provide a gold standard level of care for our active Pymble girls.

The clinic is located in the Aquatic and Fitness Centre, where we have allocated a private consultation room. This service is led by Dr Nicole Sly MBBS BPhty, a Sports and Exercise Medicine Doctor who will work in partnership with our existing onsite Sports Physiotherapists, Simon and Emily.

About Dr Nicole Sly

Dr Sly has experience supporting elite athletes in Rugby Union, Rowing, and Paratriathlon internationally. She has also worked at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead Institute of Sports Medicine and Paediatric Emergency and as a Physiotherapist before studying medicine.

How to access the IAC

Availability:

Monday 7.00am to 10.00am and Thursday 8.00am to 11.00am, during term time.

Location: Aquatic and Fitness Centre.

How to access:

• Walk in.
• Referral by Pymble
• Direct bookings via QR code, which takes you to Hot Doc to make an appointment.

Other key details:

• Consent must be given by a carer/parent to attend the IAC.
• Carers and parents are welcome to attend appointments with their daughters.
• In alignment with our COVID safety guidelines.
• No GP referral is required.
• No out-of-pocket expense for consultations.

Mr Greg Meaher

Director of Sport

Artistic Gymnastics

Artistic Gymnastics NL3-7 Region Invitational

Congratulations on a great weekend at the NL3-7 Northern Region Invitational which was held at the Manly Warringah Gymnastics Club on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 July.  We had 35 gymnasts compete in Levels 3 to 7 and we had some smashing results.

Two weeks to go until we attend State Trials.  Well done to everyone!!

Level 7
Piya Parimu Kapur (Year 10) 5th Bars
Amalia Bond (Year 6) 6th Bars, 5th Beam

Level 6
Mahika Swamy (Year 8) 4th Beam

Level 5

Aimee Yap (Year 6) 2nd Vault, 1st Bars, 3rd Beam, 1st Floor, 1st Overall

Madison Yip (Year 10) 6th Vault, 5th Beam, 4th Floor

Talia Luo (Year 9) 4th Bars

Sasha Clark (Year 8) 3rd Bars

Amelie Rahme (Year 4) 1st Bars

Level 4

Anna Wang (Year 4) Silver banding

Hayley Nguyen (Year 4) Silver Banding

Crystal Gui (Year 4) Silver Banding

Olivia Dinnie (Year 4) Bronze Banding

Alice Liu (Year 4) Bronze Banding

Amelia Browne (Year 4) Bronze Banding

Aaliyah Khanche (Year 5) Bronze Banding

Stella Pieterse (Year 5) Bronze Banding

Michelle Shi (Year 5) Bronze Banding

Blair Tang (Year 5) Bronze Banding

Autumn Wang (Year 5) Bronze Banding

Miranda Wu (Year 5) Silver Banding

Level 3

Charlotte Elliott (Year 3) Silver Banding

Olivia Wang (Year 4) 5th Bars, Bronze Banding

Alison Gestier
Head Coach – Artistic Gymnastics

Cross Country

Congratulations to the following students who competed in the NSW PSSA (Primary) and NSW All Schools (Secondary) Cross Country Championships on Friday 22 July in Eastern Creek.

The rain held off for what was a great day of racing!

PSSA Championships Results:

11 Years

6th – Gemma Dixon (Year 6)

12 Years

5th – Claudia Wyatt (Year 6)

NSW All Schools Championships Results:

15 Years

33rd – Tessa Newitt (Year 9)

16 Years

2nd – Abigail Ballhausen (Year 11)

16th – Georgia Phillips (Year 10)

17 Years

6th – Nea Shingler (Year 12)

7th – Lucia O’Dea (Year 11)

18 Years

7th – Annabel Maple-Brown (Year 12)

16 to 19 Years Multi Class

1st – Yi Ying Lim (Year 11)

From the NSW Championships in the Junior School, Claudia Wyatt (Year 6) and Gemma Dixon (Year 6) both qualified for the NSW PSSA Team to compete in the Australian Cross Country Championships in Adelaide on Saturday 27 August. In the Secondary School, Abigail Ballhausen (Year 11) and Cross Country Captain Annabel Maple-Brown (Year 12) both earnt their spot in the NSW All Schools Team to join Gemma and Claudia at the Australian Cross Country Championships.

In addition, congratulations to the following students who have been selected in the NSW Athletics Team to compete in the Australian Cross Country Championship.  

Sarah Baker (Year 10)

Sophia Slater (Year 9)

Caitlyn Tan (Year 11)

Yi Ying Lim (Year 11)

Georgia Phillips (Year 10)

Mia Sams (Year 9)

Tessa Newitt (Year 9)

These girls were selected through the NSW Athletics Pathway after producing excellent results at the NSW State Championships in June.

Congratulations girls and we look forward to seeing you all in action in Adelaide.

Ms Megan O’Keeffe
Co-ordinator – Cross Country

Fencing

On Saturday 23 July Alyssa Yee (Year 11) and Sienna Stephens (Year 11) competed in the Australian Schools Fencing Championships in Alexandria.

Both girls put in such a great effort especially having attended the Year 11 Formal the night before!

Congratulations to Alyssa who finished in 5th place and Sienna who achieved 3rd place.

Miss Megan O’Keeffe

Sports Co-ordinator – Fencing

Hockey

IGSA Hockey

It was great to have IGSA Hockey back again with the first round taking place on Saturday 23 July. 

Pymble has entered seven teams into the Term 3 IGSA competition, with our Senior Firsts in S01, Junior Firsts in J01, and Year 7 Firsts in Y701, with the intention to be very competitive across all three divisions.

Despite the wet weather, we had a very solid start to the season with our Senior Firsts (Pymble 1) taking a win over New England Girls School, and our Year 7 Firsts (Pymble 6) winning against MLC with an impressive 8-0 score.

Our Junior Firsts had a very competitive game against New England Girls School, with a close 2-1 loss, and our Year 7 second team drawing with Loreto Normanhurst, 2-2.

In Round 2, on Saturday 30 July we will have Pymble 2, Pymble 4, Pymble 6 and Pymble 7 playing at Frensham School, with the conditions expected to be an icy 10 degrees ❄️

We wish all players the very best of luck for Round 2 on Saturday. 

NSW All Schools Open Girls Hockey Tri-Series

A huge Congratulations to Amalia Patterson (Year 11) who competed at the NSW All Schools Open Girls Hockey Tri-Series on Tuesday 19 July.

Playing against the best of the best, Amalia has yet again done Pymble proud and was selected into the NSW Team.

Amalia is a tremendous asset to the Hockey Program at Pymble, and there will no doubt be plenty more exciting news to come for Amalia.

Laura Verlinden

Sports Co-ordinator – Hockey

Winter Rowing

On Sunday 24 July the Pymble Rowing team returned to the water for the first Winter Rowing session of Term 3, with over 60 girls enjoying the blue skies and calm water. Some Pymble crews rowed all the way to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, a worthwhile trip to see the magnificent landmark up close. Everyone had a great time refreshing their skills ready for an exciting season ahead.

The team also welcomed an enthusiastic group of beginners, who had a great first experience of Rowing. Now is the perfect time to give Rowing a go, with our main Summer Rowing season not beginning until Week 9 of Term 3.

Signups are still open for Summer Rowing and late registrations are welcomed for Winter Rowing (Term 3).

Anyone is welcome to give Rowing a go. If interested, please contact the Rowing Co-ordinator, Lewis Gray at lewis.gray@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au to arrange a taster session.

Mia Solomons (Year 8), Arabella Murphy (Year 8), Phoebe Roberts (Year 8), Ella Willets (Year 8), Holly Hogan (Year 8), Anais McDonald (Year 8), Zoe Hart (Year 8) and Angela Karelas (Year 8)

Annabel Shanahan (Year 9), Amy O’Donnell (Year 9), Abby Sywak (Year 9), Melanie Tan (Year 9) and Mathilde Goddard (Year (9)

Annie Pennington (Year 7), Mie Naito (Year 7), Olivia Norton (Year 7), Sanaya Lakhani (Year 7) and Carrie Luo (Year 10)

Mr Lewis Gray

Sports Co-ordinator – Rowing

Performing Arts

Drama

First for Drama! Congratulations to Drama Festival

Congratulations to Isabel Aveling (Year 10) and Nandika Singh (Year 9) who have placed first at the Ryde Eisteddfod in Shakespeare Duologue. This is a wonderful achievement for our Drama students!

Years 7 to 10 Improvisation and Theatresports

Over Terms 3 and 4, we are having joint Improvisation and Theatresports workshops and performances with Riverview in collaboration with their Co-curricular Drama department. This has been updated on the competition overview. Please click here for the very latest schedule of dates.

Break a Leg!

Good luck to all our students who are performing at the various competitions over this coming term. We are very proud of all our Drama students hard work.

Mrs Tamara Sweetman

Head of Drama

Language Arts

Archdale Debating

Round 6 resumed this week and was held at Pymble in the Colonnades. Loreto Kirribilli visited and the topic was Gender with the results being announced later this week. Please note next week we travel by train to Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College in North Sydney. CCSA will send permissions.

Social Debating

Social debating classes commenced on Wednesday this term.

Model United Nations (UN)

Evatt State Finals – Congratulations to Maya Hu (Year 11) and Jessie Xie (Year 11) who made it through to the state finals of Evatt Model UN competition. They competed on Tuesday at State Parliament House with the results yet to be announced.

PMUN

PMUN has resumed for the term. Please contact Isabella Cameron (Year 12) if you’re interested in attending. We hope to see you there.

UN Negotiations Competition

The UN NSW Negotiations Competition is an international diplomacy and negotiation competition that immerses students in the role of state negotiators and encourages the finding of practical and pragmatic solutions to important geopolitical international disputes.  We have three teams entering preliminary rounds this week, with the girls representing either Sudan or Ethiopia.

MUN

Mrs Hubbard would like to hear of anyone in Year 10 or 11 wishing to give a MUN competition a go. We have room for ONE more team of three. Thanks to Kur-ring-gai Rotary and Turramurra Rotary for sponsoring our teams.

Year 12 Farewell High Tea

The Language Arts’ Farewell to Year 12 High Tea was a delightful end of Term 2 event. I’d like to say a big thank you to all who attended. Thanks to our captains Alyssa Ye, Angie Wang, Christine Hur and Isabella Cameron for their organisation. We hope you enjoyed the farewell Year 12.

Legacy Public Speaking

Congratulations to Jenny Xu (Year 8) and Emily Abadee (Year 9) who have been selected to represent Pymble in the Legacy Public Speaking Competition to be held on 10 August. This will be an online heat, run at school.

UN Voice

This is a fun Term 4 challenge and open to all in Years 7-10. Please email your interest to Mrs Hubbard and Angie Wang (Year 11). Further details can be found here: https://unyouth.org.au/event/voice/voice-nsw/. We will sign you up through the school for this Term 4 competition.

Mediation

Our Mediators are through to the Quarter finals. Well done girls!

Mock Law

Congratulations to the Mock Trial team who won their trial against Normanhurst Boys’ last week.

UN Negotiations

Best wishes to Caitlyn Tan (Year 11), Hanna Cheung (Year 11), Rachel Chan (Year 10), Angelina Lee (Year 10), Yuki Wang (Year 10) and June Yoon (Year 10) as they compete in the forthcoming UN Negotiations competition.

Mrs Bronwyn Hubbard

Head of Language Arts

Music

2022 Music Scholars Recital – Week 4

The College community is warmly invited to the 2022 Music Scholars Recital. Featuring students from Years 7 – 12, it will be an exciting night of musical excellence. The concert will be held on Tuesday 9 August, commencing at 7pm in the Music Gallery. This is a free event and audience members do not need to book a ticket.

Term 2 Secondary School Ensemble Concert Photos

There are some wonderful photos of all the music groups from the Term 2 Ensemble Concert: Auf Wiedersehen – Farewell Mrs Turner and our Music Class of 2022. These can be purchased through LightBox Photography. Please follow the details below.

1. Visit: www.lightboxphotography.com.au
2. Select ‘View and Order Photos’ from the right hand menu.
3. User registration will be required to view your photos the first time.
4. Enter your name, email and a user password. Note: This ‘password’ is not the access login but your own user password that you create. This prevents others accessing your photo order.
5. Select ‘Access Gallery’ (top right).
   • Enter the following code into ‘Access Gallery’ Photos code: music2022
6. To view the photos on repeated occasions only your email and ‘user password’ is required.
7. In the ‘Prints & Products’ column select the product with associated size.
   • Selection of prints
   • Block mount prints
   • Canvas prints
8. To finalise your order please select ‘Check Out’ and complete the payment and postal details.
9. Options for sending your order can be via online or postage (Lightbox Photography, 24 Alder Avenue, Lane Cove SYDNEY 2066)

If you have any further inquiries, please contact Lindsay Kearney – 0425 255 264

Applications are open for the 2023 AYO Program

The Australian Youth Orchestra has opened applications for their 2023 programs. From gifted, school-aged students to those on a verge of a professional career, AYO provides specialised training opportunities for the next generation of musicians, composers and arts administrators.

Please Click Here to view the full Brochure

For more information and to apply, Click Here.

AMEB Results

Congratulations to Aine Oo (Year 9) on her outstanding AMEB result. Aine was awarded her Amus A (with Distinction) on Clarinet. It is wonderful achievement for a student of such a young age.

Eisteddfod Results

Congratulations to the following students and their teachers on their excellent eisteddfod results. It is wonderful to see students achieving to such a high standard.

City of Sydney Eisteddfod:

• Haylee Lam (Year 6) Second prize in the woodwind (12 & under)
• Elizabeth Tang (Year 9) Third place in the song with or without costume (15 & under)
• Elizabeth Tang (Year 9) Highly Commended in the Classical Song (15 & under)
• Zarina Nurlanov Second place in the Song with or without costume
• Zarina Nurlanov (Year 10) Third place in the Classical Song.
• Joy Yin (Year 7) Second Place in the Piano Polyphony (15 years and under)

Ryde Eisteddfod:

• Zarina Nurlanov (Year 10) First place in the Folk Song

St George Eisteddfod:

• Joy Yin (Year 7) First place in the Piano Solo Restricted (12 years and under)
• Joy Yin (Year 7) Second place in the Piano Solo Open (12 years and under)

Mr Kurt Schweinberger

Head of Co-curricular Music

Speech and Drama

Ryde Eisteddfod

Huge Congratulations to our Speech and Drama girls who competed wonderfully well last weekend at the Ryde Eisteddfod, many for the first time.  They all did a fabulous job standing up in front of a live audience and performing their poems with great enthusiasm, energy and engagement!

Verse Speaking – 8 Years

Sienna Yeung (Year 2) – First Place

Batool Rangwala (Year 2) – Highly Commended

Bhuvika Bhatia (Year 3)

Candice Li (Year 3)

Sophia Wang (Year 3)

Verse Speaking – 10 Years

Wenhui Zhang (Year 5) – Second Place

Betty Han (Year 5)

Duola Lin (Year 5)

Verse Speaking – 11 Years

Annika Sriram (Year 6) – First Place

Cabrini Lee (Year 6)

Lulu Li (Year 6)

Prepared Speech

Lydia Heazlewood-Lee (Year 9)

Ryde Eisteddfod S&D 1 – Annika Sriram (Year 6), Lulu Li (Year 6), Cabrini Lee (Year 6)

Ryde Eisteddfod S&D 2 – Bhuvika Bhatia (Year 3), Candice Li (Year 3), Sophia Wang (Year 3), Sienna Yeung (Year 2), Batool Rangwala (Year 2)

Ryde Eisteddfod S&D 3 – Duola Lin (Year 5), Wenhui Zheng (Year 5), Betty Han (Year 5)

Brain Bees Buzz to UNSW

What gives people their buzz? For some, it’s screaming their lungs out on a rollercoaster at Disneyland. For others, it’s bungee-diving off a 10-metre cliff. For us on the last day of Term 2, it was making our way in unrepressed excitement through the neatly manicured lawns of the University of New South Wales to take part in the state finals of the annual Australian Brain Bee Challenge.  This is a neuroscience competition for Year 10 students from schools across the nation.

We had first heard about this opportunity from Dr Bunny earlier in the year, and the three of us were thrilled. We did not want to miss any opportunity to learn more about the way our minds work and the intricacies surrounding every decision we made – including our decision to sign up for the competition immediately! Since we didn’t have much experience with neuroscience before, we had to study intensively on Education Perfect during the holidays, committing fascinating brain facts and mind-bogglingly long Latin words to memory.

Finally, on a warm evening after school, we sat down and chugged through a quiz. All the questions were multiple choice, and going through them made us truly appreciate the extent of our brains (no pun intended)

We waited for our results for the duration of the next holidays and the majority of the term after that… and nothing. But then all of a sudden, as the looming darkness known as “Assessment Block” was creeping up upon us, we got an email.

“Congratulations Julie Sheng, Carly Yiu and Grace Ho! You have progressed to the state final round of the Brain Bee Competition. Come to UNSW on the last day of term to participate in Round 2!”

Well we couldn’t miss such an opportunity. Even if it meant cramming the new content into 3 days.

We felt like we experienced a good portion of the content covered by university neuroscience students, who are actually studying at UNSW! To be frank, it felt less like we were obligated to memorise these things like we were in class, and more like we were gaining valuable insights into the mechanisms of our brain and body.

We covered everything from sleep and circadian rhythms, to the anatomy and roles of neurons and neurotransmitters, to the parts and functions of the spinal cord, to the diseases of the nervous system and disorders such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s. We learnt down to the individual parts of a cell, and how the dozens of areas inside the brain related to each of these topics. It almost felt too good to be true!

Finally, the day came for our trip to test how much of that we could recall at Brain Bee’s Round 2 at UNSW. We met at the ‘Pymble Girl’ statue and rode a taxi, enjoying the warm sunlight and the splendid views across the Harbour Bridge. We made it to the entrance of their ultra-chic medicine building.

After getting our names signed off, we received some complementary gifts inside our very own UNSW gift bags!

There were a few amazing things about the day that we’re going to talk about, and we are tempted to say the best part was the free food they supplied (it was true ‘gourmet’, and we definitely didn’t steal a box of brownies before we left).  In hindsight, however, it was the competition itself – competing against each other in the individual rounds, watching people our age battle it out with friendly feuding in the team rounds and having one of us – Julie Sheng, make it to the final top 10 round – that made it a rare, unique and irreplaceable experience (the state-of-the-art computer labs weren’t bad either!).

Along with the competition, the activities the UNSW team prepared for us were equally unforgettable: the tour of the Museum of Disease, the physiology classes, the lunchtime exhibit and the guest speakers.

Inside the Museum of Disease, there were thousands of displays of different body parts, each donated by a selfless person who wished to make a contribution in the field of medical research. Next to some of the displays, there were case studies relating to the donor’s background story. Of the more memorable ones was a man’s diseased lung, which had swollen up to the average person’s entire torso size. We’re not going to sugarcoat things – some of the exhibits were quite confronting. However, we appreciated the sombre tone inside the museum which reflected our respect for the medical donors. One can only imagine the advancements that they made to research at the university, as well as their role in fuelling the motivations and achievements of current and future doctors!

As well as the museum visit, we also attended a physiology class where a leading neuroscience doctor taught us how to ‘trick’ our brain into seeing or feeling an illusion (very useful for sibling pranks, by the way). There was also a lunchtime exhibit from a PhD student where we got to try on funky glasses that inverted our vision, allowing us to gain a glimpse (another pun!) of how our eyes actually see before us. That was certainly an eye-opening experience (okay, we’ll stop!).

After a morning of tours and presentations, it came to the time in the afternoon where the top 10 contestants in the state would be announced.

They read them one at a time. Number 1, number 2, 3, 4… number 9… and still none of us three had been called up. As we were preparing to accept our fate, we heard a familiar name.

“Julie Sheng from Pymble Ladies’ College!”

Making it to the top 10 was sure no easy feat. Out of the dozens of students there, each one equally clever, having undoubtedly spent hours each day absorbing all the neuroscience they possibly could, only 10 made it to the final round, and Julie was one of them. It was an intense final round, with all but three of the finalists finishing with a score of 5, including Julie. 

Of those remaining, another battle was fought between a James Ruse student, and two from Sydney Girls’. After quite a few tiebreaker rounds (the pair from Sydney Girls’ were suspiciously in sync), we finally hailed a winner.

The fact that we did not make it to nationals was not that important – it was the experience that mattered. After all the content we learned about how our brains and bodies work, and the incredible exhibits and activities we saw on the day, we couldn’t ask for more.

We would like to really genuinely thank the High-Potential Learning Co-ordinator, Mrs Tarrant, for clearing her whole day, accompanying the three of us all the way to UNSW, and taking us back in the evening. We would also really like to thank Dr Bunny, who organised this experience including all the paperwork, consent forms and learning resources, which undoubtedly would have taken much time and effort. This would not have been possible without their help. 

On a final note, we would like to say that we highly recommend anyone who has not yet been through Year 10, and who has even a little bit of interest in STEM, neuroscience or biology to give this a go. Although we desperately wish it isn’t the case, we can’t do this again next year, since it is only open to those in Year 10, so don’t wait! We signed up through a portal notice, totally unaware that we would learn so much valuable information and have so much fun.

We hope Pymble students will surpass our achievements in the years to come, and make it to the Nationals, or even the Internationals! It is definitely possible! And we wish many more people will sign up for these kinds of opportunities in the future, and have the experience that we did on that day, which was just as incredibly fun as it was insightful and educational. You certainly don’t have to be super smart or naturally good at science – you just need to be open-minded, interested and willing to put in the effort.

Written by Julie Sheng (Year 10), Grace Ho (Year 10) and Carly Yiu (Year 10)

Scholarship Applications close soon

Applications for available scholarships at Pymble close on 5 August 2022. 

2023 Performance – Sport and All-Rounder Scholarship registrations are open and close 5 August 2022. 

2024 Academic, Performance – Music, Boarding and Pymble Ex-Students Union Scholarship registrations are open and close 5 August 2022. 

For full details and dates please visit the our Scholarships webpage or email cstock@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au.

Futures Team @ Pymble

New Futures microsite and newsletter for students

The Futures team has been working hard to create a microsite called Futures@Pymble for students to access core information on Futures learning and post school pathways. A weekly newsletter, Futures in Focus, is sent out to the students to streamline the email communication and includes updated information from universities, events and new opportunities such as our new emPower Lunch series.

Moving forward, all new information will be located on the site and a link will be attached each week in Pymble Compass.

Open Days & Info Sessions

UNSW | 2022 Cop-op Chat – The first year

Wednesday 27 July 2022, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Online

Find out more: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/2022-co-op-chat-the-first-year-tickets-385552878037

UAC Digital | Let’s Chat – Communications and Media

Wednesday 27 July 2022, 6:00 pm

Online

Find out more: https://uacdigital.easywebinar.live/registration-lets-chat-communications-and-media

UAC Digital | Let’s Chat – Engineering and IT Students

Thursday 28 July 2022, 6:00 pm

Online

Find out more: https://uacdigital.easywebinar.live/registration-let-s-chat-engineering-and-it-students-how-to-build-a-bridge-101

University of Sydney | Studying Languages and Cultures at Sydney

Wednesday 3 August 2022, 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm

Online

Find out more: https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_nNT3pL5PQmmIQcABXTUUbw

What counts when making career choices: lessons from Australian agriculture – Parents and carers webinar

Tuesday 9 August 2022, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Online

Find out more: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2599373454959194893

University of Sydney | E12 Scheme and Statement Writing Workshop

Tuesday 9 August 2022, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Online

Find out more: https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkcOivrDktE9Eda6ceUqK5nimQBSTliMRk

Camp America | 2023 Online Info Session

Tuesday 9 August 2022, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Online

Find out more: https://www.campamerica.com.au/events/camp-america-online-3

Basair | Pilot Career Seminar

Monday 15 August 2022, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Basair Aviation College, Bankstown Aerodrome

Find out more: https://basair.com.au/seminar-events/sydney-pilot-career-seminar-aug-15-2022/

Monash | Information Evening – NSW and ACT

Wednesday 17 August 2022, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Online

Find out more: https://www.monash.edu/discover/events/general-information/interstate-monash-information-evenings-nsw-and-act-webinar

GVI – Virtual Open Day

Sunday 21 August 2022, 1:00 am – Thursday 21 July 2022, 3:00 am

Online

Find out more: https://people.gviaustralia.com.au/opendays/gvi-open-day/

UTS | Open Day 2022

Saturday 27 August 2022, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm

University of Technology Sydney

Find out more: https://www.uts.edu.au/study/open-day

WSU | Discover Western – Applying & Early Offers: Getting an Early Offer and How to Apply to University

Tuesday 13 September 2022, 5:00 pm

Online

Find out more: https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/future/student-life/events/western-webinars

ACU | Talk with Youth Workers and Social Workers

Tuesday 13 September 2022, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Online

Find out more: https://www.acu.edu.au/about-acu/events/2022/september/talk-with-youth-workers-and-social-workers

SAE | Creative Futures

Byron Bay: Thursday 13 October 2022, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Sydney: Thursday 13 October 2022, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Online: Wednesday 19 October 2022, 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Find out more: https://sae.edu.au/event/creative-futures/

AIE | Film Production Workshop

Saturday 3 September 2022, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Academy of Interactive Entertainment, Ultimo

Find out more: https://aie.edu.au/aie_event/film-production-workshop/

Smart Green Economy Student Conference

Monday 19 September 2022, 9:00 am – Tuesday 20 September 2022, 5:00 pm

Cairns Colonial Club Resort & Online

Find out more: https://www.greatbarrierreefacademy.com.au/student-conference/

Scholarships

Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship Scheme

Value: Up to $15,000 AUD per year

Open/Closing Dates: August 29, 2022 – October 10, 2022

Find out more

2023 Teacher Education Scholarship Program

Value: Up to $7,500 AUD per year

Open/Closing Dates: July 4, 2022 – August 26, 2022

Find out more

Further Learning

Medicine, Vet and Dental applications now open at Charles Sturt

2023 applications are now open for Charles Sturt’s Doctor of Medicine, Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Bachelor of Dental Science through UAC.

If you’re thinking of studying vet science, you’ll also need to complete this form and a predicted ATAR letter.

For the Doctor of Medicine and Dental Science, you must have registered and sat the UCAT before applying through UAC. UCAT testing for 2022 has now closed – but you can get in touch with the Charles Sturt team if you’d would like to learn more about your options and potential pathways.

Applications close on 20 September 2022 for these courses with no late applications accepted. So make sure you’re prepared and get them in as soon as possible.

JMC Academy Early Entry

Apply direct to JMC Academy. Find out more here: https://www.jmcacademy.edu.au/how-to-apply/domestic-students/early-entry/

Resources

Spend Your Gap Year in America

Learn more about Camp America and how to get involved here: https://www.campamerica.com.au/

2022 Census Privacy Notice

We’d like to pass on a message from the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment who recently sent out a Census Privacy Notice advising parents and guardians that it collects certain information about Pymble Ladies’ College, its staff and student body.

The information that is collected is done so in accordance with the Australian Education Act 2013 and the Australian Education Regulation 2013 and is provided to the department by Pymble via various data collections on the SchoolsHUB website.

The Census Privacy Notice – which can be read by clicking here – explains why this information is collected, how it is collected, exactly what information is collected, how the information will be used and disclosed, and the steps they’re taking to maintain student privacy. 

Pymble Cyber Safety Hub

Your family, your school and cyber safety

Our school recognises that children today are growing up in an increasingly online world and that it’s important that we do more to support and guide them to navigate this digital landscape.

Successfully developing healthy and responsible digital citizens requires a holistic approach, and that’s why our school’s cyber safety ecosystem allows us to work collaboratively with you to support your children’s digital development and provide the advice and support you need.

Click here to access the Pymble Cyber Safety Hub.

Pymble Station Upgrade

Click here to read information from NSW Government about the Pymble Station Upgrade. 

From the Director of Community Engagement and Advancement

Upcoming events – don’t miss out!

We have such a fun term of events planned for your daughter and our Pymble families so please make sure your diary is synced with these fun activities below.

JSPG Jeans for Genes Sausage Sizzle Fundraiser for Years 3 to 6 (students only)

The JSPG is holding a sausage sizzle in the Junior School at lunchtime for Years 3 to 6 students. Students can wear their jeans and are welcome to bring a gold coin/note donation, with all funds raised to be donated to Jeans for Genes. Please book and pay online by Monday 1 August by clicking here.

JSPG Kindergarten to Year 1 Parent Daughter Dance

The Junior School Parent Group look forward to welcoming you to our masquerade-themed Kindergarten and Year 1 Parent Daughter Dance on Saturday 6 August. The ticket for this event includes dinner, non-alcoholic beverages and entertainment. For more information and to book, please click here.

Year 5 Dads and Daughters Camp (Vision Valley)

You are warmly invited to the Pymble Parent Association Year 5 Dads and Daughters Camp – Saturday 15 October and Sunday 16 October 2022. The Dads and Daughters Camp will focus on fun games and activities, storytelling and a chance for each child to be recognised for their special gifts and talents by their father. The aim is for the girls to feel a greater sense of connection to their family. RSVP by Friday 30 September 2022, but be quick, as places are limited and may sell out. For more information and to book, please click here.

Year 4 Parents and Daughters Camp (Vision Valley)

You are warmly invited to the Pymble Parent Association Year 4 Parents* and Daughters Camp – Saturday 8 October to Sunday 9 October 2022. The Parents and Daughters Camp will focus on fun games and activities, storytelling and a chance for each child to be recognised for their special gifts and talents. The aim is for the girls to feel a greater sense of connection to their family. RSVP by Friday 23 September 2022, but be quick, as places are limited and may sell out. For more information and to book, please click here. *One or both parents are welcome to attend.

JSPG Years 2 to 3 Parent Daughter Dance – last call!

The JSPG Years 2 to 3 Parent Daughter Dance is this Saturday night (30 July). We are very much looking forward to seeing everyone and our Head of Junior School, Mrs Kate Brown will be there to have a boogie with the girls. If you still wish to attend, please click here as bookings close tomorrow morning (Friday 29 July).

Kindergarten to Year 1 Parent Daughter Dance

The Junior School Parent Group look forward to welcoming you to our masquerade-themed Kindergarten and Year 1 Parent Daughter Dance on Saturday 6 August. The ticket for this event includes dinner, non-alcoholic beverages and some exciting entertainment. For more information and to book, please click here.

Garden Party 2022

Our much-loved campus Garden Party on Saturday 17 September is fast approaching; however, we need your help! We are after conveners for the following stalls:

• Cake Stall
• Casualty Clearing (Plaster casts) – calling all physios, medicos etc.
• Toy Stall

We are also seeking donations of new and good conditioned toys for our Toy Stall. We will have more details to come regarding where to drop off etc, however please check your cupboards in the meantime!

To view all our upcoming events for Semester 2, please click here.

Focus Group – we want to hear from you!

Thank you to those parents who completed the recent MMG Education Parent Survey which was sent to all parents and carers in Years 2, 6, 8, 10 and 12. We look forward to sharing a summary of this feedback soon. Further to this, the Community Engagement team would like to invite you to take part in an informal Focus Group to chat about how we communicate with you about general Pymble news (the weekly newsletter, MyPymble, Pymbulletin etc. and understand more about how we can continue to enhance ways in which you receive information. Please note, this discussion will not cover academic or individual student-related communications.

We would also like to hear your thoughts regarding Pymble events and how we can best support you and your daughter/s social experience.  The College has thoroughly enjoyed welcoming our Pymble family back to campus post-COVID restrictions, and we are eager to hear your feedback on our school events.  

At Pymble, our parent/carer community’s input is extremely important to us, and we would love to understand exactly what we are doing right – and what we could do better. The Focus Groups will be a safe space to casually share your thoughts so we can make sure your daughter/s Pymble journey is as enjoyable as possible and that you as parents/carers are well-informed through easy-to-use communication channels and enjoyable well-timed events.  

These Focus Groups will be held in Week 4 and Week 5 of this term. If you would like to be involved in this helpful discussion, please email me on kmancey@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au.

MyPymble app 

The one-stop shop for College communications, aka the game-changing Pymble Portal, is fully operational and has already been updated to iron out any technical glitches and include new features. Please update your app in the app store to access these benefits if you haven’t already done so. We hope you’ve found it useful in keeping up to date with your daughter’s schooling journey at Pymble.

If you haven’t downloaded the MyPymble app, please do so here.

Mrs Kelly Mancey

Director – Community Engagement & Advancement

Important: Communications at Pymble

Important: MyPymble app updated   

We hope you have been enjoying the benefits of our MyPymble parent portal – the one-stop shop for parents and carers to receive and store College communications. Going forward only minimal communications will be sent via email, with our ultimate goal being 100 per cent of communication to be viewed via MyPymble.

The College greatly encourages all parents and carers to please update the app via the app store as we have updated the software with some new features and technical enhancements to further improve the user experience.  

Communications posted on MyPymble include academic, community, events, sport and co-curricular information, as well as important messages from Dr Hadwen. All communications sent to a year group, sub-school or the entire school will be posted on MyPymble and will not be emailed.  

Please check your family is set up for success this term by ensuring you download the MyPymble app and have access to all the information relevant to your daughter’s learning. 

To log in you will need to use your unique carer number and password, which you should have all received via email. If you are unable to log in, please reset your password using this link, or alternatively, contact the IT Helpdesk on +61 2 9855 7771 for assistance.  

For further information on these tools please click here to view the MyPymble User Guide.  

Junior School Garden Party Poster Competition

Girls, put on your creative hats and design a poster to promote our wonderful Garden Party for a chance to win an unlimited rides pass!

Entries are to be submitted to the Junior School Office by Tuesday 30 August 2022.

All posters entered will be displayed in the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts foyer at Garden Party 2022.

Prizes and certificates will be presented at Assembly in the week before Garden Party. Multiple entries are welcome.

Click here to download the poster. Good luck!

Semester 2 Community Events Calendar

Parent Contact Directory

We are excited to launch the new user-friendly Parent Contact Directory which you can access via MyPymble or the MyPymble app. The Parent Contact Directory has been developed for parents and carers to opt-in to sharing their contact details with other parents and carers in their daughters/s year group to help build community connections. Please note if you give permission for your details to be added to the directory this will enable all parents across your daughter’s year group to also view your details.

As per our Privacy Policy (which can be viewed on our website), these contact details are for personal use only and not to be shared with other parties. They should only be used to make appropriate, school-related contact between parents and carers and they must not be used for any other purpose.

If any details are not listed on the MyPymble Parent Contact Directory this is likely because a parent or carer has not opted in to having their information shown. Please note contact lists constantly change as parents and carers update or add their details and you should refer to the list available on MyPymble for the latest correct details. You can also change your sharing preferences via MyPymble.

To log in you will need to use your unique carer number and password. Please refer to the email you will have received with your carer number to log in. If you are unable to log in, we would request that you reset your password using this link, or alternatively, contact the IT Helpdesk on +61 2 9855 7771 for assistance.

PymConnect

PymConnect is our online mentoring platform, designed to link our Pymble alumni, parents and carers to facilitate mentoring opportunities that help create a culture of shared learning, and enhance personal and professional growth.  

Since the launch of PymConnect last year we have received an enthusiastic response from our community. We currently have 177 mentors and 159 mentees making connections and building a sense of belonging.

The past 18 months have been extraordinary with lockdowns and restrictions impacting the lives of everyone – including our current Year 12 students. As they prepare to complete their HSC studies and embark on their next life journey, this is a time where connections and support are important. In preparation for our newest graduates joining PymConnect, we would like to invite you to participate in this program as a mentor.  

A special thanks to those of you who have signed up to join the program following our last invitation. 

To express your interest or to ask us a question, please feel free to reach out to us at pymconnect@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au or phone +61 2 9855 7799.

Pymble Business Directory

Pymble Business Directory – Now Live

The College is pleased to announce the Pymble Business Directory to current families. The Pymble Business Directory will allow Pymble families to advertise your business or service to our Pymble family. 

Businesses who have registered can now be found on the Pymble website here. 

To list your business, please complete the attached form.

With your support, we hope the Pymble Business Directory will grow to become a valuable resource to our Pymble families. 

From the College Uniform Shop

A reminder that girls need to be wearing the winter uniform in Term 3. This includes the navy blazer, which is a compulsory garment to be worn to and from school.

Important Winter uniform notes

• Girls in Kindergarten to Year 8 wear the winter tunic with a plain white pointed collar blouse and tie.
• Kindergarten to Year 6 girls have the choice of knee-high black socks or 70 denier black opaque tights.
• All Secondary School girls wear 70 denier black opaque tights.
• Years 9 and 10 wear the winter skirt with a plain white pointed collar blouse and tie.
• Years 11 and 12 wear the skirt with the long sleeve tartan trim long sleeve blouse and tie.
• The navy blazer and winter navy hat must be worn to and from school each day.

Click here to access the shop online.

Garden Party – Save the Date

Parent Handbook 2022

Our Parent Handbook provides a quick and easy reference for families on all things Pymble. We encourage all our families to familiarise themselves with the handbook.

Should you have any questions or require further clarification on any of the information contained in the handbook, please contact communityengagement@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au.

Pymbulletin

The Ex-Students’ section of Pymbulletin reports on the achievements of Pymble alumni, news items and engagements, weddings, births and vale notices.

Illuminate

This journal shines the light on Pymble people as designers and innovators of education, and the creative, connected and engaged practice in our community of learners. 

The articles will take readers into classrooms from Kindergarten in the Preparatory School to Year 12 in the Senior School, from Drama to Science to the Library. We invite you to enjoy this insight into the depth and diversity of innovation in our learning environments and our commitment to sustainable capacity building.