From the Principal

Only two weeks into term and already we are hearing are so many great news stories from around the campus, including a fabulously successful Welcome to Kindy 2023 day on Saturday, inspired training sessions for our Year 11 Sony Camp volunteers, best-ever results for Pymble gymnasts at nationals and the opening of Archie’s Café next Tuesday.

One story that stands out for me, purely for what it says about our students and their teachers, is the extraordinary performance by our Jazz White Eisteddfod Dance group at DanceLife Unite during the break. Earlier in the year, Jazz White – and all our Secondary Eisteddfod Dance groups, for that matter – qualified for the national competition. By the time the day arrived, eight dancers in the group were unable to attend. Undaunted, the girls re-blocked their routine for the eighth time this season, gave it their all and took out the national title for high school groups. The win is a fabulous achievement; well done to our dancers and their teachers. Even more impressive is the creativity, persistence and resilience the team demonstrated in turning a setback into success.

“Success is about handling the setbacks, problems and mess, over and over.”
– Remi (Sharon Pearson), author and CEO of The Coaching Institute

It goes without saying that our teachers and staff are integral to our students’ success in all aspects of their learning at Pymble. We are incredibly proud of Team Pymble and acutely aware of the importance of continuing to attract and retain the best people to support every aspect of your daughter’s educational journey.

While there have been numerous media reports about the shortage of teachers in New South Wales and Australia as a nation, we are fortunate this is not an issue for Pymble. Our leadership team has taken a strategic and future-focused approach to cementing Pymble as a preferred employer by establishing a comprehensive range of programs to support and celebrate current staff, and an equally comprehensive program around talent acquisition.

Our goal is for Pymble to be recognised as an employer of choice for outstanding teaching, operational and administration talent. We want to be known nationally (and internationally) as a ‘career destination’ and an exceptional place to work, teach and grow.

Our talent acquisition program includes hosting regular meet-and-greet events for recruiters and potential employees to learn more about Pymble’s culture, values and career opportunities, and to network with key staff from different areas of the College. The latest initiative launched this month is a staff referral program designed to help current staff suggest friends, family members or former colleagues for positions available at Pymble. We see several benefits to successful placements that stem from recommendations from our people, including increased access to top quality staff who may not have thought to consider a career at Pymble, diversity of employees and talent, and the opportunity for dedicated Team Pymble members to contribute further to our College culture and sense of family.

To support the professional development and wellbeing of our current staff, while they in turn support our students, we have a range of programs including:

• morning teas to enable staff on parental leave to stay connected with the College
• an active Staff Wellbeing Committee, with its own calendar of events and initiatives
• staff health and wellbeing microsite
• onsite healthcare checks
• free and confidential counselling service through Benestar
• L.O.V.E awards recognising and rewarding staff who Live Our Values Everyday.

We acknowledge teaching as a profession of the utmost importance. Competitive remuneration and benefits, along with professional mentorship and opportunities to grow and take the next step in your career, are all part of the Pymble experience. Our staff day on Monday of last week is a great example of the whole school professional learning we engage in on a regular basis, with all staff attending multiple sessions, including a keynote presentation and workshop on diversity and inclusivity. It really says something about the depth of professional knowledge at Pymble that 20 sessions were delivered by members of our team to support the four focus areas of our Watch Us Change the World Strategic Direction: Academic, Emotional, Social and Digital Intelligence. A huge thank you to our Director of Professional Learning, Kerryl Howarth, for designing such a thought-provoking and enriching day of learning.

We are grateful our amazing staff are recognised and celebrated by our parents and carers through events such as the annual staff appreciation day lunch the PPA will be hosting tomorrow. Thank you for showing our staff the love they deserve. ❤️

Signing off in anticipation of a great weekend ahead cheering on our Cattle Team, who are competing in the Upper Hunter Beef Bonanza, before catching up with past, present and future Pymble families living in and around Scone, NSW. Here’s hoping the weather holds out for our girls as they demonstrate the parading and judging skills they have been working so hard on, with the help of our College steers, Stanley and Skippy, and our amazing Agriculture staff. Of course, if it buckets down as predicted, I know our girls will handle any “setbacks, problems and mess,” because that’s what our dedicated educators, in partnership with their supportive families, are teaching them to do.

Dr Kate Hadwen

Principal

From our Chaplains

It is Week 2 and the term is truly underway. Our Year 6s are very excited about their upcoming performance of Matilda the Musical, the 2022 Year 12s are into the flow of the HSC exams and we had a beautiful assembly on Friday acknowledging our new Year 12 cohort and our new Year 12 leaders.

This week, Reverend Bent went to the AIS NSW Studies of Religion Conference 2022 titled Keeping the Faith, with a focus on interfaith dialogue in an Australian interfaith landscape. Reverend Bent was able to share insights into what we are already doing at Pymble, stating that we regularly acknowledge the various faiths, philosophies and cultures which exist within our community, separating us from many faith-based schools.

We pride ourselves here at Pymble on being a Uniting Church school and celebrating our Christian tradition and heritage, whilst also being able to celebrate members of our community who are Jews and Bahai, Buddhist and Muslims, Sikh and Hindus, atheists and agnostics, Jain and much more, as we work intentionally on creating a genuinely inclusive spiritual community.

I feel very proud of our pro-active and intentional inclusion of the diversity reflected in our College community.

My prayer is that we would be able to continue to value our diversity, celebrate our differences and learn from one another as we grow together as individuals and members of the College.

Blessings in Christ.

Reverend Punam Bent
College Chaplain

From the Deputy Principal

Feeling peckish?

It is with great excitement that we announce the official opening date for our new food outlet for students, staff and families, located opposite Mollie Dive Fields and the Centenary Car Park.

Archie’s Café opens for business on Tuesday 25 October (Week 3).

Years 5 and 6 students will have exclusive access to Archie’s Café at morning tea on opening day, which is very exciting for our Junior School students, who haven’t had access to a Pymble food outlet until now. From Wednesday 26 October, Years 5 and 6 can also make purchases from Archie’s Café at lunch time.

Please refer to the MyPymble notice with the title ‘Does your daughter have her Student ID card?’, which was posted to Year 5 and 6 parents and carers on Tuesday October 4. This outlines how to enable your daughter’s Student ID card to make cashless purchases at College food outlets.

Secondary School students can access Archie’s Café from lunchtime on Tuesday 25 October.

Hours of operation
Monday to Friday: 7.00am to 4.30pm
Saturday: 7.15am to 12.00pm

During the school day, Archie’s Café is for students in Years 5 to 10 only. All students (K-12), parents, visitors and staff are able to access Archie’s Cafe before and after school hours and on Saturday.

Click here to view Archie’s Cafe menu. 

Jacaranda Café is for Years 11, 12 and staff only, and operating hours remain the same.

Celebrating Diwali

On Monday 24 October, the College will be celebrating Diwali with a gathering of interested students and staff in the John Reid Hall in the Junior School at lunch time. Our Intercultural Connections Prefect, Celine Hu, and Community Prefects, Senu Edirisinghe and Georgia Stuart, along with their student committees, will be leading the cultural activities, which include dancing, music, sari tying, rangoli, sweets, decorating dolls and more.

COVID update

Could this be one of the last COVID updates for the College? Fingers are well and truly crossed! A friendly reminder to please refer to the ‘COVID management update for Pymble families’ posted on MyPymble on Tuesday 18 October. Of particular importance is the College process for reporting and managing COVID cases among students following the cessation of mandatory self-isolation periods. You can also access the update here.

Mrs Julie Shaw

Deputy Principal

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

Year 12 2023 – HSC Myths

In my chats to colleagues this week, we all agree that our new Year 12 cohort have started this term with a diligent work ethic and they are demonstrating some of the high impact learning strategies which will aid in their preparation for their upcoming assessment tasks. Some subjects have very similar style assessments in Year 11 so the format of the notification and task itself should be familiar in many subjects.

This week in assembly, myself and the Futures team were able to debunk some common myths around how HSC marks are calculated, ranks, moderation, scaling and early entry university applications. Click here to view the presentation.

Our main message was that success is all about mindset:

• Work together as a cohort from the start.
• Be proactive and use your class time and study periods effectively.
• Focus on your own journey and progress as success will look different for everyone.
• Own any mistakes, learn from them, and move on.

Year 12 2022 – HSC Examinations

HSC examinations are well underway and students have commented that there were not too many surprises, the exams were ‘doable’ and they felt well prepared.

Please refer to all the details in the Valete Handbook (click here to download) on pages 12-13 if students are unwell before or during an exam.

Wishing the students every success in their upcoming exams.

Mrs Natasha Stanfield

Director of Student Learning (Years 11-12)

From the Director – Pymble Institute

Celebrating with Dr Kathy French, author of Shakespeare and Happiness

The Pymble Institute is a proud supporter of scholarly endeavours and was delighted to host the book launch of Shakespeare and Happiness, written by former member of the Pymble English Department, Dr Kathy French. Kathy taught at Pymble for 30 years and she inspired hundreds of students to higher levels of understanding of literature. Kathy stepped out of secondary teaching last year after completing her PhD and is welcomed back for guest lectures as often as possible.

Drawing from her dissertation, Kathy’s book examines attitudes to happiness in Shakespeare’s plays and has been described by publisher, Routledge, as ‘the first book to focus specifically on the representation of happiness in Shakespeare’s plays’. The book utilises a feminist lens to explore the role of women by focusing on how they live and achieve happiness. Kathy points out the relevance of this in the context of the #metoo movement and research in the area of positive psychology. The College’s Conde Library holds a copy of the book for interested readers.

The launch included a beautiful performance of Hermia and Helena from A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Drama Captain, Isla Harris (Year 12) and Ava Thomas (Year 10). Supported by Mr Michael Griffiths, Director of Co-Curricular Performing Arts, Mrs Tessa Zwar, Head of K-12 Libraries, and Mrs Mandy Reynolds, Head of Learning Area – English, the launch brought together current and former colleagues and allowed everyone to experience a powerful glimpse into Kathy’s work. She is currently working on her second book which we look forward to reading in due course.

Dr Sarah Loch

Director – The Pymble Institute

Plan Your Own Enterprise Competition

Mr Trevor Lucas

Head of Learning Area – Geography, Business Studies and Economics

Science Olympiads

We would like to celebrate the students who stepped out into the arena of Science this semester, taking on the challenges available and reaping the rewards of daring greatly.

In a 1910 speech Teddy Roosevelt said: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” This is a quote I find very apt when talking about the Science Olympiad examinations. 2022 saw a record number of students taking part in the Junior Science Olympiad exam and Senior Science Olympiad exams in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Earth and Environmental Science. These exams are not for the faint-hearted. The problem-solving skills and depth and breadth of understanding required to perform well are extreme and all three are needed. Congratulations to all the girls who took the leap.

A summary of all those getting distinctions (top 30% of Australian participants) or high distinctions (top 10%) can be found below. Well done to all of you. We wanted to particularly applaud a few exceptional performances, namely Amber Li and Evelyn Zhu who both got a High Distinction in Senior Biology, while only being in Year 8 and 9 respectively. Amber also placed in the Top 50 Year 8 students in Australia for the Junior Olympiad. Elena Zhang in Year 10 got a High Distinction in Senior Biology and was invited to join the Australian Olympiad Team Summer school, where students prepare for the international competition, and from here can be selected to make the Australian team. Wow!

Distinction in Junior Science: Maya Garg (Year 9), Nityasree Viswanathan (Year 9), Mulan Xu (Year 10), Carly Yiu (Year 10), Ellie Beck (Year 10), Jacqueline Wo (Year 10)

High Distinction in Junior Olympiad: Jasmine Li (Year 10), Elena Zhang (Year 10), Amber Li (Year 10), Julie Sheng (Year 10)

Distinction in Biology: Julie Sheng (Year 10), Vicky Hu (Year 9)

Distinction in Chemistry: Joy Yuan (Year 10), Jolie Pang (Year 11), Annelise Koh (Year 11), Annie Chen (Year 11), Caitlyn Tan (Year 11), Jessie Xie (Year 11), Yi Ying Lim (Year 11)

High Distinction in Chemistry: Mia Jiang (Year 11)

Distinction in Earth and Environmental Science: Julie Sheng (Year 10)

Distinction in Physics: Yi Ying Lim (Year 11) and Caitlyn Tan (Year 11).

The following girls took on the challenge of multiple subjects: Julie Sheng, Grace Ho, Elena Zhang, Hanna Cheung, Martina Chin, Aileen Hao, Anneliese Koh, Jasmine Li, Yi Ying Lim, Alexandra Luxton, Jolie Pang, Yuki Wang and Echo Zhang.

Junior Youth Physics Tournament

Congratulations to Grace Ho (Year 10), Evelyn Zhu (Year 9), Jessica Wang (Year 9) and Emily Yu (Year 9) for competing in the 2022 Junior Youth Physics Tournament over the weekend. These girls have been working in their own time to understand a variety of physical phenomena that has been observed but not yet explained. These students conducted experiments and derived new theories to make predictions and explain these phenomena. Then their work was critiqued by other students from across the country in Perth who had also studied these phenomena. I was so proud to watch our students conduct themselves with grace and eloquence in this demanding competition. We now move into the senior competition of the International Youth Physics Tournament, for which Australian team members will be selected in March 2023.

Kristie Spence
Head of Learning Area – Science

UPDATED: COVID-19 Response Plans and Advice

You may be aware that COVID-19 self-isolation rules in NSW changed at the end of last week.

From 14 October 2022, anyone who tests positive for COVID does not need to self-isolate for a mandated period of time. However, as a school that cares deeply about the health and wellbeing of our wider community, we ask students, staff and families to continue to follow the recommendations of NSW Health and NSW Department of Education, which include:

• staying at home and taking a COVID test (RAT or PCR) if you have a cough, cold or flu-like symptoms
• waiting until you feel well and symptoms abate before returning to school
• wearing a face mask upon your return to school until you are completely symptom-free.

Year 12 students are reminded to follow the guidelines for COVID during the HSC exam period as outlined by out Director of Student Learning (Years 11-12), Mrs Natasha Stanfield.

There will no longer be a dedicated email address for reporting positive cases.

Please use MyPymble as per normal to advise the College if your daughter will be absent from school for any reason, and if she has tested positive to COVID.

To help protect our community, your daughter’s school office will have a supply of masks and RAT kits which will be available for students and families on request. These will also be available in the Boarding House and at Vision Valley for residents and visitors.

Please remind your daughter to remain vigilant about hygiene as we enter this new phase of living with COVID-19. This includes:

• coughing or sneezing into the crook of your arm
• disposing of used tissues carefully and thoughtfully
• washing/sanitising hands before and after eating, and following sneezing, coughing or blowing your nose.

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.

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.

 Any further information or advice for Term 4 will continued to be shared by notifications via the MyPymble app.

From the Junior School

From our Head of Junior School

This week, our Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 girls explore Vision Valley as they immerse themselves in their Outdoor Education Program. These programs are purposefully designed to foster courage, collaboration, resilience and an appreciation for the wonder in nature and our connection with it.

The OECD Learning Framework 2030, co-created by global government representatives, school leaders, teachers, students, youth groups, parents, universities, local organisations and social partners sets out a vision for the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that young people will need in their future. Our role as educators is to set our girls up for success in their lives and our focus on outdoor play-based learning and the Outdoor Education program are key features in that vision.

I have been reading, Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv and The Power of Play by Pasi Sahlberg and both texts explore and explain the need within society for our children to have the space and time to be immersed in active play-based learning outdoors. Such ‘play’ develops their sense of self and research shows that it builds cognitive skills thereby enabling children to flourish in their academic studies too.

Year 2 Outdoor Education Program at Vision Valley – Mrs Kate Giles, Year Coordinator, Year 2

It was with great excitement that Year 2 braved the rain to get on the bus and headed to Vision Valley for the first time. On the bus, we chatted about what we were most excited about (canoeing!) and some things that we thought might challenge us (bugs and leeches). We arrived at Vision Valley and headed straight to some exciting first activities. The highlights of the day included:

Orienteering – Using our mapping skills we worked together to find the clues to complete our hunt for the symbol ‘treasure’.

Rock art – We collected some coal that we mixed with water and then created some fantastic charcoal painted animals.

Shelter building – Using sticks, leaves and sand, we built a shelter for a little rubber ducky. We had to make sure it would not get wet if it rained and was kept safe.

Canoeing – We challenged ourselves learning to work with our friends to paddle our canoe across the dam. It was tricky going around the dam and especially tricky having to turn the canoe around!

After a picnic lunch we were all very tired but sad to be leaving to go home. On the bus trip home, we talked about how much fun we had and started making plans for Year 3 camp (everyone wants to use that big water slide!). We had so much fun and can’t wait to head back to Vision Valley again to experience more of the fun it has to offer! Here are some recollections of the experience from out students:

My favourite activity was building a shelter using sticks, sand and leaves for a little rubber duck. I liked this because I was able to work with my friends and build something together. – Rachel Zhang

Going to Vision Valley was the most fun EVER! I liked everything we did today, even when I felt nervous, and want to go there again. – Leah Liu 

Today at Vision Valley, I got a leech in my sock. I was surprised how it did not hurt like I thought it would and I felt brave – Queenie Sun

Year 1 Outdoor Education Program at Vision Valley – Mrs Michelle Cook, Year Coordinator, Year 1

Year 1 excitedly boarded the bus for our Outdoor Education experience at Vision Valley. For most of the Year 1 cohort, this was their first visit to the Vision Valley campus. During the day, students were encouraged to explore the beautiful natural environment, step outside their comfort zone and challenge themselves.

Our first activity involved a bushwalk around the lake and throughout the surrounding hillside. The highlight of the bushwalk was sitting around an open fire and cooking damper, dipped in honey!

We then formed small groups for an exciting and challenging orienteering activity that saw us utilising our mapping and position skills to locate various hidden signs through the bush.

Our final activity involved us challenging ourselves and using our problem-solving skills to build a shelter for a chick that would withstand wind, rain and predators. The girls even amazed themselves with their clever designs. We can’t wait for our next visit to beautiful Vision Valley.

Kindergarten Outdoor Education Program at Vision Valley – Mrs Catherine Casey, Year Coordinator, Kindergarten

Kindergarten have been amazingly courageous on their first adventure to Vision Valley. They’ve bush walked, orienteering, made ducky shelters, baked damper and begun learning about safe ways to make a fire for cooking. We’re so proud of their explorer mindset; listening carefully to instructions, having a go, being resilient and working together to problem solve.

Year 1 Science Incursion: Get Growing! – Mrs Michelle Cook, Year 1 Co-ordinator

On a crisp, spring Monday morning, Year 1 excitedly headed off around the campus for our Science incursion: Get Growing! As part of our Term 4 Science Unit, we were met by our own Pymble horticulturist Sarah and her talented team, who had arranged an action-packed day of practical experiences to help us learn more about plants and how they grow and change. 

We began by watching with amazement, a time lapse video of plants growing as Sarah discussed the important things that a plant needs to survive. We learnt that plants need sunshine, air, water, nutrients, and soil to grow. We marvelled at the process of photosynthesis and how plants can produce their own food! We were surprised to discover how the Australian native bird; the cassowary, survives and where it finds food when the effects of deforestation are a threat to its environment and home. Next, we eagerly ventured down to the Pymble Farm where we were met by Farmer Dave. He showed us how the animals on the farm use plants such as lucerne, hay, grain and seeds for their food. The trees give the animals shelter and shade, and the animals give manure back to the plants to help them grow. We even got to hold some chickens and collect their eggs!

Later, the girls thoroughly enjoyed going on a plant features walk with Alex. We looked at what makes a plant a plant: the roots, stems, branches, leaves, flowers and fruit. We learnt how the wind, water and animals interact with plants to help disperse seeds and create new offspring.

Our final activity saw us carefully scouring the surrounding bush with Travis on a scavenger hunt for a variety of flowers and bugs. We were given leaf and flower shapes from the area to track down. We also learnt what insects or animals would be attracted to a certain flower shape and why. We even got to hunt for bugs, lady beetles, caterpillars, and spiders! 

Absolutely blessed with clearing skies and the sounds of happy laughter, Year 1’s adventures were ones that we’ll all remember.

“I learnt that if you cut trees down, animals won’t have food or a home. Humans won’t have air to breathe either.” – Sarayah Wijesuriya

“I discovered that there are three different types of soil and the best soil to grow plants is loamy soil”. – Queenie Qin

“I learnt that plants need sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to make food for themselves”. – Li-Ya Koo

“When plants grow, the water comes through the roots and up to the leaves. The leaves have stomata and that is how they breathe”. – Chloe Yu

Year 4 Science Day

Year 4 participated in a Science Day. There were five different rotations throughout the day. In the 4D classroom, we focused on an erosion and completed two experiments.

The tray of sand represented the land. We used a spray bottle to spray water lightly on the sand; this represented the rain. The sand absorbed all the water. We then used a watering can to represent heavy rain brought on by cyclones. The area where the water landed was washed away by the water, causing the sand to erode.

In the second experiment, we used two cups, a sugar cube, sand and water. In one cup we poured water and in the other cup there was no water. We had to shake both for two minutes and observe how the sugar cube had eroded. The cup containing the water had eroded far more than the sand.

Throughout the day I learnt so many things through hands on activities such as learning about the rock cycle by heating starburst lollies and by making a fossil in the play dough. I hope we have another day like this again.

Written by Alice Hockley (Year 4)

Skills for Success – Year 6

The Skills for Success program commenced in Term 3 for our Year 6 students and will continue this term.  During the Skills for Success sessions the girls are learning about diary mapping, creating checklists as well as time and task management. Across this term, the girls will also be participating in a fortnightly study period where our Year 6 Compass Teachers will guide and support students in the areas of Maths, English and Inquiry. There will also be explicit skills sessions on how to summarise and create study notes and how to manage learning tasks. Skills for Success sessions are part of our transition program for our girls in preparation for Year 7.

Being Bold and Demonstrating Courage

Our Year 5 students have also shown courage in nominating themselves for leadership positions in 2023. I am so proud of the girls who have stepped into the arena to have a go at being considered for leadership. This is a brave move and each of the girls who have chosen to immerse themselves in the process, show leadership just by this action and I am very proud of them.

Our Year 6 girls once again show their courage and leadership qualities as they finalise the preparations for their musical performances next week. The girls (and teachers) are working hard to put the finishing touches to the show and they are balancing this with their many other academic and co-curricular commitments. This tenacity and organisation shows how far they have grown through their Junior School days and how ready they are for the next exciting step into Year 7 in 2023. 

Matilda the Musical

Pymble Ladies’ College will soon be filled by the smell of rebellion, when Year 6 2022 presents Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical JR. Based on the beloved book and adapted from the award-winning full-length musical, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical JR. tells the story of an extraordinary little girl who dares to take a stand and change her own destiny.

Despite Matilda’s astonishing wit, intelligence and psychokinetic powers, her disinterested parents find her to be a nuisance and a bore. When Matilda enters her first term at school, she captures the attention of Miss Honey, a shy but kind teacher, and the two form a wonderful friendship. Unfortunately, the school is ruled by a mean and tempestuous headmistress named Miss Trunchbull, who hates children and delivers cruel and unjust punishments to all her charges. Matilda is determined to change her story, but will her cleverness and courage be enough to withstand the reign of the Trunchbull?

Join Year 6 2022 on Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 October, as each class brings their section of the story to life in an all inclusive production. Tickets on sale now! Click here to purchase.

Our girls will truly prove Matilda’s words that “even if you’re little, you can do a lot”. 

Junior School Parent Group Annual General Meeting – Diversity as the path to unity in our Junior School

We look forward to our JSPG AGM on 3 November 2022. Mrs Nerissa Davey, Deputy Head of Junior School Operations will be talking at this meeting along with two of our Year 6 leaders for Semester 2 and two girls; Clara Mudaliar and Amara Ahmed. These girls have all led initiatives in our Junior School to promote diversity and inclusion and to ensure all our girls’ voices are heard.

Please click here to download the meeting agenda.

It’s important to me, and to the success of our Junior School that you are all involved as much as you want to be or can be (as I appreciate how busy you are), and that your voices are heard. Please therefore reach out to our Community Engagement team at: events@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au or to me directly at kbrown@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au if you are interested in getting involved in our JSPG in any way next year.

Archie’s Café

We are excited to announce that the new cafe Archie’s will open next week on Tuesday 25 October.    Students in Years 5 and 6 will be able to purchase recess from Archie’s on Tuesday – an exclusive time just for them on opening day!

After Tuesday, Years 5 and 6 will have access to Archie’s during lunch time also.  We are encouraging use of student ID cards to pay for purchases as cash will not be accepted. Money will need to be loaded onto your daughter’s student card via Flexischools – see information on how to do this below.

Archie’s Café hours are 7.00am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday.

Set up account and ordering information

https://flexischools.com.au/parents

Linking a student card including nominating a daily spend limit

https://flexischools.zendesk.com/hc/en-au/articles/8621993621017-How-do-I-link-a-student-card-

Setting up daily spend limit
https://flexischools.zendesk.com/hc/en-au/articles/8623805100441-How-do-I-add-a-daily-spend-limit-

Archie’s Cafe Menu

https://d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net/uploads/sites/65/2022/10/0179_001.pdf

Being on time for school

As we head towards the end of the year and we’re all feeling tired, or perhaps we’re out walking for a kinder world, it’s still important to remember that all our girls need to be at school by 8.00am. This allows them time to settle into the day with their friends and be ready for their academic learning to begin at 8.15am. If you arrive even 15 minutes late each day your daughter misses 48 hours of academic learning which is almost 7 days of academic opportunities over a year! There is no adult supervision on carline from 8.17am.

Celebrations of Learning K-2

Term 4 will end for K-2 students after their Celebration of Learning on Thursday 1 December.  K-2 girls are not required to attend school on Friday 2 December. Should your K-2 daughter need supervision at school on Friday 2 December, please complete the form by clicking here. 

Walk for a Kinder World – Mrs Kimberley Tyson, Deputy Head of Junior School Students

Our mission to walk kindness to the Moon has well and truly started. The girls received their booklets at the end of last week, and I have already heard a buzz about how many kilometres they have achieved. As we would like to encourage all our Junior School members to participate, we have several incentives running throughout the initiative. These include prizes for the House, grade, staff member and family that contributes the most significant number of kilometres for kindness. We ask that the kilometres walked each week by your daughter can please be recorded in her journal and returned to school each Thursday. This enables us to celebrate our community total in assembly each Friday. I will send a link in the final week for you to enter the total kilometres achieved by your family.

Here is a link for K-3 and for 4-6 to our Walk for a Kinder World Junior School padlet in which you can upload photos of your daughters and your family out walking, skipping, playing and getting active for kindness. We can’t wait to have a collage of incredible images that shows our girl contributing to this wonderful initiative.

Thank you to all our families who have already made donations to the flyhighbillie Foundation. Through your support we have been able to send kinder day cards and Hope journals to disadvantaged school children around Australia. Please click here if you wish to fundraise for the flyhighbillie Foundation.

Our Week in Learning

Junior School Digital News

News from Out of School Hours Care (OSHC)

As we welcomed everyone back to Before School Care and After School Care last week, we loved hearing about everyone’s fantastic holidays. Some of the girls even brought back fridge magnets for our OSCH holiday destinations magnet collection, including one from Mrs Shaw’s holiday!

To read about our fun holiday program, please click the following links:

• Moving Bodies Incursion
• Geologist Incursion

For more information on how to book a place, please click here or contact us via email at oshcadmin@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

Reminders from the Administration Office

AFTERNOON TRAVEL CHANGES 

Please email juniorschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au to advise any changes to afternoon travel arrangements. Late changes should be made prior to 2.00pm to ensure messages are received by staff and students prior to the girls end of formal day routines. 

LOST PROPERTY 

All items of uniform should be named including summer hat, play hat, uniforms, shoes, sneakers, socks, lunch box and drink bottle.  Lost items can be readily returned if it they are labelled. 

Winter should have your daughter’s name written in white pen inside the crown of the hat. If there is a circular label inside the hat, don’t use this as it is inclined to come loose. 

Please be aware that unnamed items will only be held at each Junior School Administration Office for two weeks.  

Dates for your Diary

Term 4 

20 October                  Kindergarten Outdoor Education Program  

21 October                  Year 2 Author Visit

25 October                  Year 6 Musical Performance, 7.00pm  

26 October                  Year 6 Musical Performance, 7.00pm  

27 October                  Year 6 Wellbeing Day

28 October                  Links Day

3 November                JSPG Term 4 AGM

10 November              Year 5 Mind, Body Spirit Day

11 November              Walk for a Kinder World final day and celebration

15 November              Jacaranda Day

17 November              Junior School Swimming Carnival 

22 November              Year 6 final Chapel and celebration of learning 8.45am to 11.00am

24 November              Year 6 Disco

1 December                Kindergarten Celebration of Learning 9.00am, term ends for Kindergarten children

1 December                Years 1 and 2 Celebration of Learning 11.00am, term ends for Year 1 and 2 children

2 December                Years 3 to 6 Speech Day, 1.30pm 

Mrs Kate Brown

Head of Junior School

From the Middle School

From our Head of Middle School

On Tuesday night, we held our Year 7 2023 Parent Information Evening to welcome new families and share time together. I would like to acknowledge the six Year 7 and 8 students who so beautifully represented their peers when addressing parents. Layne Phillips, Kyraa Vigg and Saskia Nicholson shared their Middle School journeys so far with impressive confidence. They spoke of rich and diverse experiences which have helped to shape who they are and in turn inspire their futures. I would also like to congratulate Evie Farr, Sienna Melton and Ellie Pointon – three of our outstanding Indigenous Boarders – who delivered a warm and inclusive welcome and acknowledgement of Country. We are so proud of our girls who continually step up and generously give their time.

This week, we are finalising the filming of the Year 7 Postcards from the Dreaming project. Below are some images of our girls in action. We’re really looking forward to sharing the final product before the end of term.

Well done to Jenny Xu who participated in the State Final for the Legacy Public Speaking Competition on Tuesday at the NSW Art Gallery. Her delivery never ceases to impress.

Year 7

The Year 8 2023 Leadership launch took place on Tuesday this week. We encourage all students to consider stepping up into one of the many roles for 2023. Information about the roles may be accessed via the Middle School Leadership website and the process involves an application and interview. If there are any questions about the process or specific roles please contact Mrs Budd, Deputy Head of Middle School.

In Directions this week, the focus was to reconnect after the holidays and spend time getting organised for the term ahead. We value your support in making sure your daughter is using her College diary to assist with homework and academic organisation.

Year 7 Recounts – Guest Speaker Michele Chevalley Hedge

On Thursday the 13th of October, nutritionist Michelle Chevalley Hedge came to Pymble and gave a presentation about ways to look after your body and give yourself breaks from screens. She gave us tips on how to balance out your meals so that you are not impacted by “low sugar” or “no sugar” and encourage us to take breaks from our screens to avoid being “tired but wired”. She taught us that sugar and blue light can leave your body unhappy and unhealthy and experiencing mood swings, and taught us how to manage them, and lots more. My peers and I took a lot of information from this presentation and truly value what we have learnt from her expertise.

Written by Bonnie Hebblewhite

On Thursday Week 1, Michelle, a nutritionist, came in to talk to us about what nutrition is and how to maintain a good diet. She talked to us about all types of different things like how to sleep better, have clear skin and most importantly how to get all the different types of nutrition and fibres we need in order to stay energised and to keep our brains working. I learned about how to keep our brains fuelled with lots of energy and how not to be ‘tired but wired’ and lots more. So, thank you so much to Michelle for coming in, using her time to share with us her knowledge.

Written by Sienna Melton

On Thursday last week, nutritionist Michele Chevalley Hedge came to us to talk about nutrition. Some of the things that she talked to us about were that we shouldn’t give up sugar but minimise foods that have a high amount of unnatural sugars and packaged/processed food. She said that in or meals we should include protein, good carbs and good fat. That we should be having around two litres of water a day, so it helps to have a water bottle that you like. Another point she’d if we eat well, we will have more energy and not get “the flatsies”, which is where you are feeling really flat and do not have much energy, or “tired but wired”, which is where you are very tired late at night.

Written by Clare Ferreira

On Thursday 13^th of October Michelle Chevally Hedge came to our school. She spoke to us all about good food habits and keeping our bodies healthy but also energised. She told us about the experience of being not tired but wired. This about what is stopping you from going to sleep. Sugar and the blue light emitted from our screens can leave you feeling buzzed, this means that you could feel tired but the sugar or the blue light will keep you up. This can effect our moods. Mood swings are becoming a big part in our lives as we are becoming teens. This will make us from gorgeous to grumpy. This means that we could be happy and energetic one second and then grumpy, mad and tired the next. She informed us on what is healthy to eat and the foods that will leave you satisfied. She explained to us that a little bit of chocolate was okay but there are also alternatives to eating unhealthy foods.

For example:

• Fruit instead of lollies
• Dark chocolate (70%) instead of milk chocolate
• Brown rice instead of white rice
• Sparkling water instead of soft drink
• Tea instead of juice
• Plain Greek yogurt instead of flavoured yogurt
• Butter instead of margarine

Overall, we learnt a lot about healthy food and sleep. We very much appreciate her presentation and feel very informed!

Written by Peita Christofis

Year 8

Earlier this week, we launched our Passport portfolium with Year 8. Passport is used by students until Year 12 and has been created with the purpose of providing an opportunity for students to reflect on key experiences and skills they have developed. Rather than acting as a record of certificates and achievements, Passport allows every student to celebrate her own personal bests and to reflect on her learnings. These reflections will build our girls’ abilities as they prepare for the world of work. Over the next few weeks, our Year 8 students will have time in their Directions classes to create their first Passport entries.

Tomorrow, we have the delight of hearing from study skills specialist, Pru Salter, about a range of tips and strategies that students can use to improve their study habits. We encourage you to speak with your daughter about some of her key takeaways from this presentation.

In Directions this week, our Year 8 girls have taken part in a Murder Mystery game which is designed to develop an understanding of various styles of leadership and collaboration. Year 8 have also reflected on what is included in a leadership application ahead of our leadership launch later next.

From the Middle School Parent Group

We look forward to seeing our Year 7 and 8 parents at the upcoming dinners. Please see details on how to book below:

Year 7 Parents Cocktail Dinner

Date: Saturday 5 November

Location: Avondale Golf Course

Year 8 Parent/Carers Social

Date: Saturday 29 October

Location: Governor Hotel, Macquarie Park

Please RSVP by clicking here by 22 October 2022, or contact us at Sunny.hres@gmail.com or Malinib.srivastava@gmail.com

From the Secondary School Parent Group

Thank you to everyone who took the time to attend the PPA meeting the other evening, including the compressed Secondary School Parent Group AGM. It was lovely to have a chance to catch up, find out more from Dr Hadwen about what is happening in the College and to thank everyone for their year’s effort and welcoming in the group for the year ahead.

As such, I would like to thank the parents who held formal roles on the SSPG committee this year including Julie Xie, Pam McPherson, Jane Stewart, Pilar Yemma, Susan Ma, Vicki Volikas, Gi-Nin Baikie, Dushi Cooke, Malini Srivastava, Sunny Hre, Carol Bai and Vanessa Middleton. Also, a big thank you to all the parents who took on informal and support roles, organising and supporting events, attending coffee mornings and forwarding on emails and requests for assistance.

Group Leaders – Brigid Robson and Priscilla Macpherson

Record Keeper – May Tai

Year 12 Co-ordinators – Jane Stewart and Melissa Markson

Year 11 Co-ordinators – Susan Ma and Pilar Yemma

Year 10 Co-ordinators – Pam McPherson and Zoe Green

Year 9 Co-ordinators – Christel Vgne and Monika Surana

Year 8 Co-ordinators – Shiva Rich and Carol Bai

Year 7 Co-ordinator – Kai Jones

Care and Support – Vanessa Middleton

Once again, thank you to everyone for all your help and support. We look forward to a chance to see you at the end of year celebrations and events for the start of 2023.

Written by Priscilla Macpherson

Mrs Jenny O’Donnell

Head of Middle School

From the Upper School

A Message from Mr Riley, Head of Upper School

It has been a busy week of events (including plenty of dancing for Year 10 on Friday night), leadership interviews, and preparation for the litany of events ahead in this short term. We wish our public speakers well at the Festival of Speech this weekend and hope our Year 9 Pioneers enjoy settling into Vision Valley in preparation for their four-week stay from Sunday.

Over the break, I have been reading a great book on negotiation, titled ‘Never Split the Difference’. As parents of young adolescents, I am sure you are well versed in negotiation skills and conflict resolution! Nevertheless, I thought I might take the opportunity this week to share three ideas that have resonated with me and which you might like to try at home.

1. Mirroring – when listening to a frustrated party it can be helpful to repeat 1-3 important words from the sentence they have just said and then pause. Known as mirroring, this often prompts the frustrated party to further explain their annoyance and helps you empathise with what is really triggering their upset.

2. Get to the “no” first – when negotiating we often try to get to what a party will agree to (say “yes” first) or compromise on. Often, this is something that they are happy to give away or is not really at the root cause of their reticence or obstinance. Instead, author Christopher Voss, suggests you really need to identify what their absolute “no” is, as this sets the parameters from which we can build understanding and work to resolution from.

3. Aim for “that’s right” rather than “you’re right”. This can be a challenging one for parents as students often fail to recognise the wisdom (and likely past experience – good or bad) that you bring to the conversation and situation. Rather than having them agree with you or your standpoint (“you’re right”) you want to encourage them to align their values and standpoint with what is morally right (as signaled by the phrase “that’s right”). It is a subtle shift, but an important one.

I’d love to know how you get on if you are willing to try the above and would highly recommend the book for an interesting and effective quick read.

A message from Mrs Hunt, Deputy Head of Upper School

Drama Tour

During the holidays Ms Sweetman, Mrs Boyd and I had the pleasure of accompanying 30 students to London, Stratford Upon Avon and Paris for the Drama tour. Seventeen of the students were from the Upper School, and I was most proud of how the girls embraced the opportunities presented to them and always upheld the College values.

As you would expect, travelling is exciting, but it can also be challenging for a young person to be so far away from family in a foreign country. The girls showed care and kindness in the way they interacted with each other and maturity during times when…..a little more patience was required. I valued our time away, loved what we affectionately referred to as our ‘Drama tour family’ and enjoyed seeing the girls connect across different year groups.

Peer Passport

This week our current Year 10 Peer Support leaders were given an opportunity to teach our newly appointed 2023 Year 10 Peer Support leaders some ‘Get to Know You’ and Ice Breaker games and activities. Our new leaders are looking forward to using some of the games and activities during Links Day to help establish a friendship and bond with Middle School students. Additionally, they will assist in the smooth running of some of the events.

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

In Week 1 of Directions, the topic was ‘Presenting yourself well: Careers Tool Kit – Pitch for a job interview’. This lesson equips students with the basic techniques they need to be successful at job interviews. Students practice relaxation techniques to reduce nerves and tension, and list actions they can take to properly prepare for job interviews. Students demonstrate and describe appropriate ways to enter and exit job interviews, and also describe the fundamentals of the S.T.A.R (situation, task, action and result) interview technique.

A huge congratulations to Year 9 student Sabrina Cooke who has won an Immerse Essay Competition. There were thousands of entries from students all over the world, yet Sabrina’s essay has been recognised as one of the highest calibre entries of this year. Her prize is a scholarship to attend an Academic Enrichment Program at either Oxford or Cambridge University. A fantastic achievement Sabrina! We wish you well for this program!

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

A big welcome to Week 2. We wanted to say a huge thank you for your perseverance and organisation around the Shormal event. It went off without a hitch and it was a huge success! The students had a ball dancing and socialising with their Shore counterparts, and we could not be prouder of how the girls conducted themselves on the night.

This week we had one of our only Year Assemblies for the term and the students were given a whistle stop tour through all of the fantastic events coming up. The Upper School Leaders spoke about the Disco on the 11^th on November, and Steph Attley and I also launched the Urban Challenge activity which students will be participating in during the Future You Festival.

In the lead up to examination week (week 4) we also had Ms Stanfield and Mr Plaskett visit to discuss examination requirements, study tips and the Illness and Misadventure process in the case of absences over this period.  Some subjects are now releasing notifications for examinations, and we encourage all students to take the time to sit down and look over their notes, identify gaps in their learning and write down questions they can ask their teachers to assist their revision. Examination periods can be very busy periods for our students and in Directions classes we have been working on self-care and organisational tips to build healthy habits in the lead up to this big week.

Year 10 have been invited to take part in the School K-12 Opening Evening on Thursday the 10^th of November (3:30-5pm) assisting parents as tour guides around the school. This is a great opportunity for students to showcase their leadership skills in a new setting. Interested students can email Ms Beaumont or Ms Attley to signal their interest in this opportunity.

Save the Date: Shaping Your Future

From the Secondary School Parent Group

Thank you to everyone who took the time to attend the PPA meeting the other evening, including the compressed Secondary School Parent Group AGM. It was lovely to have a chance to catch up, find out more from Dr Hadwen about what is happening in the College and to thank everyone for their year’s effort and welcoming in the group for the year ahead.

As such, I would like to thank the parents who held formal roles on the SSPG committee this year including Julie Xie, Pam McPherson, Jane Stewart, Pilar Yemma, Susan Ma, Vicki Volikas, Gi-Nin Baikie, Dushi Cooke, Malini Srivastava, Sunny Hre, Carol Bai and Vanessa Middleton. Also, a big thank you to all the parents who took on informal and support roles, organising and supporting events, attending coffee mornings and forwarding on emails and requests for assistance.

Group Leaders – Brigid Robson and Priscilla Macpherson

Record Keeper – May Tai

Year 12 Co-ordinators – Jane Stewart and Melissa Markson

Year 11 Co-ordinators – Susan Ma and Pilar Yemma

Year 10 Co-ordinators – Pam McPherson and Zoe Green

Year 9 Co-ordinators – Christel Vgne and Monika Surana

Year 8 Co-ordinators – Shiva Rich and Carol Bai

Year 7 Co-ordinator – Kai Jones

Care and Support – Vanessa Middleton

Once again, thank you to everyone for all your help and support. We look forward to a chance to see you at the end of year celebrations and events for the start of 2023.

Written by Priscilla Macpherson

from the Upper School Parent Group

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

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

Year 10

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

Key Dates

Term 4

Sunday 23 October                                            Year 9 Residential Program Community Day at Vision Valley

Friday 28 October                                              Year 10 Study Day

Monday 31 October                                           Year 10 Yearly Examinations begin

Friday 4 November                                            Year 10 Yearly Examinations completed

Friday 11 November                                           Upper School End of Year Celebration Disco

Monday 14 November                                        Year 10 All Well Testing

Monday 14 to Thursday 17 November               Year 9 Outdoor Education Program

Tuesday 15 November                                       Jacaranda Day

Friday 18 November                                           The Great Return – Year 9 Residential Program

Monday 21 to Friday 25 November                    Year 10 Future You Festival 

Friday 2 December                                             Speech Day and Final Day of Term 4

Mr Tom Riley

Head of Upper School

From the Senior School

From the Head of Senior School

Student Leaders’ Induction

What a treat to have the Student Leaders’ Induction on Friday last week and welcome so many parents and carers to share in this special event. Acknowledging the role of all Year 12 students as they take on their roles as leaders in the College is an important rite of passage for the students and their peers. It has been impressive to watch the girls rise to the early challenge of Year 12 and set up solid routines around their study and school commitments and social life.

Mentors

I spoke to the new Year 12 students in an assembly last week about the opportunity to work with a mentor. Many of the girls are already engaged in this voluntary program and report high levels of satisfaction. Briefly, students can apply to work with a chosen senior member of staff as their mentor. The students themselves nominate areas that they would like to work on or would like to discuss and are responsible for making the meeting times. If they are interested, students have been asked to email me directly to organise a mentor.

Sony Camp 2023

Excitement is building for Sony Camp 2023. On Thursday 13 October, our volunteer companions and relief companions from Pymble and Shore School participated in their second full training day. Throughout the training, they learnt about medical needs, manual handling, communication and child protection standards to ensure our camp is a success.

They had fun learning important daily responsibilities for their campers – such as bedtime routines, assistance with eating and personal care. The Shore boys had varying degrees of success learning to “do hair”!

Some student perspectives:

Training day 2 was so incredibly fun! Together with our groups from Shore, we learnt about so many critical aspects of learning to care for children including bedtime, and dressing routines. At times, it was somewhat uncomfortable when we had other people brushing our teeth for us, but it was a critical part of learning how to care for others. – Ellie

Training day 2 at Shore was a very beneficial, fun day. It was a very informative day learning about the importance of working together and most importantly communicating. It was a good day where we got out of our comfort zones, brushing each others teeth, getting our hair done and attempting to feed each other. It was a fun and helpful day that was full of laughs. – Eliza

Training day 2 at shore school for Sony Camp was filled with learning. We did many beneficial activities such as learning about the code of conduct, learning bed time routines, hearing from a nurse on tips and tricks and many more. One of the key things I took away was different communication styles. We learnt the alphabet in sign language, and we learnt how to spell, and read peoples names. We also learnt some of the simple signs a such as ‘thank you’, ‘bad’, ‘good’, ‘toilet’ and much more. Overall, this day was a very helpful and we are looking forward to training day 3 where we find out our campers. – Soph

From the Boarding School

From our Head of Boarding

The new term has certainly kept us busy and as always, our Boarders are stepping up to the challenges and taking advantage of the many opportunities on offer here at the College. It is this tenacity, spirit and drive of our Boarders that shines through in their interactions and makes them such wonderful leaders in the College.  

This week we invited applications for our formal leadership positions for the 2022/23 year including roles as Spirit House Captains, Boarders’ Representative Council members and Big Sisters. If you would like to read more about these roles please click the following links:

• Big Sister Position Description
• Boarders’ Representative Council Position Description
• Spirit House Captain Position Description

I look forward to sharing the results of the applications next week.  

COVID 19 Update

As you will be aware, the requirement for self-isolation for anyone who tests positive for COVID has been removed. Our Boarding staff will continue to implement the recommendations of NSW Health and be vigilant in minimising the risk to our Boarding family of transmission of any contagious disease.

We continue to speak regularly with our Boarders about the importance of strict personal and environmental hygiene practices and monitor Boarders for symptoms including cough, cold or flu-like symptoms. Boarders who demonstrate these symptoms will be tested for COVID-19. We will treat all positive cases of COVID on an individual basis and in consultation with families.  

Did you hear about it?

This term our prefect team have introduced a new feature to our Boarding Chapel service – a section in which the many achievements of our Boarders are celebrated. This week our ‘did you hear about it?’ girl, also known as Boarding Prefect Co-ordinator, Lucy Robertson, shared the following news:

Matilda Barwick (Year 11) competed in the 61st Annual Jamboree for horse riding and won first place! Tilly was part of a team of 18 equestrian riders from her hometown in Gravesend, who competed against six other towns to take first place after competing in a number events. We are so proud of Tilly and her achievement – also very fitting for our new Equestrian Captain for 2023!

Alice Hillsdon (Year 11) along with her partner Georgie presented a business case at the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand venue on Wednesday night and came second winning a generous cash prize for their efforts!

Love It

Love It is back for Term 4! We started last weekend with a trip to Balmoral for our Year 9s where they enjoyed their picnic dinner and a dip in the slightly chilly waters. All girls enjoyed the opportunity to chill out after their first week back. The Year 10s all looked stunning as they headed off for the Year 10 Dance with Shore. They loved meeting new people and dancing the night away. Saturday night was an opportunity to join with the local community and some Knox Boarders for the Wahroonga twilight concert – the evening was enjoyed by all. This weekend will be an opportunity for the Year 10s to head down to Balmoral on Friday evening, Saturday will be an opportunity to head to the Kirribilli Markets and on Sunday we will be heading to Pittwater for a light walk and swim. Summer is almost here and we can’t wait!

Click here to see view the entire Term 4 Love It program schedule.

A view from my window

My name is Andie Hodder and I am 16 years old. I started boarding here at Pymble this year and have loved almost every moment of it. I come from the small town of Forbes in the Central West region of NSW. Forbes is known for its many leafy parks which surround the beautiful lake that flows right through the middle of the town. At night the town centre and the lake perimeter light up with 1000’s of pretty lights. When I’m not in my new Goodlet home, I live on a property just on the outside of the town called ‘Riverblock’, which gets its name from sitting on the banks of the Lachlan River.  

My family consists of Mum (Juliet), Dad (Dave), my two sisters (Jemma and Claudia) and my brother (Snow)… as well as two horses, three dogs, one cat, 12 racing pigeons, over 20,000 bees and too many sheep.

When I look outside my window, I see two unacceptably fat horses resting under a River Gum tree in their yard. They are full of green feed, waiting with their innocent faces to see what they can produce on the first ride back after a long winter spell.

From my window I see dad, working on the new outdoor area, building a nice big fireplace for the family to gather around, eat and drink and share hilarious memories that have been made on the farm. 

I can see dad’s timely sown crops that strive to send their heads higher as spring commences.  It is always a lottery to see if they will make it to harvest, particularly when our farm has been exposed to flood over previous seasons.

I see my mum, working tirelessly to keep her beautiful garden weeded.  She is also often outside attempting to keep the pool clean from all the dirt and leaves that blow through the garden day in and day out.

I see my younger brother kicking his football, practising for his next season of Rugby.  He’s waiting patiently and hopefully for the day my sisters and I come out to play a game with him.

I see dad, talking to his favourite kids (his pigeons). Naming every single one of them and asking them thousands of different questions.  Mum calls him the Pigeon Master. I see him, open the door to the coup to let them fly around the house.  He watches them fly for the next half an hour until he calls them back in.

But one of my favourite views would have to be my Nanna Nina who always surprises me by just rocking up. She has a gift for catching you doing something you thought no one would see. Usually she arrives around meal times and despite ‘never being hungry’ manages to eat a full sized plate and then often takes the leftovers when she leaves. There’s no doubt that she’s crafty, but I always love seeing her face and spending time with her.

My favourite thing about being home, is getting to relax with my friends and family. I love the close nature of Forbes and being able to walk down the street and greet everyone I pass. I love driving our buggy through the forests and the paddocks. I love the peaceful nature of my hometown, it’s stillness and security.

The drive from Forbes to Pymble takes around 5 hours and although it’s hard to leave the wide-open spaces and peace and quiet, I will always love returning to Pymble.  At school and boarding I get to experience some of the loudest, busiest, and most chaotic of times and I wouldn’t have my life any other way.

Boarder of the Week

This week, I am delighted to recognise Lila Bourke a much-loved member of our 2022 Year 12 cohort. Lila joined us from Dubbo as a bright and bubbly Year 7 and has continued to delight us with her enthusiasm, inclusivity and unwavering loyalty. Lila is a friend to everyone and has a genuine interest in young people and what their potential could be. She loves nothing more than to mentor our younger Boarders, offering practical advice and support, never hesitating to extend help whenever she thinks it is needed – expecting nothing in return.

Lila’s determination to do the best she can and get the best out of her Boarding experience is commendable. She seeks new experiences and enjoys the diversity that living in a communal environment brings. Her courage and hard work have been rewarded with no less than five early entry offers from five different universities to study medical science. We are beyond proud of all that she has achieved.

Mrs Carolyn Burgess

Director of Boarding

Co-curricular Administration

2022 Co-curricular Programs

Most Co-curricular programs started or continued this week, from Tuesday 11 October, unless previously advised the program would not be starting until Week 2. Confirmations for all programs starting in Term 4 were sent on Tuesday 4 October. 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. 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 1 2023 Saturday Sport Registrations

This is a reminder that registrations for Term 1 2023 Saturday Sports will remain open until Friday 28 October at 12.00pm. The options available to students are as follows:

• IPSHA Football (Year 3 to 6)
• IPSHA Water Polo (Year 3 to 6)
• AFL (Year 7 to 12)
• Cricket Sixers (Year 7 to 12)
• IGSA Badminton (Year 7 to 12)
• IGSA Tennis (Year 7 to 12)
• Water Polo Pymble Competition (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).

Mrs Susan Lindsay

Acting Head of Co-curricular Administration

Sports

Sport at Pymble this Saturday 22 October

With the Festival of Speech being held at Pymble this Saturday, we are expecting higher traffic flows around the College, especially in the morning. For those involved in Saturday Sport at the College, it is recommended to allow extra time for travel and parking.

Have a Go Expo

The Have a Go Expo will be held in the Gym on Friday 28 October with an extended lunch from 12.35pm to 2.05pm.

The Expo is an exciting, inclusive, and experiential event to showcase the College’s Co-curricular programs to Pymble students from Years 7 to 12.

Student Leaders of Co-curricular will be on hand to showcase their activities to the wider Pymble family.

This Have a Go Expo is a great opportunity to promote all that the College has to offer and encourage students to ‘have a go,’ try new things and promotes school spirit and pride.

Sport Awards Dinner 2022

On Friday 4 November, the College will honour the achievements of our talented sportswomen in Years 7 to 12 who have achieved great success and demonstrated outstanding commitment to their sports throughout 2022.

On the night, students who participate in competitive sports will be recognised through several awards which include Athlete of the Year, All Rounder of the Year, igsa Team of the Year, Representative Team of the Year, Strive for the Highest Awards, Sports Officials of the Year, Australian Representatives and Sportswoman of the Year.

Students and teams are nominated for these awards by the Sports Co-ordinators and Head Coaches and are then finalised by a committee. The dinner will celebrate the achievements of our students and teams and give due regard to the College values which these awardees exemplify. Awards are a way to encourage good performance and instil competitive spirit. Sport at Pymble provides a platform for students to be challenged, to achieve and grow and this awards dinner is designed to recognise those who compete at the highest level in their chosen disciplines.

Also, we acknowledge that not all athletes who show excellence and commitment to their sport can be recognised at the awards evening – there are simply too many students who represent the College in sport. For those not attending the dinner, we recognise and acknowledge your contribution to Pymble and encourage you to continue to strive for your highest in your chosen sport.

I would also like to extend special thanks to our College Principal, Dr Kate Hadwen, the College Council for supporting our exceptional Sport program and to all parents and carers who support their daughters in their varied sporting pursuits.

Mr Greg Meagher

Director of Sport

Diving

What an experience it was to watch the Red Bull Cliff Diving in Sydney last weekend. With the spectacular harbour as the backdrop Sydney had the opportunity to be part of an amazing event showcasing incredible athletes!! 

Congratulations to the unbelievable Rhiannon Iffland (also known as Rhi-Diculous) on her 6th consecutive World Series win. Congrats to Chris Bednar (past Pymble diving coach) on his first Red Bull Event, what an incredible achievement. 

This was a great experience to celebrate such extraordinary athletes, and our home-grown divers right here on beautiful Sydney Harbour with New South Wales (NSW) and Diving Australia. Diving certainly can let you fly high. 

Congratulations to Pymble divers Nikola Puhl (Year 12), Ilaria Crowley (Year 9) and Amelie Rahme (Year 4) who have been selected in the NSW team for School Sport Australia in Queensland in November.

We are all looking forward to the build-up to this event and Metropolitan Championships in the coming weeks.

Mrs Chris Lang

Head Coach – Diving

Equestrian

We had three Pymble Equestrian Team members head to Tamworth last weekend to compete in the Tamworth Interschools Horse Extravaganza – ISHE. Eloise Clare (Year 11), Saskia Fitzgerald (Year 10) and Zoe Glendinning (Year 9).

Zoe Competed in two dressage events Preliminary 1B placing 10th with a score of 72%, and Preliminary 1C placing 6th with a score of 65%.

Eloise competed in the Working Horse Challenge where she placed 2nd, as well as the Campdraft where she placed 3rd with a score of 87.

Eloise also went on to win the Team Campdraft in a mixed team with two students from Farrer Boys.

Saskia entered a few events over the weekend, the dressage events, working horse challenge and the sporting events. As well as the 70cm Show Jumping where she placed 1st.

Huge congratulations to all students in some fantastic results.

Ms Ali WIlliams

Sports Co-ordinator – Equestrian

Junior School Sports

IPSHA Team of the Week – Basketball – Pymble 5

Pymble 5 stepped onto the court with excitement and enthusiasm for their first game of the term. The team got off to a great start with some early goals from Adele Cassidy (Year 5), together with incredible defence from Xanthe Munroe (Year 5) and Bebe Brennan (Year 5), which led Pymble 5 to their first win of the season. All athletes showcased their skills and worked together as a team. An amazing start to the season, great work Pymble 5! 

Junior School Swimming

Race League Knox versus Pymble

Round 1 – Wednesday 12 October 2022

On Wednesday 12 October, Pymble Ladies’ College hosted round one of our Race League competition against Knox Grammar School. Pymble had 25 students (listed below), from Years 3 to 5 compete.

A Race League is a point scoring competition, where the swimmer who touches the wall first gets the most points for their team. There are also points for second and third and double points for relays.

It was a fantastic afternoon, with an exciting atmosphere. Pymble and Knox Grammar both had two teams competing with a combination of Junior and Senior swimmers. The two Pymble teams were Scarlet, led by Coach Andrea and Navy, led by Coach Michelle. Team Scarlet accumulated the most points in round one. Pymble are currently leading Knox Grammar thanks to the combined scores of both Pymble teams. GO TEAM!

Well done to all the students that participated. Everyone showed great sportsmanship and teamwork. We are very proud of you all standing up and having a go especially those that are new to this kind of racing.

A special shout out to our parents once again for all your support and to the coaches and staff for their help in making this a successful afternoon. 

Amelia Berg (Year 3), Emma Deere (Year 3), Emma Feng (Year 3), Grace Wan (Year 3), Isabella Wang (Year 3), Madison Burns (Year 4), Ruby Makar (Year 4), Amalie Rahme (Year 4), Victoria Yu (Year 4), Lily Zhang (Year 4), Yolanda Zheng (Year 4), Melody Chen (Year 5), Ava Costa (Year 5), Lily Dao (Year 5), Carla Eibach (Year 5), Oriana Fenton (Year 5), Penelope Hargraves (Year 5), Sarah Kranes (Year 5), Sissi Ko (Year 5), Grace Neal (Year 5), Charlotte Sadler (Year 5), Chloe Shires (Year 5), Marley Titley (Year 5), Bella Xu (Year 5), Elsa Yu (Year 5)

Mr Matt Tyson

Head of Sports – Kindergarten to Year 6

Rugby Sevens

Over the holiday break we had several students represent Gordon Rugby Club at the New South Wales State Championships in Forster. Congratulations to Alexandra Reardon (Year 7), Mie Naito (Year 7), Lily Mancey (Year 7), Ellie Pointon (Year 7), Evie Farr (Year 7) and Eva Still (Year 6) who took the field against some of the best Rugby Sevens players in the State!

Mr Jack Garrad

Sports Co-ordinator – Rugby Sevens

Swimming

2022 Thredbo Camp

Thredbo was excellent! Massive miles swum, hard sets achieved, and some super fun and competitive team building was had. 

I am extremely proud of the squad’s enthusiasm, resilience, and comradery. 

The camp motto (designed by the team) was ROAR, which stood for Respect, Optimism, Achievement and Race. 

The swimmers designed this and used it for motivation, to keep each other accountable and to lift each other up when struggling.  

The camp was a very valuable experience, and we are grateful to Pymble Ladies’ College for supporting us to coach at the camp and to Knox Pymble Swim Club (KPSC) for organising the camp. 

2022 Runaway Bay Camp

During Week 1 of the school holidays, members of the Engine and Cadet squad attended the KPSC Swim Camp at Runaway Bay. It was a fantastic escape and turned out to be a very successful team building experience. The Beyond Limits Known (BLK) Performance Centre was our home base and our mantra for the camp. Looking to extend our own known limits and to challenge each other. Swimmers were split up into teams and held each other accountable across a large variety of team challenges and training sessions. The swimmers carried this momentum into week two back at Pymble with a positive first week of training.

Thanks to Pymble Ladies’ College and KPSC for this great opportunity.

Rafael Rodrigues

Coach – Swimming

2022 Nelson Bay Camp

In the second week of the school holidays, eight Pymble students from Knox Pymble Swim Club attended the Nelson Bay Camp. It was a three-day, action-packed camp starting at Knox Grammar with their first swim session followed by a hearty barbeque breakfast before heading off in the buses. 

The swimmers had five swim sessions over three days, dryland activities, goal setting and plenty of fun along the way.

Some of the highlights from the camp were playing games in the amazing sand dunes, the biggest in the southern hemisphere. The toboggan park was fun, but the weather wasn’t kind to us. The swimmers went roller-skating, played mini golf and rock climbing. The Talent Show was fantastic with plenty of laughs and some talented swimmers.

The swimmers were well behaved and a pleasure to work with. It was a successful camp and looking forward to next year’s camp.

Thanks to Pymble Ladies College and KPSC for making it happened.

Sara Petronzio and Michelle Thomas

Coaches – Swimming

Tennis

One of Pymble Tennis Academy’s star players, Ashlee Narker (Year 11), spent the school holidays training in Mallorca, Spain at the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy. She was invited to the two-week training camp on a scholarship awarded for winning the Rafa Nadal Australian Masters Tournament. The camp focused on building on the four main pillars of the Rafa Tour; humility, resilience, sportsmanship and commitment.

Congratulations to Giselle Kawane (Year 10), who won the Queensland Innisfail Nerada Open Women’s Singles Tournament.

Our Pymble Tennis players are also back in action representing the college in their Saturday morning igsa and IPSHA competitions. Here are their round one results:

Seniors

Pymble 1 defeated Ravenswood 1 – 8 to 0

Pymble 2 defeated St Catherine’s 2 – 6.5 to 1.5

Loreto Kirribilli 3 defeated Pymble 3 – 5 to 3

Pymble 4 defeated Roseville 6 – 5.5 to 2.5

Pymble 5 defeated Wenona 9 – 4.5 to 3.5

Juniors

Pymble 6 defeated Queenwood 7 – 5 to 3

Ascham 8 defeated Pymble 7 – 5.5 to 2.5

Pymble 8 defeated Ravenswood 9 – 4 to 4

Pymble 9 – bye

Roseville 14 defeated Pymble 10 – 8 to 0

Monte 9 defeated Pymble 11 – 5 to 3

Pymble 12 defeated Ravenswood 11 – 7.5 to 0.5

Roseville 16 defeated Pymble 13 – 8 to 0

Pymble 14 defeated Loreto Normanhurst 13 – 8 to 0

Pymble 15 defeated Loreto Normanhurst 14 – 7 to 1

Year 7 Teams

Pymble 16 defeated PLC Sydney 6 – 5.5 to 2.2

Roseville 19 defeated Pymble 17 – 7.5 to 0.5

Roseville 21 defeated Pymble 18 – 6.5 to 1.5

IPSHA Teams

Pymble 1 defeated Loreto Kirribilli 1

Pymble 2 defeated Queenwood 1

Barker 1 defeated Pymble 3

Roseville 3 defeated Pymble 4

Mr Jufri Foss

Sports Co-ordinator – Tennis

Touch Football

Week 1 of the 2022 igsa Touch Football season was a great success. The sun was shining with some impressive results around the grounds!

Team of the week

Special Mention to our Pymble 2 team who had a very tight match against Abbotsleigh on Saturday morning. After a tough match, they finished with a 3 to 3 draw. Coach Christian was overly impressed with the athletes’ sportsmanship and ‘never give up’ attitude.

Congratulations on an exceptional Week 1!

Ms Megan O’Keeffe

Sports Co-ordinator – Touch Football

Water Polo

Round 1 of the igsa Water Polo season commenced on Saturday 15 October. Well done to all teams. It’s great to see some new faces giving water polo a go and to see our seasoned players back in the pool for a full igsa season ahead.  

Keep up the good work!

Ms Brigette Moore

Head Coach – Water Polo

Performing Arts

Performing Arts spaces are humming as students in Language Arts, Music, Dance, and Drama prepare for showcases that celebrate individual and ensemble students works.

The Festival of Speech occurs this weekend Friday October 22 and Saturday October 22. Twenty-six other independent girls’ schools will come to Pymble to compete in a myriad of events. We are proud that Pymble possesses many beautiful and spacious locations to accommodate these many events ranging from debating to public speaking to drama.

All the very best to the Pymble students competing and heartfelt thanks to those staff and students who are generously present in supporting roles.

The Dance Showcase will be held between November 9 and November 12. Please click here to purchase your tickets. Traditionally, tickets for these performances sell out very quickly, so you best be quick!

Music has also a number of wonderful performances to look forward to in the next few weeks. The Junior School Ensemble Concert on Tuesday 15 November 7.00pm – 8.30pm in GMCPA and the Senior School Ensemble Concert on Thursday 17 November 7.00pm – 9.00pm in GMCPA are always cultural highlights of the school calendar.

Another important event of the school year are the Christmas Celebrations on Friday 25 November 7.00pm – 8.30pm in the Chapel and also in the delightful landscape of the Gloucester Lawn.

The Drama showcase is scheduled for Weeks 7 and 8 this term and will be a great opportunity to witness the work of co-curricular Drama students in a. number of year group across several night of performance. More details will come next week!

Michael Griffiths

Director of Co-Curricular Performing Arts

Dance

Dance Holiday Workshops

Dance Students had a wonderful time at the School Holiday Workshops. There were 25 Junior Students that participated in a one-day Workshop that included classes in a variety of dance styles, choreography, performance and audition skills. Students filmed and edited together a short dance film clip and had a wonderful day meeting new friends and learning new skills. 

Our current RAD Ballet students also participated in Workshops to refine their syllabus work ready for their Class Awards and Examinations that they have coming up in November. 

Dance Life Nationals

During the break Contemporary White and Jazz White represented the College with pride at DanceLife Nationals at Luna Park.

Contemporary White came away with 2nd and were marginally beat by a routine from QLD and Jazz White were awarded 1st in the High School Jazz section and then the overall National Champions of all High Schools. Jazz White were invited to perform again at the showcase / Grand Final and came back to the stage with power to blow the audience away! They performed in front of big industry names such as Sophie Holloway and Lauren Seymour.

A fantastic end to our Eisteddfod Season and this success is a real credit to the team of Pymble Dance right from our Teachers that teach K – 2 Dance to our sensational Jazz and Contemporary choreographers, Miss Tommy Buchner and Miss Shelley Moore; to our administration team and of course our key dance staff team supporting and guiding you all through your dance journey at Pymble.

Ms Katrina Cluff

Head of Dance

Drama

Year 9 Drama Curriculum Learning Showcase

A huge congratulations to our wonderful Year 9 Drama Curriculum class who performed in the Drama Theatre on Tuesday 18 October, 6.30pm, a performance of ‘Shakespeare’s Super Snowy Seasonal Sleigh Ride Stage Show’. Our theatre makers portrayed a variety of Shakespeare’s characters celebrating the holiday season. A huge thank you to the Year 9 Drama teachers, Mrs Melissa Cooper-Findlay and Mrs Rebecca York for all their work on the showcase. Congratulations to our Year 9 Drama students, we couldn’t be prouder!

Ms Tamara Sweetman

Head of Drama

Language Arts

Festival of Speech

One Sleep to go! We are getting peachy speechy!

Yes, tomorrow afternoon we launch our Live and Creative Festival of Speech! The team are ready and so are we. Cake boxes are filling as we speak.

Thanks team, thanks coaches and convenors, parent and student volunteers, Language Arts Captains and thanks to many others – CCSA, Community Engagement – especially Mrs Kate Walther, Facilities, Security, our great Printing team who have been so helpful and our wonderful talented Graphic Artist Amelia who has been working hard behind the scenes. We look forward to welcoming 27 schools to Pymble for 11 special events. It is almost here. We look forward to sharing photos and results next week.

Student Volunteers

Here is the student volunteer roster. Please sign! Student Volunteer Sign up

We need you! Scripts are available for all chairs. Sign up with a friend! We cannot do this without your kind assistance. If there is a gap – please consider filling it and email Mrs Hubbard at BHubbard@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au 

Festival Cake stall

Boxes are available from Mrs Hubbard’s office. Please consider baking. Please return these now if you are coming to the Festival on Saturday 22 October.

Thanks to our Language Arts support mothers, Sophia Fang, Sam Yee and Aimy Hoang who are assisting with the planning for The Festival of Speech.

The last thing left to do is to wish the team well!

Drama: Break a leg Sophia Thurkettle, Lily Hearne, Bella Walker, Ava Thomas and Gigi Spiller

Public Speaking: Speak out Jenny Xu and Joy Ye

Poetry: Feel the emotion Lauren Korenblyum and Tilly Morgan

Readings: Feel the pain and the kindness Alyssa Yee and Evelyn Zhu

Junior Debating: Argue it Sophie Chang, Ella Liu, Maya Garg and Amy Zhang

Senior Debating: BP Parliamentary Debate in true British style Christine Hur, Angie Wang, Isabella Cameron and Jessie Xie

Current Affairs: Wow those adjudicators with your knowledge Chelsea Shi, Emma Parsons and Mulan Xu

Religious and Ethical questions: The truth is… you’ll be great Hanna Cheung, Caitlyn Tan and Melody Kim

Improvisations: Make a scene Murphy Scott, Giaan Jackson, Finn Saghaie and Olivia Clifford! 

Soapbox: Have your say Piper Markson

International Debating

See you the following Friday, 28 October in the colonnades, for this online comp!

Legacy Public Speaking

Congratulations to Jenny Xu, Year 8 who progressed to the state final of the Legacy Public Speaking Competition this week. This was held at the Art Gallery of NSW.

UN Voice

This is a fun Term 4 challenge. To all who registered, please ensure Angie Wang, Joy Ye and Mrs Hubbard know your selected date and topic ASAP please.

Mock Mediation – Grand Finalists

Our Mediators are in the November Grand Final! Well done girls! Thank you to Mrs Jarvis and Amy Jarvis for stepping in to coach, as our regular 2022 Mediation coach took up an exchange opportunity in Florida, USA. 

Debating Auditions

Our audition season, for 2023 Debating competition places, starts this term. We have had almost one hundred interested Year 6 girls apply. The season commences with Year 6 girls from outside schools, auditioning on 28 October. Further dates will be published next week.

Music

The College is looking to develop its ensemble program through the support of various lesser-known concert band and orchestral instruments. An area that the College would like to further develop is to see more students playing the:

• Bassoon
• Trombone, Euphonium and Tuba
• Double Bass

As part of the program, the College will support payment of tuition and instrumental hire. It is preferable that the student is already learning an instrument, such as piano, so they can make the transition with ease.

If your daughter is interested in this exciting performance opportunity and to join the dynamic music department, please send through an expression of interest to musicadmin@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au.

To complete an online expression of interest, click here.

Expressions of interest close Friday 11 November 2022. Following this date, students will be interviewed and will need to perform on their current instrument.

2023 Internal Music Tuition Scholarships

Applications for the 2023 Internal Music Tuition Scholarships are now open. Each scholarship is open to any pupil in the College from Year 6 to Year 11 (2022). Current holders of Academic or Music Performance Scholarships covering school fees are not eligible for Music Tuition Scholarships.

A high standard of performance is expected although scholarships on musical instruments other than piano may be awarded on musical potential. The expectation is that Scholarship winners will contribute to the musical life of the College through participation in Co-curricular Performing Ensembles. The categories are:

• Junior Music Tuition Scholarship which includes students in Years 6, 7 and 8 (2022)
• Senior Music Tuition Scholarship which includes students in Years 9, 10 and 11 (2022)
• The Miss Gunn Memorial Scholarship for Piano is only open to girls of the standard of Grade 6 or higher (any age or year)
• Organ Music Tuition Scholarship is open to any girl who already has advanced keyboard skills (Piano Grade 6 and above) to learn to play the Chapel Organ.

For all information, including dates and audition requirements, download the application form by clicking here.

If you have further questions, please contact musicadmin@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

Examination Result Update

Congratulations to the following students and their teacher on their amazing examination results. It is wonderful to see students achieving to such a high level.

• Adele Cassidy – Grade 1 Saxophone – A+ (High Distinction)
• Annabel Taylor – Grade 4 Saxophone – A+ (High Distinction)
• Annabella Bayfield – Grade 2 Musicianship – A+ (High Distinction)
• Annabelle Zhou – Grade 3 Violin – C (Pass)
• Arya Shanmugaratnum – Grade 1 Violin – A (Honours)
• Bianca Ng – Grade Violin – A (Honours)
• Caitlin Xi – Grade 5 Saxophone – B+ (Credit)
• Eva Still – Grade 5 Violin – B+ (Credit)
• Gloria Yang – Grade 3 Violin – B (Credit)
• Imogen Martin – Grade 1 Violin – A+ (High Distinction)
• Kaitlin Vigne – Grade 4 Saxophone – B+ (Credit)
• Karen Kuang – Grade 4 Clarinet – B (Credit)
• Karen Liu – Grade 2 Violin – B+(Credit)
• Leah Liu – Preliminary Violin – A (Honours)
• Lily Still – Grade 7 Violin – B (Credit)
• LinhLan Dinh – Grade 1 Violin – A (Honours)
• Lydia Chen – Grade 5 Repertoire Cello – A Honours
• Macy Sun – Grade 6 Saxophone – A (Honours)
• Madeleine Martin – Preliminary Violin – A (Honours)
• Madison Pearce – Grade 4 Saxophone – A+ (High Distinction)
• Maisie Borg – Preliminary Violin – B+ (Credit)
• Mischa Baba – Grade 1 Saxophone – A (Honours)
• Nadya Faheem – Preliminary Violin – A (Honours)
• Rachel Shi – Grade 1 Violin – A (Honours)
• Rebecca Mak – Grade 5 Violin – A (Honours)
• Sophia Chen – Grade 2 Musicianship – A+ High (Distinction)
• Sophie Chiang – Grade 2 Violin – A (Honours)
• Sophie Christopher – Grade 6 Clarinet – A+ (High Distinction)
• Stephanie Port – Grade 1 Violin – A (Honours)
• Yuecheng Xu – Grade 8 Comprehensive Cello – B (Credit)
• Yuyin Luo – Grade 4 Saxophone – A (Honours)
• Zara Benson – Grade 1 Musicianship – A+ (High Distinction)
• Zara Sandham – Grade 2 Saxophone – A+ (High Distinction)

Mr Kurt Schweinberger

Head of Co-curricular Music

Term 4 bus registrations are now open!

Registrations are now open for the Pymble private bus service during Term 4 – all students must be registered and must have a current student ID card to tap on and off each trip.

Buses will be operating from Tuesday 11 October until the end of term, finishing with the scheduled afternoon run on Friday 2 December 2022.

Registration for the Pymble bus service is offered on a term-by-term basis, in two formats:

1. Term registration enables the student to access the bus service every day in the morning and afternoon. The charge is set at $390 per term.
2. Flexible registration enables the student to register for specific day(s) with a choice of morning and/or afternoon runs. The charge is set at $6.50 per trip.

While face masks are no longer mandatory on Pymble buses or all public transport options per the updated COVID-19 rules in NSW, students are encouraged to wear one when travelling on Pymble buses. Existing government guidelines for household contacts/positive cases remain in place.

Please contact College Services via collegeservices@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au if you have any further questions about transport to and from Pymble Ladies’ College.

Thinking of a career change? Think Pymble!

At Pymble, you will be wrapped in a culture of care, community and commitment to educational excellence. You’ll also enjoy all the benefits of a big and beautiful working environment. For more information about working at Pymble, please click here.

Job of the week: Learn to Swim Instructors | Casual

With over 1,200 bookings per week, our Learn to Swim program is rapidly growing and to meet the demand, we are opening our expressions of interest to add to our community of passionate Learn to Swim Instructors, with casual shifts available between 9.00am and 12.00pm, and 3.00pm to 6.00pm Mondays to Fridays, with Saturday shifts from 8.00am to 12.00pm.

As either an experienced Learn to Swim instructor, or someone looking to train and step into a role, you’re able to have flexibility in hours and shifts to suit your needs. Training through Swim Australia is available for those looking to become qualified and you will be able to complete your practical hours here at Pymble Swimming under the guidance of our experienced instructors. Our team will support you to ensure you have the abilities and confidence required to promote water safety, deliver our lesson plans and encourage swimming as an essential life skill.

With a strong connection with each student, our classes range from six months of age through to school children, for both Pymble students and the public. You will be supported in your success through an established program that provides lesson plans and proven methodologies to achieve key competencies and to ensure that our swimmers reach their personal goals.

Your own development will also be a focus, with career progression and future succession through to supervisory roles possible for those who excel and are driven to take their career to the next level.

For more information or to apply, please click here.

Help us make Sony Camp great!

We’re looking for volunteers to donate their time at Sony Camp 2022 and help deliver a fun-filled experience for children with special needs. For more information about the camp and how to volunteer, please see the poster below.

Save the date: Vision Valley Holiday Camp

Junior School girls and their siblings (male or female) in Year 3 to 6 are invited to attend the Vision Valley Holiday Camp. The first camp will run in the 2023 Easter school holidays from Monday 17 April to Friday 21 April.

The holiday camp will offer overnight and day visit options and will feature a full activity program, including outdoor adventure activities, nature play and recreational games, all supervised by our experienced Vision Valley staff.

Bookings will open Term 1 Week 1 2023 and there will be limited places available. More information about the holiday camp will be published in the coming weeks.

Future holiday camps

• Monday 10 July to Friday 14 July 2023
• Monday 25 September to Friday 29 September 2023
• Monday 11 December to Friday 15 December 2023

Mrs Rebecca Pearce

Operations Manager – Vision Valley

Masks on Public Transport – UPDATED

While face masks are no longer mandatory on Pymble buses and all public transport options per the updated COVID-19 rules in NSW, students are encouraged to wear one when travelling on the Pymble buses. Existing government guidelines for household contacts/positive cases remain in place.

Futures Team @ Pymble

Volunteering is great work experience

Mrs Kim Maksimovic

Director of Future and Partnerships

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 Term 4 Events 

Welcome to Week 2 of the final term of 2022. As always, Term 4 is a busy time at Pymble, with plenty on the horizon in our event calendar. From Christmas events and speech days, to awards nights and the Festival of Speech, we are well and truly in the swing of it leading up to the end of the year. To check out our full calendar of events, please click here.

‘Speaking of teens: Holding onto love’ : links for further information

We are grateful to have hosted Speaking of teens: Holding onto love last Wednesday evening, and for the time and effort of the panellists as well as the attendance of our parent community. For those that missed our forum event last Wednesday evening, we recorded the event to share with the community. This will be available until next Tuesday October 25.

Additionally, if you would like to learn more about our panellists, access discounts and links to their publications and see a summary of the content from the forum, the program can also be viewed here.

Feedback – We want to hear what you think about our technology assets

The Community Engagement team is always keen for an opportunity to hear feedback from our Pymble family. Last term’s focus groups gave us a real insight into our community’s needs. Similarly, in last week’s newsletter we offered the community the opportunity to participate in a short survey.

The knowledge we have accumulated from these initiatives has been invaluable for our team in planning events and tweaking communication pathways, thus we have planned further avenues for parent feedback.

In Week 4 this term, we are looking to hold another set of focus groups, this time directed at the technology processes we use to communicate with our community. If you would like to participate in this series of sessions, please contact communityengagement@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

Events recap and what’s to come

There has been much to celebrate in the first two weeks of Term 4. Last week, we celebrated the new 2023 Year 12s at the Year 12 Leadership Induction Ceremony with our new Prefects receiving their badges. This coming weekend, we welcome 27 igsa schools to our campus for the Festival of Speech, with Community Engagement providing event support to our Language and Arts department. It’s always an honour to showcase our beautiful grounds and our remarkable students in co-curricular activities, and this once-in-a-generation opportunity to hold the festival is shaping up to be a winner.

And tomorrow, we gather together as a full staff team, with the Pymble Parent Association (PPA) hosting the Annual Staff Appreciation Lunch. As we head into summer and the slew of exciting Christmas events to follow, we will savour the opportunity to enjoy a delicious lunch together with all the all the Pymble departments. We’ll see you there!

New Parent Leaders

A big thank you to everyone who took time out of their busy schedule to attend the Pymble Parent Association (PPA) meeting on Monday night. It was fantastic to see so many familiar faces – as well as new ones – in attendance.

The new parent leaders for 2023 were also announced on the night; I can’t wait to work with you and see the impact you have on the College over the coming year. Please click here to see the full list of new parent leaders.

Lastly, I would like to thank Brigid Robson for all her hard work and dedication in her position as PPA President over the last few years. Brigid is stepping down as President, however will still continue to play a vital role in the functioning and success of the PPA moving forward. Click here to read Brigid’s speech from Monday night.

Mrs Kelly Mancey

Director – Community Engagement & Advancement

Semester 2 Community Events Calendar

Pymble in Scone

You’re invited to attend a relaxed evening where you’ll meet our Chair of the Board, Mr James Hunter, our Principal, Dr Kate Hadwen, and our Director of Boarding, Mrs Carolyn Burgess, to connect with the Pymble community and celebrate our proud history.

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.  

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. 

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.

The Magazine

We are excited to share a digital copy of The Magazine 2021 with you. This is our yearly school magazine, compiled with the help of our students, providing an overview of the events, activities and achievements of our girls from Kindergarten to Year 12. 

Look out over in the coming weeks for the opportunity to order a hard copy version. Happy reading!

Illuminate

Pymble Ladies’ College publishes its research and innovation journal twice a year that features a diverse range of articles written by staff members and guest writers. You can read the latest edition of the College’s research publication, Illuminate: Research and Innovation, below or by clicking here.

Edition 7 includes many insightful pieces spanning across a wide range of topics, providing insight into current issues in Pymble’s classrooms and staff rooms.

Highlights from this edition include:

• Journeys of curriculum innovation in Geography education with articles from Ray Howells (focus on agriculture) and Liam Hume and Deb Owens (focus on interdisciplinary learning); all of whom are members of our Geography, Business and Economics team;
• Mapping a college-wide approach to internal teacher accreditation and reward by Kerryl Howarth, Director of Professional Learning;
• Starting a kindness revolution through research and student leadership by Kate Brown, Head of Junior School;
• Looking at local history through a First Nations perspective by Ryan Stewart, History and Aboriginal Studies teacher and PhD candidate;
• Other articles including research into HSC teaching strategies, research cultures in schools and teachers’ experience in global mentoring programs.