From the Principal

Wow, we are halfway through Term 4 and it’s beginning to look a lot like the frantic build-up to the end of the school year.

Plans are set for our College Christmas Celebration – the first one in three years, hooray! – and Speech Day dates and times have been finalised. If you’ve never been to one of our Christmas celebrations, we warmly invite you and your family to join us this year. All are welcome to come along, enjoy the Chapel service and sing our hearts out to carols on Gloucester Lawn. 

It is also Showcase season – another big hooray! Whether your daughter will be on stage or is interested in trying out for a co-curricular Drama or Dance team in the future, we look forward to seeing you at Stories in the Sand Dance Showcase and Centrestage Co-curricular Drama Showcase in the coming weeks. These events typically sell out, so I suggest you book ASAP.

Our Year 11 Visual Arts students are currently showcasing their creativity in our inaugural Pymble Archies exhibition. These original drawings will blow you away; they are so incredibly skilful and telling of the person behind the portrait. The artworks are on display in the foyer of the GMCPA and students, staff and families are encouraged to click on the following link to vote for their People’s Choice Award. Congratulations and good luck to all our Archies artists!

Speaking of Archies, last week we unveiled our newest food outlet, Archie’s Café, located opposite Mollie Dive Fields, near the Centenary Car Park. We’ve had lots of positive feedback from families who tried it out last weekend during Saturday sport and students – especially our Years 5 and 6 girls who have not had access to an onsite café until now. Archie’s Café has prompted many conversations about its namesake, so this week I thought it would be timely to share the story of our two school dogs.

A tale of two puppies

Archie and Turi are Australian Cobberdogs, selected intentionally for their nature and genetics. Cobberdogs are gentle, playful, easy to train and intuitive about the physical and emotional state of the humans around them. They also have low-shedding coats which make them suitable for anyone allergic to dog hair.

Archie, now 2 1/2 years old, arrived at the College in September 2020. Turi, who is 14 months, joined our family in November last year.

Turi’s mum is Archie’s half-sister, and both dogs came to us from Ridgy Didge Australian Cobberdogs in Queensland. The breeders carefully chose each dog for us based on their temperament, rather than gender or colour, knowing they would become working dogs in a K-12 girls’ school. It took us about nine months from placing each request to meeting our pups, as the breeder suggested we wait for specific litters.

Aside from being gentle, loving souls, Archie and Turi have distinct personalities as the following ‘conversation’ reveals. 😉

Q. Archie, it’s no secret you’re a compulsive hugger. Bit unusual for a dog, isn’t it?

Archie: I know, I just can’t help myself. When I see my favourite two-legged friends, suddenly my front paws are reaching towards their shoulders and I’m standing on my hind legs nuzzling in for that cuddle. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and, just quietly, I think the humans love it too.

Q. Yes, your hugs are very special but sometimes you choose awkward moments…
Archie: You’re talking about when Dr H is speaking at the pulpit in Chapel, aren’t you? My bad. I’ll try to stay seated in my pew next time – but, hey, no promises.

Q. Aside from going to Chapel on special occasions, how do you both spend your days?

Archie: I’m glad you asked because I take my job as a school dog very seriously. I spend Wednesdays and Fridays in the Junior School, visiting classrooms with Mrs Brown, going to Kindness Club in the Library and snuggling up to students who need a little extra TLC. I’m actually very good at that. On Mondays, I offer my unconditional love and support to whoever needs me in the Middle School. Quite often I’m invited to Compass Time with different groups. Assemblies, carnivals, fundraisers, enrolments events, staff days, musicals…you name it, I’m there. I even watched The Lion King in the GMCPA this year and met the cast and crew on Pride Rock after the show. I’m still fan-dogging over that. Another one of my favourite places to hang is our Boarding Houses – those Boarders sure know how to make a puppy feel loved.

Turi: I’m also delighted you asked because, in addition to sniffing out, ahem, culinary opportunities around the campus, I have a busy schedule of attending College events, sitting in on Mr Raymond’s Year 12 Software Design and Development class, visiting different departments and spending time with the girls at Vision Valley. I’m often in the Upper School and Senior School and my other favourite gigs are cheering on students before and after examinations and station duty in the morning, where I model great uniform with my hair tied up nicely.

Q. What do the girls love about seeing you in class and at their special events?

Archie: Aside from our humungous eyelashes, which they all comment on, I like to think we have a calming effect.

Turi: I don’t like to brag, but I have been told the girls just melt when they see us. They’re so adorable like that.

Q. And what do you do after school hours?

Archie: The funny thing is, after spending all day in an all-girls’ school, I go home each night to an all-boy household with Mrs Sengupta. Mrs S (or Mumma, as I think of her) is married to Arun and they have three boys, Charlie, Billy and Xavier. Even Alfie their miniature schnauzer is male. Alfie likes to hop up on Mumma’s lap when she’s sitting down so, naturally, I follow my fur-brother’s lead. I’m like a living throw rug.

Turi: My human family is Mr Raymond, his wife Margie and their two-leggeds, Maddie and Ollie. They also have two border collies, Haile and Mo, who keep eyeballing me like they want to round me up or something. What do they think I am, a sheep?

Q. How did you both get your names?

Turi: Mr Raymond (aka Daddy) is a super-fit human who runs almost as fast as me and Archie chasing each other up and down Dr H’s corridor. He’s also just a little bit obsessed with marathon runners, so all the four leggeds in his household are named after one. It is a great honour for me to be named after the amazingly courageous ultra-marathon runner, Turia Pitt.

Archie: I’m super-chuffed that I was named by the students. Each girl had the chance to nominate a name, then we shortlisted the most popular and asked the girls to vote again. Funny to think I could have been called Popsicle, Princess Leah or Marshmallow but for democracy.

Q. Archie, how did you feel when Turi came along as our second school dog?  

Archie: Turi who? LOL, just kidding. Honestly, the more the merrier for me – and we are biologically related, after all. Last week, we were both at Links Day welcoming our incoming K to 7 students. It was a big day, and we were both exhausted from being patted by many little hands but, somehow, we found the energy to do zoomies around Gloucester Lawn. I don’t know what was so funny but everyone just stopped what they were doing to watch and laugh.

Anyway, it’s not like Turi has a café named after her or anything…

Q. So Turi, no café yet, but I hear you have a great affinity with food?

Turi: You must be referring to the ‘incident’ with the painter’s hamburger, right? It’s okay, Mrs Alexander bought him another one. Sure, Mr Raymond and the Curriculum office have dubbed me Miss Bin Chicken for my obsession with leftovers, but I’ll have you know I am also working towards my Canine Good Citizen Award so that I am well behaved both at home and out in public. Note the emphasis on working towards.

Archie: Ha ha, I already have mine. Having been to puppy training since my first week on campus and having achieved my Canine Good Citizen Award, I am one highly-trained pup with all the requisite social and obedience skills. Turi will get there too. She might just have to put in some hard yards to achieve Exercise 6 of the 14 exercises to master, which is to leave a food distraction on request. Good luck with that one, Turi!

Well, hopefully you’ve enjoyed a bit of a giggle from this insight into our beautiful school dogs. Archie and Turi certainly bring a great deal of joy into our lives, and we love them dearly as very special members of our wonderfully diverse and unique Pymble family.

Dr Kate Hadwen

Principal

From our Chaplains

We hope you had fun on Halloween on Monday. In a world where there are many stories of pain and suffering, it is important to enjoy the little things, so I hope you and/or your children enjoyed dressing up and trick or treating.

On a more serious note, this Tuesday in the Christian calendar marked All Saints Day and Wednesday was All Souls Day. These two dates in the Christian tradition are about recognising those saints who have gone before us, which in the modern church are moving beyond the Christian tradition, acknowledging those greats who have changed the world and our experience of it. People like Aristotle, Mahatma Ghandi, Mother Theresa and then mixed into this our own grandparents and other loved ones – those saints we’ve known, who have in themselves made the presence and light of God known to us.

In the Uniting Church, we are reminded on All Saints Day to celebrate our living saints, that is, those people in our lives now, who make the love, presence and light of God known to us.

My prayer is that we may live with the awareness that those we love – our partners, children, family and friends – make the Holy One known and experienced by us. Reminding us of how grateful we are and should be about the blessing they are to us – and be challenged and encouraged to be a blessing to them.

Blessings in Christ.

Reverend Lorenzo Rodriguez Torres
College Chaplain

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

Year 12 2023 – HSC Assessment Booklet

Students reviewed the HSC Assessment Booklet this week in their Compass groups. This booklet contains:

• Assessment grids for each subject listing assessment tasks and weightings
• NESA malpractice rules and procedures
• NESA illness/misadventure rules and procedures
• A tracking system for student results and ranks for each task

Students can also access this document on the Senior School Canvas course and parents can access it by clicking the link above and on MyPymble in the curriculum section.

We are coming up to a busy time for assessments, so students are encouraged to use the time management and planning skills practiced in Directions this term and reach out to their Compass and heed the advice of their subject teachers.

The Motivational Mapping workshop this week was also a timely activity as it enabled students to set meaningful targets for their future motivation levels, have a realistic action plan and so maximise their motivation.

Motivational Maps are an accurate self-perception inventory based on three clusters of motivation: motivation through your relationships, motivation through your own achievements, and motivation through your individual growth. Motivation is directly correlated to productivity. Students receive a detailed report about their top three motivators which helps them to understand how core motivators contribute towards achieving their full potential.

The Senior School Leadership Team have been working with the Futures Department to introduce Motivational Maps into our program for 2023. Their aim is to help students identify their own motivators and recommended strategies for discovering their sense of purpose, improve goal setting techniques and address issues such as procrastination.’

Below are the nine motivations of work:

Our Year 12 leaders completed their Motivation Maps at the Leadership Retreat at the beginning of Term 4 and shared their learning with their peers in our Compass X lesson last week. The students were able to reflect upon their insights and hopes of how the results will help them in their leadership endeavours and personal study patterns. During Year Assembly this week, Kathryn Taylor from Turning Point Consultancy worked with the whole year group to unpack their Motivation Maps and provided strategy for applying for opportunities such as scholarships and casual work. 

Parents of Year 12, I recommend you ask your student about their report and what they have learnt about themselves and how these motivators may impact the choices they make in terms of study and work. More opportunities are planned for students in the coming weeks during Directions to explore their report and create action plans.

Year 12 2022 – Congratulations!

HSC examinations finish on Friday!!A huge congratulations to all our fabulous students. Below are some very happy student and staff faces on the day of their final Visual Arts exam.

It has been such a long journey and I am sure that all their hard work will pay off when the HSC results and ATARs are released on Thursday 15 December.

We look forward to celebrating their successes at the morning tea on Friday 16 December.

Mrs Natasha Stanfield

Director of Student Learning (Years 11-12)

UPDATED: COVID-19 Response Plans and Advice

You may be aware that COVID-19 self-isolation rules in NSW have changed.

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

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams

Each week, we encourage ourselves to think of ways we can make a difference in our world. This could be as simple as helping at home, making friends with someone beyond our friendship group, being more sustainable or advocating for change on a cause that matters to us. I am thrilled to share that our Student Representative Council (SRC) girls have been recognised for their advocacy with a NSW Social Justice award which will be presented to them by Mrs Sally Rushton, Head of Junior School at Abbotsleigh, in an assembly in the coming weeks. The SRC girls have been nominated for their initiative in designing and making bird feeders for our native birds as they were worried about the lack of food for the birds following the rain and floods.

World Teacher Award

This week we are delighted to celebrate Mrs Kate Giles who was recognised with a World’ Teacher’s award through the Teachers’ Guild NSW. Kate was celebrated for her passion for student wellbeing, community and for the way she goes above and beyond to know each girl and celebrate and grow their strengths. This is a well-deserved award in recognition of Kate’s care, expertise and commitment as an education leader.

Congratulations to our new Junior School leaders for 2023!

The last few weeks have been a busy time for Year 5 as they have gone through the process of voting for our Junior School leaders for Year 6, 2023. Mrs Nerissa Davey, Deputy Head Junior School Operations, Mrs Clair O’Connor, Year 5 Co-ordinator, Year 5 team and I have worked with the girls to support them through the process. I am now thrilled to announce these leaders for 2023:

Kindness – Eden Ni, Melanie Xu, Amna Syed, Jessamy Facer

SRC – Chelsea Duan, Isabel Fan, Dionne Jacobs, Amelia Blaiklock

Chapel – Cadence Wong, Wendy Wei, Lana Tao, Gabrielle Guo

ICT – Daisy Scarbrough, Duola Lin, Amelia Hanstrum, Betty Han

Sustainability – Charlotte Pang, Georgia Friedel, Richielynne Xiong, Oriana Fenton

STEM – Phoebe Scott, Anika Verma, Olivia Chan, Sophia Wong

Hammond – Aaliyah Khanche, Diyana Palihawadana, Ava Welton, Arianna Li

Inglehome – Bella Xu, Chloe Deng, Lily Dao, Elsa Yu

Bennett – Ellie Lau, Amber Chen, Edith Cullinane, Arabella Hoang

Lang – Ava Jamieson, Estelle Macolino, Eloise Gavagna, Cienna Heald

Wylie – Grace Neal, Avika Kapoor, Xanthe Munro, Amelia Hardas

Goodlet – Zeta James-Taylor, Adelle Cassidy, Jennifer Xu, Charlotte Sadler

Thomas – Sophia Guo, Madison Aikman, Fiona Wu, Lillie Oldfield

Marden – Chloë Lenane, Athena Wu, Carla Eibach, Charlie Slater

Being a Mathematician in the Junior School

Congratulations to our Year 6 Maths Olympiad students who received recognition in the competition for their achievement in coming in the top ten per cent of participants. Over 100,000 students participate in Maths Olympiad, so this is a wonderful achievement for our girls.  We are also very proud of Mrs Joanne Meacock, Year 6 teacher, who was recognised for her passion and dedication in teaching girls Mathematics during the Maths Olympiad competition.

How do mathematicians think, behave, reason, analyse and find solutions? Groups of Year 5 and 6 students have been focusing on developing their own mathematical thinking and behaviours when working on various mathematical problems through the MathsCraft Curriculum developed by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS). Our girls are learning how to approach different mathematical problems, find patterns as well as use different pathways to find solutions.

Each Friday 5W Mathematics students have been actively engaging in problems from the MathsCraft Curriculum. The girls have had to rethink their approach to questions and explore Mathematics through different lenses to build logical arguments and delve deeper with their understanding. Through clearly documenting their thinking they have been able to backtrack and revaluate where they may have gone wrong and use reasoning to support their answers.

Written by Ms Lyn Wynne – Year 5 Compass Teacher

“It’s helped me think of different ways to work out problems” – Annabel M

“It exposes us to having to justify our answers and include our methods” – Yuan Hui

“It teaches us to always show our working so that it’s easier to come back and see where we went wrong” – Grace J

MathsCraft requires a combination of different skills in fun but challenging activities. Year 6 have completed three of these activities so far and they all made us think even harder and smarter. The first one we completed, ‘Magic Matrix’, involved us making our very own magic square in which all rows and columns had to add up to 2022. This shook many of our brains because it was very tough to find the right mix of numbers so that they’d add up vertically, horizontally and diagonally but eventually we all figured it out!

The next MathsCraft task we attempted was named ‘Got One’, a challenge that involved making a grid of numbers using only whole numbers, addition and multiplication. When we achieved one of the many numbers on the grid we’d yell out “got one!” and the first person to complete the entire grid was victorious although we’re not sure if anyone even completed this activity as it was so hard!

This week we did an activity called ‘Lazy Mrs Jones’ where we chose three different numbers and made the largest and smallest numerals using them, then subtracted the smallest from the largest to get our new number and we kept repeating the process. Eventually we all realised we achieved the same result 495 despite trying with different combinations of numbers to all our peers. We then wrote our findings in a reflection to explain how we believe we all got the same result of 495 and we came up with some interesting ideas and solutions.

We have enjoyed taking on the challenges. Year 6’s MathsCraft journey made us think outside the box and expand our mathematical thinking and understanding in many different ways.

Written by Mrs Joanne Meacock – Year 6 Compass Teacher

‘ I’ve really enjoyed how much MathsCraft has expanded my learning and helped me think in different ways’ – Eliza Macpherson

‘ I hope we do more MathsCraft activities in High School so I can continue to experience these challenges’ – Valerie Zhao

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Emma Feng (Year 3) who has been awarded Highly Commended in this year’s Pens Against Poverty competition. Emma wrote a poem ‘From Rich to Poor’ for this year’s theme Finding a Home. The judges commented that Emma’s poem comprised ‘stark contrasts portrayed evocatively’.  Emma has been invited to Government House, Canberra to receive this prestigious award.

Huge congratulations to Anna Yuling Wang Year 4, for winning the individual all-round gold medal in 2022 State Gymnastics Championships representing Pymble.

LINKS Day – Mrs Lara Bird, Deputy Head of Junior School Academics

“Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end.” – Robin Sharman

Friday was a wonderful day in which our girls showed their courage and sense of adventure as they stepped into their new grades for 2023. There were certainly some nerves, but our girls all showed their strength of character as they leaned into the experience and explored new opportunities with an open mind.  It was also wonderful to meet our new Pymble girls who will be joining the Junior School family next year.

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

A big thank you to all the students and families who continue to help us on our mission for Walk for a Kinder World. The Junior School completed 16,639km for kindness last week. Congratulations to all the girls in Goodlet, as you won House Spirit last week with your contribution of kilometres. Well done Year 4, you were the grade that again completed the greatest number of kilometres over the course of the week.

A reminder – if you would like to add photos of your family completing kilometres for kindness please do so on our Junior School padlets- Kindergarten to Year 3 here and Years 4 to 6 here.

There is also a fundraising page which can be found by clicking here.  With the generous donations already received from our families we are able to support kindness programs being introduced into disadvantaged schools across NSW so we’re making a positive difference in the lives of those children and school communities – thank you.

Swimming Carnival – Travel for girls in Kindergarten to Year 4

As per the portal notice, girls in Kindergarten to Year 4 will be dismissed at Mollie Dive Field. Please click here to indicate your daughter’s plans for the afternoon.

Celebrations of Learning – Kindergarten to Year 2

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

Booklists 2023 – Kindergarten to Year 6

As per the Portal notice, your daughter’s 2023 booklist is now available to order through Campion. Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 students will have their stationery kits delivered to the College during the holiday period ready for their first day of school. Years 3 to 6 will have their orders delivered to their home. 

To gain direct access to Pymble’s textbook lists click here. You will need to select the booklist for the grade your daughter is in next year (2023) and type in code 2677.   

Please order before Friday 18 November to ensure delivery before Term 1 2023 commences. Please contact Campion on 02 8905 8691 or via email at campionsydney@campion.com.au for any order enquiries.

Junior School Digital News – Term 4 Week 3

Our Week in Learning Photos

From Out of School Hours Care (OSHC)

Bookings are now open for the school holiday programs in December and January. All bookings can be made through KidSoft.

• December holiday program schedule

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

From the Junior School Parent Group (JSPG)

Swimming Carnival

Please join us in participating in our Swimming Carnival Stall on 17^th November by clicking here.

The program of events is:

7.30am to 10.30am           Championship Events

10.45am to 12.45pm         Kindergarten to Year 4 (followed by lunch on Mollie Dive)

11.00am to 11.15am         Diving Showcase

Noon to 12.45pm              Year 5 and Year 6 lunch on Mollie Dive

12.45pm to 2.30pm           Year 5 and Year 6

Please check your daughter’s schedule when you sign up to ensure you can still see her racing.

Year Events

Please see the invitations attached for Kindergarten and Year 4 end of year events. For any queries, please contact us at pymblelcjspg@gmail.com

Elizabeth Toh, Aimee Birch, Stephanie Pickford and Kai Jones

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 

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

1 December.               Years 4 to 6 Speech Day rehersals

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

This week we welcome back Ms Carr, one of our beautiful Year 8 Heads of Year. It is great to have the whole Middle School team back on deck as we speed toward the end of term. Last Friday, we celebrated Links Day for our incoming Year 7 2023 students and what a great day it was. Thank you to our Deputy Head of Middle School Mrs Budd for all of her organisation and energy.

This week, our Year 8 girls were treated to a weaving workshop facilitated by the TAS Department. This was a fun way of learning a new skill and connecting with others. A reminder to our Year 7 families that the End of Year Christmas Service invitation has now been shared. We would love to see as many of you as possible at this special event. Please RSVP by Tuesday 8 November.

Year 7

Monday Compass X time has been busy with ongoing service projects. As the program draws to an end we would like to showcase the creativity of Wylie B who have been working with their wonderful Compass teacher, Ms Harris, to make bowls and cards for the elderly residents of Uniting Northaven at Turramurra. The students’ works are beautiful and are above all, made with love.

In Directions this week classes are learning about the fourth digital wellbeing topic, that of digital security which is of course highly relevant in Australia at the moment. Managing passwords, identifying fake emails, phishing and keeping their identity safe while using the internet will be the focus in their class. They should be able to share some of their knowledge with family members and increase awareness about data security, in particular, how to mitigate risk in the online environment.

Year 8

Well done to all our Year 8 students who have submitted a leadership application. With applications having closed on Monday, we are now in the process of organising interviews which will start in Week 5. On the topic of leadership, it has been heartening to see the response to a request emailed to Year 8 for volunteers to act as New Student Buddies for our 16 incoming students in 2023. Within the space of about 15 minutes, we had received 35 offers to assist. And this with the knowledge that volunteers would be required to attend Orientation Day, the day before their first day next year. Thank you to all our beautiful volunteers who will be helping welcome our newest Pymble girls next year.

This week in Directions Year 8 have been setting up their Passport Portfolium by using the STAR model to write a meaningful reflection on an experience this year. The STAR framework involves describing a situation, identifying our roles and responsibilities in the situation, describing the list of steps taken, and recognising the subsequent results or outcomes. Whilst used here in the context of a reflection, the STAR model is a commonly-used interview response technique that allows individuals to prepare clear and concise responses using real-life examples.

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

Mrs Jenny O’Donnell

Head of Middle School

From the Upper School

A Message from Mr Riley, Head of Upper School

It has been lovely to see the Upper School once again bathed in sunshine, albeit with a few gusty winds to contend with later in the week! On Campus it has been a little quieter than usual with our cherished Year 10s largely studying at home when not sitting their examinations.

For Year 9 we are gearing up for their upcoming Outdoor Education Experience in Week 6 and have enjoyed hearing news from our Pioneers currently living out at Vision Valley. I popped out on the weekend and was very impressed with their babysitting skills, as Hugo was passed from student to student!

Some of our Year 9 superstars have been excelling in High School Musical over at Knox and I am reliably informed by our Admin Team, who have been collating autographs throughout the week, that it was our students who really stole the show.

Finally, I’d like to congratulate all of the Upper School students who were involved in the Festival of Speech held at Pymble for the first time in 27 years. As I mentioned in Chapel last week, learning how to speak publicly, engaging in respectful and intelligent conflict, and mastering the confidence it requires to address an audience are such important skills for life in the 21^st Century. As I am sure many parents can attest, there will be birthday and wedding speeches to come, an increasing volume of difficult adult conversations to be had, and important interviews to wow at. It is our hope that our girls who led the way at the Festival of Speech can impart their wisdom and know-how over the coming months to help each and every Upper School girl improve their confidence and public speaking ability.

A message from Mrs Hunt, Deputy Head of Upper School

Upper School Disco

The Upper School Leaders are delighted to present the Upper School Disco. We look forward to seeing Year 9 and 10 dress up as their favourite Movie Character and enjoy a fun night with their friends.

Year 10 Examinations

Congratulations to Year 10 who have nearly completed their examinations. The week ran smoothly; the girls arrived punctually, followed instructions and kept things in perspective.

Year 9 Residential Program

It was wonderful to visit the Year 9 residential students at Vision Valley this week. Students were enjoying various activities during lunch time and then settled down to focus on their Mathematics lesson.

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

Welcome to Week 4. Last Friday, our new cohort of Peer Support Leaders for 2023 began their leadership with running icebreaker activities with the incoming Year 7 students. Our Year 9 Peer Support Leaders were outstanding and made all the new students feel welcome. The formal Peer Support training takes place on 22 November; thanks to Emily Rothery and Samara Bond for their reflection:  

As a part of the peer support program at Pymble, we are given the opportunity to connect with girls in the Junior School and guide them through their transition into high school. Last week, we met up with Year 10 girls, who were Year 7 2022’s peer support leaders, to learn a few skills and games that we could use when meeting the new Year 7s. It was great to gather some advice (like bringing lollies to get them involved!) and get some ideas, so that we had a good plan for the following Friday. We were able to meet the incoming Year 7 2023 girls at Links Day and introduced ourselves (over lots of lollies!).

Throughout the day, we played games like bang, throw and catch, skipping and a little bit of arguing about which Taylor Swift song to play next! One game the girls really enjoyed was the fun fact game. We passed around a roll of toilet paper and asked them to take as many squares as they wanted. We then asked them to count their squares and that ended up being the number of facts you had to share with the group. It was funny to see the panic of some girls who took ten squares!

It was great to get to know them a little bit better, and answer the many questions they had about classes, getting around the school, and the College in general. We enjoyed a barbecue lunch with the girls on Gloucester Lawn and wished them the best of luck for their new Pymble journey. We can’t wait to spend more time with the girls next year in Peer Support sessions and help ease their transition from their previous schools or from the Junior School into the Middle School.

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

Welcome to Week 4, examination week for Year 10 with a range of subject assessments occurring. For many students, this can be a nerve-racking time as the formality of learning takes place. We have been impressed with the way the cohort have embraced the challenge and have demonstrated commitment and maturity in the way they have approached their studies. In Week 6 as results are progressively released, we encourage the group to adopt this same approach and to work on building resilience particularly if results do not go the way they would have hoped. By reflecting on their learning journey and seeking feedback from their teachers they can build further foundation academic skills that may be useful for years to come.

After the examination period we hope Year 10 enjoy a moment of self-care and reflection ready for a busy term ahead with the Future You Festival (Week 7), Urban Challenge (Friday Week 7), Upper School Final Assembly, Jacaranda Day (Week 6). Upper School Disco (Week 5) and Speech Days (week 8). We are looking forward to spending time with Year 10 in their final weeks here at Upper School.

ASX Sharemarket Game – Economics in Action

Within their investment topic, Year 10 Commerce students were able to engage with a national investment competition to put their skills and knowledge into action. On an exciting note, two of our Year 10 Commerce students, Christy Ju and Celine Cao, emerged successful from the annual ASX Sharemarket Game.

Within this competition, schools and teams from around the country enter an online simulation of the Australian sharemarket with $50,000 AUD to purchase and trade stocks on the S&P/ASX200 market. Christy and Celine beat out all the other teams to claim first prize in this prestigious competition.

Congratulations girls on this incredible achievement!

Save the Date: Shaping Your Future

Key Dates

Term 4

Friday 4 November                                            Year 10 Yearly Examinations completed

Friday 11 November                                           Upper School End of Year Celebration Disco

Monday 14 November                                        Year 10 All Well Testing

Monday 14 to Thursday 17 November               Year 9 Outdoor Education Program

Tuesday 15 November                                       Jacaranda Day

Friday 18 November                                           The Great Return – Year 9 Residential Program

Monday 21 to Friday 25 November                    Year 10 Future You Festival 

Friday 2 December                                             Speech Day and Final Day of Term 4

Mr Tom Riley

Head of Upper School

From the Senior School

From the Head of Senior School

From the Boarding School

From our Head of Boarding

It was a real treat to welcome our ‘Baby Boarders’ to Pymble last week – Year 7 2023. They are a fabulous bunch joining us from all corners of New South Wales and they had a great time here on campus very much due to our incredible Boarding staff and our Boarder ‘Big Sisters”. We loved meeting them all and can’t wait to welcome them into the family in January. 

On Tuesday night, we met more of our new Boarders in an online meeting with the Year 8, 9, 10 and 11 cohort who will be joining us next year. These girls will be here for a sleepover on 11 November and last night was a chance for them to see some of the faces so it’s not quite so strange when they turn up next week. As always, our Boarders did us proud sharing their top tips and a little bit about themselves.

Here we come Lang!

Last year, we started the tradition of the ‘room draw’ in which the room allocation for Lang House is decided. It really is a very special occasion as each girl has the opportunity to select her room for her final year at the College. The girls who have been here the longest get first pick and there is Mrs White’s ‘wheel of destiny’ when there is more than one girl on the arrival date. While it is lots of fun, what I really love is the genuine excitement the girls have for each other, the concern they all have to ensure everyone gets their ‘pick’ and the joy when it all comes together. It really is the Boarder spirit shining through.

Congratulations to our 2023 Spirit House Captains

Last night in Chapel we formally announced our Spirit House Captains for 2023. While the Day School has membership to eight houses, our Boarders are members of one of four of these houses, known as spirit houses – Goodlet, Marden, Hammond and Lang. There are two Spirit House Captains for each Spirit House and these girls are charged with engaging the entire Boarding community in the various events and activities that take place throughout the year in addition to promoting and fostering school spirit and the College values – Care, Courage, Integrity, Respect and Responsibility. I am delighted with our team for 2023 and cannot wait to see what these young women will bring to our Boarding family.

Congratulations to the following Spirit House Captains:

Goodlet: Skye Pockley and Holly Craig

Hammond: Andie Hodder and Rori Lemon

Lang: Victoria Burton and Charlotte Leung

Marden: Erica Williams and Giaan Jackson

Love It – Mrs White

It was another busy week in our Love It program with Friday evening an opportunity for our Goodlet girls to head over to Newington for a Halloween event. The Boarders from both schools enjoyed the opportunity to further develop their friendships after the dinner last term.

Saturday afternoon was spectacular weather and the girls from Goodlet enjoyed a trip to the beach to cool off, while on Saturday night, a bus full of Marden girls headed out to one of the best games of basketball of the year. In the final second of the game, the Sydney Kings sunk a basket to win by 1 point. Sunday afternoon was a chance for the Boarders to celebrate Halloween with our friends from Knox. The Spirit House Captains and Prefects ran a wonderful Trick for Treat event that culminated with a barbecue dinner and cricket on Lang Lawn. 

Wow – how do we beat that weekend?

This week, our Year 12 (2023) prepare to farewell Goodlet. The room draw occurred on Monday night, followed by a special dinner with the Goodlet House staff on Wednesday night. Sunday afternoon will mark the beginning of the Year 12s moving in and they will enjoy a proper housewarming on Sunday evening.

On Friday evening, we will be welcoming the year 9s from Riverview for a games and pizza night in the gym, while our Goodlet girls enjoy a twilight beach picnic. Saturday, we will be heading to South Curl Curl for a beach day and Kate will be taking a group to the Glebe Markets. Sunday will be a chance to head to Newtown to check out the thrifting opportunities and trendy shops along the way.  

View from my Window – Ashleigh Henderson

My name is Ashleigh Henderson, and I am a Year 10 student and I have started boarding at Pymble this year. I live on a bit of land a little out of Dubbo in central west NSW, approximately six hours from Sydney, with my parents Janet and Phill, younger brother James and sister Mikayla. The thing I love most about Dubbo is the community and how everyone is always there to support each other. I also love sunsets and golden hour back home.

On our property we have two dogs – Mud (a Kelpie) and Winnie (a Border Collie) – and five chickens. While attending Boarding School I have only been able to hear about the weather catastrophes back home. Lately there’s been too much water in my dog’s kennels for them to go in, and despite being on a hill, we were ankle deep in water. Everything is extremely green when I go back in the holidays – it’s a bit weird compared to the dry grass I’m normally used to.

Last holidays, I was lucky enough to go on Drama tour and travelled around London, Stratford and Paris. I had the best time and learnt so much about the monarchy and did my fair share of touristing. Seeing the crown jewels, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Shakespeare’s house, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower were real highlights.

When I’m at home, I love seeing friends, going to dance and swimming in my pool. Out my window, I see our garden and behind the fence I can see our orchard with the orange trees popping through and the flowers bright pink, yellow and white showing their colours in the warmer months.

I love boarding here at Pymble and I’m proud to be a Boarder and enjoy all the new experiences and opportunities that come my way.

Boarder of the Week

Congratulations to Emma Toynton, our Year 12 superstar Boarder of the Week. Emma joined us from Rocky Glen, near Coonabarabran, in Year 9 and has been a dynamic presence ever since. Despite a sometimes tough exterior, Emma has a heart of gold and a knack of cutting through, making people feel heard, cared for and appreciated.

She also demonstrates incredible resilience and courage. This came to the fore when after a gruelling week of hospitality work placement, Emma headed out to the Beef Bonanza and was a huge asset to the Cattle Club team. Not only did Emma manage all her parading commitments but she also made sure everyone was well fed, cooking up our Pymble eggs to make a breakfast feast. We feel very lucky to have Emma in our Boarding family.

Mrs Carolyn Burgess

Director of Boarding

Co-curricular Administration

2022 Co-curricular Programs

All Co-curricular programs have now begun for Term 4 and confirmations were sent out 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.  

The cut-off date for Co-curricular Registration Requests was Monday 8.00am of Week 3, Term 4 (Monday 24 October). As this date has now passed, the following conditions now apply to registration requests received after this date: 

• Late registration requests/transfers will no longer be accepted for most Term 4, Semester 2, and intakes for Yearly programs.  
• Withdrawal requests from termly programs will have the full program fee added to College accounts 
• Withdrawal requests from semester/yearly programs will be charged up to the end of Term 4, except for Dance, where the full year fee remains for all withdrawals.  
• Compulsory/non-refundable fees may be applicable.  

Any registration requests received prior to the cut-off are currently being processed and you should receive an outcome via email by the end of this week. We have received a large volume of emails, calls and registration requests at this time so we appreciate your patience as we get back to you.  

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

Registrations for Term 1 2023 Saturday Sports closed on Friday 28 October at 12.00pm. To request registration into an available Saturday Sport for Term 1, you will need to complete a registration request by clicking here. Requests will be sent to the Co-ordinator for approval, and you will receive an email of the outcome.

Co-curricular Communications 

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

Mrs Susan Lindsay

Acting Head of Co-curricular Administration

Sports

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.

Mrs Katie Edwards

Head of Sport – Year 7 to 12

Artistic Gymnastics

igsa Artistic Gymnastics Carnival, Friday 28 October 2022 – PLC Sydney

Twenty-two gymnasts headed out to PLC Sydney for the igsa Gymnastics Carnival, where Pymble gymnasts competed against other schools at level 3 to 10. What a great day of fun and excitement!  All the gymnasts did an amazing job of their routines and came away with some outstanding results.

Level 3

Méa Shires (Year 8) – 1st Bars, 9th Vault

Mei Mei Jiang (Year 8) – 2nd Beam, 4th Floor

Level 4

Lucy Robertson (Year 11) – 1st Floor, 2nd Bars, 3rd Beam, 4th Vault

Level 5

Isabelle Burke (Year 7) – 5th Vault

Sasha Clark (Year 8) – 1st Vault, 1st Bars, 13th Floor

Zarah Hres (Year 8) -11th Floor

Talia Luo (Year 9)- 6th Bars, 9th Beams

Stella Paterson (Year 7) – 13th Beam

Madison Yip (Year 10) – 2nd Floor, 5th Bars, 7th Beam, 8th Vault

Level 6

Emma Baikie (Year 8) – 5th Vault

Vivienne Eaton (Year 8) – 3rd Floor, 4th Bars

Mahika Swamy (Year 8) – 1st Beam

Level 7

Riley Atkinson (Year 7) – 2nd Bars, 3rd Floor, 3rd Vault, 5th Beam

Lucy Clark (Year 11) – 20th Beam

Siobhan Hsu (Year 8) – 10th Floor, 13th Bars

Zoe Kosinar (Year 9) – 10th Vault

Olivia Kowal (Year 11) – 1st Bars, 14th Floor, 15th Beam

Piya Parimu Kapur (Year 10) – 1st Vault, 2nd Beam, 6th Floor, 11th Bars

Level 8

Maya Atkinson (Year 9) – 2nd Bars

Ilaria Crowley (Year 9) – 2nd Vault, 3rd Floor, 4th Beam

Level 10

Stella Robertson (Year 10) – 4th Vault, Bars, Beam, Floor

Overall Score – 2nd Place

Level 3 and 4 Regional State Championships, Friday 28 to Sunday 30 October 2022 – Sydney Gymnastics Centre

Six gymnasts were selected to represent the Northern Region of Sydney at the Level 3 and 4 State Championships. These were:

Anna Wang (Year 4) Level 4

Michelle Shi (Year 5) Level 4

Autumn Wang (Year 5) Level 4

Blair Tang (Year 5) Level 4

Miranda Wu (Year 5) Level 4

Olivia Wang (Year 4) Level 3

The Northern region placed 3rd overall in the State of New South Wales.

Mrs Kate Irvine
Sports Co-ordinator – Artistic Gymnastics

Athletics

Last Wednesday 26 October, our Pymble Athletics students competed at the New South Wales (NSW) Schools Challenge which took place at Olympic Park.

It was such a great competitive night of Athletics, with Pymble entering a total of five teams which included one Senior team, two Intermediate teams and two Junior teams.

Having not seen this competition since 2019 due to Covid-19, all schools across the State came to the track in full force.

All our athletes performed extremely well, and it was nothing short of world class. Athletics NSW have written an impressive article on our Pymble performances at the NSW Teams Challenge, which can be found through the link. Please click here to read it.

A big congratulations to our Senior team for winning the overall Senior division and walking away with the championship trophy! 

Our Intermediate division teams also has an impressive performance with our A team taking home the overall division champion trophy, and our B team finishing closely behind to take out 2nd place overall.

These teams are now automatically selection into the National School Challenge which will take place in Adelaide in December later in the year.

Thank you to all the parents and staff who came out to support.  We wish all our athletes the very best in the lead up to Nationals. 

Mrs Laura Verlinden

Sports Co-ordinator – Cross Country

Cricket

On Saturday, our Pymble 1 team came up against Briars Maroon under 17s at Russell Park in Drummoyne. A noticeable improvement was seen this round from all cricketers. Notable mentions to Phoebe Cooper (Year 9), Amber Wang (Year 8), Dezi Magann-Jones (Year 9) and Charlotte Carruthers (Year 8) who were able to put some runs on the board for the Pymble team. With the ball in hand Charlotte Carruthers and Phoebe Cooper took wickets on the day. Unfortunately, our total runs for the day weren’t enough and the opposition were able to chase Pymble down with 5 wickets in hand.

Pymble 2 were back at Blackman Park against Lane Cove Cricket Girls Under 13s. Our cricketers were strong with the bat with Sophie Webster (Year 7), Anjali Shah (Year 7), Abani Dhaliwal (Year 7), Brielle McDonald (Year 7), Laranya Nanthakumaran (Year 7) and Charlotte Henderson (Year 7) all contributing to the runs tally. Wicket takers for the day were Sophie Webster (Year 7), Brielle McDonald (Year 7) and Charlotte Henderson (Year 7). Unfortunately, this was not enough on the day and the opposition chased down our score to get the victory.

Despite the losses our teams are making noticeable improvements and regardless of the result are always smiling and having fun!

Jack Garrad

Sports Co-ordinator – Cricket

Cross Country

On Saturday 29 October, five Pymble students competed at the New South Wales (NSW) State 3 Kilometre Championships at ES Marks Field. There were twenty-five 3000 metre races throughout the afternoon and evening. The results were:

Sarah Baker (Year 10) with a time of 10.07.18 (National qualifier)

Sophia Slater (Year 9) with a time of 10.10.89 (National qualifier and personal best)

Georgia Phillips (Year 10) with a time of 10.46.18 (Season’s best)

Grace Beck (Year 8) with a time of 10.54.74

Tessa Newitt (Year 9) with a time of 11.02.36

Well done to all students for giving it their best.

Mrs Laura Verlinden

Sports Co-ordinator – Cross Country

Junior School Sports

IPSHA Gymnastics Competition, Thursday 27 October 2022 – Sydney Gymnastics and Aquatic Centre

On Thursday we attended the IPSHA Gymnastics Carnival where 33 gymnasts took part in levels 1 to 7 at Sydney Gymnastics Centre.  This was the first time in two years we have been able to attend due to Covid-10. What a great day of fun and excitement! Congratulations to all students who competed, your performances were excellent!

Special thank you to our head coaches, Alison Gestier (Artistic Gymnastics) and Jo Watson (Rhythmic Gymnastics) for all your hard work in the lead up and preparing the gymnasts for competition day. Please see the outstanding results below 

Artistic Gymnastics – Division 1 

Level 1:

Freya Holland (Year 2), Ellie Rose Ruiz del Portal Greene (Year 2), Rayna Wang (Year 2)

Level 2: 3rd Place 

Evelyn Shi (Year 4), Scarlett Qiu (Year 5), Clarice Chung (Year 3), Aurora Lin (Year 3), Jasmin Smith (Year 2) and Olivia Birch (Year 2) 

Level 3: 6th Place 

Olivia Wang (Year 4), Sophia Khanche (Year 2), Elise Maker (Year 3), Karen Liu (Year 4), Sana Iyer (Year 3), Isabell Niu (Year 4)  

Level 4: 3rd Place 

Hayley Nguyen (Year 4), Olivia Dinnie (Year 4), Charlotte Elliott (Year 3), Michelle Shi (Year 5), Alice Liu (Year 4), Nouvelle Nicholson (Year 3) 

Level 5 Vault 

1st Stella Pieterse (Year 5) 

3rd Amelie Rahme (Year 4) 

4th Anna Wang (Year 4) 

5th Crystal Gui (Year 4) 

Equal 10th Blair Tang (Year 5) 

13th Miranda Wu (Year 5) 

Equal 14th Autumn Wang (Year 5) 

Level 5 Bars 

9th Amelie Rahme (Year 4) 

10th Stella Pieterse (Year 5) 

11th Miranda Wu (Year 5) 

12th Crystal Gu (Year 5) 

13th Blair Tang (Year 5) 

14th Anna Wang (Year 4) 

15th Autumn Wang (Year 5) 

Level 5 Beam 

6th Anna Wang (Year 4) 

8th Blair Tang (Year 5) 

10th Amelie Rahme (Year 4) 

12th Crystal Gu (Year 4) 

13th Miranda Wu (Year 5) 

14th Autumn Wang (Year 5) 

15th Stella Pieterse (Year 5) 

Level 5 Beam 

5th Stella Pieterse (Year 5) 

9th Blair Tang (Year 5) 

10th Anna Wang (Year 4) 

Equal 13th Autumn Wang (Year 5) 

Equal 13th Amelie Rahme (Year 4) 

15th Crystal Gu (Year 4) 

16th Miranda Wu (Year 5) 

Level 6 Apparatus  

Aimee Yap (Year 6) 

Equal 1st Vault 

7th Bars 

3rd Beam 

1st Floor 

Level 7 Apparatus  

Amalia Bond (Year 6) 

1st Vault 

2nd Bars 

3rd Beam 

3rd Floor 

Rhythmic Gymnastics – Division 1 

Level 1: 1st Place 

Freehand – Rachel Shi (Year 2), Vicky Lin (Year 3), Emma Mu (Year 2), Sophia Wu (Year 2) 

Ball – Emily Mu (Year 2), Maggie Xing (Year 2), Annette Ng (Year 2), Jessica Wang (Year 2) 

Level 2: 1st Place 

Freehand and Hoop – Angela Xiong (Year 3), Polly Zhao (Year 3), Isabelle La (Year 3), Genevieve Wong (Year 3) 

Level 3 Ball 

1st Audrey Lee (Year 4) 

Level 3 Clubs 

1st Ivy Liu (Year 4) 

Level 4 Hoops 

1st Imogen Jones (Year 6) 

6th Amber Zhou (Year 5) 

9th Peaches Zhang (Year 4) 

Level 4 Ribbon 

1st Michelle Song (Year 6)

3rd Katelyn Gu (Year 4)

6th Annabella Bayfield (Year 6)

IPSHA Team of the Week – Basketball Pymble 10 Team (Year 4)

It was an exciting game for our Year 4 division team. We had some newcomers to Basketball that were very nervous before the game but then got out there and really gave it a go. We fought until the last minute to beat the Barker team by 1 point in the final seconds, with the final score 21 to 20 to Pymble. Sophie Tong’s (Year 4) aggressive steals and powerful attack gave the team countless opportunities to score points. Riya Iyer (Year 4) and Chloe Yi (Year 4) left no one unmarked and defended until the last minute. All of the athletes had such great intensity throughout the whole game. Looking forward to a very enjoyable season!

NSWPSSA Cricket

A special mention to Eloise Lawry (Year 5) who was selected in the NSWCIS Cricket team earlier in the year. Unfortunately, the NSWPSSA Cricket tournament scheduled to be in Barooga this week, was cancelled due to the floods. As a result, Eloise trialled for the NSWPSSA team on Monday and Tuesday as a batter and wicket keeper and we are proud to announce that Eloise has been selected in the NSWPSSA Cricket Team. Congratulations Eloise!

Matt Tyson
Head of Sports – Kindergarten to Year 6 

Rhythmic Gymnastics

igsa Rhythmic Gynmastics Carnival, Friday 28 November 2022 – Abbotsleigh Senior School

Six Pymble gymnasts headed out to Abbotsleigh for the igsa Rhythmic Gymnastics Carnival competing against other schools at level 6 to 10. This was the first time in two years we have been able to attend due to Covid-19. What a great day of fun and excitement!  All the gymnasts did an amazing job of their routines and came away with some outstanding results.

Outstanding results achieved are listed below: 

Level 6:

Emily Yu (Year 9) – 1st Ribbon, 2nd Freehand, 3rd Ball

Level 7:

Sophia Chang (Year 9) – 4th Clubs, 10th Ball, 11th Ribbon

Angela Zhang (Year 8) – 8th Ribbon, 11th Clubs

Madison Pearce (Year 8) – 4th Ball

Level 8:

Brielle Mann (Year 10) – 2nd Hoop, 4th Ribbon, 5th Clubs

Level 10:

Gigi Spiller (Year 10) – 1st Ball, 2nd Hoop, 2nd Ribbon

Category 3 Group – 6th Place

Category 4 Group – 8th Place

Overall Score – 5th Place

Mrs Kate Irvine

Sports Co-ordinator – Artistic Gymnastics

Touch Football

Another very successful weekend of Touch Football for Pymble last weekend. Out of 16 Teams, we had 12 wins, with many being by large margins! Our Senior and Junior First teams have their first ever rostered double header this Saturday at Loreto. Good luck to all teams for this weekend, we look forward to seeing you all continuously improve.

Ms Megan O’Keeffe

Sports Co-ordinator – Touch Football

Volleyball

Round 3 of the Santa Sabina Invitational Volleyball Competition took place this past Saturday with Pymble winning six out of the seven games played. A big shoutout to our Pymble 7 team that are improving with their serving and increasing their points tally week by week.

Team of the week 

This week’s Team of the Week goes to our undefeated Pymble 5 team! Here’s a few words from Pymble 5’s captain, Thinara Siriniwasa (Year 9).

“In our match today, we competed against Santa Sabina. It was a tough match, but we pushed through, and we won 2 to 1. Our team kept our spirit and hype up for the entire match and it really paid off. Go Pymble!”

Chris Wood
Sports Co-ordinator – Volleyball 

Water Polo

Week three of the 2022 igsa Water Polo season saw some great water polo played. The sun was shining all morning which gave everyone an extra reason to smile! 

Results 

Mrs Brigette Moore

Head Coach – Water Polo

Performing Arts

The exciting final preparations are occurring for Stories in the Sand which is to be presented next week in the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts (GMCPA).

Witnessing the final preparations for the Dance showcase is a privilege. The passionate commitment and skills of the dancers, the dedication and expertise of the dance teachers and the extraordinary vision for the performance programs led by Ms Katrina Cluff will coalesce in a magnificent series of dance performances. A fabulous reawakening from COVID restrictions to gloriously celebrate Pymble dancers on the GMPCA stage.

Please click here to book your tickets.

In the next few weeks come the exciting Drama showcase performances and the Senior and Junior Ensemble Music Concerts. There is much to celebrate for students involved in Performing Arts at Pymble.

Michael Griffiths

Director of Co-Curricular Performing Arts

Dance

Stories in the Sand – Dance Showcase 2022

The Stories in the Sand dance showcase is NEXT WEEK! Don’t forget to purchase your tickets before they are all sold out. Visit the GMCPA Box Office now!

Ms Katrina Cluff

Head of Dance

Drama

Centrestage – Kindergarten to Year 12 Co-Curricular Drama Showcase

I am thrilled to invite you to Centrestage, our co-curricular drama showcase for 2022. 

There are almost 500 Kindergarten to Year 12 students involved in Drama and Centrestage will celebrate their end of year performances, film projects and improvisations.

There are five evenings in total, showcasing our Filmmaking students, Improvisation and Theatresports, as well as our Drama performances, including Drama Festival Teams. The afternoon/evenings are nil cost, bookings are required for the Drama Theatre. Below is a poster with all the details and below times for the year levels, we hope to see you there to celebrate our Drama students.

Friday 18 November, Drama Theatre: Year 3 to 12 Filmmaking, 6.00pm

Monday 21 November, Drama Theatre: Year 5 to 10 Improvisation and Theatresports, 6.00pm

Tuesday 22 November, Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts: Year 3 to 5 Drama, 6.00pm

Wednesday 23 November, Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts: Kindergarten to Year 2 Drama, 4.30pm

Thursday 24 November, Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts: Year 7 to 11 Drama Festival Teams, 6.00pm

All events are free! Bookings are only required for events taking place in the Drama Theatre. Events in the GMCPA do not require booking.

Ms Tamara Sweetman

Head of Drama

Music

Week 6: Term 4 Senior School and Junior School Ensemble Concert

All members of the Pymble community are warmly invited to attend our end of year Ensemble Concerts for the Junior School and Secondary School.

• The Junior School Ensemble Concert will commence at 6.30pm on Tuesday 15 November in the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts Theatre.
• The Senior School Ensemble Concert will commence at 7.00pm on Thursday 17 November in the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts Theatre.

Both these events are free and non-ticketed.

More information will be communicated in the upcoming newsletter and via your daughter’s conductor. I hope you can make it to these very special concerts and join in the musical celebrations.

Change of date for the College Christmas Service

All members of the Pymble community are warmly invited to attend the College Christmas Service – The Road to Bethlehem on Sunday 27 November.

Please note there has been a change of date from Friday 25 November.

This service will feature the following ensembles:

• Pymble Chorale
• Senior School Choir
• Symphony Orchestra
• Junior School Choir
• Capella Choir (Junior School Chamber Choir)
• Pizzicatos
• Picoline Choir (Year 1 to 2 Choir)
• Junior School Chamber Strings

Gates will open from 5pm, with the Pymble Parent Association offering a barbecue dinner. Families are welcome to bring a picnic. The College Jazz Bands will provide musical entertainment from 5.30pm, and the Christmas Service will commence at 6.30pm.

I hope you can make it to this very special service. 

2022 Secondary School Playing Opportunities

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 complete an online expression of interest by clicking 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 Scholarship

Applications for the 2023 Internal Music Scholarships are now open. Each scholarship is open to any pupil in the College from Year 6 to 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

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.

Get your tickets for our dance showcase Stories in the Sand

Don’t miss our Dance Showcase 2022, Stories in the Sand.

The showcase will feature our talented dancers from Kindergarten to Year 12, as well as our new Pymble Alumni Dance Group, and is definitely a show not to be missed!

Stories in the Sand will also have special guest appearances from two guest artists who have shared their expertise to create meaningful experiences; Miranda Middleton, a successful theatre director, and Rikki Mason, a dancer from Bangarra Dance Theatre. 

Performance Schedule

Wednesday 9 November, 4.00pm

Thursday 10 November, 6.30pm

Friday 11 November, 6.30pm

Saturday 12 November (matinee), 2.00pm

Saturday 12 November (evening), 6.30pm

Click here to book your tickets for what’s going to be a spectacular event. Tickets are also available to the general public. But be quick – tickets are expected to sell out shortly!

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: Physics Teacher | Full-time permanent from Term 1, 2023

Due to an internal promotion, we have an opportunity for an experienced and progressive Science Teacher to join our team on a full-time, permanent basis from Term 1, 2023.

As a methodical and confident educator, with a background in teaching Physics to senior students, you will design and deliver the curriculum in creative and innovative ways to enhance student learning and engagement. You will be an integral member of the team, establishing a strong connection with our students and working collaboratively with other members of our secondary school to implement engaging learning activities and well-sequenced programs. A scientific mind, you will foster a love of Science theory and practice through the facilitation of effective learning, applying new strategies and innovative pedagogical practice.

Our leading STEM and data science programs assist in introducing our students in the world of Science and what possibilities it could bring for their future, and our teachers are an integral part of that experience. You will work collaboratively with like-minded scientific educators, whose focus on innovation and wellbeing is evident. 

For more information or to apply, click here.

Vote for your favourite artwork in the Pymble Archies

Our talented artists put their mastery on full display in their submissions in our inaugural Pymble Archies. Inspired by the Archibald Prize, these are all drawings created by Visual Arts students in Term 3 – however, you’ll be forgiven for thinking they were made by professional artists.

In this unit of work, students investigated how highly representational images not only capture likeness but also communicate identity and character. 

We invite the Pymble community to vote for your favourite drawing, with the winner of the People’s Choice Award being announced at a full school assembly on Wednesday 9 November.

Click here to view the submissions and vote for your favourite!

All original drawings can be viewed in the foyer of the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts during school hours.

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

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.

Futures Team @ Pymble

Volunteering is great work experience

Mrs Kim Maksimovic

Director of Future and Partnerships

Celestino partnership update

As our partnership with Celestino continues to grow from strength to strength, an important student/partner forum was held at the end of Term 3. Twelve Year 10 and 11 students met with Duncan Challen (General Manager Business Development, Celestino), Simon Toze (Director, Urban Water Futures), Angela Schumacher (Education Consultant – Pathways and Partnerships,  AISNSW) and Tim Muster (Senior Research Scientist, CSIRO) to provide constructive feedback on the STEM opportunities that have been provided so far.

As the College transitions into phase 2 of the partnership with Celestino, opportunities are being explored into how we can capitalise on the inspiration provided through the Elective Geography Urban Living Lab program, where students work alongside industry mentors to develop an urban design strategy that could be implemented in the Sydney Science Park.

Analysis of the impact of the partnership on current student future pathways will allow us to best prepare our current students for the future world of work. The development of transdisciplinary skills and providing opportunities for urban design related work experience opportunities will form a critical component of the next step.

If you would be able to assist with potential work experience opportunities, please contact Kim Maksimovic (kmaksimovic@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au) and Liam Hume (lhume@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au) to discuss further.

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.

From the Director of Community Engagement and Advancement

Upcoming Events – End of Year Festivities

We are racing towards the end of the year and the Community Engagement team is busy preparing events for speech days and Christmas celebrations. We have quite a packed schedule to finish off the year, but there is plenty of fun to be had for students and parents; to see our full calendar of events, please click here.

Speaking of teens: Holding onto love – links for further information

After receiving a great amount of interest from parents, we have decided to extend the online availability of the video recording of our parenting forum Speaking of teens: Holding onto love. The recording will be available to watch on YouTube until Friday 4 November, so get in quick if you would like to see what was discussed. Click here to view the recording.

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 – Focus groups investigating the technological assets used at Pymble

Feedback from parents and carers is one of our most important tools to ensure our communication processes are continually improving and meeting the needs and expectations of the Pymble community. This term, we are focused on the technological pathways we use to distribute information in terms of the end user experience, and we want to hear your opinion.

We have learned so much from our previous surveys and focus groups; your feedback has been invaluable. We are therefore looking for another group of members from the Pymble community to attend a series of focus groups and let us know any issues you have with the MyPymble app and our notification processes, as well as any suggestions you may have to improve them.

If you would like to participate in these focus groups later this term, please contact communityengagement@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

Thank you to our volunteers – Parent cocktail party and Junior School Annual General Meeting

A big thank you to all the parents who took time out of their busy schedule to attend this morning’s Junior School Parent Group (JSPG) Annual General Meeting. We are thrilled to welcome the new JSPG committee:

Relationship Leaders 2023:

• Mrs Shweta Deshpande
• Mr Hanson Han & Mrs Colleen Zhang
• Mrs Stephanie Pickford
• Ms Annabel Blaiklock
• Mrs Lesia Whitehead
• Mrs Emma de Bilde
• Ms Jessica Jingjing

Babysitting Co-ordinator/Care & Support:

• Mrs Leah Deutscher

Finance Co-ordinator/Record Keeper

• Mrs Aimee Birch

Our volunteers and members of the Pymble Parent Association (PPA) are the lifeblood of our community and we look forward to working with you all in 2023! To recognise the contributions of our volunteers from not just the PPA but the entire Pymble community, we warmly invite any parent or carer who has contributed their time and effort in 2022 to the Pymble Parent Volunteers Thank You Evening on Friday 18 November. You can book your ticket by clicking here.

End of Year Events

Preparations for the Year 3 to 6 and Year 7 to 10 Speech Days are currently underway, and we hope to see as many families as possible in attendance. We are really excited to celebrate the achievements of our girls with the wider Pymble family. 

We also have the Christmas College Celebration coming up in the last week of December – this is always a great event and will be a fun way to farewell 2022. We look forward to sharing the festive season with you all.

Mrs Kelly Mancey

Director – Community Engagement & Advancement

Semester 2 Community Events Calendar

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.