From the Principal
Congratulations to our Secondary School students for a great two-day Swimming and Diving Carnival this week. Junior School, it’s your turn tomorrow and I can’t wait to put on my House tutu again to cheer you on, too. Summoning the courage to have a go and soaking up all that joyful House spirit is an important part of school life, promoting so many positive attributes, including pride, unity and the sense of belonging that will help each student to thrive. Thank you for supporting your daughter(s) to make the most of these character-building days that ultimately have significant health benefits.
It was also lovely to see our students acknowledging their peers for recent and upcoming co-curricular efforts with a Pymble Pulse war cry in assembly this week. Special shout-out to our Model United Nations (MUN) participants for hosting last week’s student conference at Pymble, and best wishes to our 10 amazing musicians who are performing in front of adjudicators from the Australian Youth Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in the Concerto Competition held at our GMCPA tonight.
If you have never experienced MUN before, please enjoy this short video highlighting what an incredible learning opportunity this is for our girls.
First 90 days of 2024 – our pillar priorities at a glance
At the start of each year, it is my pleasure to share with our community a top-level summary of our strategic priorities and where we stand in relation to our 2021-2030 Strategic Intent. We are now in our second triennium of Watch Us Change the World, and it is with great pride that I can outline our priority for each strategic pillar and the actions we have done or are doing in the first 90 days of 2024.
Academic Intelligence
Our focus: To produce a Pymble philosophy statement which reflects our shared approach to teaching and learning. We aim to maintain and grow interest in the development of the framework by providing opportunities for all staff to participate and have a voice in its development. Staff input and agency will be measured by contributions to the process and a survey in Term 3.
First 90-days plan:
Done: Consulted widely with K-12 academic staff.
Doing: Establishing electronic access for staff to monitor and participate in the progress of the framework’s development.
To do: Provide opportunities for staff to review and contribute to the statement, which will be presented to the wider community for consideration.
Emotional Intelligence
Our focus: Research consistently demonstrates the positive value that good sleep and ample movement play in our lives. They have a positive impact on how students learn, feel and relate. With this in mind, the College will focus on fostering a healthier community in 2024 through better sleep and movement.
First 90-days plan:
Done: We have developed and launched a Healthy Habit Tracker for sleep and movement, and implemented a movement schedule for Term 1 lunch times.
Doing: We are creating movement zones and physical activities all around the campus (from classrooms to walking routes) and delivering sleep and movement information to students.
To do: Bring movement into meetings and assemblies.
Social Intelligence
Our focus: Pymble has a vibrant culture of service characterised by generous and kind hearts. Our community excels in ‘being of service’ and ‘giving back’, which has led to us managing multiple relationships and priorities. The College aims to create guidelines around our philosophy, decision making and approaching service sustainably.
First 90-days plan:
Done: We have consulted experts in the field and engaged our Executive team in workshops to reflect on, review and share new ideas around service.
Doing: We are sourcing relevant research and literature, and identifying internal and external contacts for consultation.
To do: We will communicate purpose and boundary setting around service at Pymble, and undertake a literature review on service.
Digital Intelligence
Our focus: AI is changing the Education landscape. We aim to explore, learn, experiment and modify our practice to best harness AI in our teaching and learning. In order to do this, we will develop AI champions. Initially, this will be staff, and, in the future, we will involve other members of our community.
First 90-days plan:
Done: Our initial plan was to enlist 60 AI champions from across all areas of the College – but, guess what? We already have 85 champions signed up and we are still adding more.
Doing: We are working on communications to deliver our overview, commitment and outcomes to our community.
To do: Our AI champions will share their expertise across all areas of the College, from academic to co-curricular and professional services staff.
It’s also something of a new year’s tradition for me to be completely transparent in relation to other responsibilities and commitments I will be managing throughout the year, in addition to leading Pymble. In 2024, those external commitments include:
- Advisory Board member – Association of Independent Schools NSW (AISNSW)
- Multi-Enterprise Agreement Advisory Board member – AISNSW
- Standing Committee member – Independent Girls’ Schools Association (IGSA), which is the group that makes decisions regarding IGSA sport
- Treasurer – Alliance of Girls Schools Australasia (AGSA), although I am hoping to relinquish this duty throughout the year as I’m now on the Global Board
- Board member – Australian Youth Orchestra
- Adjunct Research Fellow – Telethon Kids Institute (University of Western Australia); and The Child Health Promotion Research Centre (Edith Cowan University)
- Board Member (Australasian representative) – International Coalition of Girls’ Schools (representing 550+ girls’ schools globally).
Of course, I always have a stretch goal too, although there’s no rush on this one. This year I will be starting my third master’s degree, Master of Philosophy at the University of Western Australia with a focus on women and the first point of promotion. In my defence as the leader of a learning organisation, I feel it’s important to always be learning and role modelling this to our girls and staff.
Windows into Learning
It is such a pleasure to highlight some of our amazing teachers across all year groups and subjects at the College to celebrate the wonderful work they do with your daughters. Please enjoy this week’s Windows into Learning at Pymble.
Year 6 Science
“Our Year 6 girls have been immersing themselves in the study of forces and their significance in our daily lives. By using their curiosity and being inquisitive they are deepening their knowledge of friction, gravity, and air resistance, and the interactions between various materials. Through a series of hands-on experiments, they are actively engaging with each force, demonstrating both critical thinking and creativity in their exploration. It’s truly rewarding to observe their enthusiasm, collaboration, communication, and ingenuity as they delve into the complexities of forces. I’ve particularly enjoyed listening to the girls articulate their reasoning as they delve into these fascinating concepts.”
Miss Gabriella Gunson
Year 6 Compass Teacher
Year 11 Extension English
“Encouraging creative and critical thinking, as well as an intrinsic love of learning, is a central goal of Pymble’s English department. This focus is actively encouraged through the Related Research Project mandated by NESA for Year 11 students undertaking the Preliminary Extension English course. The project asks students to examine how a recognised literary text has been reimagined through a modern appropriation, analysing how the original text’s content, form, features and thematic concerns have been reshaped to engage a new audience. In comparing two texts, students evaluate the ways in which different contexts influence the representation and reception of ideas, cultural norms and values. They can, for example, consider the significance of Akira Kurosawa’s film, Ran, as a Japanese appropriation of Shakespeare’s King Lear; or the ways in which R. L. Stevenson’s novel Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s film Alien Resurrection investigate notions of monstrosity. The students were brought together in the Library Studio this week to explore the requirements of this independent project and began to consider the texts they might wish to study. A building sense of excitement was evident as students began to research the possibilities open to them.”
English Faculty
Finally, to all our families, and especially those who celebrate the Lunar New Year, wishing you roaring success and good fortune in the Year of the Dragon. Next week, we look forward to sharing how our Year 12 cohort will harness their Prefect theme, ‘Hear us Roar in 2024’, to make this year truly memorable for all, from the quietest to the loudest voice here at Pymble.
