From the Boarding School
It is lovely to be back in the rhythm of living on campus and seeing our Boarders thrive. As you will read it has been another action packed week and there has been much to celebrate.
A VIP visitor to Avonmoore
As you know Avonmoore is the beautiful new home of our Year 7s. Many of you, however, may not know the origins of the name. Avonmoore was built as the home of Mrs Gillian Moore AO and her family. Mrs Moore was our much-loved Principal between 1989 to 2007. She was particularly special to our Boarders as she recognised the importance of establishing a safe, happy and home-like environment and instigated a new pastoral structure with Heads of Houses and their families living onsite. It is fitting that her name features in our new Year 7 ‘home’.
It was lovely to have Mrs and Mr Moore tour their former home and even better to see the delight on their faces as they took in the many changes. We look forward to many more visits from the Moore family in the years to come.
Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year is always a special time in our Boarding calendar. With students joining us from around the world we take every opportunity to celebrate such occasions. Our Boarders made trips to Chinatown and Chatswood to join in the festivities. They also enjoyed a delicious Chinese meal beautifully prepared by our Chartwells team. Our chef Wei Min Jiang, who is of Chinese origin, spoke poignantly of the significance of Lunar New Year, wishing the girls prosperity and happiness.
To top off a happy week, our Boarding fairy Godmother, Mrs Sophia Fang continued her much loved tradition of bringing giant fuji apples, etched with the year of the dragon, for our Boarders to enjoy. In Chinese culture, the word for apple, “ping guo”, is a homophone for the word “ping”, meaning peace or tranquillity, so an apple symbolizes a wish for peace.
We were also treated us to special Lunar New Year cakes and stunning decorations which were lovingly displayed across the houses. Mrs Fang sprinkles joy wherever she goes and we are so grateful for the love and fun she shares so generously with our Boarding family.
Love is all around!
Love was in the air as we celebrated our very own brand of Valentine’s Day – Galentine‘s Day. Our Boarders returned from school to find chocolate hearts on their pillows and had great fun ‘speed dating’ in their Spirit House Circles. Thank you to our Spirit House Captains who made this such a fun evening.
Loving Love It – Mrs White
Last weekend’s Love It program kicked off with a trip to Balmoral Beach for our Year 8 Boarders. On Saturday, we celebrated Lunar New Year with a trip to Chatswood. The precinct was decorated with lots of beautiful red and gold trimmings. On Sunday evening, the Boarders were treated to a night at the basketball to see the Sydney Kings play the Illawarra Hawks. With great seats close to the court, the atmosphere was electrifying.
This weekend, it will be Year 7’s turn to head to the beach for a twilight picnic. We are in the process of organising a special treat for Saturday night that will hopefully keep our resident Swifties happy. On Sunday, we will be heading to the Central Coast to the Aqua Park for an excitement filled adventure on the inflatable activity park and water obstacle course.
A View From My Window
Hey, I’m Charlotte, a Year 11 boarding student from a small village on the Liverpool Plains called Mullaley. I live on a mixed grain, cotton and angus beef farm with my parents Andrew and Elsbeth as well as my younger brother Beau.
I started at Pymble at the start of 2023 and I am really enjoying it. I was previously boarding at The Armidale School (TAS) and prior to that I was at Mullaley Public School for my primary years. It has been a big change going from Mullaley where the school has a total of 40 to Pymble where there are almost 300 people in Year 11, but it has allowed me to meet so many new people.
From my window I see our garden as well as a stable set up and beyond is various grazing lands and cropping spaces. We have around 12 horses around the place, including a new warmblood foal which we’ve named Lola. We’ve also got three dogs, a border collie, labradoodle and a fox terrier, none of which are helpful when working… A handful of chickens and a duck complete our list of pets. It’s a bit of a zoo sometimes!
When I’m home I love to spend time with the horses and around the farm. In the summer months we like to go out to Lake Keepit for a water ski as well as catching up with family and friends whenever possible. When I return to school I really enjoy playing netball. At the moment I am with Manly Warringah Sapphires in Premier League for 23’s, I am also training alongside the NSW state team which has been super fun. Whilst I love being home, boarding at Pymble has meant that I fulfil various opportunities such as netball and academics.
Boarder of the Week
Adison is a kind and considerate Boarder who shows support, care and empathy for those around her. Now in Year 10, Adi joined us from Narrabri in Term 1, 2020 and has been a lovely Boarding sister to those around her.
Adi has a strong sense of fairness and social justice and is not afraid to stand up for what is right. She speaks up for herself and her Boarding sisters, and will make sensible and thoughtful suggestions during house meetings as to how everyone can make the most of their time here at Pymble Boarding. Adi cares deeply about our younger or newer Boarders and has gone out of her way to help them settle in and make them feel at home.
She even arrived early on Day 1 of this year to help move them in and show them around. She’s also a talented and dedicated netballer and shows strong commitment to her team. We can’t wait to see what she does in years to come.
Carolyn Burgess
Head of Boarding