From the Principal
Welcome back to Pymble for Term 2, our designated term to step up, push up and promote better physical and mental health for our entire Pymble family, particularly our young people. As it’s May 2, those participating in the Push Up Challenge will clock up two push ups today. Tomorrow our target is three, and so it goes on throughout the month. In this way we will build up the strength and the commitment to achieve our goal for each of us to do 3,249 push ups during a set period in June; a mildly terrifying yet achievable target, so I’m told! Pictured above is Tully Black in Year 11 making sure that Mr Justin Raymond, Ms Lamia Rockwell, Mrs Christine Kenny, Ms Karina Olsen and I continue to rise to this important challenge!
Lest we forget
It’s always wonderful to see our students back on campus for a new term, although the first couple of days presented a different type of challenge thanks to torrential rain. In true Pymble style, however, our girls in Years 5 to 12 made their way through the downpour to the changed venue for our Anzac Day Assembly on Tuesday, showing up as their best selves to parade, present, perform and listen with great respect.
Thank you to our Cadets for representing our armed forces, our History Captains, Nandika Singh and Thinara Siriniwasa (Year 11), for their thoughtful presentation on people from the Pymble area who served our country, Josephine Green (Year 11) for her poignant renditions of The Last Post and Reveille, and our Chorale and Senior Jazz Ensemble for their musical performances. We could not be more #PymbleProud of all our girls for meeting our expectations for their behaviour on this solemn occasion.
Meet our new Chaplain
This week we also welcomed a very special new member of staff to our Pymble family, Reverend Danielle Hemsworth-Smith.
Rev Danielle brings more than 10 years of experience as an ordained minister in the Uniting Church in Australia, most recently as the Senior Minister at Paddington Uniting Church, where she was responsible for the theological and operational leadership and pastoral care of a large community of diverse people. Prior to ordination and her appointment within the church, she worked in a variety of roles in Hunter New England Health Services. Alongside ministry, Rev Danielle is a wife and proud mother of three teenagers.
In her own words: “I describe myself as progressive, incarnational, and evangelical in theological expression, and enjoy exploring, mentoring, and innovating in creative and diverse worship expressions that allow both individuals and communities to grow into who they are as loved and purpose-filled expressions of God in the world. My approach to everything I do is gently pastoral, collaborative, and empowering of individual gifts and skills.”
Rev Danielle joins Rev Cass and Assistant Chaplain Edwina O’Brien in the spiritual support of our community. Please join me in making her feel at home when you have an opportunity to meet her.
Building our vision for the future
Last night was another #PymbleProud moment when we were joined by Foundation Board directors, College Board directors and members of our community at our first Pymble Foundation Annual General Meeting and community update.
The evening included reflections from one of our current Pymble Foundation scholars, Malalai (Year 7) who arrived in Australia as a refugee from Afghanistan, and one of our former First Nations scholars, Teegan Wattam (2017). These incredible young women held the audience spellbound as they shared stories of how a Foundation scholarship changed their life and consequently inspired them to give back to others.
The event included a site tour of the Grey House Precinct construction which is now well underway. Excitingly, we are also on the countdown to opening our beautiful new Upper School Centre, which is scheduled for completion at the end of this term for Years 9 and 10 students to enjoy and our younger girls to look forward to.
Here’s a sneak peek of our new home for Upper School students.
Of course, none of this would be possible without the dedication and hard work of our Foundation Board members who gift their time and expertise in governance, and the generosity of our amazing donors, many of whom are current parents.
You can read more details about how the Pymble Foundation and our community are working together to leave a legacy, not only for their own children, but for many generations more, in our 2023 Impact Report.
Finally, signing off with best wishes to our Year 9 students who on Sunday will be embarking on the second Residential Program for the year at Vision Valley. Our girls will be joined by 48 Year 9 boys from Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie) in Brisbane and, as we know from past programs and feedback, they will have a wonderful time of learning and growth on so many different levels.
Echidna and Koala Lodges have been renovated in anticipation of their arrival, and further Master Plan works continue onsite at Vision Valley to enhance the experience of all our students, staff, families and visitors.
We are grateful for the incredible work of our Head of Campus – Vision Valley Mr Tom Riley, Deputy Head of Students Mr Justin Raymond, and the Vision Valley team who have brought this partnership to fruition and worked hard to ensure the success of the program and the relationship between the two schools.
Here’s to a successful term for all members and friends of our Pymble family.
PS Tomorrow night is our annual Careers Expo. Pymble parents and staff are welcome to bring their daughters and sons in Years 9 to 12 to this event, which runs from 5.30pm to 7.30pm in the Senior School Centre. Please click here for more details.
