From the Middle School
Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Knowing People, Knowing Pymble event on Tuesday evening. Congratulations to our Middle School musicians who set the mood so elegantly: Ceceila Zhou on the guzheng and Sitian Chen on the violin.
Thank you to our Indigenous Boarders for their warm and welcoming Acknowledgement of Country: Ellie Pointon, Evie Farr, Sienna Melton and Sophia Kawane, and our student leaders for their wonderful help on the night: Serena Cummings, Katarina Economou, Mie Nato, Lucinda, Martin, Isabelle Port, Chloe Wei, Jisoo Yeou, Ranalee Siriwardana, Saja Abdel-Megeed, Sophie Ngai and Sarah Bai.
Hopefully you had an opportunity to connect with other Middle School families and your daughter’s Compass teacher on Gloucester Lawn. The following presentation was designed to provide an overview of the year ahead. Below is a link to a recording from the evening.
Year 7 Parent Information Evening
Year 8 Parent Information Evening
You will have received a survey following the event asking you to preference topics that would be of interest to you for future deliveries. Please access this link if you have not as yet responded.
During Combined Assembly on Tuesday our Year 7 students were formally inducted into their Houses, receiving their newly designed House Badges from their Year 12 House Leader. This was a warm and welcoming ceremony that acknowledged the importance of House connections and introduced exciting new initiatives that will involve the girls coming together across Years 7 to 12 at a number of events across the year. House pride was evident across the gymnasium.
Congratulations to our Year 8 Gloucester Gathering Leaders: Serena Cummings, Isabelle Port and Chloe Wei- who have been absolutely outstanding in their organisation of a variety of very popular events across lunchtime on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Last week they ran a karaoke competition for both Years 7 and 8 and this week it was a “Let’s Dance” experience. It is amazing how music brings us all together whilst at the same time allowing individuals to showcase their talents. The atmosphere was full of fun- a space where everyone was welcome. Please encourage your daughters to get involved. Below is a poster of the activities happening across the term.
Click here to see the Gloucester Gathering agenda for the remainder of the term.
It is great to see the enthusiasm of our Middle School girls when it comes to service to the college. Over the last weeks we have launched an initiative that invites each Compass group on a rotational basis to spend 10 minutes on Mondays working together to ensure our beautiful spaces are kept clean and tidy. Taking ownership of the environment around us demonstrates respect and appreciation for our campus.
Year 8 Dance Incursion Student Reflections
Today, Year 8 had the pleasure of participating in numerous dance workshops, teaching us skills and techniques to benefit our dancing experience for our PDHPE assessment task. Led by Pymble’s specialist Dance teachers, the all-day incursion was jam-packed with action and fun, from the start of the day through to the grand finale, the House Dance Off.
We began our day in the gym for a whole year warm up, where we followed two Dance teachers’ stretches and movements like a real-life version of Just Dance. There was music pumping in the background, and together we followed along, no matter how novice our movements were. Following the warm-up, we separated into groups and were assigned dance teachers who would assist us for the rest of the day. My group’s talented (and friendly) dance teacher taught us how to properly pirouette and leap, as well as more fundamental movements that would appear later in our assessment routine.
As a dance beginner, I was new to many movements (as was most of the class), but our teacher’s clear instructions made it easy for me to learn. Once we understood the basics, we got to choreograph a mini dance routine in groups and include some movements we learnt. This was my favourite part, as we used our creativity to form a unique dance routine to call our own. However, things got tricky when we began our assessment routine. The routine was fast and complicated, and I struggled with memorising it all.
Despite the setbacks, I managed to develop a mediocre understanding of the dance, knowing that we all had to perform it in the House Dance Off. When it was time for the House Dance Off, everyone split up into their House group to perform the routine, led by our House mascots (Year 8 House Captains). All the Houses performed with charm, but it was Hammond who won not one, but two awards for their enthusiasm and overall effort. I loved watching each House perform, since it was fun to see who remembered the dance and who didn’t.
Another great part of the House Dance Off was watching the House mascot’s dance off, and we all cheered for the person under the mask. This was a fitting end to conclude our day, and it’ll be one all year 8s remember. Altogether, the PDHPE Dance Incursion was a fun, exciting experience, and the skills we learnt are ones we won’t forget. Thank you to all the staff and dance teachers for your contribution today, and we can’t wait to perform our routine to you soon.
Written by Chloe Ayton (Year 8)
Last Thursday Year 8 had the exciting opportunity to attend this year’s PDHPE Dance Incursion. The day consisted of us participating in a series of workshops where we learnt an array of new dance skills and were taught an exhilarating routine that we will be performing for our assessment led by Pymble’s incredible Dance teachers. They helped us perfect our routine and helped us be more comfortable performing. Once we finished learning our dance the day ended with a house competition where each house competed with each other. Two different houses went against each other until we had a winner. I believe I can speak for the whole grade when I say this incursion was such a great experience to participate in. I will cherish this memory for the rest of my life.
Written by Kaela Tan (Year 8)
The Tildsley Tennis Competition is taking place next Wednesday and Thursday at Pennant Hills. Best of luck to the following girls who will be representing the College from Middle School: Emily Basak, Aailyah Chang, Isabel Cook, Abigail Martin, Kathy Wang, Leahara Wijesuriya, Annie Xiao (Year 7) and Saj Abdel- Megeed, Layla Abdul- Megeed, Thenulya Gunasekera, Sophia Kawane and Emily Zhai (Year 8).
Good luck also to the Year 7 students who next week will be attending interviews for the VEX Robotics World competition. What an opportunity!
Term 1 Key Dates
Monday 6 March – Year 7 Mind Body Spirit Day
Monday 3 April – Year 8 Mind Body Spirit Day
Key Actions
Year 7 – Please complete the consent form for Mind Body Spirit Day via the MyPymble parent portal.
Year 8 – Reminder to complete the Parent Education Feedback Survey
From the Middle School Parent Group
PPA Ice Breaker
Thank you to all parents who attended the PPA Icebreaker last Friday night. It was wonderful evening and it was so fantastic to meet so many new families.
Secondary School Parent Group (SSPG) Middle School Breakfast (Years 7 and 8):
The SSPG warmly invites parents and carers from Years 7 and 8 to meet over coffee and a delicious breakfast. Parents will have the opportunity to speak with a range of staff including the Head of Middle School, Mrs Jenny O’Donnell, in a relaxed, social setting. The breakfast will be held on Monday 13th March from 7.30 am to 9 am in the Gillian Moore Centre of Performing Arts (GMCPA). The cost is $22 plus a booking fee. Please click here to RSVP for this event by Tuesday 7 March.
PPA New Parents’ High Tea
This is a truly special event for the new families at Pymble. The High Tea will be held on Thursday 23 March at 10am in the Jeanette Buck Centre for Physical Education (the school gymnasium). As well as being able to meet new families, you can also have a chat with our Principal, Dr Kate Hadwen, and key College staff. All year 7 parents are welcome. The event is FREE. Please click here to register for this event by Friday 17 March.
Communications within the Year 7 Parent Group
Please ensure that your contact details are up to date on MyPymble so that year co-ordinators and parents are able to contact you. To check your details, login in to MyPymble, click on My Profile (top right hand side) and then Edit My Details. To view the parent contact deatils from your daughter’s year, log into MyPymble, selecting ‘More’ from bottom of the screen then click on Contacts and select the Group’ 2023 Year 07 Parents”.
Year 7 Parent Social Groups
We have a number of Year 7 parent chat groups that families are welcome to join.
WhatsApp : Yr7 Parents Class of 2028
PLC Year 7 Announcements and Important Documents
WeChat : PLC – Class of 2028
Facebook : PymbleLC Parents Class of 2028
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with either May or myself if you have any further questions.
Kai Jones (kai_look@yahoo.com)
May Tai (yeemaytai@gmail.com)
Jenny O’Donnell
Head of Middle School