From the Principal

This week it is with great pride that we celebrate the success of our 2024 da Vinci teams. For those who may not know, the annual da Vinci Decathlon was launched by Knox Grammar School in 2002 to celebrate the academic gifts of school students across Australia. The competition runs in the spirit of an Olympic decathlon, with students competing in teams of eight across 10 disciplines: Engineering, Mathematics, Code Breaking, Art and Poetry, Science, English, Ideation, Creative Producers, Cartography, and Legacy.

Each year, Pymble students in Years 5 to 11 apply for selection in their year-group da Vinci team – an equally exciting and gruelling process for our staff selection panel given the level of academic rigour and enthusiasm for learning we see every day at Pymble. Students train for one term under the guidance of dedicated academic staff to hone their critical thinking, teamwork and creativity under pressure.

The competition starts at state level, with Secondary School place getters going on to compete at the National Finals. In 2023, our Year 7 and Year 8 Pymble teams took out first and second place respectively at Nationals, and our Year 5 team placed third overall in the state, which is the highest level of competition for Junior School teams. It’s fair to say, Pymble has form at da Vinci.

Congratulations to our 2024 da Vinci superstars!

With this background in mind, allow me to publicly congratulate our 2024 superstars, our amazing students in Years 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 who were among 158 da Vinci teams from around NSW competing in fierce but friendly style at the state championships held on 14 to 16 May. Our students’ tally of outstanding results are as follows:

• Year 5 and Year 10 were officially named state champions, both placing first overall in their age groups.

• Year 10 will go on to compete at National level on Saturday 29 June through to Monday 1 July.

• Our teams in Years 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 all placed in the top three for their age groups, and Year 6 placed eighth overall.

Behold this fabulous breakdown of results per team:

Pymble team	Discipline and place	Discipline and place	Discipline and place	Discipline and place	Discipline and place	Overall place in state
Year 5:	3rd in Cartography	1st in English	1st in Ideation			1st
Year 6:	2nd in Ideation					8th
Year 7:	1st in English	1st in Creative Producers	1st in Ideation	3rd in Science		3rd
Year 8:	1st in English					2nd
Year 9	2nd in Code Breaking	2nd in Cartography	3rd in Art and Poetry	3rd in Ideation		3rd
Year 10:	1st in Science	1st in Engineering	2nd in English	2nd in Legacy	3rd in Code breaking	1st
Year 11:	2nd in Art and Poetry	2nd in Mathematics				2nd

Wow, just wow, girls! These are incredible results, made more impressive by the fact that Pymble is a non-selective school competing against a vast number of teams from all around NSW, many of them from selective schools. Congratulations to all our students involved, and to our equally incredible academic staff for coaching and supporting our students to bring their best minds – along with our College values – to this prestigious competition. In Junior School, this is Ms Lyn Wynne (Year 5 team) and Mrs Jo Meacock (Year 6 team), overseen by our Deputy Head of Junior School – Academics, Mrs Lara Bird. Our Years 7 to 11 teams are supported by our Director of the Centre of Excellence, Mrs Debbie Tarrant, and Mrs Kristen McEvoy who assists with Year 7.

Congratulations to all and best wishes to our Year 10 team as they prepare for Nationals in two weeks – Team Pymble will be cheering you on in spirit and with pride.

Our first Year 9 Residential Program with Anglican Church Grammar School, QLD (Churchie)

Perhaps today is not the best day to be talking about productive relationships between NSW and QLD given the State of Origin game last night… however, we have just come to the end of a fantastic Year 9 Residential Program with our students and the young men from Churchie.

The start of the program, now over a month ago, began with torrential rain and close to freezing conditions! Thank goodness we had just finished renovating all the lodges at Vision Valley in readiness for our guests. I think our friends from Churchie were particularly grateful to come ‘home’ each day to such warm and cosy lodges.

It’s hard to encapsulate everything that was offered on this program as much of the learning occurs in the unstructured times, but the following list gives you a taste of some of the activities students enjoyed:

• Full-day orienteering challenge in Marra Marra National Park.
• Full-day canyoning and abseiling in the Blue Mountains.
• 24-hour solo experience.
• Preparing and dehydrating their own expedition meals.
• Three-day expedition to Bouddi National Park.
• Four-day expedition along the Great North Walk.
• Geography and service (also known as ‘Dulumi’, which is the First Nations word for ‘give away’), including designing frog hotels as sanctuaries around the lake.
• Great Adventure Race to solve challenges across the Valley, with the winning team crowned as victors.
• Learning experience with First Nations Elders Tim Selwyn and partner Arwen from Girra Girra.
  

A massive thank you to Dr Alan Campbell, the Headmaster of Churchie, for saying ‘yes’ to this wonderful initiative, and to the team from Churchie who were great supporters of the program. Our team, of course, kicked it out of the ballpark with incredible feedback from students at Pymble as well as Churchie. Thanks to our Head of Campus – Vision Valley, Tom Riley, Vanessa Petersen and her team, Nick Wilkesmann and his team, and all the staff who have worked on and championed this program.

Of course, the real stars here are our amazing Year 9 students. There’s something very special about our girls welcoming the boys to ‘their place’. The girls were enthusiastic, demonstrated grit and brought with them the fabulous ‘have a go’ mentality that we love about our Pymble students.

One of the best reflections of the experience came from our Deputy Head of Campus – Vision Valley, Vanessa Petersen, who shared the final debrief with students the night before they went home. Vanessa said, “There were lots of tears and my favourite reflection from one of the students was, ‘I am aggressively not suited to the outdoors but I never want to leave’. Tomorrow will be bittersweet!” How beautiful is that?! We look forward to many more adventures in the coming years with our new friends from Churchie.

Windows into Learning

There’s a special joy that comes from hearing students reflect on their own learning.  This week we celebrate the work of our budding Year 4 scientists and Year 11 Design and Technology students.  

Science in Year 4

A recent Science lesson in Year 4 began with an observation about balloons popping, which lead to a question on our current topic of conduction: “What will happen if I apply heat to a balloon using a candle?”.

“I think the balloon will pop because the rubber will melt!” exclaimed one student. “No, it will deflate slowly!” countered another.

As the experiment unfolded, the balloon indeed popped. All students eagerly recorded their observations and questions bubbled around the classroom.

“Let’s add more air to the balloon and try again!” suggested one student. “It will pop slower because there’s more air to heat up,” said another. “No, it will pop faster because the rubber is more stretched!”.

The balloon popped faster the second time and the students quickly wrote down their observations and theories. “We should time it to be more accurate!” observed one student, pointing out the need for precision, which was lacking in the first test.

The class decided to test with less air, making sure to measure the balloon’s size accurately this time. The balloon took longer to pop, and there were noticeable burn marks on the rubber.

With more meticulous measurement, the balloon was filled with water to one-third of its volume, thanks to a suggestion from the girls.

“It’s going to burst and water will go everywhere!” giggled some, while others debated whether the air and water in the balloon would heat up or cool, and if it would burst faster or more slowly.

To their amazement, the balloon didn’t pop; instead, the rubber burned without bursting. The ballon was passed around the room and when students felt the burn mark they discovered it was cold.

Awe had been sparked, along with countless questions, and a growing awareness of the importance of the scientific process, where each question leads to new insights.

Mr Dan Brown
Head of STEM K-6

Year 11 Design and Technology

Our class is in the beginning stages of planning and creating our Minor Major works for 2024. This process has involved interacting with many new pieces of equipment, including the thicknesser, which is a machine that can cut timber to a consistent thickness, and the welder, which some students are looking to utilise in their final designs.

These experiences have enhanced our ability to prototype and iterate on our designs and taught us valuable problem-solving and technical skills. The precision and attention to detail required are applicable in a variety of subjects, including Economics and Biology, where I am finding that the critical thinking skills are in high demand during practicals and other depth studies. 

Working with advanced technology prepares us for real-world applications, giving us a head start in fields like engineering, architecture, and graphic design. This hands-on learning extends beyond the classroom, engaging a mindset of innovation and adaptability that will benefit us in various aspects of our future careers and everyday lives.

Mary Cottrell (Year 11)
Design and Technology Subject Captain