From the Upper School

A message from Ms Mariel Lombard, Acting Head of Upper School

We are delighted to have officially welcomed Years 9 and 10 students to the new Upper School Common Room this week. To celebrate the opening of our new Upper School space, our Years 9 and 10 Compass Captains and Upper School Leaders led a special gratitude ceremony on Wednesday to thank the builders, architects and Master Planning team.

All Upper School students also took part in an induction and welcome session as they walked through the Common Room for their first time. There was much excitement as they discovered their new kitchen (a highlight for many!) and the array of furniture which has been so beautifully set up for our girls. Today our Common Room was officially ‘open for business’ with students enjoying the joys and privileges of our new home during recess and lunch.

Our Upper School team have also settled into the new administrative office, located at the bottom of the Colonnade stairs. We look forward to welcoming students (and parents) to our new offices over the coming weeks.

Year 10 Knox-Pymble Afternoons

Over the past three weeks, our Year 10 students have had the pleasure of joining Year 10 students from Knox Grammar School for a series of choice-based afternoon activities. Students were provided with a range of sporting and service activities including netball, volleyball, soccer, baking, knitting and volunteering in the Out of School Hours Care (OSHC).

It has been wonderful to see new connections formed through these co-educational opportunities. Tomorrow, a group of Year 10 students will also be hosting a focus group with students from Shore as they prepare for the Shore-Pymble dance which will be held in Week 1 of Term 4. We are very proud of the range of co-educational opportunities available to our Upper School students. These activities, offered over the course of the year in a range of settings, provide our students with opportunities to make connections beyond the school community, build their confidence and develop their ability to work with a diverse range of peers.

Exchange Update

Last weekend, our Head of Upper School, Victoria Harrison, accompanied a group of excited Year 10 students for the start of their exchange experience in Argentina. We are excitedly awaiting their updates and look forward to sharing these with you in the coming weeks. We have also farewelled students heading to Scotland, Japan and New Zealand and are eagerly awaiting their photos!

Year 9 Residential Program

It has been wonderful having all of our Year 9 students back together on campus this week after the conclusion of the Term 3 Residential Program at Vision Valley. Last Friday, our campers took part in a special student-led Honouring Ceremony, as they celebrated the end of their residential program. Serena, Riley and Nazgol in Year 9, have kindly offered reflections on their Residential program.

Throughout this month on the residential program, we have overcome many challenges and gained more independence and responsibility. We participated in many outdoor activities at Vision Valley and went on several expeditions where we were attacked by many leeches on the hikes. It was definitely a change of our daily routines and lifestyle since we were put in lodges with 40-50 other girls, going on the VV3 runs most mornings and having dinner with each other every night, but we had so much fun and didn’t want to leave by the end. On the last day we had an honouring ceremony to wrap up the program and reflected on our experiences and all of the memories we made over the four weeks. – Serena Cummings (Year 9)

The residential program was so good. The Blue Mountains were great as we went canyoning. The food was great – cooking with trangias was a very different kind of experience. We also went to Bouddi National Park to trek. It was hard when we thought the lookout was so much closer than we expected. The highlight was going for a swim at Tallows after a long day of walking – it was so refreshing and special. The honouring ceremony last Friday was culturally special and memorable. We reflected on our experiences and shared our gratitude for the Vision Valley staff and our families and parents. – Riley Atkinson (Year 9)

I can’t even name one highlight as I have so many. I was really proud of myself for trying so many new things – the Expeds were such a challenge. I miss living with friends and having so much time with them at Vision Valley. The honouring ceremony was really unique – it was so emotional seeing my family again. I never thought I would have been able to hike 50+km – I am proud of that. – Nazgol Koochakzadeh (Year 9)

Year 10 Commerce Visit to UTS

The UTS entrepreneurship workshop provided a dynamic platform to delve into the intricacies of starting and managing a business venture. The CEO of a company came to speak to us about her experiences owning and running a business plus why she does it. She volunteers her time for the company which provides tutoring services to students who can’t access standard education, while also having a full-time job. This is quite an inspirational story as she also shared with us, her struggles when she attended school with mental health. Overall, it was an informative workshop that we would love to attend again.

Hands-on activities such as discussions, note taking, questions and theoretical situations really helped form the core of our workshop experience, allowing us to apply the knowledge learnt to practical scenarios. For example, we were tasked with think of a problem in the world. It could have been big like climate change, or something small like the food at our school café was too expensive. Our group chose to do accessibility to electricity as lots, of people, for many different reasons, do not have access to it. After we had found our problem, we were asked to find a solution, which for our group was to create a company that built solar panels on buildings in low-income areas where most people couldn’t afford electricity. We felt that this hands-on activity added to the experience of the workshop and helped put our knowledge to use.

The workshop helped us understand all the real-life applications of the theory we were learning in class. For example, the CEO told us to always focus on your problem or gap in the market, because that is what your business is going to be aiming to solve. She also reiterated the fact that recognising failure is part of the process but it’s important to learn from that experience. Therefore, this workshop was an incredibly informative and enjoyable experience which we are grateful we were able to participate in.

Written by Samantha Fahy & Ruby Lyons (Year 10)

Important Dates

Term 3

Friday 30 August – Year 9 Subject Selection presentation and Launch of Leadership for 2025

Friday 30 August – Year 10 Pymble/Shore Focus group meeting

Tuesday 10 September – Year 9 Residential Program Term 4 Parent Information Evening/Student Icebreaker event

Thursday 12 September – Year 9 Subject Selection Evening ONLINE for Parents

Wednesday 18 September – 2025 International Exchange Information Evening

Friday 27 September – Boarder’s Travel Day/Last day of Term 3

Monday 14 October – Boarder’s Travel Day/Staff Day

Tuesday 15 October – First day of Term 4