From the Principal

Year 6, you are superstars! To quote one of the many brilliant numbers you performed in Seussical the Musical this week, How Lucky You Are to have Mr Kurt Schweinberger, Mrs Maria Lee, Miss Ellen Buckley and all our teachers and parent helpers in the Junior School to support your experience of performing an entire Broadway show live on stage in our GMCPA. It takes a great deal of courage to take to the stage, especially if it’s your first time and you’re playing to a full house, as you did on Wednesday. Congratulations to all involved on a fabulously entertaining show, and a delightful display of collaboration and creativity.

Just before the curtain went up, a few of our cast members came out in full costume to personally welcome a group of children from the Macquarie University Special Education Centre who were here to see the show – their first ever excursion. We are so proud of our girls for taking this time to greet our visitors with kindness, care and respect. #PymbleProud

These small but significant displays of our values remind me how lucky WE are to have so many wonderful role models across the College who use their compassion and influence to bring our community closer together. Sadly, we have just one week left with our Year 12 role models, who we will honour next week in a series of formal and informal celebrations. We also celebrated our soon-to-be graduates in a final Assembly for Years 5 to 12 this week, during which our wonderful Head Prefects Julie Sheng and Bella Walker addressed the student body as leaders for the last time. With pleasure and pride, I now handover to Bella and Julie to share their final ‘Roar in 2024’ to their ‘pride’.  

Farewell from “Yours truly, Bella and Julie”

“It is a bittersweet feeling to be standing before you for the last time, as we say goodbye to you all, the Pymble pride that we love and cherish.  

“I think we can say we have learnt an incredible amount over our time at Pymble, particularly this year. As summer approaches and you begin to reflect on your own graduating year, and the excitement but strangeness that comes with the thought of leaving this community, we hope that you find comfort in Pumba and Timon’s problem-free philosophy, Hakuna Matata. Whatever happens next, we will be there for each other and, as Alumni, we will always be there to help you. To our younger Pymble girls, take all that knowledge in – you may not realise it now, but you are living your future memories each day at Pymble!

“To you, our Pymble family, we express our eternal gratitude for the way you have rallied behind us and supported our leadership journey, from your thunderous cheers when we were first announced as Head Prefects, to your enthusiastic engagement with our 2024 theme ‘Hear us Roar in 2024’. Thank you for the smiles you gave us as we walked around the school, and the way you live out College values with grace and humility. 

“2024 has been a year of energy and wonder. It has been a year of self-discovery, friendship and laughter. We can’t deny that it has also been a year with a few bumps and hurdles, and you should all be so proud of how you approached and navigated your personal jungle.

“We are incredibly honoured to have had the opportunity to support the Pymble community this year. It has been extremely rewarding to see you search for and find your roar, conquer the school jungle, and grow into strong young women with boundless potential – but it’s also completely okay if you are still searching. 

“Although we are setting off to new destinations, we are sure that the leadership cycle will continue with our two incoming Head Prefects, Emily Abadee and Ang-Ya Koo. We are confident that these two very capable leaders, who Just Can’t Wait to Be King, will carry on our torch in 2025. Emily, Ang-Ya, we invite you to complete The Circle of Life!

“We can’t wait to see all the exciting things that you all will get up to next year. Believe in yourself. Strive for the highest. And until next time, keep roaring!”

Yours truly, Bella and Julie

Windows into Learning

This week we travel from space to the ancient king of Macedonia thanks to the following sneak peeks into our Junior School and Upper School classrooms.

Exploration and discovery in Science

This term, Year 3 students have embarked on an exciting journey of exploration into the relationship between the Earth and the Sun, focusing on the concepts of rotation and revolution, and engaging with the themes of investigation, coding, observation, and exploration. The girls explored the vastness of space, the Earth’s seasons, its axial tilt, and the rotation and revolution of our planet around the Sun. They coded Spheros to simulate the movement of the Earth and Sun, built models of the Earth’s revolution around the Sun using Lego Spike, researched biomes, and explored climate zones through Virtual Reality headsets. Additionally, they gained a deeper understanding of the reasons for the seasons and learned about the cycle of day and night through hands-on activities using globes and lamps.

These activities fostered creativity and critical thinking, allowing the girls to become inquisitive problem solvers. Their collaboration and communication skills have shone through as they worked together to manipulate digital systems and solve challenges. Teachers have witnessed moments of discovery as students cracked codes, experienced “a-ha” moments, and eagerly reflected on their learning.

Mrs Victoria Soumboulidis
Year 3 Compass Teacher

Fun and games with Alexander the Great

Creating a board game about Alexander the Great’s life and achievements was a challenging but fun and unique way for us to consolidate our learnings about this period of history. We started by following the scaffold provided, brainstorming ideas that would allow us to capture the key information about Alexander the Great while also developing an engaging board game for the target audience. We decided to make an educational board game for primary and high school students, which involved following the path of Alexander’s conquests while being challenged with quiz questions and military victories or defeats along the way to add an element of chance to the game. The first player to reach Babylon, where Alexander died and the legend of ‘the Great’ was born, wins the game. One of our favourite things about this project was looking for ways to incorporate details of Alexander’s life into the game, such as making character tokens with images of key figures during this time, including his nemesis Darius III of Persia. 

By Helena Tang and Kiki Chen
Year 10 Elective History students