From the Junior School
From the Head of Junior School
As we come towards the end of the year and the end of tenure for our Year 6 leaders, I am delighted to announce our Junior School leaders for 2025.
The competition was extremely fierce this year, with 152 nominations for leadership and some amazing applications by our Year 5 students. Whilst not every girl receives a specific portfolio, we work hard to create leadership opportunities throughout the year for as many of our aspiring leaders as possible.
Here are the leaders for 2025:
| Chapel Leaders | Amelié Berg, Sophia Hanna, Isabelle Lau and Claire Zhou |
| Kindness Leaders | Sooin Lee, Nouvelle Nicholson, Christina Yang and Isabella Yue |
| Library Leaders | Rebecca Cooke, Alex Handley-Greaves, Emily Pu Genevieve Wong |
| STEM Leaders | Evie Cho, Candice L,i Lucy Ma and Ellie Zhang |
| SRC Leaders | Emma Feng, Emily Long, Sarah Lu and Loriah Zhang |
| Bennett House Leaders | Ava Azizmohammad, Isabelle La, Charlotte Lau and Stephanie Zhao |
| Goodlet House Leaders | Charlotte Elliot, Evie Haslam, Vanessa Lee and Zara Ware |
| Hammond House Leaders | Mya Aggarwal, Naomi Shi, Emma Wang and Alicia Yao |
| Ingleholme House Leaders | Dorothy Ban, Pipi Chen, Zoe Soumboulidis and Aaisha Suresh |
| Lang House Leaders | Zara Batten, Zoe Hanna, Olivia Headley and Julie Kang |
| Marden House Leaders | Claudia Birrell, Madeline Dreverman, Alice Na and Emily Walker |
| Thomas House Leaders | Bhuvika Bhatia, Jennifer Chen, Isabel Khattar and Evie Sumner |
| Wylie House Leaders | Angelina Kim, Ivy Li, Summer Wang and Sunny Wang |
Congratulations to Safina Burgess who was shortlisted as a finalist in the Fred Hollows Humanitarian awards. As one of our exceptional Kindness Leaders this year, Safina has consistently demonstrated an extraordinary capacity for compassion and leadership. She has also been instrumental in various service initiatives at school including leading our social justice club, advocating for female equality and role models. Her leadership in these initiatives has been marked by enthusiasm, dedication and an unwavering commitment to making a difference to the world around her. We are very proud of you, Safina.
Congratulations to Lakshi Rajeev who placed first in Australia in the Australasia Debating Competition 2024 and first place in the Under 11s in Australasia. This is an exceptional achievement in a hotly contested competition.
Lakshi, Charlotte Xue and Emma Popli also qualified for the quarter finals in the U12s division with Charlotte placing 2nd and Emma placing 3rd. We are very Pymble proud!
Congratulations to Vivian Li (Year 5) who has been awarded Highly Commended in the John Locke Institute essay competition for 2024. It’s phenomenal that two of our students; Lily Zhang (Year 6) and Vivian Li (Year 5) have been recognised internationally for their essay writing skills.
Congratulations to our Robotics teams who are headed to national championships. We wish these three teams all the best in the competition in a few weeks.
| 6510U – Year 6 | 6510V – Year 6 6510B – Year 5 |
| Bianca Ng | Emma Fu Diya Dhanpal |
| Chelsea Wang | Emma Popli Mia Farthing |
| Lily Zhang | Charlotte Wu Aisha Younus |
| Adeline Wu | Lydia Chen |
Our amazing dancers
This week approximately 300 of our Junior School girls danced with confidence and grace on the stage in our 2024 Dance Showcase. We are so proud of the girls’ dedication and passion for dance and the way they have worked together to bring this year’s vision to life. Congratulations girls; you are dance superstars!
Kindness through music
A huge thank you to Emma Popli, Charlotte Wu, Ashleigh Yip and Jana Zhang who performed as a string quartet for international educators who visited the College this week. The girls played with such poise that our visitors assumed they were Secondary students.
A message from Lara Bird – Deputy Head of Junior School – Academics
Congratulations to Lakshi Rajeev and Adeline Wu who were finalists in the IPSHA Speakers’ Challenge and were awarded Highly Commended. Our team of girls, including Ria Iyer, Alice Jiang and Sarah Tew, competed against 64 students across 23 schools and presented on the topic “Think Big”. The girls demonstrated courage and resilience in stepping forward to share their ideas and perspective, with confidence and poise. Public speaking is a skill that requires not only preparation but also bravery and the girls exemplified both. We are Pymble Proud of you all!
Congratulations to the Year 6 students in Ms Davenport and Mrs Meacock’s maths groups for their outstanding achievements in the APSMO Maths Olympiad Inter-School Competition.
Their hard work and dedication have earned them well deserved recognition; the girls in Mrs Meacock’s group placed within the top 10 per cent of participants across Australia and New Zealand, and the girls in Ms Davenport’s group placed within the top 20 per cent. This is a testament to your commitment and your passion for learning.
Well done to each of you on this remarkable accomplishment!
Also a huge congratulations to all students who participated in the Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge through Australian Maths Trust (AMT). Our students performed exceptionally well and congratulations to Charlotte Wu who achieved a perfect score and was awarded the Certificate of Excellence. The following students achieved a Certificate of Distinction or High Distinction.
A message from Steve Robinson – Deputy Head of Junior School – Operations
Co-curricular 2025
The opportunity to book your daughter into a co-curricular activity for 2025 will commence on Wednesday 20 November. Links and times will be published by CCSA.
It is a mandatory requirement of co-curricular registration to provide your OSHC number in order to complete your booking (for 2025 Junior School students). This number can be found within the Kidsoft App once confirmation of your OSHC registration has been received and processed by OSHC. This process includes tennis, co-curricular music and swimming. Please contact our OSHC team if you cannot find your registration number.
End of Term Afternoon Supervision
A reminder to parents that from Week 5, some co-curricular activities will be finishing prior to the end of term. If this impacts your daughter, please ensure you have arranged alternative supervision. Parents who have recently registered their children for OSHC but have yet to try this service may be eligible for the complimentary ‘Welcome Afternoon’.
End-of-Term Events
Invitations for our Celebration of Learning (Kindergarten to Year 2) and Speech Day (Years 3 to 6) have been sent to families this week. Please complete this survey regarding departure times and attendance in the final days.
Wellbeing Weekly – A message from Kate Giles – Head of Wellbeing K-6
Unstructured Play
Thank you for those families who have already offered some items for our unstructured play sessions. We would still love donations of any of the following items:
- Tyres
- Ropes
- Large cardboard boxes (for example boxes that would fit whitegoods such as fridges)
- Large plastic tubs/drums
- Pipes (plastic, PVC or cardboard)
- Hammocks (or sheets that can be used to make hammocks)
- Plastic crates
- Cones
- Barrels
Please let me know if you have any of these items that you may be able to provide.
204 for 2024 Service Initiative – A message from Kindness Club
This term Kindness Club is leading a final kindness challenge for the year – 204 for 2024!
In conjunction with our College Chaplains, we are supporting the Rev Bill Crews/Exodus Foundation with their Christmas Appeal. We are seeking 204 (or more) items of either Christmas children’s gifts (new, not pre-loved, books, toys, board games, Lego or craft items) or Christmas food items (non-perishable/non-refrigerated).
Kindness Club is also partnering with Trisha Viswanathan (Year 6) to donate NEW picture books and board books (for babies).These will be donated to the Westmead Children’s Hospital to be given to the children’s wards following Trisha’s passion to help babies and children with their emotional and cognitive development while in hospital. These items need to be new as the hospital does not accept pre-loved items.
We are asking all girls in Kindergarten to Year 6 to bring in either a new picture/board book for Westmead Children’s Hospital OR a Christmas gift or food item for the Rev Bill Crews Foundation to Hedgehog House by the end of week 7 and it will be then delivered in time for Christmas.
Please help us with the 204 for 2024 challenge this year and let’s support these two great initiatives. Should you have any questions, please email kgiles@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au
From Trisha Viswanathan, Riya Iyer, Chloe Morrison, Melody Chen and Safina Burgess (Year 6)
Freshly Made Lemonade: Year 2 and Year 6
A group of Year 2 students came up with an idea to make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged and homeless children and young people by raising money through selling homemade lemonade. The girls will be making and selling their homemade lemonade to Years 2 and 6 on Monday 18 November at lunchtime for $1 or $2, with all proceeds going to Taldumande Youth Services. Thank you to Ella Birch and Kitty Mae Ruiz del Portal Greene for this incredible act of service and kindness to others.
A message from Kurt Schweinberger – Head of Creative and Performing Arts K-6
Registrations for the 2025 Year 3 String Instrumental Program opened yesterday on Monday 11 November and will close on Monday 18 November.
Stringed instruments are wonderful to start at an early age as the instruments come in little sizes. In Year 3, viola players can either learn on a small size viola or have a violin strung up as a viola.
The Year 3 String program is open to both beginning students and students who already have experience with the violin, viola or cello. All Year 3 String players will participate in the Co-curricular Year 3 String Orchestra which rehearses on a Wednesday afternoon.
Click here for more information outlining the program.
Please note all Year 2 students have met with the Head of Strings and participated in a String demonstration. This allowed the girls to ask questions and hear what each instrument sounds like.
Students may choose from violin, viola, cello or double bass. If you have further questions, please contact Music Admin – musicadmin@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au
From the Junior School Parent Group (JSPG)
Year 6 Parents Cocktail Party
You are warmly invited to attend the Year 6 Parent Cocktail Party on Friday 29 November from 6.30pm to 8.30pm on Marden Lawn. This is a parent-only event (no siblings) held during the Year 6 Silent Disco. While the girls enjoy their final Junior School function, parents will have the opportunity to celebrate their journey through the Junior School and look forward to the new adventures to come in Year 7 in 2025.
The cost of the event is $28.00 per person, which includes beer, Prosecco and Aperol spritz as well as soft drinks and water. Guests are invited to bring a plate to share. If you would like to bring a plate, please sign up here to indicate what you will be bringing.
Please click here to purchase a ticket by Thursday 21 November. We look forward to seeing you there!
Year 1 Families Christmas Party
Date: Sunday 24 November
Time: 1.00pm
Location: Bicentennial Park, West Pymble.
Year 5 Christmas Drink
Thank you as always for your support.
Please contact us with any questions at pymblelcjspg@gmail.com
Key Dates – Week 4 and 5
Friday 15 November – Dance Showcase 5 (Performance Stream – 6.30pm)
Saturday 16 November – IPSHA Saturday Sport
Saturday 16 November – Dance Showcase 6 (Kindergarten to Year 2 – 3.00pm)
Saturday 16 November – Dance Showcase 7 (Performance Stream and awards – 6.30pm)
Tuesday 19 November – Year 4 Windows into Learning 8.30am – 10.25am
Tuesday 19 November – Year 5 Windows into Learning 11.00am – 12.45pm
Tuesday 19 November – Year 3R/3M/3BM Excursion to Maritime Museum
Wednesday 20 November – Year 3S/3L Excursion to Maritime Museum
Wednesday 20 November – Year 5/Year 11 Buddy time in KM Building
Thursday 21 November – K-2 Swimming Carnival
Friday 22 November – Best of PJ Factor Years 3 to 6 (10.45am to 12.45pm)
Speech Day and Celebration of Learning Dates
Tuesday 3 December – Years 3-6 Speech Day (9.00am to 11.00am)
Tuesday 3 December – Kindergarten Nativity and Celebration of Learning (11.30am to 1.00pm)
Tuesday 3 December – Years 1 and 2 Celebration of Learning (2.00pm to 3.00pm)
Kate Brown
Head of Junior School