From the Boarding School
Welcome to 2025! I hope you have had a wonderful start to the year, it has certainly been a happy time here in Boarding. Last week, we welcomed 39 new Boarders to Pymble and were delighted to have 108 returning Boarders join in the fun last Thursday. A super-sized family of 147 Boarders feels just right for us.
Our new Boarders and their families enjoyed a warm welcome by our Heads and Deputy Heads of Houses, along with our Assistant Heads of Houses and our team of indispensable Boarding prefects. There was an information session for new parents in the style of ‘speed dating’ but much more fun, followed by a beautiful chapel service and delicious dinner.
The chapel service is always a highlight for me, and I am grateful to Rev Danielle who makes our time in chapel so memorable. Yes, there were a few tears and our Avonmoore Prefect, Alice, helped put it all in perspective as she shared her experiences as a Boarder for five years. It was my great pleasure to lead a new tradition as I invited each of our new Boarders to the alter so that Dr Hadwen and Ms Rockwell could present each Boarder with their Boarders’ badge.
The Boarding badge is such a significant feature of our community, signifying the importance of the position of Boarders at the College and the responsibilities that go hand in hand with this privilege. I asked that the Boarders wear their badges with great pride and deep respect for the fine tradition of Boarding at Pymble.
Boarding Parent Group (BPG) Meeting
Last Thursday afternoon our BPG came together in record numbers. They were excited to hear from our Head of the BPG, Edwina Beveridge, about the plans for the year to come; our Head Boarders Sophie and Celeste’s vision for 2025, along with College updates from Dr Hadwen and Ms Rockwell. A special highlight was a video from Mr Bell, who is such an important member of our Boarding family but sadly unable to attend on the evening. The minutes of the meeting will be forwarded to you by email in the coming weeks.
Welcome Drinks
The Welcome Drinks went off in true Boarder style with dads ‘shooting the breeze’ and mums ‘catching up’. Once again, we had a record attendance and it was extra special to have our Chair of the Board, Mr Chris Fydler OAM, join the gathering. We are looking forward to similar attendance and celebration at the College Icebreaker on Friday 21 February. If you haven’t already, please click here to book your tickets and be sure to remember the ‘afters’ for Boarding parents at Pymble Pub.
Coming together as a community
And, it wasn’t just fun for our families, our Boarders went all out to squeeze every last drop of fun out of the first weekend of term. Starting with the New Girls’ Concert on Friday we were all thrilled to see the many talents of our new Boarders revealed.
Year 9 Boarder Larissa absolutely wowed us with her performance of Toccata by A. Khachaturian and was an easy choice for first place. Our other Boarders treated us to singing and dancing, even including our new staff members in the ‘Baby Shark’ routine.
As always, the finale of the night was the New Girls song, and while the tune was non-existent the words were a great reminder of life as a Boarder.
The Amazing Sydney Adventure
Saturday was a chance for our Boarders to negotiate the public transport network. Buses, trains, ferries, the Metro and light rail were all on the agenda with Boarders traversing the city between Manly, the Sydney Opera House and Barangaroo. Throw in some instant challenges and cryptic clues and you have a great day out. Speaking of which, see if you can spot the celebrity that one group were lucky enough to have a photo with (hint – it is rugby league star, Daly Cherry-Evans!).
My thanks go to our Deputy Director of Boarding, Theresa Mimmo, for her faultless organisation, and our Year 12 Boarders who were outstanding role models, motivating and engaging the various groups.
Raging Waters
As is the tradition, we finished the weekend with a much-loved trip to Raging Waters. The cool water and terrifying slides are always a hit with the girls and it is extra nice for the girls to be able to catch up with friends from home who attend the day with their various Boarding schools. Again, I am grateful to our fabulous Year 12s, who embraced the opportunity so wholeheartedly and made it a very special day for everyone involved.
Live It, Love It, Learn It – Ms Theresa Mimmo, Deputy Director of Boarding
You will have received a hard copy of our Term 1 2025 Love It program and you can access a digital copy by clicking here. The program is filled with fun and engaging activities designed to make the most of the Sydney surrounds and build relationships amongst our Boarders.
Boarders Get Baking is back this Friday, and no doubt our in-house domestic goddess, Kathryn Weidemann, will have a wonderful culinary adventure planned. Saturday will be a quieter day with a shopping afternoon so the girls can stock up on all their stationery needs. A trip to Watsons Bay is planned for Sunday and this will be a lovely opportunity for our Boarders to venture to the east side and discover a beautiful harbour beach with the added bonus of a picnic lunch with a side of hot chips!
Learn It will be in full swing at the start of Week 3 with the return of our academic tutors and staff. All Boarders will be emailed on Monday morning to sign up for time to work with a tutor or teacher.
Keeping Up With Our Boarders
I am delighted to share with you our latest edition of Keeping Up With Our Boarders. This publication is a lovely celebration of all things Boarding with a collection of articles written by our Boarders’ Editorial Team. Grab a cup of tea and click the following link for your personal insight into our Boarding family.
Broadband news
The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts have advised that the School Student Broadband Initiative has been extended to 30 June 2028 (previously it was until the end of 2025).
Minister Rowland’s media release is available at Albanese Government delivering free broadband for 30,000 unconnected Australian families | Ministers for the Department of Infrastructure.
I hope this is welcome news to some of our more remote families.
A View From My Window
For those of you new to our Boarding family, a little background on ‘A View From my Window’ – each week a Boarder shares stories of where she is from and what is special about her home. Some girls choose to present their story in chapel, others elect to have them published in The College Compass newsletter for everyone to read. These stories are a wonderful way to celebrate the diversity of our community and help to build connection and respect for each other.
This week I am sharing a special ‘view’ presented by our Avonmoore Prefect, Alice, to our new Boarding families:
Hello! My name is Alice. I have been Boarding at Pymble since Year 7 and I come from the small town of Young where I live with my mum, dad, brother and sister. Young is best known for its cherries. It is in fact the cherry capital of Australia, so that is why on our farm we have pigs! We also have sheep and cattle and grow crops, such as wheat and canola, which we use to feed our pigs. Our pigs are very spoilt, and they get fed a mixed diet of wheat and food waste, which includes anything from flavoured milk, Tic-Tacs, Zooper Doopers, pasta and other by-products that can’t be sold for human consumption.
I love being on the farm, riding my motorbikes and arguing with my sister, Sophie, without the neighbours listening in. These holidays I helped with harvest, however, I was demoted from driving the header to driving the chaser bin, but that was definitely not because of a lack of skill. When we are at home my family loves to go water skiing and for swims in the dam with our cousins. I am so lucky that I get to experience going to school in Sydney and learning what life is like in such a busy city, but also being able to go home and enjoy the peace and quiet of the farm.
It is always great to come back to Boarding, especially after the summer holidays, when the excitement of having me home wears off on my parents. I have been Boarding since year seven and I have made the most wonderful friends.
Boarding is the most unique experience, learning independence from such a young age and gaining the maturity of navigating living with your friends 24/7. When you share a room with someone, sometimes they might invade your personal space or you will have a disagreement. Everything always sorts itself out but it is important to know that’s normal. Pymble Boarding is such an amazing place with a diverse group of people coming from all over Australia and the world. You find you learn a lot about the geography of New South Wales.
For everyone who is starting their first year in Boarding I encourage you to take every opportunity; try all the sports and subjects until you find what is right for you.
Boarder of the Week
I am delighted to announce our first Boarder of the Week as Mia. Now in Year 12, Mia joined us as a bright and bubbly Year 7 and for the last five years she has filled our lives with joy. She is delightful in every way – down to earth, kind, fun and pragmatic. She calls a spade a spade with respect and integrity.
Mia also demonstrates inclusive leadership and this was on display last weekend when she went all out to ensure everyone felt included and had a fabulous time on our Amazing Sydney Adventure. Resplendent in blue to represent her Goodlet Spirit House, Mia encouraged, inspired and lead the way to make for a memorable day for everyone. We are so grateful to have this wonderful human in our Boarding family.
Save the Date
Tuesday 11 February – Lunar New Year celebrations
Friday 21 February – PPA Icebreaker and Boarding parent “afters” at Pymble Pub
Friday 28 February – Year 12 Formal
Sunday 2 March – Mother and Daughter Lunch event – venue TBA
Friday 14 March – Year 11 Formal
Friday 21 and Saturday 22 March – Year 12 Boarder and Day Girl Parents’ regional weekend
Saturday 8 April – Boarders’ End of Term Chapel Service and Dinner
Monday 10 April – Face-to-Face Learning Discussions for Boarding Families
Tuesday 11 April – Boarders’ Travel Day
Carolyn Burgess
Head of Boarding