From the Junior School
From the Head of Junior School
Showing respect through our actions
I want to give a shout-out to all our girls and parents who bring their Pymble spirit to Saturday sport. It was glorious watching our Year 2 girls building their soccer skills and our girls in Years 3 and 5 play some high-energy games of soccer on Saturday.
I was particularly proud of our Year 5 team who have introduced a new tradition where they clap the team playing in the game after them onto the pitch. Thank you, Year 5, for leading the way with respect. Thank you also to the parents for being there to support our girls and modelling respect and care by the way you chat with one another and grow new friendships on the sidelines.
Respect through service in our community
I am so proud of the enthusiasm amongst our girls to connect with others in our community to bring conversation, care and respect to those they interact with. This term we have girls playing music to the residents at Kari Court, we have girls going to Northaven and Bowden Brae Aged Care Centres and girls who will be going to St Lucy’s School, Wahroonga to share their passion for robotics with some of the students at that school.
We also have an amazing group of keen letter writers in Year 5 who are working with Mrs Michele Wilson to become penpals with the students at Milingimbi School and to build friendships with those students through letters and pictures they share with one another.
Our Kindness Leaders for 2025 (Sooin Lee, Nouvelle Nicholson, Christina Yang and Isabella Yue) are leading service across our Junior School this year, and in our assembly on Monday they outlined a number of ways girls (and families) across the Junior School can get involved in service opportunities coming up this year:
Lindfield Fun Run – Sunday 4 May from 8.00am (the five-kilometre run starts at 8.45am and the two-kilometre run starts at 9.00am)
There are options to complete the two-kilometre or five-kilometre (or even the ten-kilometre!) walk/run around a course set out by Rotary. This event is a fundraising event to support KYDS and the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter (HKWS).
KYDS is a charity supporting counselling and mental health care for children and young people, and HWKS is a charity supporting women and children who need safe housing and support. Last year we were the largest school team and we are looking to bring that trophy back again this year to continue our mission of being known as a kindness-focused school.
Balmoral Burn – Sunday 25 May
This is a 400-metre run up Awaba Street, Balmoral and entries are open for children, babies in pushchairs, families and even dogs on leads! It’s a steep but short run which is lots of fun for all involved and raises funds to support the Humpty Foundation, which helps sick children in hospitals. Currently Pymble girls in Senior School are the Head of the Hill and there is a primary division competition where the current record is held by Roseville Public School.
An exciting design opportunity – design a logo competition
We are looking for someone to draw/design a LOGO to represent Service in our College.
What is Service?
More than charity.
To serve is to build relationships with others. We can learn and grow through service
We listen respectfully to understand what assistance our service partner needs from us.
Our aim: Shaping the world together through care, solidarity, respect and justice
Care: kindness and compassion to others.
Solidarity: learning by listening so we really understand others we hope to serve
Respect: valuing others and always listening and speaking respectfully
Justice: seeking fairness for everyone
Our College focus for 2025 and 2026 is on serving women and children.
Competition guidelines:
- Draw or design a logo that represents Service in our College
- Your logo must be original
- It can be drawn or created on your iPad
- It needs to represent what service means to you – think care, respect and justice.
- Keep it simple. The most effective logos are clear and simple.
- All designs/drawings must be handed in to Hedgehog House or emailed to Mrs Brown: juniorschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au by Friday 7 March 2025 (end of Week 6)
A message from Dr Sarah Loch, Director of the Pymble Institute
Data gathering about mobile phones – please support our research
We are interested in understanding how students and parents in Years 4 to 8 are using phones: Wise, smart, brick and none! We warmly invite parents in these year groups to share their insights and we’d like to thank parents who have completed it already. We want to ensure as many voices as possible are included as survey feedback is helping our team to understand student and parent perspectives and develop our approach accordingly.
You can complete the survey by clicking here. The survey will take five to ten minutes to complete and will be open until Wednesday 26 March.
Early responses are helping us to understand students’ phone and social media use, and issues parents may be experiencing. Did you know that, according to data so far:
- parents mostly get a phone for their daughter to “communicate with her” and “track her movements”;
- the main reason parents opted-in for a Wise Phone is to “support the College’s direction” and “limit their daughter’s use of social media”; and
- parents report their daughters with smart phones are spending longer hours on these phones than students with a Wise Phone, both during school days and at weekends?
A message from Mrs Kate Giles, Head of Wellbeing
This term we have a number of new lunchtime initiatives to increase connection and build community in the Junior School:
Compass Lunch
Students eat together in the classroom with their teacher and class ‘family style’ on Mondays and Fridays before going out to the playground for the remainder of lunchtime. By sitting and eating together, the girls will share conversation and discussions with their class, growing understanding of themselves and each other.
Studies have shown that children are more likely to eat their meals when seated in a structured environment and that slowing down and being more mindful with mealtime allows a positive focus on food as fuel.
Eating together will also grow respect and understanding of diversity, including intercultural food awareness. In addition, this also has other benefits such as aiding digestion, increasing manners and diminishing rubbish in the playground.
Why not Wednesdays
Following Mrs Brown’s encouragement of the girls to challenge themselves, be curious and ask ‘Why not?’, the girls are being encouraged to try something new on Wednesdays.
Across the year there will be a variety of different activities that the girls can join in and try. This term, our wonderful art teachers, Mrs Emily Clutterham and Mrs Emily Gregory are leading art sessions for the girls to explore different areas of art-making. We will also have some student-led clubs, with the Year 3 to 6 girls submitting expressions of interest to run their own clubs, with the selected clubs to start in Week 5.
Friendship Club
In addition to the clubs run by our Year 6 leaders, Friendship Club will also commence in Week 5. This club builds upon the URSTRONG program with the introduction of friend-o-leaders who will help lead a variety of games and activities so as to help students interact, form meaningful relationships and make new connections. Thank you to Emily Horniak, Isabella Pan, Emma Gan and Ella Li for leading this club.
Parent Series
The first of the Wellbeing sessions in the Academic & Wellbeing Series for 2025 will be held on 26 February at 9.30am in the Junior School Library. This session will immediately follow the JSPG meeting and will focus on emotional regulation, how this is taught in the classroom and how you can help your daughter to identify and manage her emotions.
The session will be led by Kate Giles, Head of Wellbeing, Victoria Aikman, Kindergarten Coordinator and Tracy Reid, Year 3 Coordinator. If you would like to attend this session, please sign up using this link.
A message from Mr Stephen Robinson – Deputy Head of Junior School – Operations
Critical Medical Information
As part of the College’s commitment to keep all students safe, it is vital that we have all requisite information and medication relating to allergies and medical conditions. It is imperative that information shared with the school is complete and up to date for our staff and nurses to ensure optimal care is provided for your daughter when they are on campus. If your daughter suffers from anaphylaxis or asthma, please register the action plan with the College and provide all the necessary medication. Further information can be obtained from our Health Care team or from Junior School administration.
Nut Allergies
Please ensure that your daughter’s food does not contain any nuts as some of our students have severe allergies to food containing nuts and nut products. This includes spreads such as peanut butter and Nutella.
Uniform Matters
Students are required to wear their white hat to school each day they are in their summer uniform. The summer uniform is to be worn on all days in Term 1, except when PE lessons are scheduled. Students may wear a jumper or blazer if they require additional layers of clothing, but the winter uniform is not to be worn until Term 2.
Junior School Canteen Helpers
On Wednesdays and Fridays in Term 1, Junior School allows students to purchase (through Flexischools) cold drinks and frozen desserts. Once your order is placed your daughter will receive a brown paper bag, where she will go to the Junior School Canteen (lunch tub room) to collect her cold treat.
Please click here if you can volunteer your time. For the care and safety of your daughters, all volunteers must have a current Working with Children Check number (WWCC). If we do not already have your WWCC on file, please email to juniorschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au your WWCC number and date of birth so your WWCC can be verified.
Departure: Daily Routines
For those with daughters in Kindergarten to Year 2, your daughter’s Compass teacher will receive your daughter’s after-school arrangements each day from the travel master list, to assist your daughter in getting to her correct location after school.
Girls in Years 3 to 6 are responsible to remember where they need to go after school each day. Please use your daughter’s diary to assist her to remember where to go each afternoon.
Any changes to these routines must be sent in writing to the Junior School office juniorschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au . Please note that it is important that any changes to travel arrangements are received prior to 2.00pm.
For girls with older sisters, they must wait at the Junior School Library until their sister collects them by 3.30pm or at OSHC if they have a sister in the Senior School.
Girls Traveling on College Buses
Girls wait in the K-2 School Office and are supervised until 3.00pm when they are walked to Sunshine Square to join the Year 3 to 6 girls. All Junior School girls are then walked to James Kelso Field by a teacher, where they will then board the bus.
A reminder that all students travelling on the Pymble bus service must have a current registration. Please click here to register your daughter.
Term 1 Key Dates (Weeks 2 and 3)
Friday 21 February – Class photos K-6 (Summer uniform)
Friday 21 February – PPA Icebreaker 6.45pm-9.00pm
Monday 24 to Friday 28 February – Junior School Wellbeing Week (no homework), Year 3 to 6 Sacred Week
Tuesday 25 February – Allwell Testing Catch up
Wednesday 26 February – JSPG Term 1 meeting 8.30am to 9.30am
Wednesday 26 February – Wellbeing Series (Kindergarten to Year 6) 9.30am to 10.30am
Thursday 27 February – Year 2 School House Museum Excursion
Thursday 27 February – Academic Series (Kindergarten to Year 2 Maths) 4.00pm to 5.00pm
Junior School
From the Junior School Parent Group (JSPG)
Welcome to 2024 – Icebreaker Invitation – Friday 21 February
Reminder – Pymble Icebreaker this Friday!
Looking forward to see everyone at the Pymble Parent Association (PPA) Icebreaker on Friday, 21 February! It’s a fantastic parent-only evening to catch up with friends, meet new families, and enjoy canapés and drinks on Gloucester Lawn.
📅 Date: Friday 21 February
⏰ Time: 6.45pm to 9.00pm
📍 Location: Gloucester Lawn
Upcoming Events
JSPG Meeting – All Parents Welcome!
We invite all Junior School parents and carers to join our first JSPG Meeting of the year. This is a great opportunity to connect and hear about plans for 2025.
📅 Wednesday 26 February
⏰ 8.30am to 9.30am
📍 3-6 Junior School Library
Year 5 Parents – Sip & Supper
📅 Date: Wednesday 5 March
⏰ Time: 6.30pm
📍 Location: The Greengate Hotel, Killara
Join us for a relaxed evening of great food, good company, and friendly conversation. This is a wonderful chance to connect with fellow parents and unwind.
Please contact us with any questions at pymblelcjspg@gmail.com
Kate Brown
Head of Junior School