From the Principal

There really is no place like home.

I have returned from the March of the Living educational experience with a full heart, the deepest conviction we are doing the right thing for humanity by continuing to focus on our Social Intelligence pillar through nurturing a culture of kindness and giving back to people in need, and an enormous appreciation for our amazing Pymble family. Of course, the best part of coming home is reconnecting with our girls, especially our Year 12s at their photo day today; I’m so proud of the young women they have become. Lunchtimes in the Secondary School have been joyous occasions filled with the sound of PAC Week performances (and a great deal of cheering), and our Junior School students are beyond excited to be officially inaugurated into one of our eight spirit Houses in a Hogwarts/Harry Potter-esque ceremony, complete with “sorting hat” and fabulous new House banners. It’s heartening to see the girls supporting each other so fiercely and with a sense of belonging to something that is bigger than them alone.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had a real insight into the hardship of feeling unwelcome in your homeland and, sadly, this continues to be the reality for many refugees. Here at Pymble, we are keen to continue to support refugees and are delighted to be hosting The Village Championship on Sunday. You may remember hearing about this event last year. It stemmed from one of our Year 12 students at the time, Tahmara Thomas, who was so moved by televised footage of Afghan locals desperately trying to leave their war-torn city that she wanted to do something to help. Joining forces with Her Village Foundation (HVF), she pitched the idea of hosting a festival at Pymble to welcome newly arrived refugee children from Afghanistan to our community. Tahmara is now at university studying Law and Psychology, in between organising this year’s event and making plans to head up HVF as CEO when it becomes a fully-fledged charity. It is my pleasure to hand over to Tahmara to tell you more.

Dear Pymble,

Please join us at The Village Championship on Sunday.

The Village Championship is a three-day program of friendship and collaboration between 20 Pymble girls and 20 Afghan girls. Day one is a leadership program with ice breaker activities. Day two is a football training day held at Rydalmere Football Club. The program summates on Sunday 7 May with a thrilling football match and Afghan cultural festival showcasing experiential stalls, inspirational speakers, and a taste of Afghan food, music and fashion. 

The Afghan girls involved are high school aged, the youngest being 12. Most of them have arrived in Australia in the last two years and some of them are here alone, having had to leave their families behind in Afghanistan. All of them have seen tragedy and war at close quarters and yet they are filled with spirit and hope. They want to get on with their lives in the best way possible. They aspire to go to good schools and universities, just like us. Our vision at HerVillage is to harness the power of connection to help empower young refugee women as the leaders of tomorrow. We want to be the bridge between these girls and the different services they might need to embrace life here. We believe in building a village of support and care around these young women who have been forced to leave behind their homes and communities and navigate major life changes at a very young age. Our next focus is practical services we can provide the girls such as scholarships and funding for academic tutoring, English lessons and driving classes. 

We are currently working with KPMG to become a registered charity and establish our board and constitution so we can be a sustainable organisation for change. I am excited to take on the role of the CEO, supported by our amazing team. I feel privileged to work with such an inspiring, diverse group of people and hope to use this opportunity to further the cause of young female leadership. 

Last year’s event raised $15,000 and we also worked with KPMG to donate a further $30,000 to Mahboba’s Promise. Mahboba Rawi will be at the festival on Sunday to share her inspirational story, which you can also watch here. But perhaps the greatest success of last year were the friendships that were created between the girls. Despite coming from two different worlds and the language barrier, both sets of girls embraced the opportunity to learn from each other’s lives and experiences. It has been great to see that legacy continue this year.

This event couldn’t happen without the unwavering support and dedication of Pymble staff Greg Meagher, Meredith Coleman, Shervin Keshavarz Adeli, Timothy Colvin, Tonya Grelis and Cameron Munro, as well as our student volunteers. Greg Meagher has been the backbone of our operation, putting in countless hours and energy and being a great mentor to me. The school executive has been very supportive from the beginning and has enabled us to think big.

Turning up to the event at Pymble on Sunday with your friends and family would be a great show of support.  We ask everyone to join us on the day with open hearts, minds and ears to talk to, learn from and celebrate these girls.

Tahmara Thomas (Class of 2022)

We are incredibly proud of Tahmara and the students, staff and family members who are working together to support this event and the establishment of the charity. This is a great example of the power of one; how you can change the world by refusing to look away from people in crisis and choosing to lean into supporting them with hope, love and kindness. 

The College has further extended our assistance to the refugee community in Sydney by co-running an after-school activity program for children from Afghanistan and Ukraine in partnership with Barker. Pymble’s involvement is led by Julie Shaw, in her new role as Head of Social Impact. Mrs Shaw would love to hear from any families who may be able to contribute educational items such as books, toys and games for play and learning sessions with the students or volunteer their time to support the program. We intend to build a library of resources the children can borrow and use during the program, which is open to refugee children from all countries. Please feel free to reach out to her  via jshaw@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au if you would like to know more or be involved.  

Invitation to our annual Alumni Networking Event

As Tahmara has discovered, changing the world can start with just one idea but often requires a network of support and mentors to help bring it to fruition. Each year in May, the College hosts an event dedicated to supporting the career progression of our younger graduates as part of our ongoing commitment to helping Pymble girls pursue their professional dreams and aspirations after their time with us at school. If you have older daughters who have graduated from Pymble in the last 15 or so years, or you are a former Pymble girl with professional experience to share, please click on the invitation below for to learn more about this year’s Alumni Networking Event. We warmly invite both experienced professionals in our community as well as graduates aged 18 to 35 who are interested in building their professional network and hearing from a range of leaders in industry.

Click here if you would like to attend as a mentee, and click here if you would like to attend as a mentor.

Register now for next week’s Rural Health Careers Forum

For our current students, we continue to rollout a schedule of careers events to help them start thinking about, planning and exploring pathways beyond their Pymble education. Thank you to our Junior School parents who are busy getting ready to showcase their work and professions at the Years 4 to 6 careers day on 17 May – this is such a great age to start talking to our girls about what happens in different workplaces.

For Secondary students interested in a career in Rural Health, we encourage you to attend our annual Rural Health Careers Forum next Thursday 11 May. This is a great opportunity for students and parents to learn about more about health professions in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia and the support provide by the Rural Doctors Network. The evening will provide invaluable insight from ex-Pymble students and an expert panel who have dedicated their lives to the health and wellbeing of those living beyond the big cities. 

Capacity is limited so click here to secure your place.

Looking forward to reconnecting with our beautiful Pymble family at these events and on campus throughout the rest of the term. Gosh, it’s good to be home.

 

Dr Kate Hadwen, Principal