From the Upper School

A message from Mr Riley, Head of Upper School

It has been lovely to see our girls back enjoying the sunshine in our Upper School courtyards this week. I too was fortunate to go out on an expedition with our Year 9s at Vision Valley and look forward to Thursday-Saturday on a trek along the Central Coast. Let’s hope the fine weather continues!

A brief reminder for our Year 10 families to please sign up for the upcoming vaccination program via the MyPymble App. Additionally, a reminder about leave; leave is only granted for illness, bereavement, elite sport or work experience. Vacations should be restricted to the prescribed holiday periods.

Applications for special leave should be completed on the ‘Exemption from Attendance’ form found on MyPymble via the College website and signed by a parent or carer. Forms are to be sent to the respective school office as soon as possible or at least fourteen days in advance of the intended period of leave.

This week, I would like to share the amazing achievements of Grace Peters and Sophia Slater (in addition to the many Upper School girls who attended) at Athletics Nationals in Brisbane over the break, together with Ang-Ya Koo, Sophia Chang and Allison Wang at the Robotics World Championships in Houston.

Hi, my name is Grace Peters. I’m in year 10, and during the holidays I represented NSW at the Australian Track and Field Nationals held in Brisbane from April 14th to 17th, 2023.

The championships were held at QSAC (Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre). This was my third year at nationals, and I always enjoy seeing and competing against other girls from all over Australia, many of whom I have known for quite a few years now. It was great to be able to watch and support my teammates in their events as well.

I competed in the Under 16 women’s discus and shot put and placed 6th in discus and 7th in shot. Not the results I was hoping for, but grateful for my efforts and coaches.

During my time in Brisbane, apart from competing, we went and explored the city and Southbank, which was gorgeous. I went on the Wheel of Brisbane, which gives fantastic views across the entire city of Brisbane.

Written by Grace Peters (Year 10)

In the school holidays, I travelled to Brisbane to compete in the Australian Athletics Junior Championships. The two events I competed in were the 2,000m Steeplechase and the 1500m. The Saturday was an exciting day as I was competing in one of my favourite events – the 2000m Steeplechase.

In the lead up I was very nervous and a bit scared, but I ran a pretty good race and managed a Silver medal which was really exciting and satisfying. The next day my legs were so tired, and I felt really flat in the 1500m. Overall the experience was incredible seeing the talented athletes from all over the country compete across a whole bunch of different events as well as bump into girls that I am getting to know over the years and who have become friends.

It was wonderful to cheer on all of the Pymble girls who competed, and congratulations to those who achieved personal bests or got a medal. Thanks also to my coach Deb Walsham who is so supportive and also Katie Edwards and Mel Gainsford-Taylor who are always so beautiful and encouraging to us girls.

Written by Sophia Slater (Year 10)

Last week, Pymble’s robotics team 6510 Pymble Pride competed at the FRC World Championships in Houston, Texas where our team competed against the best of the best.

The FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is a high school robotics competition that challenges teams to design, build and program a robot to compete in a unique game every year. This year’s challenge was to score cones and cubes, and balance on platforms. The reality is a lot harder than it sounds!

First, the group travelled to Houston where we had the opportunity to explore the city. The team visited Houston Zoo, the Natural Science Museum of Houston, and the Museum of Fine Arts.

In the days leading up to the competition, we were testing, coding and practising driver skills. Pymble Pride was fortunate enough to be hosted by team 4639, The RoboSpartans at their robotics space.

Now onto the competition itself! It was fierce, but Pymble Pride managed to show determination to navigate through the mechanical and code issues that arose. The level of calibre accumulated in one event space was incredible, each team showcasing a unique engineering approach to the game.

All in all, the FRC World Championships was a wonderful opportunity to learn from teams all around the globe and share our perspectives, as well as make new friends along the way. It was an invaluable experience for all 24 girls who attended.

Written by Ang-Ya Koo (Year 10), Sophia Chang (Year 10) and Allison Wang (Year 10)

Congratulations to Amber Li!

Amber Li (Year 9) received a Gold Medal in April for the Australian Maths Olympiad, completed in February of this year. She was one of 20+ students (Years 9 to 12) who were invited to attend the AMO Camp in Melbourne in the April school holidays. This was a highly rewarding experience; Amber was able to delve into many maths topics in depth which are not taught at school.

The goal of this camp is to be selected as one of six students to represent Australia at International AMO. Amber was not successful in being selected this year. She is currently studying Year 12 Extension 1 and 2. Amber’s goal for next year is to study University level maths in 2024, potentially at UNSW.

Scholarship Opportunities – Daughters of ex-students and Senior Academic Scholarship registrations open to Year 9 students

Pymble offers a number of scholarships each year to girls who are currently in Year 9 at Pymble who will be in Year 11 in 2025. Registrations for Year 11 2025 Senior Academic Scholarships and Year 11 2025 Ex-Students’ Union Scholarship are currently open to our Year 9 students.

Year 9 students who have a mother, grandmother or aunt who attended Pymble are eligible and encouraged to apply for the Ex-Students’ Union Scholarship. This scholarship funded by the Ex-Students’ union provides the equivalent of 50% remission of tuition fees for Year 11 and Year 12 to a successful recipient.

Information about portfolio requirements and how to apply can be found online through the Scholarship webpage.

Registrations close on 4 August 2023. The examination will be held at the College on Sunday 13 August 2023.