From the Middle School
This week we welcomed back our Year 7 and Year 8 Robotics students who attended the VEX IQ world championships. Our Middle School girls were excited to share the wide range of social and learning opportunities available to them growing so much on the trip. Below is a recount of their experience written by Nicole Fan, Jessica Pearson, Chloe Shao, Celine Soo, Leahara Wijesuriya, Elaine Zhang and Valerie Zhao of Year 7.
Last week, we were given the opportunity to represent both Pymble Ladies’ College and Australia at the VEX IQ world championships (for robotics). Our teams were 6510K, the Axel – otls (with Leahara, Jessica and Celine) and also the 6510F, the koalas (with Chloe, Niki, Valerie and Elaine) that both qualified for the world championships at Australian nationals.
About three days before the competition, we all travelled to Dallas, Texas to compete. As soon as we arrived at the venue, we were greeted by crowds of people running through the already crowded halls with robots in hand. It was a great start to the following days, but as we arrived at our pit things only got better.
During the robotics competition, we got to compete with other teams that were at the same level as us and got to meet many people.
Our pit started out as a bland sort of grey box with one table to hide some ugly grey concrete but as the day went on the area only got better. The koalas’ pit was filled with balloons, lots of them!
The Axel – otls pit was full of green and yellow sparkly streamers, absolutely shining with the Australian colours.
Moreover, we were able to meet an amazing engineer who worked at Boeing who was heavily involved in creating the current ISS and the new ISS that is set to be orbiting the moon. It was really interesting to learn from amazing individuals that inspired us to achieve something greater in life.
Furthermore, we were constantly running around talking to other teams and learning about their experiences both with vex.
Tuesday’s Gloucester Gathering saw a successful Volleyball Competition take place with some friendly competition take place between our Year 7 and Year 8 girls. Thursday’s Gloucester Gathering is Mother’s Day Card Craft. Everyone is welcome to join in and make new connections. Click here to see the schedule of events. Please encourage your daughters to get involved.
We wish the best of luck to our Year 8 Elective Music students who take to the stage on Thursday to perform Madagascar a Musical Adventure. Below is a list of students performing. A heartfelt thank you goes to the Year 8 Elective Music teaching team, Year 8 Parents, GMCPA Staff, Teachers and Pymble community members that purchased tickets to support our Year 8 Students.
| Saja | Abdel-Megeed |
| Jessica | Allman |
| Chloe | Ayton |
| Zoe | Bloom |
| Alysha | Bruce |
| Sitian | Chen |
| Emily | Chiang |
| Peita | Christofis |
| Serena | Cummings |
| Mia | Davies |
| Zoe | Davies |
| Katerina | Economou |
| Sienna | Ford |
| Manulya | Gunasekera |
| Sophie | Guo |
| Jenny | He |
| Charlotte | Henderson |
| Rui Yan | Jian |
| Karen | Kim |
| Nazgol | Koochakzadeh |
| Karen | Kuang |
| Chloe | Lam |
| Amelia | Lee |
| Evelyn | Li |
| Catherine | Li |
| Naomi | Liem |
| Celine | Liu |
| Grace | Louw |
| Sarah | Macpherson |
| Zoe | Manning |
| Lucinda | Martin |
| Amrita | Marwah |
| Yvette | Moodie |
| Laranya | Nanthakumaran |
| Sophie | Ngai |
| Irisara | O’Brien |
| Victoria | O’Sullivan |
| Isabelle | Port |
| Amy | Rho |
| Xiran | Rong |
| Lucy | Sun |
| Alannah | Tang |
| Annabel | Taylor |
| Cassandra | Vielman |
| Lillian | Wang |
| Cindy | Wang |
| Lara | Waterhouse |
| Chloe | Wei |
| Xyla | White |
| Caitlin | Xi |
| Stella | Xu |
| Fiona | Xue |
| Joy | Yin |
| Kitty | Yip |
| Mia | Zhang |
| Lexi | Zhang |
| Camellia | Zhou |
We would also like to congratulate our Middle School debating students on a strong season. Three teams, which are listed below, are through to the quarter finals this Friday evening with debates being held at Barker College, Tara Anglican School for Girls and here at Pymble.
7A
Alina Shi
Nicole Fan
Elaine Zhang
Aurora Zhang
Annie Xiao
Yen Huyngh
7B
Emily Basak
Ruby Chu
Alexa Wu
Ella Zhang
8B
Fiona Pan
Isabelle Younger
Tara Sproules -Nath
Kyraa Vig
MMG Survey Reminder
A friendly reminder to all Year 8 families that you have time to complete the MMG Survey. Thank you to those that have participated, we appreciate your feedback.
Athletics Carnival – Thursday 25 May
The Secondary School Athletics Carnival will be held on Thursday 25 May at the Sydney Olympic Park Warm Up Arena. The carnival will begin at 7.30am. Students are required to wear their House sports uniform and are permitted to wear this to and from the College.
Students competing in the Seeded events will need to be at Kelso Field no later than 5.55am for roll call. Remaining Year 7 and 8 students will need to be Kelso Field 7:00am for roll call.
The Athletics Carnival is a compulsory School event that aims to promote house spirit and participation. Girls who are unable to participate or attend, should provide a note via the Middle School Office by Monday 23 May. In the event your daughter is unable to participate due to injury, her attendance at the carnival is still expected. It should be noted that the College does maintain a record of student attendance for these important days in the calendar.
Attendance Matters
Education for your child is important and regular attendance at school is essential for your child to achieve their educational best.
The Importance of arriving on time
Arriving at school and class on time:
- Ensures that students do not miss out on important learning activities scheduled early in the day
- Helps students learn the importance of punctuality and routine
- Give students time to greet their friends before class ظ
- Reduces classroom disruption
Lateness is recorded as a partial absence and must be explained by parents.
A reminder regarding Leave Applications
Leave is only granted for illness, bereavement, elite sport or work experience. Vacations should be restricted to the prescribed holiday periods. Where possible, leave to attend medical appointments should be minimised. Students are expected to participate in whole-school activities and should avoid making appointments on these occasions.
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.
Jenny O’Donnell
Head of Middle School