From the Middle School
We have had a wonderful week in Middle School so far, having provided the girls with rich opportunities to immerse themselves in narratives from multiple perspectives. On Monday as part of the College’s Sharing Stories Festival, Year 7 and 8 students were invited to hear from Leanne Yong, author of Two Can Play That Game.
On Tuesday, as part of our Combined 7-12 Assembly, Dr Grace Barnes shared insights into Australian Olympic Swimmer and feminist Mina Wylie from her book, In Search of Mina Wylie. Mina’s connection to Pymble lives on through her namesake Wylie House. As an extension of this focus on sharing stories, we sent 20 Middle School students to the Sydney Writers’ Festival Schools Day at the Chatswood Concourse. Please enjoy the student reflections on these experiences.
Sydney Writers Festival Student Reflections
On Monday, we were given the opportunity to attend the Sydney Writers’ Festival which is held annually every May. This event was a packed day which held four sessions from four acclaimed authors. These guest speakers talked about a variety of different things, ranging from their experiences and their books, as well as providing tips for us when writing and developing our own creative stories.
Each author explored their books of different genres ranging from fantasy to fiction to poetry, and each one of them had a different story to tell. It was interesting seeing each presentation and how their styles differed, giving us insight into how that reflected on them as both a person and an author with varied writing styles.
Our personal favourite was Jason Reynolds, a highly acclaimed American author of many novels and poems such as ‘Oxygen Mask’ (Fun fact: He is also the creator of Marvel’s ‘Miles Morales’). His presentation was the concluding one (evidence of the fact the organisers saved the best till last) and was conducted in an interview form which allowed us to better understand his experiences and personal viewpoints that helped shape him as an author.
We found that the way he verbalised his thoughts in response to the questions asked was expressive and lyrical as if he was performing slam poetry in front of a crowd which we believe is the main part of the reason why his talk in particular was so attention grabbing. The advice he gave promoting authenticity- not writing because others want you to but for yourself, as well as the importance of maintaining one’s integrity throughout the writing process is something we think to be incredibly relevant and inspiring for those who aspire to take related paths.
Overall, this was a great experience which we were fortunate to have and which gave us an incredible insight into the lives of authors and their worlds intertwined with the work they produce.
Mia Chan and Jemma Hung (Year 8)
Sharing Stories Festival Student Reflections
On Tuesday Year 7 and 8 were lucky enough to hear from the great Asian-Australian author Leanne Yong in the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts (GMCPA) as part of the sharing stories festival. She talked to us about the process of writing and publishing books, especially her latest one Two Can Play That Game.
The process Leanne Young told us of what it takes to get your book on the shelf is to first make a draft copy and edit it to your desire. After this you must seek out a known agent so you can send out a couple of chapters and a summary for them to proofread. The agent will have access to many publishing houses, so once it is edited through, they will send it to the publisher.
A thing to remember is publishers have many authors to go through, so it will take a while. A reminder that this does not mean your writing is good or bad. If you are lucky, the publisher will collaborate with you, and you will work together to edit and create cover designs. After this stage you will complete a contract and have other authors read and comment on your book so you can make your final edits to be able to print your spectacular ideas. There you have it. Your book is now on the shelves! This is the most exciting part for authors.
An interesting thing that we learnt was that authors have to go by a certain word limit for particular age groups when writing their books. Leanne Young may have not liked English at the start of her learning journey but that didn’t stop her from being the amazing author she is today. She inspires us all to follow our dreams by persevering through the toughest times. Using her own personal experiences, we were all really engaged while listening to her stories and learning many new things that could help enhance our writing journeys.
Written by Emma Koorey and Annika Sriram (Year 7)
On Monday, we had a special assembly in the GMCPA during Mind Body Spirt as part of the ‘Sharing Stories Festival’. Leanne Yong, author of the rom com Two Can Play That Game visited us. She came to talk about the exhausting but exciting process you must go through just to see your book on the shelves of a bookstore. Hint: It has a lot of edits.
First, you write a draft, and then edit it. Then, you must go through the painstakingly long wait to get a literary agent, a person who can help you to get to a publisher, and if they like your book, they’ll do so. Then you have to edit again, and so on. Apparently, her book was the seventh one she had written but the first to get published. The assembly was funny and intriguing as we got to listen to a first-hand experience of a writer going through the jittery process of publishing her book.
Written by Devishi Malla (Year 7)
When Leanne Yong came to Pymble to conduct the workshop, I was extremely excited because I had been reading her debut novel Two Can Play That Game. During the workshop, she shared valuable knowledge about expressing true thoughts in a story, which can help readers connect more deeply with the narrative. She made me realize that stories don’t always have to be serious; you can write them in a relaxed manner. After finishing her novel, I truly enjoyed it, and it made me wonder if I would have enjoyed it less if the story had been set in a more serious tone. Ultimately, she taught me the importance of expressing my true thoughts on paper and being proud of them I am grateful to her for this valuable lesson, one that I will forever cherish within my heart.
Written by Saisha Golani (Year 7)
This Monday, we had an author visit with the guest speaker Leanne Yong talking about her new book Two Can Play That Game. Leanne also talked about how a book was made and the process. We could tell that she had enjoyed her writing career with her passion and confidence when talking to the students. Leanne also talked about the process of making a book, we all found out that the process is quite long as there are quite a lot of difficulties along the way, but Leanne was able to push through and accomplish the difficulties which shows that she has a strong sense of determination and resilience.
Leanne shared her personal experience, challenges and achievements which inspired students to pursue their own creative endeavours. Leanne gave us a message: write what you love, it doesn’t have to be serious. You can make a story with the one idea you had in your head. Overall, us students all enjoyed Leanne Yong as she inspired us with her story.
Written by Cecelia Zhou (Year 7)
On Monday Leanne Yong came and taught the Middle School about how she wrote her book Two Can Play That Game. Leanne explained the process of getting her book published and what a long process it is. We learnt she wrote seven books before this and not always the first book you write can be a best seller. Leanne spoke about how long it took her to create the book.
We absorbed the information on how many words are expected for the different types of books and all the different stages of editing. She helped the middle school to understand how we can make a book, for example we heard that once you write your book there is a long process of waiting and sending it to a publisher to see if it is worthy to be put on the bookshelves of shops.
I, and the whole of Middle School, now understand what real courage and patience it takes to create a book. This tells us that you need to work hard for your dreams, and you will get there.
Written by Georgina Curtis (Year 8)
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.
From the Year 7 Parent Group Leaders
Year 7 Coffee Meet Up – Friday 2 June
A Year 7 coffee meet up will be held at a favourite local café, Brick Lane Expresso, in West Pymble shops from 8.00am on Friday 2 June. This is a great opportunity to catch up with other parents, immediately after drop off and before you continue with the rest of the day. We look forward to seeing you there.
PPA Trivia Night – Saturday 3 June
The 2023 Trivia Night for parents (K to 12) will be held on Saturday 3rd June at Hornsby RSL. This is a hugely popular event with a ‘movie character’ fancy dress theme to add to the fun!
You can sign up to be allocated to a table and meet new people (request to be seated with other Year 7 families during the booking process), or get a group together to make up a table of 10.
We would love to see as many Year 7 parents attend this event as possible. Tickets are $75 each ($750 for a table of 10). Please click here to register.
Year 7 Dinner – Saturday 17 June
As we rapidly approach the half-way point of the year, we would love to invite all parents to the first Year 7 Dinner. This relaxed dinner event will be held in the beautiful surrounds of The Rooftop at the Governor Hotel, just down the road in Macquarie Park.
We are currently holding a booking at this hugely popular venue and need to provide an indication of numbers to confirm the venue. If you are interested in joining us for this dinner, could you please complete the ”Expression of Interest” voting poll by Friday 26 May. The voting poll can be found in the “Yr 7 Parents Class of 2028” WhatsApp group. To be clear, the poll is to quickly gauge the likely numbers. It is not a firm commitment and booking details will follow at a later date. This event will be for parents only.
Jenny O’Donnell
Head of Middle School