From the Junior School

From the Head of Junior School

The sun shone and House spirit blazed across James Kelso Field and Main Oval as our Kindergarten to Year 6 girls embraced the fun and challenge of their Athletics Carnivals. Many congratulations to our amazing House Captains for Semester 1 who led the carnivals for all our Junior School girls on Thursday and Friday with such enthusiasm and kindness. These girls have shone as leaders this year and they should be proud of themselves. I know our Semester 2 Captains are ready to lean into their leadership opportunity next term and continue the sense of community and House we have created so powerfully this year.

There was so much evidence of our girls’ kindness and sportsmanship at both carnivals. One example is this of Ariel Lee (Year 3) who came 3^rd in a tie with another student who is new to the school this year. Ariel immediately offered the 3^rd place ribbon to the other student as she wanted that student to enjoy the moment of winning a ribbon at school as Ariel had won ribbons in previous school carnivals. Examples like this are important to honour as it shows the many quiet moments where our girls shine as kindness leaders without expecting any recognition.

Thank you to our phenomenal PDHPE team who work together to bring these events to life with equal measures of joy and calm efficiency. This is no small feat and I feel very lucky to work alongside such professionals.

Thank you to all our families who supported the two carnivals by managing the very popular food stalls or by providing treats for the girls to enjoy. Special thanks to Jane Watson (Year 5) who led the initiative for the money raised from the food stall from the Year 3 to 6 carnival to go to Epilepsy Australia raising $2,644.45. Kindergarten to Year 2 raised funds for Wayside Chapel, raising an amazing $1,369 – what an achievement!

Celebrating our own journey – a new approach to reporting in the Junior School – Mrs Lara Bird, Deputy Head of Junior School Academics

In Week 9 parents/carers will receive their daughter’s Semester 1 Academic Report. As presented at the Junior School Parent Group (JSPG) meeting on Wednesday 24 May, and using feedback from parent focus groups conducted last year regarding the Junior School report structure, our Junior School reports for this semester have changed. The information provided in our new Junior School Reports on your daughter’s academic achievements remain the same however the format has changed. The new format clearly sets out academic performance and recommended next steps for academic growth across the Key Learning Areas.

As part of the reporting cycle for Semester 1, information comes in two documented forms. Your daughter’s Semester 1 Report which is based on her performance throughout Semester 1 and Supplementary Data which sets out the course content as well as the grade distribution within the cohort for each Key Learning Area. Kindergarten Supplementary Data will include the course content only. Separating this data from Junior School Reports, provides families the opportunity to solely focus on their daughter’s performance and unique academic journey rather than on comparative data.

NESA requires all primary schools in New South Wales to assess student work against the Common Grade Scale. At Pymble our teachers work together and moderate student work samples against the Common Grade Scale when assessing student performance and this is reflected in the grades received in the reports. The NESA Common Grade Scale can be found in the inside cover of the Semester 1 Report. Students will receive a grade for each Key Learning Area as well as receive an overall grade based on the Common Grade Scale. Kindergarten students will receive a grade for each Key Learning Area.

Compass Teachers continue to write a personal comment about your daughter based upon her learning attributes, wellbeing and interests. A student comment is also included on the cover page where the girls have an opportunity to voice their joy in learning and reflect upon their learning in Semester 1. Our older girls will also include an academic goal that they have set for themselves for Semester 2. This can be found in the student comment on the cover page.

I will be holding parent focus groups on our new reporting structure and homework structure in Term 3. A notice will be placed in our Term 3 newsletter to sign up for these focus groups.

Pymble teachers on the global stage – Pymble Proud!

Last week, Ms Imogen Kennett represented our Junior School at the International Coalition of Girls’ School Alliance of Girls’ School conference in Hobart. Imogen presented on ‘learning to lead with compassion and confidence’ reflecting the work we have been doing since 2020 on empowering student voice and a sense of service. Imogen’s presentation received fabulous feedback from the many international delegates.

This next weekend Mrs Kate Giles, Lead Coordinator K-3 heads over to the USA to continue her research under the theme ‘Engaging the power of many voices: leveraging girls’ collaborative spirit towards courageous and joyful learning’. She is exploring how to create environments at school and at home for students to be able to work collaboratively with parents and educators. Kate is a worthy recipient of a Global Action Research Coalition (GARC) research grant from the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools as she continues to develop and lead her passion for wellbeing education for girls and young women. We know Kate’s research will be well received and we look forward to hearing how it goes and watching her continued research journey.

Holidays – a chance to be creative and expand our minds

As the holidays approach, we would like our girls (and families) to enjoy the space and time a change in routine allows. We know many families take this longer break to travel and we look forward to hearing all about those adventures. Travel and time with families is a wonderful way for our girls to recharge and to be inspired as they immerse themselves in new places, new adventures and stories from their families and loved ones. For girls who are looking for inspiration for creative projects here are some ideas:

Choose some activities from your 100 things to do before you leave Junior School booklet. Click here for the link.
Design and make a paper automata to showcase ways we can be of service to others in our community. Designs will be displayed at the Junior School’s Let’s Get Creative Festival in Term 4.
Research traditional children’s playground games from around the world and create a booklet/series of posters to teach others how to play some of those games. Bring in your booklet/posters at the start of Term 3. Some of the best ideas will be shared in our assemblies and taught to students. Designs will also be displayed at the Junior School’s Let’s Get Creative Festival in Term 4.
Design a piece of equipment that helps you train for sport/music/dance of your choice. Draw and label a diagram of your design to explain how it works and make a prototype. Bring it in to show Mr Tyson, Mr Schweinberger or Mr Brown in Term 3. Designs will be displayed at the Junior School’s Let’s Get Creative Festival in Term 4.
Go to Arcade.makecode.org and make your own maze game. Email the link to share your game to kbrown@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au
Visit https://vr.vex.com/ (for 8 years +) and explore how to make and code your own virtual robot.
Have a go at our short story competition. Write a short fantasy or adventure story (maximum two pages), which must include these five things:
- an old school diary
- a small silver stone
- a very long piece of string or rope
- a beetle or bug of some description that plays an important part in your story
- a wise, old character.

Illustrate your story if you like. Entries can be solo entries or a partnership with a friend, and House points and prizes will be awarded to winning entries. Hand in your story to the Junior School office at the start of Term 3 to be judged by Mrs Brown and Mrs Bird, Deputy Head of Junior School Academics.

Year 2s Taronga Zoo Adventure – Emily Cole, Year 2 Compass Teacher

On Wednesday 7 June Year 2 excitedly hopped on the bus and ventured to the zoo! What a fabulous day we had. Each group had the opportunity to experience a habitat room where we were introduced to a range of animals and had the chance to look at them up close. Inside the habitat rooms we were transported to a natural world with birds flying above us! For the remainder of the day each group explored the zoo at their own pace, choosing what exhibits they wanted to visit and animals that they wanted to see. A few students were asked to reflect on their favourite part of the excursion…

Olivia Guo: My favourite part of the zoo was when we saw the seal show! I loved when the seals did funny tricks.

Sophie Woo: I loved when we got to pat the creatures in the habitat room. I was able to feel the soft fur of the ring tail possum. He was really cute!

Mischa Jadav: I enjoyed seeing the scorpions because I found it interesting how they glowed in the dark.

Selena Rezaei: I really liked watching the chimpanzees fighting! They were arm wrestling and climbing all over their enclosure. They were very cheeky!

Performing Arts K-6

You are warmly invited to the 2023 Year 5 Showcase called ‘Archie’s World Music Adventure 2023’. This will be taking place in the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts (GMCPA) on Friday 16 June from 1.30pm to 2.30pm. Entry is free, and all are welcome. Parking reminder – parking is limited on campus, and please do not park in the car lines. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Tech Connect – Year 3 Dads and Daughters – an evening of dancing puppets

This event will be led by Mr Dan Brown, Head of STEM K-6, Mrs Lara Bird, Deputy Head of Junior School Academics, Mrs Alison Tedesco, K-6 Robotics Coordinator and Mrs Kate Brown, Head of Junior School.

Come and create your own string puppet with your daughter. Bring your puppet to life by coding a micro:bit to play music and sound. Then enjoy the magic of making your puppet dance to its own music! At the end of the evening, we can enjoy a performance by all the puppets to celebrate the fun of this collaborative evening. Girls may take home their puppet (without the micro:bit) at the end of the evening.

Girls can attend the event in mufti (school uniform is not required).

Pizza and water will be served at 7.00pm for Dads and their daughters to enjoy.

Please click here to register for the event.

Vision Valley Winter Holiday Camps – booking close tomorrow Friday 16 June

Messages from Junior School Administration

To ensure your daughters are not disrupted during class time, could we please request that all deliveries are dropped to the Junior School Admin offices and we will ensure they are delivered to your daughter.

Absent, Late Arrivals/Early Departures, Vacation

If your daughter is late, please remind her to go to the office to sign in so we know she is here. Please help your daughter to arrive at school by 8.10am each morning (unless she has an earlier activity) so she has time to settle into the day with her friends and is ready and calm for her learning in Period 1.

If you daughter is absent from school please enter her absence through the MyPymble App or email juniorschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au .

If your daughter will be away from school for more than 2 days for family leave or other commitments (e.g sport) please complete the Exemption from Attendance Application form on the Portal. Where possible please provide two weeks advance notice.

Lost Property – please help!

We are finding an extraordinary amount of lost property each week, much of which is unnamed. We want our girls to be responsible for their things so please ensure your daughter’s full name is clearly labelled on all items of clothing including socks, hats and lunch items so they can be quickly returned to your daughter