From the Senior School

We have welcomed Year 12 back from their HSC Trial examinations, as they resume their normal schedule of classes. Currently the teachers are busily marking papers and providing useful feedback on areas for improvement. Over the next few weeks the students will be receiving these suggestions and it is vital that the students read this carefully and seek extra clarification of any concepts or skills as required. Keeping these results in perspective can be challenging but is necessary in order to implement strategies for improvement. It can also be valuable for students to reflect on the strategies employed as they prepared for their Trials and make any necessary adjustments to their routines leading into the HSC exams.

Over the next few weeks the girls will be hearing more detailed suggestions from Mrs Stanfield, their Compass teachers and subject teachers. As always, if there are any concerns please don’t hesitate to contact the relevant staff member to discuss.

Over the course of the examinations, the girls were very well supported by members of the Curriculum and Senior School teams. I would especially like to acknowledge the tremendous work of Mrs Anthea Wawryka who led this process and supported the girls throughout.

Congratulations to the Captains of Science and History who have been celebrating their respective disciplines this week with fun and engaging activities to teach others about the joy inherent in each of these subjects.

What fun and excitement on Wednesday this week as we all dressed up in the green and gold to show support for our wonderful Matildas. As I write this, the game has yet to be played, but regardless of the outcome, this mighty team of women has given all of us much to look up to and learn from.

Sharing Stories

This week in Senior School assembly we acknowledged and celebrated our rich and diverse cultural backgrounds by sharing our stories with friends and teachers. There was a wonderful buss of chatter and excitement as the girls told their family stories and listened to others, developing deeper bonds and learning new things about each other. The students also began working on a world map, which charts our connections across the globe. It is truly amazing to see every continent (except Antartica!) represented and linked back to Pymble!

Pymble Model United Nations

Written by Mulan (Year 11)

Recently, Pymble Model United Nations (PMUN) proudly hosted an inter-school MUN conference, bringing 100 high-school students from over 20 schools together for a two-day conference.

Model UN is an educational simulation of the United Nations, involving students stepping into the shoes of a pre-assigned UN member state, and participating as delegates in a UN-committee-style debate about current global issues. It is an exercise in using negotiation and multilateral diplomacy to come to the best possible solution.

“Model UN fosters skills in negotiation and speech, diplomacy and assertion, in a context of domestic and international issues which encourage greater interest in global governance. PMUN provided an opportunity for students to engage in debates regarding international relations and create new connections and friendships. The conference gave a safe environment for students to practice and learn from one another, gaining valuable experience and interest in Model UN.” – Maya Garg, member of the PRC and participant in the conference.

Putting the conference together and ensuring it catered to students of all experience levels was the product of many months of planning, organisation and hard work by the wonderful PRC (PMUN Representative Committee), Mrs Hubbard (our amazing Head of Language Arts), as well as the dazzling example provided by Izzy Cameron (Y12) who brought Pymble’s first inter-school conference into fruition last year. This year, the PRC team achieved a lot, bringing a guest speaker and UN Youth workshop to Pymble – as well as writing all the resolutions for the 3 committees.

The subjects of the resolutions debated at the conference included the Haiti economic crisis, abortion rights, the Mediterranean refugee crisis, space threats and food insecurity, all highly relevant topics in today’s world.

The atmosphere created from the gathering of these passionate, driven and creative students was inspiring and infectious, and I hope that this tradition of Pymble hosting winter MUN conferences will be one that is continued well into the future.

At Pymble, the Model UN club (PMUN) is a unique and rewarding opportunity for students of all year groups who are interested in international relations, politics or global issues to engage in discussion, hone their confidence in public speaking, and challenge their thinking and perspectives on the world. The club meets every Monday lunchtime in DK05-6, and everyone is welcome.