From the Senior School
From the Head of Senior School
The Senior School team wish the Year 11 students well as they prepare for their Yearly Examinations, which begin on Monday. The students are only expected to be on campus when they are sitting for their examinations. They are, of course, welcome to come to school to study in between exams. As always, they are required to wear full school uniform and sign in and out at the Senior School Office, to indicate their attendance on campus. As always, maintaining sensible routines around sleeping, exercise and eating is helpful during this time. This term, we have been talking to the Year 11 students about keeping a balanced perspective about these upcoming examinations and how to prepare.
Congratulations to the Modern Languages Captains and Library Captains on the events they have run this week in Modern Languages Week and Book Week. I have included some oof the beautiful artwork done by Year 11 student Thenuki, to promote Book Week. The students have worked hard to organise and lead engaging and fun activities to teach others fun aspects of their respective learning areas. The students also had full tummies after the Maths Department celebrated Pi (pie) Day, with an assortment of delicious treats!
We had lots of fun this week in Combined Assembly at the Year 12s led the school in a war cry and send off for our Athletics team competing at IGSSA this week. Best wishes to all those competing – go Pymble!
Take some time in nature this weekend
We have enjoyed a generally warm winter, and if your daughter has not already been doing so, encouraging her to spend some time in the natural world can have many benefits. As Frank Lloyd Wright had said, ‘Study Nature, love Nature, stay close to Nature. It will never fail you.’ As the Senior School students manage their academic and co-curricular responsibilities, reminding them of the importance of outdoor activities, or just being in nature, can help maintain the our sense of balance.
We know from personal experience, which is supported by research, that staying close to nature improves physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. It makes us feel alive from the inside, and we should not compromise it for recent developments like urbanisation, technology or social media (Louv, 2015). We also know that being outside, away from screens, can have vast benefits for our eyesight, general fitness, nervous systems and emotional regulation. Whether the girls choose to engage in the famous activity of Japanese forest bathing, or Shinrin-yoku, going on a run through local bushland, taking some time at the beach or simply relaxing in the outdoors, we can all find a way to recharge, with others or individually.
Welcome to Book Week 2023 – Read, Grow, Inspire!
Here in the Conde Library, we celebrate books and literature every day but this kicks up a notch during Book Week! Book Week provides a wonderful opportunity to celebrate all that is wonderful about stories and reading and gives us a pause to consider the enjoyment, enlightenment and wonder these add to our students’ lives, and our own.
So far we have held a staff and student panel discussing books that inspire, staff dress up day with students guessing characters and a second-hand book stall with proceeds going to the Kids’ Cancer Project. Students can also visit the Library to participate in book craft and book-inspired competitions.
We are also thrilled to launch the inaugural House Reading Challenge this year. This competition encourages students to read as many printed and ebook titles as they can for House points. The winning House will win the House Reading Trophy and there will also be individual prizes for students who read the most titles. Students can find out further details from the Conde Library.
Pymble has many enthusiastic readers, both staff and student. However, research tells us that the proportion of people who read books for pleasure is now at the lowest levels recorded. This is a worrying trend and has negative implications, not just for literacy, but for brain development, concentration, wellbeing and emotional intelligence. We have been looking at research on the importance of sustained reading for young people and adults and would like to share this with you in further detail in coming newsletter editions.
For now, we encourage you, your daughters and families to make time for books and reading. We understand that life is busy but the rewards that reading bring are immeasurable. Perhaps you may like to start with the prizewinners from this years Children’s Book Council of Australia awards?
From Ms Tess Zwar (Head of Library and Research Services) and Mrs Mandy Reynolds (Head of English)
A message from the Year 11 Parent Group Leaders
We are looking forward to our Mothers’ Dinner on Friday September 1 at 7.00pm at the Governors Hotel, 9 Waterloo Road, Macquarie Park.
There will be some sharing plates on arrival and a cash bar for drinks and main meals. To RSVP, please contact me or Susan at:
Pianva99@yahoo.com (0425500123)
Sma.liu@yahoo.com (0488 998 713)
Hope to see you all and have a great catch up on how we are all going in Year 11!
From Pilar and Susan
Term 3 Key Dates
28 August to 8 September – Year 11 Examinations
Monday 18 September – Year 12 Picnic Day
Wednesday 20 September – Year 12 Honouring Ceremony
Thursday 21 September – Year 12 Speech Day, Year 12 Final Chapel Service and Year 12 Valedictory Dinner
Nikki Wyse
Head of Senior School