From the Junior School
A Message from Mrs Kate Brown, Head of Junior School
‘Now, think of the happiest things. It’s the same as having wings!’ – Peter Pan by J M Barrie
This week our Year 6 girls showcase and celebrate their hard work, skills and passion for the Performing Arts with their performances of Peter Pan an adaptation of the children’s classic by Sir J M Barrie. The Year 6 musical is a happy highlight in our annual Junior School calendar and an important rite of passage for our Year 6 girls. All girls are part of the musical perform and for some of them this may be the last time they perform on a stage.
Over the past two terms the girls have worked collaboratively and assiduously in their Performing Arts lessons supported by Ms Buckley and Miss Lee to choreograph and plan scenes. This is a huge team effort which extends to our Performing Arts Coordinator, Ms Farlow and more recently in Ms Lee’s absence due to health, by Mr Schweinberger, Director of Co-curricular Performing Arts K-12 and of course our phenomenal theatre staff led by Tonya Grelis. We are deeply grateful for the endless energy, costume creativity and support from Jen Sproull and Lalenya Waterhouse who have given up lots of time to support the production and to our Year 6 teachers and Teaching Assistants who have all been part of the backstage crew.
The girls have created magic on the stage by planning and rehearsing together and the spirit within the cohort has been phenomenal. It’s important to remember that the performance is put together during Performing Arts lessons rather than on weekends and after school rehearsals so it’s impressive to see such a high level of poise and polish in the final performances. Congratulations Year 6, we are extremely proud of you – you are certainly flying high!
Whilst many girls love stepping out onto the stage and naturally thrive and shine in this arena, I also want to give a well deserved shout out to the many girls who are understandably reticent about being on stage and who have therefore dug deep in terms of courage to perform in front of large audiences.
I also want to give a shout out to Christina Yang who stepped up into the challenge of taking on the role of Peter Pan for her class scene when Isabelle La was unavailable for the matinee performance to the school – a great example of Pymble spirit and team commitment – the show must go on!
The Garden Party
I am looking forward to seeing many of you at our annual Garden Party this weekend. This is always a wonderful family event and a special way to celebrate our sense of community. Please come up and have a chat if you see me there on the day as it’s a great way to catch up with as many of you as I can. I will be supporting our young entrepreneurs with their market stalls and helping on our Foundation stall throughout the morning. This year we are also showcasing our STEM blocks (generously funded by JSPG donations a few years ago) to engage some of the youngest children who attend the event.
Congratulations to the following Winners and Highly Commended for the Colouring Competition. Each winner receives 50 House Points and Highly Commenced get 25 points. Students will be presented with their rosette next week following the Garden Party.
Kindergarten Winner – Charlotte Li (KT)
Kindergarten Highly Commended – Sara Sidhu (KA)
Year 1 Winner – Charlotte Feng (1L)
Year 1 Highly Commended – Lucia Yin (1L)
Year 2 Winner – Lillian Hu (2A)
Year 2 Highly Commended – Elliyeen Azhar (2A)
Year 3-6 Winner – Khloe Audley (3BM)
Year 3-6 Highly Commended – Isabella Li (3R)
Presenting our STEM continuum: Explore – Make- Create
This week some of our passionate STEM students presented to all students from Year 7-12 in a Secondary School STEM-focused assembly. As part of this assembly, the College acknowledged the support of one of our Junior School families, Jerry and Lin Huang who have donated Pudding our robot dog and who are, very generously, continuing to support the College with the latest technology including a humanoid robot.
Thank you to these courageous STEM legends who showcased their skills in Dash robots, Fable robots and explained the STEM learning across the Junior School:
Lena Chen, Lareina Sun, Annabella Wu (Year 1)
Ava Chen, Melody Chen, Adeline Dong, Elaine Liao (Year 2)
Freya Holland (who MC’d the showcase), Emma Jiang, Isabella Li, Arin Sadananda, Lia Sloane (who MC’d the showcase), Charlene Wang (Year 5)
A special shout out to Olivia Huang (Year 4) who was exceptionally brave in sitting on the stage and leading the interview of her dad, Jerry Huang, with questions including whether STEM can make the world kinder, not just smarter.
A Message from Mrs Kate Giles, Head of Wellbeing K-6
As parents and educators, we all want the girls to bounce back from setbacks, to keep trying when things are hard and to believe in their own ability to overcome challenges, so it is important that we support them to develop their resilience and perseverance. The Harvard Center on the Developing Child has shown that children who have resilience and perseverance are more likely to succeed academically, maintain emotional wellbeing and cope better with change and stress long term. Importantly, research says that resilience is not a fixed trait, but something that can be grown and developed over time, when children face challenges, draw on supports, build skills and emerge stronger.
For this to occur, there are a number of ways we can support them at home and at school:
- Show them we are there to support and are in their corner
- Model work, effort and overcoming obstacles and talk about how we are going
- Allow manageable challenges, failures and natural consequences without shielding or rescuing them immediately. For example, a loss in a sport game, trying new things
- Explicitly teach emotional regulation, problem solving and growth mindset (this is also done through our Compass programs) For example, ask “What are some different ways to solve this?”
- Emphasise their existing strengths and talents and have high but realistic expectations for them
- Praise effort and process rather than outcomes
- Celebrate small wins
For our girls, building these capabilities at a young age is protective and provides them with the skills to navigate challenge and change across their lifetime.
Year 3 and Year 6 Walkathon to support The Juvenile Arthritis Foundation Australia
‘After sharing how I feel about living with JA with my Compass class, I came up with the idea of walking around the oval as much as we can in one afternoon to help others with Juvenile Arthritis. It makes me feel grateful to know that I’m not the only one going through this and that other people have what I have. This is something that I wanted to do to help them. Its not really about the money, it’s about the love that we share and the care for others. Last Friday, I walked as many laps as I could with my friends and my Year 6 buddies so that more people could know about JA. I’m so grateful for the love and care from everyone’.
Estela Valente – Year 3
The Year 3 and Year 6 Buddy Walkathon showed me how lucky people are to be able to walk, run and be able to have working legs and arms. I am grateful to Estela, my Year 3 buddy, who thought of this idea and wanted to help others and raise awareness for JA. It’s important to me that more people can learn about JA in this way and as a school we can support people like Estela and raise awareness for the cause. The Buddy Walkathon was so much fun!!! We collected over 2000 house points and had a lovely afternoon walking, dancing and connecting with our buddies.
Emily Walker – Year 6
Living Libraries
On Thursday last week, the girls had the opportunity to attend a number of Living Library sessions to learn from a number of our staff members who shared their stories and experiences with the girls, connecting through ‘telling stories with our hands’. Thank you to the amazing staff from across the College who came to share egg dying, golf, card making and knot tying with the girls.
Sustainability Club News – Miss Avalon Treharne
Pymble Sustainability Journal:
A reminder to continue working towards completing the Pymble Ladies College Sustainability Journal by the end of Term 3. As you complete your challenges, please upload a photo via the QR Code. These photos will then be shared in Assembly.
Spring Clothing Collection:
This term, as we focus on Kindness to the Environment in the Junior School, the Sustainability Club is organising a Spring Clothing Collection. This is well timed as we transition from the cold months to the warmer months.
What to do: Go through your wardrobe. Pick out any items which you no longer wear. Some of the items that you can donate include: jackets, t-shirts, pants, dresses and shoes. Drop them into the collection point outside Hedgehog House and see what difference we can make to those people less fortunate.
When: We are collecting from today, until Friday 19 September (end of Week 9).
Deputy Head of Junior School – Operations: Mr Stephen Robinson
School and Co-curricular Attendance
A reminder to families that regular full attendance at school is essential for all students. When a child is sick and unable to attend school, they are precluded from attending after school co-curricular activities. Should students have appointments during the school day, please ensure they are at school by 11.45am in order to attend co-curricular activities.
Walking Groups
Do you want to avoid the traffic in the morning? Consider dropping your daughter off at Grandview Street (near the train station) between 7.40am-7.55am or Grey House Walk 7.30am-7.45am. Junior School staff are at these locations between these times and walk students to school. This eases congestion with vehicles on Avon Road and within the College and allows students to undertake a little morning exercise.
College Coach Travel to and from School
The College operates five private bus services, open to students from Kindergarten:
· Hunters Hill – Bus Route 1
· Lower North Shore – Bus Route 2
· North West – Bus Route 3
· Northern Beaches – Bus Route 4 (this includes an early and late service in addition to the school hours service)
· Lower Northern Beaches – Bus Route 5
Parents can opt for a full-term or flexible registration for their child. The full-term option allows your child to travel on the bus unlimited times throughout the term, mornings and afternoons. Alternatively, they may select the flexible registration and select the travel days and times you require and will only be charged for the number of trips your child takes during the term. This will be added to your account at the end of term.
Many Junior School students use the private bus service as a convenient way to get to school and a fun way to catch up with their friends. They are met at the Pymble bus stop at Kelso by a Junior School staff member in the morning and if in Years K-2 are walked to the Junior School. All students are walked to the bus at 3.15pm in the afternoon, ensuing full accountability for who is on the bus.
To find out more about the bus service or to register, click here.
Minibus shuttle service Pymble Loop
Did you know that we have a complimentary minibus shuttle service to assist families during the closure of Grey House Walk in Term 3 and Term 4?
This free minibus service is available to all students from Kindergarten to Year 12. The minibus stops at Courallie Avenue, Golfers Parade and Pymble Avenue. Many families have found it convenient to drop their daughter at one of these stops, knowing that they will make it to school safely and on time without getting caught up in traffic around the College campus. To book your daughter a seat on the minibus, click here.
Message from Junior School Administration Office
A reminder to email juniorschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au when your daughter is late or needs to leave early. Please continue to use MyPymble to mark your daughter absence, for two days or more absence please complete the Exemption from Attendance at School form or email though a medical certificate for illness.
After school arrangements for girls in Years K-2, please email juniorschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au if you have changes to your daughter’s after school arrangements in Term 3.
Important Dates for Term 3 – Week 8 and Week 9
| Friday 19 September | Year 6 Musical Performance 2, 6.00pm |
| Saturday 20 September | Garden Party |
| Monday 22 September | Year 3 OEP Vision Valley |
| Tuesday 23 September | Year 3 OEP return from Vision Valley (flagpole normal pick-up time) |
| Wednesday 24 September | Year 6 Strings graduation |
| Friday 26 September | Kindergarten Windows into Learning P3&P4+ picnic, Last Day of Term 3 |
Important Dates for Term 4
Tuesday 14 October First Day of Term 4, Summer Uniform including white hat