From the Junior School

From the Head of Junior School

Our Social Intelligence Pillar in action in our Junior School

Our Junior School Teacher Research Conversations Club met on Thursday 2 November with Dr Debra Dank – the inaugural Research Fellow of the Pymble Institute. During the lunch session the group discussed commonalities and differences in educating young children in mainstream and indigenous communities.

Our passionate and dedicated Pymble teachers were excited to learn from Debra, especially in her capacity as founder of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. The Junior School has been building capacity among staff in better understanding indigenous books, culture and history. Teachers have participated in the Goodooga indigenous games and Miss McGeoch and Miss Buchner are off at the end of this week to Millingimbi as a service trip and to support a return visit of students to the College later this year.

Dr Debra Dank is a class teacher (primary and secondary), special education teacher, lecturer and author of award winning book, We Come With This Place. Debra is Gudanji/Wakaja, and comes from the Barkly Tablelands in the Northern Territory.

Celebrating Diwali

This week we celebrate Diwali in our Junior School on Thursday 9 November. During the day, girls will be invited to create Rangoli, watch traditional Indian dances and learn more about the culture with some of our Secondary students coming to our Hall at lunchtime to share their knowledge and stories too.

Good luck to our Dancers

I know our dancers have been working hard over the year, and particularly over the last few weekends in preparation for their dance showcases this week. I am excited to be watching all these showcases this week to support our girls.

Congratulations to our Robotics teams at State Championships

I want to start by saying how #PymbleProud I was to hear how many of our parents volunteered to help at the Robotics competition held at Knox on Sunday. Thank you all for showing our Pymble spirit in this way and the way you support our girls as they compete and the teachers who mentor and support the teams.

Congratulations to all our girls who competed with confidence, determination, courage and team spirit throughout the day. Mr Brown and Mrs Tedesco were both so proud at the end of the day with the way our teams challenged themselves, competed and supported one another.

Congratulations to Lydia Chen, Emma Fu, Emma Popli, Charlotte Wu, Michelle Xing who progress to Nationals later this year.

A message from Lara Bird, Deputy Head of Junior School Academics

Year 4 Creative Writing Club

Hedgehog House was abuzz with authors on Tuesday, as a small group of Year 4 girls celebrated their works in a showcase for parents. The Year 4 creative writing club girls, have been working with Mrs Brown across the year to develop their own historical fiction linked to real world historical events and inspired by their reading of the novel The Dangerous Business of Being Trilby Moffat by Kate Temple.

The girls researched their historical context and then wrote their own novel, designed their book cover using AI and presented artefacts representative of that time period. Reading their work, the girls incorporated such wonderful imagery and figurative language that transported the reader back in time, travelling the journey with the characters within. Congratulations girls on a wonderful showcase and thank you Mrs Brown, for your knowledge and absolute passion for literature, and for supporting the girls in their journey as writers.

Sokratis Jr

Congratulations to all students who participated in the Sokratis Jr Research Project for 2023. Across the year the girls have researched a topic based on the theme ‘What matters to me‘. Projects focused on a wide range of areas including the history of medicine, gender inequality in sport, Artificial Intelligence (AI), fashion, animal welfare, architecture, cultural dance, wellbeing and literature.

The girls not only developed research skills but also developed their skills in time management, communication, problem solving, critical and creative thinking and collaboration. Thank you to our wonderful parent community for supporting the girls on their journey. We are very Pymble proud of our girls.

Wild with Words AND Mrs Brown Poetry Competition

Students in Years 1-6 across Ku-ring-gai are invited to submit a poem about a favourite animal, plant, tree or special place in nature, sharing their love and respect for our environment. Girls are to submit a hardcopy of their poem which includes a hand drawn picture. Entries close on 14 November.

For more details, please click here.

Mrs Brown loves poetry and nature and as such, she is inviting girls to submit a hardcopy of their poem to her too and she will select winners from different grades to then be displayed at our Let’s Get Creative Festival. Winners will each be awarded 10 House Points.

A message from Stephen Robinson, Acting Deputy Head of Junior School Operations

Let’s Get Creative Festival – Thursday 16 November 2023

We are very much looking forward to welcoming you onto campus for our Let’s Get Creative Festival on Thursday 16 November 2023. We have a very wide range of exciting performances, displays and stalls for you to enjoy.

The following provides a brief overview of the day:

9.00am to 10.00am: K-6 House Competition in the College Gymnasium

10.00am to 11.30am: Exhibits in the Junior School

10.00 Rotation 1

10.30 Rotation 2

11.00 Rotation 3

(Rotations specific to individual grades groups will be communicated to families via Portal notice)

11.30am to 12.30pm: Finale of the PJ Factor competition

12.30pm to 1.30pm: Optional Family Picnic in the Junior School Valley Playground

Market Stall Purchases: Our 40+ student-operated market stalls will be selling a vast range of student created, home-made items being sold for $1-$2. Stalls are cashless on the day, but ‘tokens’ can be bought in advance by sending money into Compass Teachers on Monday to Wednesday of Week 6 (not exceeding $5). Tokens will then be issued to students on Thursday morning. Additional tokens can be bought on the day. We thank all our stall operators who are donating their proceeds to charity.

Parking: As with all events on campus, parking is limited. We kindly ask that all students be dropped off at school at their usual time as so they can prepare for the House Competition. Once carline operations cease at 8.30am, parking will be permitted along the upper and lower loop roads accessible via Gate 1 provided cars are moved by 2.00pm. Greyhouse Walk will remain open throughout the day.

RSVP and Dismissal Process: Please click this link to RSVP your attendance to our festival. The form allows you to identify when and how your daughter will be leaving school, whether this be at 12.30pm or at regular dismissal time.

Should you be unable to attend during the day, we warmly invite you to attend an evening showing of student artworks the evening of Wednesday 15 November between 5.00pm and 6.00pm.

Our Let’s Get Creative Festival is a new and exciting initiative this year. It will be our largest ever event hosted within the Junior School, with every student in Kindergarten to Year 6 involved in performances and the art display. Although we have attempted to foresee all eventualities, please work with us if there are any unforeseen matters as we co-ordinate this wonderful event.

We very much look forward to seeing you at the Let’s Get Creative Festival.

A message from Kate Giles, Lead Coordinator K-3 and Jayne Mercer, Lead Coordinator 4-6

Next week, on Tuesday 14 November the Junior School will host a panel event featuring experts in fields from child psychology, parenting strategies, child advocacy and digital media. Alumni Zoe Robinson will host the evening, focusing the discussion on student wellbeing for long term academic success.

Zoe will be joined on stage by:

Brad Marshall, the Unplugged Psychologist
Judith Locke, author of The Bonsai Child and The Bonsai Student
Lisa Maltman, founder of The Sleep Connection
Andrew Scott, Leader of Psychological Services at Pymble

Date: Tuesday 14 November

Time: 6.00pm to 8.00pm

Venue: Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts

Registration: This is a FREE event, but registration is essential and tickets are limited.

To register please click here.

Please note: due to privacy guidelines there will be no recording of this event and no video link available following the panel.

HARK Refugee Clinic

In the lead up to Christmas, the HARK Clinic are seeking donations of toys, specifically Barbie dolls, baby dolls, playdough, matchbox cars, soccer balls and Lego. These items can be brought to school by your daughter or dropped at the Junior School office. If you have any questions, please email kgiles@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au. We thank you for helping support the HARK Refugee Clinic at Westmead.

A message from our Sustainability Club Leaders, Oriana Fenton & Richielynne Xiong

Yesterday we were really excited that Mrs Jenny Roberts, Pymble’s Chief Operating Officer, came to the Junior School Sustainability Club meeting to speak with us again. We shared with her the details of our rubbish audit and the changes we wanted to see in the Junior School to prevent food waste, limit rubbish and make our school a more sustainable place. We were excited to learn that we will be getting more bins and bins for specific items such as paper, bottles and cans and that Mrs Roberts will talk to the kitchen about some of other suggestions.

A message from Jayne Mercer, Lead Co-ordinator 4-6

Term 4 sees Year 4 investigating food systems through a paddock to plate style inquiry. Studying Blueback by Tim Winton they have been inspired to research sustainable fishing practices in preparation of writing a persuasive letter about the practices. Using their mathematical knowledge on position they have created maps and have been mapping landforms around Australia formed by different types of erosion.

Grandparents’ Day

Around the Grounds

Messages from Junior School Administration Office

Water Bottles

With the weather temperatures increasing, a reminder to ensure you daughter has a water bottle with her at school. Water bottle filling stations and water bubblers are available throughout Junior School.