From the Junior School
From the Head of Junior School
Connecting and Belonging
‘Now more than ever’ is the theme for Reconciliation Week 2024 and as a Junior School we have reflected on how sharing our stories, passions, achievements, histories and cultures contributes to achieving a positive shared future for all Australians to enjoy. Each girl from Year 3 to 6 has reflected on the impressive range of languages spoken within our community and designed footprints to represent herself and her family. We have configured these into a display representing our learning journey and our cohesive strength as a community outside John Reid Hall.
Connecting in Paris! – Year 6 Parent Daughter dance
Last weekend our Year 6 families came together to celebrate Springtime in Paris with much flair and joie de vivre! Thank you to Mrs Anne Beaumont and Mrs Josephine Bryant who led the organisation of this wonderful event and to Mrs Edwina Burns who acted as MC on the night. These events are a wonderful opportunity for our girls to see and feel the strong, positive community we have here at Pymble by seeing how connected their parents are to one another. Mrs Kate Giles will talk more about the importance of connection and belonging at school in her Wellbeing Weekly message.
Congratulations to our amazing dance teams
Last week Eisteddfod season began and our Junior Jazz and Junior Lyrical both dazzled in their first performances. Each team placed 1st in the competition which is a phenomenal achievement and testament to the hard work and commitment these girls have given to their sport over the past months.
A message from Martha Itzcovitz – Junior School Teacher Librarian Years 3-6
Creative Writers’ Festival
Every year we are fortunate to be able to take 15 girls from each year group across Years 3-6 to the Sydney Writers’ Festival Primary School Day – a highlight in the 3-6 Library Calendar! Last Tuesday was the day for 2024 and 60 of us travelled by train to Chatswood for another wonderful, literature-filled day.
We cheered for Kate and Jol Temple’s bin chicken race; we listened to Dreamtime stories from Tasma Walton, and learned how the banksia tree was created as Tasma told us how The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton influenced her writing; we built characters with Nova Weetman, and were thrilled to learn a little about our own Wylie House through Nova’s historical fiction based on Mina Wylie; and we travelled by magical steam train around the globe, rescuing endangered animals with Lev Grossman while learning amazing animal facts – did you know the pangolin has a tongue that is as long as it’s body? And curls it up inside its chest?
We had a wonderful day and came back to school with fabulous writing ideas and many more suggestions for our library collection!
Wellbeing Weekly from Kate Giles- Head of Wellbeing K-6
The importance of connection and belonging at school
Last week Year 6 participated in a special event with to seek to grow and encourage connections with their peers and teachers. The girls worked as a team with their Compass class on various challenges including building the tallest card tower and creating a team name and #hashtag to represent their class.
The session culminated in the girls creating a presentation to a ‘Shark tank’ of Mrs Brown, Mrs Bird and myself, presenting activities that they felt should be included in Compass time to encourage this connection.
The ideas presented ranged from the more idealistic (a class overseas trip to Paris and London) to small ways to build connections such as ‘bag buddies’ and sharing cultural food and experiences together. The Year 6 team look forward to incorporating as many of these activities and ideas as possible across the remainder of the year.
In the Junior School we are passionate about ensuring each girl feels connected, included and that she belongs. We would love to work with you to continue to grow this sense of belonging for your daughter.
How can you help your daughter feel connected to her school and peers, and feel that sense of belonging?
- Encourage your daughter to positively share her school experiences with you by asking open ended questions about what she learned, her friends and her activities.
- Involvement and attendance at as many school events as possible.
- Help your daughter build relationships with peers by encouraging play dates and participation in different group or cocurricular activities.
- Communicate openly with school staff- please always feel comfortable to reach out to Pymble staff and teachers at any time.
- Encourage your daughter to communicate and share her needs with her teachers so that she feels more confident to take ownership of her school experiences.
ySafe Online Parent Presentation – Wednesday 12 June 6.00pm
An online session for parents will be held on Wednesday 12 June at 6.00pm to 7.00pm. This session will cover important information such as online safety, social media, gaming, screen time recommendations and step-by-step instructions on how to set up a cyber safe home for children of all ages. The session will also include a Q&A session.
Please use this link to register for the webinar.
A message from Penny Charalambous – Junior School House Co-ordinator
We are excited to announce a new house competition for our students in Years 3 to 6. This competition centres around the luffing crane at the Grey House Precinct which is mirroring our focus on kindness as the lift is showing kindness to the construction workers onsite as it assists in lifting heavy objects up high.
Students are invited to participate by creating a postcard that illustrates how kindness aligns with our College values. They are encouraged to express their thoughts in words and to complement their explanation with a drawing to reinforce the importance of kindness in our daily lives.
Each student has been provided with a postcard template for them to use. Completed postcards are due by Friday Week 7 at 8.00am to their Compass teacher.
The winner of the competition will be announced during the Years 3-6 Assembly on Monday of Week 8 and will have the privilege of having the luffing crane named after their House, raising morale and pride for the whole House.
We look forward to seeing the creative responses from our students. Thank you for your support in encouraging your child to participate in this competition.
A message from Stephen Robinson – Acting Deputy Head of Junior School – Operations
STEAM Festival – Resource collection
We are currently seeking donations of:
- Newspapers
- Paper towel rolls (please no toilet paper rolls)
- Paper cups
- Paper straws
- Red and green cellophane
- Paper plates
Please drop donations to the boxes located inside Hedgehog House.
A message from Kurt Schweinberger – Head of Creative and Performing Arts K-6
Just a reminder that entries for our artwork competition to design the program for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are due to Hedgehog House by tomorrow, Friday 31 May. Entries are to be completed on A4 paper and should not include the title of the play.
Junior School Digital News
Term 2 2024 Key Dates – Week 5 and 6
Tomorrow Year 1 Nature Play (girls to wear PE uniform and bring gumboots and raincoats)
Tomorrow House time 1.30pm to 2.15pm
Saturday 1 June IPSHA Saturday Sport and Indigenous Sport
Saturday 1 June Nappy Collective Volunteering event
Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 June Year 4 Parent Daughter Camp at Vision Valley
Monday 3 June Day of AI (Years 5 and 6)
Tuesday 4 June Kindness Convention
Thursday 6 June K-2 Athletics Carnival
Friday 7 June 3-6 Athletics Carnival
Friday 7 June Kindergarten Nature Play (girls to wear PE uniform and bring gumboots and raincoats)
Saturday 8 June No IPSHA Saturday Sport
Monday 10 June King’s Birthday Public Holiday – No school
From the Junior School Parent Group (JSPG)
- Athletics Carnival Refreshment Stalls – calling all volunteers!
The JSPG are running refreshment stalls at the upcoming Junior School Athletics Carnivals to provide food and drinks for the girls and their families. We would greatly appreciate your help throughout the day – it’s a great opportunity to connect with other Junior School families. Rosters will be arranged to ensure you don’t miss your daughter’s races and times are flexible.
The K-2 Athletics Carnival will be held on Thursday 6 June. You can sign up to donate food or volunteer on the stalls here.
The 3-6 Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday 7 June. You can sign up to donate food or volunteer on the stalls here.
- PPA Trivia Night – Saturday 22 June
Thank you to our parents who have registered for the upcoming Trivia Night, which will be held at a new venue this year – Miramare Gardens at Terrey Hills. We’ve had a great response from our Junior School community, with tables now registered for Years 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6.
There are still some spaces available on these tables so if you would like assistance in joining a table, please reach out to your parent Year Coordinators, or Edwina Burns on edwina@deburns.com who is our Junior School convenor for this event.
If you are unable to attend the event but would still like to show support, raffle tickets are available for advance purchase via the ticket link below.
Fantastic prizes will be won and auctioned throughout the night and proceeds will go towards the Teacher and Staff Development Program and the Thank You Lunch on World Teachers’ Day.
Please note this is a parent-only event. Tickets are still available for purchase here. Please RSVP by Wednesday 12 June.
Other Upcoming Events
- Year 3 Play Date at the Park – Sunday 9 June
Come along for a fun afternoon at Bicentennial Park, West Pymble. Catch up with some old friends and meet some new ones too! The whole family is welcome to join.
Best wishes to our Year 4 Mums and Daughters heading to Vision Valley for their overnight camp this weekend! We hope the weather is kind to you.
Please contact us with any questions at pymblelcjspg@gmail.com
Kate Brown
Head of Junior School