From the Junior School
From the Head of Junior School
As we come towards the end of our first term of this year, and to honour our focus on student voice, I have handed over the newsletter this week to some girls in Year 5 and 6. It was lovely to sit with Ava Conn, Salma Hassan and Izabella Prokop (Year 5), Yenyu Chan, Emiliana Barry, Charlotte Pang and Thalia Wang (Year 6). The ‘Take Over Team’ worked thoughtfully together to think about their journey so far around a series of questions I posed to them.
Please enjoy this reflection on the term from our girls in their own words:
What are your highlights from your Term 1 learning?
We love author visits!
Being able to be part of Sokratis. My shared project with Sarah Asagari is focused on why some governments turn a blind eye to human rights and particularly the rights of women.
Our Inquisitive Minds workshops – it was really fun to work with people we don’t normally work with. It was amazing as it wasn’t really about winning; it was about being part of a team.
I love Saturday sport – it’s a great way to make different friends and it’s exciting when you win a game!
Our Mind Body Spirit Day in Year 5 as we got to spend lots of time at our farm.
Our Canberra trip was amazing! We learnt how to create laws and pass Bills through our role play at Parliament House. Some of our friends got so excited about being able to speak in Parliament that they forgot to follow all the protocols of Parliament…there are so many different rules to follow there! We also really loved the frozen yoghurts we were given at Parliament House!
I loved our Year 6 Leaders’ Induction; it was really special and we all felt so proud getting our badges. It feels good to be leading the Junior School this year. As Library Monitors we have lots to do, and we get to enjoy some privileges like visiting Conde library and getting to borrow the latest books first!
Co-curricular dance and Art. I’m currently working on painting a lion playing with different patterns and colours for his mane.
Robotics – I love how we are part of team as it’s always more fun when you get to work with other people. I love coding the robot and building new attachments for our robot. There is a lot of problem-solving but there are always others on your team to help you work things out.
Co-curricular diving and swimming – these are my passions.
Taking over this newsletter was lots of fun…as I’ve never had the chance to do anything like this before!
ISDA debating – I am really proud of myself for trying out for this and getting selected.
Challenging myself to do something outside my comfort zone in Performing Arts. I am musical but normally avoid dancing and singing but I challenged myself to do both in an assessment so that I could learn. I am really proud of myself for having a go.
As a Sustainability Captain it’s good to be able to work with my Co-Captain and the younger girls and think of ways for our school to be more environmentally friendly.
Listening to Lisa Blair from Climate Action Now was inspirational. She set the world record for the fastest human to sail around Antartica, a voyage of 92 days 14 hours and 41 minutes. She faced scary moments including capsizing and her mast snapping as her boat rolled over waves 6 metres high and she stayed positive and determined thorughout the whole trip. She has challenged each of us to commit to one action to make a change for our planet. Some of our commitments include starting to only buy fruits which are not wrapped in plastic, using re-usable packaging, using paper bags instead of plastic ones for shopping and not walking past rubbish I see on the ground.
What is a challenge you have faced this term?
Getting up so early to go to Canberra…but it was so worth it!
It can be challenging to make new friends in a new grade. I am proud of myself as I faced this fear and started talking to people I didn’t know, and I’ve now made new friends. Just one word can start a conversation which can then turn into a friendship. You just have to put yourself in it to try.
Some of the Maths problems I’ve worked through have been so hard it’s been frustrating me…but I’ve kept going and I know I will work it out!
Some of the questions in NAPLAN were really tricky. I stopped and thought about how I could work through them slowly, like the teachers have shown me. I was able to have a go and did my best.
What are you looking forward to in the holidays?
Going to South Korea. This will be a family holiday which is lovely as my dad works away from home alot, so I miss him. We’re not going to take our devices with us as then we won’t miss anything we can see and experience whilst we’re there.
Going to Vision Valley for the residential holiday program. I’m going with my friend and it’s going to be so much fun!
Doing an Italian cooking class with my mum and going to see Possum Magic at The Opera House with my younger siblings.
Going to birthday parties for my friends
Going to China to visit my grandparents whom I haven’t seen for the last 4 years. I am so excited.
Relaxing at home!
What are you proud of about our Junior School?
Our teachers. They are so supporting in the way they encourage us. They celebrate our strengths and know when we’ve tried hard.
The way we get to learn about each other through sharing stories about the things we do. We get this time in the mornings and after lunch. We get to talk about the things we do in co-curricular and outside school and this helps us all feel welcomed.
Everyday we get to learn with our friends.
In our Junior School, everyone is different in a unique way and we’re all welcomed.
Everyone has a smile on their face each morning which makes us feel welcomed.
Kindness…we’re all about kindness, and that makes me proud to be a Pymble girl.
Around the Grounds – Mrs Kate Giles, Lead Co-ordinator (K-3)
In Science this term the Kindergarten to Year 3 girls have been exploring their understanding of different scientific concepts while growing their understanding of scientific terminology and the design process. They girls have been learning to collaborate, problem solve and think creatively and critically about various real world situations. These scientific investigations allow students to make careful observations, ask questions and be curious about the world around them.
Kindergarten
The highlight for Kindergarten in their Science inquiry into living things has most definitely been the ducklings. They were bursting with excitement seeing the ducklings hatch and then enjoyed observing them grow and change, learning to draw and describe their physical features. Kindergarten then used their understanding of what ducklings need to survive to explore other farm animals and loved designing their own animal enclosure for a chosen farm animal.
“I learned that the ducklings needed water, food and air to survive. My favourite part was when they nibbled my fingers.” – Jelena Chen
“The ducklings use their beak to break the egg and come out. They need to be warm with the heat lamp and need food, water and air to survive.” – Hannah Guo
“The ducklings are fluffy, have a beak and webbed feet. They are cute!” – Ava Itzcovitz
Year 1
Year 1 have been focusing on sound this term, exploring the different sounds produced from a range of instruments and objects. They have enjoyed experimenting with different materials and conducting their own experiments to grow their understanding of how sound travels to their ears. To demonstrate their knowledge of sound, the girls are working on a real world problem integrated with Performing Arts where Miss Farlow asked them to design and produce their own musical instruments, experimenting with different materials and levels of pitch and volumes. Year 1 are excited to be performing using their own musical instruments soon!
Year 2
Learning about the College water usage and also the ways their own families used and tried to save water had the Year 2 girls thinking critically about just how much water would be wasted if a tap was not turned off properly. The girls asked questions and predicted how much water they thought might be lost, then considered how they would determine the water wasted in a given time. Sarah Shields, the College Horticulturalist, shared just how precious water was for her job and the girls were amazed to learn of the multitude of water saving measures used around the College and how important it was to conserve water.
“I like learning about water and why it is so important”- Mia Wang
“I really enjoyed learning about soil and what is in it”- Georgia Farthing
“I liked when the gardeners came to visit to teach us about water being used in the school”- Teresa Zhang
Year 3
In Science this term, Year 3 have focused on how solids and liquids change state when heated and cooled. The girls understood a variety of experiments, growing their understanding of the scientific method by asking questions, making predictions, conducting a fair test and drawing conclusions. A highlight during this unit of work was definitely the Ranger Jamie incursion and the chocolate experiment!
“With the zooper dooper experiment we found it fun testing how quickly it would melt because of the warmth in our hands compared with the table”- Rachel Zhang
“We did lots of predicting and we learned in our experiments that if you apply or take away heat, it can change the state of matter”- Yumeng Li
“ We did an experiment with chocolate. We found the bigger piece of chocolate melted faster than the small square. Most students thought that the small piece would melt faster”- Bonnie
“I love learning about different scientists across the world and what they are passionate about”- Sofiyah Khanche
Jacqueline Qin (Year 12) visits 2L!
On Friday 24 March, during our library lesson, 2L were fortunate to have a visit from Jacqueline Qin. Jacqueline is a Year 12 Design and Technology student, for her Major work she is designing illustrations to a story written by Victoria Adamovich “The Story of My Names”. As part of her project, Jacqueline needed to provide multiple experimentations of her work to different age groups. Jacqueline showed 2L three versions of the main character she had designed and encouraged the girls to provide feedback. Jacqueline’s illustrations were outstanding, and we were all fascinated by how subtle changes to an illustration alter both the look and personality of the character. 2L were also provided with background about the story and the many names of Mrs Adamovich!
Around the Grounds – Mrs Clair O’Connor – Year 6 Co-ordinator
Year 6
Wanyara Excursion
During Week 8, 30 Year 6 students were given the opportunity to work with two proud First Nations teachers to create their own story of Pymble. Students carefully analysed the use of symbols in first nations culture and created stories of their own journeys using paint pens on canvas. “It was amazing to meet Tom and Riley who were two proud indigenous men, they showed us the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander symbols and were created artworks together, including one special one for the Junior School.” (Jade George)
Reflections of Brewarrina
Brewarrina was amazing we all learned so much in a few days, including lifelong friendships. From the moment we left the Pymble bus stop, there was uncontrollable noise and laughter. After we got a bit further it stated to simmer down and settle into movie watching. By the time we got to Orange, half the bus was sleeping, including my partner.
Fast forward a bit we got to the amazing Dubbo Zoo, we settled into Billabong Camp and quickly had dinner before we started on our beautiful Night Safari through the zoo, we passed koalas, emus, Tasmanian devils and even echidnas. Then we got back to camp and had watermelon and ice cream before showers. The next day we had breakfast and walked all around the zoo and saw so many animals.
After we left and stated our journey to Bourke. Once we got to Bourke and settled into our rooms, we had a great swim before dinner. We had great sleeps and headed off to Brewarrina. After we first arrived, she got set up and walked over to see the girls from Brewarrina, we introduced ourselves and had recess before walking to plant some trees and learn about the fish traps. My partner Tasha and I planted a eucalyptus tree and named it Elisha.
After that we had lunch and headed back to Bourke. We jumped in the pool and went to dinner. The next day we had breakfast and headed off to Dubbo again. We had dinner and then had. fun in our room. Then the next day on a very hot Thursday afternoon we arrived home. (Eloise Gavagna)
The impacts of Goodooga
I made a bunch of great friends while I was on the bus and while I was in Goodooga, I learnt how to develop a healthy friendship and how to maintain it.
I also learnt about how games can become life skills, like in Aboriginal culture getting a stick to hit a pole sticking out of the ground can be one of the best ways to develop great spear throwing skills and aim.
We also had a disco and I forgot to worry about what people think but rather to have fun. It was probably the best part of the trip and taught me one of the most important life lessons, how to forget what people think.
On the bus we saw so many ways of living, for instance we saw the suburban way, the farming way and so many others it showed me how many options there were in how I could live my life. Overall, it was a wonderful experience, and I learnt a lot of important qualities and life lessons. (Oriana Fenton)
Canberra Excursion
“Last Friday Year 6 travelled to Canberra. Early in the morning we left whilst it was dark, we sang our way to Canberra, until we arrived at Parliament House. Whilst in Parliament House we viewed the lots of different spaces including the Senate and House of Representatives. We did a role play where we passed our own bill and had lunch on the Parliament House lawn. It was a wonderful day to experience.” (Lillie Oldfield)
Year 5: Suzanne Leal Author Visit
On Thursday, Week 8 Suzanne Leal visited the Junior School and spoke to the Year 5 girls about the creation of her book Running with Ivan. “Suzanne Leal was so interesting through the way she used cliff-hangers in the story to keep us on the edge of our seats, she really captivated her audience” (Sarah Tew). “The author told us that if we ever have an interesting conversation to record it, these interesting conversations can be our inspiration for writing interesting stories.” (Alice Jiang) “I loved listening to the stories by Suzanne Leal, she helped to inspire us in our own writing.” (Wendy Pan)
Year 4: Creating Trioramas
In Inquiry, Year 4 are studying neighbouring countries to Australia. To show our understanding we researched different countries and created trioramas.
“We created these trioramas to embrace other countries and cultures so that we can be more accepting when we are older.” (Zoe Soumboulidis)
“The researching was hard but we got through it and we got to learn more facts about the country and the culture that they celebrate.” (Maddie Dreverman)
“Before I started this project I didn’t know very much information about New Caledonia, but now I would like to visit there on a holiday.” (Vicky Lin).
“What I learned is that our creativity doesn’t have any limits. We can represent our learning in lots of different ways.” (Angelina Kim)
Mrs Nerissa Davey – Deputy Head of Junior School Operations will be back on campus in Week 10
I am delighted to announce that Mrs Davey will be back on campus on Monday, Week 10 following a courageous health journey this term. On our staff day, before the start of this term, Mrs Davey was suddenly, and without warning, overwhelmed by abdominal pain and hospitalised. Emergency gastro-intestinal surgery saved her life, and she has been at home recovering throughout this term. Over the last couple of weeks, she has been working from home and we are thrilled to be welcoming her back onto campus next week.
Mrs Davey is healthy again and recovered and she is looking forward to a sense of normality. We ask that you respect her privacy and allow her to enjoy being healthy and back doing what she loves – being with the girls and our Junior School community.
A call for buttons!
We are seeking donations of buttons to be used for a variety of creative projects to be sold to raise money as a part of our focus on service. If you have any spare buttons at home, please send them in with your daughter to the Junior School offices.
Sustainability Club Art Competition
Our fabulous Sustainability Club leaders Charlotte and Georgia are running an art competition to make the construction site look more natural!
All girls are invited to draw, paint, photograph a scene from nature with the winner/s from each grade chosen to be displayed on the fencing. The competition will close Wednesday 5 April (Week 10) with the winners announced in the first week of Term 2.
K-2 Invitation to parents – Windows into Learning and Easter Hat Parade, Wednesday 5 April
As per the reminder on the portal this week, please indicate your attendance and afternoon travel arrangements by clicking here if you have not already done so. For any changes please email the office.
Student Photo and Class Photos
Junior School individual and class photos are now available to order through Melba Studios via the following link: www.melbastudios.com.au
Please select the ‘Schools’ button on the home page and enter the password ‘plc’. You will then need to enter your daughter’s Student ID number (refer to email from College Services) and her year group.
Please note your daughter’s Student ID number is privacy protected so only you can see her portrait.
If you would like your order sent to Pymble Ladies’ College for collection, please ensure your order is in by the last day of Term 1 (Wednesday 5 April 2023) and select “Deliver to School” and no postage will be charged. Photos will be distributed at the College in Term 2. Alternatively, you can have the photos shipped to your home address for a small charge. Please complete one order per student.
If you have any issues with ordering, please contact Melba Studios directly on +61 2 9438 4566.
Wednesday 5 April
Junior School will be at school as normal for the last day of term on Wednesday 5 April. Secondary School (Years 7 to 12) have a pupil-free day.
Uniform and Appearance
All students are expected to wear their uniform correctly and with pride. Uniforms cannot be mixed with each season. Junior School has a strict ‘no hat no play policy’, please ensure your daughter has her bucket play hat at school every day. Please make sure that your daughter’s uniform is named.
Please be aware that next term the girls will need to be in their Winter uniform.
Absent, Late Arrivals/Early Departures, Vacation
A reminder if you daughter is absent from school please enter your daughter’s absence through the MyPymble App or email Junior School Administration Office juniorschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au . For any changes to your daughter’s travel, late/early arrivals please email the Administration Office.
Exemption from Attendance Application form can be found on the Portal, please ensure if your daughters is away for two days or more to complete the application form two weeks in advance from the start of your daughter’s absence.
Lost Property
Please ensure your daughters full name is clearly labelled on all items of clothing including socks, hats and lunch items so it can be quickly returned to your daughter if it is found.
Around the Grounds
From the Junior School Parent Group (JSPG)
Upcoming Events
- Easter Cookie Decorating – 5 April
The JSPG is pleased to hold the Easter Cookie Decorating activity for Kindergarten to Year 2 girls. This will be held on Wednesday 5 April. Each girl will receive two Easter cookies to decorate in class during the morning. The cookies are nut-free and made from natural ingredients. Icing and sprinkles will be used to decorate each cookie. Gluten-free cookies are available on request.
If your daughter is unable to participate in the Easter Cookie Decorating activity, she may bring a treat from home on the day.
To purchase a ticket, please click here. Please register by Thursday 30 March.
- Save the Date – JSPG Family Fun Day & Movie Night – Saturday 20 May
Please save the date for the JSPG Family Fun Day and Movie Night! We are very excited to be holding this very successful event again this year, in a more casual format with a family picnic and movie. It will be a great chance for everyone to catch up early in Term 2 (end of the second week). Please keep an eye out on MyPymble.
- 1H Easter Hunt – Sunday 2 April
Please join us from 9:30 to 11:30am at Irish Town Playground in Turramurra to celebrate our easter egg hunt. See attached flyer. Please bring an easter basket, one or two packets of easter eggs (chocolate or non-chocolate), a picnic rug and a plate to share.
- 5W Morning Tea/Coffee Catch up – Friday 31 March (tomorrow morning)
Please join us at 8:30am at Pure Brew & Co Café at Gordon.
- 6S Class Dinner – 28 April
Please join us for a class dinner at Urban Tadka on Friday 28 April at 7.00pm. To RSVP, please contact your class parents. See attached flyer for more information.
Key Dates
| Friday 31 March | Year 4 Windows into Learning |
| Wednesday 5 April | JSPG Decorate a Biscuit Years K-2 |
| K-2 Windows into Learning 11.00am – 1.00pm | |
| K-2 Easter Hat Parade 1.15pm – 2.15pm | |
| Wednesday 5 April | Last day Term 1 2023 |
| Wednesday 26 April | First day Term 2 2023 |
| ANZAC Day Assembly | |
| Wednesday 3 May | Years 5 and 6 Maths Olympiad |
| Wednesday 3 May | Years 3 and 4 Maths Explorer |
| Years 5 to Riverview – to build Billycarts | |
| Thursday 4 May | Year 4 Fizzics Incursion |
| Friday 5 May | Catch up Photo Day |
Kate Brown
Head of Junior School