From the Middle School
During our final Middle School assembly for the term on Tuesday, we celebrated and farewelled Year 8. it was a vibrant and interactive event that invited the girls to acknowledge each other and recognise the significant contributions made to enhance our community over the last two years. The girls also took the opportunity to thank Ms Ventura for her kindness and investment in the cohort throughout the last two years. Ms Ventura will remain in Middle School as a Head of Year for Year 7 2024 helping to support their transition to high school. In previous correspondence to Year 8 families, I have shared that Mr Peter Fathers will be working with Ms Attley to support Year 9 in 2024.
Last Friday Year 8 enjoyed a productive day out at Vision Valley working to connect and care for a special place that will be home for four weeks when they move into Upper School. The Environment Day was a wonderful opportunity to gain knowledge about native plants and insight into the history of the Valley. The girls enthusiastically busied themselves clearing weeds and planting seedlings to enhance the environment. They particularly loved the experience of touring Stringybark Lodge where they will reside during their Residential program. We shared a well deserved barbecue lunch in reward for their hard work.
Congratulations to Year 8 Science class 06 and Ms Gooley! What a wonderful initiative.
Student Reflection:
When our class, 08 Science 06, decided that we wanted to do something that benefited the environment, we started brainstorming ideas. At first, we thought of just making posters to put around the school, but we wanted to make a bigger impact. Then, we decided that a Return & Earn recycling bin would be a good idea. This bin would be put in a crowded area for people to put their 10c Return and Earn bottles in them. Then, we would donate all the funds to a charity of our choice, that being the Great Lakes Women’s shelter. All in all, our science class is excited to see how this bin can not only have a positive impact on the environment, but also help a good cause.
Written by Jacqueline Zhu
Click here to learn more about Return and Earn.
Jacaranda Awards
Congratulations to our Term 4 Jacaranda Award winners. Students have been recognised by their Compass teachers for displaying the college values.
| Year 8 Jacaranda Awards | |
| Annabelle Li | For her courage in stepping outside of her comfort zone and taking on new challenges |
| Skye MacLeod | For mainly Care and Responsibility for maturely taking the lead on the production of the Year 8 Bennett Christmas video. |
| Georgina Curtis | For Responsibility. She has been a dedicated and enthusiastic Compass captain. |
| Fleur Houston | Linking to the Colleges values of Responsibility, Respect and Care. Fleur takes responsibility for her learning and applies strategies to maximise her learning. She takes care with her work and is respectful of others |
| Ranalee Siriwardana | Ranalee has shown courage through resilience by stepping outside of her comfort zone to participate in the end of year activities. |
| Kayra Amir | Kayra exemplifies the college values, treating everyone with respect and care, stepping up to take on responsibilities such as buddying incoming students and editing our class performance with such enthusiasm and grace. She has a kind heart, and this is demonstrated in the way she interacts with all of her peers. |
| Charlotte Henderson | Charlotte brings a fun and friendly energy to compass and is always inclusive of her peers. Her warm demeanour and focused approach to her studies are commended and make her a deserving recipient of the award |
| Tina Peng | Tina is displaying the qualities that embody the values of Pymble such as respect for others, being helpful and supportive of her colleagues. She is also doing a wonderful job in her role as Ingleholme B Compass Captain, displaying fine organisational and communication skills. |
| Zoe Bloom | Zoe was an outstanding contributor in her role in the Hating Allison Ashley play, demonstrating great courage. She has also been highly involved as Compass captain this term, demonstrating responsibility. |
| Jane Lee | The values she consistently demonstrates is courage, integrity, and responsibility. “Jane has excelled in her endeavour to utilise her talents and time to support service initiates throughout the College.” |
| Isabella Woodall | For the care she has for other students within the compass class. |
| Mia Zhang | Mia has been keen to take on more responsibility in the compass group and becoming a even better role model for the others. |
| Elisa Cui | Elisa is a friendly Thomas House student. She has taken on the role of assisting with the organisation of the Thomas A Christmas video and encouraging other Compass members along the way. |
| Nicole Zhang | Nicole has shown excellent leadership skills by organising and coordinating student activities for the Christmas video. |
| Nina Wang | For being an empathetic team player and supporting others in creative group activities |
| Katherine Boyce | Katherine exemplifies the College values of Care and Responsibility. Although she has been an excellent Compass Co-Captain, she has gone above and beyond that roll to help the group in many of our activities. In particular, she has stepped up to direct and choreograph the Compass Group Christmas video. Drawing on her extensive knowledge of dance and performance, she has led the group with enthusiasm and creative technical advice. Katherine embodies the qualities of Pymble spirit and is always a positive presence. |
| Year 7 Jacaranda Awards | |
| Shereen Jawaad | Shereen shows care to her compass group by starting conversations with her peers, she also welcomed visiting students and played cards and chatted with them to make them feel welcome. At camp she showed courage by involving herself with each activity and pushed her boundaries while also having team spirit. |
| Indigo Meldrum and Sarah Quan | Both girls have both demonstrated outstanding leadership skills in their roles as Compass Captains. They put so much thought and effort into organising fun activities each week and they both have continually shown the values of care and responsibility throughout the year. |
| Eve Clark | Eve is always respectful and demonstrates care in compass. It was a pleasure to hear how she extended herself on camp where she approached challenges with positivity and explored new friendships. |
| Madeleine Gaden | Madeleine always does what is best for her community. On camp, she willingly helped the instructors, and she divides birthday cakes fairly in Compass. |
| Claudia Sherlock | Claudia demonstrated Courage throughout Camp. She approached challenges with determination and participated in all activities, pushing herself beyond what she originally thought possible. |
| Yen Huynh | Yen demonstrated courage, respect and care on camp. She participated wholeheartedly in all activities, even when she wasn’t comfortable. Yen supported and encouraged all her friends in Hammond B. |
| Eloise Rumble | For showing care, respect and responsibility during camp. Eloise really engaged with the compass group, participated in all activities and volunteered multiple times to help out the group |
| Ayla Gortan | Ayla demonstrated great courage to face her fears at camp. |
| Cecilia Bryant | Cecilia has demonstrated courage and positive growth in how she approached the camp experiences. She challenged herself and worked well to step outside her comfort zone. |
| Ella Zhang | Ella has displayed courage and resilience when faced with challenges. She thinks deeply and offers thoughtful and respectful insights to group discussions. Her respectful nature was also evident on camp when interacting with staff and her peers. |
| Erica Kwok | Erica shows a positive and honest version of herself to all she meets and through her care of her peers she enhances compass time for all |
| Selina Kerin | Selina displayed integrity, care and courage during compass activities and Year 7 camp. |
| Eesha Adusumilli | For displaying all College values, especially of respect and care towards her peers and teachers, as well as her involvement in Compass activities. |
| Lily Xiao | Effectively collaborating with her fellow team members and showcasing courage during camp activities |
| Cecilia Zhou | Always showing care and respect towards others and for the courage she demonstrated on camp. |
| Maya Burgess | Maya showed courage and resilience in challenging camp activities. She demonstrates care and thoughtfulness by including others in group activities. |
Diving
On the 12/13 of November Sasha Dubrovina (Year 7), Lera Dubrovina (Year 7) Rose Purcell (Year 7), and Scarlett Martel (Year 7) competed at the Metropolitan Championships. They all competed in the one metre and just missed out on qualifying for nationals. Congratulations girls!
UN Voice of Youth Semi Finals
Well done to Isis Li (Year 8) who participated at the UN Voice of Youth semifinals. Isis had a great opportunity to meet and hear from other competitors. Please enjoy her reflection below.
Attending the UN Voice of Youth semifinals was an inspiring experience. I was able to meet the other competitors who were the same age as me and listen to their ideas and solutions to the questions we were presented with. While everyone had the same questions, the solutions they came up with were varied and creative. Though having to sit in a small room for 4 hours was a slight downside, I enjoyed being able to meet so many students from across Sydney and hearing all their speeches as well as preparing my own. – Isis Li, Year 8
Gloucester Gatherings
Our Gloucester Gathering Liaisons along with our Middle School Liaisons, have put together a wonderful schedule for Gloucester Gatherings this Term. See below for the exciting activities planned for Middle School. We look forward to sharing many photos throughout the term.
Jenny O’Donnell
Head of Middle School