From the Middle School
This week in Middle School has been very busy with the team relocating to new offices. We can now be found under the Chapel on the Music building side, where the Uniform Shop used to reside. We are happy to report that the girls have had no trouble finding us and that they are currently popping in to check out our new Middle School digs. Our Gloucester Gathering activities will continue as normal across Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Year 7 are getting excited about the up-and-coming Outdoor Education Experience over the next two weeks. Thank you to all the families who so efficiently completed the permission forms- you have made our job so much easier with so few individuals to chase up.
The team has been refining the program and finalising details for rooming etc. Everything is ready to go and we are very much looking forward to spending some extended time with your daughters. Please remember to place any medication in a zip lock bag clearly labelled with name and dosage to be taken. Compass teachers will collect and store all medication prior to students boarding the buses at Kelso.
I would also like to ask for your support in ensuring that no phones are to be packed for camp. Please arrange pick up place at our Pymble campus for their return journey prior to departing.
Year 8 will be heading Homebush Aquatic Centre to cheer on our igsa swimming athletes on Friday 22 March. Details can be found on the parent portal. Please ensure you complete the permission via MyPymble.
International Women’s Day
Last week a number of Middle School students represented Pymble across two International Women’s Day events from all reports the girls gained a lot from their participation. Below I would like to share with you some of their highlights:
On Friday I had the opportunity to go see the Grey House Precinct layouts and design in the BVN office. This was an interesting experience as we got to find out what it was like to do an architectural course and we got to talk to lots of different people who helped design the new building. We also got to see the Gray house Precinct through VR glasses as well as Parramatta public school.
After this we walked to the ICC in Darling Harbour and got to go to the International woman’s Day lunch with a bunch of important people. One of the special people who talked was a woman’s AFL player who shared with us her story. She also talked about how she became a business owner and her passion to change the pay gap between woman and men.
Overall it was a great experience and I learnt so much throughout the day!
Written by Maya (Year 8)
Last Friday myself and 5 other students had the pleasure of going to see the new design for the Grey House Precinct and the amazing people who designed it. We were very lucky and got to see the whole new precinct in VR and experience it to the fullest.
Later that day we also got the privilege to go to an International Women’s Day lunch with many special people. There were guest speakers such as a former AFLW player who now owns her own business and she told us about her life, it was so inspiring. We got to go to the lunch thanks to Steven Edwards Constructions who is building the grey-house precinct! It was such an amazing day and an amazing once in a lifetime experience.
Written by Rose (Year 8)
On Friday, I had the privilege of going, along with 5 other girls, to visit the BVN Head Office in the City and see their designs for the new Grey House Precinct. It was an out of world experience and incredible to see all the hard work that gets put in behind the scenes and the amount of careful planning and designing it takes, gaining me a new level of respect for all the interior designers and architects.
We got to explore the model of the Grey House in VR and I absolutely cannot wait for it to be completed. I feel very honoured as we were also able to attend the International Women’s Day lunch in the International Conference Centre and listen to Moana Hope, a former AFLW player and business woman. Her talk was incredibly inspiring and I loved hearing about her incredible AFLW journey and her strong passion for women changing the rules and being a part in areas of business and entrepreneurship.
I had such a great day and learnt so much.
Sarah, Year 8
Our Year 8 Middle School Leaders were invited along with Upper School to attend the Fearless Future Summit: A Summit for Female Changemakers. The Summit is a one-day student leadership, giving girls an opportunity to develop their leadership skills, practice wellbeing, and engage with experienced mentors in a supportive and interactive environment.
Our Leaders had a wonderful time meeting like-minded girls. Estelle has shared her experience below:
It was a privilege to be able to attend the Fearless Future Summit, and was an amazing opportunity where we were able to learn more about leadership and connect with other students from different schools. The day consisted of activities that helped to build our skills and knowledge about leadership.
We all had a great time and were able to hear about other people’s thoughts and opinions while collaborating together in a positive way. One activity was where we focused on leadership qualities and chose one specific word in which we believed leaders consisted of, then, debated about why it was more important than each other’s word. It was a very difficult thing to do as all the words that had been chosen were all qualities that were so important in a leader like respect, integrity, resilience, communication, active listening, positivity, responsibility and many more.
It helped us to think about qualities that created a leader and what we and others would want to demonstrate not only in Middle School but in who we are. I think each one of us has strengths and different qualities that we possess and when we come together and these qualities are combined it helps us to make a positive impact and change the world. I would like to thank the teachers for taking time to attend and organise this event as it was such a great experience.
Written by Estelle (Year 8)
A message from Academic Prefect – Yuki Wang and the 2024 Subject Captains
Need help with your homework? Got a quick question that you are stuck on?
Your Subject Captains are here to help 🙂
Click on the Homework Help Padlet and post your question in the specific Subject Area. We will do our best to help you.
Note – This padlet is monitored by the teacher mentors for the Learning Prefects and Subject Captains.
From the Middle School Parent Groups
Year 7
Dear Parents and Carers
Our next Year 7 event will be a “ladies’ night out” for our mums and carers to meet up over dinner and drinks. We will follow this up with an equivalent guys’ night out (organised by a dad!).
We are currently looking at either Friday 5th April (before the end of Term 1) and Friday 10th May (Term 2). We will include a poll within our WhatsApp group to see which date suits the majority.
In terms of a venue, local options like The Greengate Hotel or The Governor Hotel usually work well as they are cost-effective and we can individually order our dinner and drinks at the bar (not requiring prepayment for a large group). However, please let us know if you know of any other good venues.
Hope most of our mums can make it, it should be a wonderful night catching up with everyone!
Kind regards
Stephanie, Leigh and Briar
Year 8
Year 8 Coffee Catch Up – Thank You
Thank you to our parents who came along to the coffee morning last Friday. It was a wonderful morning catching up with parents with much laughter and chat.
The next coffee morning will be organised early in Term 2.
Ms Cindy Tian 0400 980 181 and cindy.tian@gmail.com
Ms Kai Jones 0431 725 948 and kai_look@yahoo.com
Jenny O’Donnell
Head of Middle School