From the Middle School
This week in Middle School we have had some wonderful opportunities to showcase student talent and further develop skills through professional input. On Monday a group of passionate Year 7 and 8 students attended an exciting writing workshop held as part of the Sydney Writer’s Festival in Chatswood. The program presented a number of well-known writers, who shared insights about their process and experience. Please enjoy the student reflections below.
Sydney Writers’ Festival: Student Reflections
The Sydney Writers Festival was nothing short of magnificent. We learnt from authors who had experienced many challenges along the way, but despite that, persevered and created best-sellers. We heard from Elizabeth Acevedo who is the author of ‘The Poet X’, Graham Akhurst who wrote the book ‘Borderland’, and C.S Pacat who penned ‘Dark Heir’.
My personal favourite was Jack Heath who authored ‘300 Minutes’. He captivated the audience with his humour and relatable experiences. Part of this spectacular experience was being able to buy the authors books and getting them signed. We were able to meet the authors and ask them questions about their personal experiences and how they shaped the writing of their books.
The Sydney Writers Festival was fulfilling in several ways – it provided me with a practical experience of witnessing the narration by authors themselves and provided a window into the psyche of successful authors, therefore inspiring me to express my feelings through writing in new and improved ways.
Written by Akshara B (Year 8)
On Monday 20 May, Years 7 and 8 students were among other schools fortunate to attend the Sydney Writers’ Festival, held at Chatswood Concourse. This event really inspired us as young readers and writers to explore the field of literature. In the seminar, four authors were invited as guest speakers: Jack Heath, Graham Akhurst, Elizabeth Acevedo and C.S Pacat. They all shared their experiences and journey in becoming an author, and how they found their love and passion for reading and writing. Whilst all of their stories were unique and different, they all took inspiration from people, their culture, others that share the same passions, family and even existing fictional characters and heroes.
In fact, they didn’t originally plan to become writers; some event, no matter how random, was thrust upon them and caused a spark in this field of literature. We were also given tips and skills for editing and proofreading, such as ensuring clarity, conciseness and specifics, whilst being open to input from others. We have learnt that becoming a writer is a process. The guest speakers featured did not love reading and writing immediately. It took them time to find someone/something to inspire them and to give them that ‘moment of realisation’. From then, the passion grows, sometimes with training and mentoring to support them.
It takes imagination, inspiration, experimentation and determination. Soon, their name is seen printed on the covers of best-selling books, written with meaning, symbolism and message. There is no one particular way to write a book. Literature gives a view into other worlds and shares ideas and stories. The Sydney Writers’ Festival has given us all an insight into this world of knowledge and learning, and what we can achieve if we give ourselves a chance to grow into strong writers.
Written by Arden L (Year 7)
A group of 20 girls from Years 7 and 8 got the fantastic opportunity to attend the Sydney Writers Festival on Monday 20 May! I was fortunate enough to be one of them and was inspired by the fantastic authors who came to visit and entertain us at the event.
There was one host author in the event named Jack Heath, who is a very skilled and experienced writer who was very fascinating to us all. The other authors who were guest speakers in the seminar were Graham Akhurst, Elizabeth Acevedo, and C.S Pacat. The stories, wonders, and experiences that all of the different authors shared with us were extremely magical. They showed us the real process that they go through to complete and publish a book and showed us the passion that they all share for writing. They also told us the ways that their childhood and past experiences have influenced how they write their books and the plots that they follow.
Another thing that we learned about the process of writing books, is that there truly is not one way or one correct way to write a book. The different processes that the authors went through to write their books were extremely different on many levels, and these processes show how anyone can be a writer, with time and effort. It also showed us that with your imagination, you can go many places through just the pages of a book and the inspiration from people that you may not expect.
All in all the Sydney Writers’ Festival was a magical experience for all 20 of the girls who attended, and displayed the magic of how books are put together, and the thought process that goes into writing these books. Not only that, but these authors have also inspired us to create and manage our books, to whom young people such as us, may be inspired someday.
Written by Dionne (Year 7)
Last Thursday the Middle School Leadership team had the pleasure of attending the matinee performance of Finding Nemo, a Year 8 Music student production. The confidence and ability of the girls involved was most impressive. Congratulations to each of you and thank you for a very entertaining musical theatre experience. Please enjoy the student reflections below.
Finding Nemo: Student Reflections
The Finding Nemo musical was an unforgettable experience where I made friendships that will last forever. I learnt lots of new skills of how to perform on a stage and to be in character as Professor Ray. This is something I will definitely do again as it was incredibly fun. Special mention to Mr Rossman, Ms Ashton and Mrs Turner who led us into an amazing musical.
Annabella L as Professor Ray
The Finding Nemo musical was an excellent opportunity to have fun and broaden your horizons as I had never done acting before. My favourite part of the Finding Nemo musical was the thrill of getting to perform with my old and new friends after all the hard work the music elective students and our choreographers, the dance students, put into this musical. It was also cool playing Gill as he was an inspiration to Nemo and believed in working together, I definitely believe that I couldn’t have been apart of this performance without the tank gang who were super supportive and talented.
Hannah M as Gill
During the preparation of Finding Nemo, we had rehearsals during every music class where we would learn each song from our given class section in our classes although every Friday lunch, we would rehearse as a year group. As the musical got closer, we combined with the Year 8 dance elective classes to learn the dances they choreographed for our classes.
In Term 2, we started to shift from our classrooms to the stage rehearsals during our music lessons and we also did costume fittings for our characters. One week before the show we started to have rehearsals on afternoons after school in uniform then later in costumes. Show day was on Thursday where we got to take the day off to put our minds in the right mindset, we rehearsed and performed in front of the Year 5s. The night of the show we got to do many vocal warmups and finally performed in front of our parents and friends.
Overall, this experience was super fun and I had made lots of memories with my friends, I learnt how to project my voice and learnt about different performing elements. Our teachers Mrs Turner, Ms Ashton and Mr Rossman had helped us so much throughout our show and we appreciate the support they have offered us.
Charli C as Marlin
Congratulations to our Term 2 Compass Captains from Year 7 and Year 8. Our Compass Captains are the champions of their Compass groups, arranging activities across the term.
| Compass Group | Year 7 | Year 8 |
| Bennett A | Lilian Ahlensteil + Edith Cullinane | Yiling Gu + Emma Koorey |
| Bennett B | Arianna Ng + Arabella Hoang | Jamilla Soo + Sophie Wei |
| Goodlet A | Ava Costa + Zahra Craig | Clara Mudaliar + Isabelle Thomson |
| Goodlet B | Wendy Wei + Blair Tang | Ruby Shepherd-Smith + Isabella Su |
| Hammond A | Rachel Lin + Rachel Zhang | Poppy Fox-Ashwin Lucy Chapman |
| Hammond B | Rebecca Zhou + Penny Xing | Katherine Xu + Hannah Murphy |
| Ingleholme A | Penelope Hargraves + Mia Wen | Lyra Hambly + Savenya Maganaarachchi |
| Ingleholme B | Mia Lam + Chloe Deng | Sanduli Bandara + Aaleyah Bookless |
| Lang A | Abigail Grant + Farah Ahmad | Melanie Ma + Eliza Macpherson |
| Lang B | Ariel Lau + Vivian Wang | Jane Zhang + Ella Zhang |
| Marden A | Neve Anderson + Chloe Lenane | Erica Kwok + Isabel Chook |
| Marden B | Isabele Fan + Ovee Deshmukh | Selina Kerin + Alice Gall |
| Thomas A | Wenhui Zheng + Rose Bennett | Imogen Jones + Silka Czyniewski |
| Thomas B | Aarna Singh + Sydney Zhou | Lily Xiao + Freya Saunders |
| Wylie A | Georgia Blue + Emma Fogale | Blair Elliot + Helena Fitzsimmons |
| Wylie B | Seerat Gaba + Jess Chen | Arushi Singh + Valerie Zhao |
Reminder that ySafe will be holding a webinar on Cyber Safety for parents. The webinar will be held on Thursday 30 May. The link to the registration can be found here
Year 7 and Year 8 students will have a separate presentation also held on Thursday 30 May during school hours.
Key Dates
Wednesday 29 May – Year 7 to 12 Athletics Carnival
Thursday 30 May – ySafe Parent Webinar
Thursday 6 June – Year 7 Zoo Excursion
Friday 28 June – Last day of Term
From the Middle School Parent Groups
Year 7
Mother and Daughters Day at Vision Valley
Please look out for a notice on the portal later this week regarding registration. Their date is Sunday 16 June from 9.00am to 3.00pm and due to capacity restrictions at Vision Valley, this will be limited to the first 50 mothers and daughters that register. Activities include things like canoeing, archery, a great race, morning tea and lunch. It should be lots of fun!
PPA Trivia Night
Don’t miss out on one of the best nights in the parent calendar!
Saturday 22 June 6.30pm to 10.30pm
The trivia night is fabulous fun and a chance to mix with parents across year group and the whole school.
This year being held at exclusive function centre Miramare Gardens, it will be an amazing function to be a part of.
Optional dress-up theme: Pop Rock Stars!
The entertainment also includes a DJ and photography
Please register for our Year 7 tables and we will include you with other parents.
Year 8
Year 8 Coffee Morning
We look forward to holding the next Year 8 coffee morning on Friday 7 June. Please save the date.
PPA Trivia Night
Don’t miss out on what is one of the most enjoyable parent events in the year!
The Trivia Night is being held at the beautiful Miramare Gardens function centre. The theme for the evening is “Pop & Rock Stars”, so come dressed as your favourite pop or rock icon and join us for an unforgettable evening of trivia, prizes, dancing, and fun! Don’t worry if costumes aren’t your thing – your presence is what matters most. We encourage dressing up to add to the festive atmosphere, but it’s entirely optional.
We are currently organising a Year 8 table and would love you to join in the fun. Please get in touch if you would like to come along (kai_look@yahoo.com). Tickets can be purchased using this link.
PPA Trivia Night Donations
The Trivia Night is one of the PPA’s biggest fundraisers of the year, with funds going towards:
1. The Teachers’ Luncheon on World Teachers’ Day to express our appreciation
2. The College’s professional development program for our dedicated educators
3. Equipment at the soon-to-be-established Pymble Wellbeing Space to support our students
To make it a successful evening, we rely on the kind support of our community for donations for the live and silent auctions, year group baskets, and raffles. If you have anything that you would like to donate, please get in touch. We are seeking all kinds of donations such as vouchers for experiences, activities, vouchers/products from local businesses (restaurants, gyms, PTs, food & beverage etc), holiday stays, and bottles of wine/champagne to go towards a “Wine/Champagne Lovers” basket (please contact Kenneth Kok at kenneth@kok.family – alcohol cannot be dropped off at school).
We’re also doing something a little bit different this year and collecting donations for ‘year group baskets’. Years 7 and 8 are collecting items to fill a luxurious basket ‘for the Mums’. Examples of items ’for mum’ could be a candle, hand lotion, a voucher for a facial, etc. A basket for the collection items will be placed in the Middle School office.
Kindest regards,
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