From the Middle School
Week 4 has proven to be a busy week for our Middle School students. On Tuesday, our Year 7 cohort visited Taronga Zoo for their 2024 Science Field Study. By all accounts, students and staff enjoyed the day with our students collecting data to use in class. Thank you to the Pymble Science Faculty for organising a wonderful day out. Below, a number of our Year 7 students have written reflections sharing their experiences with us:
On 5 November, Year 7 had an excursion to Taronga Zoo in Sydney. It was an unforgettable experience, a day filled with knowledge and fun. As we wandered around, it gave us time to appreciate the animals and take a break from our busy school schedules. It was fascinating to learn about the animals, and we even touched some of them in the habitat rooms. My group and I sat down around the time of lunch to see the Bird Show, and it was something that we will never forget. And we even saw a few friends from school, the cockatoos that are known for catastrophe. The trip to Taronga was not only an educational experience but also a memorable adventure. We all left with a smile on our faces, and a new perspective on animals. – Written by Lucy Liu
On Tuesday, we went to the zoo to visit the animals and learn more about how animals survive in the wild. All of us got to go to different habitat rooms, where different animals live and thrive. These rooms were supposed to imitate the animals’ original habitat. These three rooms were split up into different categories, the desert, the rainforest, and the woodland environment.
We were shown different creatures, ranging from mammals to amphibians, a variety of organisms from the same environment. Some of these animals include the bilbies, and the shingleback lizard, which we even got to touch.
We were also able to see some nocturnal animals during our visit. We could go into special enclosures with dimmed lighting, and see these nocturnal animals such as the Spinifex Hopping Mouse and the bats. This experience allowed us to understand and experience the natural world in detail.Overall, this was a very interesting and fun experience for us.
Written by Yenyu Chan
The zoo excursion was a very memorable time for Year 7, getting to see the fantastic view of the city, taking photos of the wild animals and having the best time with my friends! During the habitat room, I learnt a lot about rainforest animals and their unique features to help deal with predators. Despite our excursion getting cancelled in Term 2, this excursion was a great way to end the year.
Written by Summer Zhou
On Tuesday, Year 7 went on an excursion to Sydney’s Taronga Zoo. We had the opportunity to see a variety of animals, such as native Australian animals including kangaroos and koalas. As well as many other well known and loved animals such as the Superb Parrots. One of the highlights of this enriching experience was having the privilege to go to the Woodlands Habitat Room. Through this unique and enlightening experience, my class and I learned about endangered species and the zoo’s conservation efforts, as well as getting up close with the Diamond Snake. As we moved around in small groups, completing out activity booklets as we went, we displayed the five core values of the College. As the day at Taronga Zoo came to an end, Year 7 left with new memories, experiences, and knowledge.
Written by Aliya Singh
Hello, I’m Aaira and I’m in Year 7. This Tuesday, Year 7 got the amazing opportunity to visit Taronga Zoo. The day was packed with things to do! Taronga Zoo gave us all a great chance to learn more about our previous topic, Zoo Life! Each animal had its own story on how they may be endangered or might begin to be endangered as well as ways Taronga is helping them. We also got the interesting experience of going into habitat rooms and touching the unique animals. Overall the day was incredibly fun.
Written by Aaira Khan
VEX Robotics Middle School State Championships
Robotics is thrilled to announce that five VEX V5 teams and six VEX IQ teams from Pymble will be representing us at State Championships on November 10. Congratulations to the following students in our Year 7 and Year 8 teams.
| 65100F – Y7 | 65100S – Y8 | 65100B – Y8 | 65100R – Y8 | 65100N – Y7 |
| Adele Jiang | Cabrini Lee | Nicole Fan | Kathy Wang | Lily Dao |
| Emma Ouyang | Leahara Wijesuriya | Alexa Wu | Lily Xing | Ellie Lau |
| Sarah Xia | Malaika Rasheed | Chloe Shao | Joyce Li | Jessica Franklin |
| Meii You | Allison Wang | Bella Yang | Erica Kwok | Bella Xu |
| Alexis Lam | Ella Su | |||
| Rose Bennett |
Congratulations to Faith Hedley (Year 7), who has been cast in the new Disney television series VAMPIRINA playing the role of Britney, on the Disney channel. Disney officially announced the show over the weekend with a press release. Faith auditioned in a worldwide search by Disney and was the only international cast member chosen. Faith will start filming in January 2025.
Gloucester Gatherings
Gloucester Gatherings continue to take place each Tuesday at lunch for our Middle School students. Last week saw the leaders run Halloween Cookie Decorating. With four weeks to go until the end of term, there are a number of festive and fun activities to look forward to.
Jacaranda Day Bill Crews Foundation Charity Drive
With Jacaranda Day approaching, the College has begun collecting items for the Bill Crews Foundation, our annual Christmas Charity Drive. This year, we have asked our students in Houses to bring items, however, any donated item from the list in the flyer will be greatly appreciated. Donations can be dropped to the Middle School Office.
Please click here for more information.
Medical records
The Middle School Team would like to remind families that if your daughter has any updated medical information, including new diagnosis or medication updates, please contact the Health Care Centre or log on to MyPymble to update information.
Jenny O’Donnell
Head of Middle School