From the Middle School
Welcome to week 8 in Middle School.
This week some of our newly elected Year 7 Leaders had the opportunity to participate in a focus group with our Deputy Head Academic, Christine Kenny, and our Director of Professional Learning, Kerryl Howarth, to share their thoughts on Academic Feedback. This is part of a College-wide review of effective feedback practices. Information from this and other focus groups will be used to inform College strategy in the Academic Pillar. The girls were praised for their eloquence and insight. Recognising the power and importance of student voice is something we celebrate at the College. I am proud of the way these girls and others across Middle School step into this space to confidently share their opinions and ideas across a range of subjects.
In line with celebrating student voice, I would like to thank all of the Year 8 students who have volunteered throughout the term to lead Pymble Morning Tours. There are too many girls to list here, but I want to acknowledge the important role these girls have played in representing the College as ambassadors. Their willingness to share their own journeys with prospective families is so important. We receive many compliments from the families involved and I would like to pass these on to our girls.
Congratulations to our outstanding Middle School debaters who competed in the ISDA NSW Grand Final last Friday night. The Year 7 team consisting of: Sandra Wang, Lexi Wang, Bianca Ng, Alice Jiang, Connie Huang were declared Runners Up after a well-argued and persuasive presentation. The Year 8 team consisting of: Athena Wu, Emma Ouyang, Penny Xing, Arabella Hoang and Selina Jiang were declared the Grand Final 2025 Winners of this prestigious competition. What an incredible achievement! Please enjoy the student reflections below.
We started our ISDA journey in Week 3, Term 1, with our first debate. Although we got off to a rocky start, we were determined to improve and, with the support of our coach, trained hard to win enough debates in the preliminary round. We ended up winning five out of seven debates, with topic areas from Law and Order to Health and Medicine. Coming into the first knockouts (the octo-final) after the term break, we were a bit nervous and slightly rusty, but we worked together as a team and pushed through to the next rounds.
The grand final was our most challenging debate of the season. Pymble was fortunate enough to have two teams qualify for the grand finals: Year 7 and Year 8. Our training was electrifying, and the prep time was equally so. We shook off our nerves, focused on showcasing our best skills, and hoped for a win. As the adjudicators announced their results, we held our breath and, in the end, they declared Pymble the Year 8 ISDA champions. We’ve grown so much through this season and would be proud regardless of the overall win.
By Arabella Hoang and Athena Wu, Year 8
Congratulations also to Wendy Wei of Year 8, who was recognised as runner-up in the Harmony Day Poster Competition. This is an amazing accomplishment! Wendy has now been invited to NSW Parliament House to receive her certificates.
Pymble Wise Phone research project, led by the Pymble Institute
Your continued input is essential in helping us understand how the Wise Phone initiative is working and how we can continue to support our students. If you did not complete the survey in February, you can still complete it this time. The survey is open to all Year 4 to 8 parents and carers, regardless of the type of phone your daughters have or don’t have.
Some important points to note about the survey:
- The survey will take 5 to 10 minutes.
- Surveys are completely anonymous; no names or email addresses are collected.
- If you have more than one daughter in Years 4 to 8, we encourage you to complete a separate survey for each daughter.
The survey can be accessed here: https://pymbleinstitute.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d7hX0bxYHxVMxCu
The Wise Phones Parent Survey closes on Friday 27 June.
Jenny O’Donnell
Head of Middle School