From the Principal
Congratulations to our 700 incredible dancers and 40 staff members who worked hard to produce and perform seven Dance Showcases over four days last week and weekend. It’s phenomenal to think that 2,873 people showed up to enjoy the outstanding talent that comes from our Pymble Dance program – and that there were 646 pirouettes in one show alone (with thanks to Miss Cluff for that fun fact!).
It’s now just a matter of two short months until our Dancers and Dance department take up residence in the Grey House Precinct Dance Centre – a facility that finally befits their passion and skills. The girls – and we – can’t wait! Thank you to all those who have generously given to our Pymble Foundation to support the continued development of our facilities for our students.
New service opportunities in 2026
2026 is going to be year of new opportunities on many fronts. In addition to having access to our fabulous new GHP facilities, new academic subjects, international sporting programs and 110th birthday celebrations, 2026 is also the year we will be introducing mandated service hours across the College. This follows the continued development of our Social Intelligence strategic priority and the launch of our whole-school and community Service Framework. Our vision is to shape the world together through care, solidarity, respect and justice.
Two new opportunities in 2026 include a focus on service for Year 10, potentially in the week after their yearly examinations in Term 4, and an Advocacy component of the Junior School DREAM Diploma, which includes five hours of service for Year 5 and six hours for Year 6. Existing opportunities such as Sony Camp in December and our partnership with the CWA in Boarding will be expanded to enable more students – and their families – to be involved. We also look forward to developing closer ties with the Uniting Church through broadening our service partners.
The aim is to embed service opportunities into learning experiences for students during the school day, whether that’s through the curriculum, co-curricular sports and activities, or personal time.
Why are we doing this?
- Everything we do comes back to research. A great body of evidence tells us that students who volunteer in the community benefit from improved academic performance, social and emotional skills, self esteem, wellbeing and mental health.
- Service is a way to put our College Values in action and to develop the Character component of our Teaching and Learning Framework.
- Through service, students can make a positive impact on others, especially people and communities in need, which of course, all ties back to our Watch Us Change the World strategic direction for 2021 to 2030.
- As a Uniting Church School of Australia, we support the UCA’s vision for a just Australia where all people can flourish and every person is treated with dignity and respect. Mandated service hours will involve support for UCA organisations and communities in need.
- As our Senior School students prepare for tertiary placements and scholarship opportunities, they are finding that experience and commitment to volunteering and community service throughout their school years is increasingly sought. A program of compulsory hours throughout their school years will help them to stand out as authentic, long-term service learners.
And finally, here’s the best reason for establishing compulsory service hours in 2026: our girls actually enjoy being of service to others. In addition to the many, many individual requests from students for the College to support people and causes they feel passionate about, students in the Secondary School recently took part in a survey that confirmed they are most interested in opportunities that sit within school hours, due to their busy lives after school.
A few comments from the survey include:
“I think it is a really good idea to make service compulsory, as it teaches students empathy and can create the idea that service can be done in very simple ways.”
“I need someone to make me do service otherwise I won’t get around to it.”
“I would like to volunteer for service opportunities related to the co-curricular that I do. That would make me more engaged and willing to be a catalyst for change.”
“I think making some service hours compulsory is a great way for students to give back if they are unsure about volunteering themselves due to not thinking they have time or aren’t sure what opportunities there are. However, I do think that there should be options so that students can choose what service they would enjoy most, and therefore put the most effort into. For example, some people may prefer to talk to others in their volunteering opportunity, while I, and others, would be more comfortable making something as an act of service.”
“I believe the college should make a significant effort to get the students to engage in service initiatives to grasp a realistic idea of their privilege within society and learn how they can best utilise it to make a positive change in society.”
We’re excited to see where this will take our girls on their own, unique Watch Us Change the World journey. Signing off with a word from our Service Prefects for 2026 following last week’s Jacaranda Day assembly celebrating the role of service in our community.
