From the Principal
Pymble is a special place and what makes it most special is the young people in our care. When I have an opportunity to speak to the students at Combined Assembly it is always a big deal for me, and I spend lots of time preparing my words and messages – along with finding the right shoes to wear to grab their attention in the first instance!
This week’s carefully chosen topic was one I had promised the girls last term, a reflection on my March of the Living (MOTL) trip to learn about the Holocaust. It’s a hard subject to talk about with young people, especially in this setting, so I really laboured over what I wanted the girls to walk away with. In the end, I centred my message around a quote by German pastor Martin Niemoller, who spent seven years in concentration camps for speaking out against the Nazis. The quote was his response to one of his students’ questions about the Holocaust: How could it happen?
“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.”
Bringing this quote into the context of the playground and all the different individuals who share it helped our students to see the consequences of apathy in response to injustice and cruelty, as well as the greater need for moral connectedness, whoever you are, whatever you believe, however you identify.
The girls were so respectful, you could hear a pin drop. At the end of the assembly, many came up to say thank you for speaking about this topic and that they wanted to know more (phew, the speech landed!). They are so interested and engaged in social justice, and I am so proud of our girls.
Fast forward to later that same day when I joined the “Women in Black” (WIB) table at the iconic Year 12 Trivia Night – what a blast! Congratulations to our Head of Senior School, Nikki Wyse, and the Senior School team for hosting such a wonderfully joyful event, and a huge thank you to my beautiful mentee, Angelina Lu, and her table of friends for welcoming me so warmly into their group. They even made me my very own WIB lanyard. 😍 It was interesting to note, throughout the night, students and staff were still asking me questions about the Holocaust and MOTL experience. One staff member went out of her way to thank me for continuing to talk about heavy topics from the past and to express how important it is to raise, discuss and learn from them. As a few similar questions kept popping up, I thought it would be helpful to answer them again here.
From Pymble to Poland, and then Israel – how did this trip come about?
In November last year, I was approached by the March of the Living Australia (MOLA) Board with an invitation to join the 2023 Australian delegation on the trip, along with journalist Nick McKenzie and Olympian Ian Thorpe. The MOLA Board was keen to revive the program following a Covid-induced hiatus and to broaden the delegation by including non-Jewish leaders of different communities. Certainly, I was humbled to be chosen as the education representative for Australia on this trip. After significant research into MOTL and the potential benefits of experiencing the program, followed by lengthy discussions with our leadership team and College Board, I agreed to accept their offer.
My sincere thanks go to The Australian Jewish Funders for funding my attendance on the trip. This group had no other agenda regarding my attendance than to raise awareness for Holocaust education, and the College was not locked into any specific outcome following the trip.
How long was the trip?
Fortunately, the two-week program mostly took place over the Easter break, which meant I was off campus for just six school days. Originally, the plan was to come back earlier, however, on the recommendation of one of our Board members, I stayed in Israel for a few more days to visit Tech and Innovation hubs and to meet with potential partners for staff and student exchanges as these fit with priorities of our Digital Intelligence strategic pillar.
Why is Holocaust education important right now?
The Pymble-centric answer to this question is that we believe in raising our students to be good people; to be kind, to have a social conscious, and to care about other people in the world. Our vision is to develop influential and compassionate young women who embrace diversity and who refuse to look away when they see something that is unjust. Cultural connectivity is the basis of our Social Intelligence pillar because it is the key to making the world a more inclusive place for all to thrive – and storytelling is a powerful way to encourage these connections. In fact, a recent article in The Guardian acknowledged the impact on students when Holocaust survivors share their stories: “The power of testimony is really something phenomenal … [The students] may not remember the specific historical date that France was invaded. They may not remember the number of people in a specific concentration camp but they will remember the specific story of the individual.”
On a macro level, research suggests Europe and the US are experiencing rising levels of antisemitism, despite a belief that Holocaust education in schools is necessary and useful. Additionally, in Australia, antisemitic behaviour has also been reported in several schools. All of this suggests that current Holocaust education is not as effective as it could be and needs to change in order to be impactful. Having experienced the MOTL immersion into Holocaust history, I can assure you of its impact.
Will there be an opportunity for students to attend MOTL?
Absolutely! From firsthand experience, I am delighted to say MOTL will be an incredible educational tour for Pymble girls and a valuable addition to our existing program of experiential learning opportunities.
In Year 9, our students head out to Vision Valley for our four-week residential program, in Year 10 they are offered international exchanges and Year 11 students have a service tour to Tanzania. Sadly, we are not even close to being able to accept all those who wish to attend these overseas opportunities – while 62 students applied for Tanzania, we were only able to take 16. Similarly, 40 students will go on cultural or language exchange this year, however there were more than 50 applicants for places. So, you can see why we are keen to build on international experiences offered to students.
To this avail, we are planning a MOTL trip in April 2024 for Year 10 students, possibly their parents, as well as super-keen Year 11 students who are prepared to miss up to two weeks of school to attend this once-in-a-lifetime experience. The good news is, unlike our other overseas tours and language/cultural exchange programs, it is unlikely we will have to put a cap on the number of students attending MOTL. We also hope to add an additional service tour to Greece in 2024. Stay tuned for more information to follow.
We are thrilled to be able to broaden our range of international tours to ensure more Upper School girls will have the opportunity to benefit from immersive learning experiences in other countries when they reach this stage of their Pymble journey.
Happy Mother’s Day to our carers
Speaking of journeys, it’s hard to think of a greater journey than parenthood. To all the mums, step-mums, grandmothers, aunts, godmothers and guardians in our Pymble family, wishing you a wonderful day on Sunday. And to all those who have lost or are missing the very special female careers in their lives, sending you big hugs and much love. We are especially thinking of our Boarding community; the mothers who are not with their children and the children who are not with their mothers, along with our wonderful Boarding staff who do so much to care for our Boarders when they are living with us. The photos below (and at the top of this page) feature some very special staff members in our Pymble family with their loved ones in celebration of Mother’s Day – we hope you love them as much as we do.
Dr Kate Hadwen, Principal