From the Principal
And we’re back! Hello and welcome to Term 3. Hopefully, your family had a great break and is ready for the term ahead. Our Year 12 girls were especially productive, many bunkered down in the Senior School Centre on Study Camp ahead of HSC trials starting in a few weeks. Thank you to our staff who worked over the break and continue to work to support the Year 12s in the lead-up to their exams. I was fortunate to enjoy a long-awaited trip away with Matt and my dear parents, who live interstate. This trip was planned and then cancelled some 13 years ago when Mum was diagnosed with breast cancer, so it was a very special time with them and one that I will hold in my heart forever.
Welcome to our Pymble family
An extra warm welcome to all our new students and families, including the 18 students who are here on exchange from Argentina, England, Japan, New Zealand and Scotland, as well as new staff members who join us this term, including our Deputy Principal – Academics (K-12), Mrs Christine Kenny. Mrs Kenny was interviewed at Combined Assembly on Tuesday by two of our Year 12 Prefects, Manni Lin (Technology) and Angie Wang (Academic Learning), where the girls discovered Mrs Kenny is an English teacher who is kind, thoughtful, friendly, loyal and trustworthy. She also enjoys brisk walks – not jogging! – and can’t live without books, coffee (flat white) or chocolate. Mrs Kenny joins us following a very successful career leading academics at Meriden School at Strathfield and we are all delighted she has joined our Pymble family.
Referencing the impending HSC trials, Manni asked Mrs Kenny: what is one thing you wish you could go back and tell yourself when you were in high school?
“I remember hearing Barack Obama speaking to College students who were about to face exams before going out into the world.
“His advice was to be a ‘can do person’. You can always think, ‘I wish I’d done more past papers, or studied more, or I wish my notes were better’, but the reality is you need to be able to work with what you’ve got.
“It helps to be a ‘can do person’,” Mrs Kenny said.
This is so true. In my opening address for the term, I reminded students that what you achieve is only equal to the effort you are prepared to put in. Certainly, the things I have felt most proud of in my life are not the things that have been easy. I am most proud of myself when I have set a goal, worked hard, had difficulties along the way and managed to achieve that goal.
So, my question for students this week is: what are you going to get out of this term?
You could choose to wander aimlessly through the upcoming 10 weeks and have a good, possibly average, Term 3. Or you could choose to set yourself a goal and put in the work required to achieve it, understanding that setbacks along the way are inevitable, and ending the term feeling proud of what you have accomplished. It could be an academic or a friendship goal, or something to do with self-care, like getting more sleep, which is my personal goal in Term 3.
Why sleep is important
If you’re not feeling well, you can’t learn well. For this reason, our College-wide focus over the next few months is to encourage all students to have the recommended amount of sleep for their age group in order to turn up each day as their best self, feeling and functioning at an optimal level.
Junior School students need 9-11 hours per night.
Secondary School students need 8-10 hours per night.
Adults need 7-9 hours per night.
Science tells us that sleeping well will improve your learning. The scientific formula for optimised learning is best summarised in the diagram below: study or learn, have a break and do something that releases adrenaline or cortisol to time stamp the information, then sleep or rest to consolidate that learning in your brain.
Sleep is just one of the six areas we will be focusing on in Mind-Body-Sprit time over the coming months as one of the best, most enjoyable and, let’s face it, cheapest ways to positively impact on your health, wellness and learning.
The Sleep Tracking Challenge is on!
To achieve my personal goal of getting the seven hours of sleep per night that allow me to show up as my best self each day, I have started tracking my sleep with the free app called Sleep Tracker. And I have set the same challenge for our Secondary students and staff. There’s a celebratory prize for the Compass Group (and the staff faculty) that is the first to prove all members have tracked their sleep for a week. The challenge is on!
Say hello to our HOLAs
Starting from this term, I will be devoting a section of this column to shining a spotlight on our amazing academic staff, including our Heads of Learning Area or HOLAs as we who love an acronym are inclined to call them. This week, it is my pleasure to introduce our HOLA – Geography, Business and Economics, Mr Trevor Lucas, who has been teaching Business Studies, Economics, Geography, Commerce and Financial Literacy at Pymble since January 2017.
Trevor, what was the ‘aha’ moment that led you into teaching?
“It was volunteering for Youth off the Streets, a not-for-profit organisation that supports young people in need to build a positive future. I found that helping others was a deeply rewarding experience and that I was able to connect easily with people through story sharing and listening. Learning through service underpins the ethos of the Geography, Business and Economics department and is something I am very proud to be part of.”
What is the most rewarding aspect of your role at Pymble?
“It would have to be working with a collective group of educators in an inclusive environment that celebrates student and teacher success. I love being part of a leadership team that drives education and encourages taking calculated risks.”
Work aside, tell us a fun fact about yourself.
“I love country music and fishing.”
Finally, finish this sentence: If I could impart one life lesson to our students, it would be…
“Embrace travel and enjoy being young – don’t grow up too quickly if you don’t have to.”
Thank you to Trevor and all our wonderful staff at Pymble who are ‘can do’ people devoted to creating an inspiring, supportive and inclusive educational environment where all students are encouraged to pursue their individual passions and goals.
And thank you in advance to our parents and carers for supporting our sleep initiative this term. We would love you to encourage your whole family to join our challenge and discover firsthand how much better you feel and function each day.
Happy tracking, and best wishes for a wonderful term ahead.
