From the Principal

It is a blessing to have our Year 12 cohort together again and back on campus this week after their HSC Trial examinations. Each year, the academic staff provide me with all the papers to review, comment on, and add special Principal’s Awards for effort, excellence and improvement. Having now read through most of the papers, I am delighted with the results and improvements made – the mathematics papers were particularly impressive! In addition, all major works were due on Monday so a huge congratulations to students who submitted these amazing pieces, including Dance, Drama and Music performances, which are equally incredible. On that note, tonight is the official opening of the Year 12 Visual Arts Show where we will announce the Packer’s Prize and Principal’s Award, which, frankly, is always a nightmare to narrow down to just one! The exhibition is also open on Saturday in the Main Hall from 10.00am to 1.00pm so please drop in to see the works on display, they really are remarkable.  

Year 11, it’s your turn to shine next week, with yearly examinations starting on Monday. You know I believe luck is where hard work meets opportunity. The opportunity to sit your exams is available – the rest is up to you.

Today and tomorrow are big days for our athletes and Sport staff at SOPAC for the igsa Athletics Championships – go Team Pymble! Thank you to Year 12, and all our Secondary students, for sending our Pymble team off with a rousing war-cry and guard of honour after assembly this week. Year 7 will be out in force at SOPAC tomorrow to cheer them on in true Pymble style.

Say YES to something new

One of the true differentiators of a Pymble education is the vast array of co-curricular opportunities on offer. We love nothing more than seeing our girls grow into their specific interests and passions, which are often ignited by having the courage to try something new. Our large selection of opportunities for students also includes student-led clubs and interest groups. At Pymble, these take place on campus at lunchtime, are open to all students, and are supervised by staff.

Current lunchtime clubs/groups all girls are welcome to join include:

Junior School

• Curiosus – working on the student-driven term-based Junior School magazine.
• Social Justice – exploring injustices within our community and collectively developing ideas and solutions.
• Paper Engineering – paper manipulation with a focus on STEM.
• Knitting – learning a new skill and contributing to group projects, such as Wrap with Love.
• Sokratis (Years 3 to 6) – working on research-based passion projects. 
• Bike Riding (Years 3 and 4) – exploring hidden parts of the campus on two wheels, starting in Term 4.

Secondary School

• Senior Ignite – Bible study group, supported by our Chaplaincy team. 
• Girl Up Club – leadership development initiative, focusing on equity for girls and women where they are unheard or underrepresented.
• Sokratis – research-based passion projects. 
• E-sports Club – develop skills in specific games, get experience in the industry and participate in esports competitively. Coming to the Secondary School soon!
• Young Entrepreneurs Society (YES).

YES is a shining example of a student-led club that has thrived since its inception.

It is my pleasure to handover now to Ollisha Muthukuda, Allison Wang (Year 10) and Joy Ye (Year 11) to tell you more about our young entrepreneurs at Pymble.

The Young Entrepreneurs Society (YES) is a student-led society focused on inspiring initiative and building core entrepreneurial skills through annual events showcasing our growth. It was initiated in 2019 by Pymble student, Lucy Fang, who hoped to recruit 25-50 members and “run training/workshops to help students gain basic entrepreneurial skills and enable an environment that will help develop both their leadership and teamwork skills, and maybe even a few successful start-up businesses.”

Today, YES has over 80 members from Years 7 to 11 and has successfully been running for four years, with two major events each year: Pitch Night and Market Day. 

Pitch Night is when students present business plans and pitches they have spent weeks preparing to a panel of judges. YES mentors run through the principles of business and marketing each week to guide the students through the process, and they learn about a variety of topics, such as the SWOT analysis and profit models. 

We recently held our YES Pitch Night for 2023, judged by GBE teacher, Mr Peter Fogale, and Mr Norman Donato, an experienced Banking, Finance and Corporate Legal Advisor. Students presented a wide variety of ideas, ranging from bulletproof tents to moisturising lip balms and AUSLAN Sign Language Education. Congratulations to our winners and thank you to Mr Fogale and Mr Donato for providing fantastic feedback.

Jessica Worrell (Year 10) reflects on her YES experience:

“Being a mentor for YES is a rewarding experience that has allowed me to connect with girls from various years and help make their business ideas come to life. Watching students present their products on Pitch Night was a special night that celebrated their hard efforts and the long hours that they have all invested into producing their final products.” 

Market Day is an event held in Term 4 where the entrepreneurial dreams of all the YES students come true! They are tasked with developing and creating a physical product that they will market and sell to other students. Last year, students made and sold a wide range of products, including press-on nails, snack packs, and self-care items, generating over $1,000 which was donated to the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter.

Olivia Xu (Year 10) shares her thoughts about YES:

“YES is a valuable opportunity for any student to develop their creativity and confidence in an incredibly rewarding mock-professional setting. I joined YES in 2021, and with the guidance of my mentor, my team had the honour of presenting our pitch to acclaimed entrepreneurs. In the following semester, we developed our products for Market Day, while navigating challenges and learning new skills such as advertising, budgeting, and negotiation. Now participating as a mentor for YES, I have acquired such beneficial skills and knowledge that can be earned only from this club.”

YES is always looking for new members and now is a great time to join as we kick off Market Day 2023. We meet at lunchtime each Tuesday and it would be wonderful to see more people join their friends for some fun and be exposed to an incredible opportunity! You don’t have to have any experience with entrepreneurship; instead, come with an open, curious mind and you will be sure to get the best out of YES. – Ollisha, Allison and Joy

Thank you, girls. How wonderful that YES exists as a legacy of our former student, who is continuing her entrepreneurial journey through her successful YouTube channel, Tech With Lucy, while studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at the University of Oxford.

Information about how to join a Junior School club is on display at the Junior School Office. Secondary students who wish to join one of our existing student-led clubs – or perhaps, like Lucy, launch a new one! – are welcome to email our Co-curricular Administration team, who can connect you with the appropriate students, groups or staff mentor.  As we like to say, if you can dream it, you can do it at Pymble!

Say hello to our HOLAs

Continuing our series celebrating Heads of Learning Areas, this week (which just happens to be Book Week) is the perfect time to celebrate our Library Team Lead, Ms Tessa Zwar.

Ms Zwar started at Pymble in 2006, teaching History and Ancient History before beginning a Master of Education in Teacher Librarianship and moving into the Conde Library in 2019. As Library Team Lead, she oversees reading programs (Years 7 to 10); research, inquiry and information fluency (Years 7 to 12); curation of physical and digital resources for students and staff; and ensures operations and strategy across Pymble’s three K-12 Libraries are in alignment. Ms Zwar currently teaches wide reading classes for Years 7 and 9, and research and inquiry classes for Years 7 to 12.

Tessa, what was the ‘aha’ moment that led you into teaching?

“I’m not sure I had a single ‘aha’ moment. I was keen on becoming a teacher from quite a young age. I was fortunate to have wonderful teachers throughout my schooling who inspired a love of learning and curiosity in me and were wonderful role models. When I first started university, I was fairly certain that I was destined to become a primary school teacher. However, I just loved studying English and History at uni and went on to specialise and take Honours in them. It seemed like a natural progression to train to teach the subjects I was so passionate about.”

What is the most rewarding aspect of the work you do here?

“Working in the Library is a very privileged position. We get to work with staff and students from all areas across the College. The collaboration and conversations with students and staff are so fulfilling. There is nothing better than hearing that a task was enhanced due to collaboration with the Library team, or that a student loved the latest book they borrowed, or that they now have the perfect piece of research for their project.”

What are you most proud of achieving as a learning team leader?

“I am so proud to lead such a dedicated and passionate team of library professionals and teachers. I truly believe that we have one of the best school library teams here at Pymble and that is due to the professionalism, skills and care for the learning and wellbeing of students that all team members hold.”

Work aside, tell us a fun fact about you…

“I am a second-generation librarian. My lovely Mum was a librarian and library manager for her entire career until her retirement. I’m very lucky that I can discuss all things library with her!” 

Finish this sentence: If I could impart one life lesson to our students, it would be…

“Do not dismiss the power of stories. Stories play such an important role in our lives and are intrinsic to the human experience. Stories connect, inspire, nurture, empower, open-up new worlds, help us make meaning, fortify our brains and deepen our souls. They are the ultimate product of creativity and heart.”

Hopefully, you are enjoying reading these insights into the people of Pymble as much as we are enjoying sharing their stories with you.