From the Principal
There are some traditions that truly define the essence of our community, and Jacaranda Day is one of them. Tuesday’s service was a multi-generational celebration of past and present students, staff and families, and the joy of being of service to others. This year our girls from Kindergarten to Year 12 had the great honour of being joined by two members of our alumni, Gina Stanistreet (1972) and Alison Stewart (1960), former Principal Mrs Gillian Moore (1989 to 2007), Julie Toma and Dr Andrew Browning representing the Barbara May Foundation, and Mrs Raj Ram, a Science teacher at the College from 1970 to 2000 who established our Jacaranda Day tradition 40 years ago in 1983.
At 90 years young, Mrs Ram attended the service with her husband and several members of their family to speak with students about her legacy at the College and what it means to serve.
“…service should stir our conscious, realise the innate goodness in each of us and touch us to reach out to people who are denied basic needs for survival and take them to higher levels so that every individual has opportunities to flower and bloom in their chosen areas.” – Mrs Raj Ram
It was a pleasure to acknowledge a few of the hundreds – if not thousands – of ways students and staff across the College have used their gifts and talents to support others in our year of Pymble Gives Back.
In our Junior School, our Kindness Club led countless initiatives, and girls have gifted their time to serve as buddies for new students, tour guides for incoming families, robotics mentors for students at St Lucy’s School, and roving ‘Hubbies’ assisting elderly residents in aged care with tech support.
In the Secondary School, Year 7 committed to regular Compass Clean Ups, Year 9 assumed the role of ‘big sisters’, and Year 13s returned to the College to mentor our Seniors.
Multiple year groups supported Days for Girls, Dignity, Wrap with Love, Sony Camp, remote Indigenous communities, and communities and charities in Africa. As a school, we contributed to a year-long donation drive for several charities, including Wayside Chapel, The Smith Family and the Salvation Army, and raised funds for Dignity and The Smith Family through our much-loved Garden Party.
Congratulations to our 2023 Community Prefects, Senu Edirisinghe and Georgia Stuart, who did a great job leading our service initiatives this year. It’s also my pleasure to embarrass two staff members who are quiet ambassadors of giving back in their own time. Our Head of Upper School, Mr Tom Riley, has been helping an elderly Cantonese man learn English, and our Director – Innovative Learning Technologies, Mr Anthony England, has volunteered his time throughout the year to give tech support to minority groups.
Collectively, our staff have raised more than $20,000 through our ‘Casual for a Cause’ days in 2023 – great job, team!
It is truly gratifying to see our Pymble family embrace the concept of using their special gifts and talents to be of service to others and, in doing so, grow our collective Social and Emotional Intelligence. Next year we look forward to building on this solid foundation and also supporting the important work of our 2024 College charity, The Barbara May Foundation. The science of generosity is well-researched and understood to deliver many benefits to our overall health and wellbeing, all wonderful by-products of our aim to help make the world a better place for those who are in need.
Chair of Board announcement
Of course, the big news this week is a change in governance at Board level. For those who haven’t had a chance to catch up on Monday’s MyPymble notice, our wonderful Chair, Mr James Hunter, is reluctantly stepping down from his position at the College due to his promotion to a global role with KPMG International that requires him to relocate to London. James leaves with our eternal gratitude and respect for more than 10 years of commitment to our Pymble family and outstanding leadership of our Board.
Our incoming Chair was unanimously elected by his fellow Board members to step into James’ mighty shoes, and it was a pleasure to welcome Mr Chris Fydler, OAM to our staff meeting on Monday to connect with staff in his new role.
Chris first joined our Board in 2018 and has always impressed me with his strategic mind and incredibly diverse skill set. He is an experienced CEO, solicitor, gold-medal winning Olympian and former Pymble parent of four daughters who attended the College for the better part of 20 years, until 2021. In our staff meeting, Chris spoke from the heart about his motivation for taking on this big, critical, and volunteer role at the College and, with his permission, I would like to share these insights with you now.
A few words from our incoming Chair
“Firstly, I wanted to say I am excited by this opportunity and humbled by the vote of confidence. My wife, Rose, and I have been Pymble parents for 20 years and we are incredibly grateful for all the staff who have been involved in the education of our girls. They have turned out as wonderful humans and we are very proud of them and the College.
“I am also passionate about providing opportunities and pathways for young people to achieve their potential. I spend a lot of time outside my real job in that space and it gives me a great amount of satisfaction.
“The other thing I really love is working with amazing people and teams who are motivated, intelligent and innovative, and who have the courage to say they want to be good at what they do and to work hard to achieve their goals. In addition to our incredible students, it’s the teachers, co-curricular coaches and professional services staff are what makes Pymble great, and it is rewarding to be part of this team.
“A more personal reason is that I come from a teaching family. My Mum was a primary school teacher for 40 years and my brother Matt was a high school teacher for his entire career. In some small way I understand a little bit about what it’s like to be a teacher and work in this sector. I appreciate and am in awe of the energy, time and effort Pymble staff put into all the students and, hopefully, in some small part, the Board and I can help support the important work you do.” – Mr Chris Fydler, OAM
James, Chris and all our Board members are incredibly generous in giving their time and expertise to serve our Pymble family and we thank them from the depths of our hearts for this priceless gift.
Say hello to our HOLAs
It has taken nearly two terms of newsletter columns to arrive at our final HOLA profile! This week, we get to know our Head of Learning Area – PDHPE, Mrs Alison Cruz, who commenced at Pymble in 2010 and currently teaches Years 9 and 12 PDHPE.
Alison, what was the ‘aha’ moment that led you into teaching?
“I actually began a nursing degree after finishing high school. After leaving the course at the end of first year I did some volunteer work at an outdoor education centre where I had some helpful conversations that ended with me being encouraged to consider PDHPE teaching. Best decision I ever made!”
What is the most rewarding aspect of the work you do here?
“When students are grappling with understanding a concept or executing a skill and you as their teacher work with them to grasp it. The ability to share the joy and satisfaction they experience when this happens is very fulfilling.”
What are you most proud of achieving as a Pymble HOLA?
“I am most proud of leading a passionate and high functioning PDHPE team who provide engaging learning opportunities for our students. Watching our collaborative efforts result in enriching experiences for students in PDHPE brings me a deep sense of accomplishment and pride.”
Work aside, tell us a fun fact about you…
“I love scuba diving! Exploring the underwater landscape, observing marine life and looking out into the deep blue is such a rush for me.”
Finish this sentence: If I could impart one life lesson to our students, it would be…
“Make the choice to be kind to others and yourself. It will make for a happier life.”
Thank you, Alison, for a fitting life lesson for a week that started with World Kindness Day on Monday! Enjoy the upcoming weekend and this lovely clip of our Jacaranda Day ceremony.
