From the Principal

Thank you for a wonderful, albeit bittersweet at times, first term. It was wonderful to see our girls and their teachers, coaches and mentors embrace Term 1 with fabulous energy, attitudes and appetites for learning. With Easter on our doorstep, we send our best wishes to our Cattle Team members who are currently at the Sydney Royal Easter Show participating in cattle parading, judging and the auctions of Terry, Tigger and Tommy, our College steers. Next week, our Pymble Pride Robotics team heads off to Houston for the World Championships, where we know they too will make us Pymble Proud. Go well, girls, and all students who are representing Pymble teams during the break.

The bittersweet part of this term was saying farewell to a very special member of our family, Reverend Lorenzo Rodrigues Torres, who leaves us after 12 years of exceptional service to take up ministry at Balmain Uniting Church. It is impossible to sum up the measure of the beautiful man we all know and love, and to convey the impact of the joy, wisdom, comfort and unconditional support he has given so selflessly to all in our community during his tenure at Pymble. We are truly blessed to have had Rev Lorenzo in our lives; I know many of us will keep him in our prayers, just as we know he will keep us in his. From the bottom of our hearts, Lorenzo, thank you for the gift you have been to our Pymble family. ❤️

As you would imagine, finding someone to take Lorenzo’s place is not an easy task. As individuals and as a team, our Chaplains play an incredibly important role in our lives and in binding us as a community. Our initial search left us feeling like we had to dig a little deeper to find the perfect person for Pymble, so the position will remain vacant for a little while longer while we extend our search. In the meantime, we are delighted to announce that our Head of Religion and Ethics, Edwina O’Brien, has been appointed Assistant Chaplain to support Rev Bent. Ms O’Brien is a former Pymble student and English Teacher, who recently moved into Religion and Ethics, a space where she is thriving. Eddy, as she is affectionately known to staff, is currently halfway through a Bachelor of Theology and has begun her period of Formation with the Sydney Central Coast Presbytery of the Uniting Church Synod of NSW and ACT. This will prepare her as she discerns her call to ordained ministry and service in the Uniting Church and gains experience and spiritual direction in pastoral ministry and practice. Eddy will split her time between her two roles from Term 2.  

In reflecting on Lorenzo’s legacy, and the way he and Rev Bent have combined their gifts and talents to care for our community, it occurred to me that we are incredibly fortunate to have a number of unique teams that sit outside our academic departments, and that are equally dedicated to serving our students and their families in their own special way. This week it is my pleasure to introduce to you to a few of our less-visible teams at Pymble and share a glimpse of the work they do behind the scenes each term – and often throughout the breaks – to enhance the Pymble experience for our students and their families. We have chosen to end the term highlighting these very special members of our Pymble family, in part to acknowledge and thank them for all they do for our community.

Shining a light on Professional Services staff at Pymble…

Boarding School Administration Office

Can you imagine the organisation required to keep 127 teenage girls safe, well and happy while living on campus? Think about the food, laundry, appointments, outings, travel, fun and treats needed! Our Boarding Administration team of two works tirelessly to ensure the holistic care of each Boarder, organising everything from Easter egg hunts to return trips to and from Boarding to destinations all over Australia and the world. They do this with the greatest of care and apparent ease, and always, always with a huge smile.  

Junior School Office

The kind souls in our Junior School Office work seamlessly to provide a high level of care for 793 students aged from four to 12 years old, 1,600+ parents and carers and 80 staff members. On a day-to-day basis, this entails managing multiple events such as excursions and incursions, often on the same day, across all year groups; sorting and distributing 400 student lunches each day; and supporting the Junior School Executive team with daily logistics. Oh, and lots of hugs.

Secondary School Offices (Middle, Upper and Senior School)

Apart from all of the usual administrative functions, such as event organising, monitoring attendance, organising meetings, seeking the whereabouts of students needed for one thing or another, dealing with lunches, caring for unwell girls and answering questions from students and parents, our sub-school Office Administration staff are often the first people our girls come to for help, a chat or a shoulder to cry on. Our big-hearted and ever-efficient office admin staff are all genuinely interested in our girls and their wellbeing – kind of like a Mum at school – and are dedicated to giving a high level of attention and care to our students each day.

Curriculum Office

This team is the centre of the Secondary academic universe, supporting students, parents and staff as they navigate their choices in learning from Years 7 to 12. When life throughs curveballs, such as illness or misadventure, this fabulous team comes to the rescue, helping students and their families navigate the requirements for assessments and examinations with kindness and care.

IT (aka The Hub)

It would be a rare student or staff member who never had cause to visit or seek help from our amazing Hub technicians. Seriously, we couldn’t exist without them. In preparation for the new school year, The Hub’s Helpdesk team efficiently unboxed, configured and distributed 2,500+ assets to students and new staff members. Throughout the term, the team provided exceptional technical support during new orientations, office relocations and NAPLAN tests across three days and four locations in Week 7. We love the Hub team for their unwavering dedication and kindness, ever-present smiles and can-do attitude which ensures that no IT challenge is too difficult to overcome.

Facilities

Our diverse Facilities team of skilled professionals goes above and beyond to deliver to the ‘Pymble standard’ when tending to a wide range of building projects, renovation works, preventative maintenance, grounds maintenance and sports preparation, logistics and events as well as security and cleaning services – always with a focus on sustainability and an aim to please. Before Term 1 began, the team completed the summer works program and made sure the campus was safe and stunning for our first day back. Throughout the term, our fabulous Facilities team assisted with multiple event and function set ups, including our PPA Ice Breaker, New Parents’ High Tea and Parent Breakfasts, as well as NAPLAN Exams and this week’s Careers Expo.

Finance

Fun fact: our Finance team of eight has more than 70 years of combined experience at the College. Fun notwithstanding, the day-to-day focus of this rock-solid team of legends is running the finance function of the College, which includes invoicing fees and making payroll and supplier payments. Finance also manages the College budget and prepares our Strategic Financial Forecast for the next ten years, including managing the financing of the Masterplan. This is all achieved through the hard work, dedication and commitment of a great team of professionals who genuinely care for each other, the College and the work they do.

Community Engagement

Our Community Engagement (CE) team spans our Alumni, Enrolments, Events, and Marketing and Communications departments, as well as the Pymble Foundation and Uniform Shop. The team is kept busy throughout the year connecting with and celebrating our wonderful Pymble community of students, parents, carers, ex-students and staff. They are the people who organise events, design publications, keep our community informed, outfit the girls in Pymble style, support the wider community, cultivate philanthropic connections for the College’s development, promote Pymble to the world, and welcome more than 350 new Pymble girls each year – no small feat! From enquiry to graduation and beyond, our CE team goes above and beyond to ensure all families have a great experience during their Pymble journey.

Human Resources

Our people mean the world to us at Pymble; we aim to attract and retain the best staff to support your daughter’s learning journey. In Term 1, and throughout the year, our Human Resources (HR) team onboard new staff through our highly rated Welcome Program. At the start of the year our intake included new teachers as well as operations, administrative and co-curricular staff, all of whom received a warm welcome and supportive start to their Pymble journey. Our HR team also implemented the new Pymble Pulse Staff Engagement Survey, to ensure we continue to listen to and amplify the voice of our staff. The team is now pumped to use this feedback to work on plans for areas where we can do even better and strive for that perfect mark. As we say here at Pymble – no survey without service!

College Services

Our versatile College Services (CS) team is an administrative hub of the College, managing everything from our central services (Pymble buses, Opal and concession cards, mail service and Print Room) to data management (contact details, student reports, records and awards), while also supporting our Heads of Learning Areas and other teams as required. In Term 1, the team was busy printing an array of College magazines and documents, playing a part in the internal roll-out of various features of the MyPymble in partnership with our IT team, finalising the proofing of reports, and working on a new bus registration form to give our parents a better user experience, to be rolled out later this year.

Out of School Hours Care

For many of our busy, working families, Pymble’s Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) centre, also known as the Department of Fun, offers support and a second home for their daughters who attend before and after school care and/or holiday care. Term 1 is an especially busy time for OSHC staff, who follow on from the Early Learning Curriculum to support the transition of our new Kindy students from pre-school to their new ‘big school’ environment. For our older girls, OSHC provides a caring, safe and supportive environment before and after the school day, and during term breaks, to help them settle into their new school year, attend co-curricular activities and, most importantly, relax and play with their carers and friends.

Libraries in our Junior and Senior Schools

Pymble’s three libraries are staffed by a talented team of teacher librarians and technicians, many of whom are qualified librarians with significant experience in public and university libraries. Their work includes audio visual services, managing subscriptions, managing the databases that hold all the libraries’ records, creating the digital interface for browsing and borrowing, providing services for borrowers including re-shelving, creating online compilations of learning material, managing the purchasing, repairing books and assisting with research. The technicians also run maker space activities for students, create a quarterly newsletter of book reviews, supervise the library monitors, and create stunning and engaging displays throughout the year. Their dedicated and consistent service allows us to open our libraries beyond the hours of the school day and provide safe and warm spaces for students to relax, study and enjoy their learning.

Co-curricular

A huge department at the school, Co-Curricular covers everything that happens outside the classroom, including organised Sport, Performing Arts, Extended Learning, our Aquatic Centre and Learn to Swim programs, and afterschool programs in the Junior School. Pymble girls are fortunate to have best in industry coaches and co-ordinators providing their co-curricular learning, and these incredibly talented people are supported by a team of equally talented office administrators. This hard working and dedicated team is the engine room of our myriad co-curricular programs, managing every process, student registration and student list as well as all the logistics required to support the interests and passions of 2,300+ students plus external families who use the Aquatic Centre.

GMCPA Theatre

How lucky we are to have a Theatre team that brings a wealth of professional experience to the technical, design, safety, production management and front house operations for all shows and events in our Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts (GMCPA). In addition to the professional qualities they bring to each Pymble production, our dynamic duo also provides technical training for staff and students, manages all bookings and oversees venue maintenance. 

Vision Valley

Over at our other stunning campus at Arcadia, the mighty Vision Valley (VV) team has been welcoming a range of guests this year, including church, sports, First Nations and other school groups. In Term 1, VV was also home to 125 Pymble and Riverview students in Year 9 who attended one of two Residential Programs for four weeks, where they were guided by Outdoor Education staff on expeditions, car mechanic courses, scaling up and down the sides of cliffs and working on their Teaching and Learning projects, including architectural designs for the Vision Valley master plan and and directing their very own musical. To ensure everything functions safely and perfectly for all guests, the VV team manages the cleaning and maintenance of 97 acres of land, four lodges, the main centre and all outdoor education equipment – this is in addition to upgrading VV’s amphitheatre stage and outdoor classroom, and renovations to Echidna Lodge in time for the arrival of the next group of Pymble and Riverview students in Term 2. The team is excited about hosting their first Holiday Camp during the upcoming Easter break, when they will welcome 100 Pymble Junior School girls and their friends for a week of fun and games in the great outdoors.

Health Care Centre and Wellbeing team

The kind, caring souls in our Health Care Centre have soothed, tended and cared for approximately 1,300 students this term, and organised and delivered flu vaccinations to more than 300 Boarding students and staff. The team strive hard to create a ‘vibe’ of kindness and care – a gift to all that walk through the door. We are also blessed with the services of a wonderful team of psychologists who work closely with our Health Care team and Wellbeing leaders to support students and their families in challenging times and to promote positive mental health among our community.

As you can see, this is a huge list but it’s by no means a complete list as we also rely on a range of other professional teams, such as our sub-contracted cleaners, plumbers, electrician and painters, our fabulous new caterers (who look after our Boarders so well), as well as a number of dedicated individuals who work on Master Planning, Risk and Policy management, Project Management, Archives and Executive Administration support. If I have missed anyone, my sincere apologies for the unintended oversight. Please know you are valued for who you are and what you bring to our big, beautiful family.

There’s a famous quote saying people come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. We close out the term with deep gratitude for the people of Pymble, past, present and future, the unique gifts and talents they bring and the significant role each person plays in shaping our lives.

Have a wonderful break, stay safe, and see you in Term 2.  

Dr Kate Hadwen, Principal