From the Senior School
From the Deputy Head of Senior School
The Senior School is delighted to organise and host the Year 11 Formal and Year 12 Social, wonderful rites of passage for many of our students. These are an important milestone in their schooling and offer a safe and fun night to interact with their peers. The Year 12 social was held at Doltone House, Darling Island on Friday 15 March and we look forward to Year 11 Formal this Friday 22 March at Le Montage, Lilyfield.
This week in our Senior School Assembly we launched our support of the service initiative ‘Days for Girls’. The students are familiar with this program from the Upper School where students meet to create The Days for Girls (DfG) Pad, which is a washable, reusable, menstrual health product.
We are proud to offer this initiative now in the Senior School as one of the Days for Girls goals “is to improve educational and livelihood outcomes for women and girls by transforming the global menstrual health landscape. This means innovating, educating, partnering, advocating and supporting locally-led solutions on every level, to create ripples of change.” We hope that our small contribution will help those girls and women who are in dire need of this product.
March 21 marks Harmony Day – in our assembly this week we spoke about the importance of sharing our stories. In a quick poll of the Year 11 and Year 12 students we could see the vast and rich cultural diversity of our Pymble community. We hope that students are encouraged to share their stories and by doing this achieve the aims of Harmony Day “inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone”
Best wishes to our Year 11 Students for their upcoming assessment period from March 26 to March 28. A reminder for this assessment time to read the schedule of exams carefully and arrive 20 to 30 minutes prior to the start of an assessment.
Year 12 Social – Written by Eleni Vassiliadis
Last Friday l had the great experience of going to my Year 12 Social at Doltone House, Darling Island. The setting by Sydney Harbour was beautiful and provided some great photo opportunities! At the Social itself, it was nice to see everyone dressed up to the nines, having fun with each other, moshing on the dancefloor, and of course taking the obligatory photo booth pics. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience, that provided some much-needed relief from study, and an opportunity to hang out with my friends!
IWD Young Women’s Leadership Seminar – Written by Lauren Korenblyum
On Friday March 8, Ang-Ya Koo and I visited NSW Parliament House to attend the Young Women’s Leadership Seminar for International Women’s Day. We had the opportunity to hear from Lisa Williams, who is an Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales. Lisa Williams spoke about her personal experiences and how she discovered her passion for research in gender and leadership.
Her career in Social Psychology allowed her to share a unique range of statistics and life experiences. She presented an enlightening insight that the origin of gender stereotypes stemmed from our human compulsion to act as social beings and categorise people into personality and emotion types, creating a division between male and female roles. She also shared a statistic that, in an experiment conducted a couple of decades ago, over 96 per cent of Year 1 students immediately drew a male when asked to depict a Scientist.
These facts and pieces of information, as well as the passion they were presented with, greatly inspired us to consider the impact of gender bias and stereotypes in society, and the role that we can play in subverting them and harnessing our individuality and influence in the future.
After the address, we also heard from a panel of female Members of Parliament who discussed highlights, challenges and opportunities they have experienced throughout their careers, as well as the importance of female voice and representation in local and wider politics. We were able to ask questions and gain insights into their motivations and inspirations, reminding us of the significance of International Womens’ Day.
On the whole, the event was an incredible experience, and we were able to gain new perspectives on the strength and perseverance that women continue to show every day, in a variety of fields and contexts. We hope that Pymble girls can feel just as empowered, and be compelled to make a difference in society.
Term 1 Key Dates
Friday 22 March – Year 11 Formal at Le Montage
Tuesday 26 to Thursday 28 March – Year 11 Assessment block
Friday 29 March – Good Friday Public Holiday
Monday 1 April – Easter Monday Public Holiday
Thursday 4 April – Year 11 University Immersion Day
Thursday 4 April – Year 12 Food for Thought
Friday 12 April – Term 1 ends
Friday 3 May – Careers Expo (date changed to Friday 3 May from Monday 8 April)
From the Secondary School Parent Group
Year 11 Parent Meet Up
We’d love for you to join us for dinner at our Year 11 parent meet up on Friday 22 March after dropping your daughter off at the Year 11 Formal at a location close to Lilyfield.
For more details, feel free to call or message me on 0426 868 643, or join the Facebook group Pymble LC Parents Class of 2025.
I look forward to seeing you there!
Jemma Barney
Patricia Gallardo
Deputy Head of Senior School