From the Upper School
A message from Mrs Victoria Harrison, Acting Head of Upper School
In recent weeks, several Upper School Leaders have had the opportunity to attend either a Leadership Summit or the UN International Women’s Day event. These gatherings offer our students valuable insights into leadership development and showcase how women are challenging norms to foster a fairer society. At our school, we believe that every girl has the potential to be a leader. Whether in their peer groups, academic pursuits, or extracurricular activities, we encourage them to embody traits like empathy, integrity, and care. These qualities are fundamental to leadership and essential for nurturing influential and compassionate young women.
Sehjal, Grace and Jemma have provided the following reflections of their experiences:
On Friday 1 March, we had the opportunity to attend a Leadership Summit run by the Institute of Deeper Learning, held at St Andrews. The day was split into three sessions, each comprising a range of different activities spanning from keynote talks to “snowball” fights to constructive argumentation. Each was specifically designed to help learn and develop key aspects of leadership – whether that be developing the awareness of one’s character, testing communication skills or working collaboratively with others.
A highlight of the summit was the Lego challenges which included working in teams to build the tallest tower using only 15 pieces (which were selected prior without any context) designed to withstand an earthquake simulator. Another activity consisted of building Lego constructions to symbolise experiences, character traits and stories. Our group came up with interesting plotlines to complement our (in my opinion) superior constructions.
Throughout the day, we were able to engage in discussions with students from other schools, develop our own character strengths and learn about the 50 different qualities of what an effective leader may have. Overall, it was a memorable experience and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have attended.
Written by Jemma Hung (Year 9)
Last Friday we were lucky enough to attend the UN International Women’s Day event where we heard from women in various fields talk about some of the challenges and concerns, they have about women in the workplace. The theme of this year’s event was ‘Count Her In: Invest in Women,’ which focused on the economic disparity between men and women. We were able to hear from Moana Hope, a former AFLW player who talked about her experience in a male dominated industry, including the gender pay gap and implausible expectations she was forced to adhere to, which gave us insight to the lack of gender equality in sports, and helped us gain a wider perspective of this in the broader context of inequality in the workplace.
Written by Sehjal Baveja (Year 10)
The ambience buzzed with empowerment and inspiration on arrival at the UN Women’s Day lunch and function. The gathering of people around Sydney highlighted a collective agreement on gender equality. The speeches throughout the function could only be described as captivating. I have a strong belief in women’s rights and found some statistics brought up as startling. In the Pacific food trading markets, 80% of market vendors are women. Some are subjected to sleeping on roads and under tables to travel to the markets. Moana Hope, a former AFLW player, informed the crowd that for her time, she was the highest-paid player in the women’s league, earning $29,000 in 6 months. Her male equivalent earned $1,000,000. The lowest-paid woman obtained $2.000 in 6 months. The facts astonished the crowd and me and created sparks within us to investigate further and contribute to gender equality. Overall, the experience was highly successful in changing perceptions, evoking emotion and spreading awareness.
Written by Grace McSweeney (Year 9)
Pymble Pulse in action in the Upper School
Alice Mao and Jemma Hung, the Upper School Communications leaders have been on the ground speaking with Year 9 and 10 about Pymble Pulse. Please enjoy the student perspectives from recent co-curricular activities.
“To me, Pymble Pulse is a great way for the whole school to feel connected. It is a way for people from kindergarten all the way to Year 12 to feel a sense of belonging and community despite being so different in age.”
Saturday Sports – Cricket
“Cricket is just like any other team-based sport. You really can’t succeed or have fun unless you have a strong team bond and communication system. In fact, you could lose many runs if you don’t give the correct signals to your batting partner! Pymble Pulse just puts a name on something that already exists – the heartbeat of every player on the field aiming for the same goal. Even if our winning streak is not shiny, it doesn’t matter because we did it and we enjoyed it.”
Music – The Addams Family
Over three days starting from last Thursday, a talented cast and orchestra performed this year’s musical, The Addams Family! The seats were almost fully booked as our community flocked to see the brilliant performance.
“Starting in November last year, many of my peers and I had the privilege of being a part of the orchestra for The Addams Family musical. Over three months, along with the fantastic cast, ensemble, and lots of hard work, we put together a show that a wonderful audience enjoyed on all four nights. We were incredibly grateful for the level of support that we received and loved all the times we interacted with the lovely community. Pymble Pulse, thank you for coming to cheer us on!”
Urban Challenge
On Tuesday, we were blessed with fantastic weather for our Year 10 Urban Challenge. The girls and staff put on themed outfits before embarking on a clue hunt across the Sydney CBD. Despite the heat, the girls persevered enthusiastically, decoding clues, tackling bonus challenges, managing their team’s meals within a budget, and enjoying activities such as escape rooms, dance workshops and bowling. This dynamic day aimed to promote leadership skills and teamwork, seamlessly aligning with our commitment to preparing our students for community engagement.
Another enriching opportunity for your daughter to broaden her perspectives, leadership, foster independence, and develop resilience is through our International Exchange program. We are able to offer more opportunities in the cultural exchange program to Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa. Further details will be emailed to your daughter and posted on MyPymble. To visit the Student Exchange site for 2024, please click here.
Action Items
Year 10 Parents – Please check the Parent Portal for notices regarding OEP Choices for your daughter. The deadline to make a choice is Friday 22 March.
A message from the Year 9 Parent Co-ordinators
All Year 9 parents and carers are invited to attend the first Year 9 morning tea of the year. Please RSVP by Sunday 10 March by emailing me at joaniepoanie@gmail.com
Topics: Vision Valley and how to navigate around school systems
Date: Friday 15 March
Time: 8.30am
Venue: Brick Lane Espresso, West Pymble Shopping Village
Key Dates
Thursday 11 April – Year 10 Learning Discussions – Evening
Friday 12 April – Year 10 Learning Discussions – All Day (No classes)
Friday 12 April – Last Day of Term (For Year 9)
Victoria Harrison
Acting Head of Upper School