From the Upper School
A message from Mrs Victoria Harrison, Acting Head of Upper School
As we reach the end of Week 8 of term for our Year 9 and 10 girls, I want to encourage you to take a moment to encourage your daughter to reflect on their term so far and consider on how they can finish the term in a productive and caring way. It has been lovely to see many positive interactions around the campus and we hope that your daughter is feeling settled in the Upper School. Upper school students consistently impress with their talent and commitment across various Co-Curricular activities. This week, we’re proud to acknowledge the accomplishments of many girls and wish them luck in their current and future endeavours.
Good luck to the Pymble Cattle Club members Adison Hartog –Smith, Eilidh Skelton, Livia Armstrong, Mia Lorimar, Annabelle Jones and Anais Vander who are competing at the Royal Easter Show this week with the Pymble steers UNO, Urchin, Teddy and Unit.
On Friday the igsa Swimming & Diving Championships are on at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre. We are sure that the countless hours training for this competition and others will contribute to a successful and enjoyable day for the girls. Sending lots of Pymble Pulse energy their way. Good luck to Ruby Pickthall, Annaliese Chow and Sarah Tian, Indianna Vale, Angela Xenofontas and Mea Shires as well as our divers, Leila Rich and Isla Stewart.
This week marks the Australian Rowing Championships at the Sydney International Regatta Centre, where we’re thrilled to have 23 Upper School girls competing. It’s a special opportunity to showcase their talents in a national competition amidst a supportive home crowd.
Congratulations to Kelly Clifton (Year 9) in the U17 Double Scull, Scarlet Olesen (Year 10), Millie Cullinane (Year 10), and the Senior 1st Eight representing Pymble in the Schoolgirl Eight Event (2000m). Also, in the 17 Women’s Coxed Eight Event (2000m), we have two U17 development eights comprised entirely of Upper School girls. A big shoutout to all the participants: Caitlyn Bilney, Arabella Murphy, Sara Khan, Mia Solomons, Ellie Pointon, Kelly Clifton, Allegra Taubenschlag, Olivia Norton, Leander McLaughlin, Zara Kinniburgh, Harriet Murphy, Annie Pennington, Amber Eisenhauer, Georgina Curtis, Lucy Simpson, Genevieve Bazina, Mia Sherry, Emily Bartrop, and Mie Naito.
We eagerly anticipate hearing about your experiences and hope the endurance and teamwork skills honed this season will benefit you in other aspects of life.
Cambridge Schools Debating Competition
Amy Zhang (Year 11) and Alice Mao (Year 10) attended the Finals Day of the Cambridge Schools Debating Competition held in the Cambridge Union in the UK on Saturday 16 March.
The Cambridge Schools Debating Competition is one of the largest and most prestigious schools debating competitions in the world, attracting over 1000 entrants each year. Participants are from a wide range of countries and regions, including UK, Canada, Asia, India etc. And it’s the first year we have teams from the Australia and New Zealand region. Only those grand finalists from each region will be invited to the Finals Day, which aims to find and develop the most talented young debaters from around the globe and to give them a forum to discuss and explore ideas.
This year, there are a total of 60 teams and 120 participants in this event, most are senior students from top high schools in each country, such as Eton, Tiffin School, Tonbridge School, University of Toronto Schools. Three Australia teams are from Pymble Ladies’ College, St Ignatius’ College Riverview and Trinity Grammar School.
With so many top debaters, the competitions were extremely challenging and exciting. After a long and exhausting day of competitions, Amy and Alice came up with some very impressive results. They ranked 18th among all the teams. Trinity came 35th and Riverview 38th. As individual speakers, Amy placed 11thand Alice placed 21st. Trinity placed 25th and 41st, and Riverview placed 50th and 57th respectively. All Australian speakers are above 50% among all the participants. We should feel really proud of them.
Reflections from the Term 1 Residential Program
It has been lovely seeing the students from the first Vision Valley Residential program settling back into their Pymble campus routine. We know that many girls are missing the Valley, and we are excitedly preparing for our second group to go next term. I am pleased to share the following reflection from Grace McSweeney, Syrena Lin and Sitian Chen about their time at Vision Valley. Thank you to Jemma Hung for collecting these insights.
In one sentence, describe your entire experience:
“Vision Valley is the type of experience that on reflection will continue to grow on you, as you learn so much through the program, whether it be how to be independent or how to survive in the bush.“
“Every day pushed me to question my capability and tested me as a person.”
“An experience that I did not always enjoy when I was going through it, but really miss it now that it’s over.
What piece/s of advice would you give to the students going in future terms?
I do not want to give away too much, as I believe certain things are for girls to discover for themselves, yet here is some vital information I believe girls should know. Having goals such as Duke of Ed motivates most girls to push themselves throughout the expeditions, as they have the mindset, “I just need to finish this for Duke of Ed.”
“Live in the moment. Try not to fret over the different expeditions, and please do not count down the days until the four weeks are over. The biggest regret from others is just not being happy in the present, because these are memories for a lifetime.”
“I would advise future students to maintain a positive mindset throughout the residential program, which could be difficult as it is a completely new adventure full of uncertainties. Yet if you embrace those opportunities and give everything a try, at the end you will find out you have overcome many challenges, and they were not as scary as you imagined.”
Action Items
Year 10 Parents – Please check the Parent Portal for notices regarding Outdoor Education Program Choices for your daughter. The deadline to make a choice is Friday 22 March.
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)
Tuesday 30 April – First Day of Term 2
Victoria Harrison
Acting Head of Upper School