From the Upper School

A message from Mrs Victoria Harrison, Head of Upper School

Upper School Service – Days for Girls and Undies Drive

It was wonderful to have our Upper School parents join us on Wednesday for our Days for Girls lunchtime workshop. These weekly workshops provide an opportunity for students to contribute towards the development of washable, reusable menstrual health products for women around the world in underprivileged communities.

Thank you to the parents who joined us for this special occasion, and for the wonderful contribution from our Upper School students. It was lovely to have Jennie Beeston join us from Days for Girls to present an example of the finished product and share the difference these products can make in the lives of young women around the world.

We still need many more pairs of underpants to be donated to supplement the products made in these workshops. We are working towards being able to donate at least 1,000 pairs of underpants. This small contribution will be highly valued by women across the world.

Guest speaker from The Pelvic Pain Foundation of Australia

Empowering young women to be knowledgeable about their health is crucial for their overall wellbeing. Earlier this week, Year 10 participated in the Periods, Pain, Endometriosis Program (PPEP) talk, which focused on raising awareness about women’s health issues and the impact of menstruation on their lives. The PPEP talk, a government-funded initiative, provides early intervention and supports girls experiencing severe period pain.

The presentation aims to help girls develop a better understanding of these health aspects and encourages them to proactively seek support if pelvic pain negatively impacts their lives. We hope that your daughter found this helpful. More information about this program can be found by clicking here.

Student Exchange Program

This week, we are excited to invite Year 9 girls to express their interest in joining the 2025 Cultural and Language International Exchange Program. The initial survey responses indicate a high level of enthusiasm among the girls and keen interest in experiencing an exchange to the UK, USA and Scandinavian countries in particular! We will share more details about the program later this year. The Vision Valley Residential Program will serve as an excellent foundation, inspiring and preparing the girls for their upcoming adventures far from home.

Eloisa Hunt and Natalie Barclay have been warmly welcomed home from their exchange to St Anne’s School in South Africa. We look forward to sharing a reflection of their exchange soon and hope that you enjoy hearing from Phoebe Roberts and Johanna Ricketts who recently returned from Wrekin College in Shropshire.

On the Saturday 13 April, Jojo and I set off on our exchange to Shropshire, England. We attended Wrekin College which was in the countryside of the UK. School started at 8.20am and finished at 5.30pm, long days which we were not used to but as the weeks went on, we got into a routine. We were boarding at the school during the week and would stay with our exchange student on the weekend. Throughout the six weekends we were there we visited Ironbridge, Bridgnorth, Shrewsbury, Attingham Park Mansion, Liverpool, Stoke, Whitmore, Birmingham, London, Bristol, Bath and Oxford.

One week we also went to Chester Zoo with the biology students in our year group. Wrekin is a co-ed school, so we definitely noticed a difference compared to Pymble. We were in an older year group and the education system is very different in England compared to Australia. They don’t do the HSC, instead they do GCSEs and A-Levels. On Wednesdays, sixth form (our year group) could get a town pass after 3.00pm and go into town for the afternoon.

The best part of the exchange was probably meeting all our new friends and being able to go on the train and explore on the weekends. Cricket is a huge thing at Wrekin, and everyone would go and watch the boys and girls teams out on the field, which was really nice. Something we learnt about ourselves is that we really do love Australia, and we both said to each other during the last week that while we didn’t want to leave, we couldn’t wait to get on the plane home and touch down on Aussie soil. We are looking forward to welcoming our exchange sister to Pymble next term.

Written by Phoebe Roberts (Year 10)

Student Achievements

Well done to:

Sarah Tian who recently completed at the Australian Olympic Swimming trial at Brisbane.
Jenny Xu competed in the state semifinals of the PESA- Plain English-Speaking Awards in Martin Place. Jenny has made it through to the state final to be held on 28 June.
Year 10 girls Kiki Chen, Kitty He, Rosa Kim, Alice Mao and Jenny Xu on winning the shield in their division in the ISDA Debating Grand Final on Friday evening.
Year 9 and 10 girls participated in the All Schools Touch Football tournament last week.
Year 10 Drama students on a wonderful performance of Girl Asleep last week.

Key Dates

Tuesday 25 June Secondary School Ensemble Concert

Friday 28 June Boarders travel day and last day of Term 2

Monday 22 July Boarders travel day

Tuesday 23 July Term 2 begins

From the Upper School Parent Group

Trivia Night – Final Details

The Pymble Parent Association (PPA) Trivia Night is just around the corner, and we can’t wait to see you all on Saturday night. With over 260 people attending, it’s shaping up to be the biggest Trivia Night since 2018!

Important details

Location: Miramare Gardens, 48 Myoora Road, Terrey Hills

Please note: Entry is via 48 Myoora Road only, as there is no access from Mona Vale Road.

Parking: Ample parking is available on-site at Miramare Gardens

Doors open at 6.30pm for welcome drinks, table decorating and photos.

Trivia starts promptly at 7.00pm.

We have a full and exciting program planned, so please arrive on time to ensure we can kick off the festivities as scheduled. Now, let’s talk prizes!

We have fantastic prizes lined up for:

– Trivia winners

– Best individual costume

– Best group costume

– Best-dressed table (please note: no confetti permitted)

We also have an incredible array of raffle prizes and live and silent auction items generously donated by local businesses and the Pymble community. Come ready to support the fundraising efforts, and don’t forget to bring plenty of gold coins and small notes for the 50/50 and heads/tails rounds.

We hope you’re putting the finishing touches on your costumes and table decorations – we can’t wait to see your creativity shine.

The Trivia Night Committee is excited to share this wonderful event with you.

We’ll see you on Saturday!

Victoria Harrison

Head of Upper School