From the Principal

There are so many highlights of this week but four moments of pure joy spring to mind.

1) A surprise personal delivery of homemade cupcakes by sweet Emily Walker in Year 6 who is clearly crushing her Smart Cookies co-curricular course. Emily has been on a delightful mission to feed me up each Monday afternoon with treats, which I’m loving!

2) Hearing all about the good, the bad, and everything in between regarding Wise Phones from Year 7 Bennet A Compass Group yesterday as they joined me in my office for fairy bread and fruit.

3) Being shown a student’s tiny tooth, lovingly taped onto a tooth fairy card by Mrs Hilary Alo-Emile in 1A on Wednesday after it had fallen out during morning tea. I’m hoping the Tooth Fairy was generous ;).

4) Watching Head Prefects Emily Abadee and Ang-Ya Koo, along with all of Year 12, put on the greatest show to officially launch their ‘It’s 2025 Come Alive’ theme for the year at Tuesday’s assembly.

Congratulations to Jasmine Economou, Allison Wang, Indianna Joyce, Isabella Xie, Andelle Parker and Charlotte Ford for collaborating on the fabulous banner artwork, Madison Van Cleef and Zoe Rose for their showstopping aerial silks routine, and Ang-Ya and Emily, our fabulous ringmasters. The girls came to us with an ambitious idea, and, thanks to the support of the cohort and phenomenal organisational skills and rigorous risk assessment by Ms Rockwell, we were able to help them create the launch of their dreams. As we always say to the students, if you can dream it, you can do it, at Pymble. And, wow, our girls certainly dreamed big, as you can see from this clip!

It’s exciting to watch the different ways our Prefects are using their 2025 theme and influence as leaders of the school to positively impact students across the College. Over in Lang, Marden, Goodlet and Avonmoore Houses, for instance, our Boarding Head Prefects Sophie Laing and Celeste McDermott have dived further into ‘Come Alive’ to emerge with ‘togetherness’ as the key to our Boarders thriving in 2025 – and our day girls and families are warmly invited to join in on all the fun!

Supporting our Boarding ‘sisters’ to thrive in 2025

But first, a few fun facts. Most of our Boarding Houses sit at the heart of our College, which is appropriate as our Boarders are with us day and night throughout each term and are considered the heart of our community. This year, our Boarding Houses are home to a record number of students across Years 7 to 12 – two of whom are fourth generation Pymble Boarders. Broken down into year groups, we have 18 Boarders in Year 7, 19 in Year 8, 27 in Year 9, 25 in Year 10, 25 in Year 11 and 33 in Year 12 – that’s 147 Boarding ‘sisters’ in total, hailing predominantly from regional New South Wales, as well as from the Northern Territory, Queensland and nine other countries ranging from nearby Indonesia to Colorado in the USA.

When I first arrived here in 2019, we had 108 Boarders. This growth is a testament to the wonderful Boarding program we have at Pymble, which in turn is led by our fabulous staff and Director of Boarding, Mrs Carolyn Burgess. It also speaks volumes about the trust our Boarding families place in us to care for their daughters for the better part of the year. As always, we thank them for this gift of trust, along with the love and support they give to the College.

Speaking with Mrs Burgess about the year ahead, she mentioned her deep gratitude for our day school students and their families who play an important role in helping our Boarders to thrive during their time at Pymble. We have many kind and caring day girls and parents who regularly include Boarders in their plans for weekends, afternoon teas, family dinners and outings, as well as travel to and from co-curricular training and competitions. Being welcomed into the happy chaos of normal family life means a great deal to our Boarding girls and is a huge comfort to their families back home. Most of us can’t imagine what it feels like to drop your young daughter at school at the start of a term and then drive – or fly – home without her, but that’s the reality for our 147 Pymble students and their families, four times each year.

So, in 2025 we warmly invite day girls and families to consider engaging with our Boarders outside of the school day as this ‘togetherness’ really does support all our girls to come alive and thrive. Our well-established Boarding Family Friends (BFF) program encourages day students to extend their friendships with Boarders to include spending time in their homes, weekend visits, sleepovers, or perhaps watching each other’s sports matches or performances. In return, day girl BFFs are welcomed into the Boarding Houses for afternoon tea, pizza nights and sleepovers, and sometimes even trips ‘back home’ with their Boarding friend in the holidays.

As our Boarders will tell you, BFFs bring great comfort and joy to their lives.

“The Naitos, to me, feel like a second family. They are always willing to go above and beyond, from taking me to sport, inviting me to dinner and even driving me to Lithgow when my flight was cancelled! I cannot thank them enough for their help, love and support!”

– Ellie Pointon, Year 10 Boarder from Forbes, NSW (who was heading out to Rugby with the Naito family when she wrote this!)

“A homecooked meal or being in a family setting makes a big difference to Boarding life. Like most Boarders, when I first started at Pymble, I struggled with being away from my home and my family. One of my earliest experiences was when a day friend invited me to stay at her house. The comfort of being surrounded by her family made being away from my home feel a lot easier. I am so grateful that Pymble has given me the opportunity to make lifelong friends not only in Boarding but also in the day school.”

– Poppy Barwick, Year 10 Boarder from Gravesend, NSW (whose mother and sisters were also Boarders at Pymble)

By way of a thank you for all the years of lifts to sport, overnight stays on the weekends, and friendships extended to their daughters, our Boarding parents have invited all Year 12 day parents to a regional weekend in Orange on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 March 2025. In case you missed it, you can find more details here.

It seems fitting to end this column with a heart-felt message from one of our Boarding parents. Scott Neilson is the father of Alice in Year 7, who joins us all the way from Japan, and speaks from his own experience as a Boarder and his family’s connection with Pymble Boarding through his grandmother, mother, aunt and wife. While he wrote these thoughts for our Year 7 Boarders at the start of their first year, it is equally relevant to all our girls, which is why I am sharing them more widely today, with Scott and Alice’s permission.

“Dear girls,

“Many of you will not be feeling confident right now for one reason or another, which is natural.

“Confidence does not come first. Confidence starts with a dream. I want to be a sports star. I want to be an actor. I want to be a musician. I want to go to Harvard or Oxford. You then need to think what you need to do to pursue that dream. This starts with small steps.

“So, you then need to act. There is no point staying in your head. You need to take action in the real world. Little by little every day. One per cent better every day adds up to 365 per cent better in a year. Soon you will look back down the mountain you climbed and be confident.

“You are all in this together. Support each other when you stumble or are feeling unsure. Some of these girls around you will be your best friends for life. I know this as a Boarder myself. Do not push each other down or rob each other of confidence. Pushing others down to make you feel better is a sign of insecurity. Instead, ask for help with that insecurity. Be vulnerable. Be fallible. We all are. Support each other in those moments when one of you is insecure or lacking confidence and the service you give will be treasured forever.

“And if you are not confident right now because you just want to fit in, that is normal. Flip the mindset to exploring and celebrating each other for your differences. The girls that can help you with maths. The girl that can sing. The girl that can tell great stories. The girl that can speak difference languages. The girl that one day will be Prime Minister. You can learn from each other’s strengths. Those differences are the fountain of your strength as a unit. They mean that, as a unit, you are full of greatness.

“From Scott, Ali’s Dad.”

Coming Alive in ’25 to me means community. It is about supporting one another through difficulties, laughter and having fun together, and ultimately using our diverse gifts and talents to be of service. Should you wish to be of service as a BFF in 2025, please contact our fabulous Deputy Head of Boarding, Ms Theresa Mimmo, who runs this program and will be more than happy to find ways to utilise your gifts and talents to support our Boarding community. You can contact her via boarding@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au.

Have a great rest of the week – and I hope to see many of you at Icebreaker tomorrow night, or perhaps at one of our ‘Pymble Comes to You‘ regional events later in the term.

From the Junior School

From the Head of Junior School

Showing respect through our actions

I want to give a shout-out to all our girls and parents who bring their Pymble spirit to Saturday sport. It was glorious watching our Year 2 girls building their soccer skills and our girls in Years 3 and 5 play some high-energy games of soccer on Saturday.

I was particularly proud of our Year 5 team who have introduced a new tradition where they clap the team playing in the game after them onto the pitch. Thank you, Year 5, for leading the way with respect. Thank you also to the parents for being there to support our girls and modelling respect and care by the way you chat with one another and grow new friendships on the sidelines.

Respect through service in our community

I am so proud of the enthusiasm amongst our girls to connect with others in our community to bring conversation, care and respect to those they interact with. This term we have girls playing music to the residents at Kari Court, we have girls going to Northaven and Bowden Brae Aged Care Centres and girls who will be going to St Lucy’s School, Wahroonga to share their passion for robotics with some of the students at that school.

We also have an amazing group of keen letter writers in Year 5 who are working with Mrs Michele Wilson to become penpals with the students at Milingimbi School and to build friendships with those students through letters and pictures they share with one another.

Our Kindness Leaders for 2025 (Sooin Lee, Nouvelle Nicholson, Christina Yang and Isabella Yue) are leading service across our Junior School this year, and in our assembly on Monday they outlined a number of ways girls (and families) across the Junior School can get involved in service opportunities coming up this year:

Lindfield Fun Run – Sunday 4 May from 8.00am (the five-kilometre run starts at 8.45am and the two-kilometre run starts at 9.00am)

There are options to complete the two-kilometre or five-kilometre (or even the ten-kilometre!) walk/run around a course set out by Rotary. This event is a fundraising event to support KYDS and the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter (HKWS).

KYDS is a charity supporting counselling and mental health care for children and young people, and HWKS is a charity supporting women and children who need safe housing and support. Last year we were the largest school team and we are looking to bring that trophy back again this year to continue our mission of being known as a kindness-focused school.

Balmoral Burn – Sunday 25 May

This is a 400-metre run up Awaba Street, Balmoral and entries are open for children, babies in pushchairs, families and even dogs on leads! It’s a steep but short run which is lots of fun for all involved and raises funds to support the Humpty Foundation, which helps sick children in hospitals. Currently Pymble girls in Senior School are the Head of the Hill and there is a primary division competition where the current record is held by Roseville Public School.

An exciting design opportunity – design a logo competition

We are looking for someone to draw/design a LOGO to represent Service in our College.

What is Service?

More than charity.

To serve is to build relationships with others. We can learn and grow through service

We listen respectfully to understand what assistance our service partner needs from us.

Our aim: Shaping the world together through care, solidarity, respect and justice

Care: kindness and compassion to others.

Solidarity: learning by listening so we really understand others we hope to serve

Respect: valuing others and always listening and speaking respectfully

Justice: seeking fairness for everyone

Our College focus for 2025 and 2026 is on serving women and children.

Competition guidelines:

• Draw or design a logo that represents Service in our College
• Your logo must be original
• It can be drawn or created on your iPad
• It needs to represent what service means to you – think care, respect and justice.
• Keep it simple. The most effective logos are clear and simple.
• All designs/drawings must be handed in to Hedgehog House or emailed to Mrs Brown: juniorschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au by Friday 7 March 2025 (end of Week 6)

A message from Dr Sarah Loch, Director of the Pymble Institute

Data gathering about mobile phones – please support our research

We are interested in understanding how students and parents in Years 4 to 8 are using  phones: Wise, smart, brick and none! We warmly invite parents in these year groups to share their insights and we’d like to thank parents who have completed it already. We want to ensure as many voices as possible are included as survey feedback is helping our team to understand student and parent perspectives and develop our approach accordingly.

You can complete the survey by clicking here. The survey will take five to ten minutes to complete and will be open until Wednesday 26 March.

Early responses are helping us to understand students’ phone and social media use, and issues parents may be experiencing. Did you know that, according to data so far:

• parents mostly get a phone for their daughter to “communicate with her” and “track her movements”;
• the main reason parents opted-in for a Wise Phone is to “support the College’s direction” and “limit their daughter’s use of social media”; and
• parents report their daughters with smart phones are spending longer hours on these phones than students with a Wise Phone, both during school days and at weekends?

A message from Mrs Kate Giles, Head of Wellbeing

This term we have a number of new lunchtime initiatives to increase connection and build community in the Junior School:

Compass Lunch

Students eat together in the classroom with their teacher and class ‘family style’ on Mondays and Fridays before going out to the playground for the remainder of lunchtime. By sitting and eating together, the girls will share conversation and discussions with their class, growing understanding of themselves and each other.

Studies have shown that children are more likely to eat their meals when seated in a structured environment and that slowing down and being more mindful with mealtime allows a positive focus on food as fuel.

Eating together will also grow respect and understanding of diversity, including intercultural food awareness. In addition, this also has other benefits such as aiding digestion, increasing manners and diminishing rubbish in the playground.

Why not Wednesdays

Following Mrs Brown’s encouragement of the girls to challenge themselves, be curious and ask ‘Why not?’, the girls are being encouraged to try something new on Wednesdays.

Across the year there will be a variety of different activities that the girls can join in and try. This term, our wonderful art teachers, Mrs Emily Clutterham and Mrs Emily Gregory are leading art sessions for the girls to explore different areas of art-making. We will also have some student-led clubs, with the Year 3 to 6 girls submitting expressions of interest to run their own clubs, with the selected clubs to start in Week 5.

Friendship Club

In addition to the clubs run by our Year 6 leaders, Friendship Club will also commence in Week 5. This club builds upon the URSTRONG program with the introduction of friend-o-leaders who will help lead a variety of games and activities so as to help students interact, form meaningful relationships and make new connections. Thank you to Emily Horniak, Isabella Pan, Emma Gan and Ella Li for leading this club.

Parent Series

The first of the Wellbeing sessions in the Academic & Wellbeing Series for 2025 will be held on 26 February at 9.30am in the Junior School Library. This session will immediately follow the JSPG meeting and will focus on emotional regulation, how this is taught in the classroom and how you can help your daughter to identify and manage her emotions.

The session will be led by Kate Giles, Head of Wellbeing, Victoria Aikman, Kindergarten Coordinator and Tracy Reid, Year 3 Coordinator. If you would like to attend this session, please sign up using this link.

A message from Mr Stephen Robinson – Deputy Head of Junior School – Operations

Critical Medical Information

As part of the College’s commitment to keep all students safe, it is vital that we have all requisite information and medication relating to allergies and medical conditions. It is imperative that information shared with the school is complete and up to date for our staff and nurses to ensure optimal care is provided for your daughter when they are on campus. If your daughter suffers from anaphylaxis or asthma, please register the action plan with the College and provide all the necessary medication. Further information can be obtained from our Health Care team or from Junior School administration.

Nut Allergies

Please ensure that your daughter’s food does not contain any nuts as some of our students have severe allergies to food containing nuts and nut products. This includes spreads such as peanut butter and Nutella.

Uniform Matters

Students are required to wear their white hat to school each day they are in their summer uniform. The summer uniform is to be worn on all days in Term 1, except when PE lessons are scheduled. Students may wear a jumper or blazer if they require additional layers of clothing, but the winter uniform is not to be worn until Term 2.

Junior School Canteen Helpers

On Wednesdays and Fridays in Term 1, Junior School allows students to purchase (through Flexischools) cold drinks and frozen desserts. Once your order is placed your daughter will receive a brown paper bag, where she will go to the Junior School Canteen (lunch tub room) to collect her cold treat.

Please click here if you can volunteer your time. For the care and safety of your daughters, all volunteers must have a current Working with Children Check number (WWCC). If we do not already have your WWCC on file, please email to juniorschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au your WWCC number and date of birth so your WWCC can be verified.

Departure: Daily Routines

For those with daughters in Kindergarten to Year 2, your daughter’s Compass teacher will receive your daughter’s after-school arrangements each day from the travel master list, to assist your daughter in getting to her correct location after school.

Girls in Years 3 to 6 are responsible to remember where they need to go after school each day. Please use your daughter’s diary to assist her to remember where to go each afternoon.

Any changes to these routines must be sent in writing to the Junior School office juniorschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au . Please note that it is important that any changes to travel arrangements are received prior to 2.00pm.

For girls with older sisters, they must wait at the Junior School Library until their sister collects them by 3.30pm or at OSHC if they have a sister in the Senior School.

Girls Traveling on College Buses

Girls wait in the K-2 School Office and are supervised until 3.00pm when they are walked to Sunshine Square to join the Year 3 to 6 girls. All Junior School girls are then walked to James Kelso Field by a teacher, where they will then board the bus.

A reminder that all students travelling on the Pymble bus service must have a current registration. Please click here to register your daughter.

Term 1 Key Dates (Weeks 2 and 3) 

Friday 21 February – Class photos K-6 (Summer uniform)

Friday 21 February – PPA Icebreaker 6.45pm-9.00pm

Monday 24 to Friday 28 February – Junior School Wellbeing Week (no homework), Year 3 to 6 Sacred Week

Tuesday 25 February – Allwell Testing Catch up

Wednesday 26 February – JSPG Term 1 meeting 8.30am to 9.30am

Wednesday 26 February – Wellbeing Series (Kindergarten to Year 6) 9.30am to 10.30am

Thursday 27 February – Year 2 School House Museum Excursion

Thursday 27 February – Academic Series (Kindergarten to Year 2 Maths) 4.00pm to 5.00pm

Junior School

From the Junior School Parent Group (JSPG)

Welcome to 2024 – Icebreaker Invitation – Friday 21 February

Reminder – Pymble Icebreaker this Friday!

Looking forward to see everyone at the Pymble Parent Association (PPA) Icebreaker on Friday, 21 February! It’s a fantastic parent-only evening to catch up with friends, meet new families, and enjoy canapés and drinks on Gloucester Lawn.

📅 Date: Friday 21 February

⏰ Time: 6.45pm to 9.00pm

📍 Location: Gloucester Lawn

Upcoming Events

JSPG Meeting – All Parents Welcome!

We invite all Junior School parents and carers to join our first JSPG Meeting of the year. This is a great opportunity to connect and hear about plans for 2025.

📅 Wednesday 26 February

⏰ 8.30am to 9.30am

📍 3-6 Junior School Library

Year 5 Parents – Sip & Supper

📅 Date: Wednesday 5 March

⏰ Time: 6.30pm

📍 Location: The Greengate Hotel, Killara

Join us for a relaxed evening of great food, good company, and friendly conversation. This is a wonderful chance to connect with fellow parents and unwind.

Please contact us with any questions at pymblelcjspg@gmail.com

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Kate Brown

Head of Junior School

From the Middle School

It was great to see so many families represented at our Middle School Knowing People, Knowing Pymble event on Tuesday night. Hopefully this provided you with an opportunity to touch base with your daughter’s Compass teacher and mingle with other families from your daughter’s year group.

Thank you to all who presented the valuable content about all things Year 7 and Year 8. The presentations were recorded and I have shared the links below for anyone who was unable to join us.

Year 7 Knowing People, Knowing Pymble recording

Year 8 Knowing People, Knowing Pymble recording

Last Friday, the Middle School team held our welcome morning tea for our 18 new Year 7 Boarders. This was a chance for us all to check in and make sure that the girls were starting to feel settled within their new home and school environments. They are such a beautiful group of girls who will bring much to our Middle School community.

Last Thursday’s Year 8 Mind-Body-Spirit Day was a great success. We tried something completely different to previous years and the feedback from both staff and students has been so positive. Please enjoy the reflections included below:

Year 8 MBS Day Student Reflections

Last Thursday, Year 8 had the opportunity to go on an excursion and visit exhibits for our Mind-Body-Spirit Day. It was an absolute blast of a time where we got to go to museums or galleries to get our thinking caps on (Mind), walk through the city and across the Sydney Harbour Bridge (Body) and explore the natural wonders of our amazing city (Spirit).

Personally, my favourite part was walking on the Sydney Harbour Bridge with my friends while talking and taking wonderful pictures of the views. I also enjoyed having a picnic lunch in the Botanic Gardens where we got to spend quality time with friends. Overall, it was a wonderful experience for Year 8 and I would love to do it again!

Written by Kaylene Chiu

Last Week on Thursday, all Year 8s went on a trip around the city for our Mind-Body-Spirit Day. We were split into four groups going to different locations: Thomas and Wylie were chosen to visit NSW Parliament House. At first mostly everyone thought that we got the worst location out of the four and we were all reluctant to go but things changed when we entered the House of Representatives, and we patiently waited for the debate to start.

At the beginning of Question Time both parties were introduced and welcomed, everyone was laughing and getting prepared but as soon as the Speaker introduced both parties and special guests (Year 8 from Pymble Ladies’ College) the tension began to build.

As the Liberal Party asked questions about the problems around Sydney (for example, a lady having to give birth to a baby on the side of the road in a rural area because not one, but three hospitals turned her away) there was a recurring pattern of our current premier (Chris Minns) answering questions.

Premier Chris Minns came up with answers that he had researched before and things became very hectic. While the Labor Party spoke, the Liberal Party kept disrupting which resulted in three people being kicked out of Question Time by the Speaker after they had been given three warnings each.

For the last 10 minutes, we entered the library with many books from past debates that have been kept, including debates from 1700s in England that were gifted to Australia. This experience was so enjoyable as the tension got so high with the two parties yelling at each other, but the explanations were also interesting to know as were the current Government plans that were outlined.

Initially, we may have thought that Parliament House was the worst place to visit but after experiencing it we think it was the best option.

Written by Sophia Guo

On Thursday 13 February, Year 8 went to the city for our Mind-Body-Spirt Day, and needless to say, we had a blast! My Compass group, Goodlet A, went with Goodlet B and Bennett A to the Museum of Contemporary Art near the Botanical Gardens, which was such an interesting and educational experience.

We were able to learn about the history behind all of the different paintings and understand the interpretations of some of the abstract artworks. One of my favourite moments was having a picnic in the Botanical Gardens, and enjoying the fabulous view that Sydney has to offer! I had such an amazing time with my friends on this excursion and it was one of the best Mind-Body-Spirit days ever!

Written by Dionne Jacobs

Last Thursday, we had the amazing opportunity to go to the city for Mind-Body-Spirt Day. My house group, Goodlet B, got to see the Art Gallery of New South Wales. When we first arrived, we were greeted by our tour guide, Fiona.

She took us through so many amazing abstract and realistic artworks, stopping to explain each of them in detail. One of my personal favourites was an artwork with five spices, filled in various stockings strung around the room. This artwork engages three of your senses: smell, sight and touch. It was truly amazing to experience, and we could smell it throughout the whole gallery!

I’m so lucky to have gone on this excursion, and I’m so excited for Mind-Body-Spirt Day next year. 

Written by Grace Jacobs

Parent Survey on Student Phone Use

The College is currently asking parents to complete this survey in an attempt to better understand how students and parents in Years 4 to 8 are using their phones: Wise, smart, brick and none!

Parents are encouraged to share their insights. Thank you to the Years 7 and 8 parents who have completed it already. We want to ensure as many voices as possible are included as survey feedback is helping our team to understand student and parent perspectives and develop our approach accordingly.

Early responses are helping us to understand students’ phone and social media use, and issues parents may be experiencing. Did you know, according to data so far:

• parents mostly get a phone for their daughter to “communicate with her” and “track her movements”;
• the main reason parents opted-in for a Wise Phone is to “support the College’s direction” and “limit their daughter’s use of social media”; and
• parents report their daughters with smart phones are spending longer hours on these phones than students with a Wise Phone, both during school days and at weekends?

You can complete the survey by clicking here.

It takes five to ten minutes to complete and will be open until Wednesday 26 March.

Congratulations to Dani Hu (Year 8) who won the prestigious Concerto Competition held last Thursday at the College. We were privileged to have Claire Edwardes OAM and Simon Tedeschi as our judges this year.

The piece Dani played so beautifully was Saint-Saen’s violin concerto 3. Please enjoy the video of her amazing performance.

Congratulations to Adele Cassidy, Georgia Blue and Georgina Lewis who competed in the Proctor Park Challenge in Bathurst over the weekend as part of the Northern Tigers representative team. This annual Football NSW pre-season tournament brings together teams from across the state, and the girls played exceptionally well. Over two days, they competed in seven matches, remained undefeated, and were crowned grand final winners!

From the Year 7 Parent Co-ordinators

Dear Year 7 parents, we hope your daughters are settling in well to Term 1. If you have any questions or need any help please feel free to reach out to us, your Year 7 parent Co-ordinators: Edwina Burns (0419 580 580) and Maria Guo (0414 379 688).

You are invited to join other parents from Year 7 for drinks on Thursday 20 March at Killara Golf Club. This will most likely be the only social event we organise for this year so it would be wonderful if you could join us. There is plenty of parking on site. Please see the invitation below, and click here to purchase your tickets.

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Jenny O’Donnell

Head of Middle School

From the Upper School

A message from Victoria Harrison, Head of Upper School

Upper School Parent Information Evening

On Monday evening, we hosted the Year 9 and 10 Upper School Information Evenings. We hope the snapshot of essential information provided by key staff was a helpful starting point for navigating this stage of your daughter’s schooling, and that parents enjoyed the opportunity to connect with their daughter’s Compass teacher.

Alongside the academic curriculum, we are committed to fostering an environment where the girls develop a sense of perspective – one that extends to others, the world around them and the endless possibilities that lie ahead. It promises to be an exciting year for our Upper School girls, and we hope they step out of their comfort zone, embrace challenges and discover their own brilliance.

Thank you to Isabelle Port, Stella Sharp (Year 10), Layne Phillips and Addison Seeto (Year 11) for joining us on the evening to share their reflections on Year 9 and 10. Here is a snapshot of their Year 9 experiences.

What was the highlight of Year 9 for you?

Isabelle: The Vision Valley residential program was definitely a highlight. It was an opportunity to do something completely different from anything we’d done before. I got to bond with people in my year and make new friends, both from my own school and from other schools. It was a great challenge that pushed me to become more independent, which later helped me with experiences like the music tour. Overall, everyone had an amazing time, and it really stood out as one of the best parts of the year.

Stella: My highlight of Year 9 was Vision Valley. I loved living in a community, building new and stronger relationships, and trying new things, such as expeditions and the VV3, that challenged my independence, resilience, and creativity.

How did group dynamics change after Vision Valley?

After Vision Valley most people established deeper connections with their friends and broadened their social circles. These connections made it easier to deal with the changing friend groups that naturally ensued from spending more time with different people.

If you could give advice to a Year 9 student, what would it be?

One piece of advice I’d give to a current Year 9 student would be to start building consistent routines. Year 9 is a good time to experiment and find what works, but Year 10 tends to get busier and more serious. Having good habits in place, whether it’s time for study or making sure you’re getting enough rest, will help you stay on top of things when things start to heat up. Starting early makes all the difference when you hit the ground running in Year 10.

What did you notice most about the change in your year group from Year 8 to Year 9?

Everyone changes in Year 9. With more electives to choose from and the chance to explore new interests, plus Vision Valley, a lot of people started to move around in their friend groups. It felt like a time when people figured out who they wanted to be and what they wanted to do.

What was one thing you really appreciated that your parents did to support you last year?

One thing I really appreciated that my parents did to support me last year was just being accepting. A lot of things were changing for me – new friends, I’d grown up a lot since Middle School, moving around different groups, and I was figuring out how I wanted to spend my time. My parents never judged me or pressured me. They were open to me trying new things and exploring different co-curricular activities, which gave me the freedom to figure things out on my own terms. That support really helped me feel comfortable in making decisions that were right for me.

What was one thing your parents did that you were grateful for?

I was grateful that my parents always encouraged me when I needed it but were supportive of the independence I also wanted to build. For example, they pushed me to try new electives and sports, but through trusting that I could manage myself, my schoolwork and friends, they allowed me to feel more responsible with how I managed my life.

What is one piece of advice you would give to parents?

One piece of advice I will give to parents is to not put too much pressure on your kids. Support good habits, a positive outlook and trying new things, and trust that in Year 9 students can lead themselves to where they want to be.

For families who were unable to join us on Monday, you can watch the two presentations below.

Service in the Upper School

The Days for Girls service initiative has started this week and provides an excellent Wednesday lunchtime service opportunity for students. Days for Girls is a global non-profit organisation dedicated to eliminating the stigma associated with menstruation for women and girls, while improving health, education, and livelihoods worldwide. In these sessions, the girls work collaboratively to create reusable sanitary products for women in less privileged countries. We are confident that by getting involved, the girls will enhance their own wellbeing, forge new connections, and develop a broader perspective.

We are always proud to acknowledge the service activities that our students complete in their own time in the community. Over the summer holidays, Ava Christofidis offered her time at Kids Giving Back to help make over 6500 meals, breakfast boxes, snack packs, and care packs for vulnerable communities across Sydney. She also wrote thoughtful, encouraging messages to be shared with those in need. Congratulations to Ava for her kindness and willingness to serve others and to make a real difference to people in need.

Year 10 Urban Challenge and Futures Strength Skills Day Permission Notes

Year 10 Families have received a MyPymble notice about upcoming Year 10 events. It would be wonderful if you could complete these consent forms as soon as possible.

Key Dates – Term 1

Friday 21 February – PPA Icebreaker

Thursday 13 and Friday 14 March – Year 9 NAPLAN

Saturday 5 April – Pymble Foundation Gala Ball

Thursday 10 and Friday 11 April – Year 8 to 10 Learning Discussions

Friday 11 April – Boarder’s Travel Day

Friday 11 April – Pupil-Free Day

Key Dates – Term 2

Monday 28 April – Boarders’ Travel Day

Tuesday 29 April – First Day of Term 2

From the Year 9 Parent Co-ordinators

We look forward to seeing as many parents as possible at Icebreaker this Friday. If you are attending, please visit the Year 9 table to collect your name tag. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet fellow Year 9 parents and key Pymble staff members, and we are excited to connect with everyone on the night.

We also invite Year 9 parents and carers to our first morning tea in late March. More details will be shared in the coming week, so please stay tuned!

A reminder that we have a Year 9 WhatsApp and WeChat group – please feel free to reach out if you would like to join.

Jenny Ho- 0422716808 – cola0214@hotmail.com

Ira Arnie – 0415 112 575 –  ira.arnie@gmail.com

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Victoria Harrison

Head of Upper School

From the Senior School

From the Head of Senior School

Come Alive! Launch

Our Year 12 girls brought incredible leadership and school spirit to the launch of their 2025 theme, Come Alive, with a brilliant banner reveal and some seriously impressive circus performances. Their energy, creativity and enthusiasm made for such a fun and memorable moment, bringing the whole school together in celebration. Their dance was full of cohesion and fun, reflecting the commitment the whole year group had made to rehearsing and performing. The performances were full of colour, excitement and plenty of skill, creating an atmosphere of pure joy. It was a fantastic way to kick off their final year, and a moment we won’t forget!

Senior Swimming Carnival

The Swimming Carnival was a fantastic day filled with fun, energy, and plenty of house spirit. Our competitive swimmers gave it their all, putting on some thrilling races that had the crowd cheering loudly. The ‘social swimmers’ got in on the action too, splashing about and having a great time in the pool. The house spirit was on full display with creative costumes, colourful banners, and some seriously impressive cheering. It was a great mix of competition, fun, and friendly rivalry – a day to remember!

Year 11 Information Night

A big thank you to all the Year 11 parents and carers who attended the Year 11 Information Night – it was wonderful to meet so many of you. We appreciate you taking the time to be there and hope you found the evening helpful as your daughters begin this important stage of their studies. A special thanks also to the staff who presented, sharing valuable insights and guidance for the year ahead.

For those who couldn’t attend, or if you’d like to revisit any of the information, access to the presentation, including the slides, is attached.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Teagan Ning (Year 11) who was invited to perform Georgia Shaw’s Core Composition (Year 12 2024) in the HSC Callback Showcase last week at the Seymour Centre. Georgia’s Core Composition based on insomnia was selected for this showcase of exemplary HSC Dance 2024 works. Year 11 & 12 Dance students enjoyed attending the performance and the Pymble spirit was evident in the audience cheer!

Pymble-Knox Connections

We’re delighted to launch of our annual Pymble-Knox Positive Connections group. Interested students will participate in a range of social activities, after an initial getting-to-know-you session at Pymble Ladies’ College.

This group aims to foster healthy connections between Year 11 students of the two schools. Through this, we hope those involved further develop social skills and empathy, form new friendships and understand different perspectives. Meeting new people fosters social confidence, respectful relationships and builds skills in communicating and networking.

Each school is inviting up to 50 students to be involved this year. Those students who apply must commit to attending all meetings and wear their uniform as expected. A link and parental permission note will be sent this week.

Key Dates – Term 1

Friday 21 February – PPA Icebreaker

Friday 28 February – Year 12 Social (academic half day)

Wednesday 5 March – Year 12 Learning Discussions (onsite) 

Thursday 6 March – Year 12 GPs In Schools

Thursday 6 March – Year 12 Food for Thought

Thursday 6 March – Year 11 Immersion Day

Friday 14 March – Year 11 Formal (academic half day)

Thursday 10 April – End of Term 1

From the Year 11 Parent Co-ordinators

We would like to invite all Year 11 parents to a coffee morning on Thursday 6 March at Bricklane Espresso, West Pymble. This is a casual catch up at the café for parents after the morning drop-off time.

We meet from 8.00am for about an hour and a half to two hours, but please feel welcome to arrive late or to come along for just half an hour if that is all you can spare.

Additionally, please save the date for a parent cocktail party on Friday 27 June which is the last day of Term 2. We are hoping by choosing this date that our Boarding parents may find it easier to be available to join us! Further details to follow.

Julie (0404 197 139)

Xiejihong_68@yahoo.com.au

Kate (0438 987 825)

Katehart.2025@gmail.com

Nikki Wyse

Head of Senior School

From the Boarding School

It has been another busy week here at Pymble with our Boarders well and truly in the swing of life on campus. On top of a busy academic schedule, our Boarders are actively engaged with their various co-curricular pursuits with everything from AFL to orchestra to surfing. It is wonderful to see them embracing the opportunities and making the most of their time here at Pymble.

As always, there is an exciting program of activities in our Love It program and some special activities for our families. On Sunday 2 March, we have a lunch planned for the special women in our Boarders’ lives and we hope as many of you as possible can join in the fun. Please let us know if you can attend by Sunday 23 February.

Middle School Morning Tea

We are always grateful to the day school staff who take such great care of our Boarders. They understand the challenges of living away from home and take the time to ensure our Boarders are well equipped to maximise their learning while feeling cared for and valued.

Last week, our Middle School team organised a special morning tea for our Year 7 Boarders. It was a wonderful opportunity for the girls and staff to come together and share stories over some delicious treats. As Year 7 Boarder Zoe shared, the girls appreciated this special time together and the thoughtfulness of the Middle School team in making them feel welcome.

Help us find out more about phone use

The College is currently asking parents to complete this survey in an attempt to better understand how students and parents in Years 4 to 8 are using their phones: Wise, smart, brick and none!

Parents are encouraged to share their insights. Thank you to the Years 7 and 8 parents who have completed it already. We want to ensure as many voices as possible are included as survey feedback is helping our team to understand student and parent perspectives and develop our approach accordingly.

Early responses are helping us to understand students’ phone and social media use, and issues parents may be experiencing. Did you know, according to data so far:

• parents mostly get a phone for their daughter to “communicate with her” and “track her movements”;
• the main reason parents opted-in for a Wise Phone is to “support the College’s direction” and “limit their daughter’s use of social media”; and
• parents report their daughters with smart phones are spending longer hours on these phones than students with a Wise Phone, both during school days and at weekends?

You can complete the survey by clicking here.

It takes five to ten minutes to complete and will be open until Wednesday 26 March.

Pymble comes to you

Just a reminder Pymble staff will be in Scone on Friday 21 March and would love to see you at our gathering. The invitation can be accessed by clicking here.

We also have other plans to visit in the months to come. Please make a note of the dates when we will be ‘on the road’ or let us know if you would like a visit.

Live It, Love It, Learn It – Ms Theresa Mimmo, Deputy Director of Boarding

Year 7 was lucky enough to start the weekend with a picnic at Balmoral Beach. The girls enjoyed poké bowls prepared by the kitchen and a swim together. A chillier Sunday didn’t stop 34 of our Boarders enjoying time at Central Coast Aqua Park. They all had a lot of fun and enjoyed the challenge of the inflatables.

This week, we will welcome day girls into the Boarding houses during the PPA Icebreaker event. This provides a fantastic opportunity for the Boarders to share their boarding experience with their friends. On Saturday, there is a chance for Boarders to visit a driving range and on Sunday go for a walk and swim at Palm Beach.

A View From My Window

Hi, my name is Sophia and I have been Boarding at Pymble since I was in Year 8. I originally come from Thursday Island, which is located in the Torres Strait, but I currently live in Cairns, Queensland with my mum, dad, older sister, Giselle (who completed Year 12 last year) and younger sister, Jolie. My dad is from Badu and St Paul’s, which is also part of the Torres Strait, and my mum is from Papua New Guinea. We also have British heritage. 

Cairns is a very small and friendly town with a lot of locals. It is very hot and humid because it’s close to the equator. When I look out my window, I see a beautiful garden full of vibrant flowers. Our house is located in a very friendly street, and we are very close to our neighbours. We are, however, known to experience extreme weather such as cyclones due to being in the tropics. 

Cairns is most famous for the Great Barrier Reef, which is a popular tourist destination for cruises and snorkelling. There are islands, such as Fitzroy Island and Green Island, which have big wharfs for boats to dock in, and fun attractions such as restaurants and trails for hiking that end in beautiful lookouts.

The Kuranda Train most famously goes through a village that has a bird and butterfly sanctuary, and on the way down there is a sky rail which gives an amazing view of the surrounding mountains and jungles. 

I miss the warm weather and sunshine, as well as being so close to the beach all the time, because I am absolutely an island girl. When I leave Pymble, I would love to work either with animals or in tennis back home in Cairns! 

Boarder of the Week

After reading the above, it is no surprise that wonderful Sophia is our Boarder of the Week! As you will read our Head of Goodlet House, Kate Inglis, cannot speak highly of our wonderful her!

Sophia is a ray of sunshine in our Boarding family. Sophia joined us in Year 8 in 2023 all the way from Cairns and has always been a friendly presence to both staff and peers. Sophia is a proud Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander woman, who is a Big Sister and mentor to her younger Boarding Sisters.

Sophia is always willing to escort her Boarding sisters on weekend adventures and support them with their transition into Boarding. Sophia is also a talented sportswoman, who is busily training for her upcoming Tildesley Tennis Competition. Sophia always embraces the wonderful Pymble campus and is often at the Agricultural Plot or tennis courts and enjoys watching the sunset from the Goodlet verandah.

We have seen such immense growth in Sophia’s organisation this term and she keeps an immaculate Boarding bedroom. Thank you, Sophia, for your contribution to all things Boarding. We love having you at Pymble.

Save the Date

Friday 21 February – PPA Icebreaker and Boarding parent “afters” at Pymble Pub

Friday 28 February – Year 12 Formal

Sunday 2 March – Mother and Daughter Lunch event – venue TBA

Friday 14 March – Year 11 Formal

Friday 21 and Saturday 22 March – Year 12 Boarder and Day Girl Parents’ regional weekend

Saturday 8 April – Boarders’ End of Term Chapel Service and Dinner

Monday 10 April – Face-to-Face Learning Discussions for Boarding Families 

Tuesday 11 April – Boarders’ Travel Day

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Carolyn Burgess

Head of Boarding

From the Chaplains

Is Patience a Virtue?

This week during Boarders’ Chapel we took time to think about the saying, ‘patience is a virtue’.

In the spirit of honesty, I am uncomfortable with this saying because I am known as reasonably ‘impatient’ by my friends and family. I am also aware that Jesus could have been described as ‘impatient’ during his short life.  

He moved quickly from place to place.

He regularly asked provocative questions of those in authority.

He observes things and acts quickly to bring justice and healing to those in need.

He even famously, and seemingly impulsively walked into the temple and threw over the tables of the money changers. (Matthew 21.12-13 & Mark 11. 15-18).

So, it really surprised that the saying has its origins in Christian Scripture.  

Patience is one of the ‘Fruits of the Spirit’ described by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians.

‘The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.’  Galatians 5:22b-23

The early Christian church referred to these ‘fruits of the spirit’ as ‘virtues’ and eventually, through poetry, the truism ‘patience is a virtue’ became part of common language.

So, why Jesus was seemingly often ‘impatient’ when the early church believed that ‘patience as a virtue’?

The answer is simply that ‘patience’ and ‘impatient’ are not opposites.

When we look more closely at the scripture, we find that patience is the mindfulness behind the action. You can ultimately be ‘impatient’ whilst demonstrating patience because your ‘impatience’ is the result of patient attention.

You can think of this in a similar way to the way that emotions are depicted in the Inside Out movies. The emotions influence Riley’s actions but are not actions of themselves.

Using the example of Jesus turning over the tables, ultimately Jesus was impatient because he had patiently quickly observed that the temple system was no longer placing God’s love at the center of their life together. Trade had taken priority. There are multiple examples of this in the scripture. Psalm 40 is a great example. In this psalm the psalmist continues to deal with terrible circumstances whilst patiently waiting for God. It is their patient approach that helps them to keep going, despite adversity. The story of the Woman at the Well found in John 4  is another example of Jesus ‘patient’ mindfulness. Jesus sees, hears, affirms and brings hope to someone who had been to often overlooked and disparaged.

I encourage you to think of Patience differently, remembering that it is a mindset or emotion, rather than an action. Embody patience and bring attention, care, thoughtfulness, intentionality to your every day.

Reverend Danielle Hemsworth-Smith

College Chaplain

Events Calendar – Term 1 and 2

From the Futures Team

Projects Abroad: Overseas Medical Experience Webinar

Date: Tuesday 4 March

Time: 6.30pm to 8.00pm

Projects Abroad has been running these programs for over 15 years. They are very popular with students from across Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and North America. The programs run in countries such as Cambodia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Tanzania, and our most popular program, Nepal.

Click here for details, and to register.

UCAT Preparation: MedEntry

Students interested in pursuing medicine and dentistry need to sit the UCAT test in July/August 2025. MedEntry is the trusted provider of UCAT preparation. For more information, please visit www.medentry.edu.au

Study Advanced Computing at the University of Sydney

Date: Wednesday 26 February

Time: 4.00pm to 5.00pm

Where: Online

Want to work for a major tech company like Microsoft, Oracle and Google? Or launch your own start-up? Then our Bachelor of Advanced Computing could be for you. Specialise in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Software Development, Information Technology or Data Science and combine with our shared pool of 100+ majors.

From intelligent drones to virtual reality apps, cybersecurity to the Internet of Things, you will learn the design principles and programming skills to build the systems behind emerging information technologies. Find out more and register: Webinar Registration – Zoom

Demystifying University and the Future of Work – University of Wollongong

Date: March 3

Time: 7.00pm to 8.00pm

Where: Online

Future Talk is a series of online information sessions designed specifically for a student’s support crew. This session breaks down the language of higher education, offering practical strategies to support young people in making positive post-school decisions with confidence. We’ll explore key trends in education and the workforce – locally, nationally and globally – along with the impact of AI and emerging technologies on future career opportunities.

Register: Year 12 Future Talk series webinar

Talks with Industry Series – Australian Catholic University)

Register your interest for a variety of Industry webinars by professionals in Psychology, Nutrition, Social Workes and Occupational Therapists. Register: Talk with Industry Series

Co-curricular Administration

Co-curricular Registration Requests

Registrations for Term 1/Semester 1/Yearly programs are now closed, and the registration request cut-off date has passed (Monday 17 February). For any enquiries, please contact Co-curricular Administration at ccsa@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au. Please click here to view the conditions of registration should you request any changes. 

Term 2 2025 Saturday Sport Registrations

Registrations closed at 12.00pm on Friday 14 February for Term 2 Saturday Sports. If you missed the registration period and need to request a late registration for your daughter, or if you need to withdraw or transfer programs, please click here to complete a registration request. Please check the conditions of registration for the request cut-off dates.

Sally Davidson

Head of Co-curricular Administration

From the Co-curricular Sports Team

The shortcode only works for newsletter articles

2025 Secondary School Swimming Carnival Report

The 2025 Secondary School Swimming Carnival took place in the Braith Williams Aquatic and Fitness Centre at the College, spanning two action-packed days on Wednesday 12 February (Years 7 to 9) and Thursday 13 February (Years 10 to 12).

From the electrifying House spirit to the high participation rate across all year groups, the event was a roaring success. The carnival showcased both championship and non-championship races, culminating in exhilarating relays and the ever-popular house mascot dance off. On Wednesday, a spectacular diving display brought the day to a thrilling close, highlighting our divers’ remarkable skills and impressive technique.

Several outstanding performances left the crowd in awe, with two longstanding records shattered on the day. Huge congratulations to:
• Priscilla Miller, who set a new benchmark in the 12 Years 50m Backstroke with a time of 31.96 (previous record: 33.66)
• Caitlyn Keating, who stormed home in the 15 Years 50m Butterfly with a time of 28.54 (previous record: 28.96).

Special congratulations to our age champions:

• 12 Years – Priscilla Miller
• 13 Years – Elsa Yu
• 14 Years – Lexi Whitton
• 15 Years – Megan Chia
• 16 Years – Indianna Vale
• 17 Years – Sarah Tian
• 18 Years – Jaya Lilienthal

One of the closest and most nail-biting races of the entire carnival was the open championship 50m freestyle, featuring the fastest eight swimmers in the school. Congratulations to the top finishers:

1. Sarah Tian (27.31)
2. Megan Chia (27.38)
3. Keira Smith (27.51)
4. Indiana Vale (28.08)
5. Caitlyn Keating (28.28)
6. Jessica Croll (28.54)
7. Annalise Chow (28.68)
8. Jennifer Chong (28.91)

To view the top three place getters in each event, click here, or to view the full results including times swum, click here.

A huge well done to every student who competed, and heartfelt thanks to our NSW Swimming officials, Pymble aquatic staff, Pymble swim coaches, and Pymble sports staff who ensured the smooth running of the carnival. The final House points and age champion trophies will be presented at a combined assembly later in the term.

2025 Cross Country Carnival

The 2025 Cross Country Carnival will be held on Monday 3 March. Further information about the carnival will be sent out in the coming days.

AFL

AFL Team of the Week – Pymble 1

Our Senior Firsts Pymble 1 team took on Monte in their first Friday night match of the season at Macquarie University last week.

Our girls were eager to get a Valentine’s Day win to stamp their authority on the 2025 season. From the warm-up the girls were switched on and ready to compete. What followed was nothing short of a dominant performance.

Pymble 1 scored 80 unanswered points on a shell-shocked Monte. It was a true team performance with the girls creating a wall in defence, moving the ball up the field and executing with ease. Notable mentions to Olianna Tighe (Year 11) who was devastating in defence, Eloise Stewart (Year 10) who was dominant in the ruck contest securing possession for her team and Rosie Eggins (Year 11) who did not stop competing all match.

Thank you to all the girls who came to support on the night! It did not go unnoticed.

Our Pymble 1 and 2 team will play this Friday afternoon at 4.30pm and 5.30pm. It would be great to see support on the sidelines for these teams!

Jack Garrad

Co-ordinator – AFL

Athletics and Cross Country

It was great to see girls out racing on the track at the recent Region Championships. Several of our girls qualified for the upcoming NSW Junior Championships. A special mention to Eliza Lawton (Year 9) and Amalia Bond (Year 9), who both set new region records in their events. An outstanding achievement!

We are also incredibly fortunate to have many of our junior coaches all still competing at a national and international level. Over the weekend two of them, Kristie Edwards (Olympian 2024) and Olivia Inkster (World Junior representative 2024) raced in Adelaide as part of the Athletics Australia Summer Series. Kristie took out the 200m, showing her class over a strong field. It’s fantastic to have these women coaching and inspiring our athletes, proving that big things can happen as they were both in our Athletics program at Pymble too.

Off the track, Pymble Stride has been a fantastic community event, bringing together staff and students to run around our amazing grounds. Over 60 staff and students joined us on Monday morning, and it’s clear that Pymble Stride is more than just a run or walk – it’s a community and starting or finishing the day on a positive note. Whether you are a seasoned runner or just looking for a social way to get moving, we’d love to see even more girls get involved. Sessions run on Monday mornings and Thursday afternoons and everyone is welcome.

We are just over one week away from the school cross country carnival which will be held on Monday 3 March, an event that never fails to showcase the incredible talent, house spirit, and enthusiasm of our athletes. Keep an eye on the app for further information about the carnival in the coming days. While some will be pushing to make the Pymble team for igsa Cross Country, others will be out there embracing the challenge, earning valuable house points, and simply enjoying the experience with their peers. Cross country is more than just a race – it’s a celebration of resilience, camaraderie, and participation, where every girl has the chance to be part of it. We can’t wait to see the sea of girls out on the course, running around our beautiful grounds.

Deb Walsham

Head Coach – Athletics and Cross Country

Junior School Sport

Junior School Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to all girls who swam in the Years 3 to 6 Swimming Carnival last Friday 14 February. What an amazing day of competition, fun, and house spirit. A special thank you to our House Captains, Mrs Rachel Kingsell, Miss Charlotte Baker, our Aquatic Centre Manager Duccio Petri and his team, and our Swimming coaches who helped make the day such an enjoyable experience for all involved.

Winning House: Ingleholme

Junior Champion: Hongor Temuqile (Year 2)

Junior Runner up: Rose Wang (Year 5)

Senior Champion: Emma Feng (Year 6)

Senior Runner Up: Isabella Wang (Year 6)

8 Years Champion: Hongor Temuqile (Year 2)

9 Years Champion: Leah Ji (Year 3)

10 Years Champion: Rose Wang (Year 5)

11 Years Champion: Amélie Berg (Year 6)

12 Years Champion: Emma Feng (Year 6)

Open 100m Freestyle          

1st Isabella Wang (Year 6)

2nd Emma Feng (Year 6)

3rd Emma Deere (Year 6)

8 Years 50m Freestyle

1st Hongor Temuqile (Year 2)

2nd Georgina Harris (Year 3)

3rd Sophia Thach (Year 3)

9 Years 50m Freestyle

1st Mia Hong (Year 3)

2nd Olivia Sun (Year 3)

3rd Leah Ji (Year 3)

10 Years 50m Freestyle

1st Rose Wang (Year 5)

2nd Vera Le (Year 4)

3rd Alicia Gong (Year 4)

11 Years 50m Freestyle

1st Kathy Lun (Year 5)

2nd Isabelle Lawry (Year 5)

3rd Crystal Li (Year 5)

12 Years 50m Freestyle

1st Isabella Wang (Year 6)

2nd Emma Feng (Year 6)

3rd Emma Deere (Year 6)

8 to 10 Years 50m Backstroke

1st Rose Wang (Year 5)

2nd Mia Hong (Year 3)

3rd Alicia Gong (Year 4)

11 Years 50m Backstroke

1st Kathy Lun (Year 5)

2nd Amélie Berg (Year 6)

3rd Crystal Li (Year 5)

12 to 13 Years 50m Backstroke

1st Emma Feng (Year 6)

2nd Isabella Wang (Year 6)

3rd Emma Deere (Year 6)

8 to 10 Years 50m Breaststroke

1st Leah Ji (Year 3)

2nd Alicia Gong (Year 4)

3rd Rose Wang (Year 5)

11 Years 50m Breaststroke

1st Amélie Berg (Year 6)

2nd Olivia Yu (Year 5)

3rd Crystal Li (Year 5)

12 to 13 Years 50m Breaststroke

1st Emma Feng (Year 6)

2nd Emma Deere (Year 6)

3rd Isabella Wang (Year 6)

8 to 10 Years 50m Butterfly 

1st Hongor Temuqile (Year 2)

2nd Vera Le (Year 4)

3rd Mia Hong (Year 3)

11 Years 50m Butterfly

1st Kathy Lun (Year 5)

2nd Isabelle Lawry (Year 5)

3rd Amélie Berg (Year 6)

12 to 13 Years 50m Butterfly 

1st Emma Feng (Year 6)

2nd Isabella Wang (Year 6)

3rd Emma Deere (Year 6)

Junior 200m IM 

1st Hongor Temuqile (Year 2)

2nd Rose Wang (Year 5)

3rd Alicia Gong (Year 4)

Senior 200m IM 

1st Emma Feng (Year 6)

2nd Isabella Wang (Year 5)

3rd Jana Zhang (Year 6)

New Program Alert!

Pymble has teams up with Ku-ring-gai Netball Association to offer our students the “Net Set Go” program, the official starter program of Australia Netball for children aged five to ten. Registrations are OPEN NOW via the online registration system and will close on Friday 28 February. Students in Kindergarten to Year 2 will train on a Tuesday afternoon and play games on a Saturday at the local Lofberg Road Netball Courts throughout Term 2 and 3.

Click here for the Co-curricular at Pymble pages to register.

Megan O’Keeffe

Head Coach – Netball

Netball

New Program Alert!

Pymble has teams up with Ku-ring-gai Netball Association to offer our students the “Net Set Go” program, the official starter program of Australia Netball for children aged five to ten. Registrations are OPEN NOW via the online registration system and will close on Friday 28 February. Students in Kindergarten to Year 2 will train on a Tuesday afternoon and play games on a Saturday at the local Lofberg Road Netball Courts throughout Term 2 and 3.

Click here for the Co-curricular at Pymble pages to register.

Megan O’Keeffe

Head Coach – Netball

Rowing

Riverview Gold Cup

On Saturday 15 February, the Pymble rowing team raced the Riverview Gold Cup, one of the oldest rowing events in Australia, originating in 1890 and raced over 1,400 meters on the Lane Cove River. For winning your race, you receive the traditional and coveted ‘silver oars’ which is a unique rowing prize, differing from the usual medal. Overall, from ten crews entered, Pymble secured an astounding eight sets of silver oars for first places, as well as a second and third place to make a full set of podium finishes for all entries. An incredible set of results and well done to all girls that raced.

The day started off strong, with our first five races of the day resulting in wins from the Junior 7th, 6th 5th, 4th and 3rd crews. Our Junior 2nd crew raced well to finish second, before our Junior 1st crew finished the Year 9 divisions for Pymble by winning their race.

Later in the day, the Senior 2nd Eight raced very well to secure a spot in the A Final of the Schoolgirl Second Eight race, where they placed third in the final. Our Senior 1st Eight raced in the Women’s Open Eight division, where they went toe to toe with the best open female crews in the state from Sydney Rowing Club, Sydney University, and UTS. The girls won the Schoolgirl title for the day and came fifth overall against these elite crews, well done girls!

The team now looks forward to the PLC/Kings/RNSW Regatta and igsa Regatta this weekend.

Well done to all crews that raced:

Crew	Result	Names
Junior 7th Quad	1st	Amelia Nicolaou (Year 9), Skye Mitchell (Year 8), Ginny Makan (Year 9), Jamilla Soo (Year 9), Cox: Hillary Eyers (Year 8)
Junior 4th Quad	1st	Isabella Eum (Year 9) Poppy Fox-Ashwin (Year 9), Charlotte Lin (Year 9), Ellie Zhao (Year 9), Cox: Eden Connors (Year 9)
Junior 5th Quad	1st	Kate Rogers (Year 9), Abby Pisani (Year 9), Daysie Leahy (Year 8), Stella Walsh (Year 9), Cox: Mia Micallef (Year 9),
Junior 4th Quad	1st	Isla Polites (Year 9), Bethany Carruthers (Year 9), Alexandra Ritchie (Year 9), Stacey Sharp (Year 9), Cox: Margaux Marcet (Year 9)
Junior 3rd Quad	1st	Sophie Harris (Year 9), Sasha Paris (Year 9), Aurora Zhang (Year 9), Blair Elliott (Year 9), Cox: Eloise Jenkins (Year 9)
Junior 2nd Quad	2nd	Anabella Legge-Hughes (Year 9), Gemma Thiel (Year 9), Rose Jones (Year 9), Siri Taubenschlag (Year 9), Cox: Phoebe Hutton (Year 9)
Junior 1st Quad	1st	Madeleine Gaden (Year 9), Cleo McLaughlin (Year 9), Madison Landgrebe (Year 9), Claudia Wyatt (Year 9), Cox: Emma Wang (Year 9)
Year 10 3rd Quad	1st	Emma Guo (Year 11), Isla-Rose Campbell (Year 10), Charlotte Blaiklock (Year 10), Sanaa Kapoor (Year 10) Cox: Cassie Vielman (Year 10)
Senior 2nd Eight	3rd	Arabella Murphy (Year 11), Lucy McLean (Year 11), Madeleine Woods (Year 12), Rosie Eggins (Year 11), Matilda Gilmour (Year 12) Caitlyn Bilney (Year 11), Claudia Hodder (Year 11), Alice Anand (Year 12), Cox: Mia Solomons (Year 11)
Senior 1st Eight	1st	Isabella Stalley (Year 12) Annabel Shanahan (Year 12), Millie Cullinane (Year 11), Scarlet Olesen (Year 11) Summer Phillips (Year 11), Leander McLaughlin (Year 10), Erin Porter (Year 12), Mika Naito (Year 12) Cox: Mathilde Goddard (Year 12)

Lewis Gray

Co-ordinator – Rowing

Softball

Week 2

Round 2 of the Invitation Independent Schools Softball Competition took place this past Saturday with Pymble having four teams competing.

We started early Saturday morning with the second round of the term, in which our Senior First team showed a dominant performance against Abbotsleigh 1 here at home. Zoe Bloom (Year 10) dominated on the pitcher’s mound, accompanied by a great display of hitting that was sparked from Freya Howes (Year 12) home run in the second inning. We then had our Pymble 2girls head to Oxley college for their second game of the term, in which they displayed a great amount of fight and positive energy during their contest despite their long commute.

Our Pymble 3 girls came up against Danebank, a thrilling game in which our girl’s showed strength both defensively and offensively. Annabel Taylor (Year 10) had a great game pitching and hitting, while Isobel Donald (Year 11) hit a triple in the second inning, which started off the team’s comeback.  Finally, our Junior Firsts had an exciting game against Abbotsleigh 3 that showed great growth from the previous week’s game. They had stand out players in both Aurora Burton (Year 7) and Nawida Rohullah (Year 8) who both displayed great skill and determination when competing.

Team of the Week

The Senior Firsts are our team of the week as they showed a dominating performance with their win against Abbotsleigh 1.

Week 3 sees our Seniors Firsts team playing a double header here at Pymble, with both our Pymble 2 and Pymble 3girls on the road again and the Junior First team having a bye this weekend. Good luck to everyone!

Round 2 Results

Team	Opponent	Result	Score
Pymble 1	Abbotsleigh 1	Win	17 to 1
Pymble 2	Oxley College 1	Loss	8 to 12
Pymble 3	Danebank School 1	Win	13 to 7
Pymble 4	Abbotsleigh 3	Loss	2 to 21

Kandra Lamb

Softball Coach

From the Co-curricular Performing Arts Team

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Drama

Introducing Chloe Brown (Year 11)

As drama classes are in full swing, we’re excited to introduce you to some key members of Pymble’s Co-curricular Drama program over the coming weeks. First up is Chloe Brown, a vibrant and talented student who has just entered Year 11.

Chloe has proudly served as Pymble’s Theatresports Captain for the past year, leading her team with creativity and charisma. With a deep passion for performing, Chloe has developed a particular flair for improvisation and thrives in the high-energy world of theatresports.

We recently caught up with Chloe to learn more about her love for drama and what inspires her most on and off the stage:

What is your role as Theatresports Captain?

As captain, I make sure to help everyone in the class find their footing as a drama student. I help support the other students through scenes to build confidence and creativity and deliver my best self as a performer to inspire others and lead by example.

What classes do you participate in for co-curricular Drama?

I’ve been a member of Theatresports for multiple years now, with three years of classes that led me to the exciting opportunity to assist with a Junior School improvisation class. I’ve also participated in two years of Drama Eisteddfod and multiple plays at Pymble. I have enjoyed a wide range of co-curricular classes.

What do you love most about Drama?

What I love most about drama is how everyone has their own approach to each scenario, especially in Theatresports. It’s so inspiring to see how people each tackle a problem differently and watch the growth in each individual’s ideas. Drama is also super entertaining, and I love watching the others in my class act out their improvised scenes. Everyone comes up with such broad ideas in a short amount of time, and it’s always exciting to see what they create!

What is the best thing you have learned in your classes?

Definitely the ability to improvise. The skill requires practice, but it also greatly impacts my ability to stand up on stage and present myself to an audience, which has no doubt come in handy with the other aspects of drama that I’m interested in. My flexibility in difficult situations has certainly improved, and I know that in a tough situation, I will be okay. It’s the confidence that I’ve built through Theatresports that really ties together the skills I’ve developed.

Theatresports and Improvisation classes are held Tuesday afternoons from 3.30pm to 4.30pm for students in Years 7 to 12. For your child to develop some incredible skills in improvisation, confidence, and public speaking, just as Chloe was speaking of, sign up for Term 2 Theatresports when registration open on Wednesday 26 March.

Rebecca York

Co-curricular Drama Co-ordinator

Language Arts

Debating

ISDA and FED

Congratulations on a successful Round 1, ISDA and FED teams. Cranbrook and Riverview visited last Friday, and we had 32 teams debating. A huge shout out to Mrs Aimy Hoang and all the parent volunteers who provided afternoon tea and supper. Well done to our round one winning teams.

This Friday we are double hosting once again, with Queenwood visiting for ISDA, Round 2 and Trinity visiting for FED, Round 2. ISDA will be in KM and FED will be in the Upper School Common area and surrounding classrooms. Thanks in advance to our parents and Language Arts support team for providing refreshments again as we double host. Please arrive early for debates and be aware that Icebreaker will also be running at the school this Friday.

Next Friday FED will be travelling to Newington and ISDA will be travelling to Barker for Round 3. Buses will leave from Flagpole. Please ensure that you have booked tickets through Co-curricular Administration, should you wish your daughter to travel on the FED or ISDA buses. Coaches will accompany. Buses will only travel to debating venues and girls will need to be collected at the conclusion of their debates. Parents are welcome to watch. Venue and parking details for away debates will be passed on to parents via Co-curricular Administration once they are received.

Public Speaking

Public speaking auditions are proving popular with many auditioning. Auditions commenced yesterday, Wednesday 19 February, and will continue for the next two weeks.

Mock Law

Mock law audition catch ups are being held at lunch times. Please contact Mrs Hubbard for further details. These are open to girls in Year 9 and above.

Model United Nations (MUN)

All are welcome to Pymble Model United Nations (PMUN), which is held on Monday lunchtimes in DK06.

Here is a date for your diary – the PMUN winter conference will be held on the afternoon of Friday 25 July and all day on Saturday 26 July. This is an annual highlight of our MUN calendar. Come to PMUN and learn how to prepare for a conference.

Bronwyn Hubbard

Head of Co-curricular Language Arts

Music

Congratulations to violinist Danielle Hu (Year 8) who is the winner of the 2025 Concerto Competition. Danielle performed a violin concerto by Camille Saint-Säens, accompanied by Ms Claire Race. Her ability to show technical brilliance along with a maturity beyond her years was something astounding. Guest judges Claire Edwards and Simon Tedeschi were so complimentary of all our contestants, awarding the prize based on the true nature of a concerto – showmanship. Danielle demonstrated this through every hair on her bow!

Danielle will perform with the College Symphony Orchestra at the Term 2 Ensemble Concert on Tuesday 24 June. Please mark this date in your diaries to witness a star in the making.

I was so impressed with all the contestants who showed courage and resilience, passion and resolve. Performing in front of a full house of peers, parents and judges is always a daunting experience and they were fantastic. It was also lovely to see our previous winners, Gabrielle Zhong (2023) and Aine Oo (2024) in the audience to show their support.

Junior School Music Camp

On the weekend, the entire music department from Kindergarten to Year 12 spent their Saturday and Sunday at the College with 154 musicians from the Junior School. This weekend was an opportunity for Year 4 Band, Year 3 Strings, Stanhope Band and Grainger Band to come together with tutors on various instruments and learn how to become an ensemble. It is a fantastic way to “kick start” our instrumental program. On Saturday, the girls in Stanhope and Grainger ended the day with a swim and challenge on the inflatable obstacle course – a lovely way to reward them for their hard work.

On Sunday, the Year 4 Band and Year 3 Strings performed for the very first time in front of their parents. It is always so encouraging to hear the praise from parents as they learn to understand the challenges faced with learning a new instrument.

Ensembles

All ensembles have commenced for 2025. For girls in the Secondary School, an agreement will be sent out this week for parents and students to read and return. This agreement is to demonstrate RESPECT to your ensemble, your conductor, but most importantly, to yourself as a musician. Rehearsing in a group each week helps with muscle memory and auditory skills.

Dates for your diaries

Monday 7 April – Secondary School MusicEnsemble lunch. The Music Support Group host this lunch for the students in an ensemble. More details will come about how to order.

Wednesday 9 April – Outdoor Secondary School Ensemble Concert from 5.30pm. Bring your picnics. In the event of wet weather, we will move to the GMCPA.

Tuesday 24 June – Term 2 Ensemble Concert in the GMCPA.

Private Music Lessons

The College offers private music lessons in an array of instruments and lessons occur on a rotating basis within school time. Preference is given to students in Year 12 to fit around their free periods. A reminder that all students who have lessons at the College must be in one of our ensembles. Singers can attend choir on Wednesday mornings and piano players are also welcome to join the choir. Playing in an ensemble is good for our neurotransmitters as we learn to work together with music being a common goal.

Sarah Turner

Head of Music

Secondary Innovation Precinct Survey

A Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is an objective independent study undertaken to identify and assess potential positive and negative social impacts associated with a proposed development, in this case, the Secondary Innovation Precinct (SIP) and Campus Commons. Social impacts can be understood as the consequences that people (individuals, households, groups, communities and organisations) experience when a new development brings about change. 

A SIA considers social impacts in relation to people’s: way of life; community; accessibility; culture; health and wellbeing; surroundings; livelihoods; and decision-making systems. 

About this survey 

This survey aims to gather insights from key stakeholders and community members, including the Pymble Ladies’ College community (students, teachers, staff and families) and the surrounding community (e.g. residents, workers, business owners) about how this project may impact them in positive and negative ways. 

Survey responses will also help to identify mitigation and enhancement measures and initiatives that could be implemented during the design, construction and/or operation of the proposed development to reduce negative impacts and enhance positive impacts. 

The survey should take approximately five to ten minutes to complete, and all responses will be kept anonymous. 

Please click here to complete the survey. Your input will be much appreciated.

The survey closes at 5.00pm on Friday 28 February.

Expressions of interest for Portobello Road Markets and convenor

Portobello Road Markets

We are delighted to invite our College community to express your interest in holding a stall in Portobello Road Markets at this year’s Garden Party. You can help make this the best Garden Party yet! 

Please note that Portobello Market allocations are limited and as such registering your interest today does not confirm a position. 

To find out more please contact us at events@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au. 

To send an expression of interest, please click here.

We look forward to seeing you at Garden Party 2025!

Convenor

We’re looking for a dedicated parent to help coordinate our much-loved Portobello Road Markets at this year’s Garden Party on Saturday 20 September. If you have some spare time in the weeks leading up to the event and would love to get involved, please contact events@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

Pymble Wise Phone Survey

Thank you to the parents who have already contributed to the Phones Research survey. We appreciate the time given to help us understand more from the perspective of parents. Please follow this link to the survey. The survey is open until Wednesday 26 February to allow more parents to share their experiences and give feedback.

Early responses are helping us to understand students’ phone and social media use, and issues parents may be experiencing. Did you know, according to data so far:

• parents mostly get a phone for their daughter to “communicate with her” and “track her movements”;
• the main reason parents opted-in for a Wise Phone is to “support the College’s direction” and “limit their daughter’s use of social media”; and
• parents report their daughters with smart phones are spending longer hours on these phones than students with a Wise Phone, both during school days and at weekends?

More information is found in the Participant Information Sheet, attached. This information is also located in the introduction to the survey. All responses are anonymous and the survey will take five to ten minutes to complete. If you have more than one Pymble daughter in Years 4 to 8, we invite you to consider completing a different survey for each girl.

For more information on this research project, feel free to contact me at any time. You can also follow the Pymble Institute’s research through our website.

Parent information sessions on how to use MyPymble

Anthony England, Director – Innovative Learning Technologies, will be hosting two online information sessions on how to use the MyPymble parent portal, the College’s app and central point of truth for everything that happens at Pymble.

Session 1 is for new parents joining the College in 2025, and Session 2 will be a refresher with time allocated for questions and answers. New and existing parents are both welcome to join Session 2.

Session 1 – MyPymble overview for new parents

Date: Monday 24 February

Time: 6.30pm to 7.30pm

Location: Online (Microsoft Teams meeting)

Meeting link: Click here to join.

Session 2 – Refresher and Q+A

Date: Monday 3 March

Time: 6.30pm to 7.30pm

Location: Online (Microsoft Teams meeting)

Meeting link: Click here to join.

We hope to see many parents at the two sessions! If you are unable to attend, we will distribute a recorded video of both sessions in the days after the event.

Invitation: Careers Expo 2025

Term 1 Bus Registrations are now open!

This is a reminder to register your daughter for the Pymble private bus service for travel during Term 1 if you have not already done so. 

Registration for the Pymble bus service is offered on a term-by-term basis with two options:

• Term registrations are valid for a whole term. 
• Flexible registrations enable students to register for specific day(s) with a choice of morning and/or afternoon runs.

Students must use their student ID cards to tap on and off the bus service. Students who are new to the College will receive their student ID cards in the coming weeks. If your daughter has lost her card, please get in touch with College Services for a replacement form. 

Green Travel Plan initiative

In line with our Green Travel Plan initiative, we will be trialling a new, lower full-term registration fee for students using stops within a 5km driving distance to the College.

Students who catch the bus at a stop within a 5km driving distance to the College will be charged a term registration of $250. The term charge outside the 5km driving distance will remain at $430 this term. The flexible registration charge remains at $7.50 per trip.

The $250 term charge will apply to the following stops:

• New stop: Yarrara Road before Lachlan Avenue, West Pymble (Hunters Hill Bus Route 1). Please note, this replaces our Yanko Road stop
• New stop: Ryde Road opposite Wyuna Road, West Pymble (North West Bus Route 3)
• New stop: Ryde Road opposite Kiparra Street, West Pymble (North West Bus Route 3)
• Existing stop: Birdwood Avenue before Koola Avenue, East Killara (Lower North Shore Bus Route 2)
• Existing stop: Mona Vale Road opposite Memorial Avenue, St Ives (Northern Beaches Bus Route 4)

Safety of our students on the Pymble bus service

The safety of our students is paramount to us and the following measures are in place to ensure their safety.

• Registering to use the service allows us to ensure that all students can get a seat on the bus. By knowing who is catching our buses, we are also able to communicate to the relevant parents any delays or changes.
• Our Junior School students are walked to and from the James Kelso Field bus drop-off zone by a member of the Junior School staff in the morning and afternoon. Students are always supervised by a Junior School staff member and our trusted bus drivers.
• The buses now have an additional safety feature to ensure that no child is left behind on a bus after it has finished its run. Drivers will need to check all rows of seats and push a button at the back of the bus at the end of each run. An alarm will sound if the driver does not complete this step.
• All students are required to wear a seatbelt at all times on the bus. Moving between seats while the bus is on the move is not allowed.
• All students must tap on and off the bus. This allows us to know who is currently on the bus should there be an incident while on the road.
• All our buses are tracked via the TransportMe app in real-time. This is available for free on Android and Apple devices.
• All our drivers are trained, experienced and hold a current WWCC.

Please do not hesitate to contact College Services if you have any further questions about transport to and from Pymble Ladies’ College as we are always happy to assist.

College Services

E: collegeservices@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

T: +61 2 9855 7447