From the Principal

From the Principal

There are some traditions that truly define the essence of our community, and Jacaranda Day is one of them. Tuesday’s service was a multi-generational celebration of past and present students, staff and families, and the joy of being of service to others. This year our girls from Kindergarten to Year 12 had the great honour of being joined by two members of our alumni, Gina Stanistreet (1972) and Alison Stewart (1960), former Principal Mrs Gillian Moore (1989 to 2007), Julie Toma and Dr Andrew Browning representing the Barbara May Foundation, and Mrs Raj Ram, a Science teacher at the College from 1970 to 2000 who established our Jacaranda Day tradition 40 years ago in 1983.

At 90 years young, Mrs Ram attended the service with her husband and several members of their family to speak with students about her legacy at the College and what it means to serve.

“…service should stir our conscious, realise the innate goodness in each of us and touch us to reach out to people who are denied basic needs for survival and take them to higher levels so that every individual has opportunities to flower and bloom in their chosen areas.” – Mrs Raj Ram

It was a pleasure to acknowledge a few of the hundreds – if not thousands – of ways students and staff across the College have used their gifts and talents to support others in our year of Pymble Gives Back.

In our Junior School, our Kindness Club led countless initiatives, and girls have gifted their time to serve as buddies for new students, tour guides for incoming families, robotics mentors for students at St Lucy’s School, and roving ‘Hubbies’ assisting elderly residents in aged care with tech support.

In the Secondary School, Year 7 committed to regular Compass Clean Ups, Year 9 assumed the role of ‘big sisters’, and Year 13s returned to the College to mentor our Seniors.

Multiple year groups supported Days for Girls, Dignity, Wrap with Love, Sony Camp, remote Indigenous communities, and communities and charities in Africa. As a school, we contributed to a year-long donation drive for several charities, including Wayside Chapel, The Smith Family and the Salvation Army, and raised funds for Dignity and The Smith Family through our much-loved Garden Party.

Congratulations to our 2023 Community Prefects, Senu Edirisinghe and Georgia Stuart, who did a great job leading our service initiatives this year. It’s also my pleasure to embarrass two staff members who are quiet ambassadors of giving back in their own time. Our Head of Upper School, Mr Tom Riley, has been helping an elderly Cantonese man learn English, and our Director – Innovative Learning Technologies, Mr Anthony England, has volunteered his time throughout the year to give tech support to minority groups.

Collectively, our staff have raised more than $20,000 through our ‘Casual for a Cause’ days in 2023 – great job, team!

It is truly gratifying to see our Pymble family embrace the concept of using their special gifts and talents to be of service to others and, in doing so, grow our collective Social and Emotional Intelligence. Next year we look forward to building on this solid foundation and also supporting the important work of our 2024 College charity, The Barbara May Foundation. The science of generosity is well-researched and understood to deliver many benefits to our overall health and wellbeing, all wonderful by-products of our aim to help make the world a better place for those who are in need.

Chair of Board announcement

Of course, the big news this week is a change in governance at Board level. For those who haven’t had a chance to catch up on Monday’s MyPymble notice, our wonderful Chair, Mr James Hunter, is reluctantly stepping down from his position at the College due to his promotion to a global role with KPMG International that requires him to relocate to London. James leaves with our eternal gratitude and respect for more than 10 years of commitment to our Pymble family and outstanding leadership of our Board.

Our incoming Chair was unanimously elected by his fellow Board members to step into James’ mighty shoes, and it was a pleasure to welcome Mr Chris Fydler, OAM to our staff meeting on Monday to connect with staff in his new role.

Chris first joined our Board in 2018 and has always impressed me with his strategic mind and incredibly diverse skill set. He is an experienced CEO, solicitor, gold-medal winning Olympian and former Pymble parent of four daughters who attended the College for the better part of 20 years, until 2021. In our staff meeting, Chris spoke from the heart about his motivation for taking on this big, critical, and volunteer role at the College and, with his permission, I would like to share these insights with you now.

A few words from our incoming Chair

“Firstly, I wanted to say I am excited by this opportunity and humbled by the vote of confidence. My wife, Rose, and I have been Pymble parents for 20 years and we are incredibly grateful for all the staff who have been involved in the education of our girls. They have turned out as wonderful humans and we are very proud of them and the College.

“I am also passionate about providing opportunities and pathways for young people to achieve their potential. I spend a lot of time outside my real job in that space and it gives me a great amount of satisfaction.

“The other thing I really love is working with amazing people and teams who are motivated, intelligent and innovative, and who have the courage to say they want to be good at what they do and to work hard to achieve their goals. In addition to our incredible students, it’s the teachers, co-curricular coaches and professional services staff are what makes Pymble great, and it is rewarding to be part of this team.

“A more personal reason is that I come from a teaching family. My Mum was a primary school teacher for 40 years and my brother Matt was a high school teacher for his entire career. In some small way I understand a little bit about what it’s like to be a teacher and work in this sector. I appreciate and am in awe of the energy, time and effort Pymble staff put into all the students and, hopefully, in some small part, the Board and I can help support the important work you do.– Mr Chris Fydler, OAM

James, Chris and all our Board members are incredibly generous in giving their time and expertise to serve our Pymble family and we thank them from the depths of our hearts for this priceless gift.

Say hello to our HOLAs 

It has taken nearly two terms of newsletter columns to arrive at our final HOLA profile! This week, we get to know our Head of Learning Area – PDHPE, Mrs Alison Cruz, who commenced at Pymble in 2010 and currently teaches Years 9 and 12 PDHPE.

Alison, what was the ‘aha’ moment that led you into teaching? 

“I actually began a nursing degree after finishing high school. After leaving the course at the end of first year I did some volunteer work at an outdoor education centre where I had some helpful conversations that ended with me being encouraged to consider PDHPE teaching. Best decision I ever made!”

What is the most rewarding aspect of the work you do here?

“When students are grappling with understanding a concept or executing a skill and you as their teacher work with them to grasp it. The ability to share the joy and satisfaction they experience when this happens is very fulfilling.”

What are you most proud of achieving as a Pymble HOLA? 

I am most proud of leading a passionate and high functioning PDHPE team who provide engaging learning opportunities for our students. Watching our collaborative efforts result in enriching experiences for students in PDHPE brings me a deep sense of accomplishment and pride.”

Work aside, tell us a fun fact about you…

“I love scuba diving! Exploring the underwater landscape, observing marine life and looking out into the deep blue is such a rush for me.” 

Finish this sentence: If I could impart one life lesson to our students, it would be…

Make the choice to be kind to others and yourself. It will make for a happier life.” 

Thank you, Alison, for a fitting life lesson for a week that started with World Kindness Day on Monday! Enjoy the upcoming weekend and this lovely clip of our Jacaranda Day ceremony.

Things That Go Bump in the Universe

Things That Go Bump in the Universe

Are you interested in the universe? Are you interested in physics? Are you interested in research?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, then this is for you!

​The Pymble Science Faculty is very fortunate to host renowned physicist and educator C. Renee James to talk about her latest book, Things That Go Bump in the Universe.

When: Friday 24 November

Time: 3.30pm to 4.30pm

Where: Jobson Lecture Theatre, Kate Mason Building, Pymble Ladies’ College

If you are studying physics, this is a must-see event. If you are in Year 7 to 10 and interested in studying physics in the future, it is also something you should not miss! 

Anyone else who is interested in research (science extension) or the universe in general, please also come along – you are more than welcome to join us.

Some afternoon tea will be provided at the event, as well as a special lucky-door prize for one of our audience members!

Robotics

Robotics

State Championship Highlights: A Testament to Teamwork, Skill, and Innovation

Celebrating our teams’ exceptional performance!

It’s with immense pride and joy that we reflect on the outstanding performance of our teams at the recent state championship. Their focus, teamwork, and spirit were exemplary, clearly demonstrating the dedication and skill that define our robotics community.

Volunteer Contributions: A Pillar of Success

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Helen Zheng (Year 8) and Joyce Li (Year 7) for their invaluable contributions as volunteers. Helen played a pivotal role in queuing for the VEX IQ Elementary School, earning high praise for her effectiveness. Joyce, in her crucial role, supported our VRC Middle School students with scouting, exemplifying the collaborative spirit of our community.

Team 65100R: A Stellar Performance

Team 65100R, a name that resonates with dedication and talent, secured a commendable 6th place. Their strategic alliance with team 1940B Poyo from Knox was a testament to their tactical acumen. This collaborative effort underlines the essence of our robotics program – unity and mutual support.

Team 65100A: Rising to the Challenge

Team 65100A Defenestration, in partnership with team 4613J Fever Dream from Barker, showcased resilience and skill. Although their journey concluded in the quarter-finals against the eventual Tournament Champions, their performance was nothing short of inspiring.

Awards and Accolades: A Reflection of Excellence

Team 65100K Monkey Prison: Build Award Winner

The Build Award, recognising high-quality robot construction and design, was deservedly awarded to Team 65100K Monkey Prison. Their robot, a marvel of mechanical and electrical efficiency, stood out for its robustness, attention to safety, and reliability under competition conditions. The team’s deep understanding of their collaborative development process was commendable.

Team 65100B CRAKA Bot: Judges Award Recipients

The Judges Award, a tribute to unique achievements and exceptional effort, was proudly received by Team 65100B CRAKA Bot. This award highlights their special attributes and perseverance, underscoring their significant accomplishments throughout the season.

This event was more than a competition; it was a vibrant gathering of enthusiastic minds. Teams exchanged sweets, shared laughs, and cheered each other on, creating an atmosphere of camaraderie and fun. This spirit of joy and mutual support is what truly makes our robotics community exceptional. Their journey reflects not just their technical prowess but also their ability to collaborate, innovate, and persevere. Here’s to many more successes and inspiring stories in the future!

National Championships

Five teams (65100A, 65100B, 65100F, 65100K and 65100R) have qualified for the National Championship in Adelaide. This is a result of the teams Skill Challenges rankings, where teams have one minute to complete the game individually through coding and driving.

Please congratulate and support these teams as they proceed into the next exciting step in their 2024 season.

Dan Brown

Co-ordinator – Robotics

An invitation to participate in our Values Survey and Focus Groups

An invitation to participate in our Values Survey and Focus Groups

Our community means the world to us – we consider our past and present students, families and staff to be valued members of our ever-growing Pymble family. 

Our values of Care, Courage, Integrity, Respect and Responsibility provide a common language and framework for each member of our Pymble family to live by. 

The College is embarking on an important project to determine how these five values are embedded in our daily behaviours. 

The project also intends to create a set of statements that describe our values as behaviours to support the next phase of our Strategic Direction, particularly the Social Intelligence Strategic Pillar, which focuses on amplifying our College values through daily behaviour and by actively being of service to others. 

We warmly invite your feedback to assist us with this project in one of two ways: 

1. Taking our short online survey via this link or by scanning the QR Code below. The link will remain open until 1 December 2023.   

2. Joining one of two parent focus groups on Wednesday 22 November. 

Register here for the Junior School Parent Focus Group Wednesday 22 November at 8.30am

Register here for the Secondary School Parent Focus Group Wednesday 22 November at 5.00pm

To assist with this work, the College has engaged the international management consultancy company, Nous Group. Nous has expertise in working with a number of well-regarded schools and organisations on values-based initiatives; however, should you have any questions please feel free to reach out to our Director – Pymble Institute, Dr Sarah Loch.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to assist us with this important work for our community.

From the Junior School

From the Junior School

From the Head of Junior School

Junior School Panel Event- A focus on student wellbeing for Academic Success

Thank you to all our parents who attended the Focus on Student Wellbeing for Academic Success evening on Tuesday. This is an event I dreamed of hosting as I am keen for us to grow and learn together as we strive to keep our girls healthy as they develop and pursue their passions and goals. I hope those of you who were able to attend found the event informative and that you have come away with some practical advice and reassurance that we are all in this together.

Setting up and running an event like this takes huge amounts of behind the scenes planning and I want to thank Mrs Kate Giles, Lead Coordinator K-3 and Mrs Jayne Mercer, Lead Coordinator 4-6 for their tireless work over many months in bringing this event to life.

Key take aways from this event for us all as parents include:

  1. Accept our children for who they are. Allow them to write their own story.
  2. Allow our children to be bored. Let them just ‘be’ as they inspires them to be creative.
  3. Make time to talk to them. Seek to understand their story at the different stages in their life.
  4. Remember that we, as parents, deserve and need to have a strong support network around us to help us through the parenting journey.

Congratulations to our Dancers

Wow! Our dance showcase 2023 was phenomenal! It was an honour to watch our girls from Kindergarten to Year 6 share their joy on stage. Sometimes it’s hard to remember how young our Junior School girls are as their skills are so advanced and their confidence on stage is so mature. The costumes dazzled, but the girls’ smiles and pride were even more dazzling. I am already looking forward to next year’s showcase. Please remember that all dance classes have now finished for this year except for ballet classes which continue until after the RAD exams.

Congratulations to all our swimmers and divers

Yesterday was the most exceptional Swimming Carnival for our girls in Year 3 to 6. This year we had the highest number of girls participating in individual races. Congratulations girls for challenging yourselves with the races you swum and for your outstanding House Spirit. Our diving showcase was an impressive showcase of the skill, grace and confidence of our divers. A shout out to Mr Tyson our Head of Sport and Chris Lang our Head Diving Coach for entering the fun and showcasing their diving enthusiasm!

Girl Power! – Social Justice Club- raising awareness of injustices in our community

Thank you to Safina Burgess, Ava Costa, Charlotte Lau, Claudia Birrell, Emily Long, Evie Cho, Anaiya Patel, Ellie Lau, Isabelle Lau, Jessamy Facer, Chloë Lenane, Grace Neal, Lillie Oldfield, Christina Yang, Loriah Zhangwho planned and led a thought-provoking assembly last week for Kindergarten to Year 4. Social Justice club have been working this year with Mrs Shaira Musico, Mrs Kate Giles, Mrs Melissa Kotian and me to think of injustices in our community and world and thinking about ways we can seek to make positive change.

Message about Social Justice Club from Ellie Lau, Grace Neal, Ava Costa, Lillie Oldfield, Chloë Lenane and Jessamy Facer-We watched a video where girls received less reward than the boys for doing the same job. It seemed really unfair, and we talked about how some jobs still seemed to be more for females and some for males. We know that girls can do anything that boys can! We decided to do our own experiment as we wanted to see what the Junior School girls thought. Would they think that some jobs are for men or boys and some girls are for women or girls? 

In our experiment our K-4 Junior School girls were asked to draw a picture to represent 4 professions and then to name their person. Following the completion of the drawing the ‘real life’ people came and introduced themselves and shared what it was like doing their job. Thanks to Bronwyn from Lane Cove Fire Station, Mitch from our Pymble Dance staff, Romina Cooke, Head Pymble Cadet and Georgie Friedrichs, Australian Wallaroo Rugby Player. We will review the results more closely and see what we think we can do next to address some of the gender stereotypes we have.”

A message from Mrs Jayne Mercer, Lead Coordinator 4-6 – Around the Grounds

On Friday, Year 6 headed to the Secondary School for their Year 7 Links Day. Throughout the day the girls had the opportunity to experience life as a Year 7 student. They were grouped based on their houses which is how Secondary School organise their Compass classes. This gave the girls the chance to meet the new girls from other schools who will be in their house when they join Pymble in 2024. There was the opportunity to participate in a variety of lessons, join in a scavenger hunt to familiarise themselves with new areas and then spend the afternoon checking out what is available to Year 7 students outside of the classroom in the “Have a Go” session.

Chatting with the girls when they returned to the Junior School they expressed that they had had a wonderful day and were excited about what Year 7 will bring.

“I really enjoyed meeting the new girls.” – Eloise L and Avika K

“I enjoyed the Maths classwe looked closely at curves on graphs, and I realised that they are made from straight lines.” – Amber C

“I enjoyed the English class and writing about a marshmallow.” – Adella B

I enjoyed the Science lesson in the Science lab and meeting new people.” – Ruby S

A message from Mrs Josephine Laretive, K-2 Teacher Librarian and Mrs Martha Itzcovitz, 3-6 Teacher Librarian 

Last date for borrowing and date need to be returned

Please note that all library books are due back by Friday 1 December.  

  • Final day for Years 3-6 borrowing is Friday 17 November
  • Final day for K-2 borrowing is Friday 24 November
  • All books due back by Friday 1 December

 If you have any concerns regarding book loans, please contact: 

 Thank you for your support!

Diwali photos


Important Dates for Term 4

Thursday 23 NovemberKindergarten to Year 2 Swimming Carnival
Thursday 30 NovemberYear 6 Silent Disco and Parent Cocktail Party, 6.30pm – 8.30pm
Tuesday 5 DecemberKindergarten Celebration of Learning 9.00am-10.30am Year 1 and Year 2 Celebration of Learning 11.30am-12.30pm Students in Kindergarten, Year 1 and 2 will be able to go home with parents at the end of the events, or they can remain at school until the end of the day. A form to advise of family preference will be sent to families.
Wednesday 6 DecemberYears 3-6 Speech Day Supervision for students in K-2 is available. Last Day of Term 4 2023

Kate Brown

Head of Junior School

From the Middle School

From the Middle School

Last Friday the Middle School welcomed a number of very special visitors to Pymble, hosting Links Day for our incoming Year 7 2024 cohort. The day was a hive of activity with Middle School Student Leaders and Year 7 Transition Leaders working hard welcoming students, facilitating ice breaker activities, taking students on a scavenger hunt tour of the Campus, supporting them navigate their way to sample lessons and to the Have A Go Expo which showcased co-curricular and sport offerings for 2024. We would like to take a moment to congratulate and thank our Middle School Student Leaders and our Year 7 Transition Leaders for their enthusiasm and the care they took with Year 6 students on the day.

Our Year 12 2024 House Leaders and their friendly mascots also deserve a thank you for their careful planning and encouragement of Year 6 on the day. Year 12 House Leaders ran a series of House Spirit activities to welcome Year 6 into their House groups. Needless to say, our Year 6 visitors had a thoroughly enjoyable day experiencing life on campus and building connections within our Middle School family. We all look forward to welcoming them next year during the Orientation program.

Tuesday saw the 40th anniversary of Jacaranda Day where the College community gathers below our beautiful and full blooming jacaranda tree to give thanks and pledge support and service to our College and community charity organisations. Sienna Melton (Year 8) gave the Acknowledgement of Country with Jessica Persson (Year 7) and Grace McSweeney (Year 8) reading prayers to mark the occasion. It was wonderful to hear the Middle School Service initiatives shared with the wider Pymble community and acknowledge the commitment of our Year 7 and Year 8 students across the year.

Jacaranda Day also marks a time in our calendar when as a college we work to collect donations for The Bill Crews Foundation. Sweet and savoury perishable items, as well as games and toys can be donated to the Middle School Office for the foundation to use over the Christmas and holiday period. Your donations are always warmly received.

Year 7 Christmas Chapel Service

On Wednesday afternoon, Year 7 held their Christmas service, celebrating the year as well as taking time to reflect on their growth and change throughout the year. Congratulations and thank you to Ms Theresa Mimmo and Mr Andrew Heggie, Head of Year 7, who worked tirelessly with student volunteers to craft decorations, plan and practice music, recite readings and create gifts for teachers. It was an incredibly special celebration and showcased the many talents of Year 7 including students reading, singing, playing the piano, the flute and strings. Thank you to parents, carers and extended family who attended on the day to celebrate with Year 7.

Year 7 Art

Year 7 Visual Arts are busy at the moment drawing and clay making imaginative creatures and animals as part of their ‘insert unit title’. We could not resist showcasing a number of our students’ creations and know that you will agree how ingenious and original their works of art are.

Dance Showcase

The Pymble Dance Showcase took place last Thursday to Sunday, showcasing the talent of our Year 7 and 8 dance students. We would like to congratulate the following students for their participation in what was truly a breathtaking display of talent and hard work.

Abby PisaniYear 07
Alessandra LiewYear 07
Amara AhmedYear 07
Annabella BayfieldYear 07
Annika SethuramYear 07
Autumn AdlerYear 07
Ava ChristofidesYear 07
Chloe Tian-CheongYear 07
Claire DongYear 07
Claire FengYear 07
Cleo McLaughlinYear 07
Constance LawYear 07
Dakota JiangYear 07
Eleanor Mason-JonesYear 07
Ellie ZhaoYear 07
Emma ScottYear 07
Emma YatesYear 07
Evelyn ChenYear 07
Ginny MakanYear 07
Hannah MurphyYear 07
Hilary PangYear 07
Charis KwanYear 07
Constance ChowYear 07
Imogen JonesYear 07
Indigo MeldrumYear 07
Isabella BenjaminYear 07
Isabelle MartinYear 07
Isla PolitesYear 07
Jane ZhangYear 07
Alana WangYear 07
Isabella EumYear 07
Sophie WeiYear 07
Kate RogersYear 07
Kayla MaYear 07
Leahara WijesuriyaYear 07
Lily XiaoYear 07
Lily XingYear 07
Malaika RasheedYear 07
Matilda BentleyYear 07
Maya BurgessYear 07
Cindy LinYear 07
Rosanna RewYear 07
Ruby ChuYear 07
Ruolin HuangYear 07
Sarah FooYear 07
Sarah WongYear 07
Savannah LorimerYear 07
Savannah MasyaYear 07
Elena DuanYear 07
Cabrini LeeYear 07
Yiling GuYear 07
Feifei WangYear 07
Amelia LeeYear 08
Angela ChenYear 08
Annabel LewthwaiteYear 08
Annabel TaylorYear 08
Caitlin XiYear 08
Camellia ZhouYear 08
Catherine ZengYear 08
Charlotte BlaiklockYear 08
Charlotte KingYear 08
Lucy SunYear 08
Cienna HarvieYear 08
Elle HarsanyYear 08
Ellie PointonYear 08
Emily ChiangYear 08
Emily MahYear 08
Emily ZhaiYear 08
Eva PieterseYear 08
Evelyn LiYear 08
Evie FarrYear 08
Fiona PanYear 08
Hongyu (Cindy) JinYear 08
Irisara O’BrienYear 08
Isabel NealYear 08
Jessica AllmanYear 08
Jessica BaoYear 08
Milly XuYear 08
Joy YinYear 08
Kitty YipYear 08
Kaela TanYear 08
Katherine BoyceYear 08
Kathy WangYear 08
Kayra AmirYear 08
Lucinda MartinYear 08
Lucy SimpsonYear 08
Cindy WangYear 08
Raina WangYear 08
Ruby WatsonYear 08
Ruofan TangYear 08
Sarah BaiYear 08
Saskia NicholsonYear 08
Serena CummingsYear 08
Sienna FordYear 08
Sienna MeltonYear 08
Skye MacLeodYear 08
Sophia ChenYear 08
Sophie NgaiYear 08
Sophie RiggYear 08
Stella XuYear 08
Vivian WeiYear 08
Rain ToYear 08
Camille XiaoYear 08
Xiran RongYear 08
Jane LeeYear 08
Cherry LauYear 08
Yvette MoodieYear 08
Zara OrrYear 08
Zoe DaviesYear 08

Compass Captains

We would like to acknowledge and congratulate the below Year 7 and Year 8 students for taking on the role of Compass Captain during Term 4. These students are working very hard within their compass groups running activities, games and festive celebrations to end the term.

 Year 7Year 8
Bennett A Emma Koorey        Tia Pillai Jaya Chand                Jenny He
Bennett BIndigo Meldrum                    Sarah Quan                    Chloe Wei                 Skye MacLeod
Goodlet A Olivia Pragassen                   Amalia Bond Annie Pennington       Georgie Curtis
Goodlet B Constance Law                     Sasha Paris Ciara Sweeney          Sophia Vajedsamiei
Hammond A Ruolin Huang
 Linh Dinh
 Cassandra Vielman    Alexandra Warren
Hammond B Kathryn Xu                           Hannah Murphy Emily Mah                 Annabel Taylor
Ingleholme A Anagha Kandala                             Shreya Mahendra Celine Chen              Cynthia Zhao
Ingleholme B Haylee Lam                                 Kayla Ma Tina Peng                  Fiona Xue
Lang A Cecilia Bryant                       Elise Xu Zoe Bloom                Cindy Wang
Lang B Eleanor Ramsay                   Jane Zhang Jacquelyn Zhu           Audrey Lin
Marden A Megan Chia                          Eyleen Zhou Clare Ferreira           Mia Sherry
Marden B Stephanie Du                        Sophie Harris Mia Zhang                 Thiloksha Perera
Thomas A Phoebe Hutton                     Jiarui Song Kristen Pang             Elisa Cui
Thomas B Lily Xiao                               Nicole Fan Ilesha Nair               Jiani Ling
Wylie A Ella Gao
  Eden Connors
 Sarah Bai                  Jaimee Leung
Wylie B Angelina Wang                     Chloe Shao Meg Fulford              Amrita Marwah

Gloucester Gatherings

Our Gloucester Gathering Liaisons along with our Middle School Liaisons, have put together a wonderful schedule for Gloucester Gatherings this Term. See below for the exciting activities planned for Middle School. We look forward to sharing many photos throughout the term.

From the Middle School Parent Group Leaders

Year 7 Yum Cha Brunch

Thank you very much to Dr Hadwen, the Community Engagement team, PPA President Sunny Hres, SSPG Group Leaders and the Middle School Parent Group for approving and supporting this special Year 7 Yum Cha Brunch event.

Also, thank you very much to all 24 parents who attended on the day. It was joyful to have so many Year 7 parents there to celebrate our end-of-year event for Year 7 parents, our final event as a cohort and a wonderful year at Pymble. Please enjoy the pictures that were taken throughout the day.

Key Term Dates

Friday 17 November – Year 8 Environmental Day


Jenny O’Donnell

Head of Middle School

From the Upper School

From the Upper School

A message from Mr Tom Riley, Head of Upper School

It has been a quiet week on campus but a busy one across New South Wales with Year 10 away on four amazing different Outdoor Education experiences. We have students on the picturesque south coast at Murramarang, whitewater rafting on the Snowy Mountains River, traversing the Victorian High Country on our Namadji trek, and canyoning and abseiling in the Blue Mountains.

Please enjoy some of the comments that we have received from Murramarang:

Sophie Laing – “Stand up paddle boarding was very peaceful and allowed us to appreciate nature. The beach walk to see the stars was amazing and a great way to end day 1.” 

Jessica Noyce –  “The best thing about camp so far has been going to the beach to see the stars and bonding with new people.” 

Amelia Young and Zara Le Hoang – “We didn’t fall in stand up paddle boarding, the water was calm, and it was a good start to the day.”

Lucy Middleton – “We now know what position to get into if a lightning storm comes even though there hasn’t been a storm and never turn your back on a wave.”

Sienna hui- “The bbq on the first night was delicious, we had a great time chatting with our friends whilst being surrounded by nature and hungry kangaroos.”

And Lots of girls have said – “best camp I have ever been on.”

On Tuesday I spoke with Year 9 about World Kindness Day on 13 November and the importance of choosing to be kind in a world where you can be anything. As you would expect in Year 9, we have seen a few friendship fires creeping into the year group and we’re keen to remind our girls to be positive, inclusive, and caring in all their interactions as we approach the end of a big year. In speaking with them, I shared a few moments from my own childhood where I got things wrong and would encourage you to do similarly around the dinner table this weekend. The benefit of hindsight is a powerful tool in helping to steer young people through the challenges of adolescence.

Elsewhere, we bid bon voyage to Ella and Alice who have headed on exchange to the UK, and celebrated our amazing Year 10s who won the best book for their entry in the write a book in a day competition. More of this to come next week!

2024 Student Exchange Program

Please click here to view information about the 2024 Student Exchange Program. Please read the mini-site with your family before applying.

Key Dates for 2024 Student Exchange

French Language Exchange

  • Applications Open – Term 4, Week 6 – Monday 13 November 2023
  • Applications Close – Term 4, Week 7 – Friday 24 November 2023
  • Exchange Interviews – Term 4, Week 8 (2023) – students will be notified of times and days
  • Places advised – Term 4, Week 9 (2023)

Germany/Japan/China Language Exchange

  • Applications Open – Monday 13 November 2023
  • Applications Close – Term 1, Week 1 – Friday 2 February 2024
  • Interviews – Term 1, Week 2, 2024 – students will be notified
  • Places advised – Term 1, Week 3, 2024 – via email

Cultural Exchange

  • Applications Open – Term 4, Week 6 – Monday 13 November 2023
  • Applications Close – Term 1, Week 1 – Friday 2 February 2024
  • Interviews – Term 1, Week 2 & 3, 2024 – students will be notified
  • Places advised – Term 1, Week 4, 2024 – via email

From the Upper School Parent Group

Year 10                Zoe Green                        bzgreen@bigpond.net.au

                             Pamela McPherson         bruceandpam@bigpond.com

Year 9                  Kate Hart                 kate@countyconstruction.com.au

                              Christel Vigne                 vignechristel@gmail.com 

Social media community groups:

PymbleLC Parents Class of 2025 (Facebook for year 10)

PymbleLC Parents Class of 2026 (Facebook for year 9)

PymbleLC USPG 2023 (Facebook for all Upper School parents)

Or please contact us for an invite to a WeChat group or Dads WhatsApp group.

Key Term 4 Dates

Saturday 11 to Tuesday 21 November – Year 10 Namadji Outdoor Education Program (OEP)

Sunday 12 to Tuesday 21 November – Year 10 Snowy Mountains OEP

Monday 13 to Friday 17 November – Year 10 Blue Mountains and Murramarang OEPs

Wednesday 22 November – Secondary School Ensemble Concert

Monday 27 November to Friday 1 December – Year 10 Future You/Service Week

Wednesday 6 December – Year 7-11 Speech Day in Gym


Tom Riley

Head of Upper School

From the Senior School

From the Senior School

From the Head of Senior School

Remembrance Day

It has been another busy and exciting week in Senior School. As a College we gathered on Monday to commemorate Remembrance Day, to remember the bravery of the thousands of Australian personnel who have given their lives in war. I would like to acknowledge the Pymble Cadets and the Senior girls who participated in this service. A thoughtful personal tribute was paid by Year 12 student, Lydia, who told us about her experiences while completing the Kokoda Track. I have printed her speech below:

Earlier in the year I had an amazing opportunity to hike the Kokoda Track as part of my Duke of Edinburgh Award with my dad and 40 other amazing people ranging from the ages of 15 to 60.

The Track itself is often unheard of, which is sad as it’s one of Australia’s most important battles of the second world war. The Japanese came extremely close to invading Australia and who knows where we would be today if they succeeded.  

If you can picture this, a battalion of young Australian soldiers being dropped off in a foreign country known as Papua New Guinea, knowing nothing other than it might be a bit hot and you will be defending the track against a few Japanese soldiers.

Little did these men know what the terrain was like. Nothing like they had ever seen. It was so mountainous with a steep narrow track, heat and humidity, disease limited food and ammunition and very basic knowledge of what they were about to endure.

This inexperienced 39th militia battalion came up against numerically superior, well equipped, and experienced jungle fighters of the Japanese Imperial Army.

Through the bravery and determination of the Australians they were able to prevent the Japanese taking Port Moresby and it was one of the important battles in the Pacific that turned the war.

My personal experience was nothing like these brave men however, just being able to walk in the footsteps of the many extraordinary men including my Great-grandfathers, and most likely many of yours, was truly such a seral experience and it definitely gave me a new outlook on life. It made me appreciate all of the opportunities I have today and so much more.

The track was definitely hard and it pushed me physically, mentally and emotionally, as we walked up mountains, through muddy swamps, and rivers with water up to my neck with nothing by a small flimsy rope to hold onto.

This was petrifying, and even though I wanted to complain and say “my feet hurt” or “how much longer”, that voice at the back of my head throughout the rain, humidity and the freezing cold kept telling me that I don’t have it nearly as bad as they did and that mindset kept me going through those tough times.  

I am so proud to stand here today and say I have done this trek and I truly hope my experience has inspired one of you to possibly take on this challenge.

And if not, I hope you take the time to reflect on the people who served and continued to serve today.

And to finish I would like to honour all of men and women that fought in the war as these ordinary people did extraordinary things under such extreme circumstances.  

Jacaranda Day

On Tuesday we came together as a College to celebrate Jacaranda Day, the day that we all think about how we can be of service to our community. Thank you to the Senior girls also took part in this service and special thanks to Tanvi and Tiyana who shared such inspiring memories of their recent service tour to Tanzania. I would also like to thank the girls and families who so generously contributed gifts and groceries to the collection. These will be distributed to the Bill Crews Foundation, which assists people and families who are in need of extra support.

Constitutional Convention

Congratulations to Jiya, who will be representing New South Wales at the Constitutional Convention in Canberra next March. Jiya was selected to represent her state after her impressive contributions at the New South Wales Constitutional Convention earlier this year.

Dance Showcase

I had the pleasure of attending the Dance Showcase last Friday night and was completely blown away by the performances of all the dancers. It was such a treat to see our recently graduated Year 12 students in their final performance, alongside our current Year 12 dancers. My sincere congratulations to all students who were involved in this extraordinary evening, and special mention to those students who were involved in backstage roles.

From the Secondary School Parent Group

Pilar and Susan hope that parents and carers from Year 12 2024 can join us for this end-of-year event being held at the Yemma’s home on Friday 8 December. It promises be a fun evening and a great opportunity to reconnect before the summer break. For catering purposes, please RSVP asap to Susan (sma.liu@yahoo.com

Cost: $42 per person

When: Friday 8 December at 7.00pm

Where: The Yemma’s home at 103 Junction Road, Wahroonga 

RSVP by December 1st to Susan sma.liu@yahoo.com

Please advise of any dietary requirements.

Term 4 – Key Dates

23 November – Dan Haesler presentation – Winning’s a Lousy Teacher

6 December    Speech Day Year 7 to 11

6 December    Term 4 concludes


Nikki Wyse

Head of Senior School

From the Boarding School

From the Boarding School

The ‘unending chain’ of girls certainly rings true in Boarding and it is a special privilege to be a part of the Boarders’ journey commencing in Marden House through to their final Boarding home in Lang House.

This journey was celebrated on Sunday evening as our oldest Boarders, the Year 12 2023/24 cohort made an important rite of passage, graduating to Lang House. The evening was celebrated with a House Warming, inspired by the 1916 event when the very first Pymble girls made the trip across from PLC Croydon.

The Boarders were delighted with their new rooms and the fabulous celebration meal organised by our Head of Year 12 Boarding, Anne Graham and Senior Boarding Assistant, Roz Martindale. Of course, there was a housewarming present and who would have thought an air fryer would bring such squeals of joy?!

Diwali

On Tuesday night we enjoyed celebrating the Festival of Lights, Diwali with our Boarders. The evening was filled with fun and the Boarder competitive spirit, as the Spirit House Circles took on the challenge of creating the most creative Rangoli. This was followed by a delicious Indian feast in the specially decorated Boarders’ Dining Room.

Love It – Mrs White Deputy Director of Boarding

Friday – Year 10 and New 7/8 Boarder – Balmoral Adventure

Our beautiful Year 10 Boarders were treated to a Balmoral Beach Picnic Dinner on Friday evening. The water glistened as the sunset, and the sea temperatures were perfect for a dip! It was a lovely occasion for fish and chips by the beach, followed by an ice cream treat for dessert! Year 10 were also joined by our new Year 7/8 2024 Boarders, who resided in Goodlet House on Friday evening for a Boarding sleepover. With many of our Year 10 Boarders 2024 Big Sisters, it was the perfect occasion for the girls to chat all things Boarding and the exciting adventures that await them next year!

We also welcomed back our Year 7s for 2024 for their second sleep over.  The girls were exhausted after a busy Links Day in the day school and enjoyed some down time around the grounds on Friday evening.  Their highlight of the sleepover was the basketball game they all played after dinner.  We can’t wait to welcome them all back next year. 

Saturday & Sunday – A cosy night in

Our Boarders enjoyed a quiet night in with many visiting friends and family over the weekend. Our Marden ladies settled in for a movie night on Saturday, followed by a shopping adventure for Secret Santa presents on Sunday. Our Goodlet ladies had a busy weekend preparing for Year 10 Camp, with 6 girls heading to the Snowy Mountains on Sunday Morning. We also had 5 ladies depart to the Blue Mountains and 12 to Murramurang (South Coast) on Monday Morning. We look forward to hearing about their adventures! Our Year 12 Boarders spent the weekend settling into Lang after their move from Goodlet House earlier in the week.

This weekend – Christmas Festivities Begin

Friday: Christmas Dinner with Knox – A fabulous Christmas themed BBQ Dinner and Trivia

Saturday: Christmas Tree Farm Adventure & Christmas Movie Night in the KM

Sunday: Glebe Markets

What’s on this week:

Friday: Year 10 Balmoral Adventure and Year 7/8 Sleepover

Saturday: Manly Adventure

Sunday: Bondi to Bronte Walk and Lang Housewarming

View From My Window

My name is Stella Robertson, I am currently a Year 12 Boarder and have been at Pymble since Year 7. My hometown is Gunnedah, NSW (often mistaken with Canada!), where I stay in the holidays with my mum, dad, sister, and of course, my dog, Max, and cat, Luna.

Gunnedah is named the koala capital of the world, but I can’t say that I have seen many koalas there throughout my life. My home is close to town, which is really convenient for sport, work, and the occasional drive down the ‘mainy’ for some shopping. While we’re not on a property, we have a beautiful view of the town and Porcupine lookout as our backyard, with a lovely pool that is put to good use throughout the year.

What I love about being home is the ability to see my family of course, with the addition of my grandparents, my aunt, and my friends who all live within walking distance. I am often able to go down the road or around the block to my friends’ houses, where we sometimes try to be productive with schoolwork… but are hardly ever successful as we catch-up from the term apart.

When I look out my window, I see my family sitting on the veranda, with the dog on the lawn, and the cat strutting past, watching the sunset over the mountains. I see my mum outside, changing the hoses and trying to fend off the dog trying to bite at the water. I see my dad mowing the lawn, with his worn-out bucket hat and old ray-bans sunnies that only just manage to do the trick. My sister is out the back, with her music blasting and her swimmers on, getting ready to get in the pool after her run. I see my neighbours walking their dog down the wallaby-trap to the side of our house and give a yell to old Warren who always greets us with a smile. I see my grandpa in the driveway, waiting to take me for a drive to get my hours up, and my grandma walking in to inspect the garden out the back. And finally, I see my friends driving up the road to take me downtown, whether it be CrossFit, out to lunch, or one of their houses to spend the day lounging around.

While I absolutely love being at home, I still enjoy returning to Boarding and catching-up with the girls. I’ve never gone very long without seeing my Boarding sisters, and it’s always the best feeling when we gather in the one room on the first day back to give a debrief of our holidays. Of course, the opportunities given to us at school are extremely beneficial which is always a mind-opener on our return, but I’ll always miss home.

Boarder of the Week

Congratulations to our Boarder of the Week, our fabulously talented Year 10 athlete, Lana Pike. Lana joined our Pymble family from Temora at the start of the year and has hit the ground running! Between her training schedule, competitions and schooling commitments, she is a go-getter and her organisation and dedication is admired by her peers. In House, Lana is always willing to assist staff and volunteers during Boarding activities. She mentors her younger Boarding sisters during weekly community events, including Spirit House Circles. 

Lana has an infectious sense of humour that never fails to uplift her peers, and is always ready for a chat during her evening tea time. Her uniform is always immaculate and leaves her room sparkling every morning. We are delighted to call Lana one of ours!

Save the Dates

Tuesday 28 November – End of Year Chapel Service and Boarding Christmas Party (all Boarders required to be in attendance)

Wednesday 6 December – Year 7 to 10 Speech Day (all Boarders required to be in attendance)

Wednesday 6 December – Boarders’ travel afternoon (following Speech Day)


Carolyn Burgess

Head of Boarding

From the Chaplains

From the Chaplains

This week we celebrated Jacaranda Day, the highlight of all events at Pymble, the reason being that the whole school is congregated in community and gathered on Gloucester Lawn, and we were blessed with a stunner of a day. On a day like this one we are ever grateful for the simple things in life, the joy of giving generously and following in the example of a generous God who gives of Godself to us willingly and joyously. 

As we celebrate the season of Advent with purple, premature though it may seem, it is timely, as we propel ourselves to the end of term, moving at a pace that can be alarming and sometimes overwhelming. For many of us it has been a year of too much, be it a family or work-related situation. As we ponder all things climate, with an impending drought perhaps, bushfires way before summer has set, and large-scale gloom and doom with not just rumour of wars, but a 24/7 media watch on a world in need of an intervention from God in the name of peace. 

So, we pause for a breath, seeking the wisdom and conscious movement of God’s Spirit and hoping we can take our eyes away from our devices soon enough to not miss out on the everyday steps our children take. Perhaps this end of year can be a vow to lift our eyes up from the things that promise proximity to the actions that promote bonds of love and chords of joy, so our relationships can be laced with conversations around the dinner table, chats about our day at home and work, and an offer too hard to refuse of intimacy as only God gives us by inhabiting our humanness and taking on our pain as the Infant Christ.   

Yes, we can live with this promise, for it comes to us every moment and with an invitation filled with hope, peace, joy and love. May God bless you as you get busier and find moments to pause with gratitude for all and then some. 

Blessings and peace.


Reverend Punam Bent

College Chaplain

From the Community Engagement Team

From the Community Engagement Team

Calendar of Events 

All community and academic events can be found on the MyPymble app in the Calendar tab.  

Ex-Students Union Annual General Meeting

Calling all Pymble Alumni to attend the 2023 ESU Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the David Macfarlane Centre (DMC) next Monday 20 November at 7.00pm.

Come along to catch up with your fellow Alumni and hear what the ESU has in store for 2024. Please contact Katrina Corcoran to register at kcorcoran@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

JSPG Refreshment Stall Cancelled for K-2 Swimming Carnival

There will not be a JSPG Parent Refreshment Stall for the K-2 Swimming Carnival on Thursday 23 November. Please make sure your child has packed food for recess and lunch as well as plenty of water. We’re looking forward to a fun day for our littlest swimmers!

College Christmas Celebration

Keep an eye out for communication on MyPymble in the coming days regarding the College’s Christmas Celebration on Sunday 3 December. The College jazz bands will be playing from 5.30pm on Gloucester Lawn, followed by a special Christmas service with carols in the Chapel at 6.30pm led by Reverend Punam Bent. This is a special evening celebrating Christmas with the Pymble community, as well as a chance to farewell our lovely Reverend Bent at her last Pymble Christmas service. 

Celebration Events to Close Out 2023  

The year end is just around the corner and planning is underway for a number of events to celebrate. Dates to save include:

Tuesday 5 December – Kindergarten to Year 2 Celebration of Learning from 12.00pm to 1.00pm  

Wednesday 6 December – Secondary School Speech Day from 9.00am to 11.15am  

Wednesday 6 December – Junior School Speech Day from 1.00pm to 2.30pm  

We look forward to ringing in the festive season with our Pymble families.


Kelly Mancey

Director of Community Engagement and Advancement

From the Futures Team

From the Futures Team

Engineering Empower Lunch

On Friday 10th November, 25 eager Year 9 students attended an empower lunch hosted by ARUP engineering at their office in the city. The budding engineers were hosted by a team of young, engaging, and passionate female engineers, who spoke to the students about their journey through school, to university and into a career in engineering. We learned about some of the innovative projects the ARUP team had been working on, such as St Mary’s metro station and the upgrade to Nepean Hospital. What inspired our students was the range of different engineering disciplines there are as well as the highly rewarding nature of the career. Students were also given an office tour, visiting the ‘sound lab’ and the games room. Throughout the morning, students were able to ask the ARUP team questions, and gain insight first-hand about what a career in engineering entails.

At Pymble, we are committed to inspiring our students to thing differently. We want to develop influential and compassionate graduates, who embrace new ideas and have the courage to consider STEM related, male dominated careers in the future. If you would like to contribute experiences like this in the future, please reach out Kim Maksimovic or Liam Hume.

Here are some student reflections from the day.

“Last Friday I went with a group of other girls all in year nine to an Engineering company in the city called ARUP for an emPower lunch. The goal of the lunch was to inspire young women and girls as women are hugely under-represented in STEM-related careers. Going to the company opened my eyes to many engineering careers I had never heard of such as structural and acoustic engineering. Structural engineering which designs and create the form and shape of buildings and acoustic engineering which focuses on acoustics and which building designs will allow for the best possible sound projection. The office building had a room designed for teaching their employees about acoustics. It was lined with carpet to trap sound and it had speakers all over the room even under the floor, which was really cool.

Learning about all the different career options was a bit overwhelming as there are so many choices but one thing that really helped was in the presentation each of the presenters showed their career path and how they ended up working where they are today. One of the presenters showed how her first choice wasn’t engineering and how she originally went to university for food studies and was thinking of becoming a dietician. She then realised that that was not the right path for her and that she was able to transfer to an engineering course even though she did not do all the prerequisites for the course in her HSC.

Exploring the company was interesting and insightful and I am planning to go have job experience there next year!” – Natalie Barclay (Year 9)

“The Arup Engineering emPower Lunch was an in-depth opportunity to learn about engineering and the different aspects of it. We were able to watch presentations from employees there explaining what they do and why. We were also given an office tour and access to different engineers to ask any questions we had. Overall, it was an interesting and enjoyable day where we learnt a lot about engineering as a job.” Alia Curren (Year 9)

How students could benefit from Career Guidance.

At Pymble, our Futures Advisors are at the forefront of support for students, serving as crucial guides in students’ journey towards their future professions. The Futures Department work with Curriculum and Wellbeing teams to provide opportunities for students to be supported via events, workshops and 1:1 meetings.

Within 1:1 meetings, our team incorporate tools like Clifton’s Strengths and Motivational Mapping which can offer more personalised and effective guidance. Clifton’s Strengths helps students identify their unique talents, thereby enabling advisors to tailor career advice that aligns with each student’s inherent strengths. This approach not only boosts the students’ confidence but also steers them towards careers where they are likely to excel and find fulfilment. Motivational Mapping, on the other hand, sheds light on what drives an individual, be it a need for achievement, affiliation, or power.

Understanding these motivational factors allows our advisors to suggest paths that not only suit the students’ abilities but also resonate with their inner motivations. This tailored advice is invaluable as students navigate the complex process of choosing a career path, ensuring they make informed decisions that lead to both professional success and personal satisfaction.

What we offer at Pymble 

In Year 9, students are introduced to the Pymble Passport in Term 3, reflecting upon their strengths and talents to share with others. In the coming weeks, they will have an introduction to writing resumes within the Compass program.

In Year 10, during Term 1 students participate in the Strengths and Skills Day where they are introduced to Clifton Strengths and micro-credentials and follow this on with a 1:1 meeting with one of the Futures team to discuss those strengths. Year 10 is the first year students can also apply for work experiences. The year culminates in the Future You Festival in Term 4 where students have further opportunity to revisit Strengths, hear from guest speakers and professionals about various industries, delve into e-work experience and have the opportunity to participate in Mock Interviews. 

Year 11 participate in university immersion day during Term 1 where each student will visit a university for a day to experience sample activities in their chosen domain. This is the start of students engaging with the Futures Advisors 1:1 to provide guidance for future goals and aspirations. Further support is provided in the introduction to Motivational Mapping and using this as a tool to engage in conversation with Compass Teachers, mentors and others about growth and goals. 

Year 12 students set their goals and intentions through the Future Plans Survey to identify what their Plan A and Plan B are. From this, the Futures Department provide support in the form of presentations, Masterclasses and 1:1 guidance to help to target areas of need and emergent trends or points of interest for the cohort. Students are also supported in their Early Entry applications, scholarship and other pathway requirements. 

The Futures Team also offer a Careers Expo for all students,  Empower Lunches to Year 9-12 to learn more about diverse roles from our Alumni and Industry guests (expanding to Year 7-8 to attend in 2024). Furthermore, we support Subject Selection evenings, Parent Information Evenings and other related events to support the community.

Below is an extract from ‘Investing in Careers – What is career guidance worth?’ by University of Derby

Career guidance is not just about helping students to find their way into a course or showing them how to get their next job. Rather it is about helping people to make a purposeful next step that will move the trajectory of their life in a positive direction. Two in five university students said they would have made better choices had they had better access to higher quality information and advice in school. Career guidance helps people to find their way into the right course and into the right job for them. This in turn helps to ensure that their talents are well used and reduces dropout, labour market churn and misalignment of skills.

External Opportunities

Women of STEM Scholarship for Year 12 Graduates

Scholarships for women aged 18 – 20, studying a STEM related degree. 

Applications Open: Friday 15 December 2023: www.womenofstem.com.au

Applications are open the Women of STEM Scholarship for women aged 18-20 who are entering their first year of a STEM degree at university. The scholarship provides financial grants of $5,000 per year for the life of their degree, up to a maximum of 5 years. Applicants must submit their resume, cover letter, academic transcript and ID. Head to our website to check eligibility. 

Applications Close: Friday 16 February 2024

Law Insights Evening 

The University of Newcastle’s School of Law and Justice invites class of 2023 Year 11 & Year 12 students, teachers and parents to attend our Law Insights evening. The evening is an invaluable experience, allowing students to hear firsthand about the Law degree on offer at the University of Newcastle. 

Students will be able to hear from, and speak with, academic staff and current students from the School of Law and Justice. Students will also learn about our Legal Centre. This is an excellent opportunity for students to ask any questions they might have about the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) program. 

Location: Nuspace (Cnr King and Auckland Street Newcastle NSW 2300) 

Time: 5.00pm to 7.00pm

Date: Wednesday 15 November 2023 

Canapés and drinks will be provided. 

Register Now! 

Learn to fly

Are you ready to put wings on your dreams? Don’t just imagine soaring through the skies, seize the opportunity to kickstart your future career and let’s go flying!

Become a student pilot, learn new skills, and make lasting friendships at the 2024 Flying Training Camp.

To learn more and sign up visit camp.royalaero.com.au

From the Co-curricular Sports Team

From the Co-curricular Sports Team

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Presentation/Workshop: Mr Dan Haesler – Winning’s a Lousy Teacher

Pymble Ladies’ College will be hosting a presentation/workshop “Winning’s a Lousy Teacher” by Dan Haesler on Thursday 23 November from 5.00pm to 6.00pm in the Jobson Lecture Theatre in the Kate Mason Building, with an opportunity for Q&A after the workshop. 

Athletes and parents will explore how mindset impacts their approach to sports and life, learning strategies to nurture their mental game, handle setbacks, and enhance performance. Dan Haesler is a performance coach with a wide range of clients, including elite athletes and corporate leaders.

The workshop is open to students in Years 7 to 12 who represent Pymble in a sports team (and their parents). There is limited space for this presentation – please RSVP by Friday 17 November by clicking here.

Adam Raw

Director of Sport

Co-curricular Administration

Co-curricular Administration

End of Term 4 Registration Period

The End of Term 4 registration period will allow families to make selections for their Term 1, Semester 1, and Yearly 2024 Co-curricular Programs. Registrations will open via the online registration system at 12.00pm on Wednesday 22 November. Please access the online registration via the Co-curricular pages on MyPymble by clicking here. A parent/carer log in is required to be able to register. We recommend families check they can access the system well in advance of the opening date to avoid any technical issues on the day as registrations CANNOT be processed via email or phone.

Notices will be posted on the MyPymble App prior to registrations opening to all families as a reminder of the opening date and time. All program information will be finalised on the Co-curricular pages of MyPymble by Wednesday 15 November.

The registration period will close at 12.00pm on Wednesday 10 January. A confirmation of current selections email will be sent prior to school finishing for the year. Changes can still be made following this email until the system closes in January. A final confirmation will then be sent prior to school starting for 2024.

Please note that Term 2 2024 Saturday Sports will no longer open during this registration period. Saturday Sport registrations are changing and will now open on the first Wednesday of each term for the following term. As such, Term 2 2024 Saturday Sport registrations will open at 12.00pm on Wednesday 31 January and close on Friday 16 February.

Term 1 2024 Saturday Sport Registrations

The closing date for Term 1 2024 Saturday Sports has been extended to Monday 20 November at 12.00pm. Please access the online registration via the co-curricular pages on MyPymble by clicking here. A parent or carer log in is required to be able to register. If you require any assistance with completing your registration, please contact Co-curricular Administration at ccsa@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au or on +61 2 9497 7848. A reminder that registrations must be completed online and cannot be processed over the phone or via email.

Reminder notices will be posted on the Pymble App in the weeks and days before registrations close.

The Term 1 Saturday Sport options are as follows:

  • IGS AFL (Year 7 to 12 – Saturday afternoons)
  • igsa Tennis (Year 7 to 12)
  • igsa Badminton (Year 7 to 12)
  • Pymble Water Polo Competition (Year 7 to 12)
  • Pymble Softball (Year 8 to 12)
  • Sydney Sixers Cricket (Year 7 to 12 – Saturday afternoons)
  • IPSHA Football (Year 3 to 6)
  • IPSHA Water Polo/Flippa Ball (Year 3 to 6)

Co-curricular Registration Requests

Registrations for Term 4 are now closed. Confirmation emails were sent to all families on Wednesday 4 October. If you missed the registration period and need to request a late registration for your daughter, please click here to complete a registration request. Please note that requests may take up to two weeks to process during busy periods and your daughter cannot begin participating until you have received confirmation of acceptance via email.

Monique Zahra

Head of Co-curricular Administration

Artistic Gymnastics

Artistic Gymnastics

NL1-10 State Challenge – Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 November
Sydney Gymnastics and Aquatic Centre

On Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 November, our Pymble gymnasts attended the State Challenge for 2023, representing Pymble in levels 1 to 10.  It was a lot of fun and students were able to showcase their routines in front of parents. This is the last time for 2023 we will attend the Sydney Gymnastics and Aquatic Centre, also bringing us to the end of the competition season for 2023. 

Well done to all Pymble gymnasts and we look froward to continuing our success in 2024.

Level 2

Karena Lu (Year 3)

Katherine Wang (Year 1)

Riya Samy (Year 3)

Sophia Thach (Year 1)

Charlene Wang (Year 3)

Olivia Yang (Year 1)

Amelia Chen (Year 2)

Audrey Conn (Year 2)

Aviana Faraz (Year 2)

Li-Ya Koo (Year 2)

Claire Lee (Year 2)

Ruby Shi (Year 1)

Eldora Xu (Year 1)

Yifei Zheng (Year 2)

Level 3

Maggie Li (Year 5)

Norah Liu (Year 3)

Monica Li (Year 3)

Olivia Xue (Year 2)

Freya Holland (Year 3)

Evelyn Hao (Year 3)

Level 4

Celine Chen (Year 8)

Clarice Chung (Year 4)

Scarlett Qiu (Year 4)

Aurora Lin (Year 4)

Lia Sloane (Year 3)

Olivia Wang (Year 5)

Level 5

Charlotte Elliot (Year 4)

Crystal Gui (Year 5)

Alice Liu (Year 5)

Miranda Wu (Year 6)

Level 6

Mia Micallef (Year 7)

Stella Pieterse (Year 6)

Level 7

Emma Baikie (Year 9)

Level 8

Amalia Bond (Year 7)

Siobhan Hsu (Year 9)

Alison Gestier

Head Coach – Artistic Gymnastics

Athletics and Cross Country

Athletics and Cross Country

It was great to see our Pymble athletes in action over the weekend. Some participated in the State Little A’s relays at Homebush, while others made the journey to Mingara on the Central Coast for the ANSW Treloar Shield competition.

For our Pymble athletes, Sybella Warton (Year 10), Georgia Phillips (Year 11) and Grace Townsend (Year 10), the racing experience serves as valuable preparation as they gear up for National Championships just a few weeks away.

At the State Little A’s event on the weekend, Eliza Lawton (Year 7) was awarded a certificate for her remarkable achievement last season of the Australian Best Performance in the 1500m. Her time of 4.31.08 is an exceptional time for any Secondary student but is truly remarkable for a 12 year old at the time of the race.

Several of our Pymble distance athletes are competing in the NSW Miler’s Meet this week in the 800m, 1500m and 2km Steeplechase. It’s always a great event running under lights. Good luck to all athletes.

Even as we approach the year’s end, maintaining our training momentum is crucial. Continuing with consistent training not only serves as excellent preparation for upcoming events, but also ensures we sustain both speed and fitness levels. This commitment will undoubtedly set all athletes up for a strong start to 2024.

Deb Walsham

Head Coach – Athletics and Cross Country

Cricket

Cricket

Schools Cup

On the afternoon of Friday 10 November, we took the pitch against Abbotsleigh in round 1 of the Northern Districts Cricket Schools Cup. This is the first year of this competition and it was exciting to see our Club cricketers represent the school.

Pymble were sent out to bat in the first innings. Willa Pearson (Year 7) and Varada Vinay (Year 8) demonstrated strong attacking cricket. Both students retired not out. Notable mentions also to Ava Christofides (Year 7) facing off against Abbotsleigh’s best bowler, surviving a barrage of tough deliveries. Abani Dhaliwal (Year 8), Charlotte Henderson (Year 8) and Jessica Spence (Year 8) batted extremely well, adding to our overall total of 139 runs.

With the ball in hand, Willa Pearson (Year 7), Varada Vinay (Year 8), Eloise Fisher (Year 8), Abani Dhaliwal (Year 8), Charlotte Henderson (Year 8), Jessica Spence (Year 8) and Miesha Gal (Year 7) took valuable wickets. Tia Pillai (Year 7) and Sophie Webster (Year 8) were electric in the field and Eloise Lawry (Year 6) was awesome behind the stumps as wicket keeper.  Well done to our Pymble cricketers!

At the conclusion of the game, Abbotsleigh were bowled out for 61 runs. Pymble will now take the pitch against Barker in round 2!

Saturday Cricket

Pymble 1 took on West Pennant Hills Cherrybrook Cricket Club (WPHCC) on the weekend in Cherrybrook. The team faced a very tough bowling attack, with special mentions to Dezi Magann-Jones (Year 10), Alice Mao (Year 9) and Tia Pillai (Year 7), contributing to our total score of 25 runs.

Unfortunately, the opposition were equally as tough batting and were able to chase down our total. Well done to Miesha Gal (Year 7) and Charlotte Henderson (Year 8) for strong bowling performances.

Pymble 2 took on WHPCC Stage 1 on the weekend at Fred Caterson reserve. Some very strong batting performances by Shereen Jawaad (Year 7), Eesha Adusumilli (Year 7), Olivia Pragassen (Year 7) and Sheryl Alexander (Year 7). After 20 overs, Pymble achieved a total of 73 runs.

In our bowling attack, notable mentions to Shereen Jawaad (Year 7) and Ashira Fonseka (Year 7) who were Pymble’s wicket takers! Despite the effort of our bowling attack, the opposition surpassed our total and achieved 107 runs.

Well done to all Pymble cricketers on an especially hot Saturday!

Jack Garrad

Sports Co-ordinator – Cricket

Diving

Diving

Diving Metropolitan Championships

Last weekend the Metropolitan Championships were held at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre (SOPAC).

This event is an opportunity to showcase skill level that our Pymble divers have developed throughout the season.

Congratulations to all divers who competed at this event and challenged themselves to their very best on the day.

Elite Junior B

Méa Shires (Year 9) – 1st 1m and 2nd 3m

16/18

Angela Xenofontos (Year 9) – 5th 1m and 4th 3m

14/15 1m

Leila Rich (Year 8) – 4th 1m

Rose Purcell (Year 7) – 6th 1m

Scarlett Martel (Year 7) – 8th 1m

12/13 1m

Lillie Oldfield (Year 6) – 5th

Sasha Dubrovina (Year 7) – 6th

Lera Dubrovina (Year 7) – 10th

11&U 1m

Zara Ware (Year 4) – 1st 1m

Jasmine Smith (Year 3) – 2nd 1m

Emily Long (Year 4) – 4th 1m

Emma Ware (Year 3) – 6th 1m

Pathways

Freya Holland (Year 3) – 1st Level 4

Zara Ware (Year 4) – 1st Level 3

Jasmine Smith (Year 3) – 4th Level 3

Lillian Ahlenstiel (Year 6) – 6th Level 3

ADiving holiday program will be offered to students in December and January for Competitive, Pathways and Vertical Fundive programs.

A reminder to our Pymble Competitive Divers that the next Interclub Competition is on Sunday 10 December in Newcastle, with registrations closing for this Competition on Thursday 7 December.

Chris Lang

Head Coach – Diving

Junior School Sport

Junior School Sport

Junior School Team of the Week

Congratulations to IPSHA Basketball Pymble 12 (Year 3), this week’s JS Team of the Week!

Pymble 12 emerged victorious in an exhilarating match, showcasing impressive skill and confidence. The team’s basketball prowess has notably improved throughout the season, with players demonstrating excellent ball control and fearlessness when shooting at goal. The team looked confident on the court, contributing to their well-deserved win. Congratulations to all students in Pymble 12 on their outstanding performance and continuous growth in basketball skills!

Kindergarten to Year 2 Swimming Carnival – Thursday 23 November

We wish to invite you to the K-2 Swimming Carnival which will be held on Thursday 23 November. This is a very special occasion for our students, and we hope that all parents are able to attend.  Please see details below for scheduled start and finishing times. Students will have either Blue, Red or White written in their student diary on Tuesday 21 November so parents will be aware of the zone in which they will be participating. This will also assist parents/carers in relation to the time their child will be swimming.

Pymble Blue Zone – 8.30am to 9.30am:  Year 1 and Year 2 25m events 

Pymble Red Zone – 9.30am to 10.30am: Year 1 and Year 2 16m eventsLTS Pool 

Pymble White Zone: 10.45am to 11.45am: 16m events (Learn to Swim pool) KD and KC 

Pymble White Zone: 11.45am to 12.45am: 16m events (Learn to Swim pool) KT and KA 

Please refer to the Parent Information posted on MyPymble for more information

Matt Tyson

Head of Sport – Kindergarten to Year 6

Pymble Elite Sportswomen’s Program

Pymble Elite Sportswomen’s Program

This term, Pymble Ladies’ College is delighted to have Samantha Dale on board as one of our esteemed Sports Co-ordinators. Sam is also assisting in the PESP space for Years 7 to 10. In PESP, Sam engages in mentoring conversations with our student-athletes, offering valuable insights, and assisting students with their Individual Performance Plans, focussing on both short and long-term performance goals. 

The article below looks at Sam’s journey, chronicling her rise from facing initial setbacks as an under-14s and 15s athlete at the NSW State Championships, where she didn’t make the top eight in long or triple jump. Through perseverance and hard work, Sam has evolved into a force in the world of Track and Field, representing Australia at World Championships and the Commonwealth Games. Sam has her sights set on an even greater goal. Currently she is navigating the path to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Sam’s journey is a testament to resilience, determination, and the relentless pursuit of excellence.” 

Read more about Sam’s inspiring journey by clicking here

Skye Halliday

Co-ordinator – Pymble Elite Sportswomen’s Program

Rowing

Rowing

MLC Rowing Regatta – “Together Everyone Achieves More”

Our team motto shone through brightly at the MLC Regatta on Saturday 11 November at Iron Cove, with the Pymble rowing team securing another phenomenal team result. From 33 entries, we achieved 14 Gold medals, 12 Silver medals and 2 Bronze medals. Thank you to all the parents on the balcony cheering on our Pymble rowers.

Seniors

The Senior Squad showed great adaptability and team spirit to secure a first and second place finish in the Schoolgirl Four event, achieving two second place finishes in the 1st and 2nd Eights. Well done Seniors!

Intermediates

The Intermediate Squad won the Year 10 Four event and had another strong showing in the Eight, coming second. Well done Inters!

Juniors

The Junior Squad started the day with three wins out of four in the Quad events, with the 3rd Quad pushing hard to the line achieving a close second. The squad competed in a second round of racing in Doubles and Single Sculls. Well done to Emily Englund (Year 8) who achieved the fastest time of 4:30.85. Well done Juniors!

Learn-to-Row

The Learn-to-Row (LTR) squad began with Double and Single Scull races, with all boats placing 1st or 2nd.  It was a very strong start from our youngest rowers on the team. The squad then combined into Quads for their second races of the day, achieving wins in the 1st and 2nd Quad events, and a hard fought 3rd place finish in the 3rd Quad Event. Well done LTR!

A special mention to Bella Legge-Hughes (Year 7) and Sophie Harris (Year 7) who won three events on the day, rowing up a Year group, as well as their own, to achieve this! Pictured above with the LTR 2nd Quad who also won their event.

Junior 2nd Quad – Olivia Norton (Year 8), Georgina Curtis (Year 8), Mia Sherry (Year 8), Lucy Simpson (Year 8) and Emily Bartrop

Senior 1st Eight – Carolina Yemma (Year 11), Annabel Shanahan (Year 10), Skye Pockley (Year 11), Mika Naito (Year 10), Erin Porter (Year 10), Holly Craig (Year 11), Alessandra Braysich (Year 11), Isabella Stalley (Year 10) and Lauren Gibson (Year 10)

Senior 2nd Eight – Fifi-Heazlewood Lee (Year 11), Ella Jones (Year 11), Ellie Hennesey (Year 10), Amy Zhang (Year 10), Caitlyn Bilney (Year 9), Mie Naito (Year 8), Celeste McDermott (Year 10), Madison Hodgetts (Year 10) and Erica Williams (Year 11)

Year 8 1st Quad – Emma Wang (Year 7), Savannah Lorimer (Year 7), Madison Landgrebe (Year 7), Rose Jones (Year 7) and Claudia Wyatt (Year 7)

Year 10 Four – Holly Hogan (Year 9), Anais McDonald (Year 9), Ella Willets (Year 9), Joanna Karelas (Year 9) and Mia Solomons (Year 9)

Lewis Gray

Sports Co-ordinator – Rowing

Swimming

Swimming

A Double Success in Academics and the Pool!

We’re thrilled to share exciting news about our accomplished student, Bella Zhang (Year 12)! Following her outstanding performance in the HSC, Bella took her talents to the NSW Swimming Target Squad Camp at the AIS in Canberra. Bella not only represented Pymble Ladies’ College with distinction but also returned with valuable insights for our swimmers.

Your dedication is a true inspiration to us all.

Michelle Thomas

Swimming Coach

Tennis

Tennis

A standing ovation to tennis champion Ashlee Narker (Year 12 2023) who has signed with Iowa State University on a full athlete scholarship. Iowa State Women’s Tennis Program finished the 2023 season ranked No. 8 in the final Division I ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. Ashlee will commence at Iowa State in January 2024.

Congratulations Ashlee! Thank you for all you have given to Pymble Tennis and we wish you all the best on your tennis journey.

Round 5 igsa Tennis results are listed below:

TeamOpponentResultScore
Pymble 01Ravenswood 1Win7 to 1
Pymble 02St Catherine’s 2Loss2 to 6
Pymble 03Ascham 3Loss1 to 7
Pymble 04MLC 2Draw4 to 4
Pymble 05Loreto Kirribilli 7Loss3.5 to 4.5
Pymble 06Ascham 8Win4.5 to 3.5
Pymble 07Loreto Normanhurst 4Loss2 to 6
Pymble 08Loreto Normanhurst 10Loss3 to 5
Pymble 09Queenwood 6Win8 to 0
Pymble 10PLS 4Win5 to 3
Pymble 11Wenona 12Win4.5 to 3.5
Pymble 12Wenona 13Loss3 to 5
Pymble 13Loreto Kirribilli 15Win5 to 3
Pymble 14Loreto Kirribilli 16Loss4 to 4 (27 to 29)
Pymble 15St Vincent’s 5Win4 to 4 (29 to 27)
Pymble 16Pymble 17Win7 to 1
Pymble 17Pymble 16Loss1 to 7
Pymble 18Monte 12Win6 to 2
Pymble 19Abbotsleigh 8Loss0.5 to 7.5
Pymble 20St Vincent’s 7Win8 to 0
Pymble 21Monte 14Win7 to 1
Pymble 22Roseville 22Loss3 to 5
Pymble 23Loreto Normanhurst 23Win8 to 0

Jufri Foss

Sports Co-ordinator – Tennis

Touch Football

Touch Football

The touch football season for our Pymble touch footballers has been an exhilarating ride, filled with spirited matches that have showcased both the team’s strengths and areas for growth. Across various divisions, Pymble teams have engaged in thrilling encounters, embodying the essence of sportsmanship and resilience. The dedication and sportsmanship displayed by all Pymble teams throughout the weekend really set the stage for growth and success for the final weeks to come.

DivisionPymble TeamOpponent Results
S01Pymble 1Ascham 11 to 2
S01Pymble 1Ravenswood 10 to 9
S03Pymble 2Tara 12 to 2
S04Pymble 3Monte 30 to 3
S06Pymble 4Frensham 43 to 8
S06Pymble 5Ravenswood 31 to 6
S07Pymble 6Wenona 58 to 1
S08Pymble 7Monte 45 to 6
S08Pymble 8Queenwood 23 to 3
S09Pymble 9Loreto Normanhurst 76 to 2
S10Pymble 10PLC Sydney 30 to 6
S11Pymble 11Ravenswood 58 to 0
S12Pymble 12Ravenswood 64 to 4
J02Pymble 13Ravenswood 76 to 6
J03Pymble 14Roseville 76 to 5
J05Pymble 15Abbotsleigh 124 to 2
J06Pymble 16PLC Sydney 73 to 5
J07Pymble 17Brigidine 133 to 3
J09Pymble 18PLC Sydney 87 to 5
Y701Pymble 19Monte 105 to 4
Y705Pymble 20Wenona 223 to 2

Samantha Dale

Sports Administrator Assistant

Volleyball

Volleyball

On Saturday 11 November, our Pymble Volleyballers competed in Round 5 of the 2023 Santa Sabina Invitational Volleyball Competition. Pymble 1 dominated their match against PLC Sydney, winning 3 to 0. Despite having only six players, the team showcased their skills and remained undefeated with only two weeks left in the competition. Pymble 3 and Pymble 7 had competitive matches last weekend and worked together as a team to secure a 2 to 1 victory.

Team Opponent Result Score 
Pymble 1 PLC Sydney 1Win 3 to 0 
Pymble 2 MLC 2Loss 1 to 2
Pymble 3 Meriden 4Win 2 to 1
Pymble 4 Meriden 5 Loss 0 to 3 
Pymble 5 Meriden 6 Loss 1 to 2 
Pymble 6 OLMC 3 Loss 0 to 2 
Pymble 7 Brigidine 7 Win 2 to 1 
Pymble 8  SSC 16Loss 0 to 3 

Week 4 Most Valuable Players

Pymble 1 – Caitlin Costello (Year 11) 

Pymble 2 – Finley Saghaie (Year 11)

Pymble 3 – Chloe Lam (Year 8) 

Pymble 4 – Sophie Lin (Year 9) 

Pymble 5 – Olivia Choi (Year 9) 

Pymble 6 – Angela Chen (Yar 8) 

Pymble 7 – Haylee Lam (Year 7) 

Pymble 8 – Chloe Cheung (Year 7)

Week 4 MIPs 

Pymble 1 – Ruthia Moore (Year 10) 

Pymble 2 – Marissa Zhou (Year 10)

Pymble 3 – Camille Xiao (Year 8) 

Pymble 4 – Isabella Pak (Year 9) 

Pymble 5 – Sophie Zheng (Year 9) 

Pymble 6 – Yilin Xie (Year 9) 

Pymble 7 – Emma Sim (Year 7) 

Pymble 8 – Yuna Shin (Year 7)

Senior First Report – Caitlin Costello (Year 11) 

Pymble 1 had an extremely successful weekend with a score of 3 to 0! With only six players taking the Court, we managed victory over PLC Sydney, achieving a score in the final set 25 to 2. Although this weekend was a sweeping success, it’s important to reflect on how we are constantly improving, as we want to present our best volleyball as Nationals draws closer.

Consistently reflecting on learning, even in games where we were overall successful, will build our ability to precisely identify our errors in future, more difficult matches. Our main challenge was serving, where most points the opposition gained were from our own mistakes. Becoming more consistent with serves will increase our offensive ability and keep our rhythm going.

In addition, the team employed the use of nicknames (ie ‘Gnarly Carly’) boosting team morale and keep things fun. It’s always important to invent new ways of keeping the team connected. Despite the pressure put on Pymble 1 to perform at our best, it’s good to remember that we ultimately joined volleyball to have fun, and that’s what we should continue to do. Pymble 1 will continue to work harder to perform our best and show our true Pymble Pride.

Chris Wood

Sports Co-ordinator – Volleyball

Water Polo

Water Polo

On Saturday 11 November, igsa water polo finished off round 5 strong.  

Pymble has three teams currently sitting in top four position leading into the last two rounds of the season. 

Well done to all teams – keep up the great work and let’s finish the season with a bang! 

Congratulations to all Pymble water polo players who competed in Canberra over the weekend playing multiple games across Friday 10 November to Sunday 12 November as part of the Canberra Cup competition.  Students below competed in their respected club teams battling it out for gold:

Lucinda Middleton (Year 10), Kiera Mironova (Year 10), Zara Cooke (Year 9), Charlee Fleming (Year 9), Phoebe Roberts (Year 9), Tessa Gregory-Reid (Year 9) Eleanor Rowe (Year 7) and Emma Roberts (Year 7). 

Please see results below.

U17 Division 1

First – Drummoyne Devils: Lucinda Middleton (Year 10) 

Second – Sydney Uni Lions: Kiera Mironova (Year 10)

Third – Sydney Northern Beaches:  Zara Cooke (Year 9)

U17 Division 2

First – Drummoyne Devils: Charlee Fleming (Year 9)

U14 Division 2

Second-Sydney Northern Beaches:  Eleanor Rowe (Year 7) and Emma Roberts (Year 7). 

Well done achieving these results! 

Brigette Moore

Head Coach – Water Polo

From the Co-curricular Performing Arts Team

From the Co-curricular Performing Arts Team

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Language Arts

Language Arts

Language Arts Picnic Day 

Thanks to all who supported our Language Arts picnic on Tuesday 7 November on Gloucester Lawn. Thanks to our Captains and Language Arts Parent Support team for all your assistance in making this a reality! We raised over $600 for Debating workshops. 

International Debating Championships (IDC) 

We have now reached the finals of IDC this Friday. Teams will be notified if through. We are still awaiting notification. 

Social Debating classes 

Our Social debaters visited Abbotsleigh recently for some fun, social debates. Well done to all Debaters, especially those who spoke in their first interschool debate. Thanks to our adjudicators and to the older students who supported the Juniors. 

Model United Nations (MUN) 

Please note that an LA coach will be available this Thursday to escort students to and supervise students at KMUN. Please note that students are to be picked up from Knox.  

Pymble Model UN runs in DK05 and DK06 every Monday lunch time – all we welcome.

Pymble MUN Tour 

We have had a wonderful response to expressions of interest for the January 2025 Language Arts tour to London, Bruges, Amsterdam and The Hague. We plan to attend THIMUN at The Hague. Details can still be obtained from Travel@Pymblelc.nsw.edu.au 

THIMUN application letters were due this week.  

UN Voice of Youth Public Speaking 

Pymble hosted a heat on Friday 20 October. Results have been emailed to students. Congratulations to students who are through to the next round. 

Secondary School Debating Auditions 

Thank you to the many Year 6 students from outside schools who auditioned following Links Day. 

Pymble Year 6 to 11 auditions, sincere apologies for any confusion caused by revised audition dates. 

Auditions will take place from 3.30pm to 5.15pm in the Colonnade classrooms. Please bring pens and paper/palm cards and your afternoon tea and meet in C10. 

2024 Year 8: Wednesday 15 November 

2024 Year 8: Thursday 16 November 

2024 Year 12: Friday 17 November 

2024 Year 9: Wednesday 22 November 

2024 Year 10: Thursday 23 November 

2024 Year 11: Friday 24 November 

2024 Year 7: Tuesday 21 November. Please meet in the Junior School Library after school and you will be escorted to C10. You will need pens/paper and a water bottle and packed afternoon tea. 

Make up auditions and call backs will commence on the week commencing 27 November. Students needed for call backs will be emailed. 

Junior School Debating Auditions 

Please see Ms Itzcovitz in Junior School regarding any issues relating to Debating in Year 6, for 2024. 

Bronwyn Hubbard

Head of Language Arts

Music

Music

Congratulations to the following students

Katherine Macpherson – Grade 4 Musicianship – High Distinction – A+ 

Adele Cassidy – Grade 3 Saxophone – High Distinction – A+

Mea McBurney – Grade 2 Saxophone – Honours – A

Sarah Quan – Grade 3 Saxophone – Honours – A

Zara Sandham – Grade 3 Saxophone – Honours – A

Annabel Taylor – Grade 5 Saxophone – Honours – A

Zarina Nurlanov – Year 10 was awarded the Valued Recitalist Award on Sunday at the Theme and Variations Emerging Artists concert.

Secondary Ensemble Concert – 6.30pm, 22 November

The final Ensemble Concert for 2023 will be held on Wednesday 22 November at 6.30pm in the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts. This is a ticketed event (free of charge) and tickets can be purchased here.

This is a compulsory event for all students involved in the ensemble program. Students must wear the red performance jacket, BLACK pants, BLACK shoes, BLACK socks with neat hair and the performance ribbon. If you need a jacket, T-shirt, or ribbon, please see Gladys in the Music office on the ground floor of the Music Building.

Rehearsals for the week of the Concert are listed below – please note the change of time that was different to the notice on the portal for Chamber Strings. If students are not at the time allocated for the sound check, or do not let the conductor know if they aren’t able to make it, they will not have a seat on stage for the performance.

Monday
20 November
6.50am to 7.30amSchool Concert Band (Ms Ashton)
7.30am to 8.05amSenior String Orchestra (Mrs Turner and Mr Rossman)
5.30pm to 6.30pmPymble Chorale (Mr Schweinberger)
Tuesday
21 November
6.50am to 8.05amMiddle School Concert Band (Ms Zeltzer)
3.30pm to 4.30pmSenior Jazz Ensemble (Ms Ashton)
Wednesday
22 November
6.50am to 7.30amSymphonic Wind Ensemble (Mr Stafford)
7.30am to 8.05amSchool Choir (Mrs Bruce)
12.45pm to 1.30pmChamber Strings (Mrs Colbey)
4.00pm to 4.30pmStage Band (Mr Stafford)
4.30pm to 5.00pmSenior Jazz Ensemble (Ms Ashton)
5.00pm to 5.30pmSchool Concert Band (Ms Ashton)
5.30pm to 6.00pmSenior String Orchestra (Mrs Turner and Mr Rossman)
6.00pmDOORS OPEN

Climate Change Event – Choir, 2 December

Please read the notice that is on the portal:

What your daughter needs to do:

  • Learn their part of the music (this will be done during rehearsals too)
  • Be available on Saturday 2 December 2023 for the live recording, starting at 3.30pm
  • Saturday 2 December 2023: Arrive at the College at 12.00pm to be on a bus to Dawes Point, Wharf 2/3, Hickson Road. The event will conclude by 4.00pm and we aim to be back to Pymble by 4.45pm
  • Dress code is smart casual in earthy tones. Wear closed shoes please
  • Bring water and a snack
  • Bring music

If you would like to collect your daughter from Dawes Point, please email musicadmin@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

Please log in to MyPymble to access the event and provide your permission by Monday 20 November, as well as registering officially at Earthkind

College Carols Service, 3 December

All students involved in the Junior Jazz, Senior Jazz, Stage Band, Choir, Chorale, Capella, Pizzicato, Piccoline, and Symphony Orchestra are required to be at this event. Details will be communicated through the portal; soundchecks will begin at 2.00pm.

Red Performance jackets, black pants, black shoes and black socks are to be worn. Christmas “bling” is permitted for this event.

Speech Day, 6 December

All students involved in Symphony Orchestra, Chorale and all of Year 7 will be performing at this event. Rehearsals will be held throughout the day on Tuesday 5 December, and all students in Symphony Orchestra and Chorale must be at the gym by 6.50am on Wednesday 6 December. Year 7 are to arrive no later than 7.30am

Please note the rehearsal times listed below:

Tuesday 5 DecemberLunch / MBS 1.00pm to 3.20pmMusicians: (Orchestra and Chorale)
Tuesday 5 December Period 5 2.20pm to 3.20pmYear 7 Music RehearsalAll Year 7 students
Wednesday 6 December 6.50am to 8.00amFinal music rehearsalAll Year 7 students Musicians: (Orchestra and Chorale)

Sarah Turner

Head of Music

You’re invited: ‘Winning’s a Lousy Teacher’ Presentation

You’re invited: ‘Winning’s a Lousy Teacher’ Presentation

Pymble Ladies’ College is excited to announce that they will be hosting a presentation/workshop “Winning’s a Lousy Teacher” by Dan Haesler on Thursday 23 November from 5.00pm to 6.00pm in the Jobson Lecture Theatre, in the Kate Mason Senior School. There will be an opportunity for Q&A after the workshop. Students and parents will explore how mindset impacts their approach to sports and life. They’ll learn strategies to nurture their mental game, handle setbacks and enhance performance.

Dan Haesler is a performance coach with a wide range of clients, including elite athletes and corporate leaders. The workshop is open to students in Year 7 to 12 and their parents who represent Pymble in a sports or co-curricular team. There is limited space, so click here to RSVP by Friday 17 November.

Vision Valley Summer Holiday Camps – Bookings now open!

Vision Valley Summer Holiday Camps – Bookings now open!

Places are filling fast for the two holiday camps over the coming break.

The camps are open to Pymble students, their friends, and siblings (girls and boys) who are in Years 3 to 6 in 2023 and 2024.

Camp 1 – Monday 11 to Wednesday 13 December

Camp 2 – Monday 15 to Friday 19 January

December is the last opportunity for the current Year 6 students to spend time with their friends at our popular holiday camps while you get ready for the Christmas rush!

We have lots of great activities planned including our new archery tag, and outdoor cinema, our nocturnal nature walks and myo pizza in our new pizza oven.

Bookings are strictly limited and allocated on receipt of payment.

Click here to book – don’t miss out!

Reminder – Term 4 Pymble bus service – register now

Reminder – Term 4 Pymble bus service – register now

A reminder to parents to register your daughter for the Pymble private bus service for travel during Term 4 if you have not already done so and check that your daughter has her current student ID card to tap on and off each trip.

In Term 4, the bus service will operate from Tuesday 10 October to Wednesday 6 December 2023. 

Please check the bus stops and times for your preferred bus route. This will also be attached to your registration confirmation email as per normal.   

Registration for the Pymble bus service is offered on a term-by-term basis, in two formats:

  1. Term registration enables the student to access the bus service every day in the morning and afternoon. The charge is currently set at $430.00 per term.
  1. Flexible registration enables the student to register for specific day(s) with a choice of morning and/or afternoon runs. The charge is currently set at $7.50 per trip.

A reminder for parents and students:      

  • Student ID cards must be used to tap on and tap off each trip. If your daughter has lost her card, please contact College Services for a replacement form. The cost for a replacement card is $15, charged to your College account.
  • Pymble buses can be tracked through the TransportMe Passenger app in real-time using the free app, available on Android and Apple devices.    

Please contact College Services via collegeservices@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au if you have any further questions about transport to and from Pymble Ladies’ College.

Get your copy of The Pymble Pantry!

Get your copy of The Pymble Pantry!

A few months ago, Community Engagement put the call out to the Pymble community to submit your favourite recipes to feature within a College cookbook, and after an enthusiastic response and outpouring of contributions, we’re thrilled to announce The Pymble Pantry is now available to download for just $9.95!

Inspired by Lucinda Woodfield (Year 11), the 2023 Food Technology Captain, The Pymble Pantry is a crème de la crème, digital collection of over 100 recipes, crafted with passion and brought to you by the talented students, staff and parents of Pymble Ladies’ College.

Within these deliciously curated chapters, you’ll embark on a journey through the kitchen of our talented, cooking-savvy contributors, with each recipe a testament to the rich tapestry of flavours, techniques and cultural influences that shape our vibrant community. From classic comfort foods to exotic masterpieces, you are sure to find something to make your taste buds tango.

But this cookbook is about more than just good food – it’s about making a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. As a part of the College’s 2023 Pymble Gives Back initiative, every cent generated from the sale of The Pymble Pantry will be divided evenly and donated to two amazing charities: Dignity and The Smith Family.

So, whether you’re a seasoned chef, an aspiring home cook or simply someone who loves enjoying a good meal, through The Pymble Pantry, we invite you to open your own pantry and experience the tastes of Pymble for yourself – all while contributing to the betterment of the lives of those doing it tough.

Click here to purchase your copy of The Pymble Pantry today!