From the Principal
We are getting close to the finish line now, but there are no signs of slowing down at Pymble. On Sunday night, when Matt and I hosted our final Boarding dinner for 2024 with our delightful Year 9 Boarders, we asked what was coming up ahead for the girls this week. “We’re just focusing on getting to the end of the term” was their tired but happy answer. Just quietly, I suspect all students, parents and staff are feeling the same. It has been a typically action-packed year and, while our batteries may be signalling for a recharge, it’s not quite time to take our foot off the accelerator yet. Certainly, there was no slowing down for our K-2s at their Swimming Carnival today. Great job, girls! I was so proud watching you jump in and have a go with determination and focus – well done!
Speaking of fast-paced and exciting journeys, congratulations to our 700+ incredible dancers from K-11 – along with our amazing Dance staff, theatre team, and many helpers – for seven sensational showcases that ran from last Wednesday until Saturday. Such an epic effort from all involved, and so much talent up on that stage and in the wings. Our annual Dance showcase is a gift to our community; thank you to all who help to deliver this gift with so much passion, commitment and love.
Back to our dinner table for a moment, I wanted to share the essence of another conversation with our Year 9 Boarders last Sunday. The subject was the Year 9 Vision Valley Residential Program, sparked by the fact that many of the girls had just returned from the final program for 2024.
The girls couldn’t speak highly enough about the positive impact this program had on them, especially the technology detox separating them from their phones for four weeks. They also reflected on how living on site and being allocated to different ‘kin groups’ for learning and expeditions encouraged them to get to know girls they didn’t have a connection with previously, and to have faith in themselves that they can do hard things and grow from these experiences. It was gratifying to share this feedback with staff at our weekly Monday briefing this week, as there is a great deal of work involved in managing all the moving pieces of this program from a curricular and co-curricular perspective, not to mention all the residential aspects managed by the Vision Valley team. Most of all, it was incredibly affirming to hear the girls articulate in their own words how they are building strength of character and Emotional Intelligence through this ground-breaking program, which of course has always been our vision for ‘The Valley’.
On that note, wishing our Year 8 dads and daughters a fabulous time at the overnight camp at The Valley on the weekend. The weather looks set to be perfect and, as you can see, the new fire pit area is ready and waiting for you!
Wise Phones have landed!
Looking back on our Vision Valley journey, from the acquisition of the site in 2020 to the creation of our Outdoor Education Continuum and the launch of our tech-free Year 9 Residential Program, reminds me of where we stand now with our Wise Phone initiative. Once again, the College is digging deep into our collective values of care, courage and responsibility by daring to lead in a new direction for the wellbeing of our students.
It is with enormous relief that the story about our Wise Phone initiative in Monday’s Sydney Morning Herald was received in the spirit with which it was shared. We have been heartened by the responses and inquiries from other schools and hope to see more families and communities join us in delaying access to smartphones and social media for their children until they are mature enough to do so safely, wisely and with respect for all. A huge thank you to Jessica, Grace, Katarina, Audrey and Arin in Year 9 for demonstrating great courage and integrity as ambassadors for this pioneering initiative.
As this newsletter lands in your inbox or app, approximately 1000 Pymble parents and students in Years 6, 7 and 8 (2025) will be arriving at the College for the official distribution of their Wise Phones and a ‘handover’ of any smartphones these will replace. The excitement of our girls and overwhelmingly positive response and feedback from their families tells us that, once again, we are pioneering in the right direction.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for ‘coming to the party’ with us on this one.
Windows into Learning
It’s happened again! Our shining teaching stars have aligned by submitting Windows into Learning that reflect a common theme of teaching and learning in the great outdoors at our two beautiful campuses, Pymble and Vision Valley. Enjoy!
‘Spirit of Place’: exploring our natural surroundings with Year 6
For the last couple of weeks, Year 6 students have been learning about two artists, John Wolseley and Andy Goldsworthy. Both explore the landscape and connect with nature in unique ways to create their artworks. Taking inspiration from their art practices, we took our first lesson outside to gather and document first-hand the textures and objects that are in our beautiful grounds. Back in the classroom, we used some of our collected materials as inspiration to sketch and paint with watercolour, looking closely at texture, line and tonal qualities of the natural materials. Next, the girls got messy, using some of their collected materials to explore making one-off prints with Gel plate.
Exploring such an array of techniques and materials, students have gathered a collection of small works that they will now layer and collage together to create a final assemblage artwork. We can’t wait to see how they use their pieces to create a masterpiece next week!
Mrs Emily Gregory
Junior School Visual Arts teacher
Seasonal science with Year 9 at The Valley
This year, Year 9 students on the four-week Residential Program at the Valley are using world-leading technology to do real-time DNA sequencing of methylotrophs, thanks to an exciting partnership with Quantal BioScience. Methylotrophs are microorganisms that reduce one-carbon compounds such as methane, and remarkably could be found on leaves of native trees at Vision Valley.
Students collected leaf samples and cultured methylotrophs on agar plates. These appear as vibrant colours including rosy, blush or coral pinks, pale yellow or cream. From these cultures, the girls used nanopore sequencing to read 2.3 billion DNA bases in just seven hours. This is almost the equivalent of the entire human genome and if this was written down on paper it might reach from Vision Valley to Pymble.
Our adventurers have pioneered world-first community research into methylotrophs, including discovering possible new species, exploring methylotrophs native to Australia, and sparking research questions that will be taken on by future adventurers (and real-life scientists).
Mrs Vanessa Petersen
Deputy Head of Campus – Vision Valley
