From the Principal
And that’s a wrap. Well done, exhale and take a bow. Thank you to our students, staff and families for giving your best and giving back to others in so many ways in Term 3. It’s been a Pymble Proud kind of term. So many highlights across Kindergarten to Year 12, but this week belongs to our Class of 2023, who we officially farewelled today.
It can be hard to imagine your own child at the end of their school journey, especially when they are in the Junior School or still have several years to travel as a Secondary student. But suddenly you arrive at this point, and it feels like time really is slipping through our fingers, as our Pymbellas (Boarders’ choir) reminded us so beautifully in their rendition of the ABBA ballad in their final Boarders’ Chapel Service with Year 12 last week. Farewelling Year 12 is a reminder to us all that each day with our children is a gift, and to cherish every moment we have with them.
One of the many ways we celebrate the end of our students’ Pymble journey is an Honouring Ceremony where Compass teachers reflect on their unique qualities, gifts and talents of each student in their care. Our girls are fortunate to have the continuity of Compass teachers who travel with their group throughout the years – our Year 12 Compass groups have grown with and supported one another for the last four years, and it was so beautiful to hear the genuine and heartfelt reflections from their teachers this week.
This continuity is intentional. In the past four and a half years, we have made significant changes to the wellbeing structure across the College, including more than doubling staffing in this area. At the core of these changes – and other initiatives throughout the College, including our K-12 House structure and the Year 9 Residential Program – is our aim to build belonging and connectedness, the two traits linked most tightly to resilience. We are incredibly proud of the dividends we are seeing in terms of student wellbeing, and very grateful to our staff who give so much of themselves to enable all girls to have a wonderful experience at Pymble.
Of course, we also celebrated our graduates in a Final Assembly, Chapel Service and Speech Day awards ceremony, which were held today, followed by the Valedictory Dinner tonight. A very special congratulations to all our award and prize recipients, including:
The School Prize – Abigail Ballhausen and Wynter O’Regan
The Marden Prize – Jessie Xie
Dux of the School – Sophia Gao and Angie Wang
This is the first year in goodness knows how long where we have been unable to separate two students for two of the major awards – what a wonderful predicament to be in, and what a testament to the calibre of our students, and teaching and learning at Pymble. Special congratulations also go to Helen Nguyen who achieved an unprecedented first – early entry to The University of Sydney, based on her outstanding academic record and accomplishments.
Thank you, Year 12, for being who you are, in all your glory, and the kind of people we want in our corner, in good times and in times of challenge. Your 2023 theme for the school was the perfect choice. You’ve got a friend in me showed up in your everyday actions as you demonstrated the power of true friendship and the strength that is found in unity, much like Buzz, Woody and their gang in the Toy Story series. You have absolutely been a year group that has lived the lyrics “We stick together and can see it through, ‘cause you’ve got a friend in me.” And, just as we watched Andy in the Toy Story series grow from childhood into adulthood, so too have we had the joy of watching our Class of 2023 grow into influential and compassionate young adults who we hope will always feel that they belong and are connected with our Pymble family throughout the years ahead. While they will always have friends in us here at Pymble, we will miss them dearly.
Say hello to our HOLAs
As a non-selective high-performing school, where every student is encouraged to reach their potential in their own unique way, we are proud to offer a K-12 team of specialist teachers who assist our community in the areas of diverse learning, literacy, numeracy, and English as an additional language/dialect. Our Head of Learning Enhancement K-12, Lora Lim, leads this incredibly important team. Mrs Lim was a Pymble parent before she became a Pymble teacher and subsequently has two Pymble graduates of her own, all of which serves to make her feel “part of our community for a long time.”
Lora, what was the ‘aha’ moment that led you into teaching?
“When I was in Year 7, a school friend asked me to help at a vacation care program for children with severe disabilities. At the end of a confronting first day, and sporting a chipped front tooth, I felt I had made a mistake and didn’t want to return. However, I had made a promise to my friend and needed to see the week out. By the end of the holiday program, I had learned so much about different ways of seeing the world that I decided that I wanted to be a teacher in the area of diverse needs.”
What is the most rewarding aspect of the work you do here?
“There are so many things that I enjoy in my work at Pymble – the energy and the ideas of the students, amazing colleagues, and a professionally curious and incredibly dedicated Learning Enhancement team. Our community is also very supportive. We have a wonderful group of parents who volunteer to act as readers and writers for exams. They willingly give up so many hours of their time to help our students achieve their best. One of the fabulous things about being a Learning Enhancement teacher is the relationship that you develop with students –you get to know their educational journey and have a deep appreciation of, and joy in, their moments of personal growth.”
What are you most proud of achieving as a Pymble HOLA?
“I am proud to be part of a strong team of caring Learning Enhancement professionals across the K-12 landscape who are always looking to hone their craft.”
“One area that I am passionate about is developing one’s self-concept and sense of agency as a learner, particularly for those who may learn a little differently from others. It’s not an achievement as yet – more a work in progress – but I am pleased about the movement our Learning Enhancement team is making towards increasing student voice in this area. One example of this is involving students as co-creators of their individual adjustment plans.”
Work aside, tell us a fun fact about you…
“It’s a little bit gross, but, when I was a young child, I used to go prawning with my dad and take a live prawn home for a nap. The sea remains my happy place (although I leave the prawns in peace now).”
Finish this sentence: If I could impart one life lesson to our students, it would be…
“Don’t spend too much time stressing about choices and worrying about which one is the best fit because there’s not always a right and wrong choice or one clear winner. Instead, dive in and redirect that energy into making your choice work for you.”
Hopefully, you are loving these fun facts as much as I am. Mr Stafford’s Mozart Maulers video from last week was a hard act to follow, but naptime with a raw prawn is in a league of its own! Thank you, Lora, for the wonderful work you do with our students and for sharing a little piece of your story with us.
As we head into the spring holidays, wishing all in our Pymble family a happy, safe and restful break, until we meet again for the first day of Term 4 for students, Tuesday 10 October.
