From the Principal

Today happens to be our 108^th birthday – happy birthday, dear Pymble. 🎶  

Each year we celebrate the anniversary of our very first day of teaching and learning, Monday 8 February 1916, by welcoming former students back to Pymble to connect with our current students and share their experiences. It’s a day when we acknowledge our proud history, express gratitude for the exciting work we are doing now and look forward to our future achievements.

Among our ex-student guests at this week’s Foundation Day Service was Mrs Margaret Coleman OAM (1945), whose mother was one of the first 60 students who began her time with us on that first day back in 1916. Margaret is also a proud Pymble girl who has continued to be of service to our community throughout her life, having written several books on the history of Pymble and been actively involved in the College for decades, in addition to being awarded an OAM in 2006 for services to youth.

We also welcomed back Mrs Carolyn Hum (White, 1962), mother of our Alumni Relations manager Mrs Katrina Corcoran (Hum, 1987) and grandmother to recent ex-students Madison (2019) and Sophie Corcoran (2019). A fun fact, and one that shows the extent of her family’s ties to Pymble: Mrs Hum’s aunt and great aunt were also Pymble girls, and her great grandfather Alfred Graham designed and constructed the Marden Gates at the front of the College on Avon Road.

And our inspirational guest speaker this year was Felicity McVay (Carr, 1995), also accompanied by her wonderful mum, Suzanne Carr, who holds her own claim to Pymble fame, which will be revealed in just a moment.

Felicity was an enthusiastic and accomplished contributor to all aspects of Pymble life as a student and has since enjoyed an equally diverse and impressive career – as a lawyer, as Global Head of Content at Tik Tok, as a children’s book author and, more recently, as a film producer. She spoke to our girls about the importance of reframing ‘failures’ as growth experiences, and the role of our College value, Courage, in shaping who she is today.  

“Pymble ranks among the top schools for rowing today…but I’m here to tell you it wasn’t always like that,” Felicity said.

She went on to explain that, aside from having no boat and no boat shed, the rowing team in her day was lucky to place second-last at races that nobody came to support. At one race on Penrith River, she recalled, the steering broke and their old, borrowed boat crashed into the riverbank, much to the amusement of those assembled for the next race.

“They laughed at us all the time and sometimes the boys would taunt us by saying, ‘Go back to your sewing’.

“It was embarrassing and there were plenty of moments where we cried and got mad and felt like giving up. But we didn’t give up. We hung in there, we kept training, we got fitter, we worked on our technique, and through the fundraising efforts of my mum and other parents we were able to purchase our first boat.”

The team started to enjoy a few wins, made it to Nationals (which they didn’t win) and formed a strong friendship that still stands today.

“Where we did win was in having the courage to try something new and to push against the tradition of rowing being primarily a sport for boys. We kept showing up even when it was hard, and now rowing is part of the school culture and part of the fabric of life here at Pymble and also in girls’ schools more broadly.”

Last weekend, our Pymble Rowers had a spectacular two days of competition on Penrith River and brought home a swag of medals. Foundation Day is a wonderful reminder that our community stands on the shoulders of the students, staff and families who come before us; people who have worked tirelessly to ensure, that for generations to follow, the reputation of Pymble Ladies’ College will hold our students in good stead as they make their way through school and on to change the world.

Happy birthday, Pymble!

Construction of GHP is about to begin!

This week marked another milestone for the College, with today’s ceremonial turning of the soil to mark the start of construction of our highly anticipated Grey House Precinct (GHP) – the first major project in our Master Plan schedule. Upon completion in 2025, GHP will become home to our Junior School girls in Years 5 and 6, our dancers, our Junior School STEM and Robotics champions, our Health Care team and Psychologists, families who access our Out of School Hours Care and, as if that’s not impressive enough, it will also be home to our new Early Years School for 0-5s.

As with each of our Master Plan projects, this new precinct is about our girls and for our girls. Your daughters are the sole reason we are committed to improving facilities at the College. Our mission is to deliver strategic projects that amplify each student’s ability to grow into her greatness and help us to attract and retain the best staff who want to work at Pymble with our amazing girls in our world-class facilities. Naturally, we will take every opportunity to utilise each project, including the GHP, as a real-life opportunity for students to learn about engineering and construction, much as we did with the new Junior School Administration building completed last year.

A huge thank you to our students, staff and parents who shared today’s soil turning ceremony with us, along with members of our Pymble Foundation, the group newly formed to oversee fundraising for our building projects, and some of our generous donors who have contributed to the GHP project. It was very special to share this significant moment in College history with some of the students who will benefit from this enhancement to our campus as well as the wonderfully generous members of our Pymble family who are helping to make it happen. I couldn’t be more Pymble Proud of our student representatives, Emily Rothery (Year 11), Arin Sadananda (Year 4) and Violet Li (Year 3), who spoke so beautifully about what the GHP will mean for our girls. ❤️ 💙

As our Master Plan program continues to progress, and to ensure each project comes to life in a timely fashion, we are relying on the assistance of financial support from our community. To that extent, we are currently recruiting for an experienced Director of Philanthropy who is as passionate and committed about realising our vision for the future of Pymble as we are.

If you or someone you know would be interested in finding out more about this newly created role to lead philanthropy within our community, please click here to review the position description and to connect directly with the recruitment company. We love it when friends and family members Think Pymble when it comes to rewarding career opportunities, so if this sounds like your next career move, please don’t be shy, we’d love to hear from you.

Welcome to Windows into Learning

Last year, it was my great pleasure to dedicate a section of this weekly column to showcase our incredible Heads of Learning Areas. This year, I am excited to share this space with some of our amazing teachers across all year groups and subjects at the College to celebrate the wonderful work they do with your daughters. Please enjoy these Windows into Learning at Pymble.

Year 1 Mathematics

“For little learners, the key to developing effective numeracy starts with creative, interesting, engaging tasks that use all their senses as channels for learning before they begin to calculate. In Year 1, our students rotate through various maths stations focused on adding numbers using different tools like tens frames, dice, hundred charts, and base ten blocks. At the base ten blocks station, girls stack and rearrange blocks, experimenting with different combinations to represent two-digit numbers and adding them together to find the total. With each manipulation, they gain a tactile understanding of place value and regrouping, solidifying their grasp of addition. It’s such a joy to see their faces light up as they confidently solve challenging addition problems using the various tools provided.”

Mrs Hilary Alo-Emile
Junior School Year 1 Compass Teacher

Year 9 Science

“Our challenge was to create an earthquake-proof building with a set of parameters and paper straws, cardboard, string, glue, paper clips, and copper wire. In groups, we had to find different ways of creating the most stable buildings, while overcoming many road bumps along the way. Once our buildings were completed, we tested whether each storey could hold small weights. But the biggest challenge was seeing if the building would still stand after the trolley it was on was shaken to imitate an earthquake. This task helped us to understand the possible impacts of earthquakes on buildings, and which types of infrastructure could best withstand them. We gained teamwork skills from collaborating with others and problem-solving skills from resolving the issues in our buildings – and we had a lot of fun.”

Laranya Nanthakumaran (Year 9 Science student) with Science Teacher, Ms Jessica Budden

Have a wonderful week – and remember to secure your tickets to another much-loved Pymble tradition, our Icebreaker social event at the College on Friday 1 March. This is a wonderful opportunity for our new and returning families to connect with other parents, carers, staff and members of our College Board. I look forward to seeing you there.

From the Junior School

From the Head of Junior School

Our girls as change makers

I am so proud of the number of girls who have written to me over the last week suggesting clubs and activities they would like to lead and manage for our Junior School including a maths club, K-Pop dance club, wellbeing club, paper recycling club and a book club. It takes courage, creativity and organisational skills to plan a club you would like to lead. Most impressive is the fact that three of the girls wanting to lead new clubs are students who joined our Junior School this year! 

Celebrating our Year 6 leaders

This week we inducted our Year 6 cohort as the leaders of our Junior School and their determination to lead by example is already evident. Ms Davenport and her team are working with the girls to think about the footprint or impact they want to leave as their legacy at the end of this year. Congratulations Year 6 and continue to shine by living our Values every day in all you do!

Empowering our learners through healthy sleep habits

This year, across the College we are highlighting the power of sleep as part of our wellbeing focus. Research shows that one of the most important tools to support our girls’ learning. Next week we are encouraging each girl (and staff member) to record and track her sleep each day so she can reflect on her current sleep pattern. We hope that we can work together to talk about ways, and find ways, for the girls to increase their sleep or ease their capacity to fall asleep. There is no judgement in the results of the sleep tracking; the purpose is to see our current sleep patterns and explore how we may be able to improve our sleep habits.

Please click here to view the sleep tracker diary.

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

Lunar New Year

Next week we will celebrate Lunar New Year with a variety of lunch time activities planned by our staff and students.  

Students are invited to wear culturally appropriate mufti clothing on Tuesday 13 February to celebrate the Lunar New Year. From Tuesday 13 February until the end of the month of February, students are able to wear red or gold ribbon on their belt or hat. 

Train line

Students and parents are requested to cross from the train station using the pedestrian crossing with the crossing guard only. Please DO NOT use the crossing located on the corner outside the train tunnel, as this is not supervised and poses increased risk. 

Name badges

All students in the Junior School are expected to wear a name badge as part of their uniform. At the beginning of the year, the College provides all students with two name badges free of cost. In the event that these become damaged or lost, students will be provided with a replacement, with the cost of $10.50 charged to student accounts.

Padlocks

All students in Years 5 and new students in Year 6 are provided a padlock for their lockers. This device remains with students as they travel through the Junior School and onto secondary years. The initial padlock is provided by the College, but replacements will incur a fee of $33.30, which will be charged to student accounts.

Critical Medical Information

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

A message from Mrs Kate Giles – Head of Wellbeing K-6

We are seeking feedback from our parent community regarding class formation. Focus groups will be held at 3.30pm on Monday 19 February in the Junior School Office. If you are interested in sharing your thoughts about the class formation process, please sign up by clicking here.

A message from Mrs Shaira Musico – Junior School Service Co-ordinator

As part of our Junior School focus on service, we will be supporting a number of different initiatives this year. Kindergarten to Year 2 will continue to support the HARK Refugee Clinic at the Children’s Hospital Westmead this year. We are seeking donations of new stationery items to assist students at school. This could include lead or coloured pencils, pencil cases, pens, textas, glue sticks, scissors and other small stationery items. These items can be brought to school by your daughter or dropped at the Junior School office. We are looking to deliver these items to HARK Refugee Clinic on Monday 25 March.

We thank you so much for your support and look forward to making a difference together.

A message from Fiona McDermott – Co-curricular activities and supervision before and after school

Could we please get your assistance to encourage all your daughters to write their weekly schedule in their diary each week, including pickup arrangements.

School supervision starts at 7.45am, there is a selection of co-curricular classes which start in the morning should your require to drop your daughter to school before 7.45am. Parents are also welcome to sit with their daughter prior to school supervision starts.

For activities which start 3.15pm, your daughter will go straight to their activity.

For activities which start at 3.30pm, your daughter will go to junior library and wait till 3.15 – then move to activity.

For activities which start at 3.45pm, your daughter will leave the 3-6 library when it closes and go straight to activity.

For activities which start at 4.00pm, your daughter will need to be booked into OSHC or be minded by a parent/ carer prior to the activity start time.

Where should my daughter go after activities?

Years 3-6: Flagpole Carline – All music, Dance, Robotics, Performing Arts, Coding, Chess, Athletics, TAS, skincare classes.

Years K-2: K-2 carline – All music, Dance, Robotics, Performing Arts and Athletics,

Centenary carpark – Artistic and Rhythmic Gymnastics, Tennis, Aquatics, Diving, Fencing and all activities at the rear of the College.

Any girl found unsupervised before or after co-curricular activities will be taken and cared for by OSHC ( a charge applies).

Failure to not comply with these College expectations may result in your daughter not attending co-curricular activities.

Around the Grounds

A message from Kurt Schweinberger – Head of Creative and Performing Arts (Kindergarten to Year 6)

Year 3 String Orchestra Workshop Day

Year 3 String Workshop Day is to be held on Sunday 18 February in the John Reid Hall and Sunshine Square. Notes and information have been emailed to parents and students. The girls will participate in tutorials and rehearsals from 9.00am to 1.00pm. It is essential that all students in the Year 3 String Program attend this day. Please see the parent portal for all information.

Stanhope and Grainger Band Workshop Day

All parents with students involved in the Stanhope and Grainger Bands will have received notes regarding our annual Junior School Band Workshop Day which will be held at the College on Saturday 17 February for all members of these ensembles. It will be a busy day of tutorials, rehearsals, and activities to get these ensembles off to a flying start for 2024. All members of these two ensembles are expected to attend. Please see the parent portal for all information.

Year 4 Training Band Workshop Day

The 4 Training Band Workshop Day will be held on Sunday 18 February. The girls will participate in tutorials and rehearsals from 9.00am to 1.00pm with morning tea and lunch provided. It is essential that all students attend this day. It will be a busy day of tutorials, rehearsals, and activities to get these ensembles off to a flying start for 2024. Please see the parent portal for all information. 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Auditions 

In conjunction with the Junior School STEAM Festival, I am excited to announce that students from 3 – 6 will have the opportunity to perform in the play Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Based on the novel by Roald Dahl, this 45-minute adaptation tells the tale of Charlie Bucket and the adventures he embarks on after finding one of the five golden tickets.  

As part of the Junior School STEAM Festival, the play will be based on the principles of STEAM (Science, technology, engineering, ARTS and mathematics). From costume design, set design and props creation, the theatre experience will allow students to develop their STEAMS skills within a different environment. 

The dates for the performances are listed below and will be performed in the Junior School John Reid Hall. 

• Thursday 27 June, 6.00pm (family and friend’s performance) 
• Friday 28 June (daytime performances as part of the Junior School STEAM Festival) 

All students wishing to be a part of the play will be cast in the production. Auditions will commence Term 1 Week 3 during lunchtime. 

Please see the Parent Portal for more detailed information regarding auditions. 

A message from the Junior School Administration Office

Lunch and Recess Orders

A reminder to pack your daughter with a drink bottle, recess and lunch each day. You can order online through Flexischools, the cut off time for ordering on the day is 8.00am.

Years 5 and 6 will have access to Archie’s during lunch time.  We are encouraging use of student ID cards to pay for purchases as cash will not be accepted. Money will need to be loaded onto your daughter’s student card via Flexischools – please click the links below for how to do this.

Archie’s Café hours are 7.00am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday. 

Set up account and ordering information 

Linking a student card including nominating a daily spend limit 

Setting up daily spend limit  

Nut Allergies

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

Birthday Treats

If you would like to send in birthday treats for your daughter and her class please limit this to either small (mini) cupcakes or iceblocks (Zooper Doopers) only. Please only supply for your daughter’s class (not the whole grade). If your daughter has allergies please make arrangements directly with your class teacher. We ask that you do not send in presents for the girls to school as these distract the girls from their learning – presents are lovely for parties at home!

Departure: Daily Routines

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

Girls with older sisters – Girls wait at the Junior School Library until their sister collects them by 3.30pm or at OSHC if they have a Senior School sister.

Girls Traveling on College Buses

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

A reminder that all students travelling on the Pymble bus service must have a current registration. Please link your daughter for the bus.

Term 1 2024 Key Dates (Weeks 1, 2 & 3) 

Saturday 11 February – IPSHA Saturday Sport starts 

Monday 12 February – Kindergarten to Year 2 Individual Photos and Year 3 to 6 Catch Up Day, 8.30am to 12.30pm

Thursday 15 February – Kindergarten to Year 6 Parent Information Evening

Thursday 15 February – Junior School Parent Group drinks

Friday 16 February – Year 3 to 6 Swimming Carnival

Saturday 17 February – IPSHA Saturday Sport

Saturday 17 February – Year 4 to 6 Band Camp

Saturday 17 February – Year 3 String Intensive          

Sunday 18 February – Year 4 to 6 Band Camp, Year 3 String Intensive

Monday 19 February – Allwell Testing – Year 3: 8.30am to 12.30pm

Wednesday 21 February – Allwell Testing – Year 5: 8.30am to 12.30pm

Friday 23 February – Kindergarten Exploring Pymble Tour

Friday 23 February – Year 6 Excursion to Parliament/Gallery

Friday 23 February – NAPLAN Omnibus Year 3 and Year 5 P1

Saturday 24 February – IPSHA Saturday Sport

From the Junior School Parent Group (JSPG)

PPA Semester 1 Meeting – Monday 12 February

All Pymble parents and carers are invited to attend the Pymble Parents Association (PPA) Semester 1 Meeting on Monday 12 February from 6.00pm in the David Macfarlane Centre. Light refreshments will be served from 5.30pm.  

Dr Kate Hadwen, Principal, Kelly Mancey, Director – Community Engagement and Sunny Hres, PPA President will provide an update on the expected 2024 landscape.  Registration not required.  We hope to see you there.

Kindergarten Parent Breakfast – Friday 23 February

We invite our Kindergarten parents to come together for a relaxed social breakfast with Mrs Kate Brown, Head of Junior School and Junior School staff.  Please stay after dropping off your daughter, from 8.15am to 9.15am on the lawn behind Hedgehog House.  Please RSVP by Friday 16 February via the invitation on MyPymble. 

Years 3-6 Junior School Swimming Carnival – Friday 16 February

Parents are welcome to attend and support their daughter/s. We encourage parents to wear a touch of their daughters House colour and get into the House spirit with the girls. 

Refreshments for parents are available from Archie’s Café.  Lunch orders are available for the girls as usual. 

Please note this is a full school day and there are no early departures for students. 

Welcome to 2024 – Icebreaker Invitation – Friday 1 March

Please join us for canapes and drinks at our annual Icebreaker on Friday 1 March from 6.45pm to 9.00pm, held on Gloucester Lawn.

Tickets are $52 per person and include a cocktail style dinner and drinks.  This year’s theme is (an optional) touch of florals.  Banners will be set up to help group parents by year group. 

Please click here to RSVP by Thursday 22 February.  Please note this is a parent only event and registration is essential.

We hope you’ll join us as we welcome our new families, reconnect with old friends and toast a wonderful new year at Pymble!

Upcoming Events

• 3BM Playdate – Sunday 11 February

Let’s Play at Bicentennial Park, West Pymble.  Please see the flyer for details. 

• Save the Date:  Year 1 Easter Egg Hunt – Sunday 24 March

Hop on over for our Year 1 Easter Egg Hunt at Bicentennial Park West Pymble.  Please see the flyer for details and RSVP to your Parent Year Coordinators. 

As you can see, we are off to a flying start for 2024! 

We hope you enjoy meeting your daughter’s new compass teacher/s at the Parent Information Evening next Thursday 15 February.  After your session, please head to the lawn behind Hedgehog House, where you can meet and socialise with other parents for a short time.

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

---

Kate Brown

Head of Junior School

From the Middle School

It is always so exciting to see the energy and enthusiasm of our girls as they step up to embrace the myriad of opportunities on offer at Pymble. Whether that be in the classroom, during co-curricular activities or in the playground during breaks, each day we witness new connections and developing relationships. Last Friday’s house games – facilitated by the Year 12 House Captains – and the afternoon spent in the Aquatic Centre, were a welcome conclusion to Year 7s first week on campus.

Years 7 and 8 students are continuing to settle into school routines and are becoming more familiar with their new classes and subject teachers. Despite the very hot weather our Gloucester Gatherings during lunchtimes on Tuesdays have attracted lots of girls who have joined in a variety of craft and physical activities. Below, is the schedule for the term and I would like to invite you to encourage your daughters to get involved. From next week we will also be running activities throughout lunch on Thursdays on the Gloucester Lawn with the help of our Year 12 Middle School Liaison Leaders. This is a wonderful way for the girls to establish connections with older students and foster mentoring relationships.

Next week we have a lot going on starting with the Year 8 Mind Body Spirit Day on Tuesday at Collaroy where the girls will enjoy a Learn to Surf lesson, free time in the water, beach games and a beautiful coastal walk along the headland. On Wednesday we will all be down at the pool for the Year 7-9 Swimming Carnival where House spirit will be loud and colourful! Another very important initiative being introduced next week is our whole College commitment to a week of individual Sleep Tracking.

Templates will be shared during Compass time on Thursday of Week 3. By focusing on personal habits and acknowledging through education and discussion the importance and impact of sleep habits we are hoping to empower the girls to reflect on their current sleep patterns and explore how they can consolidate healthy routines. We will continue to track sleep once a term across the year to ensure a sustained priority and to keep the conversation alive.

Click here to view the template.

Happy Chinese New Year for Saturday! 吉祥如意 (Wishing you good luck and happiness)

From the Middle School Parent Groups

Year 7

Welcome to all our Year 7 families! A very special welcome to our returning Junior School and brand new Pymble families joining this year!

We really hope you have settled in well over the last two weeks. The start of Year 7 can certainly be an adjustment period and quite daunting for families, but hopefully you and your daughter have now found your bearings and are settling into somewhat of a routine. Please reach out to us though if you need any help.

At Pymble, we really try to foster parent connections however we can and create a supportive parent network. Although our daughters are hopefully stepping up into more independent shoes this year, as parents, we do benefit from positive communication and friendships with other parents.

Our Middle School Parents Group (MSPG) consists of Year 7 and Year 8 representatives, and is a subgroup of the Pymble Parents’ Association (PPA). The main objective of the MSPG is promote social connections across the parent community and to support the various events and activities across Pymble.

Our Year 7 Year Coordinators are:

Stephanie Pickford stephaniepickford@gmail.com

Leigh Chan leighha@gmail.com

Briar James-Taylor briar.taylor@ymail.com

We also have a Year 7 admin team who will help answer queries in our social media groups (see details below), consisting of very helpful parents including Vu Kwan, Aimy Hoang, Annabel Blaiklock and Mark Chan. We also have a wealth of knowledge amongst our existing parent cohort who are very happy answering queries, particularly of our new parents.

In terms of parent events, there are several events coming up in Term 1.

On Monday 12 February from 6pm, the PPA meeting for Semester 1 is being held at the David Macfarlane Centre (this is towards the back of the school, behind the Main Hall and Chapel). Light refreshments will be served from 5:30pm. Please come along and hear Dr Hadwen and PPA President, Sunny Hres, speak about latest school developments and plans for 2024.

On Tuesday 20 February, a “Knowing People, Knowing Pymble” Evening will be held for parents to attend. Parents will have the opportunity to meet their daughter’s Compass teacher and other parents. More details will be posted on the portal shortly.

One of the biggest and best Pymble events is coming up on Friday 1March! This is a fabulous event for new and existing parents and a great way to start the new school year. Held on Gloucester Lawn under the stars, the Icebreaker is a Pymble tradition of 50 years. It is a cocktail function with dinner and drinks, and hosts all school years from Kindergarten to Year 12. This year’s theme is “Florals” if you would like to dress in theme (not essential).

Please book your tickets by Friday 22February here

We would like to organise a Year 7 coffee morning coming up so please keep an eye out for this.

We hope you have a wonderful term.

Social Media in Year 7

We run several social media groups in Year 7.

These groups are independent of the school and are restricted access groups. Being a member of these groups provides opportunities to ask questions and to connect with other parents. Please note that joining these groups is entirely optional.

We have a Year 7 Community group on WhatsApp to hopefully provide all the connections and answers that you need:

• Year 7 Parent Community – This group is only used communicate important messages, announcements and reminders. Only the administrators can post messages in this group. The WhatsApp group link is here
• Year 7 Pymble 2029 – Questions – This general chat used by parents to ask questions. The WhatsApp group link is here

Please reach out to us with any questions or if we can help.

Kind regards

Stephanie, Leigh and Briar

Year 8

Social Media for Year 8 Parents

All parents from year 8 are welcome to join the parent led chat groups. The chat groups are independent of the school and are restricted access groups. Being a member of these groups provides opportunities to ask questions and to connect with other parents. Please note that joining these groups is entirely optional.

WhatsApp

WhatsApp is primarily used by our year group. It is a community WhatsApp group containing two private groups.

1. PLC Year 8 Announcements and Important Messages – This group is only used communicate important messages, announcements and reminders. Only the administrators can post messages in this group.
2. Yr 8 Parents Class of 2028. This general chat used by parents to ask questions.

Please join these groups by clicking here or please ask Cindy or I to add you to the group;

WeChat

There is also a Year 8 WeChat group PLC Year 8 2024. Please join this group by scanning the QR code below or please ask Cindy to add you to this group.

Facebook

1. PymbleLC Parents Class of 2028 is the FB group for our year. Selected messages from WhatsApp will be posted here.
2. PymbleLC MSPG 2024. Messages about various activities will be posted here.
3. Parents are also encouraged to join PymbleLC PPA and PymbleLC SSPG Facebook groups.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with either Cindy or myself if you have any questions or need help with anything.

Ms Cindy Tian 0400 980 181 and cindy.tian@gmail.com

Ms Kai Jones 0431 725 948 and kai_look@yahoo.com

---

Jenny O’Donnell

Head of Middle School

From the Upper School

A message from Mrs Victoria Harrison, Acting Head of Upper School

One of our Upper School aims is to broaden the outlook of our students, enabling them to recognise their talents, value, role, and possibilities in the world throughout their time with us. Through diverse experiences such as residential program at Vision Valley, international exchanges, service initiatives, and outdoor education programs, we aim to provide numerous opportunities for enthusiasm, reflection, and personal growth. This is a dynamic environment, and we encourage your daughters to embrace new challenges or try something different this term. We look forward to sharing many wonderful experiences with the girls.

The first residential program of the year kicked off at Vision Valley this week, we said goodbye and good luck to our Year 9 Adventurers who began their four-week stay on Sunday. Our RP24-1 cohort have been settling into life at the Valley with enthusiasm and apprehension. The first few days of the program focus on establishing new routines, connecting with peers, and beginning to expand students’ understanding of real-world experiential learning in comparison to traditional school settings. They set off for their first expedition on Friday, which we are sure will be a rewarding experience.

On campus the girls have been enjoying reconnecting with their peers, adjusting to the school routine, and getting back into their co-curricular activities. House time has been spent preparing for next week’s swimming carnivals and Year 9 Assembly included a fun movement break with Just Dance to incorporate our goal of building more movement into the school day. It was great to see assembly time being mixed up a little. Additional lunchtime movement activities will be rolled out in the next week for the girls to get involved in.

How well is your daughter sleeping? Along with encouraging movement we are starting conversations with the students about the importance of sleep. Next week we will be providing a sleep tracking document as a first step in reflecting on sleep habits. It would be great if you could encourage your daughter to track her sleep for the week so that she can start to explore if her sleep patterns are adequate for everything she needs to do. We will be supporting this with a lesson in Compass circles and are helping the girls understand the importance of enough sleep. Look out for the copy of the Pymble Sleep tracker which will be given to your daughter.

We look forward to welcoming our Upper School families on Monday 19 February for our Wellbeing Information Night. Key representatives from various departments across the college will provide a snapshot of essential information, and parents will have the opportunity to connect with their daughter’s Compass teacher. We look forward to sharing the invitation soon and hope to see you there.

Key Dates

Saturday 10 February – Saturday sport begins

Wednesday 14 February – Year 7 to 9 Swimming Carnival

Thursday 15 February – Year 10 to 12 Swimming Carnival

Monday 19 February  – Upper School Parent Information Evening (Begins at 6.00pm)

Thursday 22 February – Year 10 Careers Strengths Day

Thursday 22 February – Year 9 Residential Program Term 1 Parent Workshop

Wednesday 6 March – Year 9 Residential Program Term 2 Parent and Student Information Evening

Tuesday 12 March – Urban Challenge for Year 10

Thursday 11 April – Year 10 Learning Discussions – Evening

Friday 12 April – Year 10 Learning Discussions – All Day (No classes)

Friday 12 April – Last Day of Term (For Year 9)  

---

Victoria Harrison

Acting Head of Upper School

From the Senior School

From the Head of Senior School

This week both Years 11 and 12 have heard presentations from Paul Dillon (DARTA). He provides the students with the most recent and accurate information regarding drug and alcohol education.

Our Year 11s girls have also set out on their annual Retreat today, which includes seminars with Brent Sanders on personal safety and Kathryn Taylor, who is speaking about female leadership. The girls are also engaging in team building activities, some reflective and story sharing sessions with their Compass teachers and working on understanding their motivations.

My sincere thanks to the team of staff attending the Retreat over the three days and our administration team who have worked hard to make this event happen.

Year 11 Information Night

Just a reminder that next Tuesday night we are having our Year 11 Information Night which begins at 7.00pm in the KM Senior Centre. This is an opportunity to meet up with your daughter’s Compass teacher and hear from the Deputy Head of Senior School, our Deputy Principal – Students, the Head of Secondary Wellbeing, the Futures team, our Lead Psychologist and the Director of Studies. I am sorry to not be in attendance on the evening. I am having a minor surgery and will be recovering at this time. However, I do look forward to meeting our new Year 11 families soon.

Mentoring

We have also now formally launched the Senior School mentoring program to both Years 11 and 12. Senior students are offered the option of working with a mentor – a senior member of staff who is willing to meet individually with the girls to discuss their long-term goals and challenges.  The mentoring partnership is a structured one-to-one relationship that focuses on the requirements of the student, or mentee.  The relationship can be described as ‘walking alongside’ a younger person with the goal or aim of assisting that person to achieve their potential, in a supportive environment.

Students in both years have been invited to sign up for this voluntary program if they are interested – many Year 12 girls are continuing with their mentors from last year. I would really encourage all students to take this opportunity to invest in themselves.

Year 11 and 12 Formals – Term 1

Information regarding the Year 11 Formal and the Year 12 Formal has been posted on the MyPymble parent portal. Please click the links within these notices to purchase tickets.

From the Year 11 Parent Co-ordinators

Hello, I’d like to introduce myself. I’m Jemma Barney the Parent Co-ordinator for Year 11. Welcome to all 11 of our new girls and families, and welcome back to one and all.

Please join one of our parent groups:

Facebook: PymbleLC class of 2025

WhatsApp: PymbleLC class of 2025

Please contact me for invites to the WeChat group and Dads groups on 0426868643 or by email at Barneyjemma@gmail.com.

The groups are very helpful to gain more information for upcoming events. I will be arranging parent get togethers so keep an eye out for those! I look forward to meeting you all.

Term 1 Key Dates

Wednesday 7 to Friday 9 February – Year 11 Retreat at Collaroy

Tuesday 13 February – Year 11 Parent Information Night

Thursday 15 February – Year 10 to 12 Swimming Carnival

Tuesday 27 February – Year 12 Learning Discussions

Friday 1 March – Pymble Icebreaker

Friday 15 March – Year 12 Social at Dalton House

Friday 22 March – Year 11 Formal at Le Montage

Tuesday 26 to Thursday 28 March – Year 11 Assessment block

Friday 29 March – Good Friday Public Holiday

Monday 1 April – Easter Monday Public Holiday

Thursday 4 April – Year 11 University Immersion Day

Thursday 4 April – Year 12 Food for Thought

Friday 12 April – Term 1 ends

Friday 3 May – Careers Expo (date changed to Friday 3 May from Monday 8 April)

Nikki Wyse

Head of Senior School

From the Boarding School

It has been a wonderful, whirlwind of a week with our supersized onsite family fully immersed in Boarding life. As you will read below, there has been a full program of activity with a focus on fun and friendship and my deep thanks go to our fabulous Boarding team for making it such a memorable week.

The New Girls’ concert is always a favourite for me. This year we enjoyed the added bonus of our new staff revealing their hidden talents and weren’t we impressed!

The following day we all set off on the Amazing Sydney Adventure, a fun activity designed to assist our Boarders in getting to know each other in their Spirit House Circles and orientate our new Boarders to the Sydney Public transport network. Experiences included buses, trains and ferries with Boarders heading out across the city to locations including Government House, Manly and China Town. It was a fun day of exploring.

Our annual trip to Raging Waters is always a big hit with our Boarders and this year was no exception. It was the perfect weather for fun in the sun!

We’re in!

On Sunday night our youngest Boarders moved to their term time home, Avonmoore. They are delighted to be in their own space and loved their housewarming gift of a Nintendo Switch. We have exciting plans to make the most of this special home and I look forward to keeping you updated on the Year 7 adventures.

Farewell to our much-loved Rev

On Tuesday night we said a fond farewell to our fabulous Reverend Punam Bent. Rev Bent has been a wonderful neighbour, mentor and friend to our Boarding family. She is kind, compassionate and fun. Most importantly she has been ‘there’ whenever we have needed a kind word, a good laugh or some wise advice. Head Boarder, Aspen Moore expressed these sentiments perfectly in her farewell speech which I have shared below:

Dear Rev Bent

It is extremely hard to say farewell to someone so close to our Boarding community. You have been an amazing chaplain, friend and support network for us girls and I dare say we would all agree that your presence in our boarding life has brought us an abundance of happiness and contentment. Your reflections and words of encouragement have filled us with strength and will forever be close to our hearts. Thank you so much for leading our Boarding chapel nights as well as supporting us throughout the day school and through external events. The warmth with which you bring within this Chapel and the care you have showed for each and every one of us has created an environment where us girls have felt connected, heard, supported and valued. Your ability to bring us together, irrespective of backgrounds or beliefs, has truly been inspiring.

We are going to miss you dearly, especially your # and ‘peace outs’ but we want to wish you the best for your next chapter and what the future awaits. We hope that our paths cross again, and until then, we carry your teachings and words of wisdom in our hearts.

View From My Window

Hi, my name is Selina Kerin, and I am a year 7 Boarder at Pymble. I come from a small town called Yeoval in the Central West of NSW. Yeoval has a population of about 300 people and is famous as Banjo Patterson spent the first seven years of his childhood living there.

I live on a farm with my mum, dad, brother Fergus and sister Willa, as well as our four kelpies Ruby, Buddy, Jill and Lucy, and two cavoodles, Daisy and Millie. On our farm we have sheep, cattle and wheat.

When I am at home, I love to ride my horse Nancy, while my sister is riding her horse, Sunny. We spend hours riding through the paddocks and creeks and making jumps from fallen tree branches. I love spending time competing in Polocrosse carnivals and attending pony club camps. Warren is my favourite camp.

In the summertime we love swimming in the dam and playing on the paddle boards and kayaks. We also like water skiing as a family at Burrendong Dam.

When I look out my window, I can see our dogs running around, digging holes and playing in the garden while Mum is planting more plants. The horses in the distance are cantering around the paddock. Ferg is riding his motorbike going too fast and doing wheelies, Willa is painting patterns on old bricks from a path that was pulled up. Dad is rounding up sheep to get them in for shearing tomorrow.

What I love about being home is spending time with my horse Nancy, riding my motorbike around the farm while chasing kangaroos with Ferg and leading the dogs over small jumps. I also love the beautiful views of the Goobang National Park. I enjoy the peace and quiet of farm, the rainwater and watching the dogs play together.

When I return to Boarding, I feel lots of different emotions – sad, nervous but also excited to see all my friends both in the Boarding house and day school and hearing about what they got up to in the holidays. 

Boarders of the Week

For those of you who are new to Boarding family, each week we turn the spotlight on one of our fabulous Boarders who has gone out of their way to make Boarding an extra special place for her Boarding Family. This week is exceptional, just like our Boarders, and it was too hard to pick out just one Boarder as being kind, caring and good fun and so all of our Boarders are Boarders of the Week for Week 2. Congratulations girls!

Carolyn Burgess

Head of Boarding

From the Chaplains

Four months ago, I was sitting on my ride-on lawn mower, happily mowing my lawns. I am fortunate to have a home on 2.5 acres on the far south coast of New South Wales. After more than eight years as the only chaplain in my previous school I was taking time out to refresh and renew. I was mentally and physically exhausted. I needed to step away, reassess and take stock so I took 2023 off. It worked perfectly for me, and I learnt a valuable lesson in taking care of myself, setting boundaries and restoring the work/life balance. 

This was the catalyst that allowed me to make the decision to come to Pymble. I was ready for a new beginning, a fresh start if you like. 

I recognised that I needed a fresh start, a new beginning if you like. To achieve that, I needed to make some decisions, some choices and then act. The new beginning/fresh start was only going to happen if I did something to put it into motion.  

Last week in the Senior, Upper and Middle school chapel services I used the following bible passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah.  

“Forget the former things. 

Do not dwell on the past. 

See, I am doing a new thing! 

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? 

I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”  

(Isaiah 43:18-19) 

I encouraged the students to reflect on the concept of new beginnings, and asked them to consider what that means for them personally. I suggested only they can determine this. 

It’s okay to say, “Welcome to the beginning of a new school year,” but when you examine those words, what do they mean?  

Fresh starts/new beginnings can only be achieved if you take action and make choices. This could involve stepping out of your comfort zone, it might even include taking a risk! 

I drew upon the example of four historical religious figures as an example of what a new beginning/fresh start looks like.

Upon examination, most religious traditions have stories about people who were challenged by change which resulted in not only new beginnings/fresh starts for them personally, but a new way, a new beginning for millions, if not billions of people. They presented a whole new way at approaching life.   

We looked at, Muhammed, The Buddha, Moses and Mary (the mother of Jesus).

Muhammed was the catalyst for the birth of Islam, The Buddha promoted a whole new way of approaching life through the possibility of enlightenment, Moses is a hugely significant person for the establishment of Judaism and Mary had her life completely transformed through the significant role she had as the mother of Jesus. This has resulted in countless of millions of people being born into a new life with Christ at the centre of their lives. She was a rock upon Jesus could depend. 

All four of them faced a new beginning, a fresh start while at the same time creating a pathway for millions the same opportunity across various faith traditions.  

I then challenged the students to personalise the first three lines of the Isaiah reading. 

For example, in my case it would read: 

Mark, forget the former things. 

Mark do not dwell on the past. 

Mark, you are doing a new thing.   

For myself, the new thing is the pulsating, vibrant place we know as Pymble Ladies’ College. 

Taking this theme to a new level, I encouraged the students to believe that one person can make a difference and can create new opportunities for themselves but perhaps more importantly, for others. 

How can they be that person? 

Every new year presents opportunities for a new beginning, a fresh start but action is required from us so as the reading suggests: forget the former things, do not dwell on the past and do new things. 

Create your own fresh start, create your own new beginning. 

Reverend Mark Sweeney

College Chaplain

From the Community Engagement Team

Pymble Pulse 2024 has launched Term 1 with a bang! It’s wonderful to see the girls embracing the joy of a new school year, their delight in being together again and welcoming new friends to Pymble.

Icebreaker

Welcoming new friends is also the theme at our annual Icebreaker which is being held on Friday 1 March. Hosted by the Pymble Parent Association (PPA), Icebreaker is a tradition that is nearly as old as the College itself and a night not to be missed. Come to connect with other parents in your daughter’s year group, meet her teachers and mingle with key staff, the Chair of the Pymble Board, Mr Chris Fydler OAM and our Principal, Dr Kate Hadwen. You can secure your tickets here.

School Information Evenings

If you would like to meet with your daughter’s teachers in person, the College hosts individual information evenings for Junior, Middle, Upper and Senior School early in Term 1.

Our Community Engagement team also attends the information evenings and will host a session providing an outline of the community events and communications we provide at Pymble. Please refer to MyPymble for dates and times. 

We look forward to seeing you there!

Kelly Mancey

Director of Community Engagement and Advancement

From the Futures Team

New Multiplex Jumpstart Scholarship

For Year 12 students considering a pathway into engineering, construction, architecture or related fields, MULTIPLEX has launched a new scholarship for 2024 graduates. 

Click here for more information.

goIT Girls Work Experience program with TATA Consultancy Services (TCS)

About goIT Girls work experience program

The goIT Girls program is a week-long work experience program aimed at female students in Years 10 and 11. At TCS, we are empowering students in Australia and New Zealand with the skills they need to be ready for the workplace of the future. Participants will meet senior executives from TCS and from our client organisations. These executives will provide insight into the various STEM roles that exist across the business spectrum, with the hope of inspiring a new generation of innovators, problem solvers, and technology professionals. The aim is to provide insight into the existence of gender occupational stereotypes in the technology industry in order to challenge and eventually overcome them.

goIT Girls has four areas of focus:  

• Provide insight into the technology industry, and the application of technology in business.
• Challenge gender stereotypes by showcasing women role models in STEM.
• Build technical skills through solving simulated business challenge.
• Enhance confidence and employability skills.  

Students can expect to undertake workshops covering Agile Methodology, Design Thinking, Artificial Intelligence, Interviewing and Presentation Skills, Innovative Technology, Diversity and Inclusion, as well as hearing from leading Women in Technology from TCS’ client network and Chatting to Mentors from TCS. Students will also undertake a business challenge set by a major TCS client to apply their new skills and understanding, with the program culminating in a pitch event.

Eligibility

This is a free program for female students in years 10-11 enrolled in Australian schools. The program is aimed at young women who are curious about a career in technology. Students do not need any prior experience with technology to participate.   

“I loved this program, the people and the stuff we were learning and doing it was just so amazing and was just a lot of fun.” – a goIT Girls participant.

“Before attending this program, I had a very biased perspective on what jobs were available in the tech industry but now, after sessions where other females working in this field haven shared their own stories, I realised that there are many more options than stereotypical jobs” – goIT Girls participant.

To get involved with this program please email futures@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au with your expression of interest and the subject ‘goIT Work Experience’.

From the Co-curricular Sports Team

The shortcode only works for newsletter articles

Lauren Jackson comes to Pymble Ladies’ College

Lauren Jackson AO is widely considered to be Australia’s greatest female basketball player of all time.

Throughout her career, Lauren has led the Australian women to the Olympic podium four times in four Olympic Games. Having won silver medals in Sydney (2000), Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008), Jackson carried the Australian flag into the London Opening Ceremony before going on to claim bronze in 2012.

In exciting news to begin 2024, Lauren Jackson and Pymble Ladies’ College have formed a partnership to launch a Basketball Academy for all Years 3 to 12 students.

For further details about the program, please click here.

Should students have conflicting sport activities on the set days outlined, please do not hesitate to contact Mr Adam Raw, Director of Sport (araw@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au) to arrange flexibility with your sport commitments. We want to ensure students do not miss out on this amazing opportunity.

Concussion in Australian Sport

There is a growing concern in Australia and internationally about the incidence of sport-related concussions and potential health ramifications for athletes.

If managed appropriately, most symptoms and signs of concussion resolve spontaneously. However, complications can occur, including prolonged symptoms and increased susceptibility to further injury.

The Australian Institute of Sport has put together the following resources to keep athletes safe:  

Concussion in Australian Sport | Concussion in Australian Sport (concussioninsport.gov.au)

Pymble Ladies’ College will closely implement these guidelines across all sport programs.

The College is fortunate to have medical experts on-site throughout the week, please view below for further details:

The Sports Medicine Clinic (Medical Review)

Should a student be diagnosed with a concussion, please ensure a review with an experienced doctor occurs to advise on the next steps.

At Pymble Ladies’ College, medical review with a specialist Sport and Exercise Medicine Physician is available with Dr Nicole Sly. 

The Sports Medicine Clinic is open from 8.00am to 11.00am, Mondays and Thursdays at the Aquatic and Fitness Centre. 

Bookings with Dr Sly can be made online here, or via www.northernbeachessportsmed.com.au.

If consented to by the student and parent, the treatment plan will be communicated to the appropriate school staff, coaches and teachers to assist in facilitating recovery.

The Sports Physio Clinic (Ongoing Management)

Early recovery includes a gradual return to schoolwork and light physical activity, that doesn’t provoke symptoms. 

Once symptoms have cleared, the student begins a gradual return to sport. 

Full contact and competitive sport is allowed after medical review and in line with sport-specific protocols.

Physiotherapy treatment may assist in the management of symptoms such as neck pain, headaches, dizziness and provide education and advice on returning to exercise. 

Physiotherapy treatment is available with The Sports Physio Clinic Physiotherapists, Simon Taylor and Emily Brisbane, located in the Aquatic and Fitness Centre. Online bookings for this private service are available here.

Co-curricular Administration

Term 2 2024 Saturday Sport Registrations 

Registrations are now OPEN for Term 2 Saturday Sports. Registrations must be completed prior to the system closing at 12.00pm on Friday 16 February. 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 before registrations close.  

The Term 2 Saturday Sport options are as follows: 

• igsa Basketball (Years 7 to 12 – Saturday mornings) 
• igsa Football (Years 7 to 12 – Saturday mornings) 
• Rugby Sevens (Years 7 to 12 – Training in Term 2 and Competition in Term 3 on Saturday afternoons) 
• IPSHA Hockey/Minkey (Years 3 to 6 – Saturday mornings) 
• IPSHA Netball (Years 3 to 6 – Saturday mornings)  
• Futsal (Years 3 to 12 – five week training program followed by a competition for selected students) 

Co-curricular Registration Requests 

Registrations for Term 1/Semester 1/Yearly programs are now closed. Confirmation emails were sent to all families on Thursday 25 January. If you missed the registration period and need to request a late registration for your daughter, or if you need to withdraw or transfer programs, please click here to complete a registration request. Please note that requests may take up to two weeks to process during busy periods and your request is not completed until you have received confirmation of acceptance via email.  

Monique Zahra

Head of Co-curricular Administration

Athletics

We are three weeks away from the Cross Country carnival.  This is always a fun day where athletes run, walk and skip their way around our amazing school grounds. Our Pymble Cross Country athletes have been training hard and building their fitness to what may be the first or last carnival competed in at Pymble. For our Pymble athletes that are serious about this sport, a recommendation is to join your local Park run in the next few weeks. Park Runs are held every Saturday morning at convenient locations in Sydney.  These also provide excellent race practice in preparation for carnival and they are a lot of fun! Click here to register.

We also have many Pymble track and field athletes preparing for NSW Junior Championships to be held at Sydney Olympic Park in early March. For those students registered to a club, entries are currently open and will close on Friday 23 February. Many students competing this weekend will be involved in a number of events across Sydney in preparation for these championships. Good luck to our Pymble athletes!!!

Below is a great action shot of Sarah Lovell at the NSW Combined Championships where she won gold!  Congratulations Sarah!

Deb Walsham

Head Coach – Athletics

Junior School Sport

Good luck to all Junior School students playing in the first round of IPSHA Football, IPSHA Water polo / Flippa Ball, and Kindergarten to Year 2 Have a Go @ Saturday Sport (Football) this weekend.

Please ensure you have downloaded the IPSHA app prior to game as it has all the venue information and ground closures in case of wet weather. 

IPSHA and CIS Representative Team Trials

Any Year 5 or Year 6 students interested in trialling for an IPSHA Representative Team, please refer to our school trials schedule below. For your reference, the skill level of these trials are very high. Only those students in A Division or representative level players are recommended to attend the school trial. 

Please note that these trials are for the IPSHA Representative Team, which competes for IPSHA against other sporting organisations, and not the IPSHA Saturday sport competition.

• IPSHA Representative Team Basketball School Trial

Date
Friday 9 February

Time
12.45pm to 1.30pm

Venue
Secondary indoor courts (Jeanette Buckham Gymnasium)

• IPSHA Swimming Selection Policy Year 2 (8 Year olds)

We will be holding a trial at lunchtime on Monday 12 February for Year 2 students who wish to be considered for selection in the IPSHA Swim team. This team will compete for Pymble at the IPSHA Swimming Carnival on Tuesday 5 March. Your daughter must be turning 8 years old in 2024 to be eligible.

As a guide, your daughter should be swimming at a Tiger Shark level or above and be comfortable in the 50m (big pool) at Pymble Aquatic Centre.

If interested, please email both Mr Steven Qu, Head Coach – Swim Stream at SQu@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au and Mr Matt Tyson, Head of Sport Kindergarten to Year 6 at mtyson@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au before trials by 5.00pm on Friday 9 February.

Students attending will meet Mr Tyson at the start of lunch at Hedgehog House and will be accompanied to the Aquatic Centre to complete their trial.

Matt Tyson

Head of Sport – Kindergarten to Year 6

Pymble Elite Sportswomen’s Program

Pymble Elite Sportswomen’s Program (PESP) Applications for 2024 are now open.

Please click here to complete the application through MyPymble. Parents will need their family login details to be able to access the application form.

Please read through the criteria carefully to check the eligibility for the relevant sport which you are applying for. There is set criteria for each sport.

For team sports, students must be in a NSW team that represent at a National Championships against other States. This does not include 2nd NSW teams or development teams/squads.

PESP News – Baseball

Congratulations to Gabriella Nutman (Year 9) who has been selected into the Under 16 NSW Baseball team to compete at the upcoming Australian Under 16 Youth Baseball Championships in Lismore in May.

Skye Halliday

Pymble Elite Sportswomen’s Program – Co-ordinator

Rowing

Pymble Ladies’ College/Kings/RNSW and igsa Regatta

The Pymble Rowing Team took on a double header weekend at the Sydney International Regatta Centre on Saturday 3 February and Sunday 4 February, coming away with 25 podium finishes from 36 race starts.  This included an incredible 14 gold, seven silver and four bronze medals, finishing 3rd place for the overall point score. All Pymble crews performed well and showed significant improvement from Term 4 racing.

The Senior 1st Eight continues to progress closer towards the top spot, finding a strong mid-race rhythm and coming within four seconds on Saturday 3 February. The Senior 2nd Eight raced fiercely on Sunday to become 2024 igsa champions, getting out in front early and consolidating the win through the middle section of the course. Congratulations to Mathilde Goddard (Year 11), Annabel Shanahan (Year 11), Skye Pockley (Year 12), Isabella Stalley (Year 11), Catherine Walker (Year 12), Celeste McDermott (Year 11), Lauren Gibson (Year 11), Isabel Matosantos (Year 12), Alice Anand (Year 11) and coach Mr Booker.

The Senior Quads raced well and took away a 2nd place finish at igsa. Our Pymble Year 10 Four and Quad both improved on Saturday 3 February to win their races at igsa by a clear margin. Congratulations to Mia Solomons (Year 10), Zoe Hart (Year 10), Arabella Murphy (Year 10), Caitlyn Bilney (Year 10), Sara Khan (Year 10), Ainhoa Culazzo (Year 9), Anais McDonald (Year 10), Ella Willetts (Year 10), Holly Hogan (Year 10), Joanna Karelas (Year 10) and coaches Mr Foxton and Mr Tainsh.

Year 8 and 9 Quads continue to be a dominant force on the course, producing excellent performances on both days. In total, four crews became igsa Champions. Well done to:

Year 8 1st Quad

Emma Wang (Year 8), Madeleine Gaden (Year 8), Claudia Wyatt (Year 8), Madison Landgrebe (Year 8), Blair Elliott (Year 8) and coaches Miss Stapp and Miss Pennington

Year 9 1st Quad

Mie Naito (Year 9), Kelly Clifton (Year 9), Harriet Murphy (Year 9), Allegra Taubenschlag (Year 9), Zara Kinniburgh (Year 9) and coach Mr Le

Year 9 2nd Quad

Emily Bartrop (Year 9), Annie Pennington (Year 9), Amber Eisenhauer (Year 9), Leander McLaughlin (Year 9), Ellie Pointon (Year 9) and coach Miss McMillan

Year 9 3rd Quad

Angelina Attinger (Year 9), Mia Sherry (Year 9), Georgina Curtis (Year 9), Genevieve Bazina (Year 9), Lucy Simpson (Year 9) and coach Andrea Newham

Congratulations to all crews that raced this weekend with Pymble grit, courage and determination. The spirit that the team showed on and off the water to support each other and enjoy the experience was certainly best on ground from all schools – Go Pymble!

Karl Schmidt

Head of Coaching and Performance (Kindergarten to Year 12)

Rugby Sevens

I am excited to announce that we will be travelling to Darwin for a Rugby 7s Tour this year!

This tour is only available to Juniors (Year 7 and 8) and Intermediates (Year 9 and 10).  If this is something that you are interested in, please can you email jgarrad@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

Jack Garrad

Sports Co-ordinator – Rugby Sevens

Swimming

2024 igsa Swimming team camp

Under the leadership of Piper Gregory–Reid (Year 12), our dedicated Swimming Captain, the igsa swimming team had an absolute blast at Vision Valley. The swimming camp was a perfect blend of swimming session, exciting team bonding activities, and an electrifying reveal to our campaign.

In an exciting moment presented by our Swimming captain, the team discovered that “The Greatest Showman” would be our campaign theme for 2024. Piper’s choice perfectly summarises the spirit of the team – united, dynamic and ready to showcase our prowess in the upcoming igsa 2024.  Our team are now inspired to strive for the highest in their upcoming competition.

Rafael Rodrigues

Swimming Coach

Water Polo

Congratulation to all Pymble girls who competed at the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships in Brisbane, Queensland in January 2024. 

Our Pymble students have achieved fantastic results as they compete within their club teams against clubs from all over Australia. 

Following this competition, Kiera Mironova (Year 11) and Zara Cooke (Year 10) stayed on for a National Age group camp bringing them one step closer to being selected for the Australian Junior team competing at the 2024 Junior World Championships in Europe later this year.  

Picture 1: Lucinda Middleton (Year 11), Charlee Fleming (Year 10), Kiera Mironova (Year 11), Zara Cooke (Year 10)

Picture 2: Kiera Mironova (Year 11)

Picture 3: Kiera Mironova (Year 11) Zara Cooke (Year 10)

Picture 4: Zara Cooke (Year 10)

From the Co-curricular Performing Arts Team

The shortcode only works for newsletter articles

Junior School Co-Curricular Performing Arts

The College Junior School Co-Curricular Music department is a dynamic and fun program. Students have the opportunity to participate in a vast array of music ensembles at their individual level of skill and interest. All enquiries should be directed to the Music Office at musicadmin@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au or phone 9855 7666. Information regarding private music lessons, ensembles and activities can also be found on the website. 

Any student who plays an instrument and would like to be in an ensemble but has not yet been placed in one, is encouraged to come to the Music Office. All students who learn an orchestral or band instrument at the College are expected to participate in an appropriate ensemble. 

Most ensemble rehearsals have commenced this week. Please note the following rehearsal times that will start Week 3. If you have any concerns, please contact the relevant ensemble conductor. 

Junior School Music 

Week 3 – Concert Band Rehearsal 

• Thursday 15 February, 3.15pm to 4.15pm Year 4 Band Training Band – Music Gallery (Ms Julia Zeltzer and Miss Tiffany Farlow) 

Week 3 – Choir Rehearsal 

• Monday 12 February, 7.15am to 8.00am Junior Capella – K-2 Junior School Music Rooms (Mr Kurt Schweinberger) 

Week 4 – String Orchestra Rehearsal 

• Wednesday 21 February, 3.15pm to 4.15pm Year 3 String Orchestra - Music Gallery (Ms Belinda Jezek and Mr Mark Rossman) 

Junior School Choir: Be in it! 

Junior School Choir is open to anyone who likes to sing! No audition is necessary, but please come and see either Ms Lee or Ms Buckley in the JS Performing Arts Rooms so that you can be placed in the correct voice part. Junior School Choir rehearses every Tuesday morning at 7.20am to 8.00am. 

Sport and Music Ensemble Rehearsal Clashes 

When sport practices and Music rehearsals clash, it is the policy set up by the Sport and Music Departments that the student attends one weekly Sport practice and one weekly Music rehearsal. It is imperative that the student notify their Sport coach that they are unable to attend that practice due to their Music rehearsal, so that they are not penalised for poor attendance. This policy works on the basis that for most sports there are two scheduled practices per week, but for each Music ensemble there is only one rehearsal per week. If a student encounters further problems with clashes they must alert both staff members concerned so that the student is not disadvantaged. 

Parents are requested to not sign their daughters up for other activities that clash with scheduled Music rehearsals to which their daughter is committed. 

Junior School Instrument Cases and Storerooms 

All Junior School Band instruments are to be stored in the Instrument Storage Room in the Music Gallery in the David Blackwell Music School. Cellos are to be placed carefully in the Guitar/Cello Storage Room at the end of the Music Colonnade. Every girl must ensure that her instrument case is CLEARLY NAMED ON THE OUTSIDE. 

Private Music Tuition 

Information and Commitment Forms for private Music tuition in any instrument, voice, or musicianship are available online and places are still available for all instruments. If you experience difficulties with accessing this information, please contact the IT Department. 

Kurt Schweinberger

Head of Creative and Performing Arts (Kindergarten to Year 6)

Language Arts

Debating 

The standard of Debating auditions has been extremely high this year and the number of students who auditioned is unprecedented. Over forty teams have already been formed.  

Thank you for your patience as we continue to sort teams and registrations.  

An information session will be held for ISDA and FED debaters on Tuesday 13 February after school. This session should go from 3.30-5.30pm. Further details will be published on the Portal.  

The ISDA season commences on 16 February and FED commences on Friday 23 February. CCSA have been releasing teams and draws. Please get registrations in promptly.   

Pymble ISDA will travel to St Aloysius for Round 1 on Friday 16 February. Pymble will take the negative. 

Pymble ISDA will be at Pymble for Round 2 on Friday 23 February. We will host Knox. NB Year 7 will NOT debate on this date and will have a make up round on May 3.  

Pymble FED will travel to MLC for Round 1 on Friday 23 February. 

Buses will be arranged to most away venues and parents are asked to arrange collection of students following debates. Students are not permitted to travel home of public transport without adult supervision. Parents are welcome to watch their daughter’s/ daughters’ debate(s). CCSA will send further details.  

Year 11 and 12 FED and ISDA Debaters. Please note that you will have make up rounds due to Formals through the debating season.   

Archdale and SSD  

Archdale debating commences in May. Debates will be on Tuesdays. Sydney Social Debating (SSD) will also commence later in the year.   

IDC Debating   

This runs in Term 4 and is open to ISDA and Archdale debaters and FED finalists. 

Congratulations, more than a Debating Trifecta!  

Congratulations to Jingyuan Liu, Athena Wu and Selina Jiang who recently competed in the Asian Junior Championships Winter Debates. 193 students from China, South Korea, India, Singapore and Australia, attended this event. Jing was awarded best speaker for Australia and Oceania, Athena was awarded second best speaker and Selina was awarded third best speaker and wait for it… Angela Mao was fourth. We are proud of these students! What a start to the LANGUAGE ARTS year! 

Cambridge Schools’ Debating Competition  

Congratulations to this formidable British Parliamentary Debating team! On the 27 and 28 January, two Pymble students, Amy Zhang, Year 11 and Alice Mao, Year 10 participated in the above competition and reached the finals, to be held at Cambridge University. Congratulations!  

Public Speaking    

Auditions – Junior and Senior 

Rostrum, The Junior and PESA (Senior) Speaking Competition auditions will run after school Wednesday 21 February. Students must register interest by emailing Mrs Hubbard and Evelyn Zhu, our Captain of Public Speaking. BHubbard@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au; Evelyn Zhu (Year 11) ezhu2025@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au  

Topics can be found on the Portal or on the Rostrum NSW website. https://www.rostrum.com.au/voy/information-for-all-students/  

The Portal also provides further information and Mrs Hubbard or Evelyn, our Public Speaking captain can outline the procedure. Evelyn is offering a lunchtime workshop at lunch on the 13 February. 

UN Voice of Youth Public Speaking   

Congratulations to Nikita Serban, Isis Li, Catherine Shi and Katherine Pan who attended the Un Voice State Finals at the end of last year. Catherine Shi will now compete in the Nationals in April. Congratulations and best wishes.   

MUN – Model United Nations  

Congratulations Jenny  

Congratulations to Jenny Xu who competed at Yale and Harvard MUN sessions in the vacation. Jenny was awarded a coveted Yale outstanding delegate award. The keynote address was given by Ban Ki- Moon, 8^th General Secretary of the United Nations.  

THIMIUN – The Hague  

Mrs Hubbard travelled to The Hague in the recent vacation where she met with board members and the head of THIMUN. We are awaiting an offer to attend the 57^th session of THIMUN in January 2025. If successful, Pymble will be the first Australian school to attend.  

NSW State MUN Conference, at Pymble  

On Friday 9 and Saturday 10 February, Pymble will host the first NSW MUN conference. This follows from our successful PMUN Winter conferences in 2022 and 2023. Congratulations to our MUN captain Catherine Shi and the team who are working so hard to ensure all is in place for a successful conference. We are expecting over 21 schools to be represented.  

Parents, please let me know if you can assist for part of this time. We would love to have you on board. Please email BHubbard@Pymblelc.nsw.edu.au.  

UN YOUTH State Conference at Collaroy   

This is a flagship residential event that unites exceptional high school students in Year 9 to 12 from across the state, providing them with a unique platform to learn about leadership, diplomacy, and advocacy. Their goal is to empower young minds, foster understanding of global issues and inspire students to become active contributors to shaping our collective future. Pymble students who have attended in past years have enjoyed the experience!  

Key details:  

Date: 8 to 10 March  

Location: The Collaroy Centre and UTS  

Topic: The Future of Democracy in the 21st Century  

Cost: $270   

The conference promises an enriching experience with:  

Interactive Workshops: Engaging sessions on critical global topics.  

Expert Speaker Panels: Insights from prominent individuals in various fields.  

Simulated Crisis Activity: A hands-on experience in crisis management.  

Model UN Debates: A platform for students to discuss and propose solutions to international issues. 

Registrations are open and will close on 15 February: State conference rego link  

If you have any questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to contact the organisers directly at nswstateconferenceoc@unyouth.org.au. They are more than happy to assist you with any enquiries.   

Bronwyn Hubbard

Head of Language Arts

Music

All ensembles in the Senior School commenced this week and it was sheer joy to hear the dulcet tones of our string, choral and band programs running again. The students were able to sight read their way through new repertoire, and for some new students, it was like watching deer in the headlights! Our ensembles are large, but they are welcoming. To all the new girls, welcome! We want you in our midst and look forward to making music merriment with you. 

Congratulations 

Mia Davies – Grade 1 Musicianship – High Distinction  

Private lessons 

The music department has employed the services of specialised tutors in several instruments and voice. These tutors are highly qualified and teach at many schools. Please understand that they work on specific days with us and they have been instructed to rotate students. This should alleviate missing classes more than once in a term. Despite the science saying how good music is for students’ learning, I do appreciate some parents are concerned their daughter is missing class. Our academic staff support the music tuition and understand that sometimes your daughter may miss a class or have to leave halfway through a lesson. The teachers are approachable in all cases, so please do encourage your daughter to ask for work missed and let me know if there are any concerns. Priority is given to Senior students for lunch/after school lessons.  

Save the Dates:  

Thursday February 15 Concerto Competition – 6.30pm in the Music Gallery 

This year we have 10 musicians competing for the coveted glory of being crowned the Concerto Competition winner and have the privilege of working with our Symphony Orchestra to perform later in the year. Kimbali Harding (CEO of Australian Youth Orchestra) and Alexandra Osborne (Associate Concertmaster of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra) will be our adjudicators. We encourage as many aspiring musicians to attend this event and connect with these two wonderful musicians. A poster with a link will be sent through the portal. There is no fee, but we need to have tickets booked so we know how many people will be seated with us. 

7 March 

The Addams Family Musical – rehearsals are well underway, and the performances begin on 7 March. There will be an evening performance on 7, 8, 9 March along with a matinee show on 9 March. Tickets will go on sale on 15 February. 

10 April 

Secondary School Ensemble Concert on Gloucester Lawn. This will commence at 5.30pm (please note the earlier time due to Daylight Savings ending on the 7 April) 

Tour to Spain/Portugal 

Payments for the next instalment are coming up soon. Please watch out for information relating to this wonderful event. New Year 7 students are welcome to apply, providing they are at Grade 6 AMEB equivalent, or they have passed an audition with one of our music staff. Pianists are welcome, but will be taken as singers, not piano players. Please email Mrs Turner or travel@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au so that you are able to receive any information. Rehearsals for tour will start to take place in Term 3. 

Music Support Group 

Our first meeting is on February 13 in the Music Gallery at 6pm. If you would like to be part of this group or hear of any ways you can help, please contact Liz Toh (Estelle, Year 8) on Elizabethtoh@gmail.com to ask about how you can help. 

School Choir: Be in it! 

School Choir is open to anyone who likes to sing! No audition is necessary, but please come and see Mrs Turner in the Performing Arts Staffroom so that you can be placed in the correct voice part. School Choir rehearses every Wednesday morning at 7.25am to 8.05am. All Elective Music students are expected to attend. Mrs Turner is looking forward to seeing you all! 

---

Sarah Turner

Head of Music

Master Plan Update – February 2024

Pymble’s Master Plan has made some significant progress over the holidays. We are excited to share this progress with you (below) and highlight the benefits for our girls.

The safety of our students, staff and community is always our priority. Every phase of construction has been meticulously planned to minimise disruption to our girls’ daily school experience and ensure their safety and wellbeing.

The College Map has been updated to illustrate recent staff and department movements, including the Uniform Shop, and is included below for your reference. 

The College is grateful for your support and we look forward to sharing more with you as the Master Plan journey progresses.

Term 1 bus registrations are now open!

Term 1 registrations for the Pymble private bus service to and from Pymble Ladies’ College are now open.  

The bus service will commence from the first day of term, Tuesday 30 January and conclude on the last day of term, Friday 12 April 2024. Please check the bus stops and times for your preferred bus route prior to Term 1 commencing. 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 – $430.00 per term    

Valid for the whole term. Cancellations of Term registrations must be made in writing within seven days of the start of term.   

2. Flexible registration – $7.50 per trip  

Enables the student to register for specific day(s) with a choice of morning and/or afternoon runs.  

REGISTER NOW

FIND OUT MORE

Please read and discuss the attached Terms and Conditions of Travel with your daughter and ensure that she has her student ID card ready to tap on and off the bus service.   

A reminder for parents and students that:      

• Student ID cards must be used to tap on and tap off each trip. If your daughter has lost her card, please complete the attached form and return it to the IT Hub. 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. Please find attached instructions on how to download and use the free app, available on Android and Apple devices.    

Please do not hesitate to contact College Services if you have any further questions about transport to and from Pymble Ladies’ College.

Meet Pymble’s bus drivers

Every week we will feature a profile on one of our wonderful Pymble bus drivers. This week, we learn more about Ben on Bus 2 and what makes him tick!

Please tell us your name and a little bit about yourself.

I have a French background, I grew up in Tours, France located in the Loire Valley between Paris and Bordeaux. After graduating the Baccalaureate, I graduated from business school after three years then I went to London where I met Jane, a chef by trade, my future wife. We moved back to Paris then Sydney. I have three children: Isobella who is now an exercise physiologist, Jacques who is an entrepreneur and Henri, the sportsman of the family, who graduated from Narrabeen Sports High School and isabout to start a gap year program with the ADF.

I forgot to mention, we have a six-year-old pet dog. His name is Riley, he is a hunterway breed. He can be intimidating at first but he is very friendly once he knows you.

If any, what careers did you have before becoming a bus driver?

I have a banking background of over 25 years, in London, Paris and Sydney where I worked for some merchants banks like BNP Parisbas and Deutsche Bank, then a retail bank Westpac. I had various roles in settlements of financials products and trading support for fund managers and foreign exchanges and Money Market desks.This is a high pressure environment with short dead lines to meet and attention to detail.

Which Pymble bus do you drive and how long have you been a Pymble driver?

In the morning I drive the Pymble Bus SB2 (School Bus 2) on the Lower North Shore route. The route starts off at Prince Street Mosman, then Neutral Bay, Cameray, Roseville and Killara.

You spend a great deal of your time on the road and have no doubt seen it all. What is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to Sydney drivers?

I witness a lot of incivilities on the road for futile reasons. The recurring one to me is drivers not giving way towards the bus departing the bus stop.

What is your favourite part of working at Pymble?

My favourite part of working at Pymble is taking part in charters, travelling collectively on a convoy towards the outskirts of Sydney.

Where is the best excursion/charter location you have driven to for Pymble? If new to Pymble, what other locations have you enjoyed driving to?

Webbs Creek at Wisemans Ferry, The Royal National Park in Sydney South and The Colo River.

It is hard to pick one, Sydney is blessed with so many beautiful national parks. I would say my favourite is the Royal National Park.

What was your favourite subject at school?

At school, my favourite subject was geography. I loved reading maps of worlds and countries, learning names of news places that I could visit one day.

We hope you had a good Christmas break, and maybe managed to get away for a bit. What is your favourite holiday destination and why?

My favourite holiday destination is in France, Brittany, est coast Quimiac where I spent my childhood  summer holidays doing plenty of sports. It is a small fishermen’s village located on the Atlantic Coast with weekly markets and fresh produce. I like to go back to meet my old childhood friends to talk about life and memories.

Rugby Sevens Tour to Darwin

I am excited to announce that we will be travelling to Darwin for a Rugby 7s Tour this year!

This tour is only available to Juniors (Year 7 and 8) and Intermediates (Year 9 and 10). If this is something that you are interested in, please can you email jgarrad@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

Jack Garrad

Sports Co-ordinator – Rugby Sevens

Register now for Sport and All-Rounder Scholarships

Pymble offers a couple of scholarships each year to girls seeking a Performance Scholarship – Sport or All-Rounder Scholarship.  Applications for 2025 scholarships are open to current or external students who are in Year 6, 7, 8, 9 or Year 10 2024. 

Registrations close on 12 February for All-Rounder applications and 29 February for Sport applications. 

Please note that this is an earlier timeframe than in previous years. The application process for each scholarship is also different to previous years

Please review the Scholarship webpage for specific information on each scholarship. 

Applications for 2026 Academic, Music, Boarding and Ex-Students’ Union Scholarships open in Term 2 on 30 April 2024.