From the Principal

It was Kindness Day in the Junior School on Wednesday this week. While each year group from K-6 spent the day working on acts of service, approximately 100 Year 5 students from Pymble and 14 visiting schools attended our second annual Kindness Convention, which we were proud to co-host with Ascham School in Edgecliff and Sacred Heart Catholic School. These Year 5 students have been recognised by their schools as leaders with kindness in their hearts who can help to change the world by spreading messages of kindness far and wide, starting in their own schools and communities.

Our young delegates heard from a range of inspiring speakers, including one of our own ex-students, Sophie Whitehouse-Sparks (Johns, 1988), who is the founder of the You Can Sit With Me campaign in schools. Sophie had her audience totally engaged as she shared the origins of her idea to create highly visible wristbands to help students identify inclusive and kind peers they can approach to sit with or talk to if they are feeling anxious or lonely. Students also worked in mixed groups to consider a problem and solve it in the spirit of kindness to self, to others or to the environment. And, wow, the ideas that stemmed from their kind young minds were incredible, including:

• A Mini Trust Buddy, which uses AI and a chip in a child’s favourite toy so the child can talk through their worries and problems with the toy and receive advice and support in return.

• A drone supply box to deliver medicine, food, water and supplies to flood victims.

• Every school in NSW plants an oak tree – the 2,500 new trees will help to reduce carbon dioxide in the environment and encourage bee colonies and the pollination of crops.

• A Pair and Share app to swap clothes within local communities, saving excess consumption, shipping costs and textiles landfill.

Congratulations to our Junior School team and our Years 5 and 6 Kindness Captains for being genuine changemakers in this space. As Mrs Brown says, “Kindness is your superpower,” and it’s wonderful to see this network of superheroes continue to grow, day by day, at Pymble.

Adults as role models of kindness

My recent experience at the Asia Pacific Summit on Girls’ Education a couple of weekends ago, and the beautifully simple You Can Sit With Me wristband idea presented at the Kindness Convention, inspired me to start thinking about ways that we, as adults, can role model the behaviour we wish for our girls.

Professionally, I was so excited to attend the summit, as I always gain so much by listening to and learning from speakers and peers. As a bonus, I was accompanying three wonderful Pymble staff members (see below) who I was looking forward to spending time with. While it was great to see friends and peers from all over the world, I am a bit of an introvert and there were times when I felt a bit anxious about walking into a room full of people I didn’t really know. Who would I sit with or talk to? Many people share this nervousness; it’s something we don’t tend to lose over time.

While reflecting on how we can amplify our strategic pillar of Social Intelligence as a parent community, I wondered: would a Pymble gathering feel more comfortable if you could easily identify someone who would welcome your approach by a visible sign, such as a wristband or a badge? It certainly would for me.

Come as you are. You can share your story. You are welcome here. These are some of the potential messages for parent wristbands or badges going around in my mind. What do you think? We’d love to hear your ideas and take them back to our team to workshop for future events for Pymble parents.

Congratulations to our superstar staff

Back to the Asia Pacific Summit on Girls’ Education and our superstar staff.

Congratulations to our Director of Professional Learning, Kerryl Howarth, who showcased Pymble’s new teacher accreditation pathway at the summit, and to Imogen Kennett and Kristen McEvoy, who were nominated by their managers to attend as outstanding educators who would make the most of the learnings and bring new ideas back to the College. We greatly value our staff at Pymble, so it is with great pride that I will handover to them now to tell you a little bit about themselves and their passion for teaching and learning at Pymble.

Imogen Kennett, Year 3 teacher (Junior School)

I was thrilled to be selected to attend the summit, and particularly excited to hear from the Finnish educator, Pasi Sahlberg, as I have long been a fan of his research on education. Sahlberg’s research shows that play is essential for children’s physical and mental development, and I was eager to learn more about his findings.

It was also a great honour to be asked to present on behalf of Nerissa Davey on Leading Girls With Compassion and Confidence in the Junior School. Although I would describe my emotions as a mix of nerves, pride and excitement, I knew I had to practice what I preach to the girls and enjoy the little moments of butterflies. I am grateful for the opportunity to have attended this conference and to have shared how we lead our girls with confidence and compassion at Pymble.

Since returning from the summit, I am more determined than ever to use play as a source of developmental growth, to expand the girls’ understanding of problem solving and design process, and to continue creating a learning environment where all girls feel safe, supported, and challenged. 

Kristen McEvoy, English teacher (Secondary School)

Having previously worked across government and private sectors in both single-sex and co-educational settings, I joined Pymble in 2021 as I wanted to work within a community that is focused on empowering young women to be confident thinkers and change makers. In addition to my teaching of English, I’ve been working as a Future Problem Solving coach, organising workshops with universities for our students, and celebrating their achievements in our Bright Ideas creative writing journal.

I felt incredibly grateful to have been nominated to attend the summit as it allowed me the opportunity to learn from leaders and innovators who are united in their purpose of helping students recognise their talents and unlock their potential. As a result, I hope to implement design thinking principles in my teaching practice with attention to develop future-focused competencies to equip my students with the necessary skills needed for their future career development. I will also be presenting my insights from the summit regarding student engagement and agency in their learning to members of the teaching community on our Staff Day at the end of Term 2.

Kerryl Howarth, Director of Professional Learning (K-12)

It was with great pride that I was able to share with delegates at the summit an exciting innovation the College has successfully implemented to recognise, reward and celebrate teaching excellence. 

At Pymble, we respect the diverse pathways teachers take as they progress through their careers. We recognise and value the richness of expertise and experience and the multitude of benefits for our students when teachers draw on their knowledge from industry, academia and various national and international contexts to develop exceptional learning experiences in the classroom and through broader programs. 

Traditional Teacher Accreditation pathways do not recognise the nonlinear career pathways that many of our exceptional teachers have taken. To this end, we have co-constructed Pymble Plus, an internal accreditation pathway that aims to recognise, celebrate and reward teaching excellence at the Experienced Teacher level. The process of achieving the internal Pymble Plus accreditation prioritises:  

• demonstrated excellence and expertise in classroom practice  
• teacher agency  
• positive impact on student learning.  

Teachers engaged in this pathway complete a professional learning project that is directly connected to student learning needs and which can be used by other teachers to improve teaching and learning. At the same time, it has provided financial and professional recognition for experienced teachers who are delivering excellence in the classroom. 

In 2022, we recognised and celebrated the talents of Victoria Aikman, Catherine Casey, Julia Squires, Cara Smith, Candice Cooper and Stephanie Attley through the Pymble Plus program. Our 2023 candidates are now working on their projects and we look forward to hearing of their successes later in the year. 

Thank you to Kerryl, Imogen, Kristen and all our wonderful staff who continue to show up each day as enthusiastic, life-long learners who role model kindness and inclusion in all that they do for the College. Our girls are blessed to be in the care of this amazing Pymble family and, as the head of the school, I am so incredibly grateful and Pymble Proud. 

Dr Kate Hadwen, Principal

From the Junior School

From the Head of Junior School

The sun shone and House spirit blazed across James Kelso Field and Main Oval as our Kindergarten to Year 6 girls embraced the fun and challenge of their Athletics Carnivals. Many congratulations to our amazing House Captains for Semester 1 who led the carnivals for all our Junior School girls on Thursday and Friday with such enthusiasm and kindness. These girls have shone as leaders this year and they should be proud of themselves. I know our Semester 2 Captains are ready to lean into their leadership opportunity next term and continue the sense of community and House we have created so powerfully this year.

There was so much evidence of our girls’ kindness and sportsmanship at both carnivals. One example is this of Ariel Lee (Year 3)  who came 3^rd in a tie with another student who is new to the school this year. Ariel immediately offered the 3^rd place ribbon to the other student as she wanted that student to enjoy the moment of winning a ribbon at school as Ariel had won ribbons in previous school carnivals. Examples like this are important to honour as it shows the many quiet moments where our girls shine as kindness leaders without expecting any recognition.

Thank you to our phenomenal PDHPE team who work together to bring these events to life with equal measures of joy and calm efficiency. This is no small feat and I feel very lucky to work alongside such professionals.

Thank you to all our families who supported the two carnivals by managing the very popular food stalls or by providing treats for the girls to enjoy. Special thanks to Jane Watson (Year 5) who led the initiative for the money raised from the food stall from the Year 3 to 6 carnival to go to Epilepsy Australia raising $2,644.45. Kindergarten to Year 2 raised funds for Wayside Chapel, raising an amazing $1,369 – what an achievement!

Celebrating our own journey – a new approach to reporting in the Junior School – Mrs Lara Bird, Deputy Head of Junior School Academics

In Week 9 parents/carers will receive their daughter’s Semester 1 Academic Report. As presented at the Junior School Parent Group (JSPG) meeting on Wednesday 24 May, and using feedback from parent focus groups conducted last year regarding the Junior School report structure, our Junior School reports for this semester have changed. The information provided in our new Junior School Reports on your daughter’s academic achievements remain the same however the format has changed. The new format clearly sets out academic performance and recommended next steps for academic growth across the Key Learning Areas.   

As part of the reporting cycle for Semester 1, information comes in two documented forms. Your daughter’s Semester 1 Report which is based on her performance throughout Semester 1 and Supplementary Data which sets out the course content as well as the grade distribution within the cohort for each Key Learning Area. Kindergarten Supplementary Data will include the course content only. Separating this data from Junior School Reports, provides families the opportunity to solely focus on their daughter’s performance and unique academic journey rather than on comparative data. 

NESA requires all primary schools in New South Wales to assess student work against the Common Grade Scale. At Pymble our teachers work together and moderate student work samples against the Common Grade Scale when assessing student performance and this is reflected in the grades received in the reports. The NESA Common Grade Scale can be found in the inside cover of the Semester 1 Report. Students will receive a grade for each Key Learning Area as well as receive an overall grade based on the Common Grade Scale. Kindergarten students will receive a grade for each Key Learning Area. 

Compass Teachers continue to write a personal comment about your daughter based upon her learning attributes, wellbeing and interests. A student comment is also included on the cover page where the girls have an opportunity to voice their joy in learning and reflect upon their learning in Semester 1.  Our older girls will also include an academic goal that they have set for themselves for Semester 2. This can be found in the student comment on the cover page. 

I will be holding parent focus groups on our new reporting structure and homework structure in Term 3. A notice will be placed in our Term 3 newsletter to sign up for these focus groups. 

Pymble teachers on the global stage – Pymble Proud!

Last week, Ms Imogen Kennett represented our Junior School at the International Coalition of Girls’ School Alliance of Girls’ School conference in Hobart. Imogen presented on ‘learning to lead with compassion and confidence’ reflecting the work we have been doing since 2020 on empowering student voice and a sense of service.  Imogen’s presentation received fabulous feedback from the many international delegates.

This next weekend Mrs Kate Giles, Lead Coordinator K-3 heads over to the USA to continue her research under the theme ‘Engaging the power of many voices: leveraging girls’ collaborative spirit towards courageous and joyful learning’. She is exploring how to create environments at school and at home for students to be able to work collaboratively with parents and educators. Kate is a worthy recipient of a Global Action Research Coalition (GARC) research grant from the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools as she continues to develop and lead her passion for wellbeing education for girls and young women. We know Kate’s research will be well received and we look forward to hearing how it goes and watching her continued research journey.

Holidays – a chance to be creative and expand our minds

As the holidays approach, we would like our girls (and families) to enjoy the space and time a change in routine allows. We know many families take this longer break to travel and we look forward to hearing all about those adventures. Travel and time with families is a wonderful way for our girls to recharge and to be inspired as they immerse themselves in new places, new adventures and stories from their families and loved ones. For girls who are looking for inspiration for creative projects here are some ideas:

1. Choose some activities from your 100 things to do before you leave Junior School booklet. Click here for the link.
2. Design and make a paper automata to showcase ways we can be of service to others in our community. Designs will be displayed at the Junior School’s Let’s Get Creative Festival in Term 4.
3. Research traditional children’s playground games from around the world and create a booklet/series of posters to teach others how to play some of those games. Bring in your booklet/posters at the start of Term 3. Some of the best ideas will be shared in our assemblies and taught to students. Designs will also be displayed at the Junior School’s Let’s Get Creative Festival in Term 4.
4. Design a piece of equipment that helps you train for sport/music/dance of your choice. Draw and label a diagram of your design to explain how it works and make a prototype. Bring it in to show Mr Tyson, Mr Schweinberger or Mr Brown in Term 3. Designs will be displayed at the Junior School’s Let’s Get Creative Festival in Term 4.
5. Go to Arcade.makecode.org and make your own maze game. Email the link to share your game to kbrown@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au
6. Visit https://vr.vex.com/ (for 8 years +) and explore how to make and code your own virtual robot.
7. Have a go at our short story competition. Write a short fantasy or adventure story (maximum two pages), which must include these five things:
   • an old school diary
   • a small silver stone
   • a very long piece of string or rope
   • a beetle or bug of some description that plays an important part in your story
   • a wise, old character.

Illustrate your story if you like. Entries can be solo entries or a partnership with a friend, and House points and prizes will be awarded to winning entries. Hand in your story to the Junior School office at the start of Term 3 to be judged by Mrs Brown and Mrs Bird, Deputy Head of Junior School Academics.

Year 2s Taronga Zoo Adventure – Emily Cole, Year 2 Compass Teacher

On Wednesday 7 June Year 2 excitedly hopped on the bus and ventured to the zoo! What a fabulous day we had. Each group had the opportunity to experience a habitat room where we were introduced to a range of animals and had the chance to look at them up close. Inside the habitat rooms we were transported to a natural world with birds flying above us! For the remainder of the day each group explored the zoo at their own pace, choosing what exhibits they wanted to visit and animals that they wanted to see. A few students were asked to reflect on their favourite part of the excursion…

Olivia Guo: My favourite part of the zoo was when we saw the seal show! I loved when the seals did funny tricks.

Sophie Woo: I loved when we got to pat the creatures in the habitat room. I was able to feel the soft fur of the ring tail possum. He was really cute!

Mischa Jadav: I enjoyed seeing the scorpions because I found it interesting how they glowed in the dark.

Selena Rezaei: I really liked watching the chimpanzees fighting! They were arm wrestling and climbing all over their enclosure. They were very cheeky!  

Performing Arts K-6

You are warmly invited to the 2023 Year 5 Showcase called ‘Archie’s World Music Adventure 2023’. This will be taking place in the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts (GMCPA) on Friday 16 June from 1.30pm to 2.30pm. Entry is free, and all are welcome. Parking reminder – parking is limited on campus, and please do not park in the car lines. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Tech Connect – Year 3 Dads and Daughters – an evening of dancing puppets

This event will be led by Mr Dan Brown, Head of STEM K-6, Mrs Lara Bird, Deputy Head of Junior School Academics, Mrs Alison Tedesco, K-6 Robotics Coordinator and Mrs Kate Brown, Head of Junior School.

Come and create your own string puppet with your daughter. Bring your puppet to life by coding a micro:bit to play music and sound. Then enjoy the magic of making your puppet dance to its own music! At the end of the evening, we can enjoy a performance by all the puppets to celebrate the fun of this collaborative evening. Girls may take home their puppet (without the micro:bit) at the end of the evening. 

Girls can attend the event in mufti (school uniform is not required).

Pizza and water will be served at 7.00pm for Dads and their daughters to enjoy.

Please click here to register for the event.

Vision Valley Winter Holiday Camps – booking close tomorrow Friday 16 June

Messages from Junior School Administration 

To ensure your daughters are not disrupted during class time, could we please request that all deliveries are dropped to the Junior School Admin offices and we will ensure they are delivered to your daughter.

Absent, Late Arrivals/Early Departures, Vacation

If your daughter is late, please remind her to go to the office to sign in so we know she is here.  Please help your daughter to arrive at school by 8.10am each morning (unless she has an earlier activity) so she has time to settle into the day with her friends and is ready and calm for her learning in Period 1.

If you daughter is absent from school please enter her absence through the MyPymble App or email juniorschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au .

If your daughter will be away from school for more than 2 days for family leave or other commitments (e.g sport) please complete the Exemption from Attendance Application form on the Portal.  Where possible please provide two weeks advance notice.

Lost Property – please help!

We are finding an extraordinary amount of lost property each week, much of which is unnamed. We want our girls to be responsible for their things so please ensure your daughter’s full name is clearly labelled on all items of clothing including socks, hats and lunch items so they can be quickly returned to your daughter

From the Junior School Parent Group (JSPG)

Athletics Carnival

Last week, the JSPG held parent refreshment stalls at both the Junior School Athletics Carnivals. Thank you to our wonderful parent community for your food and drink donations and generous volunteering of your time helping at these stalls. Proceeds from the stalls are being donated to the nominated charity which is Epilepsy Australia. We are so proud to be able to donate this money to a charity which helps so many adults and children around Australia.

Class 4S Play Date

Key Dates

Kate Brown

Head of Junior School

From the Middle School

Once a term we gather together with all of our Year 7 and 8 students for a celebratory Middle School Assembly in the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts (GMCPA). This term’s theme was One School Many Stories. Our assembly on Tuesday of this week was outstanding in every way. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the newly appointed Year 7 Leaders who planned and delivered such an engaging showcase of all that is happening in Middle School. Thank you to: Martina Dall’Asta Comin, Hargun Dhaliwal, Jasmine Jung, Abi Martin, Emma Yates, Francesca Chan, Leahara Wijesuriya, Heidi Ferreira, Isabelle Martin, Rosie Rew, Ellie Jenkins and Sarah Quan for your poise and professionalism.

Congratulations also to our incredible performers for confidently sharing their many talents: Hargun Dhaliwal -a traditional Indian dancer, Grace Louw (Y8) and Saskia Nicholson (Y8)-a duo of violin and voice, Joy Yin-on piano. Joy is now heading to Austria to compete in a piano competition – we wish her every success.

A highlight of the assembly was a panel discussion centred around the theme for this week’s Refugee Week: Finding Freedom. We were so fortunate to have Kseniia Vereshchak (a Year 11 Ukranian student) and her mother, alongside, Lauren Korenblyum (a Year 11 student and refugee advocate and activist) and Mrs Shaw (Deputy Principal: Head of Social Impact) join the conversation. Sharing insights into our global community and the challenges faced by many on a daily basis in other parts of the world, is an important part of our learning. The audience demonstrated great maturity and interest and I was so proud of everyone’s willingness to listen and consider our responsibility moving forward. Thank you to all involved.

Year 8 National Exchange Program

This week we are holding final interviews for this term 3 opportunity. Hopefully we will be ready to share the list of students selected next week.

Happy Box Project Update

This Service initiative is absolutely taking off in Middle School! It is wonderful to see the girls crafting and spending their time together to create gifts for others to enjoy. A highlight of this week’s sessions were the felt animals. We will certainly make a difference in a remote community when our goodies are delivered.

MS Picnic and Hot Chocolate Day Wednesday

We had a wonderful gathering on the oval to mark the end of term. It is always great to see the girls outside enjoying the sunshine and joining in various physical activities. The traditional hot chocolate and marshmallows also went down a treat.

Congratulations to our Term 2 Jacaranda and Award Winners and Compass Captains:

Attendance Matters

Education for your child is important and regular attendance at school is essential for your child to achieve their educational best.

The Importance of arriving on time

Arriving at school and class on time:

• Ensures that students do not miss out on important learning activities scheduled early in the day
•  Helps students learn the importance of punctuality and routine
•  Give students time to greet their friends before class ظ
• Reduces classroom disruption

Lateness is recorded as a partial absence and must be explained by parents.

A reminder regarding Leave Applications

Leave is only granted for illness, bereavement, elite sport or work experience. Vacations should be restricted to the prescribed holiday periods. Where possible, leave to attend medical appointments should be minimised. Students are expected to participate in whole-school activities and should avoid making appointments on these occasions.

Applications for special leave should be completed on the ‘Exemption from Attendance’ form found on MyPymble via the College website and signed by a parent or carer. Forms are to be sent to the respective school office as soon as possible or at least fourteen days in advance of the intended period of leave.

From the Year 7 Parent Group Leaders

Year 7 Dinner – This Saturday 17^th June

The first Year 7 Dinner for the year will be held this Saturday night. All parents and carers are welcome. The dinner will be held in the beautiful surrounds of the Rooftop at The Governor Hotel, Macquarie Park. This popular venue is just down the road and will give all Year 7 parents a wonderful opportunity to catch up with friends and meet new people from across our Year 7 community in a relaxed environment.

Venue: The Rooftop at the Governor Hotel, 9 Waterloo Rd, Macquarie Park

Date: Saturday 17 June

Time: From 6.00pm

Dinner & drinks: To be ordered and paid for at the bar

RSVP: by Thursday 15 June (via WhatsApp poll)

Numbers for the event need to be confirmed with the venue today (Thursday 15 June). If you are attending the dinner, please complete the “Year 7 Dinner at the Rooftop” poll circulated in the “Year 7 Class of 2028” WhatsApp group. This is an event for parents only.

Please do not hesitate to contact me (Kai) if you have any further queries. A HUGE thank you to Sarah Martin and Sally Soo for getting involved in organising this event.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Pymble Parents Tennis Clinic

Due to the popularity of the adult tennis lessons on Thursday mornings, the Pymble parent tennis lessons are now being expanded to Tuesday mornings.

Come and join in the fun of the Parents Tennis Clinic.

When: Tuesday and Thursday Mornings 8.30 am to 10 am (term time)

Where: Secondary School Tennis Courts (enter through Gate 3)

Cost: $35 per session

Level: All levels of players from beginners to advanced players are catered for.

Coaches: Pymble Academy Coaches – Tennis Australia Certified

Who: For all Pymble community families and friends are welcome

Fun: Get to meet new people and learn the great game of tennis.

Jenny O’Donnell

Head of Middle School

From the Upper School

A message from Mr Riley, Head of Upper School

A massive thank you to all the girls and families who dropped in contributions to our ‘Undies Drive’ early this week. We are hoping to raise over 1,000 pairs by the end of this term and ask that you keep them coming! Wylie A are the early leaders and currently scheduled to win the High Tea prize.

It was great to see so many families at our Year 10 Subject Selection Night on Tuesday. This marks an important milestone for our girls as they consider what subjects they love and where they see their future career paths. Please do encourage your daughters to book in with our Futures Team to discuss their strengths, and to visit the Upper School should they need some advice on options available.

This week we also celebrated our French and Italian Exchange Students with a morning tea. It has been lovely having all 8 of them on campus and have loved hearing how school here differs to home.

We too have loved hearing from our exchange students in England and share a few memories and photos below:

Lara Hassall

We have had a half-term break and I spent the week in Ireland! It was beautiful, and I had so much fun. I never thought I would ever take a ferry over to Dublin, Ireland. I did so many fun activities such as a hawk walk, afternoon tea in the castle, dinner on the beach and so much more.  I am currently writing this in business studies class which I have found very interesting. Taking different subjects has given me a better idea of what subjects I might be choosing for Senior School.

Alanah Scott & Tully Black

Over the past month, we have been on exchange in England experiencing the life of an English student. We have recently enjoyed a mid-term break which we are both sad has come to an end, as we greatly loved some extra holidays! During this time we both went to the Suffolk Show which is an agricultural version of the Easter show. We both were also lucky enough to travel to London for the weekend where we enjoyed sightseeing tourist attractions such as Buckingham Palace and the O2. We also braved the English sea, going for a swim at the local beach, Felixstowe, with some of our friends to celebrate the beginning of half term. Alanah also got the opportunity to travel up north to the Lakes District where she enjoyed some lovely warm weather and sunshine. She was able to go canoeing on the lake and wild swimming in the mountains! On the way back from the Lakes District she also was able to stop at Woolsthorpe Manor where she saw the house Isaac Newton grew up in as well as the famous apple tree!

Tully O’Regan

The Welsh Sea was as cold as we have been told about but I was fortunate enough paddle board and swim around in a wetsuit. I also thoroughly enjoyed borough markets, which are really pretty flower markets with huge pretzels. I have found the sightseeing highly interesting, especially when I saw the King and Camilla on a practice trooping of the colours event! We are having an incredible time and have made lots of new friends and met many different new people.

From the Upper School Parent Group

Click here to purchase your tickets for the Year 9 Cocktail Evening on Saturday 5 August.

Year 10                Zoe Green                        bzgreen@bigpond.net.au

                             Pamela McPherson         bruceandpam@bigpond.com

Year 9                  Monika Surana                monsisurana@yahoo.co.in

                              Christel Vigne                 vignechristel@gmail.com 

Social media community groups:

PymbleLC Parents Class of 2025 (Facebook for year 10)

PymbleLC Parents Class of 2026 (Facebook for year 9)

PymbleLC USPG 2023 (Facebook for all Upper School parents)

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

Key Dates

Wednesday 21 June – Secondary School Ensemble Concert

Thursday 22 June – Last day of Term 2

Tom Riley

Head of Upper School

From the Senior School

I am hoping that you all enjoyed some extra time over the King’s Birthday long weekend to catch up on some rest and family time. As Term 2 draws to a close, it is worth making some time to discuss with your daughter her progress and achievements over the past term. A useful activity that I sometimes work through with my classes is called Stop, Start, Continue. These are helpful prompts to start a conversation about ‘What do I need to stop doing that is getting in my way?’

This might include too much time on social media or staying up too late. Secondly, ‘What can I start doing that will support me?’ These could encompass following a study routine, or taking a daily walk. Finally, ‘what am I doing well, that I should continue?’ You get the idea; these could cover making time for my friends, or making my notes in good order.

Year 11 Leadership

This week Dr Hadwen and I spoke to Year 11 students about the Prefect leadership process, to elect our Year 12 student leaders for 2023-2024. We discussed different qualities of a leader and the importance of being true to yourself. More detail about the process have been uploaded on Parent Portal, including the dates for submission.

Wrap with Love Knit In

A reminder to all parents, grandparents and friends, to keep lunchtime on Tuesday 20 June free – for our Senior School Knit In. From 12.45pm to 2.15pm you are warmly invited to come along to the Senior School with your knitting needles and wool and join us for our annual knit in! The blankets we make are provided to those in need both in Australia and overseas.

If you are able to contribute, you will need: 8 ply wool (any type but the students have been asked to use 100% pure wool for warmth, and Australian wool, where possible, to support our farmers), 4.00 needles (size 4.00).

The pattern is a square of 50 rows X 50 stitches. All the details can found at the Wrap with Love website.

Term 2 Key dates

Monday 12 June – King’s Birthday Public Holiday

Tuesday 20 June – Senior School Knit In

Thursday 22 June – Last day of Term 2

Nikki Wyse

Head of Senior School

From the Boarding School

Last week Pymble was lucky enough to host the AIS Boarding Symposium. It was a fruitful day of connecting, sharing and learning for Boarding staff from around the state. The delegates enjoyed a host of workshops and keynote speakers on topics including wellbeing, resilience, risk and building cross-cultural identity and safety.

Our very own Dr H started off the day by sharing her wealth of knowledge of Boarding and was followed by a beautiful Acknowledgement of Country by Jaidey Samuelsson and Amarley Bron. Another highlight of the day was the View From Window presentations by our Boarders – Sasha Paris, Gina Lau and Andie Hodder. These girls shared stories about their lives in their hometowns with great pride, finesse and warmth. We could not have been prouder of them.

Winding Up the Term

In just on a week we will be saying goodbye to our Boarders for the holiday break and you will be welcoming your girls home. We will be allocating time over the coming week for the Term 3 move and packing up to get ready for the holidays. The Boarders will be asked to bring home all of their items so we can thoroughly clean the Houses. There will be the opportunity to donate unwanted items to our Pymble Gives Back clothing collection bins and we ask for your support in ensuring that the girls limit the items with which they return to the new term.

Eat Like a Boarder

I hope you can join us for dinner on Monday 17 July at 6.00pm, when you return your girls from the Term 2 break. This will be the ‘real’ experience, with you being able to enjoy the regular dinner service, just as the girls do each evening. If you would like to join us please rsvp to boarding@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

Get ready for Garden Party!

Planning is underway for our 2023 Boarders’ Produce Stall and we are looking for volunteers to be involved in this most special event on the Boarding calendar. I am delighted to report that the wonderful Kylie Levy has once again offered to lead our efforts as our Boarding Garden Party Convenor. If you are interested in being involved please email Kylie at k_levy@bigpond.com. More details will follow soon.

Love It – Mrs Katie White, Deputy Director of Boarding

We have heard lots of lovely stories about everyone’s long weekend and with only one weekend left of term, we have some exciting events planned for our Boarders.

Get ready to unleash your inner pastry chef, dust off your aprons and prepare to whip up some delectable treats at Boarders Get Baking on Friday.

Saturday afternoon will be a special occasion as we open our doors to the day girls of our school community. This is a fantastic opportunity for our Boarders to connect with their day girl counterparts and forge lasting friendships – sharing stories, engaging in fun activities and discovering common interests. Embrace the chance to learn from one another and embrace the diverse perspectives that our community offers.

Sunday is Fun Day and we hope you’re ready to glide and twirl on the ice because this day will be all about ice skating at Macquarie! Lace up your skates and join us at the Macquarie Ice Rink for an afternoon filled with laughter and graceful moves. Whether you’re a seasoned skater or a newbie, this experience is sure to leave you with cherished memories. Don’t forget your warm winter gear!

View From My Window

Hi, my name is Nandika, I’m in Year 10 and I live in Dubai. I have been living there for five years after moving from Sydney; it’s very different to Australia but I love both. I live at the beach with my mum and dad and my dog, Rio, and I have seen some of the prettiest sunsets from my window.

Dubai, like the rest of the Middle East, is extremely hot with temperatures (on average) ranging between 30 and 45 degrees Celsius during the summer and around 20 to 40 degrees in the so-called ‘winter’. Dubai is renowned for its multicultural environment, where people from all corners of the globe converge.

Spending the past five years in such a diverse city allowed me to embrace different cultures, traditions, and perspectives, develop a broader worldview, appreciate different customs and build lasting friendships with people from various backgrounds.

Boarding Parent Group Meeting

Given the time of term, we have made the decision to delay the previously advertised meeting on 16 June. The meeting has been rescheduled to Thursday 27 July at 7.00pm and we hope you can join us online at this time. A Teams meeting link will be sent through early next term. Topics on the agenda include Garden Party, parent events and an update on Boarding. Please send through any additional agenda items to boarding@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au.

Boarder of the Week

Ella Mitchell is a kind and considerate Boarder who makes it her priority to help those who need a little extra support and TLC. She is from the town of Jerrabomberra (near Canberra but not IN Canberra!) and she joined us midway through Year 8.

Ella has established herself as a ‘big sister’ figure to many of our younger Boarders, and she always goes out of her way to look after them and comfort them in times of homesickness or loneliness. Ella keeps her living space tidy; she is punctual and she’s first to put up her hand to assist staff around the house with day-to-day chores.

Despite an injury that ended her basketball season, she has been a constant cheerleader for her teammates. Ella always takes time out of her day to listen to those around her and engage in meaningful conversations. She is interested and makes others feel special. We look forward to seeing what she does in years to come; she has endless amounts to give!  

Save the Date

Friday 16 June – Boarders’ Parent Group Meeting (online)

Thursday 22 June – Boarders’ End of Term Travel Day

Monday 17 July from 2.00pm – Return to Boarding Start of Term 3

Monday 17 July – Eat Like a Boarder, 6.00pm

Thursday 20 July – Pymble in Moree and Boarding Expo

Friday 21 to Saturday 22 July – Narrabri Boarding Expo

Thursday 27 July – Boarding Parent Group Meeting

Friday 4 to Sunday 6 August – Boarder Parents Regional Weekend in Mudgee

Carolyn Burgess

Head of Boarding

From the Chaplains

I felt very blessed and enriched indeed this week. On Tuesday, the College had a visit from the Principal and staff from the school on Milingimbi Island. Milingimbi sits off the coast of North-East Arnhem land.

The hope is that a friendship and partnership of mutual learning will be able to grow between our two schools.

We began the day with a simple chapel service together. We prayed, sang and read the Scriptures in both English and in Djambarrapuyŋu, one of the Yolngu dialects spoken in the community.

One of the things I love about working at Pymble is the great diversity of cultures and languages that are represented by our students.

Diversity brings richness and learning. It encourages openness to the ‘other’.

In chapel we reflected with our Yolngu visitors, who are themselves strong and faithful Christians, that the love of God as revealed to us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ breaks through all cultural and language barriers. When people are united in their faith in Jesus, there is an incredibly strong connection between them, despite all differences.

As Paul wrote to the people of Galatia in about 50 CE:

It is through faith that all of you are God’s children in union with Christ Jesus. You were baptised into union with Christ, and now you are clothed, so to speak, with the life of Christ himself. So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free people, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are the descendants of Abraham and will receive what God has promised.

Galatians 3:26-29

Paul’s words would have shocked his readers.

In a world dominated by the harsh Roman empire, where slave ownership was commonplace,  where women had few rights and where there was a sharp divide between Jew and Gentile – “you are all one in union with Christ Jesus”? That was, and still is, a radical statement.

In most ways, Pymble and the Milingimbi school could not be more different. But on Tuesday we sat down together as brothers and sisters in Christ; lit a candle together, prayed and sang together, and began the journey of learning from each other. Most of the learning, I suspect, will be on our side, as Yolngu people have already had to learn to navigate Western culture as well as hold onto their own.

I thank God for all the diversity of languages , faiths, cultures and traditions represented by the students and staff at Pymble, and for the space that is made here for us to learn from and listen to the ‘other’. 

Edwina O’Brien

Assistant Chaplain

From the Community Engagement Team

Events Calendar

Parents and carers can view all College community events in the MyPymble app from the calendar tab. We encourage all community members to check the app regularly to keep up to date with the rich array of events at Pymble that keep our community connected.

This week we continue to plan for Term 3 events – in the coming weeks look out for information about the 2023 Cultural Festival Dragon Boat Dinner, Think Pymble and, of course, the various ways in which you can be involved in Garden Party 2023.

2023 Cultural Festival Dragon Boat Dinner

In Term 3 we invite all families at the College to come together at the inaugural all-school Pymble cultural event on Friday 2 July from 5.30pm to 8.00pm in Main Hall. The Pymble community is represented by more than 40 different cultural backgrounds, and we are excited to be celebrating our remarkable diversity at this event.   

Starting in 2023, each year Pymble will celebrate a different culture with a dinner or small festival. This year we are celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival, a traditional Chinese holiday. The event tells the tale of Chinese hero and poet Qu Yuan who lived in the second century CE. Through a series of traditional Chinese performances ranging from singing, dancing and musical items from Pymble students and families, Qu Yuan’s story will be woven against a setting of political intrigue and exile culminating in the story of zongzi – traditional delicious rice treats – and how Qu Yuan was responsible for the very first Dragon Boats.   

As well as entertainment, there will be plenty of fun activities for the children including craft tables, Chinese paper folding, colouring and calligraphy, as well as fun and whimsical story cards detailing the tale of the Dragon Boat Festival. Complementing the epic saga of Qu Yuan, guests will be treated to yum cha-style canapes including delicious zongzi as well as other traditional Chinese dishes. 

We look forward to welcoming all students, parents, carers, siblings and other family members from across our Pymble community to this event to learn more about Chinese culture and to enjoy fun and friendship. 

Date: Friday 21 July 

Time: 5.30pm to 8.00pm 

Venue: Main Hall

Cost: Adults – $50, School-aged children – $30, Children under 5 – free 

Inclusions: Yum Cha style canapes and an entertainment 

Tickets: Please click here to purchase 

RSVP: Thursday 22 June 

Annual Appeal

At Pymble, the power of community is very important. We are fortunate that our community sets usapart as a leading, influential, innovative girls’ school in Australia.  

Our 2023 Annual Appeal is your opportunity to join others in making a difference to the lives of our current and future students. Your tax-deductible gift before 30 June can support students through our Pymble Foundation Bursary Program (means-tested scholarships) or our Building Fund to help us bring our vision for the future of our learning environments to life.  

We warmly invite you to consider how you may be able to assist us to achieve our vision for the future of the College and our goal for Pymble girls to graduate as influential and compassionate changemakers in their local, national and global communities. Your gift has the power to make a real difference as we change the world, together. 
 
If you would like to support these programs, please click here to donate. 

Foundation Ball

In 2023 year we announced the formation of the Pymble Foundation which leads philanthropic engagement across our community. This philanthropy benefits current and future generations of Pymble girls by funding buildings and facilities, scholarships, bursaries and other programs. It also enables the College to remain a world leader in educating girls and young women.

We are now excited to invite you to our inaugural Pymble Foundation Ball on Saturday 14 October at the Art Gallery of NSW for a night of fun and community. Please mark the date in your diary and we will share further details soon.

Think Pymble

After the success of last year’s event, the People and Culture team at Pymble are again hosting Think Pymble, an evening of employment opportunity for prospective staff, on Wednesday 26 July in the Kate Mason Building. This year at the event, as we do every day, we are embracing inclusion, because people are at the heart of what the College offers its students. We attract outstanding people from a diversity of backgrounds and career experiences.

Think Pymble – Embracing Inclusion is an information evening which welcomes potential future colleagues who may be interested in joining Pymble at some point in their career. We encourage high quality teachers from all sectors and expert co-curricular, administration and professional services staff from business, universities, education and not-for-profits to attend. Look out for more information in the following weeks, and invite a friend you think may add to the fabric of Pymble.

Kelly Mancey

Director of Community Engagement and Advancement

From the Futures Team

Which pathway is ‘right?’

This question is tricky to answer! The Futures team whilst supporting students in Career Education, also incorporate factors such as Cliftons Strengths Profile, Motivational Mapping results, academic success and areas of passion. We also consider scholarship opportunities, industry skills gaps and help students to identify a pathway that will be suited to their needs and aspirations.

Think back to when you were 15 years old, did you know what you wanted to do? If so, did that change? What role did your parents have in helping you to decide on your post-school pathway?

Our Futures Team were pleased to meet so many families at the Subject Selection Evening this week who were deeply invested in supporting their student to find a pathway that suits them. It is wonderful to be part of a school community that embraces growth mindset and encourages students to ‘step out of their comfort zone’ to explore the possibilities on offer.

We’ve put together a Subject Selection page on the Futures@Pymble site to help you navigate questions that may arise in relation to pathways. Please visit the page here.

Masterclass with Dr Ray from MedEntry

We had the pleasure of hosting Dr Ray Boyapati from MedEntry for a Medical Pathway Masterclass. MedEntry is an organisation that supports students to pursue a Medicine pathway and prepare for the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT). You can view the recording of the session here.

Please note: MedEntry is an external support service provided by a private company. Any fees associated with service are the responsibility of the student and families. 

University Open Days

Each University hosts an Open Day to help prospective students and their families to explore the campus, facilities and ask questions about courses and opportunities on offer.

We highly recommend students in Year 11 and 12 to visit at least two open days to compare and contrast the offerings between tertiary institutions.

If the institution you are looking for is not on the list below, please visit https://myfuture.edu.au/assist-others/open-days

New South Wales

Work Experience Stories : BESIX Watpac at Barangaroo

Seven students from the Senior Geography course recently had the opportunity to explore a Careers in Construction day at the Barangaroo site for the new Sydney Metro line. BESIX Watpac, the construction company in charge of building Barangaroo Station hosted this experience for the students.

The GBE department have actively explored connections between Geography and how it connects to multiple career pathways such as construction. This opportunity was delivered in partnership with the NSW Department of Education Regional Industry Partnerships program and helped students to observe and meet experts within the construction industry. Students are able to partake in an engineering challenge, listen to impressive female presenters speaking about different facets in the construction industry and explore the construction site.

Providing work experience opportunities like this is is crucial in addressing the issue of diversity within the workforce, particularly in industries where women are under-represented. By exposing young individuals to career pathways in these sectors, we empower them to envision themselves as part of a more inclusive future.

Work experience not only allows students to gain practical skills and knowledge but also challenges preconceived notions about gender roles in specific industries. By bridging the gender gap and encouraging more women to explore non-traditional career paths, we foster a diverse and dynamic workforce that thrives on a range of perspectives and talents.

Below are some reflections from the students of their experience:

I found the entirety of the experience so interesting because it opened my eyes to the practical side of construction as well as the theoretical part of design and engineering. I also enjoyed learning about the new opportunities that are being given to women who join the industry and the importance of breaking the typical tradie stereotype. –  Catherine Walker

The Barangaroo metro experience was a very exciting and thought-provoking experience. It really allowed me to understand everything that goes into such a big project and broadened my perspective on all careers that are available in construction pathways. – Alicia Slobodian

At the BESIX Watpac work experience, I learnt that construction is not just about working is sites and building, it includes design, management and so many other different jobs. I loved seeing the behind the scenes of the metro being built in Barangaroo and this opportunity has inspired me to look into future opportunities surrounding construction and architecture! – Lux Fritz

At the BESIX Watpac work experience, I had a great time viewing the metro. It was great to see everyone’s unique individual roles in creating the Metro station at Barangaroo. This opened my eyes to the broad range of opportunities available within the area of construction such as law, finance, site management and civil engineering. I am excited to go back to Barangaroo Metro station and see it when it is complete. – Isabel Aveling  

The Barangaroo metro work experience allowed broaden my perspective on women in construction. In particular, the pathways available to undertake for future careers in engineering. I am very grateful for this opportunity. – Megan Wood

We got a live site tour of the site which was really interesting to see because there was so much more going on underground than we expected on the surface level. We also did an engineering activity where we worked together to build a bridge from craft materials. Overall, this experience was very rewarding as it taught me that construction is not only about doing labour, in reality it is a really rewarding experience that involves a diverse range of careers that is future-safe, and no two jobs are the same. I also learnt more about apprenticeships which I didn’t know much about before, and the advice from the staff there and visitors really helped me in thinking about what I want to do in the future. – Carrie Luo

Kim Maksimovic

Director of Futures and Partnership (K-12)

From the Pymble Institute

Invitation to participate in research: Social Brain Training for teenagers using an app

A member of staff is seeking young people (13-16) to participate in a study into the social brain. The research is being conducted by the Developmental Affective Science Lab (School of Psychology, University of New South Wales) and the staff member who has made us aware of the research is undertaking studies in psychology with this team.

The research involves the participating student using an app which will give training on emotional regulation. The study takes place out of school time and under parent supervision.

FROM THE RESEARCH TEAM

What is the research about?  

Previous studies have shown that emotion regulation is important for adolescents across emotional, social and cognitive domains of functioning. Existing forms of emotion regulation training have been successful at improving emotion regulation in adults, but uptake in adolescents has been very low. We are investigating whether a novel gamified emotion regulation training is both effective at improving emotion regulation and engaging to young people.  

Who are we looking for to participate in this study. 

Young people who are:

* fluent in English

* aged between 13-16 years

* with no history of traumatic brain injury

* with access to a smart phone and internet.

What is involved in taking part?  

Students who participate will complete 4 study phases across 6-weeks. These include a baseline and post-training assessment, the training itself as well as a follow-up assessment. At the three assessments emotion regulation and mental wellbeing as well as cognitive functioning will be assessed. During the training phase they will train on an app-based emotion regulation training. For completing phases 1-3 students will receive a $50 gift voucher and a $10 bonus voucher will be received for completing phase 4. 

All study components are completed online outside of school time. 

If you would like to find out more in order to discuss participation with your adolescent child, please review the Participant Information Sheet below and Consent Form. Information is also located in the attached poster.

This study has been reviewed and approved by the College Ethics Committee, in addition to the UNSW Ethics Committee.

If you would like to find out more, please contact Dr Sarah Loch, Director – Pymble Institute sloch@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au or Ms Jaimee Fischer  jfischer@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au 

From the Co-curricular Sports Team

Opportunity to purchase photos

Photos of the Senior School Athletics Carnival (as well as a range of other sports) are now available to purchase online from our College photographer, Anthony Khoury Photography. Simply click the image below and use the password kelso when prompted.

Katie Edwards

Head of Sports – Years 7 to 12

From the Co-curricular Performing Arts Team

As the term draws to a close, we celebrate the participation of all students in ongoing eisteddfods, competitions and AMEB examinations. It is undoubted that such involvement challenges and enhances the students’ performance and presentational skills regardless of the result. Such participation also offers students the opportunity to witness and be inspired by the work of their colleagues not only at Pymble but also from other schools and groups.

There are some exciting events coming up such as the Year 12 Language Arts High Tea and The Concerto Competition Finals and Secondary School Ensemble Concert. The details are below.

Michael Griffiths

Director of Co-curricular Performing Arts

Co-curricular Administration

End of Term 2 Registration Period

The End of Term 2 Registration period opened at 12.00pm on Wednesday 7 June. During this period, families will be able to register their daughters for Term 3 and Semester 2 programs, as well as Term 4 2023 Saturday Sports. All program information and access to the online registration system is available on the Co-curricular pages of MyPymble by clicking here. A parent/carer log in is required to be able to register and registrations cannot be processed via email or phone.

The system will close at 11.59pm on Wednesday 5 July for Term 3 and Semester 2 programs, and 12.00pm (midday) on Friday 4 August for Term 4 Saturday Sports.

Reminder notices will be posted on the MyPymble App as the closing dates approach.

Monique Zahra

Head of Co-curricular Administration

Basketball

Our Senior Firsts have finished top of the table for igsa with an undefeated record! Our grand final game against Monte 1 will be played this Saturday at Pymble Ladies’ College Indoor Court 1 at 8.00am, we encourage everyone to come on out, get loud and support our Pymble basketballers!

Rachel Maenpaa

Head Coach – Basketball

Cross Country

Congratulations to the following Pymble Athletes who competed at the NSWCIS Cross Country Championships held at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre last Thursday 8 June.

All athletes performed extremely well with some outstanding results as follows:

12 Years

Gemma Dixon (Year 7) – 3rd

13 Years

Eliza Lawton (Year 7) – 1st
Claudia Wyatt (Year 7) – 2nd

14 Years – 1st 14 Years Teams Event

Layla Abdel-Megeed (Year 8) -15th
Phoebe Pockley (Year 8) – 17th
Hayley Browne (Year 8) – 25th
Chloe Ayton (Year 8) – 41st

15 Years

Grace Beck (Year 9) – 11th

16 Years

Sophia Slater (Year 10) – 9th
Tessa Newitt (Year 10) – 10th

17 Years – 1st 17 Years Teams Event

Abigail Ballhausen (Year 12) – 1st
Georgia Phillips (Year 11) – 6th
Mia Booth (Year 11) – 20th
Ellie Beck (Year 11) – 33rd

18 Years

Caitlyn Tan (Year 12) – 5th
Lucia O’Dea (Year 12) – 7th
McKenzie Ward (Year 12) – 18th
Rhiannon Castle (Year 12) – 28th

Para Event

Yi Ying Lim (Year 12) – 1st

Congratulations to our Pymble athletes for achieving tremendous results at such a prestigious event.

Laura Verlinden

Sports Co-ordinator – Cross Country

Diving

Elite Junior Diving Championships

A big weekend of diving at Sydney Olympic Park was completed by two of our divers training in NSWIS, Méa Shires (Year 9) and Indie Leon Searle (Year 5)

Whilst this was the NSW State Championships, divers from SA and QLD competed making it a weekend of highly competitive diving.

Congratulations to Méa and Indie for their first competition at this elite level.  See below for results:

Méa Shires (Year 9) – Elite Junior B

3m Final – 5th NSW, 10th overall

1m Final – 3rd NSW, =7th overall

Well done to Méa who Qualified for Junior Elite Nationals in both 3m and 1m.

NSWIS PURSU32+ Talent Program Testing Day

On Sunday 4 June, over 60 aspiring young athletes attended a talent testing day.

Amélie Berg (Year 3) and Jasmine Smith (Year 3) developed great experience in the skills and techniques required for high level sport at this testing day. We wish them well in their future diving endeavours.

Diver Grading

To conclude another successful term of Diving on Tuesday 20 June there will be an opportunity for divers in the Vertical FunDive, Little Rippers, Pathways and Competitive programs to be graded for their DIVER Level followed by a pizza celebration.

This is an opportunity to continue the Levels for those already in the program and grade divers new to the program.

Grading will commence from 3.00pm for Little Rippers, followed from 4.00pm for all VFD, Pathways and Competitive divers completing D and higher levels.

An open synchronised diving competition will be followed by a presentation of certificates, prizes and then a pizza celebration.

A payment and registration link will be available this week.

Chris Lang

Head Coach – Diving

Equestrian

Last week from Thursday 1 June to Sunday 4 June, 11 students and their horses represented Pymble in the Northwest Equestrian Expo in Coonabarabran. This was one of our largest teams to date.

All Pymble riders did an exceptional job throughout the week competing in a huge range of events: Dressage, Show Jumping, Sporting, Working Horse Challenge, Warrumbungle Way, Polo Cross, Team X-Bar, Team Hunt, Hacking and the Team Barrel Race.

For the second year in a row Pymble came home with the Trophy in the Team Barrel beating over 160 teams!!!  Congratulations to defending champions Tilly Barwick (Year 12), Eloise Clare (Year 12), and Lola Barwick (Year 12).

Congratulations to Eloise who had several wins throughout the competition and finishing 1st Champion 17-year girl, and overall runner up in the whole competition point score.

Summary of Results

Tilly Barwick (Year 12) – win barrel, 6th team hunt

Lola Barwick (Year 12) – win barrel, 6th team hunt, placed in sporting

Carolina Yemma (Year 11) – 5th in hacking

Alexa Kong (Year 8) – 3rd in hacking

Saskia Fitzgerald (Year 11) – 3rd combined training 80cm, 5th WH challenge, 3rd warr way, 6th team hunt.

Eloise Clare (Year 12) – win team barrel, 1st elementary freestyle dressage, 1st working horse challenge, reserve elementary dressage, reserve sporting, 1st combined training 65cm, 1st heavyweight open hack, 1st pairs and team of four, champion 17-year girl, runner up point score.

Football

CIS Grand Final Match Report by Football Captain, Kaitlyn Chan (Year 12)

I would like to commend every member who’s been a part of the CIS Football team, it was an incredible season by our Pymble footballers! 

The result didn’t favour our way, but as my last game playing in this competition, I must say it was an honour to play with everyone one last time. 

We started off in a strong position with Izabella scoring a cracker top right corner free kick. Although their W-league player slipped in two goals after, I couldn’t be prouder of this team as we fought to the final minute of extra time. As I told our team before, “no matter the result, it will be hard to beat a team that plays for each other” and that is completely backed up by the team’s performance in the finals and the whole competition. 

A special mention to our goalkeeper Chloe who was outstanding all night and thank you to Sophie Watson (Year 12) and Wynter O’Regan (Year 12) for your dedication to Pymble Football all these years. 

I have no doubt that our future CIS team will be back here next year lifting the trophy! 

IGSA Football Finals Weekend

This Saturday is going to be a must-see event. Our Senior Firsts and Junior Firsts will play in the igsa S01 and J01 grand finals that are being held on Pymble’s Main Oval. The Senior Firsts will start proceedings at 8.00am, and the Junior Firsts will follow them at 9.30am. A win for our Pymble 5 and Pymble 6 teams on Saturday will mean they claim their divisions as champions. Please find the schedule below, and best of luck to all our teams for their last game.

Chris Wood

Sport Co-ordinator – Football

Junior School Sport

School Sports Australia Cricket Competition

Congratulations to Eloise Lawry (Year 6), who represented NSWPSSA at the School Sports Australia Cricket Championships last week in Darwin. Eloise was her team’s second top run scorer, helping guide NSW with a win over South Australia in the final. Amazing effort, Eloise.

Championship Track Events

Congratulations to all students that participated in the Kindergarten to Year 2 (Thursday 8 June) and Year 3 to 6 (Friday 9 June) Athletics Carnivals last week. We are in the process of completing Championship Field events and will post all the results once they have been completed. This will allow us to celebrate our Age Champions and combine all points scored over the three events and award the overall winning house.

Matt Tyson

Head of Sport – Kindergarten to Year 6

Tennis

Pymble Tennis Academy Winter Holiday Program

All Pymble students and school aged siblings and friends are welcome to attend the Pymble Tennis Academy Winter Holiday Program from Monday 26 June to Friday 30 June. The camp runs from 9.00am to 12.00pm each day and caters for students of all ages and abilities. Please click here to access the registration page.

Term 3 Tennis Registrations

A reminder also that registrations are now open for Term 3 Tennis programs. Registrations can be made through the Activity Selection System on MyPymble.

Drama

I am delighted to share the amazing achievements of our Co-Curricular Drama students in the past few weeks!

Inner West Eisteddfod

At Inner West Eisteddfod, our Year 7 and 8 Drama Skills class all performed for the very first time in front of a large audience and did exceptionally well! We are pleased to share the following achievements:

Second place (Duos and Trios)

Title: The Mistake

Teacher: Miss Emma Throssell

Performers: Saisha Golani Year 7 and Jane Lee Year 8

Third place (Duos and Trios)

Title: The One After the Superbowle

Teacher: Miss Emma Throssell

Performers: Brielle McDonald Year 8, Ella Gungor Year 7 and Emily Xu Year 7

I would also like to commend The Abandoned Asylum by Aarushi Singh Year 7, Amara Ahmed Year 7 and Cyma Shah Year 7 who were one mark off placing third and would have received a Highly Commended should they have been awarded.

Sydney Eisteddfod

At Sydney Eisteddfod, our Eisteddfod drama performers all presented their original plays and showcased outstanding skill and commitment to their craft. I would like to congratulate the following performers for their efforts:

First place (Secondary category)

Title: The Second Chance Ship

Teacher: Miss Sarah Boyd

Performers: Aashna Rana Year 11, Maiya Foster Year 11, Ava Thomas Year 11, Ashley Park Year 11, Elizabeth Tang Year 10, Rachel Zhao Year 10.

Second place (Primary Category)

Title: The Environmentalists

Teacher: Miss Tahmara Thomas

Performers: Bella Xu, Fiona Wu Year 6, Amelia Hardas Year 6, Eden Ni Year 6, Sueann Deng Year 5, Trinity Sun Year 5, Olivia Guo Year 5, Tanvi Raniga Year 5

Highly Commended (Primary Category)

Title: Frozen: A Movie Whirlwind

Teacher: Miss Danielle Panayi

Performers: Grace Neal Year 6, Ellie Lau Year 6, Adele Cassidy Year 6, Emma Popli Year 5, Florence Cheng Year 5, Alice Wu Year 5, Lilyan Shen Year 5

Highly Commended (Duos Category)

Title: The Mistake

Teacher: Miss Emma Throssell

Performers: Saisha Golani Year 7 and Jane Lee Year 8

Sharp and Short Theatre

At Sharp and Short Theatre, we had one of our eisteddfod pieces progress to the final which took place on Friday 3 June at The Riverside Theatre. This was an amazing achievement, as only 10 plays were selected out of 65 entries from around NSW! Here, the girls were awarded the highest honour of the night, “Best Overall Production”, which is the first time Pymble Ladies’ College has ever won this award! We are beyond proud of these students and this impressive accomplishment.

Title: The Second Chance Ship

Teacher: Miss Sarah Boyd

Performers: Aashna Rana Year 11, Maiya Foster Year 11, Ava Thomas Year 11, Ashley Park Year 11, Elizabeth Tang Year 10, Rachel Zhao Year 10

Shakespeare Carnival

Finally, at the State Shakespeare Carnival which took place over the long weekend, Kathie Ong and Chloe Kim’s short film “Sonnet 5” took home First place in the Smart Phone Film category. Congratulations girls – this award is a testament to your hard work and dedication to the art of filmmaking!

Sarah Boyd

Co-curricular Drama Co-ordinator

Language Arts

Wishing all the Language Arts community a restful Term 2 break! It has been a great term with many trying our activities and some reaching semi and grand finals and even nationals!

Farewell to Year 12 Language Arts High Tea

Click Here to purchase your tickets now! Sales Close 3.00pm on Monday 19 June. Do not miss out!

This has become an annual fun event at Avondale, for Language Arts girls in Years 10, 11 and 12 and Year 12 parents. This year it will be held on 21 June from 4.30pm to 6.30pm. Please note that no denim is permitted and no very short skirts. Our committee is promoting elegant winter white dress code, with a touch of pink! Just an idea!

Debating

Congratulations to our Virtual Archdale debaters. This week our seniors had a BYE. See you all next term to complete the season.

Archdale

Archdale main comp debaters visited Abbotsleigh last week. On Tuesday 13 June, Pymble hosted Loreto Kirribilli for Round 5. Rounds 6 and 7 will resume next term. Year 10 will have a Round 5 make up on 8 August, due to the clash with subject selection evening this week.

Sydney Social Debating Competition (SSD)

SSD competition will run tomorrow at Pymble from 3.30pm to 6.30pm. Please meet in C10 again this week. We are pleased to offer this developmental level comp to our 7 to 12 girls this term. Thank you to our student coaches and our adjudicators – Becky Huang, Kayleigh Li and Mr Daniel Judd. We hope to offer this comp again in Term 3. Stay tuned.

Mock Law

Mock Trial Round 3 scenarios have been released. We are prosecution v Moriah College. This trial will be held on 15 June.

A Mediation round will also be held, at Pymble, prior to the end of this term.

MUN

Crisis Point

What: NSW UN Youth Day Summit: Crisis Point

When: Saturday 24 June 2023 (10.00am to 3:30pm)

Where: University of Technology

Cost: $30 per student*

Students can register themselves by clicking here. We ask that registered students inform Mrs Hubbard that they will attend.

UN Youth NSW provides students a unique chance to develop as individuals and refine their knowledge of world issues. They provide supervised events and have a trained welfare offer on site. Transport to and from this Saturday event is the responsibility of parents.

Bronwyn Hubbard

Head of Co-curricular Language Arts

Music

AMEB Exam Results

Results from the recent AMEB exams are coming in and I am so proud of every student for working towards her goal. I should acknowledge that for a variety of reasons, some girls have asked that they do not have their results published but they are to be celebrated, nonetheless. 

Violin

Sophie Chiang – Grade 1 – High Distinction

Bianca Ng – Grade 1 – High Distinction

Talia Luo – Grade 2 – High Distinction

Samantha He – Grade 2 – Honours

Emily Chiang – Grade 1 – High Distinction

Dakota Jiang – Grade 1 – High Distinction

Musicianship

Lucy Sun – Grade 1 – High Distinction (A+) 100%

Stella Xu – Grade 1 – High Distinction (A+) 100%

Evan Vigne – Grade 3 – Honours (A)

Saxophone

Sophie Beadman – Grade 5 – Honours (A)

Adele Cassidy – Grade 2 – High Distinction (A+

Jemma Horley – Grade 5 – Honours (A)

Imogen Martin – Grade 1 – High Distinction (A+)

Madison Pearce – Grade 5 – Honours (A)

Anna Ward – Grade 8 – Honours (A)

Piano

Adele Cassidy – Grade 2 – High Distinction (A+)

Results from the recent AMEB exams are coming in and I am so proud of every student for working towards her goal. I should acknowledge that for a variety of reasons, some girls have asked that they do not have their results published but they are to be celebrated, nonetheless. 

Concerto Competition finals and Secondary School Ensemble Concert – Wednesday 21 June

This is a compulsory event for girls involved in String Orchestra, School Concert Band, School Choir, Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Stage and Jazz bands, and Chorale are performing. The concert will commence at 6.30pm and there will be a short interval. Tickets must be booked, but there is no fee. Please go to: https://pymblelc.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/sales

All girls are to wear BLACK pants, their black music shirts AND their performance jackets. If you are new to an ensemble, please email Gladys on musicadmin@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au to secure your uniform.

Performance Uniforms

We are in the process of updating the current red music performance jacket. Please use this link to vote. The link will close on June 22, when the decision will be made. Basically, the jackets will be a choice of black with red piping OR red with black piping. The reason for the change is based around style and allowing the girls some choice in what they wear. There will also be black pants as part of the uniform, which all girls must wear. This will all be available from 2024.

Music tote bags

Available for order is our very own ‘Music’ Tote Bag. It is perfect for carrying all the items needed for music. The tote bag is being provided as a fundraiser by the Music Support Group, with all funds raised being used to assist the Co-curricular music programme. Click Here to place your order today! The cost is $30.00 and the bags will be delivered to students in their ensemble groups or will be at the Music Office for collection.

International Competition

Joy Yin (Year 8) will be heading to Austria in the holidays to partake in a competition called “Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition”. You can read more about this here, which is open to all nationalities, ages, instruments and chamber music. It is quite renowned and attracts applicants from 71 countries across all ages.  A selected group of winners are invited to perform live in Europe and US important venues depending on which competition we sign up for. Joy is attending to broaden her horizons as a pianist as well as competing. We wish her well in her endeavour and look forward to hearing of her trip upon her return.

Sarah Turner

Head of Co-curricular Music

Speech and Drama

Recent success in the Sydney and Parramatta Eisteddfods for the following girls in Solo Drama and Poetry Performance.

Sydney Eisteddfod

Estelle Vander Year 11       Drama – Highly Commended

Evelyn Zhu Year 10             Drama – ThirdPlace

Imogen Wu Year 9              Poetry Performance – Second Place

Parramatta Eisteddfod

Lauren Korenblyum             Australian Poetry Performance – First Place

Victoria Clancy

Speech and Drama Instructor

Annual Appeal 2023

The support Pymble families offer not only their daughter/s but also the College is second to none, and we are truly grateful to have such a kind, caring and compassionate community.

As per our email last week, we are inviting you to join others in making a difference to the lives of our current and future students by giving a tax-deductible donation to Pymble Ladies’ College by 30 June for our 2023 Annual Appeal.

Your gift will support students through our Pymble Foundation Bursary Program (means-tested scholarships) or our Building Fund to help us bring our vision for the future of our learning environments to life.

Please click here to make a donation, and thank you for considering a gift to our Annual Appeal to help change the world, together. 

Vision Valley Winter Holiday Camps (Years 3 to 8) – Registrations close tomorrow!

Pymble girls, their friends and siblings (girls only) in Year 3 to 8 are invited to attend the Vision Valley Winter Holiday Camps. There are two camps in the holiday break: the first camp from Monday 26 to Friday 30 June, and the second camp from Monday 10 to Friday 15 July.

The holiday camps will offer both two nights/three day ($385) and four nights/five day ($710) options and will feature a full activity program, including outdoor adventure activities, campfire cooking, star gazing and recreational games, all supervised by our experienced Vision Valley staff.

Please click here to register. Please note places are limited and will be allocated in order of receipt of payment. Registrations close tomorrow.

Rebecca Pearce

Operations Manager – Vision Valley

Thinking of a career change? Think Pymble!

At Pymble, you will be wrapped in a culture of care, community and commitment to educational excellence. You’ll also enjoy all the benefits of a big and beautiful working environment. For more information about working at Pymble, click here. 

Job of the week: Personal Assistant

With our College core values focusing on the overall wellbeing and care for our students and staff, we are on the search for a highly skilled and experienced Personal Assistant to support a Senior Executive member on a permanent basis from July this year.

You will bring a proven ability in providing exceptional administrative and functional support to senior members of staff, with experience in a previous school or higher education setting being highly desirable, as this role sits within an academically focused team of the College. In supporting a busy executive-level staff member, you will have a varied and changing work week, where no two days are the same. A flexible and dynamic self-starter, you will bring discretion and understanding in your interactions with staff, students and parents, as well as a willingness to build strong relationships within the College community. Your communication, both written and verbal, will be always at the highest standard, and you will thrive in an environment based on care, thoughtfulness and empathy.

Being available for varied hours during the working week is a must, as the needs day to day will change pending the requirements of the Senior Executive and College. Working full-time across the calendar year, encompassing all school term periods and holiday time, you will in return be rewarded with a positivity and longevity in a career that will develop and grow with you as a person.

Our kind of team member

You will display the following skills and attributes:

• Excellent interpersonal, time management and communication skills.
• The ability to demonstrate professional conduct and discretion at all times.
• Technologically savvy with a high level of experience in calendar management, MS Suite programs, Canva and various Google applications.
• Display efficient time management skills, with the ability to prioritise and multi-task, as well as handle changes of plan with a calm and easy nature.
• Proven ability to show initiative and operate without close supervision.
• Able to quickly build a relationship based on trust and respect with all members of staff.
• Demonstrated commitment to continuous improvement.

For more information or to apply, click here to head to our dedicated Careers website.

Contribute a recipe for the Pymble Cookbook

As part of the College’s Pymble Gives Back initiative, the 2023 Food Technology captains are creating a cookbook from the recipes of the Pymble community, with all proceeds donated to Dignity.

Dignity is one of the three chosen Pymble Gives Back not-for-profit charities for 2023. The organisation empowers Australians experiencing homelessness or at risk of experiencing homelessness by providing a range of innovative services. These include providing emergency guest home accomodation, home cooked meals, new clothing and support workers. Dignity’s aim is to end homelessness through prevention and changing attitudes within society about those experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. 

To support this chosen charity we are asking students from Kindergarten to Year 12, parents and staff to contribute a recipe that has meaning to their family. In submitting the recipe, please provide a short explanation about what makes it so special. Feel free to also upload a photo of the recipe you wish to submit.

Details about purchasing the cookbook will be released once it is complete. If you would like to contribute to this initiative, please complete this short survey and upload your treasured family recipe here.

Scholarship registrations open to current Year 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 students

Pymble offers a number of scholarships each year to girls seeking a Performance Scholarship – Sport or All-Rounder Scholarship starting in 2024. These scholarships are open to all students who are currently in Year 6, 7, 8, 9 or Year 10.

Registrations close on 4 August 2023. The examination will be held at the College on Sunday 13 August 2023.

Information about portfolio requirements and how to apply can be found online through the Scholarship webpage.

Clair Stock

Enrolments Manager