From the Principal

Pymble is a special place and what makes it most special is the young people in our care. When I have an opportunity to speak to the students at Combined Assembly it is always a big deal for me, and I spend lots of time preparing my words and messages – along with finding the right shoes to wear to grab their attention in the first instance!

This week’s carefully chosen topic was one I had promised the girls last term, a reflection on my March of the Living (MOTL) trip to learn about the Holocaust. It’s a hard subject to talk about with young people, especially in this setting, so I really laboured over what I wanted the girls to walk away with. In the end, I centred my message around a quote by German pastor Martin Niemoller, who spent seven years in concentration camps for speaking out against the Nazis. The quote was his response to one of his students’ questions about the Holocaust: How could it happen?

“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.”

Bringing this quote into the context of the playground and all the different individuals who share it helped our students to see the consequences of apathy in response to injustice and cruelty, as well as the greater need for moral connectedness, whoever you are, whatever you believe, however you identify.

The girls were so respectful, you could hear a pin drop. At the end of the assembly, many came up to say thank you for speaking about this topic and that they wanted to know more (phew, the speech landed!). They are so interested and engaged in social justice, and I am so proud of our girls.

Fast forward to later that same day when I joined the “Women in Black” (WIB) table at the iconic Year 12 Trivia Night – what a blast! Congratulations to our Head of Senior School, Nikki Wyse, and the Senior School team for hosting such a wonderfully joyful event, and a huge thank you to my beautiful mentee, Angelina Lu, and her table of friends for welcoming me so warmly into their group. They even made me my very own WIB lanyard. 😍 It was interesting to note, throughout the night, students and staff were still asking me questions about the Holocaust and MOTL experience. One staff member went out of her way to thank me for continuing to talk about heavy topics from the past and to express how important it is to raise, discuss and learn from them. As a few similar questions kept popping up, I thought it would be helpful to answer them again here.

From Pymble to Poland, and then Israel – how did this trip come about?

In November last year, I was approached by the March of the Living Australia (MOLA) Board with an invitation to join the 2023 Australian delegation on the trip, along with journalist Nick McKenzie and Olympian Ian Thorpe. The MOLA Board was keen to revive the program following a Covid-induced hiatus and to broaden the delegation by including non-Jewish leaders of different communities. Certainly, I was humbled to be chosen as the education representative for Australia on this trip. After significant research into MOTL and the potential benefits of experiencing the program, followed by lengthy discussions with our leadership team and College Board, I agreed to accept their offer.

My sincere thanks go to The Australian Jewish Funders for funding my attendance on the trip. This group had no other agenda regarding my attendance than to raise awareness for Holocaust education, and the College was not locked into any specific outcome following the trip.

How long was the trip?

Fortunately, the two-week program mostly took place over the Easter break, which meant I was off campus for just six school days. Originally, the plan was to come back earlier, however, on the recommendation of one of our Board members, I stayed in Israel for a few more days to visit Tech and Innovation hubs and to meet with potential partners for staff and student exchanges as these fit with priorities of our Digital Intelligence strategic pillar.

Why is Holocaust education important right now?

The Pymble-centric answer to this question is that we believe in raising our students to be good people; to be kind, to have a social conscious, and to care about other people in the world. Our vision is to develop influential and compassionate young women who embrace diversity and who refuse to look away when they see something that is unjust. Cultural connectivity is the basis of our Social Intelligence pillar because it is the key to making the world a more inclusive place for all to thrive – and storytelling is a powerful way to encourage these connections. In fact, a recent article in The Guardian acknowledged the impact on students when Holocaust survivors share their stories: “The power of testimony is really something phenomenal … [The students] may not remember the specific historical date that France was invaded. They may not remember the number of people in a specific concentration camp but they will remember the specific story of the individual.” 

On a macro level, research suggests Europe and the US are experiencing rising levels of antisemitism, despite a belief that Holocaust education in schools is necessary and useful. Additionally, in Australia, antisemitic behaviour has also been reported in several schools. All of this suggests that current Holocaust education is not as effective as it could be and needs to change in order to be impactful. Having experienced the MOTL immersion into Holocaust history, I can assure you of its impact.

Will there be an opportunity for students to attend MOTL?

Absolutely! From firsthand experience, I am delighted to say MOTL will be an incredible educational tour for Pymble girls and a valuable addition to our existing program of experiential learning opportunities.

In Year 9, our students head out to Vision Valley for our four-week residential program, in Year 10 they are offered international exchanges and Year 11 students have a service tour to Tanzania. Sadly, we are not even close to being able to accept all those who wish to attend these overseas opportunities – while 62 students applied for Tanzania, we were only able to take 16. Similarly, 40 students will go on cultural or language exchange this year, however there were more than 50 applicants for places. So, you can see why we are keen to build on international experiences offered to students.

To this avail, we are planning a MOTL trip in April 2024 for Year 10 students, possibly their parents, as well as super-keen Year 11 students who are prepared to miss up to two weeks of school to attend this once-in-a-lifetime experience. The good news is, unlike our other overseas tours and language/cultural exchange programs, it is unlikely we will have to put a cap on the number of students attending MOTL. We also hope to add an additional service tour to Greece in 2024. Stay tuned for more information to follow.

We are thrilled to be able to broaden our range of international tours to ensure more Upper School girls will have the opportunity to benefit from immersive learning experiences in other countries when they reach this stage of their Pymble journey.

Happy Mother’s Day to our carers

Speaking of journeys, it’s hard to think of a greater journey than parenthood. To all the mums, step-mums, grandmothers, aunts, godmothers and guardians in our Pymble family, wishing you a wonderful day on Sunday. And to all those who have lost or are missing the very special female careers in their lives, sending you big hugs and much love. We are especially thinking of our Boarding community; the mothers who are not with their children and the children who are not with their mothers, along with our wonderful Boarding staff who do so much to care for our Boarders when they are living with us. The photos below (and at the top of this page) feature some very special staff members in our Pymble family with their loved ones in celebration of Mother’s Day – we hope you love them as much as we do.

 

Dr Kate Hadwen, Principal

Student Research Conference

You’re invited to the Student Research Conference being held on Tuesday 16 May from 4.00pm to 6.00pm.

Join us to hear from our two guest speakers (Professor Fiona White and Natalie Dajovich) as well as a fantastic range of student researchers from Pymble.

There’s no charge and all are welcome, including students from other schools.

Click here to view the event program and click here to register.

From the Junior School

From the Head of Junior School

The Power of Partnerships

Our girls are constantly impressing us all with their open mindedness and willingness to step outside their comfort zones to create partnerships. It was wonderful to see a number of our Junior School girls and their families at school on Sunday to support the Afghan Village initiative and to cheer on the teams who competed in a friendly soccer match. On Saturday, I watched some Year 5 hockey players willingly play for the opposing team who were struggling to field a full team. The girls committed to that team and played with integrity and gusto for those girls.

Last week our Year 5 girls showcased their emerging leadership skills as they partnered with Year 5 Riverview boys to build billy carts and to then compete in a series of courses throughout the day. Our girls immersed themselves in the construction of the billy carts, often acting as leaders for their group and ensuring all parties had equal voice and the chance to build their cart. I was particularly proud to see those girls who then partnered with the boys in driving the billy carts. Days like this are being deliberately planned by both schools to build learning partnerships and to encourage our respective students to view one another as equals.

An opportunity for our Year 4 Dads and their daughters

Coming up on Thursday 1 June 2023, I am thrilled that we will be launching our Tech Connect series. This event is an evening for Year 4 girls and their dads to partner together in building a robotised ‘worm’! The aim is to then watch as these ‘worms’ wriggle as fast as they can as they compete in our inaugural Inchworm Formula 1 competition. The evening promises to be full of STEM thinking, fun and special memories as you collaborate with your daughters on a shared engineering project.

We can offer this opportunity to 40 Year 4 Dads (or significant adult family member) and their daughters in our John Reid Hall from 6.00pm to 8.15pm. Please click here if you would like to attend this event. Please email juniorschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au if you can no longer attend after the form is submitted.

Around the Grounds- Kate Giles, Lead Co-ordinator (K-3)

In English lessons this term the girls have been engaging with a wide range of literature and have been developing their listening skills and gaining confidence in their ability to form and express their own opinions while respecting the thoughts and ideas of others.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten have enjoyed reading a number of different books including Who is in a family? by Robert Skutch and My mum by Anthony Browne and exploring what family means. The girls have loved sharing photographs and pictures of their own families and asking and answering questions about each other’s families. They were interested to compare the similarities and differences between families, including numbers of adults, children and even pets. 

Kindergarten have also been expanding their technological skills as they created their own bears in response to the story A Best Friend for Bear our amazing K-2 Teacher Librarian, Mrs Josephine Laretive, shared with them this week.

Year 1

Year 1 have enjoyed reading All are welcome by Alexandra Penfold and exploring belonging and inclusion by making connections with the text. They have keenly explored the characters with empathy, seeking to understand how they would feel through the use of the visible thinking routine ‘Step inside’. Integrating the Compass program which focuses on kindness and celebrates diversity and inclusion, the girls considered what they would include in a letter to welcome a family new to their neighbourhood.

“Dear New Friends, 

Welcome to our country! We would love to know which country you come from and what language you speak. We are really excited to have you! You are very welcome in our country and in our homes. We are very happy to be your friend, do you want to be our friend? Would you like to have a play date with me? We are very happy to share our world with you and hope you have wonderful dreams,

Love your new friend ” – Flora W

Year 2 – My story matters

Year 2 have been using storytelling to learn more about each other by actively listening to their friend’s share their family’s stories. The girls brought in a variety of special artefacts from home to share, explaining the item’s heritage and significance to their family. The girls were extremely proud to share their cultural heritage and enjoyed seeing the diversity of their year group, celebrating each other’s unique story.

“My cultural treasure is a British post box. My dad used this to help him save money when he was little. He lived in Hong Kong which was part of the British colony back then. It is important to me because it is rare. When Britain no longer owned Hong Kong, all the post boxes were taken down. I now keep his money box in a special place.” – Sophie W

“An ink pen is my important cultural treasure. It was my mum’s that she used at school and it is important because it helps me understand her past and what it was like at school for her. My mum had a very different school experience compared to me.” – Jelena P

“My cultural treasure is a special Irish skirt. My father’s mother brought it from a festival and gave it to me as a special gift of love.” – Mia A

“My Mum’s Dandiya is my cultural treasure. She was given them by her grandfather when she was living in Saudi Arabia. Women were not allowed to go out by themselves because it was not safe so her grandfather thought she could use the dandiya to have a ‘party’ in her own house.” – Marisa N

“My mum’s jade necklace was given to her by her grandma. It has a goddess called GuanYin on it and it brings us good luck.” – Claire H

“My special item is a glass monkey. It is very important to me because when I had my first haircut in Shanghai, my hair was kept inside of it. I will treasure it forever.” – Ariel W

“When my mum was a little girl, her mum bought her a beautiful green velvet dress from England. She wore it when she was 3 and loved it so much. Mum then gave it to me and now I am big I have given it to my little sister to wear. The dress is so special to our family- it is 32 years old! I hope my daughter will wear it to”- Selena R

Year 3

Year 3 enjoyed reading the book Are we there yet? by Alison Lester, making predictions about the text and then exploring how the family was feeling as they commenced their trip around Australia and the various places they visited on their journey. Integrated with their inquiry unit, the girls have undertaken research of a significant feature of Australia which they then have persuaded their class to visit. Many family holidays have been planned during this time now that the girls have discovered all the amazing places they could visit!

“If you are feeling brave, you must go on a croc tour down the Daintree River where you can get up close to one of Australia’s most fearsome animals. You might even get close enough to see their teeth! Just be sure to stay out of the water….” – Olivia B

“I bet you want to hear what makes the Great Barrier Reef a family friendly place to be? It’s not just the reef to play in, but there are more things to do around the area, like going to the animal encounters, crocodile tours, rafting, going to the Daintree Rainforest and many many more!” – Olivia J

“There are so many performances happening at the Sydney Opera House at once. Singers, dancers, actors…. it’s an amazing sight! The architecture is amazing- it is over 64 years old. That is much older than my parents!” – Maisie B

Sport and Play in Kindergarten to Year 2

In PE this term Kindergarten to Year 3 girls have been continuing with track and field events in preparation for the Athletics Carnival in Week 7. Last week the girls learnt the track events, including sprinting and hurdles and this week the focus has been on field events: long jump, javelin, shot put and discus. All the girls have been focusing on learning the correct technique and practicing hard and they are so excited to have a go in the Carnival to earn points for their House!

The Kindergarten to Year 2 girls have loved experiencing a variety of different sports each Friday in the multi-sport program, including tennis, soccer and volleyball. The girls have enjoyed working as a team, cheering for each other and learning new skills all while having lots of fun!

Around the Grounds – Jayne Mercer Lead Co-ordinator (4-6)

Year 4

In English lessons, Year 4 have started the term looking at poetry.  Studying a variety of styles the girls have analysed poems for similarities and differences. In the next few weeks they will begin to write their own. All classes have started to read the class novel, Thai-riffic by Oliver Phommavanh, meeting the main characters Lengy and his brother Kitchai. The novel is a wonderful way to gain insight into identifying personal feelings, family dynamics and managing friendship fires. Term 2’s Inquiry unit into light and heat started with revision of the scientific process by investigating the effect of heat on glowsticks. The girls are looking forward to a visit from Fizzics later in the term.

“In the glow sticks science lesson we learnt about bioluminescence and chemiluminescence Bioluminescence is a naturally made light but chemiluminescence occurs when there is a chemical reaction which happens when you snap a glowstick.” – Alicia C and Sunny W

“I have liked learning about bus stop maths in our Maths lessons. We use it to help us with division calculations.” – Juliet W

Year 5

Inquiry lessons this term link the topics of the properties of materials in Science to early colonial Australia in History. Over the last two weeks the girls have begun to think about what materials would have been used during the early 1800s and why. They have had an introductory lesson in Micro:bits, apocket-sized computer that introduces how software and hardware work together and will be used to design a gold detector later in the term. In Mathematics, Year 5 have spent the last week looking at the concept of time. Focusing on the real-life application in timetables and the use of 24-hour time. 

Year 6

Compass lessons this term began with goal setting for the term and the introduction of the STOP acronym of Self-care, Time management, Organisation and Peace of mind. English tasks over the last couple of weeks have linked to the Inquiry topics of global connections and sustainability looking in particular at food production. The concept of healthy soil was investigated in Inquiry lessons with students analysing the differences between the soil samples they brought to school from their own gardens.

“I am enjoying growing vegetables from scraps. It’s fun because you get to be more sustainable.” – Lillie O

“I have enjoyed comparing soil samples from different people’s gardens.” – Grace N

MMG Survey Reminder

A friendly reminder to all Year 3 and Year 5 families that you have time to complete the MMG Survey. Thank you to those that have participated, we appreciate your feedback.

Careers Day

We still have spots available for parents to showcase their careers to our girls. The event will be for our Year 3 to 6 girls and will take place on Wednesday 17 May, Week 4 from 10.45am to 12.45pm. We will have ‘stalls’ set up in the hall and the library again to showcase the careers. Parents can set up from 10.00am. Parents who wish to participate will be invited to join their daughters for lunch. There is no requirement to stay after 12.45pm, this is merely an invitation.

Please don’t be shy, this is a request from your daughters to find out more about what you do in your day.

We already have parents from the finance sector, medical, engineering and banking. We are hoping to invite parents who may be entrepreneurs or own a restaurant or retail outlet or who have careers in design or creative thinking focused jobs…or jobs that involve working outdoors.

Although this event is for our Year 4 to 6 girls we welcome parents from Kindergarten to Year 6 to attend. Should your daughters be in Kindergarten to Year 3 we will arrange for them to visit you at your ‘stall’ and to bring a friend too. You are very welcome to spend lunch her.

We look so forward to hearing about your chosen careers. If you are interested in partaking in this initiative, please click here to register.

An invitation to have your say: An invitation to be part of a focus group

I need your help please! I feel very honoured, and deeply challenged, to be co-leading our College’s Social Intelligence strategic focus and looking at how we shape our community. We are determined to foster an inclusive community for all our families to enjoy and in which we all feel safe and valued. I openly say this is a challenge because my cultural background shapes my knowledge base and experiences and I’m trying to broaden these by learning from the stories of others.  As such, I am hoping to work with a wide range of our community, so all perspectives and members of our College family are heard. It is important that we strive for equity of voice, active engagement for all members of our community and a strong sense of our collective citizenship.

There are a number of dates and times available for focus groups to come and share your thoughts with me, so if you are interested, please select the one that suits you.

What things/events could or should we celebrate throughout the year as a community? How would you like to celebrate special events and cultural celebrations?

• Tuesday 23 May at 6.00pm

• Tuesday 30 May at 8.00am

• Monday 5 June at 5.00pm

Please click here to make a booking.

• Monday 15 May at 2.00pm – **this focus group will be hosted in Mandarin**  –

周一15/5 中文小组讨论  : 如果你想说中文 – 有老师帮您翻译.

Topic: What things/events we should and could celebrate throughout the year as a community? How would you like to celebrate special events and cultural celebrations?

话题: 我们学校应该庆祝哪些节日? 您想在学校如何庆祝特别活动和文化节日?

Please click here to make a booking for the Mandarin focus group. 预订中文小组讨论

National Simultaneous Storytime 2023 – Josephine Laretive, Teacher Librarian K-2

On Wednesday 24 May, Kindergarten to Year 3 will participate in National Simultaneous Storytime an annual event run by the Australian Library and Information Association. This special event promotes the value of reading and literacy, the enjoyment of books, and picture books written and illustrated by Australian authors and illustrators. This year, the book The Speedy Sloth by Rebecca Young and illustrated by Heath McKenzie will be read simultaneously across Australia and beyond. To celebrate this event the Library is running a colouring-in competition and each class in Kindergarten to Year 3 will be involved in art and craft activities linked to the story.

Click here for more information.

Permission for Excursions

A reminder when your daughter has an excursion, please give permission for your daughter to attend through MyPymble, please select Approve or Not Going. Your daughter cannot attend the excursion until the permission is approved.

Please contact IT Help desk if you have any technical problems on +61 2 9855 7771

Scholarship registrations open to current Year 5 students

Pymble offers a number of scholarships each year to girls starting in Year 7 including current Pymble students moving into Year 7. Registrations for Year 7 2025 Junior Academic Scholarships and Year 7 2025 Performance Scholarship – Music are currently open to our Year 5 students.

Registrations close from 26 July 2023 depending on the scholarship. 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.

K-2 Travel Term 2

Please email juniorschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au with your daughters full name and class if you have any travel changes for Term 2.

Uniform and Appearance

All students are expected to wear their uniform correctly and with pride. Uniforms cannot be mixed with each season (please refer to page 33 of your daughter’s school diary correct uniform appearance details). Junior School has a strict ‘no hat no play policy’, please ensure your daughter has her bucket play hat at school every day. During the cooler months please ensure that your daughter is wearing the correct uniform. Various Sports fleeces are not allowed to be worn during the normal school day. Please make sure that your daughter’s uniform is named.

Absent, Late Arrivals/Early Departures, Vacation

A reminder if you daughter is absent from school please enter your daughter’s absence through the MyPymble app or email Junior School Administration Office juniorschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au . For any changes to your daughter’s travel, late/early arrivals please email the Administration Office.

Exemption from Attendance Application form can be found on the Portal, please ensure if your daughters is away for two days or more to complete the application form two weeks in advance from the start of your daughter’s absence.

Lost Property

Please ensure your daughters full name is clearly labelled on all items of clothing including socks, hats and lunch items so it can be quickly returned to your daughter if it is found.

Reminders for tomorrow – Friday 12 May

Year 3 and Year 5 Windows into Learning

The Year 3 Compass teachers are excited to invite you to join your daughter for an integrated English/Inquiry from 8.35am until 10.00am. We will be starting Windows into Learning at 8.35am to enable girls to follow their morning routine, including roll call.

Mother’s Day Morning Tea

We are looking forward to sharing our special Mother’s Day Morning Tea with you all tomorrow.  A reminder that girls are able to wear House colour mufti on the day. Please ensure that all girls wear appropriate closed footwear and warm clothes.

For our Kindergarten to Year 2 girls participating in their multi-sport sessions in the afternoon, please could these girls wear trainers/sneakers and clothing that allows them to move freely but also stay warm. Jeans or leggings and tops in house colours would be appropriate.

Tickets for the morning tea must be pre-purchased, please contact JJ Blaiklock at jj@baresque.com.au or events@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au for any enquiries.

Please consider using public transport to the College on this day. Parking will be extremely limited as Gate 1 will be closed during the event to ensure the safety of our students, staff and community. Grey House Walk will be open for part of the day.

We hope to join many of you on Main Oval for this special morning.

From the Junior School Parent Group (JSPG)

Family Fun Day & Movie Night – Saturday 20th May

We are very excited that our JSPG Family Fun Day & Movie Night is only one and a half weeks away!

Please join us on Saturday 20 May from 3.00pm to 7.00pm to join in the fun.

Tickets will be closing by end of this week so to secure your spot, please click here to purchase as soon as possible.

By way of background, our Family Fun Day & Movie Night is traditionally the biggest and most exciting event in our JSPG calendar. It is a day specially designed to catch up with our existing families in the Junior School, and just as importantly, welcome our new families. Last year we welcomed over 750 people to our event.

This year, the theme of our event is: “Old-fashioned family fun”. We are providing an opportunity for all our families to unwind and enjoy an afternoon of food and festivity, at a low cost.

The day will feature a barbecue dinner, a big screen movie, popcorn, fairy floss, an inflatable obstacle course, karaoke and dress-ups and a range of carnival games. Available for purchase at food and drink trucks will be crepes, coffee, hot chocolate and other drinks. We will also have sideshow attractions for purchase of items such as glow products and crazy hair.

To purchase your tickets, please click here. Please note tickets are only $20 (three years and under are free) and include the following attractions:

– Barbecue dinner plus one drink (please note that we will cater for dietary restrictions)

– Popcorn and fairy floss

– Family movie Ferdinand (rated G)

– 20m commando challenge obstacle course

– Old-fashioned games

– Karaoke and dress-ups

– Access to food/drink trucks and sideshow attractions.

We are looking forward to catching up with you all soon. 

Year 6 Parent Daughter Dance – Saturday 27 May

Please join us for our very exciting  Parent Daughter Dance on Saturday 27^th May from 6:30pm to 9:30pm at Killara Golf Club.

The theme of the evening is “Springtime in Paris” which will be a beautiful journey for our parents with French-themed décor, food and entertainment, with many surprises in store. The evening will be a very special celebration for our Year 6 girls and their families to commemorate their last year in the Junior School.

Mrs Brown and Mrs Davey will also be joining us for this very special event.

To purchase tickets and to avoid disappointment, please click here.

Key Dates

Friday 12 May	Mother’s Day Morning Tea – 10.15am to 11.15am
Friday 12 May	Windows into Learning Year 3 and 5 – 8.30am to 10.30am
Wednesday 17 May	Years 4 to 6 Careers Day
Wednesday 17 May	Year 1 Ranger Jamie Excursion to Clifton Gardens, Mosman
Saturday 20 May	JSPG Family Fun Day and Picnic

Kate Brown

Head of Junior School

From the Middle School

This week we welcomed back our Year 7 and Year 8 Robotics students who attended the VEX IQ world championships. Our Middle School girls were excited to share the wide range of social and learning opportunities available to them growing so much on the trip. Below is a recount of their experience written by Nicole Fan, Jessica Pearson, Chloe Shao, Celine Soo, Leahara Wijesuriya, Elaine Zhang and Valerie Zhao of Year 7.

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Last week, we were given the opportunity to represent both Pymble Ladies’ College and Australia at the VEX IQ world championships (for robotics). Our teams were 6510K, the Axel – otls (with Leahara, Jessica and Celine) and also the 6510F, the koalas (with Chloe, Niki, Valerie and Elaine) that both qualified for the world championships at Australian nationals.

About three days before the competition, we all travelled to Dallas, Texas to compete. As soon as we arrived at the venue, we were greeted by crowds of people running through the already crowded halls with robots in hand. It was a great start to the following days, but as we arrived at our pit things only got better.

During the robotics competition, we got to compete with other teams that were at the same level as us and got to meet many people.

Our pit started out as a bland sort of grey box with one table to hide some ugly grey concrete but as the day went on the area only got better. The koalas’ pit was filled with balloons, lots of them!

The Axel – otls pit was full of green and yellow sparkly streamers, absolutely shining with the Australian colours.

Moreover, we were able to meet an amazing engineer who worked at Boeing who was heavily involved in creating the current ISS and the new ISS that is set to be orbiting the moon. It was really interesting to learn from amazing individuals that inspired us to achieve something greater in life.

Furthermore, we were constantly running around talking to other teams and learning about their experiences both with vex.

Tuesday’s Gloucester Gathering saw a successful Volleyball Competition take place with some friendly competition take place between our Year 7 and Year 8 girls. Thursday’s Gloucester Gathering is Mother’s Day Card Craft. Everyone is welcome to join in and make new connections. Click here to see the schedule of events. Please encourage your daughters to get involved.

We wish the best of luck to our Year 8 Elective Music students who take to the stage on Thursday to perform Madagascar a Musical Adventure. Below is a list of students performing. A heartfelt thank you goes to the Year 8 Elective Music teaching team, Year 8 Parents, GMCPA Staff, Teachers and Pymble community members that purchased tickets to support our Year 8 Students.

Saja	Abdel-Megeed
Jessica	Allman
Chloe	Ayton
Zoe	Bloom
Alysha	Bruce
Sitian	Chen
Emily	Chiang
Peita	Christofis
Serena	Cummings
Mia	Davies
Zoe	Davies
Katerina	Economou
Sienna	Ford
Manulya	Gunasekera
Sophie	Guo
Jenny	He
Charlotte	Henderson
Rui Yan	Jian
Karen	Kim
Nazgol	Koochakzadeh
Karen	Kuang
Chloe	Lam
Amelia	Lee
Evelyn	Li
Catherine	Li
Naomi	Liem
Celine	Liu
Grace	Louw
Sarah	Macpherson
Zoe	Manning
Lucinda	Martin
Amrita	Marwah
Yvette	Moodie
Laranya	Nanthakumaran
Sophie	Ngai
Irisara	O’Brien
Victoria	O’Sullivan
Isabelle	Port
Amy	Rho
Xiran	Rong
Lucy	Sun
Alannah	Tang
Annabel	Taylor
Cassandra	Vielman
Lillian	Wang
Cindy	Wang
Lara	Waterhouse
Chloe	Wei
Xyla	White
Caitlin	Xi
Stella	Xu
Fiona	Xue
Joy	Yin
Kitty	Yip
Mia	Zhang
Lexi	Zhang
Camellia	Zhou

We would also like to congratulate our Middle School debating students on a strong season. Three teams, which are listed below, are through to the quarter finals this Friday evening with debates being held at Barker College, Tara Anglican School for Girls and here at Pymble.

7A

Alina Shi

Nicole Fan

Elaine Zhang

Aurora Zhang

Annie Xiao

Yen Huyngh

7B

Emily Basak

Ruby Chu

Alexa Wu

Ella Zhang

8B

Fiona Pan

Isabelle Younger

Tara Sproules -Nath

Kyraa Vig

MMG Survey Reminder

A friendly reminder to all Year 8 families that you have time to complete the MMG Survey. Thank you to those that have participated, we appreciate your feedback.

Athletics Carnival – Thursday 25 May

The Secondary School Athletics Carnival will be held on Thursday 25 May at the Sydney Olympic Park Warm Up Arena. The carnival will begin at 7.30am. Students are required to wear their House sports uniform and are permitted to wear this to and from the College.

Students competing in the Seeded events will need to be at Kelso Field no later than 5.55am for roll call. Remaining Year 7 and 8 students will need to be Kelso Field 7:00am for roll call.

The Athletics Carnival is a compulsory School event that aims to promote house spirit and participation. Girls who are unable to participate or attend, should provide a note via the Middle School Office by Monday 23 May. In the event your daughter is unable to participate due to injury, her attendance at the carnival is still expected. It should be noted that the College does maintain a record of student attendance for these important days in the calendar.

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.

Jenny O’Donnell

Head of Middle School

From the Upper School

A message from Mr Riley, Head of Upper School

As you may have noticed, this term I am hoping to include more student stories in our newsletter submissions each week. If you have a great story to share, and particularly if it highlights the diversity of talent in the Upper School, please get in touch with your daughter’s Head of Year. Whilst we will not be able to share every story, it is a great opportunity for students to write about their experiences.

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with two amazing young women who have recently learnt that their submissions to the Young Archies competition have been selected as finalists! When considering there were over 3400 applicants, to have 2 finalists in the Upper School from 70 in total is truly unbelievable!

In chatting with Jasmine Economou (JE) in Year 10 and Jocelyn Ying (JY) in Year 9, they shared the following.

1. What made you decide to enter the Young Archie?

JE – The Young Archie competition is a motivating way for me to exercise my artistic skill. I am very passionate about painting, and I always have a lot of fun preparing my entry. This year I was encouraged by supportive friends, family, and art teachers to enter. The Young Archie is a great way for younger artists like me to display their work publicly and gain more experience in artmaking. 

JY – I decided to enter the Young Archie because I thought it was a good opportunity to practice painting portraits as well as also trying to challenge myself because I have never tried before. 

2. Why did you choose this picture/image for your portrait?

JE – I chose an image of my dad for the portrait because I wanted to express my appreciation for him. I loved the vibrant colours, quality of light and raw emotion within the photo I took of him at the dog park and thought it accurately represented his personality. By choosing to include our dog in the image, I challenged myself with depicting the texture of his fur to improve my oil painting skills.  

JY – I chose this picture for my portrait because I thought it would be different to capture a surprised and smiling expression for a portrait, not only that this was also the best photo I found that we have taken in the past year. 

3. How did you feel when you heard you had been shortlisted as a finalist?

JE – I was super excited when I heard I got short listed as finalist. It’s very rewarding to see the hours I put into the work being recognised and my own improvement in painting over the last couple of years of entering. It is especially exciting this year since COVID lockdowns hopefully won’t get in the way of visits to the art gallery and the chance to meet the judges and other finalists.  

JY – I was really surprised, happy and excited because I wasn’t expecting it.

4. What do you love about art and/or painting?

JE – I love painting because it allows me to relax and have time for myself. Visual arts allows me to express myself and increase my observational and creative skills. My passion for visual arts has given me so many opportunities and connections and it is definitely something I want to keep doing in the future.  

JY – something I really love about art is that there are no limitations on what you could create you can make whatever you want, I also love how there are many millions of ways you can draw the same thing and each one of them will be unique and represents an own individual emotion. 

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Late last week, I had the pleasure of joining Jacaranda for their second Residential Program expedition and got the opportunity to sleep in a cave and climb Mount Wondabyne! Whilst the walk was challenging, it was great to see the girls and boys (from Riverview) becoming good friends and the students rising to conquer the hills.

It has also been great to get out and see our Big Sister Little Sister Program in action. Each lunchtime our Year 9 girls head down to kindergarten to play with their little sisters. From what I saw, it was a very rewarding but pretty tiring time for our girls!

Arnhem Immersion Information Night

The information night for the 2023 Arnhem Immersion will be held on Wednesday 17 May from 6.00pm to 7.00pm in the David Macfarlane Centre (DMC) (near Marden Lawn, opposite the Boarding House) for Year 10 and 11 parents and students who have expressed an interest in this trip.

Justin Porter, the CEO of Culture College Arnhem Land, will be presenting and answering questions. Lamia Rockwell and Kate Howie (Indigenous Education Leader), as well as students who were involved in the 2022 immersion, will also be in attendance.

If you have you have not previously expressed an interest but would like to do so, please contact Allison Chambers (achambers@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au) for further information.

From the Upper School Parent Group

Please click here to purchase tickets for the Year 10 Parent Social at Cavallinos in Terrey Hills on Thursday 18 May at 7.00pm.

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

Friday 12 May – Mother’s Day Breakfast

Friday 12 May – igsa Cross Country

Thursday 18 May – Year 10 Meningococcal Vaccinations

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Tom Riley

Head of Upper School

From the Senior School

This week the Year 12s celebrated with the annual Trivia Night! As you can see from the photographs, lots of fun was had by all. The competition was fierce as the students and their teachers battled through the rounds, stretching their minds and mining their trivia memory. Many thanks to all the staff who organised the event, the staff in attendance and the Year 11 students who volunteered to help run the night.

All funds raised will be donated to Taldumande Youth Services, a not-for-profit organisation that supports vulnerable and homeless children and young people aged 12 to 24 years and their families from all across Sydney. On any given night, Taldumande has 65 children and young people in residence.

Arnhem Immersion Information Night

The information night for the 2023 Arnhem Immersion will be held on Wednesday 17 May from 6.00pm to 7.00pm in the David Macfarlane Centre (DMC) (near Marden Lawn, opposite the Boarding House) for Year 10 and 11 parents and students who have expressed an interest in this trip.

Justin Porter, the CEO of Culture College Arnhem Land, will be presenting and answering questions. Lamia Rockwell and Kate Howie (Indigenous Education Leader), as well as students who were involved in the 2022 immersion, will also be in attendance.

If you have you have not previously expressed an interest but would like to do so, please contact Allison Chambers (achambers@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au) for further information.

Year 12 Geography Excursion

In Week 2, our Year 12 Geographers travelled up to the Hunter Valley to participate in a range of fieldwork activities relevant to their HSC Exam. On Tuesday, we visited the Hunter Estuary Wetlands. Here, we learned about the intertidal wetland ecosystem, focusing on the biophysical interactions that contribute to its functioning, human threats, and management.

We also conducted several fieldwork methods to collect primary data at three sites in the wetlands. Learning about primary fieldwork methods is a key component of the Stage 6 Geography course and these techniques will be applied to various scenarios in the HSC examination. Tuesday evening was spent in Lovedale, where we stayed overnight at the Crown Plaza and enjoyed a delicious meal at Twine Restaurant.

On Wednesday, we visited Tamburlaine Organic Winery to investigate the factors that affect the operation of the local business. This case study is a critical component of the HSC Course and the engaging and hands on experience at the winery has provided the students with a detailed understanding of the People and Economic Activity topic.

Participating in fieldwork is vital to be a successful Geographer and the experiences provided by the GBE department are broadening the understanding students have of the world around them.

2022 Young Geographer of the Year – STEM category – 2nd place

Year 11 students Carrie Luo, Sara Bruce, Season Lam and Kimberley Spencer have been awarded 2^nd place in the STEM category of the Geography Teachers Association of NSW Young Geographer of the Year Awards 2022.

The students won their award for their Elective Geography project called ‘Vertigrow’. Vertigrow was a concept designed by the students as part of their Urban Living Lab STEM challenge, which uses aeroponic technology in buildings to collect and store air moisture in hydrogels from nappies.

This moisture is then used to grow crops that can be used to feed the people living at the Sydney Science Park. The group were awarded $250 for their project. Huge congratulations to the students from everyone in the GBE department.

Term 2 Key dates

Tuesday 9 May – Year 12 Trivia Night

Friday 12 May – Mother’s Day Breakfast

Thursday 25 May – Athletics Carnival

Monday 12 June – King’s Birthday Public Holiday

Tuesday 20 June – Senior School Knit In

Thursday 22 June – Last day of Term 2

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Nikki Wyse

Head of Senior School

From the Boarding School

Pymble goes to West!

Last weekend I was lucky enough to visit Dubbo for the Boarding Schools’ Expo. The Expos are always a great opportunity to meet present, past and prospective families on their ‘home turf’ and this one was no exception. As has become the tradition, we celebrated together at Press in Dubbo and it is always a treat to chat with our future Boarders over a toasted marshmallow, fresh from the firepit.

My thanks as always, goes to the most dynamic of duos, Mrs Clair Stock and Mrs Jackie Garment, who somehow manage to organise all the goings ons with apparent ease, great warmth and definite expertise.

Trivia Night

One of the highlights of the Year 12 calendar is the Trivia Night. Our Year 12 Boarders make the most of the opportunity to dress up for this special event and our Boarding staff enjoy all the fuss and fun that goes into getting ready. As always, photographer extraordinaire Anne Graham, Head of Year 12 Boarding, captured the spirit perfectly.

Love It – Mrs White

Last weekend was our annual Term 2 Community Weekend. We started on the Friday night with the Years 7, 8 and 9 Social, welcoming our brothers and sisters in Boarding from Knox Grammar School, Shore, Abbotsleigh, Ravenswood, Ascham, Wenona and Loreto Normanhurst. They danced the night away in the Junior School Hall and had a great time.  A big thanks to our Year 11 and 12 Big Sisters who made sure everyone was getting involved and having fun.

Saturday night was our annual Just Dance competition.  Congratulations to Year 12 who took out Best Year Group, Year 11 who took out Best Dressed and Goodlet who took out Best Spirit House.  Special mention to our individual finalists:

• Savannah Lorimer and Rose Purcell from Year 7 (Best duet on the night!)

• Sienna Melton and Phoebe Pockley from Year 8

• Mia Lorimer and Jaidey  Samuelsson from Year 9

• Mia Chambers and Sophie Laing from Year 10

• Aspen Moore and Giselle Kawane from Year 11

• Abigail Ballhausen and Isabel Francis from Year 12

Sunday morning started early with a Community Church service with the Pymble and Gordon Uniting Church. The beautiful service was made even more special with the baptism of Mr Father’s son. Many of our Year 11’s have had Mr Fathers as their Compass Teacher since Year 7 and it was a lovely opportunity for them to share in this special service. After the service, the Congregation joined our Boarders for brunch and enjoyed sitting amongst the girls. Many stories were shared, and it was a delight to watch our Boarders engage so beautifully. 

After brunch the Boarders headed to the Gym for the Angus Cup Benchball competition. This was a tightly contested event and quite the spectacle to watch. Congratulations to Marden who were crown the overall champions. 

This weekend the Boarders will be preparing for Boarders’ Week by decorating their respective houses in pink.  We also have a Big Sister/Little Sister movie night on Saturday and a trip to Taronga Zoo on Sunday. 

A View from my Window

My name is Abi Barfield and I’m in Year 11 here at Pymble, and I live up in the Central Coast on Macmasters Beach. I only recently moved there in December, but it already feels like home because of the beautiful bushland and beaches, and little cafés scattered throughout. It really feels like your perfect beachside town – kids running around barefoot and sand almost always inside the house.

I live with my mum, dad and little brother Nick (who, at almost 15 years old, isn’t so little anymore – but I’m in denial). In four short weeks, I’ll also be living with a red border collie puppy – her name is still in debate but I’m firmly set on Zalia. We live on a plot of land right next door to the bush with a couple of acres and a pond that likes to be visited by ducks, and from time to time (according to our neighbours) a python.

When I look out my window, I see tall trees and our resident kookaburras sitting on some palm trees. Occasionally, there will also be joeys on the fringes of our land where it meets the bush. Down the road, there is my favourite café called Lulu’s which makes the best ham and cheese toasties in a very cliché boho setting.

When I’m at home, I love how connected I feel to the land and ocean. My favourite trail run goes up and along some clifftops and along a few beaches- it’s one of my highlights whenever I go back. I also love how I can hop on a bike and be at my favourite pizza place on the beach in two minutes. I’m also lucky that Macmasters is a short hour and a halfish drive, so I can go back home on weekends, and now, after renovating our place for the last few months, I’m looking forward to bringing some of the boarders back with me.

Coming to Boarding at Pymble is a new experience, as I’ve only just started this year, but a reminder that I’m so lucky to be at this school. To give you a bit of context, I started at Pymble in Year 8 and started Boarding here this year, so I’ve had the experience of being both a new day girl and Boarder. In a sense, coming back to Boarding is like coming back to a second home, and I’m constantly inspired by the girls around me, reminding me what an incredible opportunity and place Pymble is.

Boarder of the Week

I was so proud to have Grace Peters as our Boarder representative at the Dubbo Boarding Expo. Grace is a fabulous ambassador for Pymble, singing our praises far and wide and making no secret of how much she enjoys her time at Pymble. Grace is an incredible athlete, competing at a National level in throwing yet she still finds time to be a meet all her Boarding responsibilities and help out around the House. Grace is a kind friend and active presence in Goodlet House and well deserving of the title of Boarder of the Week.

Jersey Day Commemoration Chapel Service

Save the Date

Sunday 14 May to Friday 19 May – Boarders’ Week

Thursday 25 May – Pymble in Griffith

Friday 26 and Saturday 27 May – Pymble in Wagga Wagga

Saturday 27 May – Pymble in Young

Tuesday 6 June – Jersey Day Commemoration Chapel Service

Wednesday 7 June – Jersey Day

Friday 9 June – Boarders’ Long Weekend Travel Day

Monday 12 June from 5.00pm – Return to Boarding

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

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

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Carolyn Burgess

Head of Boarding

From the Chaplains

The cold spell over the weekend came as an unpleasant surprise and it is almost as though we had settled for the happy medium of autumn and dreamed it would last forever. As the coldness shocks us, it also reminds us that there are so many of our fellow Australians who are without shelter and food, and who are depending on our generosity to make things change for them.

The hardship of winter is a stark reality for many of us as we change the way we dress, eat, and even retire to bed earlier. I find the changing seasons to be such deep lessons for us. The next time an event or circumstance doesn’t turn out the way you planned, maybe giving it some thoughtful attention before responding might be one lesson.

The changing of leaves and the shifting of colours and falling of the same as they become one with the earth, is the process that can slow us down too. Today at Combined Assembly when I was leading in prayer, I gave the students and staff an opportunity to practice the sacred pause, where one slows down one’s pace of breathing, and sits in the moment, holding it with endearment.

I hope you can slow your pace down in the pursuit of life and cataloguing all you must to feel complete. I hope you can attend to yourself and then your child or loved one and those who come your way, with selflessness, peace, and gratitude. For the gift of life is indeed one from the Creator who has bestowed us with strength for the day, and hope for tomorrow as a famous hymn reads.

I will close with a blessing I have written for you this week:

May the risen Christ bless you with moments you can look upon with endearment, meals you can share with your children, a warm bed to soothe your aching body and tired mind, and an awareness for the Other who is yet awaiting the generosity that spurs you on in life’s journey.

Reverend Punam Bent

From the Futures Team

The Futures@Pymble Team are helping to celebrate the lead up to National Careers Week this year. We are starting off highlighting the series of on demand webinars on the National Careers Week website. You can access any of the following webinars to view:

Accelerating your career in digital

Presenter – Digital Skills Organisation

https://www.digitalskillsorg.com.au/

Click here to view the session

Information to support parents – pathways, barriers and challenges for young people

Presenter – National Careers Institute

https://yourcareer.gov.au/

Click here to view the session.

Presentation Slides – Click here to view.

Help guide your child to a career path that is right for them

Presenter – National Careers Institute

https://yourcareer.gov.au

Click here to view the session.

Preparing today’s learners for uncertainty and their future careers

Presenter – Education Services Australia

https://www.myfuture.edu.au

Click here to view the session.

Next week, we will launch our Futures in Focus podcast where our student hosts will interview a series of inspirational guests who have helped them to learn more about future pathways and opportunities.

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Year 10 Futures Interviews

Following on from our successful Strengths and Skills Day in Term 1, our Futures@Pymble team are excited to begin meeting with Year 10 students to learn more about their strengths and initial ideas about future pathways. Each student will have a short meeting with a member of the Futures@Pymble team to help understand Clifton Strengths Profiles and how this can help to lead into potential opportunities.  Year 10 students will soon receive an email with instructions by the end of this week. 

Kim Maksimovic

Director of Futures and Partnership (K-12)

From the Community Engagement Team

2023 Events

The College Calendar is available to all parents via the MyPymble app in the Calendar tab. This keeps you up to date with all activities on and off campus across every aspect of the College.

Tomorrow, we will welcome a record 750 mums onsite for our Mother’s Day Morning Tea. For those attending, please refer to MyPymble for important information regarding the event.

We would like to thank the 38 mums and dads who have volunteered to help us serve morning tea tomorrow. Your care and support is greatly appreciated.

Would you like to mentor our youngest graduates?

On Thursday 18 June the Ex-Students’ Union (ESU) and the College will come together to host our annual Alumni Networking Event at Barangaroo. As a member of the Pymble community, we invite you to join a professional network of community members that help our alumni achieve success in their careers post-Pymble. Year 12 students and their parents are also invited to attend, offering them an insight into their vocational life beyond the College. To purchase tickets please see the links below:

– Mentors (aged 35 and above)

– Mentees (aged 18 to 35)

– Year 12 students and parents

PPA Trivia Night

The PPA Trivia Night tickets are now on sale, with this year’s theme being ‘Movie Characters’. The Trivia Night will being hosted at Hornsby RSL on Saturday 3 June from 6.00pm to 10.00pm. Tickets for the event are available here.

Pymble in Young

Last week our Enrolments team visited Dubbo to attend the Boarding Expo and hosted an event for 40 of our prospective and current families.

The tour to regional NSW continues with our Pymble in Young event on Saturday 27 May at the ‘Blantyre’, home of Pymble community members Edwina and Michael Beveridge. Ex-students and current and future families are invited to attend the event to connect and celebrate our proud Pymble history. To register, please email Jackie Garment, Relationship Manager by clicking here.

I hope all mothers in the Pymble community have a wonderful Mother’s Day on Sunday!

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Kelly Mancey

Director of Community Engagement and Advancement

From the Co-curricular Sports Team

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First Nations Round of Sport

Please click here to view the information on First Nations Round of Sport happening on Saturday 27 May 2023.

2023 Pymble Secondary School Athletics Carnival

The Secondary School Athletics Carnival will be held on Thursday 25 May at the Sydney Olympic Park Warm Up Arena. The carnival will involve all students from Years 7 to 12, who will be transported to and from the venue by bus.

The carnival will begin at 7.30am. Program will be posted closer to the event.

Students are required to wear their House sports uniform and are permitted to wear this to and from the College. The girls may only apply face and body markings, as well as House decorations, once they are at the venue and will be required to clean off any markings before they leave for home in the afternoon. Students are required to wear a Pymble sports hat and sunscreen and have a water bottle for use throughout the day. Students are also encouraged to bring a towel or similar to sit on.

A very limited range of food choices is available at the venue’s canteen. We ask that the Day students bring their own healthy lunch and refreshments. Boarder’s lunches will be transported to the venue and collected on the day.

The Athletics Carnival is a compulsory School event that aims to promote house spirit and participation; therefore, all students are encouraged and expected to compete in the 100m Sprint, Shot Put, Long Jump, House relays and Novelty events. It is also a selection for our Pymble Athletics Squad. The Hurdles, 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m, Discus, Javelin and High Jump are Championship events only. To nominate for the Championship events please click here. Nominations for championship events close on Monday 15 May.

Students who are unable to participate should provide a note via their School Office to their respective Head of School by Monday 23 May. In the event your daughter is unable to participate due to injury, her attendance at the carnival is still expected. A letter explaining your daughter’s unexpected absence on the day should be forwarded to the Head of School via the School Office upon her return. It should be noted that the College does maintain a record of student attendance for these important days in the calendar.

Departures

Athlete Departure: 6.00am sharp from Kelso Bus Stop

This bus will take the students competing in early SEEDED (Championship) events (800m, hurdles, javelin, shot put, discus and long jump), the House Captains and Prefects. All competitors in these events will be notified in advance via the student Portal. Students should assemble at James Kelso Field no later than 5.55am to have their names marked on the roll.

Year 7, 8 and 9 Departure: 7.00am from Kelso Bus Stop for a 7.15am departure.

Middle School students are to assemble at James Kelso Field under the correct Compass Group sign. Students must arrive by 7.00am to have their names marked on the roll and then be escorted to the bus departure point by their Compass Group teachers.

Year 10,11 and 12 Departure: 7.45am from Kelso bus stop for an 8.00am departure

Senior and Upper School students are to assemble at James Kelso Field under the correct Compass Group sign. Students must arrive by 7.45am to have their names marked on the roll and then be escorted to the bus departure point by their Compass Group teachers.

The buses will return directly to the College by 3.15pm.

Pymble School Buses: Please note, students that catch a Pymble school bus to and from school, this will still occur.

Girls will board a bus once they arrive to school at 8.00am, and then will board their usual bus in the afternoon.

Medical

Students who require asthma medication, EpiPens or other medications are expected to bring them to the carnival. One of the College nurses will be present at the carnival to assist with any injuries and illness.

Balmoral Burn Fundraiser – Sunday 28 May

On Sunday 28 May 2023 the famous annual Balmoral Burn will be run up the 420m hill of Awaba Street in Mosman. Please click here to view the information sheet. To register your team please click here.  Registrations are required by 12.00pm (Midday) on Friday 19 May. Parents and siblings are also welcome to participate and register through the event provider by clicking here.

Katie Edwards

Head of Sports – Years 7 to 12

From the Co-curricular Performing Arts Team

Tonight we will be presented Madagascar by our Year 8 Elective Music students; a joyous and inclusive celebration of these students in a dazzling and energetic production.

Huge congratulations to the Year 8 elective Music students involved and the production team led by Mrs Sarah Turner as Head of Co-Curricular Music.

A reminder to Dance students to honour their commitments made concerning upcoming Eisteddfods. The ongoing success of such competitions rely on your consistent and loyal contribution.

On Friday May 5, SSD, the Sydney Social Debating Competition began triumphantly. An inclusive and galvanising competition that speaks volumes in terms of the possibilities and rich rewards for Pymble students.

The term ahead beckons with many exciting possibilities for all Performing Arts students.

Michael Griffiths

Director of Co-curricular Performing Arts

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Co-curricular Administration

Performance Awards

Congratulations to students who have received a Performance Award for Term 1 2023. Please click here to view the full list of students.

Susan Lindsay

Acting Head of Co-curricular Administration

Drama

Co-Curricular Drama has had a busy start to Term 2, with three competitions occurring in our first two weeks of term.

Our Year 8 to 11 Theatresports students competed in the Senior and Intermediate Theatresports Schools Challenge on 1 and 2 May. This event required them to improvise a variety of scenes, and students were scored against up to 10 other schools. We are so proud of our Pymble girls and their efforts. Murphy Scott (Year 11) and Finley Saghaie (Year 11) placed 3^rd in the Senior Competition, and Andelle Parker (Year 10), Nikita Srivastava (Year 9) and Cindy Wang (Year 8) placed 6^th in the Intermediate Competition.

Additionally, Sport for Jove held their annual Regional Shakespeare Carnival event on Monday 8 May. Two of our Filmmaking students, Chloe Kim (Year 11) and Kathie Ong (Year 10) entered their original film, inspired by Shakespeare’s Sonnet 5. The girls’ hard work paid off and they were awarded first place, being selected to continue through to the State Carnival. Well done, Chloe and Kathie!

We have a busy remainder of term for our Eisteddfod Drama students with Sharp and Short Eisteddfod, Sydney Eisteddfod and Inner West Eisteddfod all occurring in Term 2, Week 6. We wish all these students the best of luck with their preparations and look forward to hearing the outcome of their efforts in a few weeks.

Sarah Boyd

Co-curricular Drama Co-ordinator

Language Arts

Public Speaking  

Congratulations to Leahara Wijesuriya and Jenny Xu who have progressed to Rostrum Regionals. They will compete at Abbotsleigh next Wednesday 17 May.  

FED Debating Quarter finals   

Congratulations to our 7A, 7B, 8B and Year 9 team who are FED finalists. Pymble will host a FED quarter final round this Friday 12 May in the KM Building. FED Year 8B and Year 9 will compete this week at Pymble. FED 7A will compete at Tara and FED 7B will compete this week at Barker. Co-curricular Administration will be sending details when they are received. 

ISDA Debating

Well done to ISDA Primary B, Year 7 and Year 8 teams. These teams debated in an ISDA finals round last week. Congratulations to Primary B who are still in the comp and will debate again next week. The venue is yet to be released. Our Senior A Team will compete in an important final round tomorrow when they face St Aloysius’ at Ravenswood. Good luck girls! 

Parents are reminded that the school will not provide transport to and from any finals debates. 

Eliminated ISDA and FED Debaters 

Thank you to all debaters who competed in the seven preliminary FED and ISDA rounds and were part of a FED or ISDA team. Thank you to all parents who supported their daughters in this valuable co-curricular activity. 

Mrs Hubbard is looking for extra ISDA or FED girls who have now finished their season, to be FED chairs and timekeepers at Pymble this Friday. Please email her if you can assist. 

Archdale

The Archdale Debating comp starts on 16 May with Round 1 and 8 teams. This comp runs on Tuesday afternoons and evenings. Please ensure your daughter is registered. Co-curricular Administration will release the draw soon. We are still waiting for timings to be released. Teams and parents will be notified once they arrive. 

Virtual Archdale

A virtual Archdale competition will now run alongside the traditional Archdale competition. This new competition will allow country schools to participate. Pymble is entering a Year 7/8 team, a Year 9/10 team and an 11/12 team. This is open to ISDA debaters in the first instance. Our Junior team is full but please contact Mrs Hubbard if interested in a place in the Inter or Senior team. All debates will run from Pymble, online, on a Tuesday evening. 

Social Debating (SSD)

This competition started last week on Friday 5 May. SSD competition will run each Friday 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 Year 7 to 12 girls this term. Thank you to our student coaches and our adjudicators – Becky Huang, Kayleigh Li, Lara Hogan and Mr Daniel Judd. 

House Debating

A new House Debating comp started last term. Thanks to Isabella Cameron, our Language Arts prefect for resurrecting this initiative. Finals are to be held early in Term 2. Cups will be presented.

Sydney University Debating Day  

Thank you to those who have registered interest for the Sydney University Debating Day on 2 June. Co-curricular Administration will send through registrations. 

Mock Law 

Our Mock Law coaches and teams had a successful start to their season last term. All the best to our Mock lawyers for Term 2 rounds. Scenarios have now been released. Mooting Round 1 will be held on Tuesday 16 May, In Senior Library, from 12.30pm. Mock Mediation Round 2 will be held from 8am on Wednesday 17 May, in CO2 Mock Trial Round 2 will be held from 3.00pm on Thursday 18 May in C07. 

Evatt 

We currently have six teams interested in Evatt next term. The tentative date is 22 May at PLC Sydney. Girls in Year 9 to 12 enter this competition in pairs. CCSA will send registrations. 

Discover MUN

Discover MUN day will be held at UNSW on Thursday 25 May. This is only for Senior Students. 

Mother’s Day stall 

To all Mums and grandmothers, have a happy day on Sunday! We are selling our beautiful Language Arts Mother’s Day, double walled, heart mugs again this year. Wrapped mugs are $12.00 each and a stall will be available on Friday lunch at the Music colonnade.

Bronwyn Hubbard

Head of Co-curricular Language Arts

Music

Busy Musicians

The Performing Arts Department is a hive of activity on any given day. Tour groups will often see the Music Gallery alive with students preparing for performances; whether it be a Year 7 class on ukulele, a Year 9 class preparing for an assessment, a Year 12 class rehearsing with the College accompanist for their HSC, or a large ensemble preparing repertoire for any given event, at any given time of the week.

This week, the Year 8 girls have been furiously and collaboratively learning dialogue, lyrics and dance moves for their performance of Madagascar. We do hope you were able to secure tickets to see the show. Countless hours go into delivering a performance and the Year 8 Elective Music classes spent all of Term 1 developing their acting, singing and dancing skills during their music classes. We are all immensely proud of their professionalism and their positive attitudes towards this project. The Year 8 elective Music students have remained patient and kind to one another, have learned how to make new friends, and most importantly, have learned to deal with any stage fright.

Whilst this has all been occurring, our other ensembles have been preparing material for you to enjoy at the Mother’s Day Breakfast. The Junior School Choir, Capella singers and Stage Band have been diligently perfecting their parts. We are grateful to these girls and their conductors.

The College Trio and the College Quartet are rehearsing behind the scenes in preparation for public performances to showcase the incredible talent of these students. The College Choir has been asked to sing for National Reconciliation Week, which is a national event whereby all choirs from across the country sing together, culminating in one large voice. This recording will take place during their rehearsals in Reconciliation Week (27 May to 3 June).

Week 4 Choir Performances – NOT TO BE MISSED!

The Junior Cappella and Pymble Chorale vocal ensembles have been invited to perform at a special concert with The Humming Song Choir. This event will be held in the College Chapel on Saturday 20 May, 4.00 pm to 5.30 pm.

All members of the College community are warmly invited. Please see the poster below for booking details. This is a ticketed event, and all proceeds will go to supporting the Hornsby Woman’s Shelter. Both vocal ensembles need to arrive at 2.20pm to rehearse the combined and individual items. Tickets can be purchased here.

I hope you can join us for this exciting performance opportunity. Please note that this is also the day of a Junior Movie evening, so parking will be difficult. Please allow extra time.

Our Symphony Orchestra is rehearsing for the first College Concerto Competition on 21 June. Ashleigh O’Young (clarinet) and Gabrielle Zhong (cello) will perform, accompanied by the Symphony Orchestra. This concert is the Senior School Ensemble Concert evening and adjudications will take place with judge Mr Paul Dyer – AO, Artistic Director Australian Brandenburg Orchestra.

The City of Sydney Eisteddfod season is in full swing this term and we are delighted to enter some of our ensembles in this event. The Junior School groups will receive information from Mr Schweinberger, as will the Pymble Chorale. We have some soloists who will also compete in the eisteddfods, and we wish them well.

As you can see, there is no rest for musicians.  No sooner have we finished one performance than we are straight into the next one! These activities are in addition to their academic work, their sporting and other Co-curricular commitments, and their family time. This is my way of saying THANK YOU to our wonderful girls and their very special parents. We are enormously grateful to each and every one of you – you show up and you just do it!!!

Ensemble Photos

23 to 24 May – Senior School Ensemble photos will be taken during lunch time. A timetable of who and when will be sent to the girls directly. Please make sure red jackets have been ironed and black pants are suitable.

Music Hoodies

The uniform store sells the hoodies for $50.00, and you ask for “Music” to be embroidered along the back. The embroidery costs $15.00. Girls will be able to wear these during terms 2 and 3 but must travel in their school blazers to and from the College. The hoodies are not to be worn during the day. Please purchase here.

AFL

Congratulations to Allyana Levy (Year 10) and Charlotte Tidemann (Year 9) who competed at the CIS U15 AFL Selection trials last Thursday.

Both girls did extremely well and because of their efforts were selected into the CIS side to compete at the All-Schools Championships in Albury next month.

Jack Garrad

Sports Co-ordinator – AFL

Athletics and Cross Country

On Sunday the NSW State 5km Road Championships took place at Sydney Olympic Park. Five of our Pymble girls competed at the event and achieved great results in the 5km races.

4th Abby Ballhausen 17.37

5th Sarah Baker 17.43

18th Tessa Newitt 19.28

24th Georgia Phillips

Open Fun Run 5km

16th Caitlyn Tan 19.57

20th Ellie Beck 23.21

Well done to all our Athletes. We are looking very promising for the igsa Cross Country Carnival which takes place on Friday 12 May at Frensham School, Mittagong.

We wish all our competitors the very best of luck.

Laura Verlinden

Sports Co-ordinator – Athletics and Cross Country

Basketball

It was an exciting weekend for Pymble Basketball!

Starting us off were the Senior Firsts in a convincing 61-23 win over St. Vincent’s. The entire team played with a full-court intensity sparked by Ariana Ziolkowski (Year 9) who had numerous steals and deflections in our full-court press. Yvette Volk (Year 11) continuously finished off the fastbreak plays with crafty lay-ups.

Lucy Pennington (Year 11) played with such intensity and energy and continually kept the team morale high on Pymble 2.

Georgia Bicego (Year 11) on Pymble 3 attacked the basket hard and was always making the right plays; no one on the opposition could stop her.

Sophie Livingstone (Year 11) had at least 8 steals and 4 blocks on the defensive end and was just as active on the offensive end for Pymble 4 with her team dropping a heartbreaking loss by just 3 points.

Caitlin Pridmore (Year 11) was also incredibly active both on offense in running the transition and on defence getting steals and deflections for Pymble 5.

Pymble 6 continued with their team morale high on a 23 to 3 win over Queenwood.

Alice Beveridge (Year 10) had many great layups and didn’t let the other team move a centimetre without contesting them with excellent defence, giving Pymble 7 a convincing 20 point win.

Pymble 8 also had a convincing 36 to 12 win over Brigidine.

Zara Pattinson (Year 9) was so aggressive on offence really shooting the basketball well for Pymble 9.  

Alexandra Warren (Year 8) played great defence and continued to catch rebounds with great team spirit for Pymble 10.

Big shoutout to Ella Mitchell (Year 9) for her awesome communication both on and off the court for Pymble 11, showing great leadership skills with her continuous support of her teammates.

Pymble 12 had a convincing 31 to 10 win over Queenwood.

Abbey Pisani (Year 7) had great defence and attacked the basket hard for Pymble 13.

Sasha Paris (Year 7) and Savannah Lorimer (Year 7) were relentless for Pymble 14 in their comeback win over PLC Sydney.

Dora Gao (Year 7) was the most active player scoring 12 of the teams 14 points for Pymble 16.

Emma Koorey (Year 7) played with so much energy and went for every rebound and loose ball for Pymble 17.

Team	Opponent	Result	Score
Pymble 1	St Vincent’s College 01	WIN	61 – 23
Pymble 2	Kincoppal 1	LOSS	20 – 42
Pymble 3	Roseville College 03	WIN	30 – 15
Pymble 4	PLC Sydney 02	LOSS	20 – 23
Pymble 5	Queenwood 04	LOSS	15 – 33
Pymble 6	Queenwood 05	WIN	23 – 3
Pymble 7	Ravenswood 05	WIN	26 – 0
Pymble 8	Brigidine College 05	WIN	36 – 12
Pymble 9	Ascham School 05	LOSS	10 – 31
Pymble 10	Frensham 08	DRAW	10 – 10
Pymble 11	Wenona School 07	LOSS	16 – 56
Pymble 12	Roseville College 15	WIN	31 – 10
Pymble 13	Kambala 08	LOSS	18 – 13
Pymble 14	PLC Sydney 14	WIN	10 – 4
Pymble 15	St Scholastica’s College 03	LOSS	8 – 23
Pymble 16	Kambala 09	LOSS	14 – 36
Pymble 17	Meriden 16	LOSS	10 – 30

Rachel Maenpaa

Head Coach – Basketball

Equestrian

In the last few weeks of term and into the holidays, Madeleine Gaden (Year 7) competed in her Equestrian discipline of Show Riding on her Galloway, Xtra Riches of Sefton, lovingly called “Rooster”. She competed at the Equestrian NSW Show Horse Spectacular, Show Horse Council of Australasia Grand Nationals and Sydney Royal Easter Show.

Madeleine and Rooster had great success throughout the three competitions winning and placing in Child, Open and Riding Championships.

Their biggest achievement was at the Show Horse Council Of Australasia Grand Nationals, where they won the Childs Grand National Galloway Championship for a second year in a row.  They also competed and amazingly won the Grand National Open Large Galloway, with Madeleine being the youngest to ride in the event at 12 years old, competing against adults and professionals.

Ali Williams

Sport Co-ordinator – Equestrian

Fencing

Congratulations to Lulu Hargraves (Year 8) and Polly Hargraves (Year 6) on participating in the U15 Schools Epee Fencing championships on Saturday 6 May. It is an incredible accomplishment to compete at such a high level, and we proud of you both.

The competition was intense, and the level of fencing was exceptional.

Lulu achieved 1st place and Polly finished in 3rd. Being young for this age group, Polly showed considerable amounts of bravery and courage.

We hope you both enjoyed the experience and continue to pursue your passion for fencing.

Once again, congratulations on your hard work.

Megan O’Keeffe

Sports Co-ordinator – Fencing

Football

igsa Football Round 2

Round 2 of igsa Football took place this past Saturday with Pymble teams achieving six wins and four losses. Another goal fest saw 55 goals scored across 10 matches. Saturday’s results saw Pymble 1, 3, 5, 6, and 7 stay undefeated after two rounds.

It also saw Pymble 3, and 8 pick up their first wins of the term. Our Pymble 10 team dropped a heartbreaker in the final 30 seconds of the match, after fighting back from 2-0 down to tie it up at 2-2.

Team	Opponent	Result	Score
Pymble 01	Queenwood 1	Win	7-0
Pymble 02	Kincoppal Rose Bay 1	Loss	0-3
Pymble 03	St Catherine’s 2	Win	3-1
Pymble 04	Ravenswood 2	Loss	1-3
Pymble 05	Loreto Kirribilli 3	Win	6-1
Pymble 06	Loreto Normanhurst 3	Win	7-2
Pymble 07	Wenona School 4	Win	3-0
Pymble 08	St Catherine’s 3	Win	4-0
Pymble 09	Brigidine College 8	Loss	3-6
Pymble 10	Ravenswood 7	Loss	2-3

Team of the Week

This week’s team of the week goes to our Junior Firsts, Pymble 7!

Our Junior Firsts had a top of the table clash against Wenona on Saturday. The team took 3 goals to 0 half-time lead, and the result stayed the same in the second half. Some great build-up play and possession-based football meant that our goalkeeper, Amelia Brandon (Year 9), was never really tested. An early goal of the season contender from Amelia Bicego (Year 8), saw her beat two defenders and then cut inside to score a 20-yard curling screamer!

Well done girls!

Round 2 Most Valuable Players

Pymble 1 – Grace Townsend (Year 10)

Pymble 2 – Victoria Apachou (Year 10)

Pymble 3 – Lily Barlow (Year 10)

Pymble 4 – Harriet McLean (Year 11)

Pymble 5 – Georgia Dixon (Year 11)

Pymble 6 – Claudia Webster (Year 12)

Pymble 7 – Amelia Bicego (Year 8)

Pymble 8 – Hayley Browne (Year 8)

Pymble 9 – Kiki Chen (Year 9)

Pymble 10 – Sanduli Bandara (Year 7)

Senior Firsts Match Report by Football Captain, Kaitlyn Chan

Our Senior Firsts notched their second win of the season on Saturday. A strong performance saw them score 7 goals past Queenwood, which now sets up a top of the table clash in their next game against Roseville College. Here’s what football captain, Kaitlyn Chan (Year 12), had to say: “Stellar win for the Pymble Senior Firsts team with a 7-0 win against Queenwood. Congrats to our goal scorers: Grace Townsend (Year 10) and Sophie Watson (Year 12) with two each, Jasmin Robinson (Year 11), Willa Pearson (Year 7), and Kaitlyn Chan (Year 12). 

Special mention to Madison Gabila (Year 7) and Willa Pearson (Year 7) from the Junior Firsts for helping us out and Chloe Tseros (Year 11) for keeping a clean sheet.”

School Pathway

Congratulations to the following students who made the IGSA Opens Football team following the trials on Monday 8 May: Willa Pearson (Year 7), Chloe Tseros (Year 11), Juliette Harris (Year 11) and Kaitlyn Chan (Year 12). Also, congratulations to our Head Coach, Shervin Adeli, for being selected as the assistant coach.

The IGSA Football team will take part in the CIS Football Championships on Monday 29 and Tuesday 30 May, at Valentine Sports Park, where they will compete against CGSSA, AICES, ISA, and NCIS.

CIS Football Cup

Our CIS Football Cup team played against Barker College last Thursday 4 May on Main Oval. Barker started the game strongly, moving the ball around their backline but were struggling to penetrate our defensive lines.

Pymble were able to press and win the ball in dangerous areas, which led to three goals in the first half. The goal scorers were Grace Townsend (Year 10), Willa Pearson (Year 7), and Sophie Watson (Year 12).

A lot of credit goes to our backline, who were able to restrict Barker to long range shots, which led to a clean sheet for our goalkeeper, Chloe Tseros (Year 11).

Our team will next face the winner of Loreto Normanhurst vs Hunter Valley Grammar School.

Chris Wood

Sport Co-ordinator – Football

Hockey

The Mollie Dive Hockey competition kicked off last week with an impressive start from both our Pymble Teams.

Team A defeated Roseville 10 goals to 1, while our Team B came back with a strong 3 goals to 2 win over Brigidine.

Round 2 we will see Team A up against Abbotsleigh and Team B Take on Monte Sant’ Angelo. We wish all our players the very best of luck.

Laura Verlinden

Sports Co-ordinator – Hockey

Junior School Sport

2023 JS Athletics Carnival – Championship Field Events

If you would like your daughter to compete in the JS Athletics Carnival Championship Field Events, please see the dates of each event below:

Monday 15 May – Long Jump

Monday 22 May – Discus and Shot Put

All students in Years 3 to 6 are welcome to attend. If your daughter is in Year 2 and is turning or has already turned eight and is involved in the Schools Athletics program, she is also welcome to attend.

Girls are to meet Mr Tyson and Mrs Kingsell on Sunshine at the start of lunch.

NSWCIS Netball

Congratulations to Lillie Oldfield (Year 6), Bebe Brennan (Year 6), and Ava Costa (Year 6) who were selected for the IPSHA Representative Netball team and represented Pymble last week at the NSW CIS Primary Netball Championships on Friday 5 May. The girls displayed true Pymble spirit and sportsmanship and should be very proud of their efforts. Well done!

NSWCIS Hockey

Congratulations to Charlie Slater (Year 6), Madeleine King (Year 6), and Olivia Hicks-Duncomb (Year 6) who represented Pymble earlier in the week at the NSW CIS Primary Hockey Trials on Monday 8 May. A fantastic effort was displayed at the trial’s girls. Well Done!

Matt Tyson

Head of Sport – Kindergarten to Year 6

Netball

On Sunday 7 May, the Pymble senior netball squad were invited to play a curtain raiser to the NSW Swifts versus Sunshine Coast Lightning game.

The game was organised by NSW Swifts as part of our long-standing association with them and their support of grass roots and school netball programs.

The match was against Hills Sports High with whom we have a friendly ongoing rivalry with, and we always welcome the challenge.

A fantastic atmosphere and a privilege to play in the huge venue of Ken Rosewall Arena

Pymble Team:

Grace Whyte (Year 12) – Netball Captain – NSW Swifts Training Partner

Ella Monk (Year 12)

Asha Goddard (Year 12)

Charlotte Morris (Year 12)

Sophia Lupton (Year 12)

Jessica Cullen (Year 10)

Sophie Laing (Year 10)

Louise Lovell (Year 10)

Juliette Mouton (Year 10)

Charlotte Craig (Year 10)

Coach: Mrs Gin Welsh

Gin Welsh

Head Coach – Netball

Rugby Sevens

Our pre-season program has started off with a bang this term with over 90 girls registering for the program. It is great to see familiar faces as well as welcome many new students to the program. Our girls have been working on basic skills in preparation for the Term 3 competition. Basic tackle technique, catch pass and conditioning games have been at the forefront of our training sessions and I look forward to seeing these skills pay off once our matches commence.  

A reminder we have our Indigenous Round fixtures on Saturday 27 May where we will do battle against local clubs Gordon and Lindfield in the U14,16s and 18s. It would be great to see as many families there as possible to support the girls in this very special event.  

Jack Garrad

Sports Co-ordinator – Rugby Sevens

Swimming

Warringah Aquatic Swim Club Short Course Qualifying Meet 

Well done to our Pymble girls on your effort, commitment and courage shown at the Warringah meet last Sunday 7 May 2023. 

Seeing the girls support each other, give their best and respond well to coaching feedback is success. We came away with some wonderful results and thanks to the contributions of our girls, Knox Pymble Swim Club won the point score.   

It was a perfect meet to see where we are at and what we need to do to be ready for the Winter season ahead.  

A huge thank you to all the parents and the coaching team Michelle, Sara and Rafa who supported our swimmers at the meet. 

Top 3-point scores: 

Meg Chia (Year 7) – 130 points 

Keira Smith (Year 10) – 96 points 

Emma Deere (Year 4) – 80 points  

Pymble girls who competed: 

Mini Squad: Crystal Li (Year 3); Rose Wang (Year 3); Lena Pan (Year 4). 

Star Squad: Amelie Berg (Year 4); Emma Deere (Year 4); Isabella Wang (Year 4); Emma Feng (Year 4); Puisai Victoria Ko (Year 5); Jiayi Wu (Year 5); Sarah Kranes (Year 6); Avika Kapoor (Year 6). 

Cadet Squad: Geena Cheng (Year 7); Carla Eibach (Year 6); Oriana Fenton (Year 6); Penelope Hargraves (Year 6); Imogen Jones (Year 7); Annie Liu (Year 7); Chloe Shires (Year 6); Yu Elsa (Year 6); Emma Ng (Year 7); Claudia Wyatt (Year 7). 

Engine Squad: Megan Chia (Year 7); Ruby Pickthall (Year 9); Keira Smith (Year 10) 

Rafael Rodrigues

Head Coach – Swimming

Water Polo

Pymble Water Polo continued into Round 2 strong. Pymble Opens water polo team came away with a big win against St Luke’s College, 21 to 1 on Friday 5 May in the Northern Suburbs Competition at Warringah Aquatic Centre. 

Our Pymble Intermediate teams also had one win and one unlucky game on Monday 8 May. Pymble Red won to Stella Maris College – WHITE, 8 to 2 and Pymble Blue went down to Stella Maris College – RED 9 to 0. 

Best of luck to several of our Pymble students heading down to Canberra this weekend for a NSW Academy Camp. Good luck to Kiera Mironova (Year 10), Lucinda Middleton (Year 10), Melijah Dwight (Year 11) and Zara Cooke (Year 9).   

Brigette Moore

Head Coach – Water Polo

Final information: Mother’s Day Morning Tea

With our Mother’s Day Morning Tea only one sleep away, we are looking forward to welcoming you to Pymble for what is traditionally one of the College’s biggest events of the year.

Getting to Mother’s Day Morning Tea

The event will start at 10.15am and conclude at 11.15am, and we are expecting approximately 750 parents and carers in attendance. Parking will be extremely limited, and we expect there to be heavy traffic in the surrounding streets, so we strongly suggest that you catch the train to Pymble Station from where the College is a short five-minute walk away.

If you do wish to drive, please note that Gate 1 will be closed from 9.00am for safety reasons. The only vehicular access to the College will be via Gate 3, however Centenary Car Park will have very limited car spots available. Sufferance Gate (at Gate 1) and Grey House Walk will also be open should you wish to park your car locally and walk.

Student Attendance

Junior School students will be ushered up to Main Oval at 10.15am by staff and will be taken back to class by their teachers at 11.00am.

Secondary School students will arrive at 10.20am for the duration of their morning tea break.

How to get your food

Parents will be directed to the parent stalls to collect their food. Please note that there is also a separate stall for those with special dietary requirements.

When students arrive, they will be directed by year group to receive their morning tea and then you and your daughter will be able to enjoy your morning together on the oval. 

Donations

All donations from tomorrow will be split evenly between The Wayside Chapel and Costumes for Cancer. There will be donation buckets located at the parent refreshment stalls, and we will be very grateful to all those who can contribute a monetary donation to help these two great causes.

Entertainment

While you and your daughter are enjoying morning tea, you will be treated to some special live performances from the Junior School Capella Singers, Junior Choir, Year 8 Elective Music and our Stage Band, all of whom have been practicing hard to put on an entertaining show for all of Pymble’s special mums.

Housekeeping

• The closest bathrooms (male and female) are located at the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts (GMCPA).
• In the unlikely event of an emergency, College staff will activate our Emergency Response Plan.

Once again, thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Join us at our Alumni Networking Event

Are you a student in Year 12 wanting an insight into your dream career? Do you know any ex-Pymble Alumni aged between 18 and 35 who would benefit from making invaluable connections with senior leaders from a wide range of industries and backgrounds who could help advance their career?

If so, then sign up to attend our Alumni Networking Event on Thursday 18 May from 6.00pm to 8.30pm at KPMG Barangaroo where you will be able to meet with a professional network of community members who will help guide you on the path to success in your career post-Pymble.

Industries that will be represented on the night include:

• Communication and Creative Services
• Engineering and Technology
• Financial Services
• Healthcare and Related Industries
• Legal Sector
• Professional Services
• Public Service and Government
• The Built Environment and Property
• Education

Vision Valley Winter Holiday Camps (Years 3 to 8) – Registrations opening soon

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 camp will offer both two night/three day and four nights/five day options and will feature a full activity program, including outdoor adventure activities, nature play and recreational games, all supervised by our experienced Vision Valley staff.

Bookings will open soon and there will be limited places available. 

Rebecca Pearce

Operations Manager – Vision Valley

Term 2 Bus Registrations are now open!

Registrations are now open for the Pymble private bus service during Term 2 – all students must be registered to catch the bus and must have a current student ID card to tap on and off each trip.

In Term 2, the bus service will operate from Wednesday 26 April to Thursday 22 June 2023. 

Please note the addition of a new stop at Mosman (bus route 2) and new location for Stop 1 at Avalon (bus route 4). Check the bus stops and times for your preferred bus route. This will also be attached to your registration confirmation email as per normal.   

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

1. Term registration enables the student to access the bus service every day in the morning and afternoon. The charge is currently set at $430.00 per term.

• Flexible registration enables the student to register for specific day(s) with a choice of morning and/or afternoon runs. The charge is currently set at $7.50 per trip.

While face masks are no longer mandatory on Pymble buses or all public transport options as per the updated COVID-19 rules in NSW, students are encouraged to wear one when travelling on Pymble buses. Existing government guidelines for household contacts/positive cases remain in place.

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

Jersey Day Commemoration Chapel Service

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: Learn to Swim Instructors (casual)

With over 1,200 bookings per week, our Learn to Swim program is rapidly growing and to meet the demand, we are opening our expressions of interest to add to our community of passionate Learn to Swim Instructors, with casual shifts available from 9.00am to 12.00pm and 3.00pm to 6.30pm Mondays to Fridays, with Saturday shifts from 8.00am to 12.00pm.

As either an experienced Learn to Swim Instructor, or someone looking to train and step into a role, you’re able to have flexibility in hours and shifts to suit your needs. Training through Swim Australia is available for those looking to become qualified and you will be able to complete your practical hours here at Pymble Swimming under the guidance of our experienced instructors. Our team will support you to ensure you have the abilities and confidence required you to promote water safety, deliver our lesson plans and encourage swimming as an essential life-skill.

With a strong connection with each student, our classes range from six months of age through to school aged children, for both Pymble students and the public. You will be supported in your success through an established program that provides lesson plans and proven methodologies to achieve key competencies and to ensure that our swimmers reach their personal goals.

Your own development will also be a focus, with career progression and future succession through to supervisory roles possible for those who excel and are driven to take their career to the next level.

Your kind of benefits

Our hourly rate for instructors is $34.33 per hour, plus superannuation and loading. Penalties and overtime are available where applicable.

We offer a range of other benefits, including:

• mentoring groups and professional development support
• your own access to our Aquatic and Fitness Centre, with free Yoga and Pilates classes
• easy access with close public transport and onsite or nearby (street) parking.
• We also provide a wide range of opportunities for Pymble people to grow personally and professionally, including through growth strategies, training and professional development, career progression, access to technology and resources, and health and wellbeing opportunities.

Our kind of team member

You will have:

• A willingness to support the ethos and values of the College.
• Current Swim Australia Teacher or AUSTSWIM Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety certification, or willingness to undergo the training program.
• Current Teacher of Infants and Preschool Aquatics, or willingness to undergo the training, for instructors specific to our Preschool program.  
• Current CPR qualifications, or willingness to obtain.
• Previous experience in aquatic education or the aquatic industry is desirable.
• Demonstrated commitment to continuous improvement.

For more information or to apply, please click here.

2023 PPA Trivia Night

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.

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Clair Stock

Enrolments Manager

Read the 2022 Pymbulletin

Pymble in Young

You and your family are invited to meet our Deputy Principal, Ms Lamia Rockwell and Director of Boarding, Mrs Carolyn Burgess along with other members of the Pymble community to connect and celebrate our proud history.