From the Principal

It is a blessing to have our Year 12 cohort together again and back on campus this week after their HSC Trial examinations. Each year, the academic staff provide me with all the papers to review, comment on, and add special Principal’s Awards for effort, excellence and improvement. Having now read through most of the papers, I am delighted with the results and improvements made – the mathematics papers were particularly impressive! In addition, all major works were due on Monday so a huge congratulations to students who submitted these amazing pieces, including Dance, Drama and Music performances, which are equally incredible. On that note, tonight is the official opening of the Year 12 Visual Arts Show where we will announce the Packer’s Prize and Principal’s Award, which, frankly, is always a nightmare to narrow down to just one! The exhibition is also open on Saturday in the Main Hall from 10.00am to 1.00pm so please drop in to see the works on display, they really are remarkable.

Year 11, it’s your turn to shine next week, with yearly examinations starting on Monday. You know I believe luck is where hard work meets opportunity. The opportunity to sit your exams is available – the rest is up to you.

Today and tomorrow are big days for our athletes and Sport staff at SOPAC for the igsa Athletics Championships – go Team Pymble! Thank you to Year 12, and all our Secondary students, for sending our Pymble team off with a rousing war-cry and guard of honour after assembly this week. Year 7 will be out in force at SOPAC tomorrow to cheer them on in true Pymble style.

Say YES to something new

One of the true differentiators of a Pymble education is the vast array of co-curricular opportunities on offer. We love nothing more than seeing our girls grow into their specific interests and passions, which are often ignited by having the courage to try something new. Our large selection of opportunities for students also includes student-led clubs and interest groups. At Pymble, these take place on campus at lunchtime, are open to all students, and are supervised by staff.

Current lunchtime clubs/groups all girls are welcome to join include:

Junior School

Curiosus – working on the student-driven term-based Junior School magazine.
Social Justice – exploring injustices within our community and collectively developing ideas and solutions.
Paper Engineering – paper manipulation with a focus on STEM.
Knitting – learning a new skill and contributing to group projects, such as Wrap with Love.
Sokratis (Years 3 to 6) – working on research-based passion projects.
Bike Riding (Years 3 and 4) – exploring hidden parts of the campus on two wheels, starting in Term 4.

Secondary School

Senior Ignite – Bible study group, supported by our Chaplaincy team.
Girl Up Club – leadership development initiative, focusing on equity for girls and women where they are unheard or underrepresented.
Sokratis – research-based passion projects.
E-sports Club – develop skills in specific games, get experience in the industry and participate in esports competitively. Coming to the Secondary School soon!
Young Entrepreneurs Society (YES).

YES is a shining example of a student-led club that has thrived since its inception.

It is my pleasure to handover now to Ollisha Muthukuda, Allison Wang (Year 10) and Joy Ye (Year 11) to tell you more about our young entrepreneurs at Pymble.

The Young Entrepreneurs Society (YES) is a student-led society focused on inspiring initiative and building core entrepreneurial skills through annual events showcasing our growth. It was initiated in 2019 by Pymble student, Lucy Fang, who hoped to recruit 25-50 members and “run training/workshops to help students gain basic entrepreneurial skills and enable an environment that will help develop both their leadership and teamwork skills, and maybe even a few successful start-up businesses.”

Today, YES has over 80 members from Years 7 to 11 and has successfully been running for four years, with two major events each year: Pitch Night and Market Day.

Pitch Night is when students present business plans and pitches they have spent weeks preparing to a panel of judges. YES mentors run through the principles of business and marketing each week to guide the students through the process, and they learn about a variety of topics, such as the SWOT analysis and profit models.

We recently held our YES Pitch Night for 2023, judged by GBE teacher, Mr Peter Fogale, and Mr Norman Donato, an experienced Banking, Finance and Corporate Legal Advisor. Students presented a wide variety of ideas, ranging from bulletproof tents to moisturising lip balms and AUSLAN Sign Language Education. Congratulations to our winners and thank you to Mr Fogale and Mr Donato for providing fantastic feedback.

Jessica Worrell (Year 10) reflects on her YES experience:

“Being a mentor for YES is a rewarding experience that has allowed me to connect with girls from various years and help make their business ideas come to life. Watching students present their products on Pitch Night was a special night that celebrated their hard efforts and the long hours that they have all invested into producing their final products.”

Market Day is an event held in Term 4 where the entrepreneurial dreams of all the YES students come true! They are tasked with developing and creating a physical product that they will market and sell to other students. Last year, students made and sold a wide range of products, including press-on nails, snack packs, and self-care items, generating over $1,000 which was donated to the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter.

Olivia Xu (Year 10) shares her thoughts about YES:

“YES is a valuable opportunity for any student to develop their creativity and confidence in an incredibly rewarding mock-professional setting. I joined YES in 2021, and with the guidance of my mentor, my team had the honour of presenting our pitch to acclaimed entrepreneurs. In the following semester, we developed our products for Market Day, while navigating challenges and learning new skills such as advertising, budgeting, and negotiation. Now participating as a mentor for YES, I have acquired such beneficial skills and knowledge that can be earned only from this club.”

YES is always looking for new members and now is a great time to join as we kick off Market Day 2023. We meet at lunchtime each Tuesday and it would be wonderful to see more people join their friends for some fun and be exposed to an incredible opportunity! You don’t have to have any experience with entrepreneurship; instead, come with an open, curious mind and you will be sure to get the best out of YES. – Ollisha, Allison and Joy

Thank you, girls. How wonderful that YES exists as a legacy of our former student, who is continuing her entrepreneurial journey through her successful YouTube channel, Tech With Lucy, while studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at the University of Oxford.

Information about how to join a Junior School club is on display at the Junior School Office. Secondary students who wish to join one of our existing student-led clubs – or perhaps, like Lucy, launch a new one! – are welcome to email our Co-curricular Administration team, who can connect you with the appropriate students, groups or staff mentor. As we like to say, if you can dream it, you can do it at Pymble!

Say hello to our HOLAs

Continuing our series celebrating Heads of Learning Areas, this week (which just happens to be Book Week) is the perfect time to celebrate our Library Team Lead, Ms Tessa Zwar.

Ms Zwar started at Pymble in 2006, teaching History and Ancient History before beginning a Master of Education in Teacher Librarianship and moving into the Conde Library in 2019. As Library Team Lead, she oversees reading programs (Years 7 to 10); research, inquiry and information fluency (Years 7 to 12); curation of physical and digital resources for students and staff; and ensures operations and strategy across Pymble’s three K-12 Libraries are in alignment. Ms Zwar currently teaches wide reading classes for Years 7 and 9, and research and inquiry classes for Years 7 to 12.

Tessa, what was the ‘aha’ moment that led you into teaching?

“I’m not sure I had a single ‘aha’ moment. I was keen on becoming a teacher from quite a young age. I was fortunate to have wonderful teachers throughout my schooling who inspired a love of learning and curiosity in me and were wonderful role models. When I first started university, I was fairly certain that I was destined to become a primary school teacher. However, I just loved studying English and History at uni and went on to specialise and take Honours in them. It seemed like a natural progression to train to teach the subjects I was so passionate about.”

What is the most rewarding aspect of the work you do here?

“Working in the Library is a very privileged position. We get to work with staff and students from all areas across the College. The collaboration and conversations with students and staff are so fulfilling. There is nothing better than hearing that a task was enhanced due to collaboration with the Library team, or that a student loved the latest book they borrowed, or that they now have the perfect piece of research for their project.”

What are you most proud of achieving as a learning team leader?

“I am so proud to lead such a dedicated and passionate team of library professionals and teachers. I truly believe that we have one of the best school library teams here at Pymble and that is due to the professionalism, skills and care for the learning and wellbeing of students that all team members hold.”

Work aside, tell us a fun fact about you…

“I am a second-generation librarian. My lovely Mum was a librarian and library manager for her entire career until her retirement. I’m very lucky that I can discuss all things library with her!”

Finish this sentence: If I could impart one life lesson to our students, it would be…

“Do not dismiss the power of stories. Stories play such an important role in our lives and are intrinsic to the human experience. Stories connect, inspire, nurture, empower, open-up new worlds, help us make meaning, fortify our brains and deepen our souls. They are the ultimate product of creativity and heart.”

Hopefully, you are enjoying reading these insights into the people of Pymble as much as we are enjoying sharing their stories with you.

Pymble Foundation Gala Ball

We are delighted to invite parents and carers to the inaugural Pymble Foundation Gala Ball at the Art Gallery of NSW.  The evening will be an unforgettable night of celebration in support of the Pymble Foundation, featuring fine dining, beautiful wines and exciting raffles and auctions. 

The PymbleFoundation will focus on investment in the people, places and programs that will assist our students in their journey to become compassionate and influential young women who have the hearts, minds and skillset to make the world a better place. This includes new facilities and learning spaces on our two campuses, as well as bursaries (means-tested scholarships), which will enable our generous Pymble community to continue to give back to students who deserve, but may not be able to access, a world-class, life-changing education.

Please see invitation below or click here to purchase tickets.

What is the Pymble Foundation?

At Pymble, we are privileged to watch our students go on to change the world with unshakeable confidence and conviction. With the dedication of our College community – parents, alumni and friends – we are achieving excellence in education with remarkable teaching, incredible learning facilities and extraordinary opportunities for our girls.

However, the world is changing quickly and we must keep pace to continue to offer our girls the same opportunities. Every one of our students has benefited from the generosity of those who came before them and so we are striving to create a culture of philanthropy, care and giving to support the College’s future plans. And this is where we need your help.

In 2023, the Pymble Foundation was established to support the College in this vision. The objectives of the Pymble Foundation can be summed up in three words: People, Places and Programs.

We are supporting people by providing opportunities to girls for scholarships and bursaries to study at Pymble who would otherwise be unable to do so. With places, we are raising funds for campus master planning and major capital building works across both the Pymble campus and Vision Valley campus to ensure the ongoing delivery of first-class learning facilities. We are investing in programs to enhance the opportunities available to our girls in both educational and co-curricular activities.

In the spirit of Pymble Gives Back, we are inviting our community to support this work by coming together to celebrate at our inaugural Pymble Foundation Gala Ball. Join in the fun of our auctions and raffles, savour fine wines and dining with your Pymble community whilst raising funds for Pymble’s future.

We can’t wait to see you there!

Everything you need to know about Garden Party 2023

Make sure you schedule a fun family day out in your calendar this year, by saving the date for Pymble’s Garden Party!

Garden Party will be held on campus on Saturday 16September from 10.00am to 3.00pm.

It is sure to be a fun-filled day with an array of fabulous food, coffee, entertainment, rides, games, produce, arts and crafts, plants, gifts, toys and much more.

Funds raised at this year’s Garden Party will go to The Smith Family and Dignity.

As parking will be limited on the day, we recommend families catch the train to Pymble Station from where our campus is only a short five-minute walk away.

We look forward to welcoming students, their families and members of the public for a day full of fun, all while supporting a good cause!

Important Garden Party Information

This year’s Garden Party is promising to be our biggest and best yet. We are looking forward to celebrating with our Pymble and local community on Saturday 16 September.

Cashless

In the interests of security and convenience for our community, this year’s Garden Party will be predominantly cashless with all stalls and entertainment accepting credit and debit cards. Our aim is for Garden Party to be 100 per cent cashless in 2024.

Cash will still be accepted on a few stalls this year and we will have an ATM available at Middle School with a limited amount of cash available on the day.

Canines

Dogs are not permitted at Garden Party so please leave your furry family members at home.

Cars

Every year we welcome between 5,000 to 10,000 visitors to Garden Party. In the interests of safety, the College grounds are closed to cars on the day and parking is very limited on our neighbouring streets. We strongly recommend using public transport to and from Garden Party.

Get your Unlimited Rides Pass today!

The Unlimited Rides Pass allows you to go on as many rides as you would like at Garden Party 2023 between 10.00am and 3.00pm. This is great value for money and is sure to keep the young ones entertained over the course of the day.

Click here to purchase yours today!

Cost: $35.00 per Unlimited Rides Pass if you preorder, and $40 if you purchase on the day.

Registrations close: Thursday 14 September 2023

Enquiries: Please contact the Rides Convenor, Sangeeta Venkatesan at sangeeta.venkatesan@gmail.com

Click here for more details on Pymble Ladies’ College Garden Party 2023. We look forward to seeing you on the day!

Cake Box Decorating Competition

Garden Party is nearly here and this year’s theme for the Cake Box Decorating Competition is Under the Sea.

The Cake Box Decorating Competition is open to all students from Kindergarten to Year 12, with cake boxes available from school offices for students and parents to collect.

The judging will take place at Garden Party in the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts (GMCPA) foyer at 11.00am.

Included with the cake box is a cake board and label so you can fill your decorated cake box with home-made cakes or muffins to be sold at the Cake Stall at Garden Party.

Please deliver the finished boxes by Friday 15 September or Saturday 16 September before 10.30am.

Cake Decorating Competition

Like the Cake Box Decorating Competition, the theme for this year’s Cake Decorating Competition is also Under the Sea. Get your beaters out and ready to bake, its time to get creative with cake!

The 2023 Cake Decorating Competition will have three divisions and is open to our whole community:

Division 1 – Open to all students from Kindergarten to Year 12

Division 2 – Open to all adults

Division 3 – Open for Family Collaboration

The judging will take place at the Garden Party in the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts (GMCPA) foyer at 11.00am. Any size, shape and skill level is eligible – we look forward to receiving your creation.

Please deliver the finished cakes by Friday 15 September or Saturday 16 September before 10.30am.

Please contact the Cake Competition Convenor for further information: Kai Jones | kai_look@yahoo.com.com | 0431 725 948

Volunteers Needed: Sri Lankan Food Stall

We are running the Sri Lankan Food Stall at Garden Party on Saturday 16 September, the proceeds of which will go to The Smith Family and Dignity.

We kindly seek your help in any of the following ways:

Donations of Sri Lankan/Indian or South Asian sweet or savoury snacks.
Monetary donations to assist us to buy snacks from our caterer.
Volunteer on the day to help serve the food.

We gratefully appreciate your support!

Romayne Cooke, Dushi Cooke and Amanda Mudaliar

Wanted: Medical Professionals or Student Physios

We are seeking medical professionals or students studying physiotherapy who can spend an hour or so working at the Casualty Clearing Station, one of the most popular stalls at Garden Party, where you will help plaster many an arm, finger and other parts of the body.

If this interests you or you know someone who can help out, please email Kathryn Clark at kathryn@clarkfamily.net.au

Junior School Garden Party Poster Competition

Junior School students are encouraged to enter the Garden Party Poster Competition, with the overall winner receiving an Unlimited Rides Pass!

Entries are to be submitted to the Junior School Office by Tuesday 29 August 2023. All posters entered will be displayed in the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts foyer at Garden Party 2023. Prizes and certificates will be presented at Assembly in the week before Garden Party. Multiple entries are welcome.

Click here to download a copy of the poster which you can print at home. Students/parents can also pick up copies at Junior School Reception.

Good luck!

From the Junior School

From the Head of Junior School

In a recent assembly we talked about Being our Best. I spoke to all girls K-6 about always remembering to know who they are, not comparing themselves to anyone else but focusing on the unique strengths they bring and how their voice matters, no matter how quiet or loud that voice is.

Our Junior School girls have boundless energy and determination to change the world. I continue to be amazed by the way so many of our girls showcase mature leadership in many different ways. Our Semester 2 Captains deserve to be celebrated for their commitment to their portfolios and the way they consistency lead by example.

It’s also worth celebrating the many other girls who show impressive confidence and initiative as they step up and look for ways to make a difference in our community. So today, I’m giving a shout out to some of these quiet leaders in our community:

Last week Hailey Judd and Grace Neal (Year 6) volunteered to help and led an experiment for younger students at lunchtime when they saw how busy the teachers were. They didn’t want any of the enthusiastic young scientists to miss out on the opportunity to engage with the experiment, so they stepped in and led one themselves. A big thank you to all our Year 6 volunteers who helped our Kindergarten to Year 2 sisters during the Science Week lunchtime activities.

Each week in K-2 Assembly Jessica Pickford, Marley Titley, Selina Jiang, Molly Hardiman, Amelia Hardas, and Olivia Hicks-Duncombe speak to the Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 on our weekly kindness focus. This term these girls have been sharing their advice and wisdom to our youngest students, engaging them on how to be kind to our environment, including reducing, reusing and recycling and bringing nude food to school.

Queenie Sun (Year 3) was at the Year 3 to 5 dance on Saturday and noticed a peer who was reluctant to join in the dancing. Queenie stepped away from enjoying the dancing herself and spent time talking to her peer, listening to her and encouraging her to have a go.

A passionate group of social justice activists across Years 4 to 6 have begun to meet with Mrs Kate Giles, Mrs Melissa Kotian, Mrs Shaira Musico and me weekly to discuss ways they can lead positive change. These girls are our first Social Justice Club and they’re on a mission to make an impact! They are looking particularly at gender discrimination and looking for ways they can raise awareness and act to support positive change. Look out in the next few weeks as these girls begin their advocacy and activist journey.

Huge congratulations to all our Junior School girls who have competed in the State Interschools Snowsports this season as we have just been announced as overall winners in the Primary Schools competition – outstanding achievement!

I am proud to announce that Bianca Ng and Sarah Tew (Year 5) placed 2^nd in the National Day of AI. This is a spectacular achievement by both girls in a challenging competition.

Academic Excellence – Mrs Lara Bird, Deputy Head of Junior School – Academics

Embracing Challenge through Academic Competitions

Speech and Drama

Our final Eisteddfod results have come in and it is wonderful to see the level of achievement from all our girls. Mrs Clancy wrote to me saying that “A special highlight of the events at the Ryde Eisteddfod was the level of enthusiasm that the girls showed for each other’s performances. They all showed enjoyment and talent when performing”. Well done girls for supporting each other and having a go! Thank you again to our wonderful Speech and Drama teachers.

Congratulations to the following talented girls for their performance: Arya Raman (Year 3), Crystal Li (Year 3), Doris Pei (Year 3), Isabella Shi (Year 3), Sienna Yeung (Year 3), Siya Mishra (Year 3), Tiffany Gu (Year 3), Tiffany Ma (Year 3), Angelina Yang (Year 4), Aurora Lin (Year 4), Chloe Qi (Year 4), Isabel Liu (Year 4), Sophia Wang (Year 4), Abigail Yeh (Year 6) and Catherine Wang (Year 6).

Congratulations to the following students on their achievement:

Poetry Performance events

Aarthi Rao Year 3               1^st Place
Candice Li Year 4                1^st Place
Chloe Ma Year 3                 2^nd Place
Isabel Khattar Year 4         2^nd Place
Wenhui Zheng Year 6        2^nd Place
Hailey Zhang Year 3           3^rd Place
Grace Jacobs Year 6           3^rd Place

Chloe Zhang Year 3            Highly Commended
Miranda Chen Year 3         Highly Commended
Nadya Faheem Year 3       Highly Commended
Sophia Wu Year 3               Highly Commended
Charlotte Lau Year 4          Highly Commended
Dionne Jacobs Year 6        Highly Commended

Year 1 and Year 2 Windows into Learning – New Date

The date for Windows into Learning for Year 1 and Year 2 has changed. Year 1 Windows into Learning will now be held on Thursday 7 September at 8.30am and Year 2 Windows into Learning will be held on Thursday 7 September at 10.45am. Thank you for your understanding and flexibility. This change is due to the large number of students who are participating in the ballet performance.

Academic Learning Discussions – Monday 18 September

Parents will soon receive a portal notice to book an Academic Learning Discussion via Edval. These discussions will take place online with your daughter’s Compass Teacher.

Please note that all Co-curricular activities will run as normal on this day.

Student Health & Wellbeing Parent Survey- Kate Giles- Lead Coordinator K-3 and Jayne Mercer- Lead Coordinator 4-6

We are going to be holding ongoing parent sessions next term on a variety of different topics. These small group sessions will be an opportunity for you to hear the current research and evidence around student health and wellbeing and how to best support your daughter. This will also be an opportunity to connect with other parents within our school community.

To best tailor our sessions to be valuable to you, we would love to hear from you about your parenting questions, your concerns or your curiosities about your daughter’s health and wellbeing. Please respond to the survey using this link.

Year 5: Webb’s Creek OEP

Written by Olivia Dinnie and Sueann Deng

Last week 5P, 5A and 5N went to Webb’s Creek for their annual Year 5 Outdoor Education program. 5B, 5L and 5W headed out there this week.

We had a variety of different activities such as ziplining, abseiling, canoeing, damper making/cooking and frisbee golf.

Ziplining – When you’re ziplining you are 10 metres high in the air flying 20 metres across a giant pond. History fact: a long time ago they said “hold this and don’t let go! *shove*” but now we have harnesses that hook you onto the line, so you don’t fall off. The fun part about ziplining is racing your friends.

Abseiling – Some crazy people might say “jumping off a cliff.” Abseiling is much more than that; it’s where you climb down a cliff at any height backwards. We started off doing abseiling off a 1 and a half metre cliff backwards. They made us do a little one so we could get the hang of what abseiling is. Once we all had a turn it was time for us to try the bigger cliff, the 10-metre cliff. “This was the scariest thing I have ever done,” said some of us. “It was a good thing to do so I could get over my fear of heights,” said another. In the end it was really fun.

Next, canoeing. We sat in a red canoe and used a single sided paddle to paddle with our partner. The heavier person sat at the back and the lighter person sat at the front. The back person is the captain, and the front person is the listener. Capsizing is very hard to do but is possible.

Then onto damper making. This is when you mix flour and water together to make a bread but instead it’s called damper. Instead of putting it on a stick you wrap it in aluminium foil and grill it! When it was ready to eat we unwrapped it and put butter and jam on it, just like a piece of toast.

Frisbee Golf is pretty simple (but very hard to do). You throw a frisbee into small nets scattered around the place, it was really fun!

The last thing we did was an Ecology Walk (Bush walk). The place we went was called Castle Mountain because it is literally a castle on a mountain and that’s where we walked up to. The castle was half built but it was spooky and fun. We learnt lots of facts about the castle and the bush. There was even an ant nest stretching up to 3km long!

We found Outdoor Education incredibly fun, and we learnt a lot of new skills and made more friends. We hope you enjoyed our summary about the best camp ever!

Year 1 ‘Emmy & Friends’ – Kate Giles- Lead Coordinator K-3

Year 1 students have been participating in protective behaviour program run by Act for Kids “Emmy & Friends” each week. The program allows the girls to engage in important discussions reinforcing the importance of feeling safe and seeking support.

These sessions focus on teaching the girls to:

identify and articulate their feelings
understand the difference between safe and unsafe secrets
identify early warning signs to alert them of when they are in danger
identify public and private body parts
develop awareness of personal body space
identify trusted adults and what they can do when they feel unsafe.

‘I learnt that we have to tell a trusted adult when someone makes us feel uncomfortable or we have early warning signs’. – Catherine Chen

‘I liked learning the Emmy and Friends songs and they made me smile.’ – Rainie Liu

‘I learnt that the Early Warning Signs such as goosebumps and a lump in your throat, mean that we need to tell an adult until they listen.’ – Irene Qiu

‘I learnt that my body is very clever, and it gives me a message that I am feeling safe or unsafe’. – Lua Jung

‘I have learnt that your personal bubble is all around you, and you cannot go into someone else’s bubble without permission’. – Charlotte Cross

‘Consent means asking to touch someone. They have to say yes otherwise, this is not consent.’ – Penelope Lam

‘Tell, tell and tell again until someone listens and learns.’ – Eldora Xu

‘You are not allowed to keep a bad secret and you should tell it to someone you trust’. – Anna Won

‘Tell, tell, tell again until someone listens and helps’. – Aanya Rao

Kindness to our Environment – A note from our Sustainability Captains; Oriana Fenton and Richielynne Xiong

As a part of our focus on kindness to the environment and our determination to reduce, reuse and recycle, we are encouraging all girls from K-6 to create artworks (sculptures, pictures or other artworks) using recycled materials. Please bring artworks into the JS offices by the end of this term.

A message from Kurt Schweinberger – Deputy Director of Co-curricular Performing Arts (K-6)

Year 1 and Year 2 Showcase – Space Quest, Photo ordering information

1. Visit: www.lightboxphotography.com.au

2. Select ‘View and Order Photos’ from the right-hand menu.

3. User registration will be required to view your photos the first time.

Enter your name, email and a user password.

Note: This ‘password’ is not the access login but your own user password that you create.

This prevents others accessing your photo order.

4. Select ‘Access Gallery’ (top right).

Enter the following code into ‘Access Gallery’

photos code: space

5. To view the photos on repeated occasions only your email and ‘user password’ is required.

6. In the ‘Prints & Products’ column select the product with associated size.

– A selection of prints

– Block mount prints

– Canvas prints

7. To finalise your order please select ‘Check Out’ and complete the payment and postal details.

If you have any further inquiries please contact;

Lindsay Kearney – 0425 255 264

The Wind in the Willows is coming to Pymble!

Join us for the 2023 Year 6 Musical, The Wind in the Willows. This riotous comedy follows Mole, Rat, Badger, and the impulsive Mr. Toad, whose antics land him in serious trouble. With his beloved home under threat from the notorious Chief Weasel and his gang of sinister Wild Wooders, Toad must attempt a daring escape leading to a series of misadventures and a heroic battle to recapture Toad Hall.

Tickets for this exciting production will go on sale Friday 25 August (9.00am) through the GMCPA box office.

The performance dates are Thursday 14 and Friday 15 September, commencing at 7.00pm.

The performance will run for approximately 60 minutes.

We look forward to seeing you at the theatre.

Calling all musicians, dancers and entertainers, the Junior School PJ factor is back, and we are looking forward to seeing students in Years 3 – 6 create exciting and entertaining performances that are focused on the theme of being CREATIVE!

“Creativity is defined as the ability to create something new through the use of your imagination, mind and experiences”

As part of the Junior School “Let’s Get Creative Festival” (Thursday 16 November), we will be selecting a group of students from each house to perform at the festival. Reflecting on the above image, we are encouraging students to think outside the box and create a performance that extends their individual talents, to create something new and imaginative.

Students may enter as a soloist or as part of a small group.

Heats will commence Wednesday 11 October (Term 4 Week 1). See below the day for each house.

Heat 1: Wednesday 11 October – Marden
Heat 2: Thursday 12 October – Lang
Heat 3: Friday 13 October – Ingleholme
Heat 4: Monday 16 October – Wylie
Heat 5: Tuesday 17 October – Hammond
Heat 6: Wednesday 18 October – Goodlet
Heat 7: Thursday 19 October – Bennet
Heat 8: Friday 20 October – Thomas

Following the heats, a group of students from each house, who demonstrate creativity and originality in their performance, will be selected to perform at the Let’s Get Creative Festival.

When preparing their performance, students need to consider the following points:

I have taken my talent and created something different and original
My performance does not exceed 2 min
My performance is appropriate for my age (parents need to work with their daughter to create a performance that is indicative of their respective age)

Student sign-up sheets will be communicated in the Week 7 Newsletter.

If you have any questions, please speak with Mr Schweinberger.

A message from Josephine Laretive (K-2) and Martha Itzcovitz (3-6) – Junior School Librarians

The Junior School will be holding a Great Book Swap to celebrate reading, learn about Indigenous Languages and culture, and raise funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF). This event encourages the Junior School to swap a book in exchange for a gold coin donation.

When: The Book Swap will be held on Tuesday 5, Wednesday 6 and Thursday 7 September at lunchtime.

Where: Junior School Libraries

How can we join: We encourage all girls to bring a pre-loved book that is in good condition and is age appropriate to school from Week 7, Monday 28 August until their Book Swap Day. Books will be displayed for each Year group and girls will choose a pre-loved book from the collection.

How do we donate to the IFL: Girls can bring a gold coin on their Book Swap Day, or donations can be made online to the Pymble Ladies’ College Great Book Swap page

Our House: Pymble Ladies’ College has been assigned to Lungkura House, one of five Aboriginal language houses named after animal characters in the ILF books. Lungkura means blue-tongued lizard in Walmajarri, a language primarily spoken by people living in or on the edges of the Great Sandy Desert and parts of the East Kimberley region of Western Australia.

For more information about the IFL visit: https://www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au/

Lost Property

All K-6 lost property has been relocated to the K-2 Upper PA Room. Items on display have no clear name and could not be returned to the individual student. Please assist us in reducing the quantity of lost property in our Junior School by labelling all clothing, lunch boxes, umbrella and alike clearly.

From the Junior School Parent Group (JSPG)

The JSPG is looking forward to running its Junior School stalls again for this year’s Garden Party on Saturday 16 September.

To help facilitate these stalls, we are looking for parents in our community to help volunteer on the day. Please come join the fun!

To help with the Farmyard Fun & Kids Corner, please click here.

To help with the Year 6 Lollipop Tree & Mini Golf, please click here.

Important Dates for Term 3

Tomorrow	Year 5 OEP Group 2 – return from Webbs Creek
Tomorrow	Author Visit K-2 – Zanni Louise
Monday 28 August	ICAS Assessment – Maths – Year 5: 7.00am-8.00am location: Year 5 classrooms
Tuesday 29 August	ICAS Assessment – Maths – Year 3: 7.00am-8.00am location: Year 5 classrooms
Tuesday 29 August	Year 1 OEP Vision Valley
Tuesday 29 August	IPSHA Debating Gala Day (away)
Wednesday 30 August	ICAS Assessment – Maths – Year 4: 7.00am-8.00am location: Year 5 classrooms
Wednesday 30 August	CRU FIT at Roseville College 12.15pm-2.30pm
Wednesday 30 August	Year 1 History Incursion
Wednesday 30 August	Year 3 TechConnect (registered attendees) 6.00pm – 8.15pm
Wednesday 30 August	IPSHA Athletics Carnival
Thursday 31 August	ICAS Assessment – Maths – Year 6 – 7.00am-8.00am location: Year 5 classrooms
Thursday 31 August	K-6 Ballet Rehearsal 3.30pm – 4.30pm
Friday 1 September	Father’s Day lunch 12.15pm – 1.15pm
Friday 1 September	Ballet Performance for parents 6.00pm – 7.00pm
Monday 4 September	Year 6 Musical Rehearsal
Monday 4 September	Year 5 Spring into Leadership (all day)
Monday 4 September	Year 2 Indigenous dance
Tuesday 5 September	Junior School Languages Day
Tuesday 5 September	Year 6 Musical rehearsal
Wednesday 6 September	Year 4 OEP Group 1 depart for Webb’s Creek
Wednesday 6 September	Year 6 Musical rehearsal
Wednesday 6 September	Year 5 & 6 Maths Olympiad
Wednesday 6 September	Years 3 & 4 Maths Explorer
Wednesday 6 September	K-2 Optical Screening (parent consent required)
Thursday 7 September	K-2 Optical Screening (parent consent required)
Thursday 7 September	Year 1 and Year 2 Windows into Learning
Thursday 7 September	Year 4 OEP Group 1 Webb’s Creek
Thursday 7 September	Year 6 Musical Rehearsal
Friday 8 September	Year 6 Musical Rehearsal
Friday 8 September	Year 4 OEP return from Webb’s Creek
Sunday 10 September	An afternoon of Jazz at the Concourse – Jazz Band

Kate Brown

Head of Junior School

From the Middle School

We are now officially in the second half of Term 3 and from all accounts the girls are travelling well. Welcome back to all students and staff who participated in the National Exchange experience last week. Below you will find some student reflections celebrating the opportunity. This week we will be running the first of our Transition Workshops for Year 6 into 7 2024 transition. Thank you to the 60 + Year 7 students who stepped up to this leadership responsibility and will be facilitating these sessions. Well done to our Year 7 students who attended vaccinations at the end of last week. Your maturity was very much appreciated.

Year 8 National Exchange Student Reflections

Written by Varada Vinay

This term I had the opportunity to participate in the National Exchange program at Clayfield College in Brisbane with 8 other Pymble girls. I took part in a range of my host sister’s activities as well as experiencing Brisbane first-hand. A highlight of my trip to Brisbane was going to the Ekka, Queensland’s annual show. I enjoyed going on the rides with everyone as well as experiencing signature Ekka performances and treats.

We also explored our own city on return during our excursion and showed the girls from Brisbane popular places in Sydney. Staying with my host buddy and going to school with her made me realise how different two people’s lives can be and how flexibility and adaptability are two important qualities to have when making new friends. Also listening to one another can help forge close, strong relationships. Overall, the National Exchange program was a great opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and experience a new city with new people.

Written by Leander McLaughlin

Last week me and three others got the amazing opportunity to go to MLC Perth on exchange. We travelled five hours to get there and went to school with our buddies on Monday and Tuesday. It was an amazing experience as it really highlighted the differences and similarities between Pymble and MLC. After each day of school my exchange buddies took me around Perth. During this time, I visited Cottesloe beach, Fremantle, Kings Park and Claremont. I really enjoyed Perth and would definitely like to come back. On Wednesday we brought our exchange girls back to Sydney with us.

They experienced one day at school on Thursday, then on Friday we took the exchange girls from all of the different schools across Australia around Sydney. On our trip we walked over the Harbour Bridge, visited the Sydney Opera House and then we took a ferry across to Manly where we had pizza and ice cream at the beach. On Saturday before, I dropped my exchange partners off at the airport. I took them to the iconic Bondi Beach. I really enjoyed this exchange and I would not hesitate to do it again.

Written by Emily Chiang

When I boarded the plane that would take me from Sydney to Melbourne, I felt a mixture of both anticipation and nervousness. The idea of going on National Exchange was both exciting and slightly nerve-wracking because it would be the first time I travelled without my family.

Over the next few days in Melbourne, we were immersed in a whirlwind of activities. We went to the Strathcona girls’ school on Monday for an exciting school day, which consisted of a ‘Whole-being day’ with presentations from the teachers, performances from the year twos, and an interactive African drumming experience. On Tuesday, we visited many popular places in Melbourne such as the Queen Victoria Markets, Eureka Tower, and Melbourne Central. Melbourne was both similar and different to Sydney, and it made the city very special.

On Wednesday, we flew back to Sydney with our exchange sisters. We were the first flight to land in Sydney. After all the other students and their exchange students from Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane arrived, we got on the bus to get back to Pymble. Turns out, the bus trip was longer than the actual flight.

Thursday was just a regular school day. On Friday, all the exchange students went on a trip to Sydney city. There, we visited the Opera House, walked across the Harbour Bridge, boarded a ferry to Manly, and ate pizza and ice cream. It was a really fun and exciting day. On Saturday, the exchange buddies left to go back to their own homes.

Living with a host family and visiting another school was an amazing experience because I got to broaden my understanding of how other people live and I got to see what other schools in Australia were like. Year 8 National Exchange was more than just a trip. It was a new and transformative experience that taught me about embracing new opportunities and stepping outside my comfort zone. The journey was filled with amazing memories that I will remember for the rest of life.

Written by Emily Englund, Phoebe Pockley, Catherine Li, Olivia Norton, Iris O’Brien, Brielle McDonald and Charlotte Henderson

Last week, seven girls participated in a National Exchange to Pulteney Grammar School, located in Adelaide, South Australia. We all had such a great time and learnt so much on our trip. Our host families picked us up from the airport on Sunday and we travelled around Adelaide. We got to experience the city, and bond with our host sisters. On both Monday and Tuesday, we went to Pulteney with our exchange sisters, which proved to be a different experience to Pymble.

We were involved in their classes and met their friendship groups. Our host families provided us with delicious food, and a homely, comfortable place to stay. After spending three nights with our host families in Adelaide, we reciprocated for three nights in Sydney. We made new friends and learnt in a new, co-education environment, which was interesting. We had a wonderful time together with all the National Exchange girls on Friday walking across the Harbour Bridge, visiting the Opera House and catching a ferry to Manly where we enjoyed lunch together.

Happy Box Update

This week we are finalising the printing of the calico bags in which we will pack the goodies created and donated by so many of our Middle School families. The student designs look fantastic on the bags! The next stage will be organising delivery to adolescent girls in two remote Indigenous communities in Arnhem Land: Gapuwiyak and Milingimby. This has been such an inclusive and well attended Service opportunity for our Middle School girls.

Thank you to all who have donated to our service initiative. This is the final call out for donations of sanitary items, period pants, pads, tampons, roll on deodorant, sheet-face masks, soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, face cleansers, moisturiser, hand sanitiser, shower gel, face washers and heat packs etc

Congratulations to Leila Rich (Year 8) who placed second at the Mathew Mitcham Diving competition in the 14/15-year girl’s event. She has now qualified for the Nationals Diving Competition which will be held in Brisbane.

Congratulations to Madeleine Gaden (Year 7) who travelled to Brisbane last week to compete in the Equestrian events at the Ekka at the Brisbane Showground on her beloved Galloway Rooster. Reports are that she had a fun week and achieved some fantastic results:

Champion Child’s Show Galloway
1st Girl Rider 12 years and under 15 years
2nd Open Large Galloway

Welcome to Book Week 2023 – Read, Grow, Inspire!

Here in the Conde Library, we celebrate books and literature every day but this kicks up a notch during Book Week! Book Week provides a wonderful opportunity to celebrate all that is wonderful about stories and reading and gives us a pause to consider the enjoyment, enlightenment and wonder these add to our students’ lives, and our own.

So far we have held a staff and student panel discussing books that inspire, staff dress up day with students guessing characters and a second-hand book stall with proceeds going to the Kids’ Cancer Project. Students can also visit the Library to participate in book craft and book-inspired competitions.

We are also thrilled to launch the inaugural House Reading Challenge this year. This competition encourages students to read as many printed and ebook titles as they can for House points. The winning House will win the House Reading Trophy and there will also be individual prizes for students who read the most titles. Students can find out further details from the Conde Library.

Pymble has many enthusiastic readers, both staff and student. However, research tells us that the proportion of people who read books for pleasure is now at the lowest levels recorded. This is a worrying trend and has negative implications, not just for literacy, but for brain development, concentration, wellbeing and emotional intelligence. We have been looking at research on the importance of sustained reading for young people and adults and would like to share this with you in further detail in coming newsletter editions.

For now, we encourage you, your daughters and families to make time for books and reading. We understand that life is busy but the rewards that reading bring are immeasurable. Perhaps you may like to start with the prizewinners from this years Children’s Book Council of Australia awards?

From Ms Tess Zwar (Head of Library and Research Services) and Mrs Mandy Reynolds (Head of English)

From the Year 7 and 8 PPA Co-ordinators

Year 7 Parents’ Dinner – Thursday 31 August at 7.00pm

Year 7 parents and carers are warmly invited to a dinner in the restaurant of the Greengate Hotel on Thursday 31 August at 7.00pm. If you would like to come along to the dinner, please RSVP via the poll posted in the “Yr 7 Class of 2028” WhatsApp chat group. A large booking for the dinner has been made.

Venue: The Greengate Hotel, Corner of the Pacific Highway and Greengate Road, Killara, 2071 (Enter the car park via the Pacific Highway)

Date: Thursday 31 August 2023

Time: 7.00 pm

Dinner & Drinks: To be ordered and paid for at the dining room bar

RSVP: by Tuesday 29 August (via the WhatsApp poll posted in the ‘Yr 7 Class of 2028’ chat group)

Middle School Sweet Sensations Stall

A huge thank you to the Year 7 and 8 parents who have so generously donated funds and signed up to help at to the Sweet Sensations Stall on the day of the Garden Party. We have reached our target for donations and our volunteer roster is full. This is absolutely unbelievable and on behalf of the stall organisers, thank you for your support.

We look forward to enjoying this wonderful family event.

From Shiva, Carol, Tash, Kai and May

Key Dates in Term 3

Friday 25 August – Year 7 IGSA

Friday 1 September – Fathers Day BBQ

11 to 15 September – Year 8 Outdoor Education

Saturday 16 September – Garden Party

Jenny O’Donnell

Head of Middle School

From the Upper School

A message from Mr. Riley, Head of Upper School

It has been wonderful to see the return of the Upper School exchange program this year. This week students have departed for Argentina and New Zealand. Mr Tom Riley has accompanied the girls to New Zealand this week to help the girls settle in and to visit potential Exchange schools. We look forward to seeing this program continue to grow and provide this wonderful opportunity for more students. Madeline Arrage who is currently in South Africa at St Anne’s College has shared a reflection.

Year 10 Exchange Reflection – South Africa

Written by Madeline Arrage

After a 14-hour flight, we landed at Johannesburg International Airport, where we boarded our connecting flight to Pietermaritzburg, and then finally arrived at St. Anne’s Diocesan College in Hilton.

We were met and very warmly welcomed by all the St. Anne’s students in our boarding houses.

So far, we have really enthralled ourselves with the boarding experience, and to our surprise, absolutely loving it (each night we sing and dance together as a house). The energy, spirit, love and encouragement from the girls at St. Anne’s is like no other and has profoundly impacted both of us in ways we can’t explain. Our amazing new friendships and connections, and the positivity of the girls will be something we will greatly miss. Support is also provided from the warm-hearted, friendly and approachable boarding house ‘Mothers’, who make our daily lives much easier.

In just 3 weeks we have already had so many fantastic experiences and adventures and have been able to immerse ourselves in everything St. Anne’s has to offer. We have both joined the water polo and squash teams, we are learning new school subjects (including Afrikaans and Zulu), and we are participating in St. Anne’s amazing volunteer Education Partnership Program called STEPP. STEPP facilitates the development of under-resourced schools, teachers, and learners in South Africa, focusing on issues such as social justice to facilitate meaningful change.

We’ve also watched numerous inter-school basketball and netball games. There, the entire school performs war cries with such passion and enthusiasm, creating a surreal atmosphere. During one of the netball matches (between the St. Anne’s team and a team from the U.K.), the lights suddenly went out. Everyone turned on their flashlights and continued performing their war cries. We both believed it was an intentional act, but we later learned that load shedding, when the Government shuts off the electricity, was the cause of the blackout.

We have also had the privilege of attending an International Exchange dinner organized at Hilton College with many other exchange students attending schools in South Africa from around the world, including Australian students from Sydney and Orange.

Over the weekend, we were lucky enough to have been flown to Cape Town for the Netball World Cup. The games between South Africa vs Uganda and Australia vs Jamaica were definitely notable. The games were very tense and the energy inside the stadium was incredible. In addition, we went on a bus tour and enjoyed a Seal Island Cruise before visiting an aquarium and taking a gondola (cable car) to the top of Table Mountain, one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. While in Cape Town we also had the pleasure of trying many cultural foods for the first time, such as biltong, pap, chakalaka, koeksisters, and going to a braai.

Additionally, on the 9th of August, St. Anne’s celebrated Women’s Day. Msaki, a South African singer, musician, and songwriter, visited the school. She described her path of reshaping herself, emphasizing that identity is more than just our physical casing. Following this, traditional Zulu dances were performed by Zulu girls at St. Anne’s, which was such a beautiful moment to be part of.

St. Anne’s apparently has many additional cultural events and opportunities in store, but which they have kept secret as they like to surprise us.

During the mid-term break we head to Johannesburg and next week, we are going shark cage-diving before having a day out to see the famous Drakensberg Boys Choir perform. We are then off on a 2-day safari adventure to the Nambiti private Game Reserve where we will get to see the BIG 5 up close in the wild. We then will attend the St. Anne’s yearly Grade 10 camp to the Babanango Valley, to gain valuable knowledge of the Zulu history and culture, before heading home to Australia.

Overall, we can agree that this experience has been the best thing we have ever done. We are so incredibly fortunate and forever grateful that we have been given this once in a lifetime opportunity to experience and to have the opportunity to create memories and friendships that will last forever.

Also, off campus this week is the Snowsports team who are representing Pymble at the State Interschools Championships in Perisher. We look forward to celebrating their results next week along with those of our athletes who are competing at the igsa Athletics Championships on Friday. Good luck to all involved.

On campus this week the girls have been busy enjoying the activities of Book Week and Languages week. We appreciate the efforts of Harriet Lewis and Lily Still in helping to create displays in the Conde Library. Well done girls.

Year 9 Pymble Gives Back Service Days

It was wonderful to see Year 9 embrace the activities that formed our Year 9 Pymble Gives Back Service days last week. We are immensely proud of the girl’s involvement in these activities which allow Year 9 to donate 250 nutritious meals to Dignity, along with 50 care packs and homemade granola. This along with preparing 5000 liners or 250 kits for Days for Girls and helping clean up the local streets has helped make a difference in a positive way. Please enjoy the student reflections from each day.

Written by Carrie Wilson

We started the day with banana muffins and fruit for morning tea and talked to some Vision Valley leaders. My group then moved on to painting a range of signs for Vision Valley by the pond while we watched the other groups try and catch carp; I painted a sign for the Echidna Lodge. Next, we moved on to the high ropes course, where we encouraged our peers to climb up the tall ladders and build teamwork skills as we did the crate stacks. This part of the day was my favourite because I listened and watched students cheer on others they had never met. Finishing off the day with a delicious sausage sizzle while sitting and enjoying the breathtaking environment was a highlight. Saying goodbye to our group leaders and resident dog Rusty, we got on the bus and talked about how much we loved the day.

Written by Addison Seeto

On Wednesday, we had an eventful and jam-packed day of fun activities all going to a great cause! It started off with girls getting split up into four random groups, all filled with girls who recently completed their journey to Vision Valley on their long stay. In those groups there were roughly 40-50 girls already to start the day. Activities ranged from helping farmer Dave clean up the Agriculture Plot from all the mess the animals have created, to helping organisations like Dignity whip up some yummy foods to serve people in need. My personal favourite was sewing reusable pads for kids all around the world that could not have easy access to these essential items. As you can tell, this day went perfectly, really tying back to Pymble’s motto of the year Pymble Gives Back.

Written by Olivia Ayton

Our service day focused on partaking in seemingly small yet impactful activities that went towards giving back to our community. The Vision Valley residential students were sorted into groups and were assigned to complete various tasks throughout the day that supported various charities, the environment, the school, and members in our community. Some activities included knitting squares that would be sewn into woolen blankets, cooking and preparing meals for Dignity (a non-profit charity that provides those experiencing poverty), collecting rubbish scattered throughout our school and the neighbourhood, and sewing pads which are unavailable to young women across the world. Despite how some found these tasks laborious or lengthy, this invaluable experience allowed us to help those who are experiencing unimaginable hardships, whilst reminding ourselves of how we haven’t properly realised how fortunate we are. These activities allowed us to understand how the efforts of one person (or an entire year level) can leave a positive impact on our community.

Year 10 Mums and Daughters Day at Vision Valley

Year 10 students and their mothers will be given the opportunity to visit our Vision Valley campus for the the inaugural Year 10 Mother and Daughter Day on Sunday 8 October. A core part of the Outdoor Education program at Pymble, the pristine grounds of Vision Valley offer the perfect environment for a day full of light-hearted fun in the great outdoors.

Featuring a full roster of engaging group activities, a luxurious long lunch, an Amazing Race and an informative workshop titled ‘Making Formals a Breeze,’ the day promises to be an unforgettable experience for mothers and daughters alike.

Program

8.30am – Arrival and welcome beverages 

9.30am – Activity session 1 

11.00am – Morning tea 

11.30am – Activity session 2 

1.00pm – Long lunch on the balcony 

2.30pm – Workshop

3.30pm – Activity session 3   

4.30pm – Departure 

Cost: $110 per person

Tickets: Click here to purchase your tickets.

RSVP: Tuesday 19 September 

Convenors: Pamela McPherson (bruceandpam@bigpond.com) and Zoe Green (bzgreen@bigpond.net.au).  

Please see the invitation below for more details.

Notes

– Activities have been chosen to cater for all abilities and are always optional. There will be no extreme activities such as rock climbing, abseiling or mountain biking and activities are suitable for all levels of fitness.   

– A message of inclusion: If it is not possible for a mother to attend, students are welcome to attend the day’s events with another family member without gender restriction. 

– This event is designed to encourage meeting up with old friends and also discovering new ones. If you would like to nominate one or two other families to share the day with, please tell us on your booking form. 

– For Boarding families: This one-day experience is not designed as a residential stay. However, Vision Valley has agreed to make room-only accommodation available for a small fee for the nights before and after for those Boarding families who are travelling prior to the start of term. Owing to the lack of on-site supervision in the evenings, it is a requirement that there are only female attendees and no siblings.  If you are interested in this, please contact the event convenors for further information.

More information, such as what to wear and what will happen in wet weather, will be emailed to participants after numbers are finalised. For more details, please email the event convenors.

Welcome to Book Week 2023 – Read, Grow, Inspire!

From Ms Tess Zwar (Head of Library and Research Services) and Mrs Mandy Reynolds (Head of English)

From the Upper School Parent Group

Heavenly Pancakes Stall – Garden Party 2023

We are putting the call out to parents and carers who would like to assist with the Heavenly Pancakes Stall at Garden Party 2023. Please click here to register to work at the stall on the day (one-hour slots between 9.00am and 4.00pm), or if you are able, please click here to make a donation that will go towards the stall.

Year 10 Zoe Green bzgreen@bigpond.net.au

Pamela McPherson bruceandpam@bigpond.com

Year 9 Kate Hart kate@countyconstruction.com.au

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 Term 3 Dates

Friday 25 August – Year 7 to 12 igsa Athletics Carnival

Friday 1 September – K-12 Father’s Day Lunch

Wednesday 6 September – Year 9 Subject Selection for 2024

11 to 15 September – Year 8 Outdoor Education

Saturday 16 September – Garden Party

Wednesday 20 September – Year 10 RYDA Excursion

Thursday 21 September – Year 10 Drama Showcase

Friday 22 September – Last day of Term 3

Tom Riley

Head of Upper School

From the Senior School

From the Head of Senior School

The Senior School team wish the Year 11 students well as they prepare for their Yearly Examinations, which begin on Monday. The students are only expected to be on campus when they are sitting for their examinations. They are, of course, welcome to come to school to study in between exams. As always, they are required to wear full school uniform and sign in and out at the Senior School Office, to indicate their attendance on campus. As always, maintaining sensible routines around sleeping, exercise and eating is helpful during this time. This term, we have been talking to the Year 11 students about keeping a balanced perspective about these upcoming examinations and how to prepare.

Congratulations to the Modern Languages Captains and Library Captains on the events they have run this week in Modern Languages Week and Book Week. I have included some oof the beautiful artwork done by Year 11 student Thenuki, to promote Book Week. The students have worked hard to organise and lead engaging and fun activities to teach others fun aspects of their respective learning areas. The students also had full tummies after the Maths Department celebrated Pi (pie) Day, with an assortment of delicious treats!

We had lots of fun this week in Combined Assembly at the Year 12s led the school in a war cry and send off for our Athletics team competing at IGSSA this week. Best wishes to all those competing – go Pymble!

Take some time in nature this weekend

We have enjoyed a generally warm winter, and if your daughter has not already been doing so, encouraging her to spend some time in the natural world can have many benefits. As Frank Lloyd Wright had said, ‘Study Nature, love Nature, stay close to Nature. It will never fail you.’ As the Senior School students manage their academic and co-curricular responsibilities, reminding them of the importance of outdoor activities, or just being in nature, can help maintain the our sense of balance.

We know from personal experience, which is supported by research, that staying close to nature improves physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. It makes us feel alive from the inside, and we should not compromise it for recent developments like urbanisation, technology or social media (Louv, 2015). We also know that being outside, away from screens, can have vast benefits for our eyesight, general fitness, nervous systems and emotional regulation. Whether the girls choose to engage in the famous activity of Japanese forest bathing, or Shinrin-yoku, going on a run through local bushland, taking some time at the beach or simply relaxing in the outdoors, we can all find a way to recharge, with others or individually.

Welcome to Book Week 2023 – Read, Grow, Inspire!

From Ms Tess Zwar (Head of Library and Research Services) and Mrs Mandy Reynolds (Head of English)

A message from the Year 11 Parent Group Leaders

We are looking forward to our Mothers’ Dinner on Friday September 1 at 7.00pm at the Governors Hotel, 9 Waterloo Road, Macquarie Park.

There will be some sharing plates on arrival and a cash bar for drinks and main meals. To RSVP, please contact me or Susan at:

Pianva99@yahoo.com (0425500123)

Sma.liu@yahoo.com (0488 998 713)

Hope to see you all and have a great catch up on how we are all going in Year 11!

From Pilar and Susan

Term 3 Key Dates

28 August to 8 September – Year 11 Examinations

Monday 18 September – Year 12 Picnic Day

Wednesday 20 September – Year 12 Honouring Ceremony

Thursday 21 September – Year 12 Speech Day, Year 12 Final Chapel Service and Year 12 Valedictory Dinner

Nikki Wyse

Head of Senior School

From the Boarding School

Book Week has always been one of my favourite ‘weeks’ and in true Pymble style, it is always a spectacularly fun time here on campus. I am particularly proud of our Boarders who are well known for their love of books and on a stroll through the Houses you will see stacks of books gracing many a Boarder’s shelving. To celebrate Book Week, our Boarders printed the cover pages of their favourite books and these were proudly displayed both in and out of the Houses. With titles ranging from Peppa Pig through to Jane Eyre, it is obvious our Boarders are an eclectic bunch of book worms.

Equestrian Extraordinaire

As our Middle School team have shared, we are all so proud of Madeleine (Mads) Gaden our equestrian extraordinaire. Last week Mads added to her already bulging trophy cabinet, as she participated in the Ekka Brisbane Royal Show. She placed first in the Champion Child’s Show Galloway event and first Girl Rider 12 years and under 15 years. Mads and her beloved Galloway, Roster also placed second in the Open Large Galloway event.

Garden Party

Plans are well underway for a bumper Boarders’ stall and we need your support! Please keep an eye out for an email that was sent earlier in the week with general information and an opportunity for you to sign up to the roster.

We remain keen for donations for our renowned produce stall and it would be great if you could email Garden Party convenor, Kylie Levy, k_levy@bigpond.com and let her know what you would like to contribute. We are also in need of people with a Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) qualification to work on the Hillbilly Cider stall. If this is you, Kylie would love to hear from you.

Boarding Community Event

On the eve of the Garden Party we look forward to celebrating with all our families at the Warrawee Club. This event follows our Boarder Parent Group meeting at 3.00pm and, most likely a few final preparations for the Garden Party. All Boarders are required to be in attendance on this night and we hope our families can join in the fun too.

Love It – Mrs White, Deputy Director of Boarding

Last weekend was super fun. We started by welcoming the boarders from Abbotsleigh for a Sausage Sizzle and Movie Night. The Boarders loved watching Remember the Titans and spending time with their sisters from down the road. Saturday night was all about the Matildas as the boarders cheered them on from the comfort of their common rooms. The weather on Sunday was perfect for a trip into the city for a spot of shopping at The Rocks Markets and a special treat at Pancakes on the Rocks.

This weekend, we are looking forward to welcoming the Year 11 boarders from Riverview for a Trivia Night on Friday. Sunday will bring two options for the boarders. The first will be a picnic on the Northern Beaches – fingers crossed for another spring-like day. The second option will be a Father’s Day working bee with Mrs Myles. We have had a great sign-up for this activity, and the dads will just have to wait and see what their daughters create.

View From My Window

Hi, my name is Poppy. I am in Year 7 and I come from a small country town called Narromine. Narromine is roughly 6 hours away from Sydney. I live on a farm about 40 minutes out of town. At home I have 3 dogs named Cleo, Taya and Benji. I came to Pymble this year and I found that it was so much bigger than my old school of only 130 students.

In Narromine this year, we held the Dolly Parton Festival. It was a packed weekend of activities dedicated to the one and only Dolly Parton. There was a street parade, and all the shops painted their walls with bright colours to celebrate.

When I look out my lounge room window, in the distance I see the wheat crops growing and the sheep eating the feed in another paddock. When I look out my bedroom window I see my dogs, my mum planting flowers and my brother, Charlie, kicking the footy into the pool so he can have an excuse to jump in.

When I am home, I like to ride motorbikes with friends and my brother. We also like to go water skiing with family friends on the weekends and during the holidays in the summer but what I love the most about being home is watching the sunsets and spending as much time with family and friends as I can.

When I return to boarding, I am so excited to see my boarding sisters, the staff and my day school friends. I’m always interested in knowing what everyone did over their holidays.

Boarder of the Week

Chloe joined us from Mudgee in Year 7 and has been an exemplary Boarder since day one. She brought with her a sense of maturity, responsibility and kindness that quickly made her an integral and much-loved member of Marden House. Chloe is an incredibly good friend – sociable, caring and trustworthy, and always there for others.

Chloe takes her school work seriously and is an avid reader – she is responsible for encouraging many other Marden girls to also get involved in reading and has an impressive library atop her bed. She is respectful of both her peers and staff members and will always offer to help around the House when she can. Chloe has a sense of adventure and is willing to step out of her comfort zone to try new experiences. We are beyond delighted to have her as part of our Boarding family and can’t wait to see what she achieves in the future.

Save the Date

8 September – Pymble in Orange

15 September – Boarder Parent Group meeting and Community Event – all Boarders required to be in attendance

16 September – Garden Party

20 September – Year 12 Boarder and parent celebration

21 September – Year 11 and 12 Speech Day and Valedictory Dinner

Carolyn Burgess

Head of Boarding

From the Chaplains

This morning we gathered in the heritage rooms for a prayer meeting with staff and parents. It was the first time in years we have met as a group, especially following Covid. It was a warm gathering where we were united in prayer for the College, our staff and students and all the families that make up this wonderful community here at Pymble.

In our everyday lives, what can we offer as a gift to one another? Is it our skill set and success rating as per the world’s judgement, or is it something inherent in us bestowed to us by the One who is the giver of all good things? In one of my devotionals, Dare to Journey (with Henri Nouwen), one of the readings focuses on Romans Chapter 12, verse 6: ‘We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.’

There are always feelings of inadequacy when we compare ourselves with others and feel limited in our own ability to contribute to the greater good. We must lean into our own spaces of learning, growing and life experience to contribute to the lives of others.

In the words of Nouwen, the great writer and religious thinker: “We all have gifts to offer and a need to receive.” Some people are better at making cups of tea and coffee when a friend or someone hurting needs to have a chat. Others are great at organising events and offering advice, monetary help, practical help or assistance to those who are struggling – the list goes on.

Have you checked in lately to where God is leading you on this journey, and how you can tap into that giftedness unique only to you? Doing this can help make a huge difference in the life of someone you love.

Generosity of spirit is that space in the soul which, when tapped into, gives people a glimpse into the image of God and the presence of love in action.

I hope and pray you, too, have been blessed by the presence of someone this week who has offered you a cuppa or two, but most of all medicine for the soul, which is the warmth of company and a listening ear.

May God bless you and sustain you as we cross the halfway mark of Term 3.

Blessings and peace.

Reverend Punam Bent

College Chaplain

From the Academic Team

Year 11 Examinations and Subject Selection for Year 12 2024

Year 11 have been conscientiously preparing for their exams next week. We know that all their hard work will be rewarded. Listed below are some important details for their planning.

Click here to see the exam timetable.

Dates for the Exams

The examinations will commence on Monday August 28 and conclude on Friday September 8.

Students will return to normal classes on Monday September 11.

Times

Morning examinations begin at 8.25am.

Afternoon examinations begin at 12.55pm.

Girls should arrive at school 30 minutes before the start of their examinations to sign in and get settled.

Illness

Students follow the usual Illness/misadventure procedures.

Email the Senior School and CC in their teacher to notify that they are ill and unable to do the exam
Obtain a medical certificate, attach this to the IMA form which can be downloaded by clicking here and submit as a PDF to curriculum@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au
Students will be emailed with the catch-up time for their exam which will be completed within the examination period.

Some students have already begun to think and discuss with their teachers about subject options for Year 12.

I encourage students and parents to attend the online Year 11 into 12 Subject Selection Evening which will take place on Wednesday September 6. Following this evening, families will be sent an email with a link and unique code for selecting Year 12 subjects.

Subject Selection for Years 7, 8, 9 and 11

The ONLINE Subject Selection evening for Years 7 to 9 and Year 11 will take place on Wednesday September 6. There will be a short presentation by the Director of Studies and Director of Academic Excellence followed by Q and A sessions with the Heads of Learning Area and teachers. Please join us using the appropriate links below.

Year 7 (Year 8 2024) – 6 .0 0 pm

Year 8 (Year 9 2024) – 6.30pm

Year 9 (Year 10 2024) – 7 .0 0 pm

Year 11 (Year 12 2024) – 7.30pm

Following this evening, families will be sent an email with a link and a unique code for selecting subjects for 2024.

Year 12 Spring Study Camp

Plans are well underway for our Spring Study Camp in the first week of the holidays from Monday September 25 to Friday September 29. This will run with a similar structure to the Winter Study Camp with teacher and alumni support and will take place in the Senior School Centre. Click here to register now.

Jake Plaskett and Natasha Stanfield

Director of Academic Excellence (K-12_ and Director of Studies (K-12)

From the Community Engagement Team

Upcoming Events

Parents and carers can find community events on the College calendar in the MyPymble app. All parents are encouraged to check the app frequently to stay up to date with scheduled events and important information regarding their daughter’s learning. This week we were fortunate enough to welcome Alumni grandmothers, mothers and their girls to our campus to celebrate the inter-generational traditions that bond Pymble students.

Foundation Ball

The Pymble Foundation is delighted to invite the College community to the inaugural Pymble Foundation Gala Ball at the Art Gallery of NSW. 

It will be an unforgettable night of celebration in support of the Pymble Foundation. Enjoy fine dining, beautiful wines and bidding in our exciting raffles and auctions. 

Due to the venue size, tickets to this event are limited and will sell out quickly.  Tickets are available now and can be purchased here.  Please refer to the attached invitation for further details. 

We look forward to celebrating all things Pymble with you on the night. 

Garden Party

Every year Garden Party is one of the most anticipated events on our College calendar. This year the activities and stalls are bigger than ever, ranging from exciting new rides, animal fun, sporting displays, dozens of market stalls, plenty of performances and a range of delicious treats.

To keep up to date with all the news as it becomes available, please visit our website. And don’t forget to purchase your ride wristband early. Wristbands are available here for a discounted price of $35.00 for the day.

Vision Valley

Across Term 3 and 4 there are several opportunities for parents to visit Vision Valley, Pymble’s Outdoor Education campus. This weekend Year 6 dads will visit Vision Valley for a Father Daughter camp. In Term 4, Year 4 and 5 parents will have the opportunity to participate in another Father Daughter Camp.

We’re also excited to offer a new event at Vision Valley for Year 10 mothers and daughters on Sunday 8 October for a day full of light-hearted fun in the great outdoors. Mothers and daughters will undertake activities together in groups, as well as enjoy a luxurious long lunch and partake in a workshop titled ‘Making Formals a Breeze’.

Cost: $110 per person

Tickets: Click here to purchase your tickets.

RSVP: Tuesday 19 September 

Convenors: Pamela McPherson (bruceandpam@bigpond.com) and Zoe Green (bzgreen@bigpond.net.au).  

Please see the invitation below for more details.

Father’s Day Charity Sausage Sizzle

On Friday 1 September we welcome Pymble students, dads and father figures on campus for a sausage sizzle charity lunch. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. 

Date: Friday 1 September

Time: From 12.15pm

Venue: Main Oval

Tickets: please register here by 4.00pm Friday 25 August. (Please note due to catering requirements, no late orders will be processed).

Cost: Adults $10.00, students $5.50 (the student charge will be added to your school account)

Please note that to ensure we are hosting sustainable event, a concerted effort has been made to reduce food wastage. Therefore, final ticket sales will close promptly at 4.00pm on Friday 25 August so that catering orders can be made in advance.

Kelly Mancey

Director of Community Engagement and Advancement

From the Futures Team

Agriculture Careers Talk by University of Sydney

Last week, as part of Science Week, we had a Guest Speaker from the University of Sydney’s Agriculture Faculty visit and speak with the Year 12 Agriculture students about two new Agriculture courses being offered at USYD from 2024. Professor Stephen Cattle informed the girls (and Futures Team staff) with details about the two courses – B. Agric Sc and B. Agric Sc (Honors) – including the work students would do in research at USYD’s research facilities at their 5000 ac Narrabri farm.

It was a very informative session which was warmly received by the girls, and following the talks, Senu Edirisinghe (Agriculture Captain) presented Prof Cattle with a small token of appreciation.

Sydney Careers and Employment Expo 2023

The Sydney Careers and Employment Expo is coming up from Friday 8 to Saturday 9 September at Hordern Pavilion in Moore Park.

The expo is packed with free advice where you can:

Talk with over 100 training organisations and employers
Gain free career advice
Discover jobs of the future
Talk with leading organisations about training and apprenticeships
Experience free career seminars
Learn how to write a winning resume

It’s also a great option for Middle School students to start looking at career options and areas that interest them. There will also be food options on site. Click here to register.

Current Year 12 students applying to UK and USA

All Year 12 students for 2023 who are applying to either UK and USA universities are to meet Mrs O’Kelly and Mrs Maksimovic at MBS time on Friday 25 August in the Library Learning Space.

From the Co-curricular Sports Team

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From the Co-curricular Performing Arts Team

In the weeks ahead, Performing Arts Year 12 students will be preparing for farewell events to mark their profund contributions to the cultural life of Pymble.

We wish the Year 12 students in Drama and Music the very best for their upcoming practical examinations.

Strong congratulations to students in Speech and Drama and Language Arts for their admirable achievements in ongoing Eisteddfods and competitions.

Michael Griffiths

Director of Co-curricular Performing Arts

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Co-curricular Administration

End of Term 3 Registration Period

The End of Term 3 Registration period will allow families to register their daughters for Term 4 programs as well as Term 1 2024 Saturday Sports. Registrations will open via the online registration system at 12.00pm on Wednesday 6 September. Please access the online registration via the Co-curricular pages on MyPymble by clicking here.

A parent/carer log in is required to be able to register. We recommend families check they can access the system well in advance of the opening date to avoid any technical issues on the day as registrations CANNOT be processed via email or phone.

A notice will be posted on the MyPymble App prior to registrations opening to all families as a reminder of the opening date and time. All program information will be finalised on the Co-curricular pages of MyPymble by Wednesday 30 August.

Term 4 Saturday Sport registrations are now closed

Registrations for Term 4 Saturday Sports closed on Friday 4 August at 12.00pm. To request registration into an available Saturday Sport for Term 3, you will need to complete a registration request by clicking here. Requests will be sent to the Co-ordinator for approval, and you will receive an email of the outcome.

Co-curricular Registration Requests

The cut-off date for Co-curricular Registration Requests was Monday 8.00am of Week 3, Term 3 (Monday 31 July). This is a reminder that all registration requests received are subject to the 2023 conditions of Co-curricular registration which can be found by clicking here.

Monique Zahra

Head of Co-curricular Administration

Athletics

Pymble will be taking an impressive squad of 49 athletes to Sydney Olympic Park to compete at the Annual IGSA Track & Field Championships.

In 2022, Pymble were crowned Overall Champions, and with disciplined preparation and consistent training under our belts, we are hoping to achieve this in 2023!

We would like to wish our Athletes and Coaches the very best of luck at these Championships.

Ainsley Alexander	Year 8
Sarah Baker	Year 11
Abigail Ballhausen	Year 12
Grace Beck	Year 9
Phoebe Berglund	Year 11
Amelia Bicego	Year 8
Amalia Bond	Year 7
Samara Bond	Year 10
Hayley Browne	Year 8
Isabelle Burke	Year 8
Bethany Carruthers	Year 7
Talia Chan	Year 7
Charlotte Craig	Year 10
Gemma Dixon	Year 7
Heidi Ferreira	Year 7
Madeleine Gaden	Year 7
Matilda Harrison	Year 9
Alexa Kong	Year 8
Eliza Lawton	Year 7
Anabella Legge-Hughes	Year 7
Zoe Leung	Year 11
Sophie Livingstone	Year 11
Louise Lovell	Year 10
Sarah Lovell	Year 10
Katherine Macpherson	Year 10
Lily Mancey	Year 08
Nicole McCrostie	Year 11
Leander McLaughlin	Year 8
Harriet Murphy	Year 8
Siena Pascoe	Year 9
Grace Peters	Year 10
Georgia Phillips	Year 11
Lana Pike	Year 10
Eleanor Ramsay	Year 7
Alexandra Reardon	Year 8
Jasmin Robinson	Year 11
Sophia Slater	Year 10
Eloise Stewart	Year 8
Gabriella Taylor	Year 12
Willow Toll	Year 7
Grace Townsend	Year 10
Sybella Warton	Year 10
Holly Watson	Year 7
Xyla White	Year 8
Rhedyn Wong	Year 12
Claudia Wyatt	Year 7
Alyssa Yip	Year 11
Madison Yip	Year 11
Isabelle Younger	Year 8

Thank you to all Year 7 students and Pymble parents who will be attending this event to support our athletes.

Laura Verlinden

Sports Co-ordinator – Athletics

Basketball

Congratulations to Izabella Ziolkowski (Year 10) on being named the Spalding Waratah League 2023 Rookie of the Year. Great to see Izzy’s court work paying off!

Jack Garrad

Sports Co-ordinator – Basketball

Diving

Matt Mitcham Diving Interclub

On Sunday 20 August, the first competition of the season was held at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre (SOPAC). This was an opportunity for a new team of divers to compete and for our more experienced divers to qualify for Age Nationals. It was an exciting day to test the waters and set some crucial goals for the rest of the season. Our coaching team were so thrilled with the way our Pymble divers competed and the enthusiastic and committed attitude. We are looking forward to an exceptional season of diving.

SSA Diving Championships SOPAC – Monday 21 to Sunday 27 August

This week is the School Sport Australia Diving Championships being held at SOPAC from Monday 21 to Sunday 27 August. This is an opportunity for divers from all states of Australia and also New Zealand to compete in a massive competition of diving and swimming.

Congratulations to our Pymble divers competing this week and we encourage all to achieve your goals and embrace the wonderful experiences that this week will provide:

Angela Xenofontos (Year 9) and Méa Shires (Year 9)

Zara Ware (Year 4) and Emily Long (Year 4)

Chris Lang

Head Coach – Diving

Hockey

Another great round of hockey with our Senior First Pymble team defeating Abbotsleigh 6 to 2.

Well done to our Senior Seconds for controlling their game against St Vincent’s College 1 and coming away with a 6 to 0 win.

With only a couple of rounds left in the season, it has been inspiring to see our Pymble teams displaying some impressive form with finals not too far away.

Good luck to all our Pymble players and coaches coming into Round 6 this weekend.

Laura Verlinden

Sports Co-ordinator – Hockey

Junior School Sport

IPSHA Team of the Week

Congratulations to IPSHA AFL Pymble 3 (Year 3) who are this week’s IPSHA Team of the week. In a thrilling game, Ellie Rose Ruiz del Portal Greene (Year 3) scored three goals and Isabella Sherrah (Year 3) scored two goals, in their best game yet this season. Special mention to Jasmine Smith (Year 3) and Alice Deutscher (Year 3) who stood out for their strong tackling. The team has improved significantly this season with teamwork and ball movement excelling throughout the match.

Matt Tyson

Head of Sport – Kindergarten to Year 6

Netball

Round 5 of IGSA Netball kicked off this Saturday with some impressive Netball games on display.

Congratulations to our Netball Team of the Week Pymble 28. This team has been given the award for turning up and giving it their best and showing courage and determination in any position they are asked to play. Many in this team are playing in their first netball season and we are really impressed with how much they have improved by round 5. Keep up the good work Pymble 28:

Isabella Du (Year 7), Lily Xiao (Year 7), Kathy Huo (Year 7), Cyma Shah (Year 7), Ruoyuan Shen (Year 7), Ashira Fonseka (Year 7), Chloe Shao (Year 7), Annie Chen (Year 7), Tia Pillai (Year 7), Kayla Ma (Year 7)and Ella Zhang (Year 7)

Congratulations to Johanna Ricketts (Year 9), Sophie Laing (Year 10), Jessica Cullen (Year 10) who represented IGSA on Monday 21 August at the CIS Challenge held at Netball Central. Both the 15 and Under and Opens teams came away with a silver medal. Another big congratulations to Sophie Laing (Year 10) on her selection in the CIS 15 and Under team. Sophie will compete in the All Schools Challenge day later in term 3. Well done Sophie on this fantastic achievement.

As we head into Round 6 of Netball, I would like to remind all students to turn up to both training sessions and games on time please. If your games are offsite at another venue, please make sure you allow time for traffic and parking. This will ensure that all players have adequate time to warm up and teams are ready to play for the start of the game.

Kate Irvine

Sports Co-ordinator – Netball

Pymble Elite Sportswomen’s Program (PESP)

Congratulations to Hayley Cheung (Year 9) on her extremely successful month in the sport of Figure Skating. Hayley claimed 1st place in the Intermediate Novice level at Crystal Challenge Figure Skating (Melbourne) held from Thursday 10 August to Sunday 13 August. After this event, Hayley debuted as an Australian International representative at the Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy 2023 in Bangkok held from Wednesday 16 August to Sunday 19 August, placing 9th amongst 25 international skaters. Well done Hayley we are all extremely proud of you and your achievements.

Skye Halliday

Sports Co-ordinator – Pymble Elite Sportswomen’s Program

Water Polo

Pymble Year 7 played a double game on Friday 18 August at the Northern Suburbs Competition at Warringah Aquatic Centre. Coming away with one strong win against Brigidine College – White 8 to 3 and one loss to Brigidine College – Maroon 10 to 6.

The team showed great stamina and endurance through both games, with strong execution of goals and defence. Special mention to Emma Roberts (Year 7), scoring five goals in the second game.

Pymble Opens team had a tough game on Friday 18 August at the MLC Competition at MLC Burwood, going down to Ravenswood 8 to 6.

We are at the halfway point of the Winter season, keep pushing Pymble!

Brigette Moore

Head Coach – Water Polo

Language Arts

Archdale Debating Virtual Competition

Our Junior team competed in a tiebreaker this week. Canberra Girls Grammar School won the debate. Our Intermediate team are through to the finals to be held at MLC on 5 September.

Archdale Shield Debating

Year 9 and Year 7B competed in the Quarter finals this week at Pymble. Thank you to all who assisted with hosting. Parents, please note that transport to finals is not provided. Congratulations finalists! To our other Archdale teams, thanks for the season. We hope you enjoyed your debates, and we look forward to seeing you again at auditions in Term 4.

Sydney Social Debating (SSD)

Our SSD competition is growing! It will run each week from 3.30pm to 6.30pm in classroom C10. We are pleased to offer this developmental level competition to our Year 7 to 12 students again this term. Thank you to our student coaches and our adjudicators.

Junior School Social Debating Competition

It has been decided to offer a four-week season to our Year 6 girls. This is designed for beginner debaters. Debates start this Friday. Registrations have now closed, please contact Co-curricular Administration if you have missed registering your daughter for this activity.

International Debating Championship

Registrations have been sent to all who expressed interest in IDC. This competition commences in Term 4. There is still room for a few more Year 8 and 9 students. If you are interested, please email Mrs Hubbard as soon as possible.

Legacy Public Speaking

We had two students compete at the Legacy Public Speaking, North Sydney Regional final at The Arts Unit, Lewisham yesterday. Leahara Wijesuriya (Year 7) and Jenny Xu (Year 9) spoke persuasively, in both prepared and impromptu sections. The competition was strong with speakers from Wenona, Shore, Monte, Hornsby Girls and various other schools. Jenny is has progressed to the State semi-final at NSW Parliament House on Friday 15 September. Congratulations!

Bronwyn Hubbard

Head of Language Arts

Speech and Drama

Ryde Eisteddfod – Poetry Performance Events

Aarthi Rao (Year 3) 1st Place

Candice Li (Year 4) 2nd Place

Isabel Khattar (Year 4) 2nd Place

Wenhui Zheng (Year 6) 2nd Place

Hailey Zhang (Year 3) 3rd Place

Grace Jacobs (Year 6) 3rd Place

Chloe Zhang (Year 3) Highly Commended

Miranda Chen (Year 3) Highly Commended

Nadya Faheem (Year 3) Highly Commended

Sophia Wu (Year 3) Highly Commended

Charlotte Lau (Year 4) Highly Commended

Dionne Jacobs (Year 6) Highly Commended

Victoria Clancy

Speech and Drama Instructor

HSC Visual Arts Showcase

Year 10 Mums and Daughters Day

Year 10 students and their mums will be given the opportunity to visit our Vision Valley campus for the the inaugural Year 10 Mother and Daughter Day on Sunday 8 October. A core part of the Outdoor Education program at Pymble, the pristine grounds of Vision Valley offer the perfect environment for a day full of light-hearted fun in the great outdoors.

Program

8.30am – Arrival and welcome beverages 

9.30am – Activity session 1 

11.00am – Morning tea 

11.30am – Activity session 2 

1.00pm – Long lunch on the balcony 

2.30pm – Workshop

3.30pm – Activity session 3   

4.30pm – Departure 

Cost: $110 per person

Tickets: Click here to purchase your tickets.

RSVP: Tuesday 19 September 

Convenors: Pamela McPherson (bruceandpam@bigpond.com) and Zoe Green (bzgreen@bigpond.net.au).  

Please see the invitation below for more details.

Notes

– A message of inclusion: If it is not possible for a mother to attend, students are welcome to attend the day’s events with another family member without gender restriction. 

More information, such as what to wear and what will happen in wet weather, will be emailed to participants after numbers are finalised. For more details, please email the event convenors.

Weekend maintenance work at Pymble

Transport NSW and Sydney Trains are conducting stabilisation works on the railway corridor between Avon Road and Beechworth Road this weekend, Saturday 26 August to Sunday 27 August 2023.

Work trucks and heavy vehicles will be using Beechworth Road and Avon Road to access the rail corridor. Parking will be restricted on these streets on Saturday 26 August and Sunday 27 August 2023. This may lead to increased traffic in the area and potential delays. For those with children participating in weekend sport at Pymble, please consider this in your travel plans.

Please refer to the below notices for further information:

Pymble Beechworth embankment maintenance

Pymble North embankment maintenance

Year 5 Dads and Daughters Camp at Vision Valley

Year 5 Dads and their daughters are invited to attend the PPA Camp at Vision Valley on Saturday 14 to Sunday 15 October 2023.

The camp promises to be a fun weekend of adventure activities, toasting damper over the campfire, meeting other dads and spending quality time with your daughter while you camp under the stars at the beautiful Vision Valley campus in Arcadia.

Places are limited to 60 Dad and Daughter pairs. All dads must provide a valid WWCC to Vision Valley prior to attending. Click here to book your spot!

King of the Polar Bears ballet production

Tickets for King Of The Polar Bears now on sale

Tickets are now on sale for the beautifully narrated ballet presented by Pymble Dance’s RAD Ballet Stream. Suitable for all ages.

The wise and mighty King of the Polar Bears loses his beautiful coat to human hunters of the artic. He is saved by the gulls who shower him with feathers from which he grows a new and magnificent plumed coat. But now because he is neither bird nor bear, his sovereignty is in danger because he looks different from his fellow bears. The King must overcome doubt and savage challenges to prove his worth and to show that after all, what really matters is what’s on the inside.

Performances: Friday 1 September at 6.00pm and Saturday 2 September at 11.00am.

Click Here to book your tickets. Book early to ensure you do not miss this premiere performance!

Local community representative nomination for Pymble Ladies’ College Community Consultative Committee

Do you want to contribute to your community?

Community Consultative Committees work to improve engagement on State Significant Development.

Pymble Ladies’ College Grey House Precinct is a State Significant Development (SSD-17424905) and as a condition of consent, a Community Consultative Committee (CCC) is to be established before the commencement of construction. The CCC will continue throughout construction and operation of the proposed development or other timeframe agreed by the Planning Secretary. Further details of the project can be found on the Department of Planning and Environment’s (DPE) major projects website: www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/major-projects/projects/pymble-ladies-college-grey-house-precinct

A Community Consultative Committee (CCC) is now to be established for Pymble Ladies’ College Grey House Precinct to provide a forum for open dialogue between Pymble Ladies’ College and representatives of the local community, stakeholder groups and local council on issues directly relating to the development of the Grey House Precinct. It is anticipated that the CCC will be convened from September 2023.

We are looking for a mix of volunteers who live or work locally, may be impacted by the project or are members of a local community or stakeholder group (for social or neighbourhood groups) to join Pymble Ladies’ College Community Consultative Committee*.

As a volunteer committee member, you will be expected to contribute constructively to committee discussions, attend an estimated four meetings a year, and communicate information about the project to the committee and the broader community.

If you would like to apply, please click here to view and complete the nomination form.

Completed nomination forms and a supporting letter addressing the criteria are to be sent to Professor Helen Lochhead, Independent Chairperson of the Community Consultative Committee at PLCccc2023@gmail.com

Applications close: 30 August 2023

Bookings now open for Vision Valley’s Spring Holiday Camp

The Vision Valley Spring Holiday Camp is open to Pymble students, their siblings and friends (boys and girls from other schools) who are in Years 3 to 6.

The camp offers full and partial residential programs only (no day camp options). Places are limited and will be allocated on receipt of payment.

Click here to book now and avoid disappointment – places will fill up quick!

Seeking donations for Sony Camp

Sony Camp provides much-needed respite for the parents and siblings of children with disabilities. When they arrive to drop of their child, the parents of our campers are gifted with a pamper pack to allow them to enjoy a week of rest and relaxation. This includes generous donations from our community such as wine, movie vouchers, gourmet food, passes to amusement parks, chocolates and spa or dinner vouchers.

The support of our community in providing these gifts is invaluable. Donations to assist the running of the camp are also greatly appreciated. This includes donations from groceries (biscuits, snacks, water bottles and fruit) and arts and craft (scrapbooking albums and photo paper) to toys/children’s books and miscellaneous materials (in particular, mattress protectors).

If you would like to donate, please drop off all items to the Upper School Office or contact mlombard@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au.

Reminder – Term 3 Pymble Bus Service – Register now!

A reminder to parents to register your daughter for the Pymble private bus service for travel during Term 3 if you have not already done so and check that your daughter has her current student ID card to tap on and off each trip.

In Term 3, the bus service will operate from Tuesday 18 July to Friday 22 September 2023.

Please note changes have been made to Lower Northern Beaches (bus route 5). 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:

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.

A reminder for parents and students:

Student ID cards must be used to tap on and tap off each trip. If your daughter has lost her card, please contact College Services for a replacement form. The cost for a replacement card is $15, charged to your College account.

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.

Pymble buses can be tracked through the TransportMe Passenger app in real time using the free app, available on Android and Apple devices.

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

Pymble in Orange

Pymble Sport’s now on Instagram!

Delve into sport at Pymble – Follow us on Instagram

If you would like to keep up to date with your teammates or daughters in the gym, on the field, in/on the water; follow pymblelcsport on Instagram.