From the Principal
Hello from all of us here at Pymble. At the end of another wonderfully busy and enriching year at Pymble, we are delighted to present to you the last Enrolment Newsletter for 2023.
If you have school-aged children you are most likely counting down the weeks until summer holidays, a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time together, celebrate the year’s achievements, and stock up on the sleep and rest that helps us all to thrive. If you are catching up on post-COVID travel, we hope you have an enjoyable and safe trip.
This term, we have been encouraging our students, staff and families to focus on regularly achieving the requisite amount of sleep for their specific age group, and there’s a highly scientific reason why. Among other benefits, sleep contributes to health and wellbeing and gives our brains a chance to consolidate the day’s learnings. I’ve downloaded the free version of the Sleep Tracker app which has served as a great reminder each night that it’s time for me to consider going to bed. Perhaps there are some simple strategies you can implement at home that might improve the quality of sleep for everyone in your household.
Over the next 12 months we will continue to focus on improving the overall health of our community and positively impacting our ability to learn through better sleep, combined with increased movement. Feel free to join us and experience the improvements for yourself.
Overall, 2023 has been a year of Pymble Gives Back. At the start of Term 1 our community made a commitment to ‘be of service’ where possible for the next 12 months; to give our time and use our special gifts and talents for the benefit of others.
In supporting a host of different charities, organisations and communities, collectively our girls across K-12 have knitted and sewed blankets, cared for the environment, made menstrual wellbeing packs, taught robotics to children with special needs, visited aged care residents and assisted them with technology, spent time with newly arrived refugees, crafted hearts for mental health, and travelled to remote national and international schools to work with students and contribute to much-needed facilities and resources.
We filled three industrial-sized Pymble Gives Back donations bins countless times over with clothing, blankets and other essential items to contribute to the work of Wayside Chapel, The Salvation Army and The Smith Family. And students initiated and led multiple fundraisers supporting charities including Red Shield Appeal, Days for Girls, Barbara May Foundation, Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter and Costumes for Cancer, as well as our sponsor child in Tanzania – whom Year 11 visited recently during their first service tour to the country since 2018.
Incredibly, our community also raised enough funds through our recently launched Pymble Foundation to offer three refugees from Afghanistan tuition at the College from 2024. Our hope is to continue to offer more bursaries for deserving girls who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford a life-changing Pymble education.
When term ends next week, our Year 11 students, supported by a team of dedicated teaching and medical staff, will take on the important role of caring for children with disabilities at our four-day Sony Camp, and all staff will participate in a day of ‘being of service’ to one of the 50+ charities or organisations we support in our community.
I’m also particularly proud of our College staff, who collectively have raised more than $22,000 this year for charitable causes.
Given the extent of support that exists among our entire community for all these programs, mid-next year we are excited to introduce a new opportunity for families in each year group to support a designated charity or organisation on a regular basis.
When we talk about ‘Watch Us Change the World’ we are talking about all of these actions – whether big or small – that help make the world a better place for others. These are the things that contribute to our collective feeling of being Pymble Proud.
In other news at Pymble, we can’t wait to welcome our incoming Year 7 Boarders to their newly renovated home in 2024. Our youngest Boarders will soon have their very own customised space to call ‘home away from home’ and help their transition into life as Pymble residents. It looks amazing, and I know the girls are going to love it! The challenge is we were fully booked out for Year 7 Boarding many months ago – a good challenge to have, but frustrating for families who want to access a place for their daughters.
We have so much to look forward to in 2024. Naturally, we will continue to keep you informed as we launch our next stage of strategic intents for teaching and learning, and as our campus at Pymble and Vision Valley site continue to transform under our exciting Master Plan for the future.
In the meantime, from our family to yours, wishing you a joyful Christmas filled with the magic of family and friends.
