House spirit is thriving at Pymble
A warm hello from all of us here at your College.
I’m wondering if you have heard the news that we now have all students from Kindergarten to Year 12 inducted into one of eight spirit Houses – plus eight fabulous new House mottos, emblems and banners to match, designed in collaboration with our students, of course! You may recall, our eight Houses were previously Secondary-only, while K-6 had their own unique set of four. It’s wonderful to see all our girls, from youngest to oldest, building their cross-College connections and sense of belonging through an increasing array of House-based activities, carnivals and friendly competitions – some new, and some I’m sure you remember from your own time at Pymble.
House spirit is now well and truly a whole-school thing at Pymble, for all staff members, too. In the past, only academic staff were allocated to Houses; however, on our upcoming staff day at the end of Term 2, we will be allocating all staff to a House group, which is exciting.
The concept of ‘belonging’ has been on my mind lately for several reasons and especially after seeing this great clip from one of my favourite thought leaders, researcher and author Brene Brown. In the clip, Brene says: “I was so shocked to learn in the research that the opposite of belonging is fitting in…True belonging never asks us to change who we are, it demands that we be who we are…If we fit in because of how we have changed ourselves, that’s not belonging – because you betrayed yourself for other people and that’s not sustainable.”
My hope is that you know you always belong in our Pymble family, just as you are, and that we continue to connect with you via our ESU and College events throughout the years.
Supporting our alumni in their careers
On that note, a huge thank you to all those who recently attended our third annual Alumni Networking Event dedicated to supporting our ex-students to achieve success in their careers post-Pymble. Held each year at KPMG at Barangaroo, this event aims to benefit our younger alumni, as they progress through different stages of their careers, by giving them access to experienced mentors and role models in our community and helping to grow their professional networks and opportunities. A highlight of the event is hearing from a panel of inspiring Pymble alumni, who discuss topical issues for women in the workplace and share their knowledge, experience and careers advice. This year, we were grateful to learn from:
- Evie Murdoch (2012), Associate Director, KPMG Australia
- Hester Leung (1993), Chief Operating Officer, My Specialised Accommodation Solutions
- Melanie Kurzydlo (2001), Executive Manager for Project Management, AAP Group Limited
- Fiona Walmsley (1996), General Manager for Climate and Environment, Woolworths Group
- Cristina Carter (2012), Senior Manager Partnerships, Westpac
A heartfelt thank you to all those who came along in the capacity as either mentee or mentor, and to Evie, Hester, Melanie, Fiona and Cristina for being so open and generous in sharing their advice.
Please enjoy this clip of Melanie Kurzydlo (Cowlishaw, 2001) sharing her thoughts on the importance of mentors – hopefully, it will inspire you to sign up for next year (see below)!
Help us build our mentor base for 2024
Just as we continue to grow and enhance our programs and experiences for current students at the College, so too are we committed to developing our post-school careers support to be even bigger, better, and more beneficial for our alumni. To that extent, we are now actively recruiting a Pymble Mentors Group ahead of our next Alumni Networking Event scheduled for May 2024.
We appreciate that May is a long time away, and that things may change for you between now and then, however, we are keen to start building our mentor group now to ensure we provide a rich diversity of experienced mentors at our 2024 event.
If you, or someone you know and respect, are keen to support women in the workplace by attending our 2024 Alumni Networking Event as a mentor to a Pymble graduate studying, working or aspiring to work in a similar or related field or profession to yours, please register your interest by contacting our Alumni Engagement Manger, Katrina Corcoran, at kcorcoran@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au and we will be in touch with further details.
Thank you in advance for your support of our Pymble women in the workplace. #WatchUsChangeTheWorldTogether.
An appeal for the future of Pymble
In the previous edition of your Jacaranda Post, we announced the formation of our new Pymble Foundation and Board to lead and manage philanthropy among our community. The focus of the Board is to inspire 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.
Since then, you would have received communications from the Foundation about our inaugural Annual Appeal; this aims to raise funds to enable the College to offer more means-tested scholarships to deserving students as well as support our exciting building program.
In case you missed the initial email, you can click on the image below for more information about our Annual Appeal 2023 and how you can join others in our community in making a difference to the lives of our current and future students. Of course, the end of the financial year is an ideal time to give a tax-deductible gift; we thank you in advance for considering supporting this appeal and the future of our wonderful College.
Dr Kate Hadwen 