News

On Sunday 26 August, Pymble hosted the regional final of the Tournament of the Minds competition, which involved 91 teams from Sydney North. Tournament of the Minds is a problem-solving competition where students work in teams of seven from a mix of Years 7, 8 and 9, in a discipline chosen from Mathematics Engineering, Language Literature, Social Sciences and Applied Technology.

Pymble entered three teams in the Secondary competition and was thrilled that Pymble’s teams for Language Literature and Social Science won their divisions and the Mathematics Engineering team placed third.  This is a fabulous result for Pymble in what was a very tough competition. The two winning teams will now compete at the NSW finals on Sunday 9 September at the University of NSW.

Congratulations to our triumphant Pymble Athletics team who have conquered the 2012 IGSSA Athletics Carnival and been named Overall Champion School at the event last Friday 17 August. Pymble was also the Champion School in the Intermediate and Senior age groups, and Kristie Edwards of Year 7 was named Junior Champion Athlete. Gabrielle Ralphs, Mackenzie Little, Kristie Edwards and Madeleine Neville all broke records at the carnival and our Senior 4x100m relay team was also victorious. Thank you to all the fabulous staff and coaches for all their hard work with the girls in the lead up to the carnival.

Visit Pymble's Facebook page to view some images from the day

Pymble Ladies’ College ex-student and international cricket and football sportswoman, Ellyse Perry returned to the College on 14 August to speak with Year 7 students. Ellyse addressed the girls about the theme of ‘teamwork’ which Year 7 students are exploring in their Pastoral Care Program.

Speaking about the positive benefits that being part of a team has had on her personal development, Ellyse reflected on her experiences during her years at Pymble and in her international sporting career.

The Year 7 girls were captivated and asked many insightful questions. They were thrilled to have Ellyse address them. Ellyse said she was excited about coming back to Pymble to interact with the students.

Ellyse completed her Higher School Certificate at Pymble in 2008. She made her debut for both Australian cricket and football teams at the age of 16, playing her first international games for cricket and football in 2007. She is the youngest person (male or female) to represent Australia in cricket and the first Australian woman to have appeared in both cricket and association football World Cups.

Year 8 students at Pymble Ladies’ College were inspired by a presentation given by Daniel and William Clarke on their quest to help save the orangutan population at the College on 13 August.

Daniel and William reflected on the issues facing the orangutan and its habitat and helped the students understand the issues around illegal logging, western society’s demand for palm oil and the ways in which they can help save the orangutan.

The presentation included a video of baby orangutans and some of the antics of the larger adult orangutans. Daniel and Williams were impressed by the student’s questions during the presentation with the students seeking information on orangutans, palm oil plantations in Australia and what palm oil is used for. Daniel and William Clarke live in Sydney and share a passion to save the orangutan in Borneo and Sumatra. So far the boys have raised over $600,000 to save the orangutan and have been actively promoting the orangutan’s story throughout the media.

Daniel and Williams have produced a book, Tears in the Jungle, after they travelled through Borneo to see the orangutans in the wild.

Pymble has been fortunate enough to have not one but two ex-students competing at the London 2012 Olympics and both reached the finals in their individual sporting disciplines. Tess Gerrand (2005 leaver) was part of Australia’s Rowing Women’s VIII that made the final last week. Although Australia didn’t come away with a medal, it was a valiant effort from Tess and her teammates to reach the last stage of the competition.

Edwina Tops-Alexander (1991 leaver) had a fabulous start to her Olympic campaign this week in the Equestrian Jumping. Although the Australian team of four (including Edwina) missed out on competing for the team medals, Edwina’s faultless first two rounds, and  near-perfect third round secured her a place among the top 30 riders to compete for an individual medal.

Edwina finished in equal 20th position in a very competitive field.Edwina and Tess are to be congratulated on their tremendous achievements at the London 2012 Olympics.