News

The 2012 Young Australian of the Year, Marita Cheng, inspired Pymble Ladies’ College Secondary School students when she spoke about her passion for engineering and the need for more prevalence of females in the industry on 18 September.

Marita received the 2012 Young Australian of the Year Award for her dedication to encouraging young women to become interested in a career in engineering. She spoke with the Pymble students about her excitement of receiving the award and the many ventures she has undertaken in her career to foster a greater participation of women in engineering.

Marita also shared her study tips with the students and urged them to follow their aspirations. “Marita is an inspirational young leader and has achieved some amazing accomplishments and acknowledgements as a young adult,” said College Principal, Mrs Vicki Waters. “She is a wonderful role model to our students and proof that young women can achieve greatness if they follow their dreams.”

Marita founded Robogals in 2008, as a response to the traditionally low levels of participation by women in engineering and technology. Since its inception Robogals has conducted robotics workshops for 3,000 girls across 80 schools in Australia and now has 17 chapters across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Marita has been named as one of the top 30 under 30 entrepreneurs in Australia in 2009 and 2010 and is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including the Herald Sun Pride of Australia Young Leader medal, the Anita Borg Change Agent award and she was also acknowledged as one of top achievers under the age of 30 from across the world by the Sandbox Network 2010.

Congratulations to Secondary School students Eleanor Armati, Alicia Chang, Katherine Dekker, Samantha Macourt and Bronte Williams who are travelling as members of the Australian Girls Choir on a tour of Europe in September and October. Travelling over 21 days the girls will visit Rome, Marostica, Somerset, Assisi and then Hong Kong. They will play at international music festivals as well have a Papal Audience performance for Pope Benedict XVI. How wonderful to have five Pymble girls representing our country on such a prestigious tour.

It is a great pleasure to announce that Mrs Karen Ahearn has been appointed to the position of Head of Preparatory School at Pymble commencing from Term 1 2013.

Mrs Ahearn is an extremely experienced educational leader who is highly regarded by colleagues, parents and students in the educational community. Mrs Ahearn has contributed significantly to the education profession and is passionate about the education of girls and numeracy. She has presented at international and national education conferences and has been the guest lecturer at Macquarie University’s Institute of Early Childhood and the Primary Teacher Education Program.

We welcome Mrs Ahearn as Head of the Preparatory School to the Pymble community.

Pymble Ladies’ College Year 6 student Kate Soonius was named national Runner Up in the Upper Primary Division of the 2012 Dorothy Mackellar Poetry Awards. Kate received her award from The Hon. Paul Fletcher MP, Federal Member for Bradfield, at a special Junior School Assembly at the College on 7 September.

Mr Fletcher also presented awards to three other Pymble students who were recognised for their efforts in the competition: Year 4 student Mia Cameron received a Highly Commended Certificate, and Year 6 student Eliza Moore and Year 3 student Alison Cook received Commended Certificates.

On Monday the 2012 Kids Teaching Kids Week was officially launched at Pymble Ladies’ College, with special guests the Hon Tony Burke MP, Member for Watson and Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water Population and Communities, Brooke Hanson, Kids Teaching Kids patron and Olympic gold medallist, Mr Paul Fletcher MP, Member for Bradfield and Arron Wood, Prime Minister’s Environmentalist of the Year, participating in the event.

Kids Teaching Kids, a program developed for the Federal Government 13 years ago, encourages student activism to find solutions to critical global environmental issues and has inspired students across Australia to develop advocacy and collaboration skills in their search for answers to local and global issues. Kids Teaching Kids has optimised these outcomes and provided a platform for school students to be informed, involved and active in their quest to create a more sustainable environment for future generations to enjoy.

Following the official launch, Pymble’s Year 8 students along with students from Gapuwiyak in Arnhem Land presented a number of workshops as part of the day’s activities, providing interactive ‘lessons’ on a variety of local environmental issues. The day was an outstanding success, with Pymble’s students inspiring their audiences to think about their role in preserving our environment.