Keeping up with our Boarders

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Term 3, September 2020

Keeping Up With Our Boarders It’s hard to believe another term has slipped by, but it’s good to know that we have this wonderful edition of Keeping Up with Our Boarders as a tangible record of our memories.

Thank you to our Boarder Editorial Team, under the expert leadership of Anne Graham, for making this possible.

I have a mixture of feelings about this edition – deep gratitude, a sense of sadness, much joy and immense pride.

Reading through the article on our beloved ‘Brooksie’ had me laughing out loud, gasping with surprise and feeling so glad that we have had this special woman in our community for the last 30 years. Margaret’s dedication, diligence and determination are evident in all that she does and perfectly complimented with the genuine care she shows for others and her enduring sense of humour. I can think of no better role model for our girls and I know her wonderful legacy will hold us in good stead in the years to come.

It is this legacy that shines through in our 2020 Year 12 cohort. What a beautiful bunch of strong, wise and compassionate young women they are. It has been a privilege to be part of their journey at Pymble and I thank them for their caring, selfless and dignified leadership of our Boarders. They leave with our admiration and good wishes as they finish their final weeks at the College.

Goodbye Brooksie Anne Graham, House Supervisor, Lang Margaret Brooke has worked in Boarding at Pymble for 30 years and is retiring at the end of Term 3.

Here she talks about what it was like ‘back then’.

When did you join Boarding at Pymble?

30 April 1990.

How many girls were in Boarding?

Close to 200, with eight staff and six Gaps.

Tell us about the Houses and how they’ve changed: There were originally four houses – Lang, Marden, Goodlet and Hammond. Hammond was for the Year 7 girls and from Lang you could walk right through to Marden, although there would be in serious trouble if caught taking the shortcut.

We had a Head of Boarding and when Hammond closed and we only had three houses, it was changed to Head of House. We ran our houses independently. Sue Frawley was our first HOH in Lang, followed by Nikki Wyse and then Edwina O’Brien. I was House Mistress. In 2009 we again returned to a Director of Boarding.

I hope you enjoy reading about these special people as well as some of our ‘Love It’ activities – the fun of painting, prospecting and pasta making and the pleasure of a Friday afternoon of baking. It is good to see the energy of our gym girls being recorded here and inspiring to read of the compassion and courage of the amazing Bronnie Taylor, NSW Minister for Mental Health, Regional Youth and Women.

Every good wish for a happy term break. Look after yourselves, and each other, and enjoy a wonderful time with your family.

Mrs Carolyn Burgess DIRECTOR OF BOARDING

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What was Lang like?

Year 12 1990

Two of my girls in 1997

The Year 9 girls slept on the front verandah on bunk beds in all weather – the blinds never came down. In winter, they slept under quilts with beanies on their heads. There was a lot of jumping from bunk to bunk for exercise.

After lights out they’d do the usual and get out of bed to create mischief until one of them would see me, standing perfectly Just one of the girls still, waiting, and they’d scurry back to bed very quickly! We lit mosquito coils to keep the mosquitoes at bay as the windows and doors had no screens.

The kitchen was half the size it is now for more than 55 girls – no dishwasher – everything was done by hand. The girls were rostered on, but staff always had to rewash. We had a stove until one of the girls put a breadboard on top of it when it was on and it caught fire. The stove was removed after that. All office work was by hand.

The girls had pocket money books in the office and every week, on Thursday, they filled out their little book as to how much they wanted. The older girls were allowed a certain number of shopping trips per month.

Tell us what has changed in the Dining Hall:

Year 12 Valedictory

The Dining Hall is where it is now and we had a Head Table for staff, called the ‘Monks’ Table’, which was raised up high on a platform so that staff could keep watch. Breakfast was always in full school uniform. Those who decided they didn’t want breakfast would hide in the wardrobes, but I would soon dig them out! Girls dressed for dinner in ankle-length skirts, usually in Laura Ashley or paisley prints.

Food was brought to the table in aluminium dishes and served by the Senior girls. Tinned fruit and wafer ice creams were the norm. In the centre of the table was a big wooden bowl into which the girls had to scrape their plates.

How much freedom did they have 30 years ago?

Very little!

No computers

Rearing duck

ings in the La

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Share some of your memories with us: • O ver the years, catching girls sneaking out over the back balcony near the Lang kitchen was always a challenge to be met.

• During

on-the-spot House searches for ‘contraband’, we had some very nervous girls watching from around corners.

Fireplaces were particularly interesting.

• Years

ago, we had the odd rat in the kitchen. Unfortunately, one night I disturbed him, and he chased me down the hallway, hissing. I threw a rubbish bin over him. Rattie didn’t survive the night.

No mobile phones

• A t the end of every term the House was inspected by the Principal and beds had to be made with a perfectly laid counterpane and a red blanket folded at the bottom.

• O ne rule was that no girls were allowed past the office door.

I didn’t agree with that rule and broke it on many occasions allowing them to come into the office resulting in many lovely conversations.

• W e were never allowed to play games or sport with the girls. I broke that rule often also.

• In the early years, I would send the girls to search the grounds after the Garden Party looking for dropped coins – they always came back with their pockets full.

Water slide fun 1996

With Hamish (Nikki Wyse’s son) 2001

• H ow lucky the girls are today as they have hair straighteners, unlike back then, when girls were often caught straightening their hair with the iron on the ironing board.

• A s well as caring for the girls, I hand-reared ducklings we found in the swimming pool. They’d spend part of the day swimming in the bath in the Lang girls’ bathroom on Level 1 and in a box in the office overnight. The girls loved them!

• T he Lang House Lolly Shop was set up in the office by the Year 12 girls. They bought lollies and sold them to other Boarders raising money for the Christmas Party.

• S o many more stories I’d love to tell here but…come and see me!

Lang linen press 1991

How has Boarding changed in 30 years?

Immensely!

What advice would you give a Boarder today?

Grab every opportunity you can and enjoy your time in Boarding. Enjoy the friendships you make here, as they will last a lifetime.

Lang linen press 2020

th Boarders

ties dinner wi Roaring twen

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Boarders Get Baking Alice Beveridge (Year 7), Young ‘Boarders Get Baking’ is a fun way for all our Boarders to socialise, as well as having the chance to make delicious foods. This term, we made a donut cake – all my family loved it and my sister is a very picky eater! When we are cooking, we listen to music and sing karaoke.

And when making cakes and cupcakes – and sometimes dinners – we also make milkshakes.

A few weeks ago we were making a chocolate milkshake and one of the girls didn’t realise that the milkshake maker was on when she poured the milk in and milk spilt everywhere. But we all helped her clean it up. Mrs Wiedemann is a lovely Tech teacher and runs ‘Boarders Get Baking’. She does a fantastic job and makes our time on a Friday afternoon much more enjoyable. Mrs Wiedemann is also a great cook and she says: “‘Boarders Get Baking’ is the icing on my cake”.

Boarding Leadership 2020 Isabel Wilson, Boarding Head Prefect (Year 12), Narromine This year has been quite an unusual and unique one for our Boarding community. Although COVID-19 is a huge disruption for many of our Boarders – as some girls have been unable to rejoin and others have gone months without seeing their families – it has been heartwarming to see the lengths to which the staff and girls have gone to look out for one another.

It has been truly rewarding being in the position of Head Boarder this year and I am especially grateful to the Boarding Prefects and Year 12 Boarders for assisting in our journey. These girls – Ellie Buchanan, Alex Johnson, Tess Orton, Winnie Cheng, Georgia Richens and Isolde Mamo – have shown incredible commitment and perseverance in their roles during this challenging year and their support has meant so much to us all and the Boarding community. We would also like to thank Mrs Burgess, Ms Anne Graham and Mrs Sally Dickens for their ongoing support of our leadership positions. Boarding would not be the same without the passion, love and effort provided by our staff at Pymble.

Maddie Warden, Boarding Deputy Head Prefect (Year 12), Walgett Being a part of Boarding leadership has been such an honour and I have loved working with all the amazing and dedicated staff and girls within the community. I had always looked up to all the previous Boarding Prefects and saw them more as big sisters, who had such an important presence in our lives; people who would never stray away from a chat and who were always willing to listen to what others had to say. We all worked hard to carry on these characteristics and to lead by being positive and enthusiastic in all we did, continuing to provide that important framework for those girls who will come after us in the years ahead.

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Adventures in STEM Alex Johnson (Year 12), Grenfell An interesting STEM opportunity came along recently when a high-altitude balloon with an Air Force payload came back down to earth and landed in a remote area of NSW. STEM is an approach to learning that integrates the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics and is part of the curriculum at Pymble.

While it was known the balloon had landed somewhere near my hometown of Grenfell, the precise location was not known.

The balloon carried cameras and a 3D-printed model of Jasper; the award-winning animated character developed to encourage children to engage with STEM careers. Jasper was part of a trial, filming her journey into the stratosphere in a 360-degree selfie video for National Science Week. Recovering the balloon was going to be difficult and a $1,000 reward was offered by Thunderstruck Space to find it. When we heard about the reward, we searched for two days until I eventually found it in a paddock surrounded by very long grass.

I think it’s great to see the encouragement going into STEM because we are taught here at Pymble that it is the future.

The continual advances in technology are changing the way we, as students, learn, connect and interact every day. Skills developed through STEM provide the foundation to succeed at school and beyond.

The data from Jasper is now being analysed by Thunderstruck… and we are now left to decide how to spend the reward money.

Hobby Art Philippa Austin (Year 10), Cowra During quarantine, I found myself becoming extremely bored and wanting to try a new hobby. After a quick trip to Discount Dave’s in Cowra and picking up a couple of brushes and canvases, I was ready to get to work on my new hobby – painting. The first few drafts were pretty sketchy (as you can imagine, pardon the pun), however, I slowly got the hang of it. The funny thing about art is that it doesn’t even have to be good. Just say that it represents something and there you have it…a multimillion-dollar painting that looks like the back of a public bus seat.

Every single one of my paintings are different and incorporate something new, which is half the fun. Some look serious while others look ridiculous, but it is all about doing it while you are procrastinating over something else. That is why I have made such a collection recently.

For any aspiring artists out there, my advice is to seek some inspiration from another picture or artwork and, to start with, copy it. Not that I would follow that advice because I would not even classify myself as an artist. If truly passionate, seek professional advice.

Alex Johnston with Jasper (photo by Robert Brand)

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Where are they now?

Bronnie Taylor (Washington, 1986) Year 9 at Pymble was actually my first in an Australian school.

The academic standard was so much higher than the American ones I had previously attended, so I found that a real challenge. I was not near the top of the class in many subjects, but I did learn a great work ethic, as well as the importance of staying focused and the value of being part of a community.

I remember my time there fondly and know it shaped me into the woman I am today. As a Boarder, many of the friendships I made have stayed with me to this day, something I value so much. I even met my husband, Duncan, while still at school and I’m happy to report that my date for the Year 12 Pymble formal is still quite the catch.

After school, I started nursing, and found my niche caring for people affected by cancer. I spent eight years as a clinical nurse specialist in palliative care, both in the city and the Monaro, where we raised two beautiful girls of our own, Hannah and Holly, on the Plains.

I spent three years as a clinical nurse consultant in cancer care and four as one of the original Breast Care Nurses for the McGrath Foundation. The privilege of being allowed into the lives of patients and their families, at an incredibly difficult time, is an honour which I will never forget.

Working in the regions, it became glaringly obvious to me that patients in the country didn’t

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have the health services that they needed or should have had. What was really distressing was that they were choosing surgeries and treatments that were

of the Cooma-Monaro Shire.

After becoming involved in the National Party, I had the privilege of being elected to the Legislative Council in 2015 and after several appointments, I was honoured to be named NSW Minister for Mental Health, Regional Youth and Women.

One thing that my time at Pymble really taught me is that you have to stand up for what’s right and you have to try and make things better for people who don’t feel they have the voice, or the confidence, to speak up.

going to give them worse outcomes because they didn’t want to be so far from home.

So, with the help of my peers, I set about taking on the Health Service to get a local oncology clinic. This meant extensive fundraising – but the day we opened the doors was an incredibly proud one for our community.

Remembering who I am and where I came from is a huge part of how I carry myself, and I owe Pymble a debt of gratitude for playing a vital role in helping me set off on this exciting ride.

Without meaning to, I had suddenly become an accidental activist and my political journey began in earnest as the Deputy Mayor

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Gold diggers Sarah Thornton (Year 9), Dubbo; Matilda Barwick (Year 9), Gravesend Everyone in the Boarding Houses was excited to go gold mining with Mr Bell, who is a bit of a gold expert. Before we left, he told us a bit about gold and what we were going to be doing for the afternoon. He showed us some sample pieces of silver and gold that he had mined and panned for, which were very heavy and smooth. We headed off to the Junior School Gold Mine, where we were going to find some gold. There was one 24-carat piece that everyone wanted to find as it was worth between $75 to $100 dollars! And I don’t know about anyone else, but I could have used that! Unfortunately, even after my hardcore metal detecting and panning, the gold went to Sophie (Year 7) who was lucky enough to score the BIG prize. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this activity. Thank you, Mr Bell, for giving up your gold and your time to give us a great activity none of us had experienced before.

Koi visit Winnie Cheng (Year 12), Shell Cove The visit to Koi in North Ryde was lovely as we got to order whatever we felt like and spend some time outside of the House with each other. The desserts were divine and looked too beautiful to eat as each cake had its own unique layers of flavour and its own ‘look’. With some looking like fruits and some looking like an intricate gold jewellery box, it was impressive to see the level of skill that took place in making the desserts. All our desserts were demolished in a total of two minutes. It was a really lovely trip as we got to admire these gorgeous creations, have some sweet treats and spend time with each other.

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Tied Tees Lauren Sevil (Year 11), Wahroonga On a recent weekend, as part of the ‘Love It’ program, we were lucky to enjoy some fun tie-dyeing. The colours were great to play with. We could express ourselves through the colourful selection and I chose yellow, blue and green as these are my happy colours.

Others chose purple and pink and, all together, they looked amazing. With the freedom to design our own shirt by scrunching them up, twisting or just at random, we found the process really exciting. Some curled their whole shirt to make spirals and others scrunched up small circles around the shirt. That day, the bathrooms became colourful as everyone rinsed off their shirts to reveal their masterpieces. Every shirt was unique, as is every girl. With the help of the staff and our fellow Boarders, we enjoyed a fun activity.

Boarding Gym Miss Rachel Maenpaa, Gym Supervisor Who loves the gym? Boarders have a unique opportunity with additional access, evenings and weekends, to the beautiful facilities at the Pymble Gym. They can use the gym during normal gym hours before and after school and at lunchtime, as well as during their free periods (for those old enough to have free periods). They also have Boarding-only times of Monday and Wednesday from 6.00pm to 8.00pm and Sundays from 3.00pm to 6.00pm. One of our former Boarders, Mackenzie Penn, is leading a running group on Monday and Friday mornings.

We usually range anywhere from two to 15 Boarders in the gym at a time.

Whether you are a novice in the gym or an experienced athlete, all are welcome to come learn the benefits of strength and fitness. There are so many options to choose from for your workout: Strength, Cardio, Circuit Training, etc. We are always happy to write up a program on the spot for whatever you want to work on that day, whether it is just to work up a good sweat or if it’s specifically for a sport you’d like to improve. Grab a friend and come on up! First in gets to pick the music!

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Pass the Pasta Sophie Laing (Year 7), Tullamore In August we had the opportunity to go to a pasta making workshop run

by Mr Bell. We got to make, eat and enjoy pasta with different toppings.

We started the session by getting a rundown on how to mix, make and knead the dough. We then got on to the making stage! We started by adding flour, salt, eggs and then we mixed it all together. We also learnt the technique of adding in water as we went. Next, we helped Mr Bell prepare the toppings. We had a bolognaise, pesto and a rocket, spinach and cheese ravioli filling. Threading the pasta through the machine was the highlight in my opinion – well, besides eating it! Next, we hung our pasta onto an oddlooking tree…a pasta tree! After cooking, we could really enjoy our pasta with the topping or sauce of our choice. Overall, it was a great experience and tasted amazing as well! Thank you so much, Mr Bell. We had a great time.

Dinner @ Miss Glover’s Saskia Fitzgerald (Year 8), Nundle; Victoria Burton (Year 8), Coonamble On a recent Saturday evening, the Year 8 girls enjoyed a relaxing and entertaining pizza night at Miss Glover’s residence. Miss Glover is the Marden House Supervisor.

On arrival, we made ourselves comfortable in the living room while playing the challenging game of charades and nibbling on chips. Our pizzas soon arrived and we sat down to a delicious meal of pepperoni, meat lovers and cheese pizzas, accompanied by an orange fizzy drink. We finished by eating ice creams while watching a rom-com. It was a fun and relaxing evening that we would happily love to do again.

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Snakes Alive!

Stephanie Chan (Year 11), Wagga Wagga; Lauren Sevil (Year 11), Wahroonga; Madison Simson (Year 11), Tambar Springs This term we were visited by Australia Wildlife Displays. It was the perfect day for it and a good distraction from work. We were introduced to a variety of native species, ranging from reptiles such as lizards, to a saltwater crocodile, as well as other small animals. It was a fun and exciting experience since everyone was able to pat a small ring-tailed possum named Blossom, who was very calm, as well as feed a Tawny Frogmouth. After that, there were many different reptiles brought out such as a short-necked turtle named Sheldon, a blue-tongued lizard named Bubblegum and others.

They all had such different textures. Some had different scales that were smooth and others really coarse. We were also able to hold the different reptiles and we took lots of photos. To finish it all off, there was a saltwater crocodile we could pat as well as hold a Murray Darling carpet python. This was such a unique and amusing activity and we hope for another visit in the future.

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Year 12 Boarders’ Valedictory Celebration As our Year 12 Boarders gathered for their Valedictory Celebration on Tuesday 22 September, a sense of excitement and expectation prevailed, as they had no idea what was planned for them to commemorate this significant milestone.

Looking ahead to a future filled with possibility and opportunity, they were ready to party…and party they did!

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Photo credits: Fine Photography

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