5 minute read
Languages
MODERN LANGUAGES
2020 was an enriching year for Modern Languages at Pymble. Despite the challenges COVID-19 presented, thanks to the wonderful school staff and resources, Languages Week at Pymble continued to flourish.
Languages Week
Languages Week, an annual event which celebrates the diverse languages-related opportunities available at the College, was hosted in Term 3. Along with the Classical Language Captains, as a team we ran many successful events celebrating the cultural diversity of our community.
Serena Kao, Year 11, Mulan Xu, Year 8, Tanvi Thomas, Year 8, Ashley Chen, Year 11, Jasmine David, Year 11 and Alessandra Natale, Year 11
International Quizzes
One of the many activities held that week was an International Kahoot! Tournament. Middle School Languages students competed against their fellow classmates in a 20-question quiz about their language of study and its culture. The highest-scoring student from each of the five language cohorts then progressed to the final where they battled it out in a 30-question multicultural languages quiz. Congratulations to Amelie Muir, Year 8, who took out first place, and to Julie Sheng, Year 8, and Ashleigh Ip, Year 7, who received second and third place respectively.
International Singing
The next initiative we hosted was an ‘International Singstar Challenge’ where we encouraged Upper School students to embrace their love of languages and the performing arts by creating a video of themselves singing, lip-syncing or dancing along to an international cover song. Songs students could perform ranged from I’ll Make a Man Out of You in Mandarin (from the animated Disney movie Mulan) to the Japanese cover of Baby Shark. With their fabulous interpretive dance to the Japanese rendition of Let it Go from Frozen, Year 9 was crowned as the winners of the 2020 International Singstar Challenge. Well done girls!
International Artwork
The final way that we sought to engage all Secondary School students in Languages Week was through the creation of a collaborative artwork. For this initiative, each student decorated a leaf-shaped template with the national flag of a country they culturally identified with, were currently learning about or would love to travel to. The Languages team then collated the leaves and assembled them into beautiful flowers – a shape symbolic of how languages are truly ‘flourishing’ at Pymble – and then displayed them in the Conde Library. Overall, 2020 was another great year for Modern Languages, with girls continuing to immerse themselves in different cultures and develop their skills and knowledge. We are looking forward to what Modern Languages will bring in 2021. Jasmine David and Serena Kao,
Captains of Modern Languages
Languages
Jasmine David and Ashley Chen, Year 11
Ashley Chen, Year 11, Serena Kao, Year 11, Amelie Muir, Year 8, Jasmine David, Year 11 and Alessandra Natale, Year 11
Rosemary Davies Art Competition
In 2020, several Classics students participated in the Rosemary Davies Classical Art and Design Competition, a contest which encourages students to explore mythology and culture through creative artworks. We are extremely proud of Year 8 students Charlotte Dhanu and Carly Yiu who placed first in the Digital category with their interactive walkthrough of Pompeii, and Sasha Wong, Year 9, who achieved first place in the two-dimensional category and overall winner of the competition with her artwork Servare Medusam which was a powerful and creative depiction of Medusa’s transformation into a Gorgon.
American Classical League’s National Latin Exam
The National Latin Exam, held by the American Classical League, is an annual international competition which offers an opportunity for our Classics students to challenge themselves in their knowledge of Roman culture, mythology and the Latin language. With more than 95 per cent of our students receiving an award for their efforts, many Year 9 students were recipients of the Outstanding Achievement award, and a very high number of our Year 10, Year 11 and Year 12 students received Gold Summa cum laude awards, as well as an invitation to apply for the American Classical League’s National Latin Exam Scholarship. We are very proud of the performance from Pymble Ladies’ College students as it reflects the efforts, dedication and passion we all share for the Classical languages. Further, after a hiatus of almost ten years, Pymble's Classical Greek students in Years 10, 11 and 12 competed in the 2020 American Classical League’s National Greek Exam. Congratulations to Elizabeth Cameron, Year 12, who earned an Award of Merit in the Attic Prose division. In the Intermediate Attic Greek paper, Alessandra Natale, Year 11, achieved an Award of High Honours. In the Beginner's Attic Greek division, Faye Chang, Anna Wang and Chloe Hoang, Year 10, received an Award of Highest Honours and Cia Fotias, Year 10, earned an Award of High Honours. Well done to all of the College’s Classical Greek students, your amazing achievements are truly a testament to the College's flourishing Classical Languages program.
Lunchtime Languages Help
Studying a language is unlike any other subject – it requires pattern recognition, effective memorisation techniques and proficient listening skills. As such, we sought to assist students in the Middle and Upper Schools by hosting Lunchtime Languages Help sessions. Recruiting the help of fellow Year 11 Languages scholars, Senior students formed mentor groups and assisted the younger girls in rehearsing, refining and revising their skills, as well as providing advice regarding Senior Languages courses. This was a thoroughly successful initiative from which all participants derived lots of enjoyment and value.
Thanks
We would like to express our gratitude to the phenomenal Latin and Ancient Greek teachers; Ms Stephanie Center, Mrs Hannah McNelly, Mr Rocco Criscitelli and Dr Reuben Ramsey, each of whom supported every classicist in her learning and inspired a love of languages. We would especially like to thank Ms Salina Bussien, the Head of Classical and Modern Languages, who has supported us in every language-related endeavour. Alessandra Natale and Ashley Chen, Captains of Classical Languages
