From the Principal

In October 2011, when Greater Sydney was in lockdown and staff and students were teaching and learning remotely via Pymble Online, the College hosted our second annual Research Conference – virtually, of course. One of the many highlights of the Making Space for Research conference was officially launching the Pymble Institute to our community of learners in attendance.

The PI, as we have come to call our new research hub, connects students and staff with universities and other educational, community-based and research institutions in Australia, and from around the world, to help drive our thinking forward on issues that matter. A priority area of focus is girls’ education and positive outcomes for women.

It’s an exciting space to be exploring at a pivotal time. All around us, girls and women from all walks of life are finding the courage to dive deeply into issues of social injustice, bias and inequity, and using their learnings and experience to spark new conversations, responses and actions to change the world for the better. Were we going to allow lockdown to stand in the way of our conference or our launch? Not a chance. Our girls and staff are inspired; they have work to do.

Perspective sits under the umbrella of the PI as our flagship student publication. Intentionally, no two editions are alike, and the publication will continue to evolve as we create even more opportunities to include student voice and agency.

Our first edition was dedicated to HSC work; this one extends to include articles from Pymble girls across Years 7 to 12. We are currently establishing an editorial board which will include student representation and planning for a student committee to design and edit the next edition. Excitingly, we are also looking to include Junior School students’ work in future publications. The scope for submissions for Perspective is intentionally broad as we encourage students studying a wide range of subject areas to share their investigations and learning via any means they choose. Given our digital format, videos and scripts are as welcome for publication as written submissions so, girls, if you are reading this message, let’s get creative! Dream. Think. Make it happen. Take the opportunity to submit your research to the next edition and add your unique perspective on research to this growing conversation.

Congratulations to all the students whose work is featured in this edition. The individual girls are acknowledged over the page by our Director of the Pymble Institute, Dr Sarah Loch and our High Potential Learning Co-ordinator, Mrs Debbie Tarrant, who I would also like to shine a light on for their role in shaping and supporting our girls as researchers of the future. Our girls are blessed to have access to so many outstanding educators, including these two inspiring women, to drive their thinking forward each day in their studies at Pymble.

Dr Kate Hadwen (B.Ed, Grad Cert Ed Leadership, M.Ed, PhD) PRINCIPAL

CELEBRATING OUR STUDENT RESEARCH CONFERENCE IN 2022

Just as this publication has evolved, so too has our annual research conference. We are very excited to announce that our third event, to be held on Tuesday 17 May, is student-initiated, student-focused and open to students and teachers from all schools. Researching Students? Students as Researchers and Students Being Researched will be hosted by Lucy Clark and Charlotte Hartin (Year 11) and feature a keynote address on ‘Making a difference in the world through a career in research’ by Willa Huston, Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning from the Faculty of Science at UTS. Guests will also hear from PhD and Honours candidates, our own Dr Loch and Professor Amanda Keddie, Chair in Education, Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University.