“Wisdom begins in wonder”

Monday 23 September, 2019

“Wisdom begins in wonder” are the famous words of the Ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, whose spirit of inquiry and questioning inspires the Sokratis program here at Pymble. Sokratis involves students from Years 8 to 10 undertaking an extensive independent research project of their choice. It is designed to develop intellectual curiosity, passion and scholarship, and to provide opportunities for creativity and challenge beyond the parameters of the school curriculum.

This year, 62 students were involved, either undertaking individual or group projects which they worked on throughout Term 2 and Term 3 with support and guidance from a teacher mentor. The final results were presented at a wonderful showcase on Wednesday 11 September in the Conde Library with many parents, staff and fellow students coming to discuss, question and experience the amazing efforts of the girls involved. The displays were inspirational; showing evidence of extensive research, great creativity, problem-solving and logical thinking in many different forms.

Some of the projects included; original musical compositions, artwork and literature, the development of a sustainable housing project, a study on the effects of dreams, a thought-proving examination of the place of religion in today’s society, an international criminal court trial of several notorious figures from World War II, the development of a gymnastics injury prevention program and an investigation into black holes. All different subjects and passions were in evidence, the displays were visually stunning and the students were impressively able to discuss their work and answer challenging questions about it. Feedback from the students reflects how much they enjoyed spending the evening talking and sharing their passions with everyone:

“The showcase was such an amazing experience and I really enjoyed presenting my work… It was so different from anything I had done before and interacting with the audience was great. I also enjoyed looking at everyone else’s projects, asking them questions and discovering their interests. All the projects were outstanding. They provided me with so many different ideas and all of them were so different from the stereotypical school project.”
– Senu Edirisinghe, Year 8