Congratulations
National Geography Finals
On Monday 18 June, Yianni Van Gelder (10/MA) as the NSW State Champion, was a contestant on the live taping of the National Geographic Channel’s Australian Geography Competition. Yianni was required to report to Foxtel Studios for the recording and compete against other finalists representing the other states and territories. In an intense ‘quiz show’ format, all contestants were required to answer several challenging questions about both Australian and World Geography. Yianni performed brilliantly throughout, even leading at several stages during the competition, and ended up finishing in third place—only narrowly missing out on a place on the National Team to represent Australia in the world finals in
St. Petersburg, Russia.
Yianni was ably supported by fellow members of his Year 10 Civics class as well as Miss Matthew, who were in the audience for the taping. The program was aired on Monday 16 July at 10.30am on the National Geographic Channel. Throughout the whole competition, Yianni has been an outstanding representative of the College Community and his achievement of placing third in the nation is something both he and the whole College can be proud of. Well done Yianni!
Justin Verco
Geography Department
Black and White goes Green and Gold
Newington is very proud to advise that two Old Boys are currently in London representing Australia at the 2012 Olympics in their chosen sports. Let’s all get behind these Old Boys as they chase Gold. By clicking on the links below you will be able to meet each athlete and read more about their paths to the Olympics.
Rowing for Gold—James Chapman (ON ’97)
James Chapman started rowing in 1993 at Newington College and it was here that his passion for the sport was ignited. In 2012, Chapman won his fifth King’s Cup, having also taken the prestigious prize with NSW in 2011, 2010, 2008 and 2004. To read more about James Chapman, click here.
Water Polo Olympic Debut—James Clark (ON ’08)
James Clark has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the sport of Water Polo, having made his senior international debut in 2012. Clark heads into his first Olympic Games having played a little over 15 matches manning the goals for the Australian team. In that time however, he has collected a silver medal at the 2012 Water Polo Pan Pacs in Melbourne. For more information about James Clark, click here.
Alicia Toogood
Alumni Manager
National Rope Skipping
Felix Officer-McIntyre (7/MO) was very busy these school holidays, skipping himself to glory at the recent Australian National Rope Skipping Competition at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, held from 23 June–25 June.
Felix placed exceptionally well in his 11-14 year-old male age group with 1st place in Freestyle, 2nd place in 30 second speed and 4th place in 3 minute speed. These results led him to finish 2nd place overall, an outstanding achievement.
Banjo Paterson’s Writing Competition
Some months ago Parris Hammond (7/KL) entered into a writers competition called “The ABC Radio Children’s Banjo Paterson’s Writing Competition”, now in its 21st year. This is done through the Central West Libraries (Orange) as this was the home of Banjo Paterson (also where Parris’ grandparents live).
Parris took first place for his story “Letter to the moon”, receiving a certificate and a cheque for $200, which was presented by the local Mayor for Orange. This is Parris’ second recognition/win for writing, as last year he took second place in the NSW Schools Writing Competition. An amazing result considering there were over 350 entries for the Banjo competition and over 2000 for the NSW Schools Competition. Well Done Parris!
Colleen Scalone
Head of Year 7
