“Creativity is about freeing one’s mind and then having the necessary discipline and work ethic to persevere and accomplish your dreams”

Lin Cunxin – hero of Mao’s Last Dancer

‘Unearthing Creativity’

Last July holidays, 12 Stanmore staff including the Headmaster and myself travelled to Scotch College Melbourne to attend the 19th Annual International Boys’ School Coalition Conference. Together we addressed the importance of boys being recognised as both creative learners and leaders, and explored the influence of teachers, curricula and communities in unearthing creativity. 450 delegates from around the globe shared in the dialogue and the energy was palpable!

Our own Dr Jeremy Hall, Mark Case and Dylan Bartlett presented a fabulous workshop on ‘Sparks in the Classroom: Creativity in Philosophy and Religious Studies’ and this, along with many other educational forums, provided an endless `opportunity for staff to reflect on our learning and teaching practices at Stanmore.

The highlight was undoubtedly Lin Cunxin’s reflection on his life. To listen to Mao’s Last Dancer himself, tell his amazing story was nothing short of inspirational. Many exciting ideas were proposed and those being explored for implementation in 2013 include: ‘how do we more successfully listen to the student voice?’; ‘how do we help our boys to discover a deeper knowing of themselves as thinkers and learners?’; and finally ‘what personal best goals must be set to reflect our boys’ growth relative to their own developments, not those of boys around them?’.

My sincere thanks to the Headmaster and the College Council for supporting this wonderful professional development exercise. We were privileged to have the opportunity to engage in educational conversation with a wonderful array of teachers from all over the world. Now for the follow through!

Year 8/9 Dance

Last year, Newington College held its first ‘social’ in more than two decades and this Friday 10 August we are proudly doing it again for Years 8 and 9 in Centenary Hall from 7.00pm. Girls from PLC Sydney, MLC School and Danebank Anglican School have been invited and at last count nearly 400 tickets had been sold. This is another important initiative to provide our boys with the chance to mix with other girls’ schools. Drama productions, theatre-sports, debating and co-educational IB Diploma classes are all other ways that Newington tries to support the boys!

SMS for Absence & Late Notification Reminder

We are now near the end of the third week of the new system. Just a reminder that the official daily roll is marked electronically in the first 10 minutes of Period 1. If your son misses this roll call he must register his late arrival at the absence office and receive a late slip. The time is documented and automated messages are sent, in a batch, indicating our records for lateness or non-attendance for that day. Please use this convenient system to reply to the SMS in place of written notes. Please direct all feedback to rthomas@newington.nsw.edu.au

I look forward to your company on the Buchanan and Johnson Oval sidelines this weekend as we play our great rivals St Joseph’s College. Best of luck to all teams!

Dr Andrew Hirst
Head of Secondary

Forthcoming events:

Year 9 Parent/Teacher Night: Monday, 13 August
Science and Technology Festival: Tuesday 11 and Wednesday 12 September
Annual Outdoor Camps: Friday 14 – Tuesday 18 September
Cadet Promotions Camp: Thursday 20 – Sunday 23 September