Summer Camps: Seed Sports Camps

Wanting to keep the kids fit and active over the Summer break? We’ve got the solution with Seed Sports Cricket and Multi-Sports and Activities Camps! These camps, which run on a weekly basis in both December and January. Everyone is welcome to attend and the camps offer a fantastic balance between skill building and general fun!

For more information about the Cricket Camp please click here.

For more information about the Multi-Sports and Activities Camp please click here. 

Mr Troy Stanley
PDHPE Department and Head Coach at Seed Sports 

Newington Cookbook: Sale!

Sesquicentenary Product of the Week: Newington History (Premium Edition)

This history of Newington College, commissioned for the 150th anniversary in 2013, stands upon the shoulders of Newington’s past historians. And yet it is a new history, and will take a somewhat different tack from previous histories.

Only 150 copies of the Premium Edition are available and copy No. 1 is being given to the College. Each of the remaining 149 numbered copies is personally signed by the author Dr Stephen Gapps, and is accompanied by a limited edition bookmark. You have the opportunity to select a number significant to you or the next number available in sequence.

For more information about claiming an exclusive copy of Newington College: A Sesquicentenary History 1863-2013 (Premium Edition), please click here. 

Seafood Night: Newington College Rowing Association

Library: Honing the Question is the Research Key

Research help & getting the library ready to move!

Mr Carron and I have been very busy this week seeing the Year 11 boys undertaking their IB Extended Essay. We’ve been going into classes to help students with their research plans. Boys have also been popping into my office all week to seek individual assistance. The boys have got really diverse research interests, which is one of the things I love about being a librarian—I get to learn about huge a variety of different things. Think  tactics of the Roman Empire, narrative and visual voice, artworks that evoke emotional responses, the environmental impacts of Olympic Games, the rise of robotics in film making and much more!

We’ve been helping boys hone their research questions, identify key themes and keywords they can use to search for information, helping them use the library catalogue to find books, showing them which databases are the most relevant to their subject areas, and showing them how to search these databases to find relevant information.

Other library staff have also been really busy—Mrs Jagger has been working with Mrs Tanase to organise the Literature Festival and Mrs Davis and Mrs Tsang have been helping me to start preparing the Library for the big move. We’ve started reviewing the non fiction collection, so if you see us in amongst the shelves with sticky coloured dots, you’ll know what we’re doing! We do ask that you don’t peel off any of the stickers, otherwise we won’t know what we’re up to!

I’ve also been busy getting to know some of students. My competition last week that went out in the New Daily saw the first ten boys to come and tell me their favourite book win a Killer Python jelly snake—this seemed to go down a treat!

Ms Crystal Choi
Head of Library Services 

Holiday Trading Hours – Newington College Shop

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The Newington College shop will be open at the following times during the 2012/2013 Summer Period:

26 November – 12 December 2012: By Appointment (9.00am – 4.00pm)

7 January – 22 January 2013: By Appointment (9.00am – 4.00pm)

23-25 January 2013: 9.00am – 4.00pm (no appointment necessary)

In Term 1 2013 Trading Hours will return to normal – Monday to Friday 8.00am – 4.30pm. The shop will also be open on Saturday 2 February from 8.00am – 12.00pm.

Carolyn Merrick
Newington College Shop

Pathways to the Future: Are You Planning a Holiday or a Career?

Did you know…..we spent more time and effort planning our next holiday then planning or managing our career. Career has increasingly broadened from a term that is synonymous with occupation or job, to one that represents the configuration of all facets and roles of an individual’s life. With this in mind, as students how active are you in planning your career beyond Newington? Is it time to make an effort and start looking at where you would like to be after Year 12 and what you need to be doing now to get there….read on!

Choices after Year 12 for Year 10 & 11

Thank you to the parents and boys in Year 11 who I have met with over the last few weeks. A reminder that I have appointment times available to meet in the hours before and after school to assist with beginning the process of exploring options after Year 12. In these sessions we identify and develop suitable personal goals (including education, co-curricular and life goals) for boys in Years 11-12 to work towards achieving.

For Year 10 boys, start to look for opportunities to undertake voluntary Work Experience over the Summer School Holiday period. This will help you to evaluate whether or not a particular career is the right one for you.

Year 12—After the HSC/IB 2012

Graduating Year 12, 2012 boys and parents are invited to contact Mr Breden and make an appointment to assist with any post secondary planning for 2013 after the release of HSC results (Board of Studies 19 December) and ATAR rank (UAC web release 9 am 20 December). Discussions may include:

1. Review and change of UAC preferences for Main Round release on 16 January 2013
2. Developing a Plan B (Contingency Plan) to explore pathways options for further education
3. Deciding to take a Gap Year….What does that mean for tertiary study in 2013-14
4. Exploring TAFE as an option – Apprenticeships and Traineeships
5. Balancing work and study commitments in 2013.

Appointments can be scheduled at school on the following days: Monday 17 December through to Friday 21 December 2012. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact Mr Breden to discuss anything career and education related.

Tax File Number Applications

Boys aged 13 years and over and still at school are eligible to apply for a Tax File Number (TFN) through the school. Applying for the TFN through the school is a quick process. If you are thinking about getting casual work over the summer school holidays, you will more than likely require a TFN. Please see Mr Breden to collect TFN information and an application form.

Australian Defence Force Scholarships 2013

The Australian Defence Force and Academy have a number of excellent scholarship opportunities for boys going into Years 11 and 12 in 2013.

ADFA Education Award

I would encourage current Year 11 Boys who hold rank as a CUO to apply.

The Australian Defence Force Academy Education Award is presented annually to Year 12 students in recognition of leadership potential, and academic and sporting achievements exhibited during Year 11. The award includes a laptop computer and certificate for you, along with a plaque of recognition for your school. There are up to 100 awards available on behalf of the Navy, Army and Air Force which will be presented to suitable applicants who have applied for entry to ADFA. The ADFA Education Award is unbonded, which means there is no obligation to accept an offer to attend ADFA, nor is the ADF obliged to offer appointment to an award winner. Applications are now open and close 28 February 2013. Click here for more detail.

Defence Technical Scholarship

A Defence Technical Scholarship (DTS) is a fantastic opportunity for Years 11 and 12 students intending to pursue an ADF general entry technical trade career after completing Year 12. The DTS rewards technically-savvy students for staying on at school and enrolling in specific subjects.

Year 11 recipients will receive $2000, paid over two semesters and successful Year 12 students will receive $3000, paid over two semesters. Although there is no obligation to join the Navy, Army or Air Force after finishing school, you will be required to comment on why you are interested in an ADF technical trade career as part of the selection process.

The School will receive information packs in February 2013 and applications close early March 2013. Click here for more detail.

If you would like to make further enquiries or to make an appointment, please contact me on 02 9568 9429 or Email: jbreden@newington.nsw.edu.au. For boys at school, please drop by the Careers Office located on Level 1, above Prescott House locker area at the back of the Le Couteur Wing (Library).

Mr Jamie Breden
Careers and VET Coordinator

Sport

CRICKET

The 1^st XI recently competed in the season opening GPS Twenty20 tournament. They were successful in making the final by defeating St Josephs, Sydney Boys High School and Scots College in the lead up games. Unfortunately a strong Riverview side defeated Newington in the final but it was a strong opening to a season that promises much. Congratulations must go to Lachlan Anderson (11/PR), Marcus Atallah (11/ME), James Holland (11/FL), Sam Wood (10/PR), Sam Smyth (10/LE), David Morris (12/KL), Rhys Andrew (10/MO), Josh Stewart (10/FL), Saahil Parekh (9/MO), Sam Lonergan-Stewart (11/PR), Ben Adams (10/FL), Fergus McKenna (9/JN), Lachlan Cannell (12/FL) and Sam Roby (9/JN).

Congratulations to (Milan Bhoola 10/MA) from the 4^th XI who took a double hat trick against Scots College on Saturday 27 October. Milan’s hat trick played a major role in the 4^th XI scoring an exciting victory.

ROWING

Saturday 3 November sees the Newington junior rowing crews participate in the Junior Head of Parramatta Regatta. The Year 8 quads, Year 9 quads and the Year 10 VIIIs will do a time trial against the clock on Saturday. We wish all crews plenty of speed in this challenging race, in particular the Year 8 quads who will be representing Newington rowing for the first time.

WATER POLO

The following boys have been selected to represent the AAGPS at the CIS water polo trials on Wednesday 14 November at Sydney Olympic Park (SOPAC)

Wil Cotterill (10/LE)
Keegan Wicken (10/ME)
James Smith (11/KL)
Cody Ingram (10/LE)
James Butcher (10/ME)

We wish the boys all the very best!

School Fees Raffle

The inaugural School Fees Raffle will be drawn on Saturday 17 November at the Seafood Night. Remember to buy your ticket before all tickets are sold out for your chance at not having to pay school fees for a year!

Responsibility – Are we not Authors of our own Destiny?

I am training for a triathlon again and I need to cycle.  I claim to be a car-friendly cyclist and I avoid Sydney roads as much as I can, and therefore avoid the possibility that I might get involved in the altercations that inevitably occur between riders and drivers!

So that sees me going into Centennial Park on Sundays, in the station-wagon, bike in the boot, to train on the design-built cycle road (shared with cars) around that beautiful park.  Now there is a stretch of road where you sweep down a bit of a long slope and, if you are not careful, can easily exceed the 30kph speed limit that is supposed to be imposed.

To my surprise and chagrin (and I’m sure to the consternation of most cyclists who train there) they have whacked in a fancy new pedestrian crossing, with flashing lights and yellow paint, right in the middle of this long stretch of road that we cyclists enjoy so much.  The reason for this is that there have been a number of accidents where little children have been hit and injured, by cyclists, at this particular point of the road.

Now this very nearly happened to me last year. There I was enjoying the breeze on my face, down on my aero-bars and suddenly this little kid shoots out on his bike with trainer wheels, right in front of me. I slammed both brakes on and slid across the road, between two cars, and just avoided running this trembling little guy over. I had time to offer some free advice to his father on the supervision of little kids as I rode shakily on!

So what we have now is a pedestrian crossing that parents are supposed to use to get their little darlings safely across the road without fear of the nasty speeding cyclists.  Having been in the park on two occasions since this genius installation has been constructed I have twice witnessed little kids and their adult “supervisors” crossing the road 20 metres before, and 20 metres after the pedestrian crossing. So what’s the point?

The key here surely is what self-respecting, intelligent, responsible parent is going to let their children get away from their oversight near any road—especially one with packs of cyclists swishing around a road designed for them, and also a road with a lane for cars.

Yes, there is a responsibility for cyclists and cars to watch out and take care as they travel in Centennial Park—accepted. But if there is an accident, where a very young child darts out across the road, whose responsibility is it for what happens?

Increasingly we seem to be divesting people, at every point of life, from taking responsibility for themselves and for their own dependents. The first thing that happens when there is an accident or incident is to search for someone else to blame.

Come on Australia, let’s wake up to this ever decreasing sense of responsibility and have the courage to be alert, mature citizens of this fine country.  What’s the spiritual spin on this?  God created us with brains, and eyes and ears and hands and legs, and God hoped that we would make good choices with the wonder of human freedom that is His gift to us (Genesis 2: 15-17).

David N Williams
Chaplain

National Bandana Day

On Friday 26 October the College once again enthusiastically participated in CanTeen’s National Bandana Day. By Selling these Bandanas, boys from Fletcher and LeCouteur House helped CanTeen raise much needed funds for programs supporting young people, whose lives have been touched by cancer.

All 300 Bandana’s were sold out by recess, raising $1240 and awareness of CanTeen’s work, highlighting the issues associated with the impact that cancer has on Families. Boys were able to wear their Bandana proudly with their school uniform in a variety of colours and techniques.  This year there was even a camouflage patterned bandana available that proved to be a popular item with the boys in Cadet uniform on the Day!

Mick Madden
Head of Service Learning 

Drama: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

Last week, our middle school boys tackled one of the most well known and difficult drama texts, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Performed over three nights in the Old Chapel, this complex and sophisticated work is not a play within a play, but rather a play beside a play. This absurd work features that which you cannot see when viewing a performance of Hamlet. It is everything that happens offstage.

In the tragicomedy, first staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966, playwright Tom Stoppard borrows two of Shakespeare’s most minor and least lucky characters and tells their story; their quest for meaning, identity, and ultimately the purpose of their existence.

Congratulations to the cast and crew, ably led by Leo Tracy and Brendan Creswick in the title roles. Thanks also to Mr Benjamin Williams for his direction and dedication and to Ms Sarina Meoli and Ms Jenny Tracy for their assistance behind the scenes.

NIDA Excursion

Senior Elective Drama students were fortunate to visit NIDA for a performance of ‘The Lieutenant of Inishmore’ and view the work of third year production design students.

Tamara Smith
Head of Drama 

School Nurse: Water is Wonderful – But is it Enough?

With summer days fast approaching, I remind you of the importance of hydration when playing sport. There is such a variety of drinks available it becomes quite confusing when choosing what is best for you. Chilled tap water in the clinic is very popular with the boys, but is water enough?

Water is a wonderful drink. It’s cheap, available and good for you. Eight to ten glasses are recommended per day and studies have shown that even 2% dehydration affects your performance. Generally speaking if exercising for more than an hour at a high intensity a sports drink is helpful as it contains carbohydrates to prevent low blood sugar and electrolytes to replace salt and potassium. Sports drinks are designed to pass through the stomach quickly and are rapidly absorbed from the gut.

To get an idea of how much fluid you lose when you exercise weigh yourself before you train and then afterwards. If you lose 1kg then you need to replace with about 1.5 L fluids. Check the colour of your urine and aim to keep it a pale yellow colour. Thirst is often a later sign of dehydration. Check the serving size and calorie count in sports drinks as they are often high in sugar and can cause erosion of the enamel on your teeth. A lot of boys drink sports drinks when not exercising just for the taste when water would be preferable.

Remember sports drinks differ from energy drinks which contain caffeine and other stimulants.

Cramps

Muscle cramp is an uncontrollable spasm of any muscle but usually the calf or foot is affected.

• Risk factors include poor physical condition, dehydration and muscle fatigue.
• Most cramps will ease once the muscle is stretched and massaged. Occasionally an ice pack applied to a severe cramp will help it to relax.
• Hydralyte or Hydralyte Sports can be useful to improve hydration.
• To prevent cramps—improve your physical performance, warm up, stretch and cool down while exercising, keep hydrated and a regular massage may help.

Stitches

A side stitch is a pain under the ribs quite often on the right side where your liver is situated. Some people get referred pain in the shoulder blade.

• The cause is not fully understood but it seems a stitch is more likely if you have eaten before you run.
• Avoid fizzy drinks, bananas, apples and fatty foods just before exercising.
• If you develop a side stitch when running then try changing your breathing pattern. If you usually exhale when your right foot hits the ground, then change to exhale as your left foot hits the ground.
• Bend forwards to stretch the diaphragm and massage the area to relieve the stitch.

Margaret Bates
School Nurse

Student Services

Cyber Issues:

As social networking sites continue to become a bigger part of many teenager’s life it is important to be aware of potential dangers. You may like to refresh or expand your understanding by visiting Susan McLean’s website. Parents have a vital role to play as most incidents occur away from school.

Senior School

Year 10:

A reminder that the annual examinations begin on Monday 5 November! Timetables have been distributed. It is important that the boys read and follow the regulations that are attached to the timetable. Any boys who miss an exam must contact Mr Phillips when they return to school.

Year 11:

On Thursday 18 October the “Surviving HSC/IB Evening” was held with over 250 in attendance. The audience heard some great presentations covering technology (Mr Case), study techniques (Mr Comino), tips from 2011 leavers Hugo Broom, Jonathon Collinge and Michael Rees, parental advice (Connie Therkildsen) and tertiary options/procedures (Mr Breden). Most of these presentations are available on New Tube which will be open to the Newington community in the near future.

At the Year Group meeting on Thursday 1 November a presentation about gap year (or shorter) opportunities will be made by Antipodeans Abroad to raise awareness. More information can be found here.

On Wednesday 14 November we have a presentation from Sam Cawthorn who is a most inspiring young man. A number of our Year 11 boys have already had an opportunity to hear him at the National Leadership Camp in July this year. Their feedback has been incredible. Sam will focus on the GAP (Global Awareness Project) which is a fully interactive presentation covering social justice and global awareness of disadvantaged communities in the developing world. Research shows that young people with a global perspective are more engaged and have higher levels of focus and social awareness.

This highly interactive and motivational program will empower students to not take things for granted, encourage better attitudes and gratitude for their lives and encourage them to make a difference to the wider community. This is a great opportunity for our boys. You can learn more about Sam here.

Paul Bourke
Head of Senior School

Middle School

Middle School Parent Information Night (MS PIN):

Our MS PIN was held on Monday 15 October. Called “Changing Relationships”, the evening attempted to give parents some insight into the issues that may face them in the years ahead. The presenter, Dr David Bennett, is an authority on adolescent development and his entertaining presentation was warmly received by more than 80 parents. Dr Bennett has kindly made his presentation available to Newington parents, so if you send me an email I will forward you an electronic copy of his presentation.

Woodbridge Exchange:

There has been an overwhelming response from Year 8 boys for the Woodbridge Exchange next year. Those who have applied will need to go through a selection process as the number will probably be limited to two. More details will follow to those who have applied.

Jeff Snare
Head of Middle School

News from Alumni, Archives and Foundation

AISUSA Foundation Event

Saturday 6 October saw Newington yet again as the most represented school at the Australian Independent Schools USA Foundation Event (www.aisusafoundation.com). There were attendees who are Old Boys, future parents and even one current parent! Heartfelt memories were stretched (yes they were all in the First XV, Rowed the First VIII, played bassoon in the Orchestra and managed to be Dux), smiles were large and the Newington Brotherhood was extended to all no matter what the Alumni Year.

That morning Newington secured the ‘AUSUSA Foundation Nick Farr-Jones Touch Rugby Trophy’ in Central Park – even though only Newingtonians turned up bar one Riverview Old Boy!

From the Archives

Exam time

The months of October and November are, perhaps more than anything else, exam time. This has not really changed since the College’s establishment in 1863, but the nature of the exams and the systems they are part of have changed a great deal.

Initially, the end of year examinations were purely an internal affair. In 1867 the Junior and Senior Public Examinations were established, as part of the first set of education reforms of Sir Henry Parkes. The examinations were set and marked by the University of Sydney and represented the first attempt to define the content and objectives of secondary school teaching in New South Wales. Despite being run by the University, the Senior exam was not used for university entrance: there were separate matriculation examinations held early each year for this.

Success in the ‘Junior’ and ‘Senior’ quickly became the measure of a school’s academic performance.  Summary results were published in a veritable ‘league table’ of schools and private tutors: a report in the Sydney Morning Herald of 11 January 1879 showed Newington with the third largest number of successful candidates in the previous year, after Sydney Grammar and Brisbane Grammar (the system included Queensland schools in the absence of a university there). Newington had six of the 42 successful candidates in the Senior and ten of the 239 successful Junior candidates. Newington students occupied three of the eleven places on the ‘Distinguished Order of Merit’, while another won the Silver Medal for Arithmetic.

From its very first year of publication (1884), The Newingtonian reported proudly on the Senior and Junior results, generally listing all the school’s successful candidates and their pass level in each subject. The growth of the school since the move to Stanmore was reflected in the number of successful candidates in the Junior — 22 out of 23 ‘sent up’ — as reported in the December 1884 issue. Two out of three passed the Senior.

In addition to prizes awarded by the University, Newington awarded its own prizes for success in these exams. Initially medals were awarded for passing; later they were limited to the best pass among the College’s candidates. A number of these medals are in the Archives collection: our photo shows the medal awarded to J Alfred Fletcher for passing the Junior in 1872. The Hardy Medal, now awarded for the best HSC result, was instituted in the 1880s for the best pass in the Senior.

The Senior and Junior exams ceased in 1916, following the phasing in of the Intermediate and Leaving Certificates over the previous five years. They were replaced in turn by the School and Higher School Certificates under the Wyndham Scheme in the 1960s.

David Roberts
College Archivist

Newington Artist of the Week

In Term 4, Year 7 are learning about digital media and the use of Photoshop. They have made CD cover designs inspired by the works of Pop Artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. Nathan Endemann (7/MA) produced two impressive designs and we are proud to name him our Artist of the Week. Exceptional effort, Nathan!

Mrs Marina Hinves
Art Department

Congratulations

Newington’s Young Scientist

Congratulations to Aki Flame (10/JN) who was selected to receive a prize at the STANSW Young Scientist Awards for 2012. Aki received his prize on Friday 26 October and was a fantastic representative of Newington.

To read more about the awards, click here.

Fencing

Jasper Rowley (11/ME) has just returned from competing at the 2012 Asian Junior and Cadet Championships in Indonesia, coming in at a very commendable 9th place in the Men’s Sabre. Jasper only just missed out on making the top 8 (and the right to fence for a medal) by only one point. This caps off an incredibly successful year for Jasper, which has taken him to compete in Russia as well as victories at Cadet, Junior and Open age groups both within NSW and at national level. To top it all off, Jasper has been nominated for the Inner West Courier’s 2012 Junior Sports Star Award—Congratulations!

New Waratah: Ben Volavola

Newington’s Ben Volavola (ON ‘10) (featured above) has recently secured the last spot in the Waratahs squad for 2013. It’s a fantastic achievement for such a young player. Ben’s representative honours include Australia U20s and NSW A. He backed up his inaugural year in the Sydney Premiership this year with a series of standout performances in the Shute Shield this season after making his debut in round 12. Ben is a highly skilful player who is able to play fullback and flyhalf. While at Newington, Ben was instrumental in leading the change of culture to the College’s senior rugby program.

Learning Enhancement Dept: Volunteers Needed

The Learning Enhancement Department is seeking volunteers to assist with Special Provisions across Year 7 to 12 throughout the year.

Volunteers may be required to supervise, read or scribe for students who receive Special Provisions in exams. The duration of exams is 1-4 hours, depending upon the subject and the provisions available to a student.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact:

Rebecca Panagopoulos
(02) 95689542
Head of Learning Enhancement

Newington 1st XI Runners-up in Twenty20

After many years in the wilderness the Newington 1^st XI began the season with a brilliant display in the GPS Twenty20 competition. The preliminary rounds were contested on Saturday October 13 at St Josephs. We had a 5 wicket loss against Riverview, a nerve jangling last over win against St Josephs and a comprehensive result against Sydney Boys High. This was enough to advance to the finals day and our semi-final opponent was the powerful Scots team. The boys executed a near perfect game to outplay their opponents with skill and clever cricket. A 4 wicket win meant we were to face Riverview in the final. They were undefeated from their first four games and were coming off a strong semi-final win vs Grammar. We started very well but had a mid-innings stutter to finish with 117. This proved to be about 20 short as Riverview made the runs 6 wickets down in the 18^th over.

A very credible result finishing 2^nd in the GPS and a great lead in to the season proper. Our play was characterised by excellent skills, clear thinking under pressure and a strong team belief and ethic. We look forward to the start of the regular season against Shore on Saturday November 3.

Matthew Nicholson
MiC Cricket