Congratulations

NSW State Schools Constitutional Convention

Congratulations to Lachlan McKirdy (11/LE), who represented Newington at the NSW State Schools Constitutional Convention and has been selected to participate in the National Schools Constitutional Convention at Parliament House, Canberra from 20-22 March 2013. Lachlan is one of 30 NSW students and 120 nationally that will converge upon Canberra to take part.

The event, which will be in its 18th year, is a fantastic opportunity for the future leaders of Australia to engage with each other on a national level and consider ideas and problems facing this country. It is both a challenging and a worthwhile experience aiming to craft an informed discussion between students of all three schooling sectors about the Australian Constitution and system of government.

Lachlan, Deputy Senior Prefect for 2013,  articulated the experience’s relevance and benefits: “It is important for young people to get involved in the constitution as it affects all Australian, and is particular relevant this year as the majority of  Year 12 students will have voted in the next Federal election  – this time next year.”

“The better a grasp of the constitution we have, the more of an informed decision we can make, and know what power our Prime Minister and/or Head of State will hold,” Lachlan said about his selection.

To have participated in the NSW State Schools Constitutional Convention, and the opportunity to take part in its National counterpart, will be immensely beneficial for not only Lachlan but for Newington as well as he reports on the experience as a young leader in our community in 2013.

Summer Multi-Sports and Cricket Clinics

Summer Multi-Sports Clinic

To register, go to seedsports.com.au/register.

Or scroll-down for Cricket Clinic details and registration.

Summer Cricket Clinic

To register, go to seedsports.com.au/register.

F1 in Schools speeding to Nationals

2012 has been a successful year for the F1 in Schools competition at Newington, especially as this is the very first year the program has been introduced as a co-curricular activity. Following on from the successful Newington Competition last month the state final was recently held at the University of Technology, Sydney. The competition brought many teams from all across the state—from Canberra to country schools. As the competition ran over two days, there was time to reflect and brainstorm ideas of what each team would continue to do at the next stage of the competition at the beginning of the season.

At the end of the second day we received the results: Meaq winning their category with SpeedDemons in a close second. Combined they took the majority of awards. In Development Class Kinetic took home two awards and will return stronger than ever, next year. Finally, Zipper Effect was announced as  recipients of three awards including a wildcard to the National Final along with Meaq.

The National Final will be held in February 2013 at the Avalon Air Show in Melbourne. We thank our sponsors and the Newington Community, and look forward to representing  Newington College at the future competitions.

Alistair Bate (9/ME)
Zipper Effect Team

Community Carol Service

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.

Learning Enhancement Department Says Thank You

Over the past 3 weeks students in Years 7–10 and Year 11IB completed their End of Year exams. A number of students in each year accessed special provisions for their exams in a number of subjects. I would like to thank the many staff who were recruited to assist with provisions, despite it being a busy time of marking and reporting. And a huge thank you to the parents who volunteered a significant amount of their time to scribe, read or supervise the boys. Your contribution to assisting the boys reach their full potential is very much appreciated.

If you would like to assist with special provisions in any of the exam periods throughout 2013, please contact Rebecca Panagopoulos.

Mrs Rebecca Panagopoulos 
Head of Learning Enhancement

Newington 12th Annual Film Festival

The 12th Annual Newington College Film Festival will be held on Wednesday 28 November 2012 at 7.00pm in Centenary Hall. Come along to watch the culmination of many hours of hard work for our budding young Tarantinos, Scorceses and DiCaprios—tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students in a night that is sure to leave many thinking they’ve been magically transported to Cannes. There is a sausage sizzle before the event starting at 6.15pm. Watch the trailer below to whet your appetites for what has become one of the most entertaining evenings on the Newington Calendar!

Mr Terence Priester
Director of NC Film Festival

Exodus Christmas Appeal

Our wonderful College Receptionists; Kathryn Clarke and Cate Lukins have once again set up a Christmas Giving Tree for The Exodus Foundation who, among other things, run the Loaves and Fishes Restaurant in Ashfield, which is regularly supported by our Year 11 Volunteers and our Year 7 vegetable garden.

We are appealing to ALL Newington families to donate items, including non perishable foods and gifts appropriate for all ages, which can be placed under the beautifully decorated Christmas Tree located near Reception.

Exodus will pick these donations up for distribution a week out from Christmas (hopefully they will need a large truck!).

It would be great if we could get each and every boy to bring a contribution and bring a bit of Christmas cheer to the lives of some of our less fortunate neighbours in the Inner West community. To download the flyer, click here.

Mr Mick Madden
Head of Service Learning

Automated School Fee Payments 2013

Last chance to set up automated payments!

In an effort to assist you to pay the school fees in 2013, I wish to remind you of the ability to pay fees via nine automated monthly installment payments. If you haven’t already done so, and you wish to smooth and spread the school fee payments over most of the year, you can opt to pay the school fees automatically. Many families use this payment method as it is the most convenient way to pay the fees.

If you have previously provided the College with an Authority, we will bill you in nine installments in 2013. If you have not already provided the College with an Authority, there is one last opportunity to still do so, before Monday 3 December 2012.

Simply complete and return either the Credit Card Authority form or the Direct Debit Request form.

It is important to note that, once the 2013 billing system has been set up, we cannot switch your billing and payment pattern.

Mr Peter Yates
Head of Corporate Services

Science & Technology Festival

Newington College held its biennial Science and Technology Festival in September. This year creative and engaging scientists from around Sydney presented over a two day period to the whole school. Scientists from UNSW, USYD, MU, CSIRO, Maritime Museum, Australian Museum, ANSTO, Westmead Hospital, TAFE and other scientific institutions participated in a range of activities all with the aim of making Science and Technology relevant and enjoyable and I believe we achieved this aim spectacularly.

A sample of the presentations that took place over the two day Festival were;

On days 1 and 2 Shane Hengst from the UNSW School off Physics erected a Star Lab where Year 7 boys were able to enter and experience the night sky with an experienced instructor who could orient them to the identity of the stars, planets and constellations. Effie Howe from Scienza Viva brought a huge range of freshwater animal life for year 9 boys to view under the microscope and study. Thomas Maschmeyer from USYD School of Chemistry ran a forum for year 10 boys on sustainable energy sources. The students had each previously prepared a presentation on a particular energy source which they presented to the group and for Thomas to evaluate and comment upon. A Wyvern mother, Miranda Kichenside-Quinn presented to Year 10 on growing up at sea and the huge amount of marine debris that exists there.

Bob Withey turned up with a bunch of live reptiles and spoke of taxonomy and identification of snakes and turtles. Claire Evans from The Cook’s River GRCCC River Health Monitoring Program amazed Year 7 with the wildlife that exist there. Andy Pitman, the UNSW Director of the ARC centre gave a talk to all of Year 10 on climate change and opened our eyes to the future. Dr Dieter Hochuli excited Year 7 by bringing his research organisms, locusts with him. He had students tie thin copper wire around their heads and investigate the factors that stimulate locusts to fly. Roman Greifeneder addressed the issue of heart failure. He talked about the mechanics of VentrAssist, an artificial device that assists those with heart malfunctions. Dr Bill Walsh from UNSW Faculty of Medicine presented again this year on Biotechnology. His talk centered around tissue engineering and osteoarthritis. Some aspects of this presentation were gruesome and involved real bones. Kathy Belov visited again to update us on the plight of the Tasmanian Devil and its facial tumor problem. Professor Bill Ballard brought his cattle dog and talked about the evolution of domesticated animals.

Many more very well credentialed scientists took time out of their busy schedules to engage the boys and to give real-life examples of where studying Science and Technology can lead and what career prospects are open to them.

We would like to sincerely thank the Newington Parents and Friends for funding this worthwhile event. Click here to read the Festival Review, written by Saahil Parekh (9/MO) and Ashan Karunagaran (9/KL) with photographs by Darcy Pointon (11/JN) and Sam Evans (11/JN).

Craig Seawright
Head of Science 

Music Ensembles Enjoy SSO Assistant Conductor

On Friday 23 November the Newington College Orchestra were privileged to have a guest conductor work with them – Jessica Cottis. Jessica is the newly appointed Assistant Conductor for the Sydney Symphony and is based in Glasgow where she has worked with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

This was a unique and exciting opportunity for our boys and one which they grasped enthusiastically. Jessica was suitably impressed with the boys and looks forward to a return visit in 2013 if schedules permit.

Luke Gilmour
Director of Bands

In Pictures: Term 4 Summer Sport

This term has seen an outstanding start to the Summer sport season for Newington. We’ve also captured some wonderful moments for boys, parents and coaches. Well done to all; enjoy this collection of images from summer sport so far.

Newington win History Debating Competition

Last Friday the Year 10 History debating team of Ben Adams (10/FL), Sebastian Rees (10/PR),  Sean Hatten (10/ME) (pictured above with Mr Mark Scali) and Samuel Wallace (10/MO) won the grand final of the NSW Inter-school Les Gordon History Debating Competition. The debate was held here at Newington against Loreto Normanhurst. The boys affirmed the premise that School History curricula present a politicised view of Australia’s past.

The three adjudicators awarded Newington the victory with a unanimous decision, a particularly pleasing outcome and affirmation considering that this is the first year Newington has entered this competition. The tournament has been going since the 1980s and previous winners include Baulkham Hills High (2008), The King’s School (2009), Barker College (2010) and Ravenswood (2011). This year other topics included That the Australian Identity is Dead and That the Japanese intended to invade Australia.

The quality of this debate was extremely high with both teams tussling over high order historiographical concepts such as objectivity and subjectivity in history. These four boys once again highlighted the strength of the Newington History Department. They went through the tournament undefeated winning all five of their debates on their way to the final defeating schools such as last year’s winners Ravenswood. The boys should be commended on their hard work, creativity, determination and meticulous preparation for each debate. This is truly a wonderful achievement!

Mr Mark Scali
History Department 

Student Services

Annual Prize Giving Night

The Annual Prize Giving Night will be held at the Town Hall on Thursday 6 December. Boys are expected to attend this important event.

Senior School 

Year 10

The Peer Support Program will involve one and a half days of training of all Year 10 boys on Monday and Tuesday 3-4 December following the Annual Examinations. Year 10 mentors will be the key staff in delivering this program. On completion of this training, potential leaders will be asked to apply for the position of Peer Support leader. The appointed Peer Support leaders will lead Peer Support activity sessions with teams from Year 7 during Term 1 in 2013. The Peer Support program will also link into Service Learning later in 2013 as boys in Year 8 work with Year 11 leaders in undertaking research about our key charity organisations. Parents and boys have received information via email about arrangements for the training days. This includes dress (smart casual with lace up closed shoes) and bringing in $3 on the Monday to cover expenses for lunch on the Tuesday.

More information about the program can be found at http://peersupport.edu.au/program.html.

Year 11

On Wednesday 14 November we had a presentation from Sam Cawthorn who was well supported by a number of students from Pymble Ladies College. His key messages of positive decision making, resilience and making a difference to the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves were truly inspirational.

You can learn more about Sam at http://www.samcawthorn.com.

Paul Bourke
Head of Senior School

Middle School 

Experience Year 7 Day

Experience Year 7 Day for boys entering Year 7 in 2013 will be held on Friday 7 December. Many of our present Year 7 boys have offered to give up the first day of their holidays to assist their new colleagues on the day. Boys interested in helping should see Mr Stanley as soon as possible to register their interest.

Year 8 2013

I have received a number of questions about the structure of classes for boys moving on from Year 7 so I have repeated what was in the last edition.

The structure of classes in Year 8 next year will vary considerably from what the boys have experienced in Year 7. There will be two basic class gradings, one for English and one for Maths. Obviously, these two placements could be quite different. The English class will also serve as each boy’s Science, History, Geography, PDHPE and PRS class. As boys have also chosen two electives, there will clearly be a redistribution of boys as they study their various subjects and the common class group that they have known in Year 7 will not exist as consistently as it has this year.

Mentor groups will be formed on the basis of Houses, with two groups per House. The expectation is that the Mentor of a Year 8 group stays with the boy through to the end of Year 12.

Jeff Snare
Head of Middle School

Sport

Sport 2013

Training for the boys will commence in Week 1 of Term 1, 2013. There is a full round of sporting fixtures on Saturday 2 February 2013.

The updated training schedules for each sport will be placed on the respective SPACES pages.

Athletics

The College would like to wish the following boys all the very best this weekend as they represent  NSW at the Australian All Schools Athletics Championships in Hobart from 30 November to 2 December.

• Tepai Moeroa (11/JN)                   SHOT PUT
• Brodie Mellor (10/PR)                   SHOT PUT
• Tyrone Taukamo (8/ME)                SHOT PUT
• Jack Hiscox (12/PR)                          800m
• Fin Ballard Mcbride (7/PR)        800M & 1500M
• Lachlan Little (12/KL)                   LONG JUMP

Rugby

Congratulations to Tepai Meoroa (11/JN) (pictured above) on his selection in the Australian Youth (U18) Men’s Sevens Squad for the 2013 Australian Youth Olympic Festival. The squad was selected after a Trial Camp at the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) in Redfern Sydney, (9-11 Nov), and submitted to the Australian Olympic Committee for approval last week. The 2013 Australian Youth Olympic Festival (AYOF) will be held 16-20 January 2013 in Sydney.

Taekwondo

Congratulations to Ben Lawford (8/MA) who has been training all year for his grading for the Adult Black Belt in Taekwondo. Ben was chosen one year ahead of his peers to grade and on Sunday 18 November he passed the first round of testing by an international examiner. The following week on November 25 he passed the sparring component and officially became a black belt. At only 14, Ben will have to wait until he is 15 before he can receive the actual belt, but his determination and commitment have certainly paid off. Being so young there were times when the task was daunting and anxiety provoking but Ben wanted his black belt more than anything and made sure he got it! Well done Ben!

Triathlon

Those boys interested in competing in the NSW All Schools Triathlon competition please register your interest with Mr Dickens before the end of the term.

Water Polo

Congratulations to the following water polo players who have been selected to represent NSWCIS U17 water polo.

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

We wish the boys all the best at the All Schools Championships in March 2013.

Rowing

The GPS Sculling Trials were held at the Sydney Interntional Regatta Centre on Saturday 24 November. These four boys made the A & B Sculling finals. L-R: Rob Hunt (11/MA), Anthony Achjian (10/KL), Aidan Sullivan (10/JN) and Sam Hardy (11/MO).

School Fees Raffle

On the 17 November at the Seafood Night held at the Newington Boatshed, the Headmaster Dr Mulford drew the lucky winners of our School fees Raffle. The major prize winners were the Dive Family who will have a boy in year 12 next year. The  four runners up who won vouchers to the Uniform Shop were Shane Sullivan, John Hartill, Margaret Leibowitz and Sascha Wooding. Congratulations to all the winners. We would also like to acknowledge all those that purchased tickets and thank you for your participation. The raffle was a great success and the funds raised are a wonderful boost to our fund-raising program, significantly exceeding our expectations.

Sloane van der Vegt
Newington College Rowing Association

Cricket

The 1st XI travelled to Hunters Hill to take on St Josephs with high hopes and some solid form coming into the game. Captain Lachlan Anderson (11/PR) won the toss and elected to bat in good conditions. A bright start gave way to a few wickets and at 3-43 Newington needed a partnership. This came about through James Holland (11/FL) and Jackson who posted 80 before Connor Jackson (11/MA) was run out just prior to lunch. Holland was bowled for a well made 55 and the rest of the innings was peppered with 20’s for a total of 233. St Josephs batted conservatively until stumps, reaching the end of the day in control at 1-53.

Day two saw a new resolve from the bowlers and fieldsmen. Sticking rigidly to the game plan saw all bowlers apply pressure and the game was a gripping contest. Joeys reached lunch at 3-120 and looked in command. Newington continued to squeeze the opposition batsmen in the post lunch period and all their good morning work resulted in a rash of wickets, one to David Morris (12/KL) and two to Sam Wood (10/PR) as well as a run out to Sam Roby (9/JN). Rhys Andrew (10/MO) and Marcus Atallah (11/ME) closed it out with the final three wickets. St Josephs were all out for 202.

Newington batted again, recording 5-152 in the second innings, Atallah with 69 and Roby 30*.

Newington 233 (Holland 55, Jackson 41) and 5-152 (Atallah 69, Roby 30*) def St Josephs 202 (Wood 3-31, Atallah 2-39, Morris 2-39)

Matthew Nicholson
Coaching Director – Cricket

Staff Bootcamp

The first Staff Bootcamp was completed on a cold and windy Thursday morning 22 November. Whilst many didn’t know what to expect, one thing was for certain, all participants came with their war face ready for a 6 week battle that commenced Tuesday 16 October.

Initial testing resulted in the division of 2 teams in accordance with testing results, and once a week over the duration games and challenges were derived aimed at competing and achieving everyone’s personal best. Among other activities included strength, cardio, endurance, and just outright slog sessions all of which were designed to achieve one thing…pushing each participant where they had never been before!

With the day of testing complete all participants excelled beyond belief, all beating their previous scores and some with as high as a 60% improvement.

Congratulations to all those involved, I’ve provided some images to give you a little taste.

Remember…Who dares wins!

Nathan Parnham
Strength and Conditioning Manager

News from Alumni, Archives and Foundation

Farewell to a great Newingtonian

Major-General C M I ‘Sandy’ Pearson, AO DSO OBE MC (ON ’36), passed away on 7 November 2012. Sandy was a great Newingtonian and a highly distinguished Australian soldier. As part of his long military career, he served as the commander of the Australian Task Force in Vietnam and as Commandant of the Royal Military College, Duntroon. In later life he was an active supporter of veterans’ and other causes. A friend of the College throughout his life, he served, among other roles, for a decade as a member of the College Council.

Sandy’s life was celebrated with a full military funeral and Service of Thanksgiving in the College Chapel on 15 November. The Chapel was filled to capacity by Sandy’s family and his many friends.

Led by former Newington and Army Reserve Chaplain, Rev Dr Peter Swain, OAM RFD, the service featured hymns and readings from Scripture that Sandy had chosen. A video presentation of memories highlighted Sandy’s character, humility and sense of humour. An account of his schooldays by Dr David Mulford was followed by a eulogy by General David Hurley, AC DSC, Chief of the Defence Force. Sandy’s grandsons, Daniel Weeitch (ON ’96) and Tom Oxley (a Captain in the Army Reserve), presented moving readings. His daughters, Elizabeth Weeitch and Sandra Oxley, spoke about Sandy as a loving father and grandfather.

At the end of the service, Army pall bearers carried Sandy’s coffin through an honour guard of members of Newington’s 1^st XV and 1^st VIII—Sandy had been a member of both—and past Cadets with the College colours and flag. A solemn military ceremony saw the coffin placed on a gun carriage and move down the Memorial Drive with music from an Army band and an escort of sixty soldiers. Students from Years 8 and 11 lined the Drive as a final farewell from Sandy’s old school. The official party, family and friends then proceeded to the Northern Suburbs Crematorium for a Committal Service.

The passing of a Newingtonian is inevitably a cause of sadness. Here, however, was also an opportunity to celebrate and give thanks for the life of a man loved and respected in all spheres of his remarkable life and career.

ONU Sesquicentenary Dinner 2013

A reminder to all Old Boys and current fathers that the ONU Sesquicentenary Dinner is on Saturday 25 May 2013. Click here to download the Event Flyer.

We’re also calling on Old Boys and current fathers to become Table Captains. Please email Lea Greifeneder if you would like to be a Table Captain or call 02 9568 9540.

From the Archives

A hundred and fifty years ago, on 29 November 1862, the Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal carried this notice:

Rev William Kelynack’s visit to Bathurst appears to have been part of a campaign by the Educational Committee of the Wesleyan Methodist Church to drum up support—and to raise crucial funds—for the planned school that was to become Newington College. Later to serve as Newington’s President, Kelynack’s first Australian Circuit had been in Bathurst. The Bathurst Free Press looked forward to his return, reporting that ‘…his eloquence is of the first order, being fervid, classical and free.’

The newspaper duly reported on the meetings, quoting from Kelynack’s speech on the Monday evening at length. He reminded his audience that ‘…they should give every encouragement to the best means for the promotion of knowledge. As Wesleyans they ought to take the lead.’ A collection at the end of the meeting raised £50.

While this PR campaign was under way, the Educational Committee addressed two key practical issues that had to be resolved before the new school could be a reality.

Having settled on Newington House at Silverwater as the site for the school, the place had to be put into good order. The architect Thomas Rowe, who later designed the Founders Wing at Stanmore, was asked by the Committee to examine Newington House and report on the cost of necessary repairs.

The Committee addressed the issue of teaching staff in December 1862 by writing to two prominent Wesleyan churchmen then visiting England, asking them ‘…to secure the services of two competent Masters, and send them out with the least possible delay.’

David Roberts
College Archivist

Breaking Up is Tough on Kids Too

At any one time I am aware of quite a number of students at Newington who are undergoing severe challenges due to the fact that their parents are either in the process of separating or have just recently parted company.

As much as this is an incredibly heart-rending situation for the adults involved it can be hugely problematic and can be quite traumatic for the children. Parents in these circumstances need to understand that their children will often suffer great stress and may well show signs of misbehaviour and a drop-off in concentration and motivation levels. Such factors can seriously impact upon their learning, general enjoyment, and engagement with life.

I want to offer a few pointers for parents to be aware of that might help them to minimise the impact that such stormy times may have on their children:

• Children should feel that they are more important than the conflict between the parents.
• They need to feel confident of both parents’ love and support—come what may!
• If they see their parents continue to work together despite the separation, they are more likely to learn how to effectively and peacefully solve problems themselves.
• They benefit from consistency—foster similar rules, discipline and rewards between households—versus competing with the other partner for their love.
• It is important to set aside anger, resentment and hurt to ensure you are focusing on their future happiness, stability and well-being.
• Never use your children as messengers to the other partner.
• Avoid saying negative things about each other.
• Keep your conversations children-focused.
• Showing respect toward each other, in front of the kids, can generate peace and goodwill.

My prayer for you all is that you may be led to the best possible outcome for all concerned and that your commitment and love for your children will override any selfish desire. May God bless you and keep you, even in the most difficult of times.

David N Williams
School Chaplain

Communicating with care is as important as the message

These past 2 weeks in the clinic I have had a lovely 1^st year nursing student from Sydney University.

Her course topic is communication and she is to observe what is involved in being a School Nurse. It has been refreshing for me, making me stop and think about what I do. I certainly don’t want her going away thinking ‘not much’.  And so we have covered anaphylaxis to concussion, vaccinations to sports injuries, mental health issues to medications and more. In between there have been shoe repairs, chewing gum removal, washing of shirts covered in chocolate milk, sewing of pants etc.

Once when I worked as a relief nurse on a high dependency unit in Bankstown Hospital I miscommunicated with a patient. I was looking after a little Chinese lady who had major abdominal surgery. She spoke no English but that was no barrier to me. I smiled encouragingly, applauded her, gave her the universal OK sign with my hand and of course the well-known thumbs up with both hands. We were getting along famously. She kept asking a question and all I could understand was ‘how long’? I presumed she meant how long since her operation so I told her that she had been asleep for 2 days putting up 2 fingers followed by 2 circular motions to represent days and then clasping my hands as in prayer and putting them to my head, tilting to the side as if sleeping. (I would have made a good Wiggle!).

Soon afterwards she made the sign for the telephone which I gave her and she spoke to her family. About an hour later her 3 adult children arrived and gathered at her bed. I was surprised to see them all and asked if there was a problem. Her son said he believed Mum has been told she only had 2 days to live!

I was speechless. How could she possibly think that?  How could I have been so misunderstood? Could she think I smiled because two days to live were at least better than one, that my thumbs up were pointing her in the direction of heaven and that was better than the alternative! I really think the lady was expecting bad news so just couldn’t believe my positive vibes, plus  obviously I wasn’t as good at sign language with a Chinese lady as I thought.  Maybe I didn’t pay attention to her body language. It was a big learning curve for me and we laughed a lot about it afterwards but next time I would use the interpreter and keep my Wiggle actions for my children.

My son as I mentioned last time is at Schoolies this week and he is not communicating very often.  But that really means that he is communicating well because if he was ringing us then there would be a problem. So I am happy that I am not hearing from him?

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.

It is that special time of the year where we all make an effort to communicate in our own meaningful ways.

Margaret Bates
School Nurse

A Message from the Head of Stanmore

We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.

 E E Cummings
American Poet

Sincere thanks

This delightful quote was forwarded to me recently in recognition of our dedicated teachers. I too would like to personally thank the entire Stanmore staff, teaching and non-teaching, for their humour and passion, their vision and commitment. Newington College is all about boys and the actions of our staff constantly remind me of just how fortunate we are.

In particular, this Christmas we acknowledge the distinguished service of several staff who leave Newington. Mr Chris Van Alphen after 25 years of outstanding service to Newington College has made the decision to retire. Mr John Paul Kennedy and Mr Marcel Hennes have both been promoted to Head of Science & Deputy Headmaster at St Andrew’s Cathedral School and Clarence Valley Anglican School Grafton respectively. Mr John Giuffre returns to Kinross Wolaroi School in Orange; Mr Anthony Humphreys moves to Geelong Grammar, Victoria while Mr Jamie Boyd returns to Scots after his one year exchange with Mr Moonen. More recently, Mr Michael Forsyth has been promoted to Head of Languages at Catherine McAuley High School while Ms Briony Morath has become the new Regional International Baccalaureate Coordinator. Finally, I acknowledge the fine work of Mr Greg Burgett who was covering in Music while Ms Grubb was on maternity leave. Sincere thanks to you all for the countless hours you have invested in the College. Our boys’ lives are richer for your immense efforts!

P & F Executive 2013

At last week’s AGM, I sincerely thanked the Stanmore P & F for their immense generosity in 2013. Sums such as $120,000.00 towards the P & F Career Centre, $25,000.00 towards the Science and Technology Festival and a further $15,000.00 towards Parent Educational Forums make a real difference in the education of our boys. In particular, I acknowledged the dedicated and hard-working services of Mr Andrew Hine as President and his diligent, talented and committed Executive. This year Mrs Ari Clark (Secretary), Mr Winston Sammut (Treasurer) and Mrs Rollanda Rosenstrauss (Vice President) relinquish their roles after several years of distinguished service. Mrs Marisa Broome and Mrs Liz Fleming also step down after being amazing servants of Crested Ware and Communication respectively. In 2013 we welcome back Andrew Hine as President, Mr Chris Liakopolous and Mrs Helen Burton as Vice Presidents, Mr Ian Clark as Treasurer and Mr Winston Sammut as Secretary.

150^th Annual Prize Giving

Please note that Annual Prize Giving has changed venue. This year, APG will be held at the majestic Sydney Town Hall on Thursday 6 December 2012 commencing at 7.00pm. This is a compulsory event and students must be dressed in Full Blazer Uniform. All details can be found on my weekly Head of Stanmore email.

Important Dates:

• Sunday 2 December – Christmas Carols Service in Chapel at 5.00pm
• Thursday 6 December – Classes conclude for Term IV at 1.00pm

Finally, thank you for your support in 2012 and I look forward to sharing our 150^th celebrations in the New Year. I wish all families a safe and Merry Christmas!

Dr Andrew Hirst
Head of Stanmore