Nepali Gap Student Sugam Banskota

The College’s newest gap student is Sugam Banskota from Nepal. Sugam is from Janakpur, a South Eastern region of Kathmandu in Nepal. Janakpur is known as a major tourist destination with “lots of temples and peoples of almost all ethnicities in Nepal. It’s like a cross between a city and a village,” says Sugam.

This is Sugam’s first trip overseas and he says it’s been pretty amazing so far.

“Newington College is like nothing I had imagined. Google Maps doesn’t do justice to this place. The first impression I had was, “Wow. It’s huge! The playgrounds and the buildings are simply captivating. The students of Newington College are lucky ones for sure,” he said. 

Sugam said that for a student in Nepal to travel to Australia is a pretty big deal and while the trip was very long (13 hours), the experience has been invaluable in regards to what he is learning about schools and how they are run.

“The whole atmosphere here is totally different. Though many schools in Nepal are getting modernised they have not reached the standards of Australian schools.”

While he’s only been here for a week, Sugam says the biggest challenge will be learning how to cope with being in a completely different environment and learning how to adapt to different situations. 

We extend our warmest thanks to Sugam. If you see him at the Wyvern Campus or at any of the College events, don’t forget to say hello.

Update from the F1 in Schools boys

On 6 August, the Confederation of Australia Motor Sport (CAMS) came to Newington College to talk to some boys about the F1 in Schools program. Newington has participated in the F1 in Schools program in the past, sending many teams to different competitions, and due to this we are not new to the program. At the start of the presentation, CAMS showed the boys a Formula Vee car and spoke to us about different aerodynamic concepts, showing us ideas that boys could use in the program.

The Formula Vee car shown to the boys at the start of the presentation was interesting. Cars like the one shown to us are used as an entry to motor sports, with Formula Vee being established in Australia in 1964. These cars are low cost and are made with a Volkswagen engine, hence the name Formula Vee. This was an interesting start to the presentation, as boys were able to get inside the car and have a look at it. The boys were very interested in the car, but this was only the start of the presentation.

After looking at the Formula Vee car, CAMS gave a presentation about F1 in Schools to us. This presentation has been run at more than 20 schools across Australia this year, and gave the boys many concepts and ideas to take in and use in the F1 in Schools program. The F1 in Schools program is the world’s largest secondary school technology program, with over 9 million students involved in the program. While many Newington teams have done well, including Velocity, Zipper Effect and Quantum, F1 in Schools is starting from scratch again at Newington with new members and a new category. The presentation from CAMS allowed the boys to be given ideas for their car as well as an overview of the entire project. It was a very valuable experience and we thank CAMS for coming to the school to talk to us.

If anyone at Newington is interested in participating in F1 in Schools, students can contact Ms Lak or come to the Technology Department on Thursday afternoons. Everyone is welcome.

Sebastian Hodge (10/ME)

A day in the life of a New Boy

If you hear of Newington boys being followed by teachers from class to class over the next couple of weeks, don’t be alarmed. It’s a new initiative introduced by Head of Learning and Teaching Mr Sean Corcoran to better help teachers understand learning from the student’s perspective. The ‘Step inside the shoes of a student’ idea hopes to bring empathy and perspective through authentic observation of student learning. It’s also possible to observe similarities and differences across different departments.

The idea sprung from the Classroom Observation Professional Learning Group (PLG). This PLG is exploring a number of different classroom observation methods to best explore student learning and this model is based on some of the positive experiences from other teachers who have trialled this at other schools.

So far, seven teachers have volunteered to shadow one of their mentees or students from period 1 to 6 for a whole day. Some of the focus questions teachers are required to keep in mind include:

• What did you observe in the classroom around student learning?
• What did you observe in the classroom around teaching practice?
• What did you not see around both areas?
• What did you notice about the use of space?
• What did you notice about the use of time?
• What similarities and/or differences did you note across classes?
• What conclusions can you draw over the six period day?
• What challenges or concerns has this brought up for you?
• What questions has it caused you to ask?

As an extra precaution to make sure the teacher observation experience is authentic, teachers are urged to debrief with the student over the course of the day to find out.

• How similar or different was the day to a “normal” day?
• How similar or different were the students in the classes?
• How similar or different was the teaching in the classes?
• How similar or different were the learning activities?

According to Mr Corcoran, this is the first time during his career at Newington something like this has been conducted. Teachers will meet after their observations to report on their findings back to all staff members in Term 4.

Stay tuned!

Mr Ha puts E-learning under the microscope

It’s been four years since Newington College rolled out the Bring Your Own Device program and Learning Management System – Canvas, and this year, the good guys in ICT are doing a comprehensive review of the program to see what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs to be done to make it better. We sat down with one of the newest members of the ICT E-Learning team, Mr Michael Ha to talk about the review and what we can expect to see over the next couple of months.

Can you tell me a little bit about the ICT review? 

The review aims to investigate how ICT is impacting learning and teaching at Newington College, and in particular, how it is facilitating our College’s Learning Framework. This review will look at how these programs are encouraging our teachers and students to be self-directed, inquisitive and reflective learners.

What things are reviewed and how will it be done?

The five areas the review will focus on include teaching and learning, leadership, evidence of success, professional learning and the learning environment. A range of data will be collected including surveys, one-on-one interviews, small group discussions and classroom observations. It is hoped that all stakeholders i.e. students, teachers, general staff and parents will be involved in the process. It is anticipated that the review will be completed mid-Term 4 2015.

Some of the essential questions around this review include:

• Where are we at?
• How well is technology being used for teaching and learning?
• Is the BYOD and iPad program working?
• How well is Canvas being used?
• Where to next?

Where were you before you started up in the ICT department at Newington?

I started with Newington College at the beginning of Term 3 this year, having moved up from Melbourne with my young family in the June holidays. I’m a PDHPE teacher with a passion for understanding and implementing technologies that teachers and students require in the 21st century to enhance learning outcomes. I also teach Mathematics and Information Technology. Being a sport and technology enthusiast has meant that I’ve been proactively looking at ways to incorporate these passions into my life and work. Most recently this has included using a remote controlled drone to analyse PE classes and incorporating smart watches in education!

Dr Roger Davidson (ON 1940) celebrates his 92nd birthday at Newington

Dr Roger Davidson (ON 1940), Archives volunteer celebrates his 92^nd birthday on Tuesday 18 August. 

Roger graduated from Newington in 1940 having started at the College in 1932. He was born in what is now Braeside when it was a Hospital because his father worked there as a doctor and he has lived and worked within 10 kms of Newington all his life. For some 30 years, he was the College’s honorary Doctor and has been recognised by the GPS for his extensive research into Schoolboy Rugby injuries he carried out over many years. He is a past member of the College Council, Founding Chairman of The 70 Club, ONU President in 1972 – 73 and a Newington Medallist. 

For several years, Roger has been managing our Archives Volunteers program four days a week. He and his team headed by College Archivist Mr David Roberts have been responsible for over 100,000 individual entries in the Positions and Achievements Database, spread over some 170 different categories. This information has been extracted from historical source materials such as The Newingtonian, Council Minutes, Headmasters’ files, report cards and any other school record that can be accessed through the Archives repository. This detailed work now enables a full history of every past student, teacher and Master to be accessed with a simple enquiry. It was this work that allowed the Year 9 History students to undertake their detailed study of the 111 Old Boys, Staff and Divinity students that Fell during the First World War.

To put this all in perspective, if a Year 12 boy from 2015 was to volunteer his services to Newington as long as Roger Davidson has, you would find that Old Boy still at his desk in 2090!

The work our volunteers do could never be done by paid staff, no budget is big enough to afford our volunteers if we had to pay them. They are our Living Treasures and Dr Roger Davidson is the doyen.

Please join me in saying Happy Birthday to Dr Roger Davidson. 2015 marks his 83rd year of service to Newington and the 75th anniversary of his graduation.

Mr Rod Bosman (ON 1978)
Director of Community and Development

Cricket Tour of the UK

During the June – July school holidays, 21 boys, accompanied by three staff members went on a Cricket tour to the UK, organised by Director of Cricket, Mr Ross Turner and teacher, Mr Holdgate. Over the two weeks we were there, we played 10 games of Cricket, toured around London, Stonehenge and Bath and watched a day of the Cardiff Ashes Test. It was a busy tour, but certainly worth the flight and all the bus trips.

After arriving at Heathrow, we toured around London, seeing some of the most popular tourist attractions, such as the Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, and took a ride on the London Eye, where we saw all of London in half an hour. The following day we toured Lords, the home of Cricket, and where every young cricketer dreams to play. Each of the places we visited were spectacular, and it was an inspiring way to start off our tour, before moving on to the different schools we’d play.

Our first destination was Dulwich, a school founded before Australia, with plenty of history. The Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton, attended the school, and the boat he used is held in the school’s art display room. Unfortunately when it came to Cricket we didn’t get off to a good start, losing our first game. But we had plenty more chances to try and get a win.

After Dulwich, we then moved on to Bedford, a school one hundred years older than Dulwich, and where the current English Cricket Captain Alastair Cook, attended school. We unfortunately didn’t find any success at Bedford either, or at Hampton, where we were playing the next day. However, we were getting plenty of great experience, and the matches were gradually getting tighter as we progressed through the tour. We lost our fourth game closely to Reading Blue Coats, and this was followed by our first victory, against The Thomas Hardye School; a game which the Mayor of Dorchester came along to watch. Two more victories followed in games against Kingston Grammar School in Bath, and The Glyn Epsom School. 

We then played our final three games in the Tonbridge Cricket Festival, a competition played annually between Tonbridge, Millfield, a South-African school and an Australian school. The school facilities were incredible, with numerous Cricket pitches, over 13 Rugby ovals, as well as a 400 m synthetic athletic track. We played Tonbridge, then Millfield and finished up the festival with a game against Hilton, the South African school. The three matches we played here were certainly our most challenging, with some really high quality opposition. Tonbridge had a boy playing county Cricket for Kent, while Millfield had several players in different U19s National sides, including Zimbabwe and Barbados. 

In addition to the sites of London and Lords, we also visited the Roman Baths in Bath, as well as the historic monument, Stonehenge. It was great to see the famous sites of England, and was certainly needed to give us a break between matches. With a 21-man squad, when we weren’t playing, we were able to tour around the area near where our team mates were playing. Boys also visited some great sites both in and around London, such as Windsor Castle, the Natural History Museum, and the university town of Cambridge.

The final day of our tour was spent in Cardiff, Wales, to watch the third day of the first Ashes Test. It was great to watch the match, and even better to be there on a day when Australia captured all 10 of England’s wickets. The experience was enhanced when we had the chance to speak with Ryan Harris, the uncle of one of our boys on tour. Mr Turner also arranged for us to spend time in the Channel Nine commentary box, when Mark Taylor, Ian Healy and Mark Nicholas were all commentating, with Newington’s tour getting a special mention from Mark Taylor. The day after the test we headed back to Heathrow and took our flight back to Sydney.

The entire tour was an incredible journey and something that I would recommend to any cricketer who is fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to attend. It was an amazing experience, playing against quality opposition who challenged us with bat and ball. We had a fantastic time on tour, and the camaraderie within the team was brilliant, and that was not only because of the boys who travelled together, but also to the teachers who supervised us. Special thanks must go to Mr Graham Potter, who accompanied us on the tour, particularly helping some of the boys through injury and illness, as well as Mr Turner and Mr Holdgate, who worked hard to organise the tour, and coached us to develop our cricketing skills, and also gave up their time to come along with us.

Mitchell Long (10/MA) and Matthew Putt (10/PR)
Newington Cricket Tour Members

The Quiet Achiever

Recently in assembly, I paid tribute to the quiet achievers of our school. The lower profile, out-of-the-spotlight guys. The team players who do the right thing, not for the glory or recognition, but because they have good character. These students are often the no-fuss men of Newington. They are sometimes more quiet, more modest; they talk less and seldom talk themselves up.

Dr David Mulford’s message about a Champion team beats a team of champions last week draws on the fact that less talented people working together is better than a group of stars not doing so. These are the ‘second rows’ rather than the five/eighths; in Rugby, the central defenders or the ‘sweepers’ in Football rather than the ‘strikers’.

So who at Newington College is in this ‘Champion’ team? Who are the unsung heroes; the quiet achievers? Those that behold the character of this institution – quietly, modestly, gradually and thoroughly. Quiet achievers are often good citizens within any community. They are dependable, consistent, and trustworthy and they shape the character of that community. The truth is this would be a very long article if I were to name all of them. To name them all might seem unfair at the risk of missing out so many. These are a few of the unsung heroes. These are by no means all of them but nonetheless worth a mention.

Good citizens like: Matthias Laubi (10/MO), Sam Perivolaris (8/MO) and Deklan Rollason (9/MO). The maturity and co-curricular contribution of Darcy McDonald (9/MO). The immense support that Luke Mathen (10/MO) shows in his House and how many of us know that Adam Chew (12/MO) is Captain of the NSW Fencing Team? Well done Adam. And James Hunt (9/MA) is a NSW Table Tennis champion in his category. Edward Hooper’s (10/JN) assistance with House events such as Chapel and Johnny Ward’s (10/JN) incredible classroom application – not to mention his visits to an elderly care home to cheer the residents’ day.

Miles Bullock (10/JN) and Lucas Greenslade (10/MO) – who each found cash and handed it in! Angus Crump (9/LE) for being the ecological compass and the conscience of sustainability in Le Couteur House and Danny Kalis’s (10/LE) strong sense of empathy and compassion. Kevin Wong (12/LE) has been an excellent Prefect and keeps his House area tidy and often cleans up after the younger boys. Peter Psarris’s (12/LE) perfect punctuality. Evan Favos (10/ME) and Ian Patterson (11/LE) for their excellent effort in class. Alexander O’Dea (8/KL) – we thank you for your House Choir backing video for Kelynack.

To John Ballard (8/PR), Neil Khatri (8/PR) and Liam Taylor (9/PR) for always being a great example to others. To Liam Thomas (11/PR) for encouraging others. To Rowan Smith (12/PR) for your service and your example to the younger boys of Prescott House and to Max Soars (9/PR) – we thank you for your constant looking out for others.

To Alex Bruce (11/MA) for your help and support at Rugby and we thank you for picking up rubbish instead of walking past it. And Chris Bruce (11/FL) who comes to every training session even when injured. To Jake Fitzsimmons (11/FL) for your refereeing and ‘Touch’ judging and also Lachlan White (10/PR) for the same.

And the great promise some of our Year 7s show. Huw James (7/PR) and Karl Slade (7/PR) for your courtesy. Jonty Carr (7/KL) for your organisation of the class lunch. Sam Lydon (7/MO) for your help in class and Broderick Simpkin (7/LE) for your efforts – always 100%. Lachlan Best (7/MA) sets high standards for all to follow and thank you to Ben Clark (7/PR) for your patience and help with peers.

To Anthony Strazzeri (11/FL) for your graphics work for the building plans for Tupou College and Lachlan Fisher (10/FL) for tutoring other students after school. To Pat Kuenzle (12/MA) who helps out with a Rugby team now that he is injured. And James Arya (12/MA), Gabriel Bass-Tracy (7/LE), Hugh Burton (11/KL), Harry Garofani (7/MA), William Mai (9/KL) and Nick Peppercorn (10/PR) for perfect 100% attendance and perfect punctuality all year. The list could go on and on but this article is not designed to divide students and it is not meant to purport that everyone is a ‘winner’ – a trophy for all. It is about recognising the quieter, more modest members of our community. The ones that volunteer, help, support, stand up, contribute towards, set a good example and assist and serve quietly and without a fuss. In short, they contribute to a champion team. We are about to select some school leaders – they cannot lead the boys of this school without the good character of these quiet achievers. Without these quiet achievers this school will not have any depth to its character.

This is by no means all of the quiet achievers but they are a representation of them. I realise that so many quiet achievers have not been mentioned in Assembly or in this article. However, it is my hope that by mentioning a few of them, it may shine a light on others who go about their business in a quiet but enthusiastic manner – doing good for so many.

Whilst we often acknowledge so many high profile boys at Newington because their achievements are so significant, the character of the school is often influenced by the mass of quiet achievers who work hard behind the scenes and often out of the spotlight. The Heads of House are honouring those quiet achievers in the weeks to come.

Mr Bob Meakin
Deputy Head of Stanmore (Students)

Back to Newington Day – We Need You!

One of the most anticipated events at Back to Newington Day each year is the P&F run Marketplace. Over the years, the stalls on offer have ranged from homely baked goods at the New Women Cake Stall, to whole suckling pigs and lambs on the roast courtesy of our Tongan and Greek communities, Gelato vans and sausage sizzles.

If you’re planning on coming along to Back to Newington Day, why not sign up to help out at one of the stall on the day? All you need is some community spirit and a welcoming smile!

We are currently looking for volunteers across a range of stalls and BBQs. Simply click on the links below on SPACES to sign up!

See you at Back to Newington Day on Saturday 5 September 2015.

Dr Anne Aly on Terrorism

Even as we publish the Black & White today the media is filled with the presumed terrorist attack in Bangkok, the loss of so many more innocent, civilian lives and the plunging of a city into chaos, gripped with fear of further attack from faceless assailants.

At the Centre for Ethics Lecture Series at Newington recently, Associate Professor Anne Aly of Curtin University drew a large crowd to discuss her research interests in the areas of terrorism studies and counter terrorism, with a focus on the public and policy responses to terrorism. 

While answers seem far from our reach as governments grapple with responses, trying to prevent the violence, let alone understand the terrorists’ motivations, Professor Aly stated: “We are all in this together. Every country is dealing with the same issues around terrorism, violent extremism and social division—who becomes and terrorist and why? Who commits horrific acts we cannot even fathom?”

The Professor went on to warn of the simplicity in stereotyping terrorists—who can be any age, gender, and nationality. She would suggest that profiling is unsuccessful because there is not a particular terrorist profile.

“Some come from un-extraordinary lives until they become operative,” she warned.

One of the obvious questions is ‘why’. What are the environments or situations in which terrorism is allowed to flourish, and in which environments does radicalisation emerge? What is the role of individual psychology?

Professor Aly again explained such approaches have proven to have no quick fix answers. “Looking closely at operatives and former operatives has demonstrated the appearance of unlimited combinations of conditions that can answer ‘why’ someone becomes a terrorist, such as justifying violence in your head as bravery, believing your anger should be channeled and accepting that religion can be violent.” 

Instead Professor Aly’s research has been in four particular areas:

1. Hearing the stories of victims, survivors, and former terrorists
2. Creating counter narratives for online radicalisation 
3. Studying the influence of propaganda 
4. Tracking the pathways of self-activators. 

The evening went on to finish with an equally engaging Q&A session when Professor Aly took the majority of questions from young students in the audience covering topics such as utilising peer networks for de-radicalisation success, defining government funded and government endorsed terrorism and weighing up the resources currently put into a ‘reactionary’ approach, against producing persistent ‘counter’ or ‘alternative’ narratives to violence, such as negotiation and choice at very early stages.

One uncontested reality is that the Centre for Ethics lectures always leave the debate still raging, when we have to turn off the lights and go home.

Onsite Physiotherapy with College Physio

College Physiotherapy is owned and run by a very experienced group of practitioners and is located inside of the Newington Road gates. The physiotherapists at College Physiotherapy currently work with National and State teams for Athletics, Rowing, Cricket, Gymnastics, Diving and Hockey and have been providing services and sports coverage for Newington College’s Rugby, Soccer, Cricket and Basketball programs for over three years. Andrew McCann and Sam Madden are the principal physiotherapists at the clinic and are available for consultations for four half days a week.

On top of the convenience of having onsite professionals, College Physiotherapy provides direct feedback to Sports masters and the school nurse on injuries and offers a service focused on rehabilitation as well as injury prevention. The professionals working College Physiotherapy also possess plenty of experience working with children and offer quick referral access to other professionals such as Sport Physicians, Orthopaedics and Podiatrists to better assist your son’s recovery.

Students, parents, family and Old Boys can visit SPACES to book an appointment through our online booking system or call 02 9568 9358 to make an appointment. 

Students who have made an appointment should bring their Private Health Fund Card to all appointments to make use of our HICAPS system. The “Gap” or remainder of the consultation fee can be paid with card or cash on the day. If payment on the day is not possible due to the student making an appointment on the same day whilst at school, it is expected that outstanding payments will be made the next day the clinic is open. Follow up treatments may be refused if outstanding accounts are not paid.

What are the early signs of hearing loss?

There have been lots of viruses circulating in the last two weeks not just at Newington but in every school and in the community. Influenza Type B seems to be more prevalent at the moment with high fevers and sore aching legs and back. Whooping cough is also around and so are upper respiratory infections and chesty coughs.

To combat some of the symptoms, rest as much as possible, drink fluids, wash your hands with soap and see your Doctor if you have high fevers, productive cough or if you are concerned.

Next week is Hearing Awareness Week

About 37 per cent of hearing loss in Australia is caused by exposure to noise and is preventable.

How do our ears work?

Sound waves enter the ear and cause the ear drum to vibrate. These vibrations pass on to three little bones inside your ear which amplify the sound. The vibrations move into the cochlea, which is a fluid-filled spiral shape, lined by thousands of little hair cells. The sound is converted into nerve impulses and sent to the brain.

Hearing loss can be:

• Conductive – where the sound cannot pass from the outer ear to the middle ear for example if the ear is blocked with wax, a perforated ear drum or a build-up of fluids during an ear infection.
• Sensorineural – the sensitive hair cells within the cochlea are damaged from aging or injury
• A mix of both

Some of the early warning signs of hearing loss are:

• you can hear but not understand
• you find it hard to hear in noisy situations or groups of people
• you think people mumble
• you need to turn the TV up louder
• you don’t always hear the doorbell or the phone.

So what is considered ‘too loud”?

Sound is measured in decibels and eighty-five decibels (dB) is the level, above which hearing protection is recommended to avoid hearing loss. If you have to raise your voice to someone at arm’s length you are likely to be in an environment with a sound level above 85dB. The higher the noise level, the less time it takes for damage to occur.

A whisper is at 30dB, conversation is at 60dB and power tools from 80 – 120dB.

Noise can also affect your health causing sleep disturbance, high blood pressure, irritability and reduce your ability to focus.

5 ways to protect your hearing

M MP3 players can be too loud – turn it down

U Use chill out zones at festivals and clubs to take a break

S Stand back from speakers

I Invest in some noise cancelling headphones

C Carry some earplugs, they won’t block music out, just make it safer.

Once hearing is lost it’s gone for good. Too loud for too long is wrong.

There are some apps that can help monitor your exposure to loud noise such as

• SoundMeter+
• Play It Down

Why not book a free hearing test if you are concerned at www.hearing.com.au

Margaret Bates
College Nurse

CanvasCon 2015 at Newington College

Newington College hosted over 100 attendees from New Zealand, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales at Instructure’s first Asia-Pacific Canvas conference – CanvasCon 2015 – on Friday 7 August. In Canvas’ keynote remarks, Instructure acknowledged the College’s early adoption as the first Australian customer in 2011 when the Utah company had no plans to sell or deliver its Canvas product to education institutions outside the US. They also noted how appropriate it was to now host their first CanvasCon at Newington College, one of their first takers. The number of schools using Canvas has now increased from 2 in 2011 to 85 in 2015.

Newington has served as a case study for schools across Australia for its integration of Canvas with student diaries on SPACES and its approach to teaching and learning. Mr Terence Priester, eLearning Leader, presented an overview of the College’s unique adoption strategy and how it mirrors the SAMR model – a Learning with Technology model that encourages student-centred engagement – in complexity. Maths Assistant Head of Department, Mr Tom Lever also gave a presentation on a Year 7 Assessment task in which students were asked to use an iPad presentation app for their Canvas submissions and the success of that project. Additionally, History teacher, Mr Alex Fisher presented a talk on a Year 10 Civics History guided inquiry research task on “Changing Rights and Freedoms”, which looked at rights and freedoms using background sources from the US Civil Rights Movement and Aboriginal rights in Australia. Each of these projects proved the efficiency and success of Canvas at Newington to encourage teachers to think more creatively about their lessons and assessments.

Shave for Newington

The ‘Shave for Newington’ was held on 11 August at lunchtime in the Space Frame. It was a fundraising event that looked to raise awareness for the charity CanTeen who works with teens living with cancer.

Over the three week period prior to ‘Shave for Newington’, students were encouraged to donate any spare change towards the event. There were five teachers who volunteered to shave their heads, Mr Lever, Mr Parkin, Mr Driver, Mr Potter and Mr Layton, and each of the staff members had different price levels at which they would happily shave their heads. Mr Layton who has the longest and curliest hair, had the top target at $1,500.

As a result of the generosity of the boys’ donations the target of $1,500 was well exceeded, with the total donations reaching $2,000.

A big thank you to everyone who participated, especially to the teachers who took the hot seat.

Jonathan McConnell (12/FL)

Tuesdays with TED

For those who don’t know already, there’s a new kid in town and his name is TED.

Since the beginning of Term 3, English Teacher and Learning and Teaching Librarian Mrs Lily Young has been busy selecting a number of thought-provoking and relevant TED Talks to be screened in the Library at lunchtimes on Tuesdays for all boys and staff. TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) represents a set of conferences run all around the world allowing people with interesting ideas to share their thoughts and voice their theories. 

With over 40 attendees so far, including staff from across all departments, Dr Hirst, Mr Corcoran and Non-teaching staff members from Human Resources and ICT, it would be an understatement to say that Tuesdays with TED at Newington has turned into a bit of a must-do.

Everything from how to start a movement, to collaborating with others in an online community, and how to overcome the schoolyard bully is covered in these talks, and boys have the unique opportunity to view these talks and debate some of the ideas with other students and their teachers who have also come along for the show.

The response from the boys has been overwhelming to say the least. 

“I really enjoy the TEDTalks on Tuesdays for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the topics offer very interesting perspectives on all aspects of the world and life. They often offer interesting tips, ideas and cool activities. For example a TEDTalk prior was about an online translating website that I now use to improve my Italian skills. Secondly, the videos offer a refreshing break from intense school work allowing the mind to wander and think. The conversations that are created are often intriguing and it is something unique to see students and teachers collaborate over ideas presented in the video. I think Ted Talks is an interesting and unique club with extremely large potential for growth.” – Adam Goodman (11/LE)

“I love going to the Tuesday TEDTalks in the Library because it is a great forum for ideas to spread between people who would not usually meet. Staff, teachers, and students join on a large range of ideas from: how to start a movement and what is leadership all the way to whether elite sportsmen and women are actually getting more athletic or are new records  due to technological advancements. Some of the younger kids tell me that they started going for the free food, but they come back because they are truly interested. The TedTalks are a great example of Newington’s holistic approach to education.” – Edward Treolar (12/FL)

If you’re keen to come along in the future, here are some of the topics on the calendar. 

• Zombies, cockroaches and other strange parasite tales
• How our brains can fool our bodies
• Canteen ladies and their secret superhero lives (A Book Week special screening in Week 7!)
• How I overcame my bullies at school

 If you missed out on a week, or want to re-watch a TEDTalk there’s a list of links on SPACES here. 

Perspective

To have a sensible or wise perspective is an essential aspect of living a life of meaning and purpose as opposed to expending one’s life on trivial and nonsensical activities, and thus living life merely as a sophisticated animal on the proverbial pet-shop window treadmill.

Over the last two weeks, if we depended on TV and our newspapers, or even tweets and blogs, it would seem that the most important event in the entire universe was the former speaker, Bronwyn Bishop flying to Geelong in a helicopter, thereby unfairly expending tax-payers money for her own interests. The media have whipped this up day after day, and the following accusations and confessions of the other Pollies about their travel expenses continued to fill the headlines for another week.

I simply could not believe what I was reading. This is a classic media frenzy where they get caught up in their own distorted unreality – and forget that they are selling their wares to members of the public who are, by and large, disinterested in local petty politics.

The media have failed yet again to provide any sensible perspective in their reporting in recent days however I realise it would be foolish to think they will cease presenting “reality” through such distorted lenses.

Are we hearing much about the huge shifts in the Chinese economy? Was there much about the hundreds of desperate refugees who drowned in the Mediterranean last week – men, women and children? Where was the story about the 9 million people who are displaced in Syria and surrounding countries?

We try at Newington to get our students to ask the big questions confronting our current world, and it is heartening to hear our students grappling with such issues as global warming; Aboriginal land rights and their recognition in this country’s constitution; and issues related to global poverty and injustices existing in so many countries and so on and so forth.

We are educating “global citizens” – young men who hopefully will be looking beyond their own careers and self-interest, and getting involved in international as well as national issues.  

At assembly last week we honoured Old Boy James Henderson (ON 2008) for receiving the ONU Centennial Trust this year. James is in the process of conducting some very successful research into the treatment and prevention of liver cancer, the outcome of which will transform many lives.

Life is short and should be lived to the fullest – but deserves to be lived with a perspective that is honourable and focused on improving the world in the present, and for future generations. Our ancient wisdom from the book of Micah gives us rich perspective:

“What does God require of us but to do justice and to love mercy and walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

Rev David N Williams
College Chaplain

City2Surf 2015

Another year, another City2Surf. On Sunday 9 August, 112 Newington runners marshalled on the corner of Park and College Streets in the City, ready for the 14 km dash from the City to the Sea.

The Newington team consisted of boys, staff and family members, all in their Black and White jerseys that also showed the charity we were running for, The Humpty Dumpty Foundation. 

Special mention goes to our leading fundraisers: 

And a big thanks to Mr Paul Francis OAM, Founder and  Executive Chairman of the Humpty Dumpty Foundation for coming alone and inspiring our team at a Runner’s Breakfast a couple of days before the event.

A big congratulations and thanks to everyone who participated and sponsored a runner!

Congratulations

Mathematics

Congratulations to Adrian Lo (7/LE) and Eric Sheng (11/ME) who achieved High Distinctions in the Junior and Senior divisions of UNSW’s 54th Annual School Mathematics Competition. Well done Adrian and Eric!

Rowing

Angus Bagby (ON 2012)  has just been selected to cox for the Australian U21 eight to race against NZ. Congratulations Angus!

Cricket

Jordan Gauci (12/FL) scored 111 in the U19 Australia v English match at the Youth Internationals in Durham, UK. Congratulations Jordan!

Chess

Chess king Cedric Koh (11/MO) is set to represent Australia at the 2015 World Youth Chess Championship in Porto Carras, Halkidki, Greece later this year. Good luck Cedric!

Newington Mooters at High School Finals

It is not often you get to travel far for school-related activities, let alone for Mooting. On Friday 31 July, Alex Goth (11/MA), Jeremi Campese (11/MA) and Jack Ryan (11/KL) had the privilege of representing Newington at the High School Mooting Competition Finals at Bond University on the Gold Coast. The team had previously been successful in the regional round at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in Sydney.

The mooters were required to prepare a legal argument for a set problem. Based on the same problem as the regional round but representing the other side this time, the team were made to argue a case for the Appellant: Buffy, a 17-year-old girl had been injured while rolling down a dune and had suffered serious neck injuries as a result. Buffy alleged that the company running the dune had breached its duty of care for failing to warn of the dangers and sought damages of $4,000,000.

With 16 teams competing in the finals, only the two best teams would be chosen for the grand final moot to be held that Saturday night. Newington faced two nightmarish judges in their heat against St Kevin’s College, Melbourne and spoke with poise and great intent in their presentation of the case and combatting the judges’ questions. At the end of the night, Kingaroy State High School were declared champions, triumphing over Brisbane Grammar School.

Though we did not reach the final, the weekend was a fantastic experience. We’d like to thank Bond University for their hospitality. Thank you to Ms Shepherd for her hard work behind the scenes and encouragement. Finally, thank you to Brad Smith (ON 2011) for his knowledge and wisdom in all things law and life. We would recommend any student interested in oratory or law to get involved next year, it’s a truly unique opportunity.

Jack Ryan (11/KL)
Year 11 Mooter