New Boys support New Eyes

All over the world, there are thousands of men, women, boys and girls who need glasses, yet due to their financial situation and other factors, they are unable to receive the glasses they need to see.

New Eyes is a non-profit organisation that aims to combat this problem that is faced by so many people around the world. New Eyes takes in unwanted glasses, of any kind, and distributes them around the world to places including Bolivia, Kenya, and Honduras. Since its foundation in 1932, New Eyes have improved the vision of over 8,000,000 people around the world. This year, Newington is getting behind this worthy cause.

Very soon, a Perspex box will be placed at Reception for you to drop off your unwanted and unused glasses. We will be taking all kinds of eyeglasses and sunglasses, provided that they are in reasonably good condition. So bring in any pairs of glasses that are lying around your house gathering dust, and we’ll make sure that they’re utilised for a good cause.

Hamish Brown (12/FL)

Have you had your daily dairy intake?

Teenagers build one quarter of their adult bone mass between 12 to 15 years old. To do this they need calcium rich foods, plenty of exercise and adequate vitamin D. In fact, they need 3 ½ serves of dairy each day.

A serve is a cup – 250ml of milk, or 40g / 2 slices of cheese or a cup – 200g of yoghurt.

Some myths associated with dairy foods:

“I am Lactose intolerant, so I should avoid dairy”

Guidelines suggest that up to 250ml of milk can be well tolerated if taken with other foods or drunk throughout the day.

The lactose in cheese is minimal and lactose in yogurt is partially broken down so should be well tolerated. There are lactose free milks and yogurts available too.

“Only low fat milk is healthy”

All milk is considered to be a nutritious food. Low fat milk is not recommended for children under two years of age because of the low energy content. Regular fat milk may be more suitable for people over 70 because of the higher energy content.

“Milk makes more mucus”

Milk does not cause more mucus production. Infection, allergy, dry air, dehydration and certain medical conditions cause excessive mucus.

“Milk causes asthma”

Milk is rarely a trigger for asthma. Milk has no effect on lung capacity.

“I should avoid dairy if trying to lose weight”

Including three to four serves of milk, cheese and yogurt in a reduced-kilojoule diet can actually help accelerate weight and fat loss.

“Flavoured milks are unhealthy”

Flavoured milks contain the same 10 essential nutrients as plain milk and studies have not shown any adverse effects on weight. They have less sugar than most fruit juices, energy drinks and soft drinks.

If you would like more info on how to maintain healthy bones, click on this link.

Sister Margaret Bates
School Nurse

Jump on the Exodus Foundation’s Dessert Van

Our friends at the Exodus Foundation operate a nightly food van in the Woolloomooloo district which caters for Sydney’s homeless community. They also have another food van that periodically accompanies the main meal van – a “Dessert Night Van”.

On Friday nights this term, boys from each House will be sending out four Year 11 boys accompanied by their parents, to serve desserts to Exodus’ homeless clients from 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM.

Supporting this initiative is a team of Newington staff members who have volunteered to drive the Exodus Dessert Van from Ashfield to meet the boys and their parents at Woolloomooloo.

Boys from Fletcher House were the first group sent out to experience ‘life at the coalface’ of Sydney’s homeless community, and although the experience was challenging and even a bit confronting at times, our boys thoroughly embraced the opportunity and learnt a great deal from the experience. It is hoped that this roster will become a regular feature of the Service Learning program in coming years.

Below are some reflection statements from some of the boys who participated. The responses are honest, humbling, and shed light on the invaluable experience of giving to others which teaches us so much about people and society.

“In the short hours I was working on the van, I realised the stereotypes I had about homeless people were flipped. I saw some giving food to those too cold to get it themselves, I saw people with warmth in their smiles despite their position and that’s when I realised these were just people who did not have the opportunities we are lucky enough to have.” – Ali Hamdan (11/FL)

“I found that these people in need were so kind and appreciative of what we where doing for them and that we sometimes take things for granted and do not appreciate the little things that people do for us. This opportunity has shown me that the people that have less, give more than the people that have more and they care more about the things they have. ” – Daniel Pascale (11/FL)

Mr Mick Madden
Head of Service Learning

Celebrating our Tongan Brothers’ 150th Birthday

Our brother school, Tupou College in Tonga celebrated their 150th Anniversary last month, and we, like all good brothers were there to celebrate with them.

Our student touring party included 93 boys from all walks of College life. We had members of the College Choir, Stage Band, Under 15s Rugby players and Service Learning boys.

The boys were accompanied by the Headmaster Dr David Mulford and a big group of staff across various departments including Music, Economics, Sport, ICT and Boarding. A parallel touring party led by the Director of Community and Development, Mr Rod Bosman (ON 1978) also came along for the festivities.

Planning for this particular tour started in 2013 when we celebrated our own Sesquicentenary Anniversary. Tupou College attended our celebrations with a huge touring party of boys and staff who performed at our Sesquicentenary Founders Concert, and this was our opportunity to do the same for them.

From the minute our touring party stepped off the plane in Tonga at 2:00 AM on Tuesday 21 June, they were on the move.

The touring party’s first event after a little sleep was the feast of the 93rd Free Wesleyan Church Conference which was held at Maamaloa Chapel, Nuku’alofa. At the event, the Princess of Tonga, Princess Salote Mafile’o Pilolevu Tuita together with the crown Prince, Prince Tupouto’a ‘Ulukalala were present.

That night Dr Mulford and Principal, Tupou College, Rev Alifeleti Atiola co-presented a vision for Tupou College as “brothers” of Newington College and we were given the opportunity to hear our music boys share the stage with the Tupou College boys for the first time in Tonga.

The following day we were invited to Tupou College’s 150^th Anniversary Chapel Service which included an address from His Majesty King Tupou VI and many other luminaries from Tongan society. 

Day four was all about learning about the history of Tupou College and the touring party spent that day amongst prestigious company. We sat alongside the Tongan Royal Family, three thousand Old Boys, and visitors from other countries to admire the newly renovated facilities at the College. On this day, we saw the official opening of their Sesquicentenary Building which featured a newly completed Newington College e-learning Centre. This was a proud moment for all of us in Black and White. Boys and staff had worked late the previous night to ensure that the Centre was ready and functional- it was both a relief and joy to be at it’s official opening.

There were many speeches delivered on the day, including one by His Majesty, King Tupou VI. We also had the rare privilege of seeing Her Majesty, the Queen dance. A Memorandum of Understanding was co-signed by the Chairman of the Newington College Council, Mr Tony McDonald (ON 1976), and Tupou College’s Chairman, Dr Mulford and his counterpart Rev ‘Alifeleti ‘Atiola. We also witnessed draw-dropping Choir and Brass Band performances from the Tupou College boys. The official ceremony concluded with yet another Tongan Feast  witnessed by the Royal Family. The feast was filled with music and dancing. The festivities were occasionally interrupted by a plane dropping cash on the crowd which excited all of the kids. Our gifts to Tupou College this year were sent via three 20 ft shipping containers that were full of donations from our wider Newington community and included the much appreciated resources to set up the e-learning centre under the stellar leadership, productive hands and caring guidance of the Director of ICT, Mr Myles Carrick and Mr Reza Jalili-Baleh. Our donations included 30 brand new desktop computers, networking switches and enough cabling to be utilised throughout Tupou College’s property, wi-fi access across the campus, sourcing of software licencing agreements to enable Tupou boys access to the same e-learning products, a guarantee of IT support via our own help desk, data projectors and a vision and mission to continue the hard work of Founding Principal Rev Dr James Egan Moulton by supporting and nurturing a long-lasting working friendship between Newington College and Tupou College.

At night after all the festivities, we headed to Vakaloa Beach resort for a reunion with the Tongan Old Boys and their families. We have been hosting these reunions for the last four years and they are always such a success with the local community and our touring party. We were treated to more Tongan performances and our Stage Band as well as a few other boys provided entertainment to our 200 guests. Many speakers took to the stage to share a couple of words including Old Newingtonian Mr Steve Finau (ON 1966). He spoke about the importance of the Tongan Bursary program.

Day four was our first chance to take a breather in the morning. In the afternoon, we played two Rugby fixtures (U15s and U14s) at the national stadium where Newington was victorious in both games 24–12 and 28–7.

Great sportsmanship and camaraderie was on show and our parents seemed to enjoy the live stream through our Tongan connections that Mr Jalili-Baleh faciliated.

That night, we attended the Royal Sesquicentennial Music Festival with the Royal family. We performed, among other pieces,  Palestrina’s Sicut Cervus. The culmination of the night was a joint performance of Zadok the Priest and the Hallelujah Chorus by Handel. 

Jack Ryan (12/KL) and James Smith (7/MA) summed up Saturday as good as anyone:

“After a whirlwind week of chapel services, feasts, rugby, rehearsals and concerts, today marked the first day with no formal commitments. With nothing on the agenda, Mr Quince took a moment at breakfast to reflect on our time so far in Tonga. Mr Scott began by applauding our joint performance with the Tupou boys while Mr Egerton spoke about how proud he was of the rugby boys in what was a very physical battle.

An Aussie getaway isn’t complete without a barbecue at the beach, and so after our late breakfast we headed off to the coast not too far from our dorms. The barbecues we used were fundraised by the Lindfield community and will be generously donated to Tupou College. At the beach, the boys were able to kick back and relax after a few days of hard work. We couldn’t venture too far into the water due to the coral near the shoreline, but everyone was able to dunk their feet in.

That night we decided that we would make it our mission on Monday to renovate Tupou College’s Primary School, no easy challenge, but a worthy one”.

Sunday in Tonga is all about reflection and family time. Our touring party embraced both of these opportunities and Rev Geordie Barham delivered the first sermon from the Moulton Chapel’s freshly renovated altar. 

Our final full day at Tupou College was a fabulous one. After breakfast we started work at 7:30 AM in the Primary School. We spent the next 11 hours scraping walls, building bookshelves, sanding back blackboards, painting walls, floors, doors, window frames and ceilings of the four classrooms. All of boys and staff got involved, including Tony and Caroline McDonald and Old Boy Tua’melie Laimani (ON 2014). Throughout the day, Mr Godfrey and Mr Egerton ran Rugby clinics with the Tupou College players while Mr Mee, Mr Mann and Mr Scott ran music clinics.

Our final day was simply a great finish to a tour that left us with memories that will last a lifetime.

2016 is the 7th annual Tonga Tour, Newington boys and staff have been on and this would not have been possible without our tour sponsors, Gulliver’s Sport Travel, whom also continue to sponsor our shipping container on an annual basis.

We are grateful to our family at Tupou College for their selfless hospitality and feel privileged to be invited to be a part of their celebrations and more importantly their community.” 

Full credit goes to our touring staff for their tireless efforts in the lead up and throughout the tour to ensure our boys made the most of their opportunities and experiences whilst in Tonga.

Our students should also be proud of themselves as they not only adjusted remarkably well to differing cultural expectations, but they were great ambassadors, representing Newington College in the Kingdom of Tonga, adding to the fine tapestry of our history.

Mr Cameron Quince
Head of Fletcher House

Ethics Centre 2016 – Interfaith Panel on Religion and Ethics

The stars were out on Wednesday 20 July as a packed audience of Newington boys, staff, members of the public and students from neighbouring schools filled out Old Boys Lecture Theatre for the Centre for Ethics public lecture on Religion and Ethics. This time featuring an interfaith panel made up of Buddhist Nun, the venerable Robina Courtin, Muslim academic, Dr Susan Carland of Monash University, Dr Bill Leadbetter of St Georges Cathedral in Perth, Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service, Father Aloysius Mowe and Rabbi Jacqui Ninio of Emmanuel Synagogue in Sydney. There was no doubt that this brains trust would bring a wealth of challenging ideas and lively debate.

The night started with the question: Should religion stay out of politics?

Dr Bill Leadbetter of St Georges Cathedral in Perth, and Labor candidate in the most recent Federal election said, “Once we take religion out of politics it’s no longer a democracy.” Father Mowe agreed claiming that while religion is not the only guide to ethics these days, it remains a fundamental part of the life of a big portion of the world population and therefore holds value. Does being atheist not influence the way a person thinks argued Rabbi Jacqui Ninio.

The idea that people who do not belong to a religion are more neutral or would have a more objective standpoint to bring to politics is simply not true said Dr Carland, herself a Muslim academic who herself grew up Christian in Suburban Melbourne.

The question about same sex marriage and sexuality was next on the list as an audience member asked the panel whether religions needed to review and update the way they approached same sex relations.

Father Mowe led the discussion, explaining that the question is not so much about sexual orientation or modern day sexuality but how we understand human nature. 

“In the Catholic tradition, human nature is something that remains to be discovered because it’s so complex. God does not create rubbish. If you are, as Lady Gaga says, ‘born this way’, then that raises fundamental questions for us as thinking Christians about sexuality.”

For the Venerable Robina Courtin’s, it’s a ‘none-of-your-business’ type of question she said, and again Dr Leadbetter reframed the question saying that the issue is not to do with who gets to marry, but what marriage even means in a secular society.

“If the challenge is ‘Who gets married’ then the answer should be unequivocally…’those who love each other and want to commit to that institution’,” said Dr Leadbetter.

In light of the recent election, a question regarding Pauline Hanson was raised, specifically, how do we engage with people who has extremist views? And this lead on to a conversation on democracy and freedom of speech.

“In order to have a democratic society, we have to accept that there are people who have views that are obnoxious,” said Dr Leadbetter.

“Once we draw conditions on what people can say, then we engage in the business of corrupting our own community.”

With time fast running out, the lecture concluded on a positive note about what religion and god means to each of the individuals and their religious groups.

“Religion – that which binds us – is intuitive. We want to be bound to our community and history and the world that we live in,” said Father Mowe. At this point Rabbi Ninio quoted British sociologist and well-known Atheist Alain de Botton saying that while religious people may argue there is a God-shaped hole needing to be fulfilled, de Botton would argue, it is the human condition to yearn for fulfilment and meaning in life. 

This lecture was chaired by ABC veteran broadcaster Mr John Cleary and aired on Sunday Nights on Sunday 24 July. To hear the full lecture,  click here to listen.

Drama Centre Opening – Michael Swordfish

To commemorate the opening of the New Drama Centre, Newington Drama commissioned Sydney playwright Lachlan Philpott to create a piece informed by the everyday experiences of teenage boys, namely New boys. Two years in the making, Michael Swordfish is a result of Lachlan working closely with the boys to create a piece that reflects them, today and in this world. The show debuted in the New Drama Theatre on the first week back to full audiences over five nights.

Michael Swordfish is a coming-of-age play which explores both the light and darker aspects of life as a teenage boy. Showing both the giddying heights of teen love and infatuation to the social isolation experienced through bullying and the question of sexual orientation, the play is highly contemporary in both form and structure.

Congratulations to Head of Drama, Ms Tamara Smith and Drama Teacher Mr Ben Williams on yet another superb performance, and a big round of applause to Lachlan, the cast and crew for their hard work and bravery in performing and producing a piece that speaks of their story.

Salut, Sydney

We arrived at Newington College on Sunday, 15 May. The discovery of this Australian private school was full of surprises. In fact, there are a lot of differences between the Australian and French educational systems. Firstly, we were all surprised by the number of facilities at the school. If we had to compare our school to yours, your sports fields (Rugby, Football, Swimming pool and Gym), cultural buildings (Music, Library, Chapel and the Centenary Hall) are just amazing. The school system is pretty different too. Indeed, every student has his own timetable and they are divided in eight different houses. In France, you stay in the same class for all your lessons all year long.

Concerning our experience, we did a lot of excursions in Sydney and across Australia. But let’s speak first about all the things we did with the school. At first, Mr Bennett took us to Manly Beach. We had our first swim in the Pacific Ocean. It was great. Then, we had a typical Australian morning tea after swimming in the pool.

We also discovered AFL by going to watch a great match between the Sydney Swans and North Melbourne.

During our stay, we also met the French exchange girls from our school and we did an excursion organised with PLC. We visited the University of Sydney and we took a bus tour across different suburbs around the city on our way to Bondi Beach. We came back from Watson Bay on a fast ferry. It was very fun.

On our last Wednesday, Axel’s host brother’s mum, Ms Pidcock, organised a walk around Manly. The landscapes were beautiful and we took a lot of great photos.

Our experiences and feelings about following Australians lessons are very varied due to differences between Australian and French schools. We all followed our exchange students in their lessons and we found that it was incredible the fact that they use their computers instead of pen and paper. We also were surprised by the fact that pupils and teachers are very close and we think that it is better than the relationships in the French school system. We spent a lot of time in French lessons and we hope we managed to give advice to and help Newington students.

We would like to thank the Newington staff for welcoming us generously during their lessons and to all of the sports staff who integrated us into gym lessons and rugby teams. Thank you to Newington students for their kindness towards us, we love your mentality, stay as you are!

Thank you for all you did for us.

Joshua Boussekhane, Nathaniel de Lachaise, Pacome, Nicolas Heyraud, Benjamin Lussert, Axel Elmaleh, Sylvain Jeanneau and Théo Develter
French Exchange Students

Back to Newington Day 2016

Back to Newington Day 2016 was a huge success thanks to the support of the College’s dedicated P&F. The day was a perfect example of the P&F’s vision, “a stronger community through a connected community.” It was wonderful to see all of the College’s support groups, our Lindfield and Wyvern younger brothers and the Tongan/Fijian community working together as one. Maybe it was the smoke signals being sent from the Tongan BBQ to say that everyone was Welcome Back To Newington, but the campus was filled with many old and new faces.

Thanks to the addition of a shuttle bus service from Stanmore to Tempe to transport people between sporting venues, as well as extra parking at Stanmore Public School, Back to Newington Day was easy to get to by car or foot.

By the end of the day, we sold over 1000 sausages, 400 steaks, 600 kebabs and frothed over 90 litres of milk and diced 25 punnets of strawberries.

The market stalls on both Memorial Drive and inside the Marketplace in Centenary Hall were alive with the hustle and bustle of happy shoppers who all left with bags of purchases and armfuls of fresh flowers that were a colour explosion at the entrance to the Marketplace. Whether you wanted to purchase a homemade cake or slice, some Newington merchandise or a warming pie and peas from Harry’s Café de Wheels, there was something for everyone!

At midday, over 75 MOONs (Mothers of Old Newingtonians) were treated to a high tea style lunch in Prescott Hall and celebrated their founder, Mrs Joy Christian, as she passed the baton on to Tracey Markos and the next generation of MOONs.

To end this spectacular day, the Football 1^st XI had a win 3-0 over Sydney Boys High to continue their undefeated run and the Rugby 1^st XV won by one try 34-29 in the dying minutes over ladder leaders Scots College to show they are still a force in the GPS competition.

Thank you to all the Parents and Friends that volunteered and to all the students that supported the community by handing out programs and helping out with the BBQ. It truly made everyone feel Welcome at Back to Newington Day.

See you in 2017.

Sport Report

Winter Sport

The last weekend of Winter Sport will be on Saturday 13 August. Boys will then have a recovery week before commencing their Summer Sport.

Athletics

Boys who wish to participate in Athletics will commence training on Monday 15 August with Invitational Carnivals on the following weekends:

Saturday 20 August

Saturday 27 August

Saturday 3 September

Saturday September 10 – AAGPS Championships

Details regarding Athletics training days and venues for the Invitational meets will be posted on the Athletics SPACEs page.

Summer Sport

All boys should be registered in their Summer sport, training schedules will be posted on the respective SPACES page.

Congratulations

Sailing

Henry Larkings (10/FL) was selected this year to join the NSW Youth Sailing Team and now has the opportunity to be part of the Australian 29er Youth Sailing Team representing Australia at the World Championships. The team not only races but are part of a nations parade, opening and closing ceremony as well. It will be a truly memorable experience and hopefully the first of many at this level.

Fencing

Ben Diskin (8/MO) has had some great achievements at both U14 Hong Kong Championships and the U15 National Championships. Ben started Fencing just last year when he chose it as his winter sport in Year 7 and he attributes his success to Newington’s role in introducing him to competitions.

He thanks his coaches, especially Simon for encouraging him to take up additional outside coaching and external competitions. From there, Ben met Antonio who has taken him to even greater strengths along with his training with Simon and his continued school training.

Bens hopes to compete as part of the National team for Newington and then the Junior Nationals for the Australian Fencing Federation. We wish Ben all the best; he is an example of how Newington College can help a student Discover what’s possible and how hard work and determination can allow you to reach your goals.

We look forward to seeing more boys reach their potential in the Fencing program now that we have additional coaches with proven success: Antonio Signorello, Alex Andre, Simon Capon (ON 2011), proudly supported by Felix Shannon (ON 2015) and Adam Chew (ON 2015).

Rifle Shooting

After Angus Mueller’s (10/MO) excellent success at the GPS Rifle Shooting competition last week, he was selected as one of 12 boys in the All Schools GPS team. At the All Schools Competition, 12 GPS boys made up from Scots, SBHS, Kings, Grammar and Newington were split in to two teams of six and competed against other club teams from all over the North Shore and Hunter district. The boys shot over four stages at 300, 400, 500 and 600 metres. Although Angus did not shoot quite as well as he did at GPS, he did himself and the school proud only dropping seven points on the day to finish with a score of 193 out of 200. His team finished first against the other GPS team and fourth overall. The long day concluded with a combined GPS team photo and competition presentation.

Founders Concert – Suite 16

On Thursday, 28 July 2016, family and friends came together to celebrate the perseverance, creativity and originality of the boys and staff who belong to Newington Music. Themed around the year, 2016, ‘Suite 16’ invited the audience to take a seat and immerse themselves in a program that ranged from Johann Sebastian Bach to George Harrison. With boys from all years including Wyvern House and Lindfield Preparatory, the pieces were inspired by the number 16 in some way, whether it be a piece from the 16th Century or a play on the word ‘Suite’ in Hot Chocolate by Andy Beck and When you were Sweet Sixteen by The Fureys.

Head of Music, Mr Mark Scott spoke towards the end of the concert paying homage to the graduating Class of 2016 and the journey they have ahead of them. Reflecting back to the time he was in Year 12, Mr Scott spoke about how music like Keats poetry has the ability to transcend us beyond the everyday to gain perspective and allow us to enjoy the range of emotions and experiences that life throws at us.

“When I was thinking about what to say tonight, to you about our Year 12 boys as they start the process of leaving, I thought of what Keats talks about when things are dark … and for me … it helps if I remember, that there’s also great beauty in the world … and a thing of beauty is a joy forever.”

Music can also show its full powers when it is given an opportunity to make someone smile, be moved on a spiritual level, remember or be amazed, he continued.

“May your future lives continue to be filled with music. Its beauty will comfort you when times are dark; its energy will rejuvenate you; its communicative power will help you connect to people who don’t speak your language; its quirkiness will help you have the best fun and its passion and emotion might even help you find love”.

We thank and congratulate each and every boy who performed at Founders Concert this year with a special thank you to our Year 12 boys. It is at times when we are feeling ordinary that the study of music enables us to look beyond and seek solace and peace.

A Royal Visit

Boys and staff adopted Royal protocol on the first day back of Term 3 as the College played host to His Majesty King Tupou VI of the Kingdom of Tonga. Accompanied by Her Majesty, the Queen Nanasipau’u and Tongan High Commissioner in Canberra Princess Angelika Lātūfuipeka, our royal visitors were special guests at the official opening of the new Tupou College Centre, Drama Centre, Davidson Health Centre, Pearson Cadet Centre and Newington Challenge Headquarters.

“it is wonderful to have the King of Tonga at Newington” said Headmaster Dr David Mulford.

“Your father remains one of our famous Old Boys. We are so blessed with a long and exceptionally close bond with the Kingdom of Tonga and its people. We learn so much about humanity from our Tongan brothers and sisters. We are in awe of your love of family, love of community, your kindness and generosity and your love of your God.”

Also in attendance was Reverend Feleti Atiola, Principal of Tupou College our brother school in Tonga, Reverend Dr ‘Ahio, President of the free Wesleyan Church of Tonga and Reverend Park Moderator of the Uniting Church of Australia.

During his address, Dr Mulford said while the investment of this new facility is bricks and mortar, the benefits are beyond the physical. This new facility provides Newington boys of the present and future a place to nurture aspirations and life-long friendships.

The Drama Centre consists of a new theatre with raked seating for 200, industry standard sound, lighting and technical equipment, extensive back stage accommodation and a refurbished former Chapel for Drama teaching. The second building, ‘The Tupou College Centre’, consists of eight classrooms with interconnection to allow for configuration as large studios as well as various specialist teaching areas and a tiered lecture space. It was named as such in recognition of the long and close historical links between Newington and the Kingdom of Tonga.

Dr Mulford pubicly thanked the Architect Mr Ray Hudson, Projects Managers from Cadence and Builders from Watpac on the delivery of this first-rate facility. 

After the Assembly, Dr Mulford accompanied His Majesty, King Tupou VI, the Queen and Princess on a tour of the new building.

A trip to the Red Centre

The second Service Learning expedition to visit Aboriginal Communities in the desert country of Central Australia was held during the June school holidays. It was led by Science Teacher, Mr Michael Moonen and myself and included seven nights of camping under clear, starry skies and learning about the Aboriginal communities in this area. 

The the tour began with two nights at a remote property, owned by one of our tour guides, John Liddle, who is a traditional Aboriginal landowner. Here the boys were able to learn about traditional bush tucker, desert survival, navigation and animal tracking, from both John and his older brother “JS”. The boys were shown how to find and gather their own bush tucker and offered the chance to ‘chow down’ on a few raw witchetty grubs. John is currently in the process of building and our boys were able to lend come muscle to help dig up trenches for water pipes, lay down concrete and construct some fencing for what will become a commercial native bush tomato garden. Our boys completed a remarkable amount of work in those two days and took great pride in their accomplishments. John was humbled and greatly appreciative of their selfless efforts.

In our travels we were also fortunate enough to visit Uluru, Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), Kings Canyon and the ancient Fink River. These normally dry, dusty places were unusually green this year, after what was a particularly wet summer. Few tourists and young locals have ever seen this breathtaking part of the world looking so alive. The photos taken were full of colour and show amazing contrasts with the rich red earth.

Most nights we shared our meals with invited local guests, who taught us about Aboriginal culture and history. One of these guests included a famous local artist and Aboriginal Elder from Mutitjulu near Uluru. He shared his knowledge of Aboriginal art, history and Dreamtime stories, told spellbindingly around a roaring campfire in traditional native language with the aid of a skilled translator. A rare privilege and experience for white Australians.

Central Australia is mad AFL territory and we used sport as a ‘bridge’ to interact with the local Aboriginal youths. Our boys ‘mixed it’ with a group of about a dozen young local boys and men from the community on the brown and dusty main field of Hermannsburg in an entertaining match that even attracted a few appreciative spectators, together with a few stray dogs who patrolled the boundaries on the field of play.

The feedback from the boys about this immersion experience has been excitingly positive. They all not only had a great time spent with their mates, but met some remarkable, inspirational characters and learnt a great deal about Aboriginal culture, history and the current challenges faced by our Indigenous people. It was a real eye-opener and a powerful learning experience that will be offered again to Year 11 boys in 2017 and we hope, for years to come.

Mr Mick Madden
Head of Service Learning

Afeaki brothers return to their roots

Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you”- Genesis 31:3

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to experience life in the country of your ancestors, surrounded by unique cultural traditions and being immersed in the way of life that your parents and grandparents experienced? Two brothers from the Afeaki family, Simi (10/KL) and Edwyne (8/KL) were granted this wish when they recently returned to Tonga as part of the touring party of over 90 students who traveled to Tonga to enjoy the sesquicentennial anniversary of Tupou College.

Having both been born in Sydney, Simi and Edwyne have formed an appreciation for their Tongan heritage, mostly through their parents, Sidney and Anne, as well as playing rugby and learning alongside various Tongan students who form an important part of the fabric of Newington. Yet, to experience the heart of Tongan heritage, spending time with their extended family and returning to important landmarks would be key to grasping the essence of what it meant for them to be Tongan.

When boarding the plane to Nukuʻalofa, both Simi and Edwyne wore a ‘Faka’ufilani’; a large traditional necklace (‘lei’) which serves as a symbol of their heritage and something they intended to give to a chosen uncle and aunty as a sign of respect. They both shared the expectation of not experiencing anything that they weren’t already accustomed to, yet very much looked forward to spending time with their extended family. As an added blessing, Sidney and Anne (dad and mum) would join the boys in Tonga later in the week.

While in Tonga, the boys had the chance to visit the burial site of their great-grandmother, Ana Lolohea Salamasina Kolo (Sala), who passed away on the 1 December 2014. Sala was the Aunty to Rev Lopeti Taufa, one of the ex-presidents of the Tonga Methodist Church and former Tupou College student. Sala was a dedicated Christian whose faith in God has been a testimony to many. Her strong faith and dedication to worship has left a legacy that will live within the Afeaki family forever. Simi and Edwyne witnessed Tonga’s spiritual dependency, where God is everything and everything is God! Simi and Edwyne have become enlightened and strengthened in their faith and worship of God, knowing they are nothing without him.

The Tongan word for respect is ‘Faka’apa’apa’. There is no direct English translation of Faka’apa’apa, yet it forms the basis on which the whole Tongan culture is built. After their Tongan experience, Simi and Edwyne now carry a deep pride within, having witnessed firsthand the notion of Faka’apa’apa, and how it is represented within the Tongan way of life. When they visited their grandmother and uncles in Tofoa, they walked into a house with a table full of food cooked in the Umu (underground oven). No one else was present in the room, so the boys asked their uncles where everyone was, only to learn that their aunties and cousins were in the back shelter preparing the food and had been there for several hours. Being humbled by the generosity and servanthood of their extended family, Simi and Edwyne decided to roll up their sleeves and help with the preparation, which is exactly the notion behind the virtue of ‘Faka’apa’apa’.

Simi and Edwyne feel their visit to Tonga has given them the resolve to give their best to the many privileged opportunities they are presented with here at Newington. Simi has his heart set on studying Law in his senior years, while Edwyne is developing an interest in Business Studies. Both desire to return to Tonga to visit Vava’u; the island where their dad is from, and to share their knowledge, skills and talents with their extended family. Simi and Edwyne’s story serves to inspire all of us to return to our roots, to explore the foundations of our own heritage and learn from the important values that our ancestors stood for.

Reverend Geordie Barham
College Chaplain

F1 in Schools Team ‘Entropy’ need your help!

Entropy is an F1 in Schools Team that is competing this year in the F1 in Schools™ Competition, made up of five Year 11 boys. The F1 in Schools competition is the world’s largest secondary school technology program, and Newington has has had a great track record when it comes to competing. We have over the years, send three teams to the National Final and one to the World Final.

To compete, each team has to design a miniature car capable of reaching 80km/h, as well as come up with a team identity which the team needs to present and market with finesse and professionalism.

To make sure that Entropy has a good chance in this year’s competition, we need your help! 

Participating is costly and we are seeking sponsorship and industry assistance. We aren’t just looking for people in the engineering industry, but anyone who is interested in the program. Industry collaboration isn’t a one-way process, and anyone that helps out is rewarded through promotion of your business or yourself throughout our project.

Visit website: https://4entropy.wordpress.com/

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/4Entropy/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/4Entropy

Email Us: entropy4@yahoo.com

Anyone who is wanting to get involved in the competition can contact Ms Lak or come to T1 on Thursday afternoons. Entropy is currently mentoring teams that have no experience in the competition, so everyone is welcome to join!