A Gratitude Attitude: re-wiring your brain for the better

All of us know the spontaneous emotional boost that comes with being on the receiving end of a random act of kindness, finding an encouraging message from someone, being given a compliment by a colleague, family member or stranger, receiving unexpected thanks.  We feel buoyant and more inclined to ‘pay it forward’. Scientists identify this as the brain releasing oxytocin, occasionally referred to as the ‘love hormone’, which aids in lowering blood pressure, improving our overall heart-health, increasing self-esteem and optimism.

Interestingly, medical research takes us a step further when we look at the impact on the brain of the simple act of saying ‘thank you’. This effect is ‘upgraded’. Benefits for all of us can include a lasting lift in oxytocin and cortisol levels and a boost to two powerful neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin[1], naturally occurring chemicals in the brain which help your body move fluidly, your mind stay calm and focused on a task, and help you to resist depression and other mood disorders.[2] Furthermore, enhanced levels of dopamine may have a role in addiction and impulse control, attention, motivation and goal-directed behaviour – it acts to reinforce behaviours that make you feel good – whilst decreased serotonin is linked to drug abuse. And, a powerful fact is that the benefits cost nothing and are available to every individual with just a subtle shift in attitude and mindset. It is argued that a gratitude attitude can re-wire our brain for the better and enhance life satisfaction.

As understanding of these benefits deepens and spreads, the gratitude movement is growing as a global phenomenon. Governments, businesses and companies, educationalists, health professionals, sporting teams, service organisations to name a few, have progressively drawn upon research to transform productivity in the workplace, attract customers, and generally promote the wellbeing and achievements of individuals. Two thirds of governments around the world also support teaching character education of which practising gratitude is a key component.[3] Signficantly, as recently reported in The Australian[4], what we as parents need to avoid is not expecting our children to be grateful anymore, that we are “accustomed to getting no acknow­ledgment for, say, devoting [our] weekend to driving them from activit­y to activity”.

In the article, Breheny Wallace refers to the work of Richard Weissbourd, faculty director of the Making Caring Common initiative at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, who has highlighted in his research that “when parents organise their lives around their kids” a sense of entitle­ment – that belief in having a right to something, rather than it being a privilege to be earned – can leave our children feeling grateful for nothing. We now more clearly understand that the psychological and social costs of this can be considerable, and that our children need new skills to flourish in the 21st century.

The act of being thankful can be life-changing. Collective research has identified that experiencing high levels of gratitude in adolescence can contribute to a child thriving, increased school engagement, a corresponding improvement in academic achievement, more fulfilment and success in co-curricular programs, a more willing engagement in service endeavours, a growth in compassion and empathy, and less anxiety and depression. In communities developing gratitude and positive education initiatives, the benefits have included an increase in pro-social behaviours and a reduction in anti-social and aggressive conduct and self-harming.

Whilst daily life is never free from challenges, what helps builds resilience is the lens or filter through which we view these. Using the technique of mental contrasting – being optimistic about the benefits of a new habit while also being realistic about how difficult building the habit may be – leads us to exert more effort.[5] The documented benefits of regularly practising gratitude include improved sleep, a willingness to engage in more frequent exercise, stronger cardiovascular and immune systems and longevity. But to reap the benefits, it involves changing behaviour and possibly introducing new routines.

There is considerable information available on beneficial strategies and practices to adopt. Three common techniques include keeping a ‘gratitude journal’ and writing down the things we’re grateful for either daily or weekly; taking five to ten minutes at the end of each day to jot down ‘three good things’ that went well; saying ‘thank you’, which may range from a small gesture of appreciation through to a ‘gratitude letter’ to someone to whom you feel you’ve never properly expressed your gratitude, which may also deepen your relationship with them. A powerful example of this is the letter Year 12 parents write to their sons, opened in a private moment by each boy at the Year 12 Retreat.

Listing the benefits of a gratitude attitude, realistically we can expect improved physical health; improved psychological health and a reduction in a range of toxic emotions including envy and resentment, negativity bias, frustration and regret; deeper relationships, increased empathy and a decreased desire to seek revenge; better sleep patterns; increased self-esteem, an essential component to optimal performance in all areas of our lives; and greater resilience – even during the worst of times mentally strong people choose to exchange self-pity for gratitude[6], a critical cognitive process.

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to reorganise synaptic connections – our state of mind – in response to learning. In other words, the repeated act of practising gratitude can ‘rewire’ our thinking, and not only in the short term. The art of thankfulness, a gratitude attitude, is not a cure-all. But the rewards are instantaneous, and can be life-changing.

Being grateful shifts your perception to such an extent that it changes the world you see, and empowers you to discover what’s possible.

Linda Munns-Conry
Acting Deputy Head of Stanmore (Students)

[1] Gottfried, Sarah MD, Thanksgiving: What Gratitude Does to Your Brain                  

[2] LIVESTRONG.COM, Dopamine vs. Seratonin

[3] World Government Summit, The State of Positive Education

[4] Jennifer Breheny Wallace, Gratitude, the life-changing attribute you can teach your kids          

[5] CARPENTER, Derryck MAPP, The Science Behind Gratitude (and how it can change your life)

[6] Morin, Amy, 7 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Gratitude

Guys and Dolls by the Numbers

The Newington College Drama Department held three spectacular performances of the musical Guys and Dolls on March 1, 2 and 3 in the Parade Theatre at the National Institute of Dramatic Art.

Bravo to the talented cast and crew!

Here is a look at the production by the numbers:

• 2 sets of maracas
• 4 boys in the crew
• 5 dressing rooms
• 6 weeks of rehearsal
• 8 staff creatives
• 12 prop newspapers
• 14 girls in the cast
• 17 boys in the orchestra
• 18 radio microphones
• 20 song and dance numbers
• 43 fedora hats
• 94 boys in the cast
• 250 costumes
• 284 LED tube lights
• 1,435 audience members
• 18,176 controllable LED pixels

 Photos courtesy Christopher Hayles.

Being Human in a Digital World

She’s the professor who grew up in central Australia wearing no shoes. As an anthropologist, she expected to become a career academic. Instead, she is one of the world’s pre-eminent futurists and technologists, and in February Professor Genevieve Bell kicked off the Newington Centre for Ethics 2018 speaker series.

Addressing the hot topic of robots and artificial intelligence, Professor Bell urged the crowd in the packed Old Boys Lecture Theatre to think about the world they want to live in. What does it mean to be human in a world where change is happening before we have even considered what it might mean?

Professor Bell’s career has been spent putting the human element back into technology. As Vice-President of global tech giant Intel, her role involved “looking beyond what’s technically possible”, focusing instead on what people care about.

In her current role as Director of the 3A Institute at the Australian National University, she is part of a team “trying to make sense of what’s coming”.

“AI is the steam engine but we don’t even know what the train is yet,” she said.

Her wide-ranging talk covered everything from the origin of the word ‘robot’ (it was a made-up word that first appeared in Czech writer Karel Capek’s science fiction play RUR – Rossum’s Universal Robots – in 1921) to the importance of feeding algorithms data sets that will improve the world, not just reflect what the world has been to this point.

She pondered why so many people find Boston Dynamic’s headless, door-opening robot ‘dog’ creepy, yet think nothing of robotic vacuum cleaners that have the capacity to map homes and make personal data available to the highest bidder.

Morality, ethics, belief systems and autonomy all featured, but it was the questions we should ask about digital technology that proved central to her session.

What does it mean to have things doing their own bidding? What are the limits of autonomy? Do robots have an inner life, and if they do, what does it look like? What creates it? Does artificial intelligence develop a series of beliefs? What worlds will be created inside objects? As humans, what do we own? Our data? Our bodies? How far are we prepared to let technology go?

“You have responsibilities when you make things,” Professor Bell said. “Society needs to be clear about what it values. We can make decisions about the world we create.

“We have to think beyond efficiency and productivity and think about happiness instead.”

Future Centre for Ethics talks will include journalist Peter Greste on why the war on journalism matters, Stan Grant on Australia’s relationship with its indigenous people and Dr Caroline West on the philosophy of happiness.

Valuing the Interests of Others – Welcome Pastor Richard La’Brooy

^‘…Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others…’

(Philippians 2:2-4)

A key to building a stronger community and stronger relationships is connected to our willingness to value the interests of others. The passage above highlights how Jesus had every opportunity to place himself in a high and exalted position of power, yet he chose to not use this position to his own advantage, choosing instead to take the nature of a servant, focusing his attention on the interests of those whom he is serving; including each of us. From the stories we’ve heard about Jesus, we know he connected with all sorts of people; from the rich to the poor, the educated to the uneducated, people with leprosy, men and women and so on. When we consider that he did not need to do this, being in the very nature God, there must be something in this that serves to empower our lives both collectively and individually.

We can often find it difficult to value the interests of others because other’s interests clash with our own value system: what we do, what we own and what friendship group we’re part of. The problem with this kind of value system is that it is vulnerable. Who we are is more connected to our interests, not on what we do, what we own, what qualifications we do or don’t have or by who our friends are. If we were to describe ourselves, can we do so without making reference to our possessions, our qualifications or anything else that can change in the future? What is it about you, that says you are valuable that can’t be taken away from you? When we know the answers to these questions, we start to see the value in others much easier; not for what they can do for us but rather who they are as valuable people. 

As a means of introduction to our new Chaplain, Pastor La’Brooy, I thought it would be worthwhile highlighting some of his interests, what keeps him busy and what aspirations he has for his new role.

 Previous to coming to Newington, Pastor La’Brooy served as the Associate Uniting Church Chaplain at Macquarie University for the past five and a half years. He currently serves on the Board of ‘UnitingWorld’ for the last five years and is a member of the World Methodist Council, representing the Uniting Church. Pastor La’Brooy has been a Youth Minister in a local and regional context, and has worked on the organisation committee of the National Youth Gathering of the Uniting Church. He is an Elder and Church Councillor in his local congregation and has served on various Uniting Church Presbytery and Synod Committees.

In his own time, Pastor La’Brooy enjoys the theatre, watching cricket and rugby and is finishing his Arts/Education degree at Macquarie University. He is both the RE teacher and Chaplain at Newington, Lindfield, and is keen to engage across the broad life of Newington College, connecting with students, parents, staff and old boys alike.

Pastor La’Brooy looks forward to connecting with the Newington community throughout the coming months, as he seeks to serve as a chaplain, looking to value the interests of others.

Rev. Geordie Barham 
College Chaplain

Important Concussion Information 2018

 Baseline Concussion Testing    

Newington College has once again teamed with sports injury specialist Dr Ryan Kohler to implement the HeadSmart Sports Concussion Program for schools and clubs. This year, at Stanmore, every rugby, football and AFL player will be required to complete a preseason baseline computer concussion test. This is another tool, used with clinical questioning and a physical examination, to help in the management of a suspected concussion.

The online baseline test is a series of four card games structured to test memory accuracy, attention span, concentration and brain processing speed. It takes about eight minutes to complete. If a concussion is sustained, the player will repeat the same online test in the health centre, which is compared to the baseline.

All players enrolled in rugby, football and AFL Y7 – Y12 will receive a notification to do this computer baseline test. It should be completed at home in a quiet place without distraction for best results.

This season Newington plans to run concussion clinics for students with a sports doctor to provide effective concussion management.

Before returning to their contact sport, a player must:

• Be symptom-free for 19 days (rugby), 6 days (soccer), no set time (AFL);
• Have completed an after-concussion online test which is comparable to their baseline;
• Be managing school and homework normally;
• Have completed a Gradual Return to Play program to stage 4, and
• Hand in a medical clearance from a doctor to Sister Bates (Health Centre)

 For more information

HeadSmart FAQ

Concussion Management – Guidance and Procedure

Community Concussion Guidelines

Football Federation Australia Concussion Guidelines

Concussion

While concussion can occur in any sport, we see more incidents during the winter sports season. A concussion is an injury to the brain, causing a disturbance in the brain’s ability to acquire and process information.

It is usually caused by a blow to the head or indirectly by an impact to the body transferring a force to the brain. This causes the brain to rotate and/or move forward and backward within the rigid skull cavity.

A person does not need to lose consciousness to suffer a concussion.

Concussion symptoms may evolve over hours or days following the injury.

Symptoms

Physical symptoms can include headache, vision disturbance, dizziness, vomiting, confusion, seizure, unsteady ‘jelly’ legs, ringing in the ears and loss of balance or being slow to get up.

Cognitive behaviour changes affect memory, judgement, concentration, reflexes and muscle coordination. The concussed player can ask repetitive questions.

Emotional changes such as irritability, feeling nervous, crying, aggressiveness or laughing inappropriately.

Sensitivity to light/noise and sleep disturbance (sleeping more or difficulty going to sleep) can also be symptoms of concussion.

On the day the rule is: if a concussion is suspected, the player is removed from play and must not be allowed back on that day. If in doubt, sit it out and seek medical attention.

Rugby AU have been trialling a blue card system. Once a player is shown a blue card by the match official, they cannot participate any further in the match and are required to undergo a mandatory medical assessment and then follow a set program before returning to rugby.

Management

Children and adolescents need a conservative approach as studies have shown that their brains take longer to recover. Most concussions will settle in 10 – 14 days but some symptoms may persist for longer.

A doctor will diagnose a concussion from clinical history and physical examination. Sometimes a CT scan or MRI is ordered to rule out any bleeding in the brain or fracture, but these tests will not identify a concussion.

The player who has a concussion should inform the school nurse, his coach and mentor.

The treatment for concussion is rest – physical and mental. Computer games, reading and doing homework, for example, tire the brain so initially it is best to stop these activities. As the symptoms reduce these can be gradually reintroduced.

Missing school or shorter school days may be required to ensure mental rest. A ‘Return to Learn’ plan may be developed to help with return to school and homework.

Once clinical symptoms have resolved a graduated return to play is undertaken with a medical clearance from a doctor required before returning to sport. Please remember that a player cannot return to contact for 18 days after symptoms cease.

The Graduated Return To Play (GRTP) program.

Each stage of the GRTP takes at least 24 hours and the person must remain symptom-free after each stage. If symptoms develop then the player rests for 24 hours or until symptoms subside and starts that stage again.

Helmets in sport have been shown to reduce impacts and lacerations to the head but have not been shown to reduce the incidence of concussion. They are essential when bike riding, skiing etc to aid in the prevention of skull fractures.

The use of mouth guards has been shown to reduce dental injuries and maxillofacial injuries. Some studies have suggested that mouth guards reduced impact forces applied to the jaw from being transmitted to the brain. 

Sister Margaret Bates 
School Nurse

One for Many

Last week at Assembly, Deputy Senior Prefect, Alexander Humphreys, delivered a speech to his peers about fostering a school culture whereby students actively try and desire to become the best version of themselves and improve their surrounding community.

I see a lot of things on Facebook. Ninety per cent of the time they are pretty pointless and serve no purpose other  than to distract and humour me for a moment. The other 10 per cent, well, they’re still distracting, but sometimes they get me thinking. Recently I saw a video of a guy dancing at a music festival. He was dancing alone, like a Yo Gabba Gabba wannabe while everyone else looked at him like he was a man possessed. For two whole minutes, this guy kept dancing without a care in the world, despite the fierce judgement he faced. Then out of nowhere, someone joins him – a minute later, another person – 30 seconds later, another person joins them. Within four minutes, one man turned into a mosh pit.

It’s probably at this point many of you will be thinking that I am going a little crazy myself, and some of you will be wondering – “Humphreys, where on earth are you going with this?”. Well, you see, if we look throughout history we are able to identify examples of individuals who managed to inspire others to join their cause. Abraham Lincoln inspired a nation to get rid of slavery.  Nelson Mandella, Martin Luther King – both of whom inspired their respective nations to end “de jure” segregation and Mala Yusafzai – who, despite being shot by the Taliban, pushed for universal education for girls.

These are all common, and now clichéd, examples of inspiring individuals within history. Nonetheless, we can draw an important parallel between the experiences of the dancing man to the four individuals I just mentioned. In each example, all of these individuals faced judgement and adversity through which they had to persevere. Yet it was their passion and determination for justice, or respect from others for their moves, that enabled them to gain collective support.

Now, I think we can all agree that there is a bit of a difference between being pursued by the Taliban for your cause and your dance moves being judged by your fellow festival goers, but I deliberately included my weird Facebook example in this speech to show there is a broad spectrum of influence an individual can have on a group.

You can start a mosh pit, or inspire a race to push for civil rights. Closer to home –  if you are someone who isn’t known for trying something in the creative arts and do so, you have the potential to inspire others to do the same. If you are someone willing to call someone out for saying something offensive, then you might inspire someone else to do the same. At the end of the day, history shows us one person does have the ability to influence the “many” in some form.

When we came up with the motto “one for many”, we designed it knowing we weren’t just satisfied with being a school that respects the passions of everyone. We thought that should be a given. We also wanted to create a school culture whereby we actively tried and desired to become the best version of ourselves and improve our surrounding community.

Realistically, I have no right to come up and here and say this to you. I do not believe I am someone who has created a paradigm shift within the community or, on a smaller scale, called people out when I probably should have.

But it is my hope that one day I will be able to have an influence on society in some form, and without dreams and goals what is the point of persevering through the hard times.

More importantly though, I believe that while every person in this room has the opportunity to make a difference to others, many of us, myself included, will not be able to fulfil their full potential because of our susceptibility to peer pressure and fear of judgment.

We live in a society which loves to classify people into a multitude of groups based on our behaviours. People are placed on a spectrum based on their political beliefs – our generation’s name – Gen iI – is a tagline placed on us because of our apparent obsession with technology.

Even within our own community, we demarcate people based on whether we think they are “athletes” or “academics”, “cool kids/ sick lads” or “introverts”. It can become very hard for us to break the identities assigned to us – identities with which we did not chose to associate ourselves and had no control over  and sometimes people close to you will try to pressure you to remain in those identities or even pressure you to do things to make you conform to their owned defined identity.  

But as that dancing man once showed us, if you are willing to ignore the judgement of others, if you are willing to ignore the pressure to stop doing what you believe is right or ignore the pressure to stop doing something that you love, then at some point you will inspire others to join your cause.

As individuals, we deserve the chance to do the things we enjoy and stand up for what we believe in … as friends we have the obligation to support our mates in that journey.

The more confidence and support we provide to our friends, the more chance  they have of identifying skills that they never thought they had, or the more chance they have of standing up to someone for what they believe in.

Tomorrow night, as you know is the opening night for “Guys and Dolls”. Over the past 5 weeks, I have heard numerous stories of boys, such as Ben Coultass Roberts in Year 12 who, before this musical, had no experience in Drama, and tomorrow night will perform in a major role. It’s the confidence to try new things without fear of judgement, like Ben had, which inspires others to do the same.  It’s the confidence that, as friends, we can give boys like Ben, to enable them to discover talents they never thought they had.

It’s not easy to stand out from the social demarcation which has been placed on us and to stand up and do something you know will benefit your community – but as a school we can help the boys who are willing to do that and enable them to achieve their goals through our support – because it is these boys who could inspire you to do the same.

Don’t be afraid to stand out, and don’t be afraid to support those who do.

To end this speech today I would like to say this:

“An empowered individual leads to an empowered collective”.

Every boy in this room has the potential to empower us all.

Alexander Humphreys (12/JN)

Clean up Australia Day at NEW

On Sunday, 4 March, boys started to trickle into Newington for Clean Up Australia Day. By the time everyone had arrived, a record-breaking 230 boys of every house had shown up to take part. They were split into groups of 4 or 5, each led by a senior student. Every house was assigned their part of a total area that ranged from Trafalgar Street down to Addison Road. At 9am, armed with gloves and rubbish bags, the groups set out and started their task of cleaning up Stanmore.

The day was organised by the sustainability committee and made possible by Mrs Carruthers and Mr Wilkins, who worked tirelessly in the days leading up to and on the day of the clean-up. By all accounts, it was a great day to work together and engage with members of your house across year groups and do some service for the Stanmore community.

After two hours of work, the boys started to return and it became clear the clean-up effort was a great success. Groups came back with loaded rubbish bags, discarded chairs, old car parts and a large number of shopping trolleys. By the end of the morning, the boys had collected enough rubbish to fill three trucks. This year was the biggest yet and hopefully the event will continue to grow in future years.

 Alistair Shaw (10/LE)

More Guys and Dolls

Last weekend’s wonderful production of Guys and Dolls reminds us why this musical is such a favourite. This was the third time that Newington has put on this show: the previous productions were in 1979 and 2005.

Described in a review in The Newingtonian as ‘a marvellous success’, the 1979 show was produced by the Headmaster, Tony Rae, and directed and choreographed by Bob James, who had come to Newington the year before. Appointed as an Economic teacher and later as Head of Creative Arts, Bob had worked professionally in music and theatre and had taught and performed jazz, contemporary and classical ballet in London. It was no surprise that the staging, choreography and fine dancing were impressive features of the production.

So, too, was the music. Both the 46-strong chorus of ‘guys’ and ‘dolls’ and the solo singers were expertly trained by Elizabeth Swain OAM, the College’s Director of Music for 22 years. There were two instrumental ensembles: the nine-piece ‘Mission Band’ and the 21-strong orchestra, led by Music teacher and band leader Jim Holbert.

The show’s lighting was described as ‘by far the most ambitious ever used at the school’, while the backdrop of the stark New York skyline made a great visual impact.

More than seventy boys took part in the production on and off the stage, along with a number of staff and parents. The show featured twenty-six girls and was one of three productions that year — along with Benjamin Britten’s Noye’s Fludde and ‘An Evening of Song, Poetry, Dance’ — in which girls from Meriden, MLC School and PLC Sydney took part.

David Roberts
College Archivist

Lessons and Choices: A talk with Trent Southworth

It’s a bloody and confronting image: a transit van with no seats in the back, packed with nine young people with not a single thing to grab hold of when it hit a telegraph pole near Sydney University at 90km/hour.

And it’s an image that has stayed with former NSW police officer Trent Southworth, who spoke to parents and senior boys at Newington on 27 February as part of a wellbeing series supported by Newington’s P&F.

Mr Southworth spent 14 years with NSW Police, eight of them in a youth liaison role. There isn’t much he hasn’t seen, from horrific accidents fuelled by alcohol to teenagers distraught and confused by why a single Ecstasy tablet has had little effect on them, yet left one of their friends comatose.

His talks to students in Years 10, 11 and 12 covered issues including peer pressure, personal safety, life choices and rights, responsibilities and respect.

He gave Newington boys an insider’s knowledge about how drugs, alcohol and violence can impact their lives, telling them:

• Choose your friends carefully. Good friends are the ones who stop you from getting involved in a fight (with the potential for charges of assault or affray). They don’t egg their mates on;
• If you do encourage an assault, you can be found guilty of committing the same crime, even if you didn’t do a thing;
• One moment can change a life. Mt Southworth cited the example of former swimmer Nick Darcy who, on the night he was selected in the Australian team for the Beijing Olympics, king hit his teammate Simon Cowley. Cowley suffered multiple fractures to his face; D’Arcy was dropped from the Australian team, received a suspended prison sentence and declared bankruptcy after Cowley was awarded $180,000 in damages.
• He is regularly hired by major corporations to cull job applicants based on the images they post on social media;
• Most employers will ask for a pre-employment medical check. People who have used marijuana will test positive – but so will people who have only been sitting a room with others who are smoking the drug. The result? No job.
• Carrying a fake ID is fraud, and a criminal offence;
• People can choose whether to get into a car driven by someone who is drunk or affected by drugs.

Mr Southworth took a realistic approach to teenage behaviour, noting most boys have their first drink before they are 16. He urged Year 10, 11 and 12 boys to resist peer pressure.

“If you drink booze at your own pace, it will prevent many problems,” he said. “Group dynamics can be difficult, but it’s when you get into a shout or sculling competition that problems start.”

Drinking water or eating have no impact on how quickly the body processes alcohol, and it takes two hours of intoxication levels to peak. Body size can have a huge impact on how much you can consume.

Other issues addressed in the talk included the highly-addictive nature of the drug Ice, its questionable contents (including crushed glass) and its destructive consequences.

“When you buy drugs, it’s Russian Roulette,” Mr Southworth said. “You don’t know what’s in it.”

“When things go wrong at a party, don’t wait to call triple 0. Don’t wait it out. Mates need to be on top of it look out for each other and seek professional help.”

Mr Southworth’s talk was one of a series planned at Newington this year and supported by the P&F. As well as his forums with students, he gave a seminar to parents.

Fitness Monitoring Signals a New Era for Football and Sports Performance

Newington College Football and Rugby has moved into a new phase of performance development with the acquisition of GPS fitness testing equipment which can be used to ascertain a number of metrics, separated into two distinct categories, Volume which entails Distance covered, Total Sprint distance, power plays, energy and impacts and the other category, Intensity which measures top speed, distance per minute, power score, work ratio and player load. The players wear a vest with a pod which calculates all these parameters, whether it is a training session or a match.

We have been utilising the new system for the past two weeks and already the boys are now more cognisant of the importance of improving overall fitness to raise their levels to new norms. The various statistics, when used over a consistent period of time do establish strengths and weaknesses for players and coaches alike to harness and prioritise.

From a health perspective, the new initiative highlights the positive effect on the boys’ health as they come to appreciate that lifestyle adaptations also contribute significantly to improving each and every metric. For boys who wish to build towards playing sport at a competitive level after Newington, the ability of the system to benchmark their performance against the best current practice is hugely informative.

The new tool is an important “step” in assisting our students in establishing new progressive benchmarks. It has already been highly motivational for the boys and as in academic life, as in sport, the new product illustrates comparative levels and acts as a “check and balance” for each boy, each week.

Brian McCarthy
Director of Football

Sport Report

Winter Sport

Winter sport training will commence on Tuesday, March 13 for Year 7. For Years 8-12, training will commence week starting Monday, March 19. There will be sporting fixtures on Saturday, March 24 and April 7. There is no Sport on the Easter weekend.

Cross Country

The Newington Invitational Cross Country will be held on Saturday, March 24 at Sydney Park. Boys who are not involved with the Cross Country program are invited to attend. The day starts at 9:30 AM, with the Juniors (U14) competing first at 10 AM. Please check the Sporting fixtures for confirmed details.

Rowing

We would like to acknowledge all Rowers who participated in the recent NSW State Championships and the Gold Cup at Riverview on Saturday, the effort and commitment from all Rowers was fantastic to watch. All the very best to the boys who will be representing Newington at the Head of River Regatta on Saturday, March 17 at Penrith.

Swimming

The 2018 AAGPS Swimming season is in full swing with the Friday night meets. Friday, March 9 will see the final meet prior to the AAGPS Swimming Championships on March 23. We wish all boys the very best over the coming weeks.

Triathlon

Last week over 40 boys across Years 7-12 competed at the NSW All School Triathlon Championships, on the Wednesday we had the Individual races, on the Thursday we had the teams events which saw nine teams represent across the three divisions. It was wonderful to see the boys participating with their friends in the teams. Well done to all boys who participated.

Award-winning Journalist David Marr Inspires Journalism Students

From the second the Year 10 Journalism boys stepped into the lecture room, they knew Mr Marr was a unique speaker. Rather than the ordinary lectern with a mic attached, Mr Marr opted for a lone stool.

Once all the boys had filed in and taken their seats, Mr Marr started his lecture with a stunning, yet blunt, opening line:

‘Objectivity is impossible.’

Throughout the lecture, Mr Marr explored many aspects of journalism that he had uncovered over his decorated 45 years as a journalist. One of which was: ‘A tabloid can be the most poetic, vicious and most powerful part of journalism.’

Mr Marr drew comparisons to the recent news around the former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and how the media had attacked Mr Joyce with various headlines on the front page, referring to The Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Herald.

‘Politics is the most highly disputed area of journalism,’ Marr remarked.

‘Every journalist likes to think of themselves as the centre of politics, however no one can be. I believe that I am in the centre, however from other people’s perspectives I am not.’

Surprising his audience, Mr Marr expressed that he did not regard himself as a good journalist.

‘I rarely ever broke news stories,’ he noted.

Instead, Mr Marr explained he was a columnist who shared his opinion on current affairs, which he believes is just as important.

‘I don’t think breaking the story is the greatest thing, however the best thing is to understand the story,’ said Mr Marr.

After Mr Marr had finished his lecture, he asked people to ‘grill’ him. Mr Marr was met with tough questions, one of which was: ‘Have you ever regretted a story?’

Mr Marr responded with a surprising comment, noting that he often regrets writing most articles, because there will always be a mistake in any piece that you write.

‘You may make some sort of grammatical mistake, or you could not link things together correctly. However, the worst thing you can do is where you hurt someone as a result of you making a mistake.’

He added he does not believe that he has done this, but he has made some minor mistakes which he completely regrets to this day.

A final sentiment that Mr Marr left students with was what he believed was a requirement to being a successful journalist:

‘You need to be a good storyteller, and that will not change. The only way to explain the world is by telling stories.’

Arley Kekic (10/FL)