Red Centre Tour 2018

The 2018 Red Centre Service Learning Tour was led by The Head of Service Learning Mr Mick Madden and accompanied by Mr Michael Moonen, Mr Andy Quinnane and Rev Geordie Barham. This was the fourth Service Learning expedition to visit Aboriginal Communities in the desert country of Central Australia. This was a seven-night adventure, camping each night under the spectacular starlit desert skies.

This year’s tour really hit the ground running by flying in direct to Ayers Rock airport. This enabled us to take in the wonders of Uluru after lunch on the first day, just two hours after our arrival. Boys were then able to witness and photograph the breathtaking, changing colours of the Uluru sunset that same evening. The location of our first campsite also enabled us to explore and marvel at the unique conglomerate rock formations at nearby Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) as we went on a two-hour trek along the Valley of the Winds walk.

In our travels, we were also fortunate enough to visit both Kings Canyon, the Ormiston George and camp out on the ancient Fink Riverbed. The boys were in awe of the colours and sheer majesty of these quite remarkable landscapes. Their photos taken were full of colour and amazing contrasts with the rich red earth set against the uninterrupted, endless clear blue skies.

As in past years, we were again fortunate enough to spend two nights camping on a remote property owned by one of our tour guides, John Liddle, who is a traditional aboriginal landowner. Upon arrival, the boys experienced a traditional welcome to land, complete with a smoking ceremony led by Aunty Bessie Liddle, who is a significant Elder in Central Australia. Whilst on this traditional Aboriginal land, they were able to learn all about bush tucker, desert survival, navigation and animal tracking were we saw evidence of birds, dingoes, lizards, small marsupials and even camels near our campsites. The boys were also shown how to find and gather their own bush tucker including what has now become a traditional rite of passage in digging up mulga roots to find some succulent witchetty grubs, which the boys consumed raw, much to the absolute delight of their teachers and mates.

The Liddle family are continually in the process of building works on their land and this year our boys were able to lend their muscle to digging a 200 metre trench to house an irrigation hose for their self-sufficient ‘Newington Garden’, where John has planted a variety of heat-tolerant plants including native desert bush ‘tomatoes’. Our boys completed a remarkable number and variety of tasks, which included some plumbing, land clearing, the erection of a metal garden shed and jacking up a shipping container and caravan to place them up off the ground on blocks, so that they could be used as temporary accommodation. The boys took great pride in their accomplishments and John was humbled and quite overwhelmed by how much they accomplished in one full days ‘hard yakka’. Their efforts really made a significant difference for this family community.

Every night 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 stories, told spellbindingly around a roaring campfire in traditional native language with the aid of a skilled translator. A rare privilege for white Australians. This year the boys were also enrolled in a traditional dot painting class led by a local female artist. Boys were challenged to paint ‘their family story’ in traditional Aboriginal style and then share their ‘story with the group upon completion. They really embraced this particular challenge and rose to the occasion producing some meticulous and thoughtful work.

At Hermannsburg, in the heart of AFL territory and we used sport as a ‘bridge’ to interact with the local Aboriginal children. This year we had over 30 local kids of all ages share a game of footie with us in mixed teams, played on the bone dry, brown and dusty Hermannsburg oval. At the conclusion of the game, we distributed a full set of AFL jerseys kindly donated by our AFL affiliates from Sydney University. All the local kids who played that day went home with a treasured memento of our afternoon spent together.

The feedback from the boys about this experience has been all excitingly positive. Many of the boys stated that this was the best school trip that they had ever been on, even surpassing previous overseas tours that some had been on. They all had a great time spent with their mates and experienced the awesome landscape, 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 2019 and we hope for years to come.

Mick Madden
Head of Service Learning

Founders Concert

On Monday, 30 July The Newington community was treated to a fantastic evening of music at the annual Founders Concert, which was held at City Recital Centre, Angel Place. In his welcome, Director of Music Mr Mark Scott explained the power of music in our lives.

Music means something different for everyone. Throughout time and across cultures, it forms the soundtracks of our lives. There is little more powerful than a familiar melody, a memorable rhythm, or a combination of sounds. The feelings within musical creations invade our humanity in deeply personal ways – even if simply to make us feel brighter, get us moving, or remember something that we thought we’d forgotten.

Music can be played with passion because it embodies passion. A musician’s job is to tap into the essence of a piece and convey the intent of the composer to the listener. Sometimes an expected emotional message will be conveyed depending on who plays the music, who receives the music, and when the music is presented. The magic of music is in the mystery.

With one foot planted in the Age of Reason, Beethoven redefined the purpose of classical music, shattering conventions and infusing it with new views on the artistic expression of passion. For this reason we selected his image to represent our concert theme this year. The repertoire has been assembled to encourage thoughts about passion, how it can be represented musically, and the changing nature of the purpose of music.

Our boys and staff begin each day with purpose driven by a passion to make music. We are grateful for this opportunity and for the support given by our school community.

It was an incredible evening for the Newington Community. Bravo to all involved!

World Languages Week

Every language we learn and speak influences who we become. This year’s World Languages Week was held from the 23-27 of July and celebrated the theme “Language = Identity”. This theme was chosen as a reminder to us all that Australia has always been a multilingual country and that we should be proud of all of the languages studied and spoken here at Newington. After all, language is the lens through which we see and understand the world, language is what connects us to each other. Celebrating our linguistic diversity strengthens who we are as a community.

To celebrate languages week, we were fortunate to have local Gadigal elder Uncle Ray Davison perform a welcome to country at a special languages week assembly. Also at Assembly, we watched a video showcasing just some of our students speaking in their language and heard from these students what speaking their language means to them. During the week, students took part in a languages scavenger hunt, a selfie competition and enjoyed food from different countries in our cafeteria. There were also many in-class activities including cooking, music, dance and games. Our biggest event of the week was our annual Poetry Competition and Languages Showcase. Approximately 300 parents, students and staff were treated to poetry performances in Chinese, French, Italian, Latin, Modern Greek and Spanish. The standard was particularly high this year and all participants should be proud of their efforts.

Marnie Foster
Head of Languages

Newington’s 9th Tonga Tour

Newington College’s 9^th Annual Tour to Tupou College, Tonga, took place during our mid-year break.

There has been immense growth in Newington’s relationship with Tupou College since Dr Mulford led a touring party to the College in 2009 to re-invigorate the relationship, which extends back to 1866.

Mr Cameron Quince, Mr Tom Lever and Ms Tamara Smith, ONU representative Mr Harry Jordan (ON 2011) and students from Years 9 to 12 were hosted with warmth by the Tupou College community.

The students all signed up as Service Learning participants and many boys toured with the sole reason of serving their brothers at Tupou College.

Despite arriving at 1:30 am on a Thursday in the middle of the Tongan school holidays, we were greeted by Tupou College’s Principal and numerous senior teaching staff, their families and students.

During our time in Tonga, Mr Quince worked with senior Tupou College staff on improving options and content of courses offered at the College. He also met with a number of staff to continue our efforts to support Tupou College in improving their nutrition program.

Mr Lever worked with Tupou College Mathematics staff, including Ms Klarissa Stellmacher, who is currently on secondment from Newington. He also ran rugby coaching clinics for Tupou College staff and students and carried out reconnaissance work for Newington Challenge.

Ms Smith worked alongside Newington College English teacher Ms Mary Nosworthy, who is currently on secondment at Tupou College, to help direct the College’s upcoming first performance of Romeo and Juliet. She also organised musical workshops and visits to the Tupou College Museum.

Our first service learning activity on our first day in Tonga was farm work alongside boys and staff from Tupou College in the newly established Newington Food Bowl paddock. On Friday, we toured Tongatapu, including the capital Nuku’alofa, and visited the local market and blowholes.

We spent Saturday night catching up with families of Tongan Old Boys at our annual reunion dinner at Tupou College. The event was attended by many current and past Newington parents. Our boys listened to traditional music and enjoyed watching Callum Stewart (11/MA) collaborate with Tupou College Head of Music Eloni Nau and his friends.

The Sunday chapel service was a shining example of the immersion in Tongan and Methodist culture that our touring party experience each year. Rev. Alifeleti Atiola delivered a sermon based on the theme “Integrity, Character and Legacy” and the similarities between our college communities were palpable in his message. The service was followed by a Tongan feast, full of heartfelt prayers and speeches, and then a much-needed afternoon of rest.

Sunday night gave four members of our touring party the opportunity to participate in the Poloto, a celebratory service in the Moulton Chapel. Many of our musicians played alongside Tupou College students, and we heard some humorous and earnest speeches from staff and boys from both communities.

School resumed on Monday morning and our boys attended lessons alongside their Tupou College brothers for the next three days, a unique chance for them to live as a Tongan.

Our rugby tourists enjoyed a Rugby 7s fixture where they played alongside and against their Tupou College brothers in front of a large crowd that thoroughly enjoyed the game.

The next day, we decided to host an Aussie BBQ for the Tupou College boys as a thank you for their wonderful hospitality. We cooked and served a sausage sandwich for every boy on campus as part of their dinner.

Our farewell night was particularly special, with guests including His Excellency the High Commissioner for Tonga Mr Andrew Ford and his wife. Mr Ford spoke about how impressed he was by the “people-to-people” contact between Newington and Tupou College and how our relationship is a shining example for Australia and our neighbours in the Pacific.

The Newington students and staff presented gifts to our hosts, including seeds, agricultural equipment and books that will be used in the Newington Food Bowl Project.

We are blessed to have such a unique relationship with our brother school in Tonga and are grateful for the extraordinary efforts that they made to welcome and host our touring party. Our founding father Rev. Dr James Egan Moulton would be proud of the love and compassion shown by both of our colleges when we spend time in each other’s communities.

Thank you to all boys and staff for your enormous contributions whilst on tour.

For information about the soon-to-be-launched 2019 Service Learning Tour to Tonga please contact Mr Quince via email at CQuince@newington.nsw.edu.au

Cameron Quince
Head of Fletcher House

Kempsey Tour 2018

To start the mid-year break, a group of year 9 and 10 Newington College students were taken away from their usual routine, to gain a better understanding and appreciation for Indigenous Australian culture. It was an experience that would not only add value to the lives of our students but also to Newington College’s relationship with Macleay Vocational College (MVC).

Day 1 
The day began with an early start on Monday, 2 July, the boys of Newington College arrived with a mix of tiredness and excitement. With Mr Dyer in the driver’s seat of the bus, the convoy departed 200 Stanmore Rd at 7:30 am. A stop or two on the drive north and a number of songs from the bus’s resident DJ Ms Troncone was only bettered by the attempts at singing by the group. Once the bags were unloaded and students acquainted with their accommodation in Crescent Head, everyone was back on the road for the quick journey to MVC. Here students were introduced to Mr Mark Morrison, the Principle of MVC, School staff and some Elders of the Dunghutti Nation. Then it was time to get artistic, with the boys introduced to the styles and customs of Indigenous art. A few hours later, each of the boys walked away with their own artwork linked to their own story and an appreciation for Indigenous art.

Day 2
It was an amazing experience for everyone involved. Staff and students were accompanied by two Dunghutti Elders and an MVC staff member to the Willi Willi National Park. A walk through the dense rainforest to a number of waterfalls was complemented with stories and lessons on bush tucker by the elders. Students waded through the icy water along the river bed, eavesdropping on the sounds of birds, running water and gentle rustle from the trees. Whilst Mr Muir had instructed the use of wetsuits, only a few heeded the advice, some even choosing board shorts and a polo shirt for the barmy 4^oC water. When everyone was dry, warm and fed it was back to the resort for a well-earned sleep.

Day 3
The day started with a game of touch football on the beach and not even the rain could stop the laughter or competitiveness of the boys, while Mr Dyer’s refereeing was brought into question. After the game, the boys were once again joined by two Elders and explored the beach in search of pipis and worms. Eaten fresh on the beach of Crescent Head, the pipis served as a snack before heading back to the resort for lunch. From here the group visited the Bush Tucker Garden at the Kempsey TAFE. A tour from Elder Barry who set up the park was informative and educational. There were plants to eat (which we did), plants for tea and even a nut from a tree that we learnt can be used as a candle by burning the natural oil, which Indigenous Australians did when moving about at night or even on their canoe when fishing at night. The day finished with a BBQ for the community which had a great turn out. All the boys worked hard to prepare the food and ensure no one went home hungry. Even Mr Fisher, who doesn’t usually eat meat, was exposed to the delicious culinary expertise of the boys from Newington College.

Day 4 
It was an early start with the bus packed and loaded ready for departure at 6:30 am. Some tired boys slept, some yearned for the toilet and others simply spent the time reminiscing about what they had just experienced. It was a fantastic trip rich in experience, which took some out of their comfort zone but ultimately allowed all to foster their appreciation for the oldest continuing culture on the planet.

Kanga Cup

The Kanga Cup is the largest International Youth Football Tournament in the Southern Hemisphere. Over the school holidays, sixteen Newington footballers took part in the week-long competition in Canberra, ACT.

The Year 7,8 and 9 students joined teams from across the world hailing from Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, Denmark, East Timor, England, Fiji, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, South Africa and the United States of America.

The group stayed and trained at the state-of-the-art Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). The week was packed full of training sessions and games. Mr Neill Jablonski, Mr Christian Scardilli and Mr Ed Summers coached the boys throughout the tournament, and also organised activities such as recovery sessions at the AIS Recovery Centre plunge pools and a trip to Questacon at The National Science and Technology Centre.

Tournament play provided the boys with opportunities to take risks, and further develop their skills. Jordan Harrity (8/MO) shared that his favourite part of the trip was playing an outfield position rather than his usual role as a goalkeeper.

This was the third year Newington has sent a group to participate in the Kanga Cup. Valuing preparation, resilience, building relationships with others and developing long-term thinking both on and off the field is what continues to make this tournament beneficial for our boys.

The following boys participated:

Declan Carmichael (7/MO)
Samuel Eddowes (7/FL)
Andres El Khouri (7/JN)
James Granger (9/MA)
Jordan Harrity (8/MO)
Isaac Hartshorne (7/LE)
Lucas Hatch (8/FL)
Gus Howells (7/JN)
Oliver Kleppich (9/MA)
Anders Koskela (7/JN)
William Linke (7/FL)
Aiden Love (8/PR)
Jack Middleton (8/JN)
Aydin Satici (7/JN)
James Southon (7/LE)
Max Yeoland (7/KL)

Gold Coast Tour

During the second week of the recent school holidays, a squad of 30 players and three staff ventured north to compete in the annual Gold Coast Rugby Carnival. This is a festival of rugby that includes teams from both Australia and New Zealand and competitors in age groups from Under 12 to Under 18. The format of the week involved Round Robin fixtures within age divisions and then a play-off to determine placings at the end of the week. Newington fielded Two teams in Two Under 13 divisions with the first team finishing third behind a very strong Parramatta representative team, and the second team finishing fourth behind Paikea JRC from New Zealand.

The week was not all about rugby. Boys spent the off-days competing in a beach sport challenge and visiting the various theme parks the Gold Coast has to offer; spending time at Sea World, Movieworld and Wet and Wild. There was also time to take in the Australian Outback Spectacular on the final night. This was an enjoyable week of rugby and much more. Thanks to Mr Manion for his organisation and Messrs Nowlan, Egerton and Cook for their driving of buses and supervision. Thanks also to the parents who travelled north for their support.

Bob Egerton
Rugby Coach/Science Teacher

National Tree Day

National Tree Day was celebrated across the country on Sunday, 29 July by local councils and communities invested in ‘greening’ our future and conserving our natural environments. Four students from the Newington College Sustainability Committee  – Oscar Liu (10/ME), Nelson Crossley (12/PR), Cameron Wang (12/FL) and Jarrah McEvoy (12/FL) represented our college at Sydney Park in St Peters, with over 50 local residents.

The morning started with an acknowledgement of country and then a brief demonstration of how to plant native seedlings along the designated wetlands area. With a great deal of enthusiasm and commitment, our students then planted at least 50 of the 300 seedlings provided by the City of Sydney council, on one of the most brilliant Winter days of this year.

The experience was certainly rewarding for the boys as they were witness to a strong sense of community for such a meaningful and necessary annual event. Hopefully, they will revisit Sydney Park in the coming months to see the ‘fruits of their labour’ and to enjoy such a wonderful, peaceful green space in our city.

The Newington College Sustainability Committee is passionate about looking after our local and school environment and we invite any student who is like-minded to come and join our group at lunchtimes on Tuesday in W19.

Ms Caterina Troncone
Acting Sustainability Co-ordinator

A Great Cloud of Witnesses

‘… Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, … let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart....’ (Heb 12:1-3)

Who are the “cloud of witnesses,” mentioned in this passage and how do they “surround” us? The word ‘Therefore’ at the commencement of this passage points back to the previous chapter eleven of Hebrews, where great men and women of faith are highlighted; Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Rahab, David, Samuel and so on. Chapter 12 references that these faithful men and women have paved the way for us, as they looked forward, in faith, to —the Messiah.

We too can be inspired by the godly model that these ‘faith-filled’ men and women encapsulate. Their example of faith in God encourages us today to embrace ‘faith-filled’ lives. The cloud is referred to as “great” because it indicates that millions have gone before us having left a legacy that we can build on.

Our motto here at Newington is ‘In Fide Scientiam’ which is translated to mean ‘To faith, add knowledge’. The fifty-two names of amazing people that are displayed on the walls of the chapel serve to remind us of the guiding principle and purpose of what our motto represents. These philosophers, scientists, artists, theologians, humanitarians, leaders and prophets have contributed in some amazing way to the foundations of our society; the likes of Mozart, Columbus, Einstein, Moses, Teresa, Mendel and the like, who have helped shape our world to be what it is today. For our Newington community, these are our very own great cloud of witnesses, who serve to inspire us that we too can help shape our world in an amazing way. Throughout Term Three, the boys will learn about the people behind these names; their exploits, their contributions and the values that they have bestowed.

Rev. Geordie Barham 
College Chaplain

Nic Newling visits Newington

On Wednesday, 27 June, the Newington Year 12 cohort had the pleasure of hosting Nic Newling, a mental health advocate from his own initiative, ‘The Champions’. Nic’s engaging speech shed light on the serious mental health issues that we are all susceptible to, suicide prevention, and also provided the boys with his own personal experiences that plagued him during his youth. An outspoken advocate for mental health, Nic openly discussed his ordeal in battling severe depression during his childhood, highlighting that despite the best personal circumstances we are all vulnerable to these problems. Growing up, Nic had a loving and supporting family structure, loved playing sports with his friends and attended the Shore School. It wasn’t until he began to excel academically that Nic became overwhelmed from the pressures of school and began to develop anxiety. It was during this time that his older brother lost his life to suicide and Nic began to suffer from severe depression. Nic discussed how the negative stigma’s surrounding the perceptions of masculinity created a closed environment, in which he felt he could not express his emotions, as they would be perceived for weakness. He continued to discuss how he would hide his emotions from friends and family, refusing to let anyone see him in a way that could be perceived as “less of a man”.

Since overcoming his mental illnesses, Nic has strived for making a positive difference in reducing the stigmas that surround mental health issues, encouraging the open discussions of these issues in safe environments where those who feel they are suffering will not be judged. Nic’s initiative “The Champions”, aims to achieve this through providing support, strength and positivity to those in need, whilst teaching others how we can help someone that we think may be suffering from mental illnesses. All in all, Nic’s speech was extremely rewarding and provided all the boys with a valuable insight into the severity of mental health issues and how we can provide those suffering with an inclusive environment where they can be heard. Thank you Nic! 

Comedy night will help Asylum Seekers Centre

Professionals from Improv Theatre Sydney (ITS) will join together with students and staff from Newington College on Thursday, 9 August, to deliver a hilarious night of improvised comedy to raise funds for the Asylum Seekers Centre (ASC) in Newtown.

Manton House organisers Callum Stewart (11/MA) and Xavier Papps (11/MA) tell us what to expect …

What will happen on the night?

The ASC Comedy Night is set to be a fantastic night of improvised, with a line-up of talented Newington boys and staff performing alongside professionals from Improv Theatre Sydney. The performers will start the night in Round 1, where three different teams will have 15 minutes each to improvise different scenes in a battle format, with the audience deciding the winner at the end of the round. After the raffle has been drawn, Round 2 will see an ‘All Stars’ team perform an improvised soap opera.

Why does Manton support the ASC?

Manton changed its house charity at the beginning of this year to support the ASC as it allows the boys to have a more ‘hands-on’ experience with our charity.

Manton boys have had many opportunities to get involved with the Centre over the past six months, including weekly donations of goods to the ASC Food Bank. Each week, three boys have the unique opportunity to deliver these goods to the ASC and see the work that the Centre does.

The ASC supports over 2,000 people seeking asylum each year, so these donations are a great way for us to be able to support it.

Who will be in the teams performing on the night?

The three teams will be made up of Improv Theatre Sydney comedians and Newington staff, coaches and students, who will perform together, including Cale Bain, Jenna Owen and Kate Coates from ITS.

Do you have any surprises up your sleeve?

We have one of our very own teachers performing on the night which will certainly be one of many highlights.

What are the prizes in the raffle?

• Signed 2017 Australian Rugby 7’s jersey – donated by Rugby Australia.
• Ultimate Waratahs Experience (includes a tour of the Waratahs Training Centre, the ability to watch a training session and tickets to a game) – donated by NSW Rugby.
• Seraphin Sunglasses – donated by ProOptics.
• Tour of SCG & Allianz Stadium – donated by SCG Trust.
• Luxury Gift Pack (includes Burberry perfume and L’Occitane lotion) – donated by Mayhem.

Tickets are $20 via TryBooking. There are limited seats available; book now!

Congrats

Basketball

These past holidays saw Reed Nottage (12/LE), Brandon Freire (12/PR) and Matur Maluach (12/FL) participate in the NBA Academy Games & Basketball Australian Prospects Camp held at the AIS in Canberra. With over 35 American college coaches and 15 NBA scouts in attendance, the boys received great exposure for their future aspirations in the sport. All three were placed into teams which competed against the Latin America’s, African, India, China and Global NBA Academy’s. Not to be outdone Angus Ole (9/PR) was up in sunny Queensland representing NSW Metro 16 boys at the National Championships. Angus individual performance was first class helping his team to the bronze medal.

Fencing

Congratulations to Alistair Shaw (10/LE), Leon Qian (11/MA), Colin Chen (9/LE) and Oliver Smart (10/KL), who took gold in the National Sabre Teams event at the 2018 National Championships for fencing. The win crowned some fantastic results for our fencers: Joshua Roncolato (11/LE) won silver in the National Sabre Individuals, Ben Diskin (10/MO) won bronze in the National Foils Individuals and Jack Murtough-Coombes (12/KL), Ben Diskin, Alex McEvoy (10/FL) and Deklan Rollason (12/MO) won silver in the National Foil Teams.

IB Italian

Congratulations to the Year 12 IB Italian ab initio students for 2018 who sat for their final examinations in May and received their results during the July vacation. Particular honours went to Matteo Lannan (12/PR) and Cameron Wang (12/FL) who gained coveted Grade 7’s. All of the boys can be immensely proud of their achievements, having only begun to study the language in February of last year. Not only have they developed a really valuable life skill, they have learned much about themselves and both the Italian and Australian cultures, making them great examples of effective global citizens. Ottimo!

Kevin Lee Latin Quiz

On the 21st June, Aidan Giordan (8/LE), Manav Kalra (8/MO), Harshvardhan Khandekar (8/FL) and Toby Stepto (8/MO) represented Newington at the Kevin Lee Latin Quiz, an annual competition held in honour of the late Professor Kevin Lee, a professor of Latin from the University of Sydney and proponent of Classics among schools. The boys competed as a team against other schools in NSW, answering a broad range of questions from classical mythology, Latin/English etymology, and even mathematical equations in Latin. This was the first year the boys competed, and they performed admirably…winning their heat outright. They then progressed to the final, where they achieved 3rd place.  

All four boys represented Newington with distinction were good sports and gave a fantastic effort throughout the night. The team now have the 2019 championship firmly in their sights and had a wonderful experience putting their Latin skills into practice. ‘I believe that the evening of the Latin quiz went very well and we all enjoyed ourselves and tried our absolute best.’ – Aidan Giordan

Sporting Starts

The wonderful achievements of our Rifle Shooters in the GPS competition, reported elsewhere in this issue, remind us that Rifle Shooting is one of the longest-established organised sports at Newington.

When Rifle Shooting became a GPS sport in 1905, competition between school teams was already well established under the National Rifle Association of New South Wales. The AAGPS purchased the NRA Shield (previously called the Schools’ Challenge Shield) from the Association and adopted the records of school teams dating back to 1885 as GPS records. Thus, Newington’s earliest GPS Rifle Shooting victory — “School Champions at last!”, exulted The Newingtonian — is recorded as 1887, when we won the Schools’ Challenge Shield, along with six other matches and many individual prizes in the same competition.

Both Rifle Shooting and Rugby will celebrate their sesquicentenaries — 150^th anniversaries — in 2019. You can learn more about the start of our many sports, and see historical sporting items not shown before, in a new display. ‘Sporting Starts’, in the Taylor Sports Centre’s Function Room.

David Roberts
College Archivist

Newington sharp shooters win GPS premiership

Newington has won the AAGPS Rifle Shooting Premiership after an outstanding performance from the Firsts at the Hornsby Range.

The Newington Firsts faced hard-fought competition from Shore before winning both the Buchanan Shield and the Rawson Cup, and placing second to Shore in the NRA Shield.

It is the second consecutive year Newington has won the premiership.

Five Newington boys were named in the GPS Combined Team, including Nicholas Sims (12/LE) who, as the best individual shooter from all schools, was named King of the Range, and Aydin Varol (12/MA), who was named GPS Combined Team Captain. Angus Mueller (12/MO), Nicholas Malakonakis (11/ME) and Hugo Slade (12/PR) were also named in the team, which is made up of the top 12 shooters across all schools.

Our Seconds team finished fourth, with Shore shooting a record to secure first place.

Director of Rifle Shooting Mr Rob Tredinnick thanked large-bore coaches Andrew Sims (the proud father of Nicholas), Greg Pike and Edwin Hooper (ON 2017), who put in many hours in the lead-up to the College’s success. 

Snowsports

The Sydney Interschools Snowsports competition was held the week of the 17- 21 of July.

Newington had 28 competitors competing in events such as Snowboard Alpine racing, Boarder X racing, Alpine ski racing, Skier X racing and Moguls all held at Perisher Blue Ski Resort and were representative across the Senior School as well as the Preparatory campuses.

The competitors were treated to a great week’s weather starting with a team dinner at the Alpine Larder on the Monday before competition commenced.

Newington athletes competed as individuals as well as being part of teams for all these events in an endeavour to progress either as an individual or as part of the team to the next stage of competition, being NSW Interschools being held in Thredbo Village the 21- 26 of August with Cross Country skiing events being held in Perisher Valley on the XC trails.

Snowboarding and mogul skiing continues to be a strength of the school with the following boys progressing to NSW Interschools:

• Flynn Gannon (9/MO) – Alpine and Boarder X Snowboard
• Toby Phillips (9/JN) – joining Flyyn in the Alpine Teams
• Owen Douglas (8/MO) – Alpine Snowboard
• Sam Martin (10/MA) – Moguls
• Zachary Coote (12/PR) – Moguls

The following boys will also be representing at the same event in Cross Country:

• Vincent de Souza (9/PR)
• Sam Martin
• Max Inglis (11/MO)
• Thomas Inglis (7/MO)

The team now looks forward to building on this strength moving towards 2019. Here is a selection of some of the action at this event.

Symon Astley
Director of Cross Country & Snow Sports

Year 10 Journalism students present “TED Talks”

It is said that “Today’s journalism is virtually unrecognisable from that of even a decade ago.” This ever changing media landscape can be challenging considering the educational enrichment of our boys, who are required to effectively find and use information, in addition to assessing credibility and relevance of information and media in all formats. How can they find, discern and make sense of divergent perspectives when traditional journalism practices are no longer? Students from my Year 10 Journalism class took to addressing these issues in a TED-style presentation at the end of Term 2. In particular, how a subject like Journalism helps develop their knowledge of fundamental journalism practices, and specifically, the need for such a subject to be taught in schools. There were lots of presentations which got the audience thinking, including, The Damaging Effects of Tabloid Journalism, Why Should Journalism Be Taught at Newington? and Why Should We Trust Journalists?

These thought-provoking (and sometimes entertaining) “TED Talks” allowed students to report on current issues through a range of media. Some developed their own blogs, some re-produced video content, others researched their topics further using academic journal articles, all for the purpose of presenting for an audience. Through this activity, they discovered what tools would best help organise and communicate new knowledge or creative expression. Students stretched their critical thinking skills, allowing for further growth of their English literacy and independent learning practices.

Students have enjoyed exploring the nature of Journalism through this elective this year, and are excited by investigating further into the “what”, “when”, “who”, and “where” of important current events. A lifelong skill is communication, and in particular, students who participated in these presentations felt that Journalism allows them to communicate effectively and creatively with traditional, new and emerging media, including digital storytelling and publishing tools.

Mrs Lily Young
Teacher Librarian

From the Nurse

DonateLife week is Australia’s national awareness week to promote the importance of organ and tissue donation and encouraging Australians to register their donation decision. The week was held from 29 July – 5 August this year.

Have you registered to become a donor? It only takes a minute.

All you need is your Medicare number and to click here https://donatelife.gov.au/register-donor-today

You can register an ‘intent to be an organ and tissue donor’ with the Australian Organ Donor Register from the age of 16 but you can only fully register from the age of 18.

If you previously registered to be a donor on your driver’s licence, you now need to join the Australian Organ Donor Register.

Some facts from the DonateLife website

• Around 1,400 people are waiting for a transplant in Australia. A further 11,000 people are on dialysis many of whom may benefit from a kidney transplant.
• In 2017, more than 9,600 Australians benefited from eye and tissue donation.
• Organs that can be transplanted include the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, large intestine and pancreas.
• Tissue that can be transplanted includes heart valves and other heart tissue, bone, tendons, ligaments, skin and parts of the eye such as the cornea and sclera.
• While most of us think it is important to discuss our wishes regarding donation, only 51% of us have actually had the conversation. It is very important that your loved ones know that you are willing to be a donor. This is because they will be asked for permission before donation can proceed. If you have registered as a donor this will make that decision easier for them.
• Although age and medical history will be considered, no one should assume they are too young, old or unhealthy to become a donor.
• If you lived in the UK between 1980 – 1996 during the ‘Mad Cow’ outbreak, for a period of 6 or more consecutive months you can donate an organ but not tissue or blood.
• ‘Living donation’ is where you can donate a kidney or part of your liver while you’re still alive. Most living donors are family members or close friends of the recipient.
• You can also be a live femoral head donator if you are having a total hip replacement!

It is an incredible gift to donate so consider registering today and discuss with your family.

Margaret Bates
School Nurse

SchoolTV: Boys and body image

Body image – how we think and feel about our body – is the focus of the latest edition of SchoolTV. The series is presented by Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, who recently spoke to parents and staff at the Stanmore campus about raising teenage boys.

It’s natural for young people to think about how they look, but an increasing number of adolescent boys are developing a negative view of their own body. Concerns about height, muscularity and body fat are particularly common among boys.

The influence of image-based social media and changes in how advertisers target young men are partially responsible for this shift, but parents also play a crucial role in helping their children understand that body shape and size don’t reflect their value as a person.

This edition of SchoolTV explores what parents can do to promote a positive body image for their children and why it is so important to mental health both during adolescence and in adulthood.

Access the edition here http://newington.nsw.schooltv.me/newsletter/body-image

End of Financial Year update

Thank you to everyone that has supported the College’s Endowment Fund so far this year. With your support and generosity, we had a successful end of financial year for both the Wild Indigenous and Mulford Bursaries.

June 30 fundraising has us at halfway to secure an enduring legacy for the Chris Wild (ON 1991) Indigenous Bursary. This is a fantastic result. We thank our Community who have united to support the gift matching campaign.

The aim of the College is to have this Bursary self-sufficient and guarantee the opportunity of a Newington education to an indigenous Boy every year, forever. With your ongoing goodwill and support along with that of current and new Ambassadors, we have the opportunity to award a Wild Bursary every year from 2020. 

June also saw the launch of the Mulford Bursary in honour of our Headmaster Dr David Mulford as he retires this year after leading the College for ten of its most successful years ever.

Again, with your generous support, The Mulford Bursary has reached its first $100,000 and we thank most sincerely those who supported this great cause. Fundraising continues as we strive to reach our $770,000 target. The P&F Ball on 1 September is your next opportunity to support the Mulford Bursary with all proceeds on the night added to the Fund. The first Mulford Bursary holder will begin their Newington journey as soon as our target is reached.

Be it the Wild Indigenous or Mulford Bursary, all donations, great and small, will make a difference.

To donate go to https://www.newington.nsw.edu.au/online-payments

Annual Report now available

Newington College’s Annual Report to the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) is now available.

It covers a range of reporting areas, including academic performance, students wellbeing initiatives, enrolments, financials, professional learning, key achievements and future goals.

You can read the full report here.