Dear Parents and Guardians, 

A man who has made an enormous contribution to Newington, Dr Roger Davidson OAM (ON 1940), will celebrate his 96^th birthday this Sunday, 18 August 2019.  We marked the occasion by inviting Roger to be our special guest at assembly this week, enabling us to share all he has achieved as a Newington student, Old Boy and volunteer, with his family, co-workers and the boys.

Dr Davidson has been a part of Newington for 87 years. He was a student from 1932-1940 and has served our community in many, many ways. He was:

• Council member for 34 years;
• Honorary medical officer for more than 30 years, and ran a sports clinic every Saturday during that time;
• President of the ONU, and
• Founder and Chairman of The 70 Club.

Dr Davidson has volunteered in our Archives Department since 1998, arriving every morning at 9am. He has personally made 150,000 entries in the positions and achievements database, documenting the positions and achievements of past students whilst at school.  Dr Davidson was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2017 for service to medicine, to education and to the community.

Dr Davidson’s Newington College in 1932 was very different.  He told the boys there were only three buildings that remain: Founders, The War Memorial and one small classroom that can be seen from Newington Road.  (Look carefully, he said – you will see the differing brick work).  When he started as a student, the “Newington pause” (when everyone stops speaking as a plane flies overhead) was unheard of.  The reason? In 1932 the only type of aircraft that flew over Newington College was a biplane!

We wish Dr Davidson a wonderful 96^th birthday celebration and look forward to seeing him arrive at 9.00am sharp every morning for as long as he wishes.

Congratulations to the following boys who I am certain will end up in the positions and achievements database. 

William Ioannou (10/PR) and William Smith (10/MA) ranked in the top one per cent of the country in the recent Australian Geography Competition.

Five boys have achieved their Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award.  Congratulations to Isaac Carriline (12/MO), Samson Hulks (11/PR), Felix Laubi (11/MO), Luke Mesterovic (11/MA) and Harry Quinn (12/KL).

With the winter sport season complete, the 2019 Athletics calendar kicks off.  Leading our team this year are Captain Angus Beer (12/ME) and Vice-Captain Sione Lemoto (12/LE).  We wish all our boys a successful season. It will culminate in the AAGPS Athletics Championships on Saturday 21 September.

Monday is a student free day as our staff take part in a range of professional development activities.  I hope you enjoy the long weekend and the boys take full advantage of Monday.  I look forward to seeing the boys back on campus on Tuesday morning.

Enjoy the weekend.