Dear parents and guardians,

The feedback from students, staff and the great majority of parents indicated the program of no screen time on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons is working well to support the ongoing well-being of everyone as well as mitigate against the screen fatigue. Our intention is to continue with this plan but to modify it slightly so that we do not impact the same classes in this next cycle.

From Monday 9 August:

• On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Periods 5 and 6 will remain as screen-free time.
• For the next two weeks (5A and 6B), lessons usually scheduled for Periods 5 and 6 will do a direct swap with Periods 1 and 2 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so we do not hit the same classes again in this cycle during the screen-free afternoons.
• However, there is an exception: the Year 7 timetable for Tuesdays will not change – sport will remain on Tuesday afternoon and Periods 1 and 2 will remain as is.
• Year 11 and 12 students will continue to be set work to go on with in their Period 5 and 6 classes.
• Your son’s timetables in Spaces, General Access and Synergetic will be changed to reflect this.

If you have any questions around the above, please do not hesitate to contact the College.

Our staff are doing work in the background to try and offer activities to boys and their families to help with this extended lockdown.  One such initiative is Parent Borrowing.  Building on the success of our current Library2U remote learning mail-out service for students and staff, these borrowing privileges are also now extended to our parent and guardian community.  Please click here to find out more about joining the Stanmore Library and how to start borrowing your favourite titles today.

Another great initiative is Cooking with Colleen.  Colleen Scalone, our Head of year 7, will walk you through the steps to whipping up a family feast.  Tonight, at 5.00pm, it is lasagne and tiramisu.  Everyone can join, so get the family together and click here to find the shopping list and zoom link.

And finally, our Senior Leaders and the 1^st XVI have reintroduced the ‘Man of the Week’.  The very deserving John Azzi 10/FL is our Newington Man of the Week.  John was nominated by his peers and teachers for demonstrating perseverance, dedication, and respect. John competed in the Education Perfect Southern Hemisphere Maths Championships and if you know John, you know he’s an Education Perfect prodigy. This competition was no exception, and John finished 4th against thousands of other high school students. Congratulations John for showing us that even during a pandemic perseverance, dedication and respect pay off.

A separate communication has gone to Year 12 students and families with an update on our planning for Year 12 trial examinations.

Please stay safe, be patient and continue to follow all the health guidelines regardless of which local government area you live.

Enjoy a screen-free weekend.