Dear parents and guardians,

This weekend our boys will compete in the AAGPS Athletics Carnival, the Seniors on Saturday and the Junior and Intermediate boys on Sunday.  Spectators are not allowed to attend SOPAC, but all events will be streamed live. You can be a part of the action by clicking here.  Our athletes enjoyed a send-off breakfast on Tuesday where our 2019 Athletics Captain Angus Beer was the guest speaker.  Angus took part in a Q&A run by our 2020 Athletics Vice Captains Quentin Lemoto and Nicholas Atkinson.

Our 2020 Captain Tolu Koula also delivered a fantastic speech. He urged the boys to seize the moment and to remember to enjoy themselves while competing this weekend.  He reminded them that while there will be no crowd of supporters in person, they will have the support of the entire Newington community. He asked them to leave nothing in the tank when representing the black and white.

I spoke to our Year 12 parents and boys this week and also communicated with all parents and boys who are involved in Cadets and Newington Challenge about events this term. We are working behind the scenes to make sure Year 12 have the term they deserve and, wherever possible, planned activities will go ahead.  The College will continue to be guided by the NSW Government, which is providing regular updates here. While we will work under this umbrella, there might be times when the advice we provide to individual families, or the school overall, moves outside these general guidelines based on a case-by-case assessment. We regularly consult with the Public Health Unit and act on its recommendations regarding testing and self-isolation.

Everyone tested must self-isolate until they get their results. If they are identified as a close contact of a positive case, they must continue self-isolating for 14 days regardless of results. (Information about contact status will be provided direct by the Public Health Unit.)

We now also encourage boys and staff to wear masks on public transport and in public places. More information about the value of masks can be found here. We continue to ask our community to practise physical distancing.

Again, we ask that anyone with even mild symptoms stay home and get tested. To safeguard the health of the whole community, boys must be symptom free before they return to school.

Please do not rely on social media, or decisions taken by other schools, for information about what will happen at Newington.  I am available to answer any questions you have; please do not hesitate to contact me.