At Newington our vision is to provide an internationally respected education that empowers boys to become men of substance and resilience who make an active and positive contribution to society. To this end we aim to develop inquirers who strive to ‘be the change that they want to see’ and this is evident in the learning that occurs in Units of Inquiry, through our Service Learning Program, and is reflected in our White Ribbon School initiative among many other aspects of life at Newington.

Many of our students demonstrate a desire to impact on the environment through a more sustainable use of resources yet this is not always evident in their actions when it comes to the responsible use of materials. Not through a lack of desire but rather the structures in place or the context does not promote this willingness to be sustainable.

Following on from the enthusiasm and action of past students during Units of Inquiry and the Year 6 Exhibition and using funds donated to the school by past Year 6 groups for the purpose of sustainability, we have implemented a renewed focus on Reducing, Reusing and Recycling at school and home. Over the coming weeks we will gradually introduce a variety of changes as we head towards our desired state of being a school that is as waste efficient as possible with students who have a strong sustainability mindset.

To begin, we are trialling the following for a period of four weeks before reviewing the success and any issues that arise;

• students take their packaging waste home with them so that they can increase their awareness of how much waste they generate

• students take leftover food home to spark conversations with parents on the amount of food that is sometimes wasted by students

• one set of bins (mixed recycling, paper recycling, landfill) located outside the Tuckshop (primarily for students with Tuckshop orders or waste that cannot be taken home for health reasons)

• consistent paper recycling and landfill bins in classrooms, offices and shared spaces

• student-friendly waste reduction signage around the school

• explicit teaching about waste reduction in class.

Following on from this we will get to students (as a part of their Units Of Inquiry) to conduct waste audits and share these results with the wider school community. We will also begin to investigate the best way to address organic waste at our school and have students take ownership over the processes that we put into place.

We look forward to further success and growth in this area, as the year progresses, and welcome any feedback regarding this trial and initiative.

Mr Pascal Czerwenka – Deputy Head of Lindfield K-6