15 Nov 2012

Newington are getting hairy for Movember

You may have seen a few hairier looking teachers lately. Well, that is because they have taken the challenge of growing a moustache for a month. These Newington Mo Bros consisting of Mr Edwards, Mr Lygo, Mr Weekes, Mr Morphew and Mr Findley are promoting the cause to change the face of men’s health.

The aim of becoming a Mo Bro is to effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November and through their actions and words raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.

The funds are raised in Australia equally support the two biggest health issues men face – prostate cancer and male mental health. The funds are raised are for programs run directly by Movember and our men’s health partners, the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and Beyond Blue: the national depression initiative.

If you would like to donate to the cause and help raise funds for Men’s health head to the link below.

http://au.movember.com/mospace/index/search/#q=newington college

Thanks to the Newington Community who have already started to get involved.

The Newington Mo Bro Team

 

End of Year Celebrations

As we draw to the end of the year there are always a number of opportunities for the boys to showcase their tremendous talents through a variety of community events and celebrations. This year is no different with Ensembles, Concerts, Christmas Carols, Year 6 Graduation and Prize Giving all ahead of us. These events are always highlights in the school calendar as they allow us to see the fruits of the boys’ labour as they display their developing musical and academic abilities.

We look forward to sharing these events with you and celebrating the boys’ learning together.

 

A Message from Mr Wyatt

Transition to Stanmore

This week was the first of a series of opportunities for our Year 5 and 6 boys to venture across to Stanmore with their peers from Wyvern to begin the transition process to High School. Throughout the day the boys had the opportunity to use the facilities while working with Senior School teachers across a variety of subject areas including Science, Design and Technology, Drama and Physical Education. These opportunities are a valuable way for our boys to begin to feel at home amongst the big boys and buildings at Stanmore. It is also a great way to begin building relationships with their peers from our other Prep campus.

On Monday night a group of our parents took the opportunity to come and hear from Dr Andrew Hirst, Head of Stanmore, Mr Jeff Snare, Head of Middle School, Ms Colleen Scalone, Head of Year 7 and Mrs Yvonne Kaloterakis, Director of Admissions, about the overall transition program to Stanmore and the opportunities that are available to all boys at the Senior School. Each of the parents left with a sense of confidence in the program and excitement about what lies ahead for their boys. Further opportunities to learn about Stanmore and the transition program will be available in the future.

PYP Authorization Visit and Leadership restructure

Two weeks ago we welcomed Mr Ray Sullivan and Ms Elena Serraglio, both IB Educators from Victoria, to provide feedback on our progress with the International Baccalaureate Programme. Whilst the report and official recognition as an authorized school (fingers crossed) are yet to be finalised, we received some fantastic feedback about the implementation and take-up of the programme throughout the school. The visitors spoke with staff, boys and parents and spent time in every class to get a feel for how the PYP had influenced the learning programs and ethos at Lindfield.

I am extremely pleased to report that they were highly complementary of all stakeholders and commented at the positive overall feel to the school. This is a credit to each of you; boys, parents and staff for your commitment to the boys’ learning. It was also great to receive constructive feedback about how to continue to grow as a school and learning community.

I wish to particularly acknowledge the staff for their hard work over the last few years in adopting the PYP and being prepared to re-evaluate all areas of teaching and learning. This comes at a cost; namely time and energy and all members of our team have contributed significantly to this endeavour. Special thanks goes to Mrs Sue Gough (Teaching and Learning Team Leader) for her efforts and leadership in preparing for the visit. After two years of service in this role, Sue has decided to step back from this position to allow her to focus more thoroughly on her role as Teacher Librarian and to become more involved in supporting boys and teachers in enriching classroom learning experiences.

In light of this decision we have restructured the Lindfield leadership team for next year. I am pleased to announce that Mr Joel Weekes will assume the role of Teaching and Learning Team Leader and will continue to deputise for me in my absence. Mr Pascal Czerwenka will take over the role of Prep Team Leader, looking after aspects of organisation and pastoral care, and will continue to be heavily involved in ICT. Mrs Ashley Barg will step up into the role of Assistant PYP Coordinator, bringing previous experience from her time overseas in another PYP school.

Enrolments

We are in the fortunate position to have a few vacancies for next year. If you know anyone who might be interested in enrolling their son in Years K, 1, 2, 3 or 4 for next year, please encourage them to call the School Office on 9416 4280.

 

Certificates

Week 5

Week 6

Effort

Effort

Harry Forsyth Kindergarten Tristan Henry Kindergarten
Harry Stuart Year 1 James Stevens    Kindergarten
Tobey Rowe Year 3 Ted Walker Kindergarten
Xavier Sheahan Year 3 James Blakeman Year 1
Patrick Christensen  Year 4 Ethan Hardwick Year 1
Lachlan Hetherington Year 4 Kieran Patole Year 1
Jack Lu  Year 4 Lachlan Hull Year 2
Julian Burrows  Year 5 Cameron Liu Year 2
Angus Davis Year 5 Zak Little Year 3
Harry Quinn Year 5 Harry Bell Year 5

Improvement

Tane Blessington  Year 5
William Chandler Year 1  Harry Bell  Year 4
 Toby Roberts Year 2  Andrew Earlam Year 6
 Chris Lin Year 2
Liam Wyatt-Smith Year 5

 Excellence

 

Improvement

Freddie Bourne Kindergarten  Jack Middleton  Year 3
Rishaad Wildie Kindergarten  Jack Lu  Year 5
William Johnston Year 1
Nilanka Abbey  Year 3
 Luke Dickinson Year 3
Sebastian Danks  Year 6

Excellence

Max Gordon Year 6 Kalen James Year 3
Oscar Gresham Year 6 Xavier Sheahan Year 3
Hamish Johnson Year 6 Richard Wan Year 3
Oliver Prosser Year 3

Dates to Note

Friday 16 November  Orientation Morning 8.30am – 12.00pm, Chapel at 8.30am all welcome,  House Debating Competition at 1.40pm, Basketball Development Squad, 3.15 – 4.15pm

Saturday 17 November  Summer Sport Round 12

Monday 19 November   Christmas Carol Rehearsals 8.30am,  Year 5 2013 iPad Collection and IT Helpdesk Support 3.00 – 4.30pm

Tuesday 20 November  Assembly – Kindy Item, 2.30pm all welcome

Wednesday 21 November  Christmas Carols Concert 6.00pm

Thursday 22 November  Kindy 2013 Transition Music Program,  Year 5 2013 iPad Collection and IT Helpdesk Support 3.00 – 4.30pm

Friday 23 November  Year 2 Sleepover

Saturday 24 November  Biathalon at Stanmore

Monday 26 November  Christmas Carols backup date in case of wet weather 6.00pm

Tuesday 27 November  Assembly – Year 6 Item, 2.30pm all welcome

Wednesday 28 November  Year 5 2013 iPad Information Session 6.30pm

Music Notes

Christmas Concert

The Christmas Carols Concert for the whole school is next Wednesday evening, 21 November at 6.00pm on the Futsal Field.   Please bring a tin of food for the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal.   All boys are involved in the performance – It is a family night so bring a rug and your singing voice.

There is a wet weather date allocated to the following Monday 26 November at 6.00pm.

 

School Instrument Collection

This year all instruments will need to be returned. The school is going to be creating a data base of all the music resources on all three Newington Campuses so all School Instruments need to be here.

All School Wind and Brass Instruments will need to be here at school on Thursday 22 November to be checked for repairs. If you are in the School Band or have private lessons you will then collect your instrument again and keep using it until Prize Giving or your last lesson.

All String Instruments need to be at school on Friday 23 November to be checked for repairs. If you are in the School String Ensemble or are having private lessons you will be able to collect it again and use it until Prize Giving or your last lesson.

I am sorry for not being able to provide you with an instrument over this summer break.

 

Instrumental Lessons 2013

Please find attached the form for instrumental lessons in 2013.  Even if your son has been learning privately this year, you must complete and return a form to continue having lessons next year.

If you could please bring the forms to me and I will send them over to Stanmore.  Please click here for form.

 

 Mrs Vanessa South
Music Teacher

 

 

Faith Matters

Pawned?

Ever been to a pawnshop? Cash Converters or the like? You’ll find them in most major cities. The idea is simple; if you need money, you take a valuable item like jewellery or a musical instrument to the shop where the pawnbroker appraises it and gives you cash. But if you don’t return within the specified time to redeem the item, you forfeit ownership. Although it was yours originally, you no longer have legal possession till you pay the price to get it back. And if you wait too long, it can be lost forever.

Have you ever thought of yourself as somebody who needs to be redeemed, so you can be returned to your rightful owner? The Bible suggests that we are all like that and Jesus is the one who offers to pay the redemption price for us. The story of redemption starts at Christmas and finds it culmination at Easter.

 

Mr Peter Morphew
Chaplain

 

Sports Shorts

Match of the Round: Year 3 Development Squad Cricket v Knox

It was a good day at Knox home ground. Zac and Angus walked out to open the batting for us against Knox as a few raindrops started to fall. Luckily the rain stayed away.  We were off to a great start with Zac getting the first run for us. Later on, Zac hit two great fours before he got bowled out. They did great and scored 17 runs for the loss of 1 wicket.

Connor and I came in as our second batting pair and we started to accelerate the tempo a bit. Connor was off the mark first with some good, straight batting. I was able to hit a four off the second ball I faced which was really nice. A few balls later Connor hit a great four as we managed to score 22 runs for our team.

When Aston and Jack (our captain) came into bat they faced some really good bowling as Knox managed to keep the runs down. They did really well to not lose a wicket with some very good batting technique and managed to score 10 runs in their partnership.

Our final batting pair was Luke and Freddie Bourne from Kindy. They both did really well by not losing a wicket and Freddie played some really good cricket shots against the older Knox boys. We managed to score 67 runs for the loss of only 1 wicket.

Our bowling and fielding was really good on the day. I managed to get a batsman run out in Aston’s first over with Jack doing some good work for us behind the stumps. In the next over Zac managed to take another wicket with some good bowling. I was really lucky to get a wicket with the first bowl of my over. We were very active in the field with Zac, Connor and Aston doing some really good fielding. In Aston’s second over I took two catches from two Knox left hand batsmen. That was very nice!

We managed to keep the runs down but the last two batsmen from Knox batted really well. Freddie, Luke and Angus did well in the field to keep the runs down. It was down to the last few balls before Knox managed to get the runs they needed to win. What a great game!

Zac scored the most runs and Aston took the most wickets. After the game our captain, Jack Middleton, gave a nice speech to us as a team. Great game boys!

 Written by Jonathon Fourie

 

Trinity Swimming Invitational- Trinity Indoor Pool, Summer Hill

With the sun shining on a beautiful Spring afternoon, eight schools crammed inside the sweatbox which is Trinity Summer Hill for an out of season swimming event with a difference. Wyvern and Lindfield combined once again to show the strength we possess in the Individual sports against the best of the best across the GPS.

Jack Rudkins and Gaelen Dorigo got the Newington crowd on their feet with two stirring performances in the 100m and 200m Individual Medleys respectively. Jack came out the stronger of the two in terms of placing (finishing 2nd), but young Dorigo showed that he will be quite a force in years to come.

The Freestyle events saw the young brigade of Ottavio, Watson, Gannon, Bloom, Goonan and Latham showing great poise and experience as they placed in every event, showing once again that swimming will be strong for years to come at Newington. Tom Alscher and Sebastian Wyatt then confirmed their standings with a 3rd and 1st in their freestyle events.

Jamie Karabesinis and Aiden Fisher may be better known for their exploits at the highest level in Athletics, but they showed how sorely missed they will be going ahead to Year 7 as they finished 3rd in both of their freestyle events. Hunter Karam then did an admirable job, stepping into the large shoes of the absent Simon James by finishing 3rd in his 50m Freestyle event.

The breaststroke then came and went with some more brilliant performances from the young brigade once more. Aston Bloom and Flynn Gannon left the rest of the field gaping at thin water, with Xavier Sheahan also producing a great swim, finishing 2nd in his event.

In the backstroke, Zac Steinwede and Artie Torrible were dynamic, finishing 3rd in their respective events, before James Moore powered home for first in his first event of the day. This saw the first swim for new boy Jarrah Ronan, who showed his swimming class winning his Backstroke event swimming an age up.

Myles Parhash and Jack Rudkins were the stars of the day, swimming multiple events across multiple age groups, and winning, placing and setting PB’s as they went. Jack swam a huge PB in the 50m Butterfly, although there were questions asked about the timing of Mr Caulfield…….but he will take it anyway, 32.22!!!

Aiden Fisher was again on fire as he showed his strength and power through the water in the butterfly, winning his event comfortably. Hunter and Myles backed up once again and finished 3rd in their respective Butterfly events.

The relays saw some brilliant performances, particularly from the 8 years Freestyle, who finished 1st with 4 excellent swims. The 11 years and Open teams also produced stirring performances, finishing 2nd in the 11’s and narrowly beaten on the wall in the Open’s for 2nd also. A brilliant swim by all and we look forward to thrills and spills that invariably occur at the St Patrick’s Invitational….

 

St Patrick’s Invitational Swimming Carnival

A warm, muggy afternoon greeted the Newington hopeful as they descended upon the outdoor pool at Strathfield. Hopes were high after fantastic performances at the Trinity Carnival, and the Year 6 boys were looking for a strong finish to their primary carnival lives.

Myles Parhash and Jack Rudkins (with their matching goggles!!) as well as Simon James started the Carnival off strongly, finishing 2nd in all of their respective Individual Medley events. It was a welcome return to Mr James who was missing from the week before due to illness.

Storm clouds started to brew as the first of the freestyle events kicked off. Dominic Goonan started with a flash, finishing 1st in his event, before Jarrah Ronan showed again why he will be hot property next year with a comfortable victory in his event.

Tom Alscher and Sebastian Wyatt again looked determined and strong in their events, finishing 3rd and 2nd respectively. Jamie Karabesinis and Aiden Fisher (who I’m sure are brothers) again showed true class finishing 2nd in their freestyle events, with Jack Rudkins, Myles Parhash and Nicholas Fitzsimmons doing likewise. Simon James was desperately unlucky in his event as he was out touched by the smallest of margins in his event.

Breaststroke started and all and sundry were starting to look at the nearest covered areas as the weather started to really close in. Jarrah Ronan and Oliver Dwyer were both strong in their events, finishing 2nd, as well as Thomas Ball. By the time Aiden Fisher and Myles Parhash finished second in their events, the clouds appeared to have teeth. Jack Rudkins finished second in his event and everyone started to make way for the exits as the storm hit…….

The next ten minutes was a bit of a blur as we witnessed hail, very strong winds and some of the heaviest rain I’m sure the boys have ever experienced. Taking shelter under a shade cloth, Mr Wilson and several Newington boys stood and took the deluge, protecting themselves from the hail with whatever they could find. And as quickly as it arrived, it disappeared and the sun shone through the whitened sky, and we assessed the damage. Soaked bags, clothes (and iPads) and a few bruised ego’s, but we were still there and eager for more action.

With no electronic devices for marshalling and half the groups either gone or still under cover, we finished the rest of the breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly events. The Newington boys stayed calm under pressure and finished off in style with victories to Aiden Fisher in the Backstroke, and Jack Rudkins and Simon James in the Butterfly. A fitting end to two of the gentlemen of Year 6 and the swimming captains for this year. Congratulations to all the boys, and thank you so much to the parents for all their support and dedication, and to all the Year 6 boys who made this team such a special one. We will all miss you terribly and wish you the best for all your endeavours ahead.

 Mr Mark Caulfield
Sports Co-ordinator

Holiday Camps with Camp Australia

Let your imagination run free with all the fun and games you can play.  These school holidays you can do it your way!

With Holiday Club locations all over the country, everyone is invited to the Camp Australia party these holidays.  Go online to find your nearest club.

www.campaustralia.com.au/holidayclubs

P and F News

Dear Lindfield Community

It’s now coming up quickly to the end of term and then our long Summer Holidays. We would like to try and get our various Committees finalised by the end of the year if possible.

There are now four confirmed parents on the Sports Committee which are:

Gary Smith (sons in Years 4/6)

David Middleton (son in Year 3)

Marcus Timpson (sons in Years 3/6)

Giles Bourne (sons in Years 1/3)

It would be great if we had one other parent from Years 4, 5 or 6 to join the others on the Committee. If you are interested please let either myself (judyryan65@bigpond.com) or Collette Middleton (collettem@bigpond.com) know.

As mentioned previously we also need some additional volunteers for the Social and Fundraising Committee. Our main events for the Social Committee next year will be to organise the walkathon, Easter Raffle and the parent evening in October next year. We will not be doing the larger fundraisers of the previous two years i.e. no auction baskets etc. It will be a purely social occasion with a smaller expectation for fundraising. So far we have confirmed:

Susan Liu (son in Year 3)

Melissa Hunter (son in Year 1)

Hopefully we will have new parents putting their hands up but it would be a HUGE benefit to have some current parents joining Susan and Melissa.  Whilist they are extremely competent, I have no doubt that they would welcome as much assistance as possible so please let myself or Collette know if you would like to help out.  Please click here for volunteer forms.

Kindest regards

Judy Ryan
P & F President

 

Prep Shop

We require volunteers for 2013 if you are able to assist please click here for the Volunteer Forms.  Please the forms by Monday 3 December 2012.

Week 7 Roster

Monday 19 November
Stephanie Danks          3.00 – 3.45pm
Brie Evans

Wednesday 21 November
Judy Ryan          8.00 – 8.45am
Linda Hardyanto

 

Week 8 Roster

Monday 26 November
Isabel Heaven          3.00 – 3.45pm
Melissa Roncolato

Wednesday 28 November
Linda Roberts          8.00 – 8.45am
Robyn McGowan

 

 

Tuckshop

We require volunteers for 2013 if you are able to assist please click here for the Volunteer Forms.  Please complete the forms and return to the School Office by Monday 3 December 2012.

Week 7 Roster

Tuesday 20 November
9.00am – 12.00pm  Need Help
11.00am – 2.00pm  Sally Quinn

Thursday 22 November
9.00am – 12.00pm  Catherine Mellor
11.00am – 2.00pm  Need Help

Friday 23 November
9.00am – 12.00pm  Leearna Plank
11.00am – 2.00pm  Jane Bunis

 

Week 8 Roster

Tuesday 27 November
9.00am – 12.00pm  Sarah/Derrick
11.00am – 2.00pm  Need Help

Thursday 29 November
9.00am – 12.00pm  Jo Stewart
11.00am – 2.00pm  Helen Peterson

Friday 30 November
9.00am – 12.00pm  Natasha Rowe
11.00am – 2.00pm  Joanne Nelson

News from Alumni, Archives and Foundation

AISUSA Foundation Event

Saturday 6 October saw Newington yet again as the most represented school at the Australian Independent Schools USA Foundation Event (www.aisusafoundation.com). There were attendees who are Old Boys, future parents and even one current parent! Heartfelt memories were stretched (yes they were all in the First XV, Rowed the First VIII, played bassoon in the Orchestra and managed to be Dux), smiles were large and the Newington Brotherhood was extended to all no matter what the Alumni Year.

That morning Newington secured the ‘AUSUSA Foundation Nick Farr-Jones Touch Rugby Trophy’ in Central Park – even though only Newingtonians turned up bar one Riverview Old Boy!

From the Archives

Exam time

The months of October and November are, perhaps more than anything else, exam time. This has not really changed since the College’s establishment in 1863, but the nature of the exams and the systems they are part of have changed a great deal.

Initially, the end of year examinations were purely an internal affair. In 1867 the Junior and Senior Public Examinations were established, as part of the first set of education reforms of Sir Henry Parkes. The examinations were set and marked by the University of Sydney and represented the first attempt to define the content and objectives of secondary school teaching in New South Wales. Despite being run by the University, the Senior exam was not used for university entrance: there were separate matriculation examinations held early each year for this.

Success in the ‘Junior’ and ‘Senior’ quickly became the measure of a school’s academic performance.  Summary results were published in a veritable ‘league table’ of schools and private tutors: a report in the Sydney Morning Herald of 11 January 1879 showed Newington with the third largest number of successful candidates in the previous year, after Sydney Grammar and Brisbane Grammar (the system included Queensland schools in the absence of a university there). Newington had six of the 42 successful candidates in the Senior and ten of the 239 successful Junior candidates. Newington students occupied three of the eleven places on the ‘Distinguished Order of Merit’, while another won the Silver Medal for Arithmetic.

From its very first year of publication (1884), The Newingtonian reported proudly on the Senior and Junior results, generally listing all the school’s successful candidates and their pass level in each subject. The growth of the school since the move to Stanmore was reflected in the number of successful candidates in the Junior — 22 out of 23 ‘sent up’ — as reported in the December 1884 issue. Two out of three passed the Senior.

In addition to prizes awarded by the University, Newington awarded its own prizes for success in these exams. Initially medals were awarded for passing; later they were limited to the best pass among the College’s candidates. A number of these medals are in the Archives collection: our photo shows the medal awarded to J Alfred Fletcher for passing the Junior in 1872. The Hardy Medal, now awarded for the best HSC result, was instituted in the 1880s for the best pass in the Senior.

The Senior and Junior exams ceased in 1916, following the phasing in of the Intermediate and Leaving Certificates over the previous five years. They were replaced in turn by the School and Higher School Certificates under the Wyndham Scheme in the 1960s.

David Roberts
College Archivist

New Waratah – Ben Volavola

New Waratah: Ben Volavola

Newington’s Ben Volavola (ON ‘10) (featured above) has recently secured the last spot in the Waratahs squad for 2013. It’s a fantastic achievement for such a young player. Ben’s representative honours include Australia U20s and NSW A. He backed up his inaugural year in the Sydney Premiership this year with a series of standout performances in the Shute Shield this season after making his debut in round 12. Ben is a highly skilful player who is able to play fullback and flyhalf. While at Newington, Ben was instrumental in leading the change of culture to the College’s senior rugby program.

Sesquicentenary Product of the Week: Newington Monopoly and Pieces

As you are by now no doubt aware, accompanying our impending Sesquicentenary Festivities we have a number of delightful special items available to the Newington Community. For this edition of  B&W we are showcasing our magnificent Newington Monopoly: Limited Sesquicentenary Edition. Newington is the first entity in the Southern Hemisphere to have a customised version of the family favourite, and at just $65 the game is a fantastic addition to any proud Newington household!

To accompany the game we have commissioned a series of Monopoly pieces to add to your game. The solid metal cast pieces include a Wyvern, Varsity Cap,  a school back pack, rugby ball and soccer ball. Set of 5 limited edition pieces: $75

For more information about the game, and the special pieces including how to place an order, please click here.