Being HAPPY – Developing a positive and resilient culture within our community

One of the fine balances that we as parents and educators seek to maintain on a constant basis is the balance between providing a nurturing, caring and supportive environment while at the same time allowing and encouraging our young people to experience and learn from failure.

Commonly in society you hear of people discussing or recommending that people remain positive through a variety of common phrases; ‘look on the bright side’, ‘being a cup half full person’, and ‘bouncing back’. Increasingly today, young people (and some of us that are more experienced) seem to struggle with this. This is not because they don’t want to, it is often because they don’t know how to.

Young people need to develop skills and a positive mindset to assist themselves in overcoming the difficulties that life will throw at them; now and in the future.

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” Nelson Mandella

More than most, Nelson Mandella understood and embodied the concepts of resilience, hope and contentment. These concepts are crucial for all young people to grapple with as they learn, grow and ultimately become prepared for their lives ahead.

So how do we as a community support and teach our boys to develop this type of mindset so that they experience positive well-being and feel equipped to face any situation with confidence?

Suffice to say, it is a multi-faceted approach that requires your support.

Over the last couple of years we have developed our PALS (Positive Attitudes and Life Skills) program. This program is loosely based on the ‘Bounce Back’ program that is a whole school approach to develop social and emotional well-being in students.

Once a month our Year 6 students lead a PALS session with each of the other classes where they teach the younger boys about the following concepts through a series of interactive activities:

• Courage
• Looking on the bright side
• Emotions
• People bouncing back
• Relationships
• Humour
• No bullying

To supplement this teaching, each week the class teacher runs an additional PALS session where boys have the opportunity to discuss the focus concept in further depth and to reflect on how they have been implementing it in and out of the classroom.

This year we have built on the PALS program by incorporating an additional dimension. We have decided to make use of the song ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams to focus on what boys can actually do to develop a positive mindset (resilience, hope and contentment) or experience ‘happiness’. To support boys and teachers we have developed an acronym for HAPPY which highlights a set of skills that boys (and adults) can use to remain positive even when faced with falls, failures and trials.

H – ‘Hope to’– articulating short-term goals

A – ‘Appreciative of / for’ – expressing our thanks for little things that have happened in our lives

P – ‘Positive point today’ – highlighting something good / positive that has happened through the day

P – ‘Pleased about’ – reflecting on the achievement of a short-term goal or having learnt from failure

Y – ‘You are’ – being able to comment on the strength or success of others.

HAPPY will be a theme throughout this year at Assemblies and on a daily basis in class as boys are encouraged to develop a positive mindset through these reflective routines.

Whilst we hope that our school is an extremely positive, supportive, caring and safe learning environment for all of our boys, we also hope that each of the boys is challenged, experiences failure and bounces back, bigger and better than ever.

Professional Learning

An important part of maintaining our edge as a learning community is the professional learning of our teachers. Before the boys started back, all of the teachers participated in a variety of meetings and workshops. The highlight was a day led by Dr Toni Noble which launched this year’s focus on HAPPY. Using the ‘Appreciative Inquiry’ framework, Dr Noble provided an insight into the research basis of the Positive Psychology movement and equipped staff with strategies to use with the boys in order to facilitate positive thinking in and out of the classroom.

Throughout the remainder of the year our professional learning focus will shift to the implementation of the Mathematics syllabus of the Australian Curriculum. We are very fortunate to have secured the services of Kristen Trippet, Association of Independent Schools Mathematics Consultant, and Anita Chin, an independent Mathematics Consultant, to lead our Professional Development days later in the year.

We look forward to growing as a learning community this year as we all commit to our individual and corporate development.

So . . . . what is this thing my son calls a ‘UOI’????

As we begin the 2014 school year, our boys are engaging in their first UOI of the year, known as a Unit of Inquiry. For many new parents, UOI is a new acronym that you will hear regularly being spoken about by both your son and the teachers. Classroom teachers would have sent home an overview of the Units of Inquiry on their ‘Parent Information Night’. Our updated Programme of Inquiry that shows the summary of all Units of Inquiry for each year level can be found in two places – either the ‘Now Showing’ notice board outside the Year 5 and 6 rooms or on SPACES. This is a communication tool to give parents a snapshot of the Units of Inquiry your sons will be undertaking throughout the year.

Our Units of Inquiry use the PYP language embedded through the 5 Essential Elements: Knowledge; Concepts; Skills, Attitudes and Action. Since these ideas relate to the world beyond the school, our boys see their relevance and connections in an engaging and challenging way. Students who learn in this way begin to reflect on their roles and responsibilities as learners and become actively involved with their education. Our boys will come to realise that a Unit of Inquiry engages them in in-depth exploration of an important idea, and that the teacher will collect evidence of how well they understand that idea. They will be expected to work in a variety of ways, on their own and in groups, to allow them to learn to the best of their ability.

The fifth Element, Action, is the element of which parent communication will have the greatest impact. Action encourages the students to ask ‘so what?’ ‘Having learned what I have……..so what can I do with this knowledge?” If the boys have learned about ‘energy’ and make comments at home about being more environmentally sustainable, these are the conversations that should be communicated to your sons’ teacher. This will assist in developing a greater understanding of how the boys have used their knowledge to undertake action.

At the start of Week 7, your son will bring home their UOI book for the first time this year. This is a great tool to have some in-depth conversations with your son/s about the learning in which they are engaged and has already taken place. Please speak to him about his knowledge (what he has learned) and understanding of the skills, attitudes and concepts he is using within the Unit of Inquiry.

The one thing that I love about the PYP is that it assists in creating common language between school and home. Discussions with the boys about their learning is a valuable engagement and lets the boys know you care about their schooling and that you are interested in finding out more about their learning. There are some fantastic learning experiences, guided and independent inquiries happening at Lindfield at the moment. Take the time to engage with your son and foster the love of learning that we all promote in your boys.

Joel Weekes
Teaching and Learning Team Leader (PYPC)

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Kindergarten is off to a flying start!

Kindergarten is off to a flying start and is enjoying exploring their first unit of inquiry. To investigate the central idea, ‘Belonging requires an understanding of self and others,’ the boys are having fun learning about what it means to belong to a family, class and school.

We have inquired into personal similarities and differences by conducting human graphing activities, interviewing each other and drawing self-portraits. The boys have enjoyed learning about each other’s likes and dislikes. They brought in objects from home that represented something about them and they have also made a fantastic artwork that showcases things that they like. We have been reading picture books that support the concept of belonging and individual differences.

Social play activities have been designed to help the boys develop and apply the learner profile attributes of being caring and reflective. We have discussed what caring ‘looks like’ and ‘what it sounds like’ in the classroom. After activities the boys have been reflecting on whether they have been caring or have noticed a classmate being caring. It has been so lovely to see them praising their peers.

A fantastic start to the year Kindy!

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Faith Matters

In ancient China, the people desired security from the barbaric hordes of the north. So they built the Great Wall of China. It was too high to climb over, too thick to break down, and too long to go around. Security achieved!

The only problem was that during the first hundred years of the wall’s existence, China was invaded three times. Was the wall a failure? Not really – for not once did the barbaric hordes climb over the wall, break it down or go around it.

How then did they get into China? The answer lies in human nature. They simply bribed a gatekeeper and then marched right through a gate. The final flaw in the Chinese defense was placing too much reliance on a wall and not putting enough effort into building character in the gatekeepers.

One of the aims of RE at Newington is to build the character of our boys through moral and spiritual development. Part of this of course, is to encourage them to be trustworthy and trusting of the right sort of role models. This term in chapel we are going to follow Jesus with Simon Peter to see if Jesus is indeed trustworthy, a man of integrity.

Learning Support

Learning Support at Newington, Lindfield is dynamic and innovative. Our learning support team, that includes Mr Chris Wyatt, Mrs Carmen Gaspersic – Academic Welfare Team Leader, Lorraine Ball, Nicola Rusten our newest team member, Campbell Jensen-Robilliard – School Counsellor, and myself has a multi tiered approach which ensures that the support on offer from Kindergarten to Year 6 is inclusive and responds to the learning needs of all students.

Team teaching and collaborative lesson planning and delivery, aim to implement learning strategies that will benefit all students across all grades an all ability levels.

The team are involved in support and enrichment programs in Literacy, Numeracy and in Social Skill sessions. Standardised testing results and feedback from teachers enable boys across all grades to have access to specialised programs. These programs are are research-based and encourage participation while offering a variety of learning styles and methods to meet individual needs.

Class groupings help boys across all grades to consolidate their skills in key learning areas and when necessary receive intensive 1:1 support.

The team and class teachers work closely together to support, encourage and monitor individual student learning and welfare.

Please feel free to drop by. We can be now found in our new premises in the office behind the borrowing desk in The Lookout or alternatively make an appointment to meet with a team member through Julie at Reception.

Katrina James
Learning Enhancement – Lindfield

Character and Leadership Development

The development of young people is the responsibility of all schools, however, one of the significant things that sets Newington College apart from many other schools is our school-wide commitment to the development of character in our young men. As we begin the new school year, character has been the focus of a variety of conversations between the boys and teachers. The beauty of these conversations is that they are relevant to all parts of school (and everyday) life.

The character of our boys is on display at all times throughout every school day; in the classroom, in the playground, walking to and from school, playing sport, speaking with adults, wearing the uniform and interacting with their fellow students.

Character is often discussed and yet difficult to clearly define.

At this week’s Staff Meeting we spent the afternoon discussing the development of character and skill in the area of sport. To support us in this process we welcomed three of the Sport Leaders from Stanmore; Mr James Godfrey, Head of Sport, Mr Rex Nottage, Director of Basketball and Mr Ross Turner, Director of Cricket. Mr Godfrey provided a clear outline of the goals of Newington Sport with the main focus being on the development of character. Interestingly, whilst winning is inherent to sport and therefore always a goal, it is not the main goal, rather a by-product.

Appropriately, above all else, the focus of Newington Sport is character. Character is defined as enjoyment, growth, hard work, resilience, respect and unity. This definition provides a fantastic framework for our boys in all areas of school life and should set the tone for our conversations with, and expectations of the boys.

Character development is also well aligned with our focus on leadership development through opportunity, encouragement and mentoring. Over the last week we have seen a number of examples of this. At this week’s Assembly we inducted our Term 1 SRC and ICT Representatives (photos in gallery below) who have the responsibility to speak on behalf of their classmates and to support the teachers with ICT resources. This week at Chapel we also inducted our new School Captain, Samuel Gresham, and House Captains, Tane Blessington (Kingswood) and Callum Sharp (Rydal). These boys, with the support of their fellow Year 6 students, have already begun their roles throughout the school in earnest, leading Assemblies and directing their Houses. This was demonstrated best at the Newington Prep Schools Swimming Carnival as both Houses were led brilliantly as they cheered, celebrated, encouraged and participated with enthusiasm.

This Thursday and Friday we held our annual Leadership Camp with our Year 5 students. This is a great chance to encourage teamwork and character development through a series of challenge-based activities. We look forward to these boys growing into our school leaders over the coming 12 months.

The development of character and leadership is an ongoing task as we work alongside our boys through the trials and successes of each and every day.

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Interhouse Primary Swimming Carnival 2014

A string of fresh faces across both campuses descended upon the very warm Ryde Aquatic Centre venue for the 2014 InterHouse Swimming Carnival. Emotions were high as the young brigade looked to step up and fill the shoes left by the very impressive team of 2013.

And it didn’t take long to see the first of them as young Thomas Oates left all before him as he coasted to victory in the Junior 200m Individual Medley, almost 15 seconds faster than his nearest rival Sebastian Parhash. Oates would then go on to complete the rare and impressive feat of winning every individual event on offer for a 10 year old. A fantastic effort from a brilliant young swimmer!

His nearest rival in the I.M. Parhash, whose last name would send shivers down a lot of spines of competitors past, showed similar class to his older brother Miles. After his second placing in the I.M., Sebastian went on to win every 9 year event from then on, proving that lightning really can strike twice.

And just when you thought Williams couldn’t get any better the 8 years events started! Daniel Johnson and Callan Rixom showed Williams are in good hands for many a year as they finished first and second in both the 50m freestyle and 25m breaststroke events. This is how it ended in the age champion stakes with little Cameron Davey-Webb coming in third which was a great effort for one of the youngest in the field.

The 9 years was dominated by Parhash, but Nicholas Venetoulis showed great discipline and experience as he finished second overall and in almost every other event. Eric Carney finished second in the Butterfly event and was third or thereabouts in each of the other events to finish third overall.

Without doubt, however, the most hotly contested age group was the 10 years events. Thomas Oates may have dominated at the top, but it was the minor places that pushed every boy to the limit, with Flynn Gannon placing in enough events to outstay the challengers. In the mix was Lachlan Hull who again continued his good form from the trials finishing third in the I.M. and Butterfly events. It was then William Gray, Tom Kennedy and James Whiteing mixing it up in the minor placings in each of the other events, exciting all who were there.

The 11 years event was thrown wide open when Jarrah Ronan declared himself fit for just the freestyle and breaststroke, where he finished first and second just quietly. Christopher Mina was then able to step into the limelight with a great display of powerhouse swimming. He and Jonty Carr fought it out strongly in each event, with only the breaststroke event not featuring the pair in the placings. The well rounded Tom Alscher finished third overall and was just rewards for a very enthusiastic competitor.

In the premier event of the day it was Eden Horne who blitzed the pool, not troubled in any event he took part in. His nearest competitor Alexander Rumi was also brilliant, finishing second to Horne in all events apart from the Butterfly. Young Jackson Sumich showed his versatility with a stellar performance in finishing 3rd overall.

In terms of the House shields it was a race in two with the two red houses fighting it out all day in a toing and froing affair. Eventually though (and the amount of boys on the podium didn’t lie) it was Williams who reigned supreme over Kingswood, doing one better than last year. A fantastic day had by all and it all finished ahead of time!!!! A big thank you to all the boys who participated so strongly on the day, to all the parents who supported, and to Mr Joel Wilson and Mr Neil Brunton for all their magnificent organisation as well as the staff who made it all happen. Stay tuned for all the action from the Invitationals as well as IPSHA to come!!

House Championship

Age Champions

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The 2014 Welcome Reception

The Parents and Friends Association of Newington College Lindfield together with our Year 6 parents are busily preparing for The 2014 Welcome Reception to be held Saturday 22 February 2014 from 7:30pm.

If you have not already done so please remember to RSVP by calling the School Office on 9416-4280 or email Julie Ellam on lindfield@newington.nsw.edu.au.

This is always a wonderful night to make new friends and reacquaint yourself with old ones!  Hope to see you there!

P&F Association