A Message from the Head of Lindfield Campus

‘Raising Boys’

‘How will my son cope with commuting to Stanmore?’ ‘Will attending a boys’ school disadvantage my son in terms of socialising with girls?’ ‘How can I relate to my son when all he does is grunt at me?’

These were some of the questions discussed at last week’s Parent Workshop. The workshop consisted of three parts; some general information about raising boys, a discussion about the school-based initiatives that are being used to assist in boys’ social, emotional, academic and physical development, and a session where parents had the opportunity to ask questions of the panel that consisted of Mr Bob Meakin and Mrs Julie Burke from Stanmore, Mrs Carmen Gaspersic and myself.

The panel session proved to be extremely valuable as parents bounced around ideas about how best to support boys as they grow and change through their experiences in Prep School through to High School and beyond. It was great to hear from some of our current parents who have a foot in both camps; Lindfield and Stanmore.

If you missed the workshop and would like to watch it please find a video of the complete session along with the PowerPoint slides on Spaces.

Student Free Day / Staff Professional Development Day – Friday 6 June

Please be aware that we have a Student Free Day on Friday 6 June. The teachers will be participating in a Professional Development day, focusing on the new Maths Syllabus. We hope that the inconvenience might be offset by the opportunity for an extended long weekend.

Manners Matter

As part of our efforts to assist our boys in developing a positive mindset and treating others with the respect that they deserve we have renewed our focus on Manners. In Assemblies we are using an ongoing series of videos created by our Year 6 2013 Class called “Manners Matter”. The characters in the series are Sir Thank You, Dr Excuse Me, Professor Please and Captain Courtesy. Over the last two weeks we have focused on the students saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ as well as using people’s names when talking to them, particularly adults. We hope that you might begin to see evidence of these manners at home. We appreciate your support with this initiative.

Cyber Safety

Our boys are growing up in a digital world that is changing rapidly, therefore, it is imperative that teachers and parents are fully abreast of the opportunities, challenges and risks that face these young men as they navigate the online world. To assist in this process we will be hosting a presentation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). The session will be on Monday 4 August (parent session from 6:30pm) and it will provide insight and guidance for students, staff and parents. Year 6 parents are also invited to a similar session being held at Stanmore on Wednesday 11 June for Year 7 and 8. Further information about cyber safety can be found at the ACMA CyberSmart website http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/. We have already begun integrating many of ACMA’s resources into our learning programs.

Technology as a LEARNING Tool

We live in a world where information is “all around us”. Our boys at Lindfield are growing up being constantly connected to the world around them. Making sense of this information and how we ensure that this connection is positive becomes an important responsibility of ours as teachers and parents. Preparing our boys for the world in which they live and they are about to enter in various capacities places particular demands on us as teachers to adapt the curriculum and teaching methods to facilitate the acquisition of those skills that employers of the 21st century may require.

Our teachers and their classrooms are constantly evolving to meet the changing needs of boys here at Lindfield. To do this, our teachers are continually learning new things. They are regularly receiving professional development about different teaching and learning methods to accommodate the changes in Information and Communications Technology (ICT). As a result, today’s classrooms are significantly different than they were ten years ago. We want our boys here at Lindfield to be able to collaborate, problem solve, think creatively, show flexibility and be able to communicate effectively with one another.

All of our boys now have an iPad in the classroom for their personal use. From a teacher’s perspective, the iPads are simply a tool to enable learning to happen in an authentic and meaningful way for the boys. It remains the case that the quality of the teacher is the most important factor in high quality student learning.

The use of technology in the classroom greatly enhances the fantastic experiences that the boys are involved with in the classroom and ensures a connection with real life issues. The boys are taught to take some control over their own learning and begin to design and create solutions to particular problems.

While the challenges may seem daunting as a parent and as a teacher, I am confident of our ability to respond effectively here at Lindfield. We believe that the 1:1 iPad program here at Newington is developing an approach that best suits the needs of our boys both now and in the future.

Joel Weekes
Teaching & Learning Team Leader

Faith Matters

Be a Titus!

William Barclay writes, “One of the highest of human duties is the duty of encouragement…it is easy to laugh at men’s ideals; it is easy to pour cold water on their enthusiasm; it is easy to discourage others. The world is full of such discouragers. But we have a duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. Blessed is the man who speaks such a word.” The apostle Paul writes: “Outside, trouble was on every hand…within us, our hearts were full of dread and fear. Then God who cheers those who are discouraged refreshed us by the arrival of Titus. Not only was his presence a joy, but also the news that he brought” (2 Corinthians 7:5-7 ).

So, be a Titus – encourage someone today.

Year 2 Get Measured Up!

Over the past week, Year 2 have been conducting a mathematical inquiry into measurement. Already we have discovered that different tools and units are needed to measure different things.

We started out investigating the different uses of measurement tools through structured play. We measured all kinds of objects inside the classroom and out in the playground. The boys were driven by their natural curiosity to compare the weights of different objects, measure the lengths of learning spaces and playing areas, and use the sandpit to investigate the capacity of different vessels.

The boys had so much fun that they wanted to measure everything! The boys made a huge collection of ideas about things throughout the world that would be interesting and useful to measure. While practical constraints meant that we couldn’t practise our measuring skills through finding out the height of a volcano, we did narrow down our list to some things that we can measure at school to help us learn about measurement.

Would you like to know how long the school driveway really is? You will have to ask a Year 2 boy to find out, as we measured it three different ways. We even checked our answers, just to be sure!

Stay tuned, because in the coming weeks Year 2 will be answering a whole bunch of Newington based measurement questions that are likely to be weighing heavily on your mind.

Miss Rusten
Year 2 Teacher

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Walkathon 2014

It’s on again! Our third Newington Walkathon will be held on Wednesday 11 June.

The Walkathon is a great event for the boys to enjoy a relaxed, healthy and fun fitness outing.

The rivalry between Rydal and Kingswood will continue with all participants to receive an epic 100 house points (yes, we’ve pumped it right up) with the top fundraiser in each class to receive 500 house points (and a special prize).

If you haven’t received our Walkathon note, please check Spaces for the note and sponsorship form. It needs to be returned to the office by next Thursday 5 June (along with any payment).

Fundraising For?

Our fundraising proceeds will go towards the refurbishment of the Lookout (previously known as the Library), to enhance the boys’ learning space and allow collaborative working opportunities. The refurb will include the purchase of whiteboard desktops.

On the Day

If you would like to volunteer as a parent walker or at a checkpoint, please register with your class parent or email Melissa Hunter (am.hunter@bigpond.com) by next Wednesday 4 June.

Thank you for your support!

Social & Fundraising Committee

Music Weekend 2014

Musical Notes

This term began with the School Band performing at St Ives Festival on the Green. Two boys from Year 12 joined us. We were the last band to perform on the main stage for the day. We had to deal with sun shining straight in our eyes and music flying everywhere with the wind that had come up. The boys did a magnificent job. They played both pieces really well considering the circumstances.

We have just had a very musical weekend working closely with boys from Wyvern House. The boys in the schools’ choirs came together to rehearse in preparation for this years Founders Concert on Saturday while all the instrumental players rehearsed on the Sunday. Please read the following reports from each group’s Music Monitors.

Band Report about the Music Weekend

On 24 and 25 May we had our Music Weekend. On Sunday we had our School Band and School Strings at Wyvern. I was in Band and it was great!

In Band we got to play together with the Wyvern boys. We got our own tutor for the instruments we played, I played the flute and Miss MacMillan was our tutor.  The Wyvern boys were very nice to everyone from Lindfield.  At our first break time everyone was fitting in and playing with other people.

In our second period we got to play together first and we sounded great!  We sounded very good because everyone was playing the right notes, then we went back to our tutor. Before we got in some people were already getting to their rooms and were already practicing and it sounded great!  When we got to our rooms we practiced a new song called Arabian Dances.  I learned a lot.

At our last break time we had a sausage sizzle.  It tasted and smelled great.  We got ice-cream and chips and there was even extra!  It was great fun!

During our last session we did Arabian Dances and I think we did great for our first time considering we only got our music that day!  When we went back to the tutorial room we did some work and Mrs South came and helped us as Miss Macmillan went to help pack things up.

I learned a lot and it was great fun!  Thanks to the parents and the teachers for helping us and making sure everything went well!  I made loads of friends and I hope in Term 3 the South Coast Tour for the boys in Years 5 and 6 will happen!

Boris Lee – Year 6

Choir Report about the Music Weekend

On Saturday, students in the School Choir were asked to participate in the Music Weekend at Wyvern House.  We collected our name tags and went upstairs to the hall.  The first thing we practised was Terra Australis.  We ran through it once and then practised some parts that needed it.  Then we had recess and fruit.  After the little break, we got back to practising.  After another 45 minutes of rehearsing, we got another break.  Fortunately, we were offered Krispy Kreme donuts and juice this time.  After another 45 minute rehearsal, we went home.  On the way out, we were rewarded with another quarter of a Krispy Kreme.  While it was a long 3 hours of rehearsing, the end result was that we are now ready to perform Terra Australis at next term’s Founders Concert.

Jack Lu – Year 6

String Ensemble Report about the Music Weekend

On the 25th of May all the boys in the Wyvern and Lindfield Band and String ensembles went to Wyvern House to play their instruments.  First up the string boys went to a Year 5 classroom and did a full ensemble rehearsal.  We played Titanium.  After a bit we got a new song that the Wyvern boys were already playing.  The song was called “A Song of Ice and Fire” (Theme to the Game of Thrones), which was really cool to play.  After that we split up into our separate instrument groups and we had a tutor to help us go over our parts and practice them.  After this we headed out to recess.

After recess we headed back to the Year 5 room and played through A Song of Ice and Fire and Titanium.  After this we did a basic repeat of the morning period.  When we headed to our separate instrument rooms the double basses played some jazz and after that we headed out to lunch where there was a yummy sausage sizzle waiting for us.

When we walked out there was a huge line for the sizzle but the line moved pretty fast and before I knew it we were at the front.  After we finished our lunch I saw there was another line and I saw there was ice cream and chips.  I quickly went into the line.  After lunch we went back to the Year 5 room and played through Titanium and the Theme to G.O.T.  After we had gone back to the tutor for the last time, we went back to the Year 5 room where we listened to the younger ensemble play.  Then it was time to pack up and wait for our parents.

I thought it was very well organised and a big thank you to the parents and teachers who volunteered their time for us.

Alex Peterson – Year 6

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National Simultaneous Storytime 2014

National Simultaneous Storytime was celebrated this year across the three campuses of Newington College. It is an annual campaign initiated by the Australian Library and Information Association that encourages young Australians to read and enjoy books, promoting the value of reading and literacy using Australian children’s books.

Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator is read at the same time on the same day in schools, libraries, bookshops, homes and childcare centres across the nation.

This year’s selected work was Too Many Elephants in this House written by Ursula Dubosarsky and illustrated by Andrew Joyner.

In Eric’s house there were too many elephants – in the living room, in the kitchen, in the bathroom, even in his bedroom! The elephants take up a lot of space, but Eric loves every one of them. So when his mum says they have to go, Eric comes up with a clever solution to a very BIG problem…

So at 11am on Wednesday 21 May, across Newington College Lindfield, all of the students settled into their various reading nooks to share this book. In the Don Brown Hall at Lindfield, Years One to Six were treated to a dramatization of the story by the animated acting abilities of the Drama Club under the leadership of Mrs Barg.

Kindergarten travelled to the Stanmore Campus where they shared the story with Year 12 students (The Big Boys). The Lindfield boys were very excited to be sharing Too Many Elephants in this House as well as other favourite literature, including other elephant stories, especially Elmer. Kindergarten entertained The Big Boys by singing and performing The Elephants Balancing song for the senior boys who enthusiastically joined in.

It was a morning of excitement! Driving over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, seeing the Sydney Opera House and doing all this from the School Bus together with the awesomeness of the “Big School” and reading with The Big Boys made this excursion one to remember.

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