A Message from the Head of Lindfield Campus
Fostering and Celebrating Community – The Power of Parental Involvement –
One of the five pillars of a Newington education is the value of, and the importance placed in, being part of a supportive school community. For teachers, it is one of the things that is rarely discussed in teacher training but research highlights the importance of community and the power of partnership between home and school in a student’s learning.
Lindfield Prep is a unique school. From my reckoning we have the best of both worlds. We enjoy all of the positives of being a distinctively small and intimate school where every boy knows every teacher and parents and teachers are also well known to each other having regular contact through different school events. Equally, on the other side of the coin, we have the benefits that come from being part of a large GPS School community and the large networks of support and opportunity that this brings.
Given this unique situation, the importance of parental involvement across a number of different areas in our school is both critical and appreciated. It is this support that has helped to develop the strong sense of community that exists at Lindfield. To celebrate and express our gratitude we would like to extend a very warm welcome to all parents who have supported this community development this year to this year’s Parent Thank You Breakfast on Friday 7 November from 7:00am. This breakfast is to thank parents for all types of support and involvement throughout the year; helping in classes, assisting with Sport, cooking and serving on the BBQ at Koola Park, serving on a P&F Committee, acting as a Class Parent, organising and running fundraising events, working in Prep Shop or Tuckshop and many other things that often go unnoticed. On behalf of the teachers and boys we want to thank you for your effort and support.
I particularly want to thank our P&F Committee ably led by our President Judy Ryan and supported by Martin Herbst, Collette Middleton and Leearna Plank. They have done a tremendous job once again this year. I particularly want to thank Judy and Collette who are both stepping down in 2015 after many years of exemplary service for our community – it certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed by the parents and teachers and the boys have benefited greatly from your leadership.
As we draw to the end of the year, it seems timely to once again ask you to consider how you might be able to continue to partner with us in further developing and enhancing our school community in the coming year. I fully appreciate that this is a labour of love and for many parents it simply isn’t possible due to home and work commitments. If you do have the time I encourage you to consider how you might be involved next year.
Given the changes in the P&F Committee for 2015, I strongly encourage everyone to consider attending the Annual General Meeting on Monday 27 October at 3:00pm in The Lookout (Library) and also how you might be able to be involved. Please don’t be concerned about meeting previous expectations – the roles are quite flexible and things are being left in a very healthy situation.
May 2015 continue to be a year of great community as we work together to support the learning of our boys.
Staffing
I am pleased to provide an update on Staffing for 2015. At this stage class allocations for next year haven’t been confirmed. I hope to provide this information in Prep Talk Week 5 as we prepare for our Orientation Morning on Friday 14 November.
As a result of an additional class in Year 6 and the need to permanently fill the positions vacated by Mrs Ashley Barg and Mrs Carmen Gaspersic earlier this year, we have been seeking a number of new teachers. I want to publicly thank Ms Nicola Rusten and Ms Julie Sawyer for the tremendous job they have both done in filling these temporary positions in 2014 and we wish them the very best in the future. We will have a more formal opportunity to thank them towards the end of the year.
In a sign of our school’s standing in the community we received over 100 applications for the positions, providing healthy competition for these positions and meaning we were blessed for choice.
I am thrilled to announce the following permanent additions to our dynamic team in 2015:
Mr Sam Watson will move from our Learning Enhancement Team to become a Classroom Teacher. Mr Watson has proven himself to be an excellent teacher working with boys across all grade levels and demonstrating tremendous rapport with all of the boys he works with. Prior to joining us this year he worked for a number of years as a teacher in England.
Mrs Christina Lowe will be joining us from Trinity Grammar School, Strathfield. Mrs Lowe is a very experienced teacher with vast experience in PYP Schools, both here and overseas. She is currently the PYP Coordinator at Trinity.
Ms Angela Tonkin will be joining us from St Cecilia’s Primary School in Balgowlah having previously worked in Canberra. Ms Tonkin has taught across the grades and is currently the Gifted and Talented Coordinator at her school.
We look forward to welcoming each of our new teachers and benefiting from their enthusiasm, ideas and skills.
