A Message from the Head of Lindfield Campus

What is the measure of an effective school? 

At Newington College Lindfield, we judge our effectiveness through the engagement of students, relationships with our parents and certain beliefs based in research and best practice about where effective schools focus time and energy. 

Below are the elements of practice that are important in effective schools and how Lindfield is working to make these a reality.  

Focus on Teaching and Learning 

At Lindfield, there is a clear focus on purposeful teaching that is responsive to the learning needs of each student. In order to achieve responsive teaching, there is a strong emphasis on differentiation of instruction to allow all boys to access the curriculum. There is a high expectation of achievement for all learners and this is achieved through an emphasis on both higher order learning and a focus on basic literacy and numeracy skills. In order to know our impact on student learning, there is a continued focus on the collection and use of data. Effective assessment practices provide the information that enables the school to establish where students’ areas of strength and challenge lie and what needs to be taught to move them to the next level. 

Learning Communities with Shared Vision and Goals 

The core mission of the school to develop an ‘internationally respected education’ and to create ‘men of substance’ is clear and these core principles guide our work at the prep schools. In order to achieve our mission, we work in collaborative learning communities towards this common goal. There is a strong emphasis on collaborative learning partnerships between parents, teachers and boys. A team based approach to boys’ education is the most effective way to develop successful teacher practice and high levels of student achievement. 

School Structures 

Lindfield has very clear processes for performance and appraisal. This provides a common guaranteed experience for our boys and their learning. The schools emphasize a distributed leadership approach to empower all teachers to develop areas of expertise and a more effective learning environment for our boys. 

Positive Learning Environment 

At Lindfield, we strive to provide safe and secure learning environments. They focus on a pro-social behaviour model, with an emphasis on teaching desirable behaviour which is conducive to high levels of learning and achievement. There is also an emphasis on collaboration in the boys’ learning experiences. This is facilitated through purposeful, responsive teaching and the school’s continued focus on creating stimulating learning spaces. 

Source – Levine, Daniel U. and Lawrence W. Lezotte  Unusually Effective Schools: A Review and Analysis of Research and Practice. The National Center for Effective Schools Research & Development, Madison, WI 1990.

Ben Barrington-Higgs – Head of Lindfield Campus

Faith Matters

Listen up!

Jim Carrey got himself in all sorts of trouble in the movie “Liar, Liar” when he had to speak truth. I suspect in real life if we all treasured integrity as much as we do other things, our world would be a much better place. Nowadays we question the promises of politicians, business can no longer be conducted on a handshake, and some parents have good reason to doubt their children.

In some cases the problem is those people who have little or no regard for the truth, however, more often than not many of our relational problems stem from poor communications. You would expect with the vast array of communication technologies at our disposal good communication would be on the rise but I fear this is not the case.

Undoubtedly, many people can put words together well to express a point of view, to debate, to argue or merely to respond. We are good with putting words into circulation. The question is, “are we equally as good at the other side of communication?’’ Are we expert listeners, as well as being expert wordsmiths? A lot of time and effort is put into teaching us to speak but I doubt that our society has spend an equal amount of energy and dollars on teaching us to listen.

One great piece of advice from the Bible that is, “Be quick to listen and slow to speak.” The old adage is true; God gave us two ears but only one mouth for a very good reason. If you are striving to be a good communicator then you’ll be striving to be a good listener.

Rev Peter Morphew – Chaplain

Pause, Prompt, Praise

Three words that give us the basis to support the boys practise their reading aloud and to help their confidence.

The goal that is important to remember when we are using Pause, Prompt and Praise – is …

• we read to understand (or make sense) of what is read so prompting and praising is a key component of the process.

Reading should be an enjoyable activity so it is important that we are relaxed, interested and supportive which in turn supports the reader, enables them to make mistakes without concern and is comfortable to ask for a word when they have exhausted their own range of resources.

To enable enjoyment reading text needs to match a child’s reading level. This enables the child to easily read most of the text and therefore is able to develop fluency and understanding.

To supplement reading enjoyment it is important the area is well lit so the text can be easily seen, the area is comfortable both in seating and temperature and the time is not rushed, squeezed in between other activities or seen to be something that has to be done to tick off a homework activity.

Pause – Carefully follow the text as the child reads.

• Try not to jump in straight away when an unknown word is encountered.
• Wait (5 seconds) and give time for them to have a go or self correct.

Prompt – If the child is able to successfully work out the word it is sometimes a good idea for you to suggest they start the sentence again and re read the whole sentence to establish meaning.  Alternatively if the word is too difficult you could try comments like:

• Miss the word and read on for clues
• Look at the beginning sound
• Check the picture
• Go back to the beginning of the sentence and re read.

If the prompts do not work simply ask – would they like help / how about I tell you?

Praise – Praise can be given for effort, decoding and successes.  Sometimes it can be worthwhile giving a reason for why you are praising to encourage the child to attempt a similar process the next time you read together.

Katrina James – Learning Enhancement

Early Stage 1 – Products

Kindergarten have been inquiring into the central idea, ‘Products go through a process of change before they are consumed or used’. To start the unit the boys were given a provocation in which they had to categorise and group a range of products. A healthy discussion ensued as each group explained their grouping and related thinking. This also led to some wonderful questions being posed for our class ‘Wonder Wall’.

We had great fun exploring where products come from. The boys loved looking at a variety of products, reading where they were made and then finding the country on the large world map, placed in the classroom.

A range of picture books was used to explore the concept of change, with a favourite being ‘The Gingerbread Man’. Following the reading of this text we thought about what would have happened if the Gingerbread Man had swam across the river instead of jumping on the fox’s back. We then used a real Gingerbread Man and put him in some water to test our theories. We observed him over a 10-minute and 30-minute time frame and recorded our observations.

Following this activity, the boys participated in a design thinking challenge, in which they were required to build a raft to help the Gingerbread Man cross the river and avoid the fox! Their raft was to be made using pipe cleaners and straws and needed to hold a Lego person for 10 seconds without sinking. Lots of fun was had!

To gain a further understanding of how products change the boys experienced a variety of hands on activities such as damper and butter making. The boys learnt to create flow charts to show the process products go through and they were also exposed to procedure writing.

To explore the last line of inquiry, which looked at the development of resources into finished products, the boys were given a challenge of making a toy for a boy or girl of a similar age to themselves. The first step of the making process was to look at the materials available to make the toy. They then drew a design of their toy, showing the materials that they would use. The last part of the process was the making component.

It has been exciting to see the boys start to think about products, where they come from and the process of change.

Belinda Smallhorn – Kindergarten Teacher

Stage 2 – Design Thinking

Stage 2 have been pioneers at our school in demonstrating how the Design Thinking methodology can be implemented into the curriculum and the PYP inquiry cycle.  As a school we are exploring the design thinking methodology as a powerful tool for thinking through problems and arriving at creative and robust solutions.

In its most basic terms Design Thinking has 5 key elements

1 – SPARK

You need to be interested and challenged by a problem you want to solve.

For their summative assessment of our current unit “The design of buildings and open spaces depends on the social and environmental needs of its user” the boys are required to design a building and open space. Whilst we gave them the choice in the type of building they are to create we also needed to challenge their thinking and developing problem-solving process.  Each team randomly picked criteria that their building had to respond to; whether their building was going to be rural or urban and the climate their building would be situated in.

2 – DISCOVER

Empathising with the users of your building and considering what they need.

We all want to jump straight to the answer, but as the boys discovered in their provocation without first understanding the needs of their user and the environment their designed solution won’t be as successful.  We have spent a week working collaboratively to empathise with the different users and their needs.  They have also looked at exemplars of their building type and asked “What does this example do well?  What big idea can I borrow and put into our design?”

3 – IMAGINE

Generate and consider many options.

Design thinking requires that no matter how obvious the solution may seem, many solutions should be created for consideration. The boys will generate many ideas for their building and then critically look back and decide which ideas have the most merit to move forward

4 – EXPLORE                                                                                                   

Have a go and learn from the process.

A great idea doesn’t always make it all the way to the end.  In the explore phase the boys will be encouraged to reflect throughout the process of making, to keep what works well and to be empowered to change and improve ideas that aren’t working.  The explore stage creates an environment conducive to growth and experimentation, and the making of mistakes in order to achieve out of the ordinary results.

5 – SOLVE

Be brave and put it out there for feedback.

At some point we have stop, give our thinking over to others and receive feedback on what works well and how it can be improved. The boys’ final design will be a testament to their process of thinking.  We are looking forward to hearing their reflections on their designed solution and their experience with the design thinking process.

Carol Peterson and Shayne Pollard – Stage 2 Teachers

Stage 3 – Art – Landscapes

Kate Shaw Landscapes 

Years 5 and 6 have been considering how all artworks can share deep, sometimes hidden meanings. By digging deeper into interpreting artworks, audiences can be challenged and inspired to create change in society.

Kate Shaw’s artwork do just that. Her landscape artworks are made from acrylic and resin mediums and at first glance, look beautiful and serene. When Year 5 and 6 began to question the use of bright, unnatural colour, resin (which forms a plasticky surface) and glitter, we started to consider if there could be more to these landscapes.

As a class we discussed the floating Pacific Garbage Patch, a desolate wasteland in the middle of the Pacific Ocean of floating plastic debris, carried there by tides. We established the connection between human destruction of our natural environments with Kate Shaw’s unnatural landscapes.

The boys then began creating artworks inspired by Kate Shaw, using fluorescent paints, glitter and gloss. We focused on blending analogous colour schemes (colours that are next to one another on the colour wheel), using various blending methods. Year 5 utilised a technique that was an old favourite when they were little… butterfly prints! Whilst Year 6 created marbled painted effects with palette knives.

The boys created symmetrical shapes and spent time considering composition, layering and rearranging their painted paper to create the effect of organic mountain shapes.

The artworks are coming along beautifully. I am looking forward to seeing them completed!

Mrs Burnett – K-6 Art Teacher

Stage 3 – Exhibition Update

Gearing up for Exhibition

This week the boys of Year 6 began their PYP Exhibition inquiries under the Transdisciplinary Theme How the World Works. The central idea is Human actions can impact the relationship between the environment and human society.

The PYP Exhibition involves students working collaboratively to conduct an in-depth inquiry into real life issues or problems.  Students collectively synthesise all of the essential elements of the PYP in ways that can be shared with the whole school community.

The exhibition represents a unique and significant opportunity for students to exhibit the attributes of the IB Learner Profile developed throughout their engagement with the PYP.

It also provides schools and students with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the transition of learners to the next phase of their education.

So far, the boys have established their groups and have been allocated mentors (members of staff) to support them throughout their inquiries. They have already spent close to 10 hours on preparation before this week began, sharing ideas and discussing issues to be explored.

The boys have shown great enthusiasm for their chosen issue and have demonstrated great depth to their thinking and decision making. We, their teachers, have been very proud of their initial approach to the exhibition and we are very excited to see what unfolds over the coming weeks.

Mr Edwards and Mr English – Year 6 Class Teachers

Sport

Term 3 has seen many opportunities for the Lindfield Boys to be showcasing their abilities in sport. The Term started with the Primary and Junior Primary Athletics Carnivals, combined with Wyvern, which involved each boy participating in running, jumping and throwing events to gain points for their colour house. Following these two Carnivals, for the first time, Lindfield will have our own team (24 boys) to compete at the IPSHA Athletics Carnival on Monday 29 August at SOPAC. These boys have competed at the Invitational Carnivals over the past couple of Saturdays in preparation for IPSHA. The following Monday we will be sending a team of 52 boys from Kindergarten to Year 6 to Hensley Park to compete at the Quad Carnival. Best Wishes to all of the boys progressing to these representative carnivals. 

Saturday 30 July was an opportunity for the schools strongest Football and Rugby players to play Wyvern at “Back to Newington Day” preceding the Senior School First XI and First XV matches. These were competitive matches played in front of large crowds at Stanmore. The Lindfield and Wyvern boys were then able to stay and see the older boys play and be a part of welcoming them onto the field and supporting them. 

Unfortunately, the last round of winter sport was washed out so I was delighted when the opportunity came up for the Lindfield Boys to be part of a Japanese Rugby Tour with students from Suginami Rugby, Setagaya Rugby and Nerima Rugby combining to bring some teams over. It was pouring with rain, and a fairly miserable afternoon at Lindfield Oval, but the boys embraced the puddles and the mud with many spectacular tackles and some great tries scored. The four games were all close with Newington losing by a try or 2 in each game. The offloading skills of the Japanese players were very impressive and enabled them to break through our defensive lines.

Ms Eliza Monaghan – Sports Mistress

Book Week

This time of year is always exciting. The school has been a-buzz with conversation surrounding our Book Week Character Parade. With the theme Australia: Story Country the school community have been thinking about characters that have influenced our nation’s story.

From a wide repertoire of characters to select from, we saw many representations of native animals, famous Australians of our past as well as those authors that have played a significant role in telling the story of Australia – the swagmen of Waltzing Matilda, the troupe of Ned Kelly, the gumnut babies and banksia men – adorned our parade.

Sue Gough – Teacher/Librarian

Book week parade is so very spectacular with all the marvellous costumes. Book week encourages kids of all ages to read the wonders that lie in the exceptional world of literature. I was a man called Woodley from the amazing book called THE WIZARD OF RONDO. Everyone was a completely different character from a different superb book. Books are the things that enlighten our kind giving us more knowledge and imagination. Book week was truly magical seeing all the costumes and people reading. Stylianos Vasili

Book week was a really fun day. Everyone really tried to make their costume look like the character they were acting. The parade was amazing, they really got into character and showed who they were. I was the man from the book ” The Arrival “. Even the teachers dressed up. I also saw that some people worked together to be two different characters from the same book. Tee Barrington-Higgs

On book week there were many costumes like Waltzing Matilda, Anzacs, Tashi, Storm Boy, Pig The Pug, Mr Wolf, Captain Cook & animal costumes. The costumes were meant to be based on Australian books, authors & Australian story. The parade was in the hall & everyone walked around to Aussie music in the background. Ted Walker

Book week is a special event that is organised by Mrs Gough, it is a fun day where we get to dress up as your favourite book character. This time I went as Tashi from the book series called Tashi. I like Tashi the book because the main character Tashi is a fun and caring character which I like in a character. I’m very happy that Mrs Gough organises book week all the time for us, it is very fun!  Rishaad Wildie

Young ICT Explorers

On Saturday, 7 teams of boys (1 from Year 4 and 6 from Years 5 and 6) attended the final judging event for the Young ICT Explorers Competition. This was our fourth year of entering this competition and without doubt the quality of the projects that our boys presented and those of all the other competitors was high, in fact with each year this competition becomes more and more challenging on many fronts. The Lindfield teams consisted of a total of 24 boys from Years 3-6 who worked on their projects during terms 2 and 3 and gave up a full Saturday to compete and share their passion with their peers and a multitude of interested adults and experts.

The event was held at the University of New South Wales and involved over 300 students from Years 3 – 12 presenting over 90 projects. It was a long but exciting day full of enthusiasm as students from Years 3 – 12 presented their projects to each other and the judges in an exhibition style format. Throughout the day our boys did a fantastic job at presenting their projects and representing our school! It was a really great day for our boys and they really enjoyed the experience!

We will be setting up an Exhibition space at school for the boys to share their projects with the rest of the school community! Watch this space!

Some of the boys have already started to think about their projects for next year.

Mr Pascal Czerwenka and Mr Benjamin Barrington-Higgs