A Message from the Head of Lindfield

Educating Boys

At the beginning of the year, staff at Lindfield read an article titled ‘Unlocking Boys’ Potential’ by Michael Reichert (University of Pennsylvania). It looked at the elements necessary for boys to feel successful and engaged at school. As a staff, we reflected on our own strengths and challenges and then looked at how we could address them in the context of this article. The important takeaway from this article, which has been backed by other research and by our own teaching experiences, is that the connection and relationship boys have with their teachers is vital to their positive feelings towards school.

Reichert’s research revealed seven strategies that teachers need to build a boy’s engagement and connection to school.

–    Demonstrate mastery of subject matter. “Teachers must be seen as competent, as invested in their subjects and their pedagogy, and as reliable guides for the learning journey,” says Reichert.

–    Maintain high standards. This goes for content, quality of work, and behaviour.

–    Respond to a student’s personal interest or talent. Does the teacher know the student?

–    Share a common interest. This can be athletic, musical, or a common interest.

–    Acknowledge a common characteristic. Sharing background, ethnicity, a problem overcome “can be a reliable, if serendipitous, relationship builder,” says Reichert.

–    Accommodate a measure of opposition. Successful teachers don’t take oppositional behaviour personally but respond with civility.

–    Be willing to reveal vulnerability. This could take the form of a teacher acknowledging when they make mistakes or don’t know the answer to something (which fits in with the Lindfield growth mindset thinking).

The teachers at Lindfield are very dedicated to the development of the boys in their charge and they strive to develop a relationship with each boy in their care. Each teacher does this in their own way, I greet and chat with the boys at the top of the drive and wander around during break times.

As parents, it is interesting to evaluate the list of strategies against the way we interact with our own children. Do we as parents model and expect high standards? Are we genuinely interested in our children’s interests or talents, or does the busyness of life get in the way? Do we try to accentuate our similarities or do we point out all the ways they are not like us?  Do we realise that young boys are little people who are exploring the world around them, testing the boundaries and seeing what reaction that world will give back to them? Or do you take your son’s misbehaviour as a personal affront to your authority? Whilst we may not accept some of their behaviours we must unquestionably respect and value them as people.

It is the connections that boys feel with the significant people in their lives, parents, family and teachers that will sustain them through the ups and downs of childhood, adolescence and adulthood.  It is also a significant predictor of their school success.

“Unlocking Boys’ Potential” by Michael Reichert in Educational Leadership, September 2016 (Vol. 74, #1, p. 22-26)

Ben Barrington-Higgs – Head of Lindfield K-6

Primary Years Programme

Knowing our students as learners.

It doesn’t matter where you went to school, there is always a memory of the teacher/s who took a genuine interest in us as a person, someone with whom connection was strong.

Knowing our students means more than having social or administrative information—students’ names and ages, something about their friendship circles, a bit about their family backgrounds, a few statistics from their academic record. To maximize learning, we need to dig deeper than this superficial knowledge.

Coming to know our students as learners is too important to leave to chance. Not undertaking this in-depth inquiry can mean that we do not reach learners in our class. Developing this in-depth understanding of each learner enables teachers to:

• Create a safe environment for every learner

• Determine each student’s readiness for learning

• Increase engagement and success for every student

• Develop and demonstrate greater emotional intelligence in the classroom.

How does the PYP support this in-depth understanding of our learners?

1. Create a safe environment for every learner – promoting and modelling growth mindset, MindYeti and brain breaks, time and opportunity for students to speak about things of interest or concern to them. The environment is a positive place where students are confident to speak and ask questions without trepidation.
2. Determine each student’s readiness for learning – the assessment of student’s knowledge and understanding before learning, throughout learning and at the conclusion of learning during all disciplines. This assessment includes reflection by students and teachers of the five essential elements of PYP – knowledge, concepts, attitudes, skills and action.
3.  Increase engagement and success for every student – helping student to find connections with learning for our students which could be through passions, interests and issues of a global and local nature.
4.  Develop and demonstrate greater emotional intelligence in the classroom – greater flexibility in thought, empathy, patience, and taking into account all aspects that may impact learning for the students.

Our teachers encourage students to pursue a personal responsibility for learning and by including them in decision making allows them to buy into their learning. The students become proactive with their learning and allow teachers a window into their souls.

Sue Gough – PYP Co-ordinator

Faith Matters

What you see is what you get!

If I think of you as a friend and collaborator, my emotions on meeting you will be warm and positive. If I see you as an enemy and competitor, my emotions will be just the opposite.  You may know the little verse:

Two men looked out from prison bars;

One saw mud, one saw stars.

In the pursuit of the fullness of human life, everything depends on this frame of reference, this habitual outlook, this basic vision that I have of myself, others, the world, and God. (Our worldview if you like.) What we see is what we get!

Consequently, if you or I are to change, to grow into persons who are more fully human and more fully alive, we shall certainly have to become aware of our worldview and patiently work at redressing its imbalances and eliminating its distortions. All real and permanent growth must begin here. A shy person can be coaxed into assuming an air of confidence, but it will only be a mask – one mask replacing another. There can be no real change, no real growth in any of us until and unless our basic perception of reality, or vision, is change.

Rev Peter Morphew – Chaplain

Pastoral Care

Building Respectful Relationships at Online

Through our Pastoral Care Policy we focus on the total development of each student and the enhancement of the dignity of each person. We nurture success and have a commitment to forgiveness, tolerance and reconciliation. As teachers, we seek to motivate young people to be socially responsible and committed to building a better world through a partnership of the school community, teachers and parents. We do this under the banner of ‘RESPECT FOR ALL’ which is visible in all our learning spaces and referred to regularly when working with students on their Social Emotional Learning, their behavioural choices and their interactions with each other and adults.

Teaching, modeling and developing students who understand, value and demonstrate an appreciation and application of the concept of respectful relationships requires collaboration from all stakeholders in the life of a young person; teachers, community members, peers, parents, friends etc.

As we continue to build the important links between home and school, the following information relates to online safety which is an important aspect of building respectful and safe relationships online, particularly as our students increasingly engage and interact with others online.

What is online safety, and why is it important?

Young people are increasingly exposed to an open and collaborative online culture, which allows them to access information, maintain friendships and relationships with family, and engage in creative content production (Collin, Rahilly, Richardson, & Third, 2011). Young people, however, are at a dynamic stage of development in which risk-taking behaviours and emerging decision-making capacities can lead to negative outcomes (Viner, 2005).

An awareness of how to ensure safe practices online is an important skill for young people. While parental involvement in safe use of technology should start from a child’s first use, parents continue to be a critical influence in ensuring that teenagers practice responsible digital citizenship and engage in online activities safely.

“Online safety” is used interchangeably with terms such as “Internet safety”, “cybersafety”, “Internet security”, “online security” and “cyber security”. The risk of using computers, mobile phones and other electronic devices to access the Internet or other social media is that breaches of privacy may lead to fraud, identity theft and unauthorised access to personal information. Other risks for children include cyberbullying, stalking, or exposure to illicit materials. Criminal offenders have proven to be highly skilled at exploiting new modes of communication to gain access to children, and children can easily access adults-only materials if there are no protective mechanisms in place (Queensland Police, 2014)

These situations can place a young person’s emotional wellbeing, and in extreme cases physical wellbeing, at risk. This is particularly the case where little or no attention has been paid to monitoring use, communicating with teenagers about use, or the security of the device being used. In these types of cases, and for the purpose of this paper, online safety is a child protection issue.

While online safety is important for protecting children from dangerous and inappropriate websites and materials, this does not mean that parents should discourage their children from accessing the Internet. The challenge is to help children enjoy the benefits of going online while avoiding the risks (Raising Children Network, 2011).

Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner

The Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner (https://www.esafety.gov.au/) has the key role of promoting and enhancing online safety for Australian children and administering the complaints system for cyberbullying material targeted at Australian children.

The office also provides a range of information and resources for children, parents, school teachers and Indigenous communities on specific safety issues, such as sexting, cyberbullying, online gaming, protecting personal information online, images and videos, and social media.

This online resource provides an extensive range of useful resources for students and parents and it is highly recommended to all parents.

Pascal Czerwenka – Year 5 Teacher/Deputy Head of Lindfield Prep

LOTE Day at Lindfield

Teaching boys how to embrace language learning through global thinking – LOTE Day @ Lindfield

At Newington Lindfield, we strive to provide a diversity of learning opportunities for our boys. We understand that all boys are different, they have different learning methods, learning needs, learning goals and more. We also understand that to engage and inspire the boys to learn the language, it is important to teach them the language through global thinking. We endeavour to provide the boys the opportunities to observe other cultures in the asia pacific region without leaving Australian soil. We aim to further develop their global-mindedness and ensure our boys have the opportunities to learn about and recognise the diversity within and between the countries of the Asian region.

Language Other Than English (LOTE) Day has been one of the major events at the Lindfield campus. Every year, all our staff work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure our students experience the unique provocations that will inspire the boys to think outside the square. With Mrs Bain’s help, our Year 5 boys took the action to design many stunning LOTE Day posters that were displayed around the school. The Tuckshop manager and parent volunteers planned a  special lunch for this occasion. We collaborated with the Taiwan Festival Committee to bring an exclusive preview before the actual event that will be held in Chatswood on 16 and 17 September.

The boys experienced the indigenous culture from Taiwan and had opportunities to reflect on our indigenous culture within Australia. By observing the songs and dances, garments, music and musical instruments used, the boys learned to analyse information like this and recognise there are similarities and differences in both indigenous cultures, and why.  After recess, boys were divided into groups to attend various workshops. For the younger boys, they had first hand experiences handling glove puppets and had fun in the paper carving session.  For the primary age boys, they tried the traditional bow weaving. They also learned how the delicate procedures are performed when decorating statues.

Another year of fun and educational experiences for our boys. There is a saying: “Language is the key to understanding another culture”.  Our boys have had a great head start in this area and hopefully they will be inspired to learn the language  and cherish the fun memory for many long years to come.

Eva Angel – LOTE Teacher

Year 2 Geologists

   “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”  (Confucius).  Field trips or excursions are a vital supplement to academic study.  They provide a learning-by-doing context that adds meaning to the work in the class room.  Most often, field trips mean travelling off the school site which necessitates a great deal of organisation.  How fortunate then, are the boys of Newington Lindfield to have a bush area behind the school, alive with possibilities for experiential learning? 

The current Unit of Inquiry in which Year Two is engaged “How the World Works” has as its central idea “The Earth’s Landscape is Dynamic and Changes in Response to Patterns in Nature”.  The lines of inquiry follow:

• Observable changes in landscape (Change)
• Effects of weather and natural phenomena on the Earth (Causation)
• How humans impact the Earth’s surface (Connection)

For young boys there is so much in this study to excite and engage.  So, it was with great anticipation Year Two ventured into the bush as geologists to collect rock samples as a means of determining how the local landscape may have been formed.

Armed with specimen bags and a sense of adventure, these young scientists looked for four rocks of differing characteristics to analyse in terms of colour, size, pattern, lustre, and texture. 

Returning to the class room, our geologists noted the qualities of their specimens and described in more detail their characteristics.  The next step is to cross reference the finds with books and research on rocks to determine the makeup of our local landscape. 

Ahead are opportunities to experiment, design, learn and…understand by doing.

David Musgrove – Year 2 Teacher

Heading off to the Bush

The Excitement of a “Find”

Note Taking and Analysis

Geologist Consultation Meeting

Newington Culture – Year 4

Newington Culture and what it means to me……..

As we commenced our UOI 5, we worked on an understanding of the meaning of ‘culture’ and ‘beliefs’ that formed part of our understanding of the Central Idea – ‘Beliefs and values of cultures are conveyed through commemorations and celebrations which develops an appreciation of diversity.’

To help us understand ‘culture’ a parent of one of the Year 4 boys, Mr James, known to many as ‘AJ’ was invited to share his experiences and thoughts of the Newington culture from his perspective.

AJ is an old boy of Newington having attended the Lindfield campus before attending the main school in Stanmore. He is also a son of an old boy with his father also attending Newington College. The boys were very keen to hear of his experiences and memories of his time at Newington and to see some of the memorabilia he treasured from his school days. The boys used their understanding of simple and complex questions to further question AJ about the culture of Newington.

The Year 3 and 4 boys and their teachers, Carol Peterson and Katrina James, appreciate the time and knowledge of the Newington culture AJ shared with us.

Following the visit, the Year 4 boys eagerly shared their thoughts by writing about their highlights from AJ’s presentation. I am proud to share a few of the boy’s reflections below for your enjoyment.

Katrina James – Year 4 Teacher (acting)

Everyone attending our school is a Newingtonian and the people that attend Newington respect the culture of the school and what the ‘Wyvern’ represents. The ‘Wyvern’ is the school mascot and we all believe in him. Part of the culture of Newington is the uniform. It has changed a bit but it is still important and we wear it with pride. When we play sport against other schools we wear our uniform proudly. Today Diesel’s Dad came in to talk about our school. The school was tiny back then. The teachers were very strict. If you didn’t wear your uniform properly then you would get a detention and if you got a detention from the Headmaster it meant your detention was 2 hours. The Headmaster would live at the school. My dad is an old boy and it means a lot to me that I go to the same school as him. My dad has told me how things have changed in the years since he left school. Here at Lindfield campus we have two a house system with Rydal and Kingswood. At Stanmore they have more than ten houses. One is called Johnson and it is black. At big games AJ told us they have a school chant. I look forward to being part of the culture of Newington.

Marcus Yoo

Today Diesel’s Dad came in to talk about the culture of Newington College because he was an old Newington boy. He talked about lots of things including what had changed and stayed the same since he was at Newington, Lindfield. One interesting thing that he talked about was if your shirt was untucked or you didn’t have a black cap or your socks were down, you would get a detention. You also had to wear garters to keep your socks up. They would call the roll and check your uniform was perfect in the rank of classes. They would check you had garters. If you did not have garters on you would get a detention. The fact the Headmaster lived on the campus was very interesting to me. Part of the culture is that the friends you knew at school would remain friends when you are an adult. As part of Newington you would meet up every year and see your friends that you went to school with. You also had to tip your hat to the teachers when you left the gate and tip your hat when crossing roads when cars stopped.

Felix Lee

Newington culture means a lot to me and even though things have changed I am amazed the culture still exists. The fact that Newington started out as a small school and turned into a very well known school is interesting. I feel very special that I got to come to this school and I can’t wait for the next eight years to come. In sport if two teams were playing sport the supporters would do a school chant and try to get louder than the other school encouraging their team. Something that was very strong back in the 1950’s was manners. The boys would tip their hat and say good afternoon to the teachers. The teachers are part of the culture of Newington and made a big difference in a student’s life as well as AJ’s. They supported him through his time at Newington. His favourite teacher was Mr Brown because he had good school spirit. Mr Brown was the Headmaster and his fifth grade teacher. He sounds like a very special man in AJ’s life.

Jack Mannix

The culture of Newington is in everyone who goes to Newington. When you walk on that rugby field wearing the Newington sport uniform you know you are playing for Newington. When you score a try you help your team get a win for Newington. When you wear your uniform you wear it with pride. The history of Newington goes back far. When Diesel’s Dad, AJ was at Newington everything was different but the culture was strong. The uniform is different. It went from black to grey blazers. Some of the uniforms are still the same but the symbol of the Wyvern has not changed. It is part of the culture of Newington. If you did not wear your uniform properly you would get a detention. The manners used at Newington made a big impact on AJ – he told us that you would tip your hat when you were crossing the road. When you score points for your school House and when you win you feel happy and have pride to be part of Newington. The crest is what brings Newington together. It is the soul of Newington and  it’s culture.

Aidan Chandler

Today Diesel’s dad came in and talked to us about Newington’s culture. I never felt so proud about the school I go to and how it has changed, as I did today. AJ told us about the celebrations they had when he was at school like the war cry and lots more. We also learnt about the uniforms and how they have changed, like the colour of the blazer going from black to grey but the crest always stays the same. I feel proud about my school when I walk out the gate in my uniform and when I represent my school in lots of sports and activities.

Oliver Senior

Thanks to AJ, Diesel’s dad we found out about Newington culture. When you are a Newington boy you respect your peers, your uniform and your belongings. You wear a perfect uniform. That means socks up, shirt tucked in, blazer buttons done up and hats on. When you are out of school you must wear full school uniform like AJ did when he was at school and tip your hat to adults. Back in the day when AJ was at school if your socks were down that meant a detention, shirt out – detention and if the Headmaster gave you a detention….. Oh boy that was more than just one hour of detention. Once you are an adult it doesn’t mean you are not a Newington boy anymore. It means you are a Newington old boy and you are still a part of – Newington Culture.

Chase Bassett

Last year I stepped on Newington School grounds and sparks lit up my heart with possibilities out of the world. It is a privilege to be here. I have loved it so far. I have also loved the school uniform especially as my dad thinks the caps looks like Angus Young, my dad’s and my favourite ACDC guitarist. He wears the exact same cap but of course without the Wyvern. Today AJ, a Newington old boy came and told us about when he went to Newington. There were detentions just for socks not pulled up or buttons undone. I personally agree with AJ that you should get something for not respecting your Newington uniform. Some days when Sam and I walk to the train station we tip our hats to seniors walking by or just people letting us go through to the zebra crossing in their cars. With everything said about the rules and culture of Newington I’m proud to say that I’m a Newington boy. I am proud of my school and my friends and the culture of Newington College.                               

 Mika Koskela

Year 6 – Student Led Conference

Student Led Conferences / Mathematical Anxiety

Over the past two weeks, we held the student led conferences. These conferences are an opportunity to share some learning and chat about the work the children are doing in class.  

I particularly enjoyed watching the Year 6 groups complete the multiplication grid task in mathematics. I find it fascinating to see how different people approach this type of question. As a staff, we are currently completing the Stanford University Professional Development course led by Jo Boaler. The first few sessions of this course look at maths anxiety and how this impacts learning and what we, as teachers, can do to help in this area.

One task that the Year 6 students worked through with their parents was this multiplication grid.  

There was the group who started at the top left-hand corner – no matter what – and worked down the column, and then they moved dutifully across and started down the next. This group, through my observations, was the majority, however, I could split these people into two separate categories – those who wrote a formal algorithm for each question and those who did not. The non-algorithm group had various mental strategies that they employed to get the answer.

The next largest group were those who looked for the easier questions first. They checked out the whole grid and then started to tackled them. As before, they were split into those who used the formal algorithms and those who used different strategies. This group seemed more confident and were able to complete the activity slightly quicker than the first group.

Finally, there were one or two groups who demonstrated a real understanding of multiplication. They approached the task by looking for patterns in the questions as well as the numbers. They quickly realised that the multiplication sums included 12, 22, 32 and 15, 25. The common difference between each was 10. So when multiplying by 7 for instance, 12 x 7, 22 x 7 and 32 x 7 the difference between the answers would be 10 x 7 for each or 70.  This group were the most confident and their maths anxiety levels seemed to be the lowest. They also managed to complete the task in the shortest time.

Looking for patterns, having strong understanding of concepts and the ability to interchange these leads to reduced frustration and better understanding. Addressing mathematical anxiety and allowing children to explore a variety of strategies is important. For such a simple task, I was fascinated by how revealing different people’s approaches were and how evident were the levels of mathematical anxiety.

Phil Trethewey – Year 6 Teacher

Sport

Term 3 has seen amazing achievements in Cross Country, Rugby, Snow Sports, Athletics, Biathlon and Tennis with many students competing at a Representative Level.

The term began with news that over the school holidays a number of Lindfield boys had represented the school in Snow Sports at Thredbo. Following the Interschool Competition, Mika and Anders Koskela were selected to compete at the State Competition where Mika placed 31st in the Alpine Skiing and 34th in the Skier Cross.  Anders placed 24th in the Boarder Cross.

Charlie Burt and Finn Dundon have had to maintain their fitness and training from the Term 1 Cross Country Carnival through to this Term where they represented NSWCIS at the PSSA (State) Cross Country at Eastern Creek. Charlie finished 17th (despite an unfortunate fall!) and Finn 31st in the State. Brilliant results for both boys.

James Knight was selected for the NSWCIS Team early in Term 2 and was training with that team on a weekly basis leading up to the PSSA (State) Championships in Newcastle. The CIS Team went through the competition undefeated and came from behind in the Grand Final to beat Sydney West.

21 boys represented Lindfield at the IPSHA Athletics Carnival where the following boys were successful in selection for the NSWCIS Athletics Carnival. Congratulations to:

Charles Brown, Charlie Burt, Finn Dundon, Harry Stuart and Finn Wicks – Senior Relay Team

Charlie Burt – 800m, 1500m

Finn Wicks – 200m, Long Jump, High Jump

Tee Barrington-Higgs – High Jump

Maks Saravanja – High Jump

Flynn Clatworthy – Discus

The Lindfield Athletes were outstanding representatives at the CIS Carnival with the Senior Relay Team making the final to finish 7^th out of 20 teams and our field event competitors placing in the top 10. Charlie Burt finished 3^rd in the 800m and was the 2^nd fastest qualifier in his age group in the 1500m race to progress to the PSSA (State) Carnival in October.

Three Lindfield boys – Nathan Sharp, Oliver Barrington-Higgs and Kane Gillis were up bright and early on a cold morning to compete in the Interhouse Biathlon against the Wyvern boys. Nathan placed 3^rd in the U12’s, Oliver 7^th in the U12’s and Kane 4^th in the U11’s. Later that morning a number of boys participated in the Interhouse Tennis Championships where Ronan Brown made the semi final, but went down to Flynn Clatworthy in a tough match to see Flynn place Ali from Wyvern in the final. Congratulations to Flynn who was runner-up in a competition that brought together strong competitors from both campuses.

To have so many boys competing at such a high representative level is a brilliant achievement and doesn’t come without many hours of training and practice! Congratulations to all our representative athletes!

Eliza Monaghan – PEHPE Mistress

Martial Arts Club Term 3

We’re wondering if we missed something here – it seems just five minutes ago that it was start of term…

It has been a time of great achievement for our young ninja men during Term 3.

Marcus C and Jaiden S have achieved Level 1 in our Leader Program, participation in which is entirely voluntary.  The ‘amazingness’ of this cannot be overstated!  Both boys have continued on with their Level 2, and Dylan H has also joined the Program this term.  For a young person to step up and take on the very significant responsibility of helping others to do better is worth taking a moment to fully appreciate.

Continuing the trend, we have a number of boys moving to more advanced grades.  Of note is Marcus C achieving his Golden Dragon (8-11 years) Green belt.  This is the start of the advanced grades, with the Gold levels being the intermediate.

We have also welcomed several new students this term, who (don’t tell them yet!) will be awarded their Red belt this week.  We think it is probably the most exciting of all the belts to receive, with perhaps the exception only of the Black belt.

With grading happening this week, there will be many more other young ninjas progressing through their grades and gaining a greater understanding of what this ‘self-defence’ thing is.

Above all though, we have managed to have a pile of fun this term, as is always our goal, since it is crucial to our students learning quickly and well, and so an essential part of our classes.

Enjoy the holidays, have fun with your family, and be safe.

We look forward to seeing you all next term (term FOUR!!).

Sensei Marice

Marice Knapman

Principal

Fushicho Martial Arts

Mob:   0416 13 13 25

Web:   fushicho.com.au

P&F

What’s happening in your P&F and Committees?

What a great couple of months we’ve had!  The school community has been so busy with some wonderful events taking place.

It has been a pleasure to work with so many of our parents, who have stepped up, pitched in and hosted these memorable events.

In addition, our valuable stable of Prep Shop, Tuckshop and Class volunteers have been regularly committing, week in and week out to ensure we are able to provide our continued services to the boys.

Thank you, thank you, thank you – we are incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful school community at Lindfield.

Mini Olympics

Our Mini Olympics event this year was again such a memorable day for our students and staff.  We welcomed back the team from Special Olympics Australia and shared a fantastic day together, enjoying each other’s company and participating in some great sports challenges.

The athletes and participants from Special Olympics Australia are so positive and truly inspiring.  They really enjoy spending the day with our boys and are always so grateful for the funds we raise for their program.  Thank you again everyone for participating and assisting to raise a whopping $12,882 for this worthwhile cause.

Back to Newington Day

There was community, sport, sunshine, stalls and fantastic food on offer at Back to Newington Day.  Our Lindfield ball sports stall was pumping with lots of kids stepping up to take part.  Thank you everyone who came along and to those who helped on the day.  The Sports Committee did a wonderful job and raised $1,084.

Sports BBQ’s

It was a “bumper” year on our Winter Sports BBQ this year.  Once again, our fabulous Sports Committee donned their aprons, grabbed their tongs and cooked up a storm feeding the whole Koola Park sports community. 

Thank you so much to our Sports Committee for your commitment each week and to all the volunteers who helped out.  The BBQ is so much more than just providing food, and your continued enthusiasm and smiling faces are a great way for Newington to be present in the community.

Our record-breaking tally for funds raised was $7,929 – well done!

What has the P&F contributed to our school community this year?

As promised, the P&F are pleased to have contributed the following to assist our boys:

1. The iPad keyboards for the touch-typing program are now up and running
2. An additional paid volunteer for approximately 3 hours a week in the tuckshop
3. The plan development and testing of flexible learning space furniture
4. Co-curricular programs, such as chess and drama

As always, if any parents have ideas for how funds might be distributed and used, please let us know.

What’s coming Up?

• Don’t miss out on our end of year event on Saturday 28 October 2017. It will be held offsite this year at North Sydney Oval. We invite you to our “N” festival and look forward to seeing everyone there from 7:00pm.
• Purchase your tickets online before Friday 13 October: https://www.newington.nsw.edu.au/online-payments/ – click on Events, Excursions & Activities.

• Our P&F Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday night, 7 November 2017. Come and share a drink and nibbles with us to mark the end of another great year.

Prep Shop Update

Thanks to the volunteers who helped with stocktake last week.  They did an amazing job of counting and stock changeover, we are now selling summer uniform in the Prep Shop.

Please be advised that basketball singlets will not be sold until Ms Monaghan has trialled the boys for teams in Week 10.  We need to organise the numbers on singlets so that no two boys have the same number in one team for penalty purposes. Please put your order form in when you know that your son will be playing basketball and indicate which team, if possible, and I will be better able to organise numbers.

We have plenty of stock for swimming jammers at present, but please do get in early if you are interested in purchasing these, as I understand some sizes sold out fast last year. We have ordered according to last year’s sales, but they may sell twice as fast if word gets around!

We do have plenty of standard swimmers (briefs) in stock, so they are always a good back-up plan and preferred by some. Other than that, all items are in stock and easily available for purchase.

Pippa Dorricott, Prep Shop Manager

Tuckshop Update

Many thanks to all our wonderful volunteers – without you the Tuckshop would not function.  A special thanks goes to the two Yr3 mums who are volunteering almost every week.

Also, many thanks to the Yr6 mum who donated three new Newington Aprons, you must come and check them out, they look great!

In Term 4 there will be a new vegetarian pasta option added to the menu.

We are always looking for volunteers so why not send me an email to signup for a shift next term? This will be the last chance for the Yr6 parents! lindfieldtuckshop@newington.nsw.edu.au

Cheryll Clark, Tuckshop Manager 

Committee Members Contact Details

The P&F Executive Committee welcomes your involvement … please contact us if you have questions or suggestions for our Lindfield campus or would like to get more involved.

Places still to be filled for next year are President, Vice President and Secretary.  We would love to hear from you asap if you can help.

Julianne Ashworth – President

M: 0411 047 816 – E: jcashworth@vbmglobal.com

Susie Martin – Vice President

M: 0404 303 877 – E: preston_susie@hotmail.com

Vicky Sharp – Secretary

M: 0414 946 134  – E: vixsharp29@gmail.com

Sylvia Chen – Treasurer

M: 0406 558 332 – E: joy_syl@hotmail.com

Thank you again

Julianne Ashworth – P&F President