A Message from the Head of Lindfield

The Difference Between Privilege and Entitlement is Gratitude.

Last week I spoke with all our Year 6 boys about keeping grounded as they move into their final semester as primary school boys. I spoke about the difference between privilege and entitlement being gratitude. Privilege is when special opportunities are given to particular groups of people.  We are fortunate that all the boys at Lindfield are very privileged. They are part of families that value education and make big sacrifices so that their sons are given opportunities that are not available to many other boys. They have teachers and a school that work hard to ensure that they get the most out of their time in primary school.

Fortunately, we are all very privileged, we live in a society that has delivered an amazing quality of life, we have seen the democratisation of wealth over the last 25 years. We live in times of unparalleled prosperity. The last significant economic recession was when I was in Year 12 and that was an awfully long time ago. Most young people have never experienced anything different to what we have today.

As parents we want to give our children everything: we give them opportunity, we give them possessions, experiences, attention and love. Parents at Lindfield sacrifice everything for their children.  It is easy for a child who is given everything to slip from privilege to entitlement. If we feel entitled, we no longer feel gratitude for the fortunate position that we are in and we expect to be given opportunities and positive experiences. Feeling entitled can sometimes result in boys not putting in their best effort, and failing to put their best foot forward in their learning and interactions with others.

The school’s view is that our boys should repay the effort and sacrifices of their families by putting in their best effort at home and at school, being the best version of themselves that they can be and squeezing every ounce of opportunity and experience out of their time at Newington.  The school is very clear about the responsibilities for each of our boys. The way they interact with their teachers and each other, the way they focus in class, the way carry themselves around the school and in public. These are all examples of gratitude.

Even as adults, it is easy to slip into taking what we have for granted and becoming entitled. I have lived a very privileged life. I have had a supportive family, attended a good school, enjoyed good health and was able to work helping children in different countries with amazing teachers from different cultures. I have everything that I want and don’t desire any material thing. I have been able to give my own children the same opportunities and privileges that I have been fortunate enough to enjoy. It could become easy for me to expect everything to go my way.

I have been conducting interviews with potential Newington families. One of the questions I ask the boys is, “What do you do around the house?” In many cases, the answer is ‘nothing.’ The answer is not too surprising but most boys do not understand why they should be helping and lack the awareness about the inadequacy of this answer. If we absolve our boys of the responsibility to help out, to pull their weight, to show gratitude by contributing in every facet of their life then we are doing them a massive disservice. It is difficult for young people to not feel that they are entitled to everything that comes their way, if no one expects them to do otherwise.

It is gratitude that makes us want to work hard to do our best for ourselves and families. I am very grateful to work at Newington, to be surrounded by talented educators, amazing young men and families dedicated to their son’s education and development. I am constantly grateful to be part of this school and community and this makes it a pleasure to come into school every day. If I wasn’t grateful I would feel that I was entitled to all that has come to me and I wouldn’t value, appreciate or respect it as I do.

Think about which areas of your life you feel privileged and so express gratitude through your actions and interactions? Have you ever felt entitled or deserving and expected others to provide even though your own effort may not have made you worthy? In our society, even as adults, we are all struggling with the fine line between privilege and entitlement.

Ben Barrington-Higgs

Faith Matters

“If your shoes could speak what would they say?”

Although strange, this is an interesting metaphor to describe the journeys of our lives. I came across this idea while exploring the theme of Journey and I quite like it. See, our shoes are a map of where we have been and what we have done. They’re a record of our experiences and encounters with others.

This quote had me thinking about what my shoes would say about me. Perhaps my favourite brown leather loafers would talk about the many Church meetings I’ve been in around Australia whilst wearing them or perhaps they’d talk about the countless plays I’ve watched in theatres around Sydney. Maybe my battered Army Cadet boots would talk about long hikes through Singleton Army Range or marching around a Parade Ground while working as an Officer in my previous school’s Cadet Unit.

Though we’ve probably never thought of it this way, our shoes are a record of our journeys in life.

The concept of journeying is not something that we’d readily reflect on but when we pause and think about it every one of us have experienced many different journeys in our life. For many our journeys speak of migration, some moving suburbs others moving countries. For others our journeys talk of lived experiences; changing schools or changing careers, stepping out into unknown prospects or a different setting. All of us, no matter what age, have experienced many different journeys.

This term in RE and Chapel Services at Lindfield we’ve been looking at the journeys of different characters from the Old Testament, such as Abraham and Moses. These great figures of faith were called by God to leave their comfortable, easy lives and go out into the unknown. They were challenged to lead others to new places and to seek a better life. These people, and many others in the Bible, were called to movement into something new.

So, if your shoes could speak what would they say? What are the journeys of your life, because each of us have had journeys; school boys, parents and teachers alike? What are the journeys that lie ahead of you? Perhaps during the holidays, you and your shoes can go on a new journey, explore somewhere new or learn something different.

I want to wish everyone a relaxing and safe school holiday and I look forward to seeing our Lindfield boys back next term.

Pastor Richard La’Brooy

Pastoral Care

Pastoral Care – Digital Citizenship – Managing Time Online

As our students head into this upcoming three week holiday break it is timely to consider how much time your son spends online and how you manage his screen time, in general.

Screen time limits are about making sure your son enjoys lots of healthy, fun activities – both with and without screens. Limits mean looking at the time your son spends on screens and making sure it doesn’t get in the way of sleep and activities that are good for his development. These activities include things like physical play, reading, creative play like drawing, and social time with family and friends.

This animated introduction to the issue of children spending too much time online, including the impact on sleep and school work and how parents can help children achieve a balance is worth watching.  https://vimeo.com/110950040.

It is important to set clear rules about when and for how long your child can play games or use the internet — the Australian Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines provide a useful benchmark. It may take time to strike a balance but a minor reduction each day or ‘15-minutes to switch-off’ warning can help the transition.

Reducing your own screen time also sets a positive example. We need to make sure that the time we are spending looking at our screens is truly appropriate. In an article written by Sierra Filucci titled, ‘Screen-Time Limits for Parents?’ she states, ‘If parents are going to be smart about our smartphones, we do need to make a few rules for ourselves – Smartphone users tend to underestimate the time they spend staring at their phones instead of their kids. It might feel like 20 seconds, but really three minutes have passed.’ Too often you see a child have an accident when someone was looking down at their screen. If we want our children to be great digital citizens, then we need to model this behaviour.

Sierra Filucci offers some great advice on how to get that balance right for yourself. She encourages:

• No devices during mealtimes. If a topic comes up that you would normally google, add it to a list to look up later.

• Leave the game-playing (Words With Friends!) until after the kids are in bed.

• No texting or talking on the phone while driving.

• Put away the phone if the kids are swimming unattended or doing anything else potentially dangerous.

• Designate “no-tech zones” in your home — and respect them!

The following sites provide a lot of useful research and suggestions for managing your son’s screen time.

http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/screen_time.html

https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent/staying-safe/balancing-time-online/managing-online-time

Set clear rules about when and for how long your child can play games or use the internet—the Australian Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines provide a useful benchmark. It may take time to strike a balance but a minor reduction each day or ’15-minutes to switch-off’ warning can help the transition. Reducing your own screen time also sets a positive example.

Pascal Czerwenka – Deputy Head and Year 5 Teacher

PYP

How does the PYP connect with the NSW/Australian curriculum?

Previous curriculum focused largely on content. Today, educators realise the need to focus on creating lasting understanding through the investigation of concepts, skills and the processes involved in learning.  Current best practice take curriculum beyond the memorisation of facts to deeper levels of understanding and knowledge. This approach to learning has led educators to favour inquiry based learning which is utilised at Newington College Lindfield (NCL) in the The Primary Years Programme (PYP).

Our students live in a complex world where learning and development arise not only from the school environment but also from family, home and the community.  It is vital that NCL captures and encourages an active learning environment through its curriculum. Adopting the PYP was a significant step in moving towards an internationally recognised education as well as providing our students with a global perspective which will prepare them for playing their part in the world of the future.

The PYP provides an excellent vehicle for the delivery of the NSW/Australian curriculum whilst at the same time providing students with a unique global outlook which allows for subject depth and breadth. The students follow a balanced curriculum that is globally significant and provides them with the opportunity to take an active role in their own learning. The PYP of the International Baccalaureate Organisation focuses on key concepts such as connection, perspectives and responsibility. It explores transdisciplinary themes linked by their relevance and importance to a body of knowledge.  This framework leads students and teachers to deeper investigation, develops conceptual understanding, encourages critical and creative thinking when solving complex problems and builds long-lasting understandings.

At NCL we have a curriculum model that delivers core knowledge, understanding and skills to our students, required by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) but within an Internationally benchmarked framework of learning. Being a World School means we are committed to quality education, the professional development of staff and equipping students with the knowledge and skills for a rapidly changing world.

“It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.”

IT’S NOT WHERE YOU START
From the Broadway Musical “Seesaw” (1973)
(Cy Coleman / Dorothy Fields)

Sue Gough – PYP Co-ordinator

Mini Olympics Day

“Let me win and if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.” –   Special Olympics Motto

This year the P &F hosted another incredible Mini-Olympics day. We were lucky enough to spend the day with some amazing Special Olympics athletes, all boys had a great day enjoying the activities and supporting a worthwhile cause. The Year 6 boys developed and oversaw the sporting stations. They were focused, engaged and showed excellent leadership in the service of the other boys. It was also incredible that our boys managed to raise over $12,500 dollars for the Special Olympics organisation, this money will be used to fund sport and community programs for people with intellectual disabilities.

I spoke with the boys at the Mini-Olympics assembly about the Special Olympics Motto. This motto applies to us all. It means that we need to find the courage to give it all we’ve got.

“Giving it all you’ve got,” may mean winning but just as importantly it may mean being brave and trying something new for the first time.  If you are a kindergarten boy, it may mean being brave whilst learning to swim across a pool. For other boys it may mean putting in your best effort in music, in sport, in helping others. In anything we do, we need to do our best and be brave and courageous in our efforts.

The Special Olympics movement is for people with intellectual challenges who like many of us, love playing sport, love being part of a team and love representing and cheering for our team. They share the same interests as many of our boys and families, in this way, sport is a great connector of people.

Often people with intellectual disabilities need to be brave to meet the daily challenges that they face. Our Year 5 and 6 boys see this firsthand as they help out at Cromehurst School. They see how hard it can be for some boys and girls in our community to learn and do the basic things we take for granted. The Mini-Olympics day helps our boys understand that we are all privileged and that we not only need to appreciate our fortunate position but show gratitude and help others who are not so fortunate.

This is the fourth year we have held the Mini-Olympics. It is a fantastic event hosted by the P & F and organised by Kate Hooke and Colleen Bromwich. Kate and Colleen worked incredibly hard to make the day such fun and so successful for everyone involved. We are very grateful for their efforts.

Next year, the Special Olympics want to bring out one of their representative basketball teams and have a mixed game with the senior boys. They also want to film the day and the work done by the school on behalf of the Special Olympics organisation as an example that other schools may like to follow.

(Excerpt from 2018 Term 2 Week 8 Head of Lindfield Message to Parents)

Service Page

Newington College is incredibly proud to promote service learning through action, helping our boys to assist those in less fortunate positions than themselves. Whilst the boys engage in a range of service opportunities at school-buddy projects with younger peers and assisting at Cromehurst School amongst other opportunities, we also like to celebrate those boys and their families who engage in service outside of school. Below are two such examples from boys in Year 5.

Declan Williams

Not long ago, I went to the Asylum Seekers Center in Newtown with my family and we made lunch for less fortunate people. These people were asylum seekers and couldn’t always afford to provide lunch for their families. The difference between asylum seeker status and refugee status is that asylum seekers seek international protection whilst refuges have an undetermined status. Refugees and asylum seekers often flee terrible conditions in their home countries in order to come to safer countries like ours. The food we gave them was a variety of fruits, food courses and a cake made by us. There were lots of happy families that weekend!

Kye Patterson

Every week I go to Cub Scouts and we do weekly service activities such as picking up rubbish, making food packs for the homeless and doing random acts of kindness such as helping elderly people. I think that these activities are really helpful to the community.

In Cubs, every pack (mine is 1st Alexandria) has their own scarf. No one in the world has one like my pack, it is unique.

In my pack, I was the first in 50 years to be invested (when you are invested you are officially in the pack) which I think is pretty special.

A favourite part of Cubs would be camping, camping can help you feel more independent while going out and having fun. We also need to prepare ourselves by doing things like putting up our tents, cooking food and cleaning up after ourselves.

Overall, helping the community, getting invested and camping are the things that I’ve enjoyed the most, but I’ve barely scratched the surface with Cubs. We are committed to helping others and I really love it!

Sam Watson – Year 5 Teacher

Stage 1 – Drama

Play is a natural part of children’s lives as it helps them to make sense of their place in the world. Such creativity can be harnessed through drama to enable active and interactive learning experiences, especially when paired with quality children’s literature.

Our stage one students have entered into a literacy unit which will be focusing on how language ignites our imagination through its ability to evoke sensory images and convey meaning.  We will be using the drama process to enhance the development of literacy in our classroom. Speaking and listening skills can be developed through role play and improvisation, but drama also provides the context to improve writing skills.  Improvisation and storytelling develop children’s understanding of narrative structure, whilst playing in-role, creating soundscapes and moving through space supports the development of descriptive writing.

Learning through drama is not about a performance, its value comes through the process of playing.  Effective drama strategies we use in the classroom to engage with literature include:

Freeze Frames

Freeze frames are used in drama to make a visual picture, like a photograph, to show characters in a scene or series of scenes. The freeze is held for several seconds to clearly show through the actions and facial expression what the characters are feeling and how they are feeling about other characters in the scene.

Soundscapes

This strategy works best in large groups and involves the group using their voices, bodies and other materials to create a sound collage. It’s especially good for creating environments and atmosphere, and supports the boys to understand the sounds they can describe in their writing.

Sculpting

In pairs, one person (A) is the sculptor and the other (B) is the block of clay. This strategy requires the boys to slowly and carefully attend to different aspects of the ‘clays’ expression.  It builds their awareness of the breadth of expression they can describe in their writing.

Embodiment

This requires the boys to physically and verbally embody a character from story, they may move like them or speak alike.  Ultimately it is a strategy that develops boys understanding of a character beyond the words of the text and into the realm of inference, as their embodiment of the character extends past the book and they are required to act and answer as if they were that character in new situations.

Drama in a literacy context can provide children with a meaningful purpose for writing. Our boys become motivated to communicate their imagination when writing after being supported to develop their ideas and language through dramatic play.

Carol Peterson – Year 2 Teacher

Stage 2 – The Importance of Reading to Children

During Term 2, the primary boys had the opportunity to come to the Co-curricular Book Club in the Year 3 classroom on Monday afternoons for an hour. The book I chose was a current best seller for children (lauded as the next Harry Potter!) called Nevermoor by an up and coming author, Jessica Townsend. Not only did the boys thoroughly enjoy being read to, but the benefits of reading to them were obvious.

Reading to children is a sound educational tool as it develops their reading skills, listening skills and enhances their comprehension skills. During the reading, the boys were questioned as to their understanding of the text and to predict what was going to happen in the story. The book is displayed on the classroom projector so the boys can practise their own reading skills by reading along with the text.

While some boys will read independently, all boys benefit through the enjoyment of being read to, and my expectation is that this will encourage those boys who may be less likely to read on their own.

Reading is the best method of increasing a boy’s vocabulary and his ability to understand written words. During Book Club the boys experienced the charismatic reading of a text which enhances their ability to read with expression and they can ask about the meaning of words.

Every week, Mrs Kylie Bain reads to the boys in the library and the feedback from the boys is extremely positive. We encourage all the boys to borrow from the extensive range of books in our library. If possible, to help keep up your son’s reading skills over the holidays, visit your local library where a wide range of books are available to read.

In Term 4, The Co-curricular Book Club will be available to Junior Primary boys after school from 3:00–4:00pm.

Mrs Leonie Russell – Year 3 Teacher

Stage 3 – The Primary Years Programme Exhibition 2018

The PYP Exhibition is an important aspect of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program. It is an opportunity for Year 6 students to share, with the school community, what they have learned and how they have learned. It is seen as a rite of passage for students as they move from Prep (PYP) to Secondary School.

The PYP Exhibition will be held on Tuesday 25 September from 6:00–8:00pm. Last Tuesday, 19 June, the boys and parents of Year 6 attended an information evening to better understand the broad outline of the process and organisation leading up to the Exhibition.

The Exhibition requires students to design a Unit of Inquiry that focuses on a real-world issue, preferably from the local area.  Students are given the opportunity to take ownership of their learning by selecting a focus and direction for this unit. The students have been discussing the Exhibition unit since the beginning of the year. Earlier this term, the Year 6 boys refined their thinking in a specific session to determine the Transdisciplinary Theme on which they would like to focus.  This collaborative thinking has led them to the following Unit of Inquiry:

How the world works

An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment.

The major component of the Exhibition is a group inquiry that the students are required to design and complete. This inquiry forms the basis of the presentations at the Exhibition and allows the students as a whole to present a comprehensive understanding of the Central Idea.

Boys will be supported in this task by their class teachers.  As well, each group will be assigned a mentor. This person will be a member of Staff.  The mentor provides practical support for students as they progress through their work. Students will meet with their mentor regularly during the Inquiry.

The aim is that the Exhibition will be a memorable learning experience that will shape the students’ thinking and approach to future learning.

Mr David Musgrove – Year 6 Teacher

Learning Enhancement – Literacy

Developing Visual Literacy: Advertising in Year 5 Multimodal texts communicate meaning to the viewer through visuals, composition and language. Competency in recognising the way composers combine visual and written elements to make meaning will enable students to comprehend a range of text types and to successfully communicate their own ideas.   As part of the Year 5 Literacy and Unit of Inquiry units, the boys have been exploring the many ways that advertisers use visual and textual features to gain our attention, maintain our interest and persuade us about their product or cause.   The boys learnt about the concept of salience and the way the composer considers the placement, colour and size of different features in an advertisement to ensure that one or more of these elements stands out, or is ‘salient’. They chose an advertisement that they were particularly interested in and reflected upon how the composer had manipulated visual aspects of the advertisement to make one element particularly eye-catching. They also engaged in some interesting discussions about the composer’s intention and the often-subjective nature of salience, in instances where boys had conflicting ideas about which feature was the most salient. Year 5 considered the use of gaze in advertising and the way composers use a ‘demand’: when the subject is looking directly at the viewer, or an ‘offer’: when the subject is looking away from the viewer, to achieve a desired effect. In pairs, they used their knowledge of these two types of gaze to take a photograph that could be used as the basis of a print advertisement. They particularly enjoyed viewing and giving feedback on their peer’s photographs. Later, the boys added text, considering how the size, colour and placement of their text impacts the reading path of the viewer. They also decided upon how to make their message more powerful through their choice of language. Groups of boys created Public Service Announcement videos to raise awareness about various issues that impact the boys and the school community. They filmed and edited their videos and learnt about the way composers use varied camera angles to have a desired effect, using this knowledge to inform their filmmaking choices. Over the past six weeks, Year 5 boys have shown great enthusiasm towards learning about different visual and textual techniques chosen to convince the viewer. They have demonstrated their ability to analyse the use of these techniques in advertising and purposefully apply them when composing their own advertisements. There is no doubt that the boys will transfer these understandings as they continue to encounter and produce multimodal texts. Great work Year 5! Christine Hilder, Teaching and Learning Intern

Celebrating Visual Arts at Lindfield!

Each week at Assembly an ‘Art Shot of the Week’ is presented to showcase the efforts the boys have put into their visual art. It also helps boys in other years understand what their peers have accomplished.

The Stage 3 art shot revealed how they had made “Pop Art”. As a part of their current Unit of Inquiry into how media can create, alter and manipulate perceptions. The boys looked at the psychology of colours and reflected on the work of Andy Warhol.

Kindergarten were presented with a challenge to use symmetry in their artworks when creating their butterflies. It was difficult to apply ink with a brush and make sure each side had the same shapes. After the ink dried the next hurdle was to colour with oil pastels making sure colour was applied in the same spot working out from the line of symmetry.

The Stage two boys have created a charcoal artwork that highlights the “Gold Rush Era”. When inquiring into their unit on migration in Australia. The boys worked hard to apply a variety of textures with their charcoal. Some using smudging techniques, swirls, direct pressure, soft application which made for a variety of textures and contrast within the work.

The water colour convict ship drawings were another artwork that helped the boys understand the migration movement in early Australia. The boys found it challenging to apply texture when painting the ships’ hull and sails. Making sure there was enough sails, masts and rigging of a true convict ship was successfully achieved by all boys.

In Stage 1 many of our artworks were inspired by the rainforest and the living creatures within. We looked at the art work of a variety of artists who’s focus is to protect the rainforest environment and how they have achieved success. The boys scrutinized the shape and details on a variety of leaves before using ink to create their own. Shading was applied to the green tree frog, which helped create the illusion of depth on paper.

Our Kindy boys were happy to pose for art shot of the week. Many of the boys had never drawn a deep sea diver before and were interested to find out about all of the equipment a diver needs before they venture down into the ocean. We looked carefully at a range of endangered species and drew and coloured them accurately on the artwork. All boys worked with focus and perseverance when creating their water colour.

All boys have worked hard during this unit of inquiry. I look forward to sharing our next art shot participants in the next Prep-Talk.

Kylie Bain – Art Teacher

Lindfield Music Concert

What a fabulous night.

The 2018 Lindfield Concert was a huge success. All the boys really enjoyed performing and got a real buzz from the enjoyment and excitement emanating from the audience. Performing in a concert is such a unique experience. For weeks, the boys have been working on their pieces – hearing me say “that is good. Let’s do it again!” I have been quoting at them “Practice not until you get it right but until you don’t get it wrong.” The boys certainly did this.

The boys had some input into the songs that were chosen. “Believer” which was sung by the choir was one that the choir monitor Will Murray chose. I did some research into it and discovered that one of the members of the band “Imagine Dragons” had a medical condition and he was in considerable pain. “Believer” is a song about overcoming this pain and making it a strength rather than a weakness. A powerful message for the boys to sing about.

“Can’t stop the feeling” is from the movie “Trolls” and the story is about the search for happiness and what you do to be happy. Whenever we rehearsed this song at school the boys in Years 5 and 6 were dancing and singing. They had a good time in learning it.

“Zuka Zama” was a lucky find. I was listening to a lot of songs, trying to find one for the Junior boys and this came up. I then found out where it came from and as a result the boys in Junior Primary and I have been singing a number of songs from The Lion Guard. We will probably do some others from this throughout the year. They all have very positive messages.

“Sesere Eeye” has been a song I have wanted to do for a few years. I first saw it performed by the Sydney Children’s Choir. Our group of Year 3 and Year 4 are really good singers and are able to hold 3-part harmony. They did a fabulous job learning this Indigenous song.

“This is Me” was the finale. Throughout the school we have been talking about the message of this song. When the Special Olympians came to the school we discovered that this was also their theme song for their concert. The boys sang it for this special group of people and it was lovely to hear one of them say “It gave me goosebumps”.

While there was no major theme for the concert, there was a message that was running through a number of the songs – be happy and enjoy life and who you are.

Vanessa South – Music Teacher

Sport

Paul Kelly Cup

Back in late Term 1 Lindfield sent 2 teams to the Northern Suburbs Paul Kelly Cup AFL Competition where our A Team placed first overall. This meant that early this month the boys played the regional final at Queens Park, competing for a spot in the State Championships. The games were played in a pool format with the team with the most wins and best for and against progressing following that day. The Lindfield boys represented the College with pride, many with very little AFL experience! They won all 3 of their pool games to give themselves a chance at playing the state final but ended up placing 4th. Congratulations to all of the boys who were involved! It was a fun couple of days of competition and great for many boys to represent the college in a new sport.

Combined Independent Schools (CIS) Selections

Each year CIS offer children all across NSW the opportunity to trial and then compete at the NSW State Championships across a whole range of sports. These trials are highly competitive with children from every independent school in NSW eligible to enter. The College will often send Year 6 boys to different trials, partly to experience the standard of play with some of the strongest players in the state but obviously also in the hope that our boys may be selected into the NSW CIS Team.

Congratulations to Finn Wicks (Rugby Union) and James Fergusson (Softball) who have both been selected into the 2018 CIS Teams in their respective sports. Both boys will train with their teams in the coming months and head away for State Championships later in the year. Best wishes to Finn and James in their competitions!

Athletics

In their PE Lessons the Years 3-6 boys have all been preparing for the Combined Wyvern/Lindfield Athletics Carnival with the High Jump and 800m heats already completed. As the carnival is in Week 1 of Term 3, I would encourage all boys to be training over the holidays! Practising some starts and getting used to the 100m and 200m distances would be ideal preparation for every boy before they race! All boys will also need to be prepared to compete in shot put, discus and long jump events.

Kingswood brought home the trophy last year! We would love to see it in the Lindfield Trophy Cabinet again in 2018!

Eliza Monaghan – PDHPE Teacher

Martial Arts Club

Martial Arts Club—Term 2

Leader Program

Our biggest news this term in what has been a big few months is the astounding achievement of the three Leaders who continued in our Leader Program this term.

Their efforts are all the more extraordinary because they each made the choice to become involved and completed 20 hours at L2 and 40 hours at L3 on a voluntary basis!

Dylan H is now fully capable of managing an activity from set-up to finish.  Marcus C and Jaiden S are both now actually teaching students rolling and breakfalling and simple jujutsu techniques (under supervision).  As I noted in Term 1, the group they manage is aged 5-7 years, so their achievement is–and I also teach grown-ups!–all the greater for this.

With these three young men moving up the levels, we have two new starters in the Program for Term 3, Oliver F and Lorcan B, who are both very excited about what’s to come.

5-7 years vs 8-11 years

The difference between the two classes is a simple matter of degree.  Essentially, the techniques are the same, with the obvious allowance for age.  For 8-11 years, we introduce sparring, which is very important to self-defence skills since it puts into practice the techniques students learn in a more realistic (and more useful) form.

We take a great deal of care in training all students in how to behave, which is even more important when learning how to spar.  Sparring is introduced to students new to it in a highly-controlled and very gradual process; it can take up to three months for a student to gain the necessary skills required to further refine their sparring technique.

Additionally, students are NEVER allowed to strike another with full force.  Our philosophy is that painful training is unproductive, so our focus is on speed and technique in this area.

Grading

This has, as usual been, happening over the last few weeks of term.  It can be difficult to see what progress a 5 or 6 year old is making until you step back and think about what they looked like when they started.  Take that over a few years, and the difference is amazing.  There are a significant number of boys approaching or in the advanced levels now, and as with all students who step out of their comfort zone to try something new and unusual, I am very proud of them, both for turning up year after year, and managing still to make the whole process fun.  They move so beautifully, and begin to understand the potential of that movement.

All the best for a safe and happy holiday break.

Sensei Marice