Mother’s Day Celebrations at Wyvern

On Friday May 10 2013, Wyvern’s Hall was transformed into a festive hub for the mothers and sons of Wyvern House. The breakfast selection included a delightful array of fruit, bircher muesli, mini muffins and banana bread, whilst mini ham and cheese croissants and smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels catered for a savoury tooth. The baristas worked tirelessly to keep up with the demand from those in need of their early morning coffee. Thank you to the many Year 3 parents who helped to organise the wonderful morning and to Katia Pizzinelli from Alliance Catering for the fabulous food.

The Torrible boys, Toby 1S, Matthew 2B, Charles 4C and Artie 4D (pictured) had a great morning taking care of their mum at Mother’s Day Breakfast. “She always looks after us and keeps us organised, so it was nice to have something special for her.”

Ridley De Lange, 4M, enjoyed going to the Mother’s Day Breakfast with his mum. “I had lots of fun with my mum because we had breakfast together and just a relaxing morning.”

Tom Fraser, 3P, liked the Mother’s Day Breakfast as his previous school didn’t have a special morning. “I really liked spending time with just my mum and I.”

Artist of the Week

K – 2 Artists of the Week

Joel Lyons 1W

Joel considered the idea of a speeding dragon fly. He also looked at the famous insect artwork of Pro Hart. Joel then used many colours of chalk pastel in a vigorous manner- drawing, smudging and re-drawing to give the idea of flashing wings on his insect body.

Mrs Debbie Bourke
K – 2 Art Teacher

P and F News Events

MOTHER’S DAY BREAKFAST

Happy POST Mother’s Day – where did that day go?

I hope that all the Women of Wyvern (WoW) enjoyed their special day on Sunday with their loving families.  The Mother’s Day Breakfast on Friday morning is more of a ‘Thank You’ to all the mums of Wyvern who volunteer at school, do drop offs and pick ups, go on excursions, organise year groups (functions and play dates) and just make sure that your son/s get to school on time. The breakfast is our chance to catch up and have an espresso coffee, a croissant and some lovely fresh fruit. Thank you to all the Year 3 parents who organised the wonderful breakfast. It was delightful to get a photo of you and your son from the photo booth and those who were lucky to receive a rose from Flowers on Norton or be a  lucky winner of the beautiful door prizes donated by Victoria Tea Rooms, Peep Toe Shoes and the P & F.

Some of you will have received beautiful Mother’s Day gifts organised by the Year 1 parents. Thank you to Paola, Vicky, Lillian, Dita and finally Teresa who were instrumental in the selecting, packing and organisation of the beautiful gifts. These events play such a large part in bringing the Wyvern community together.

P & F MEETING TONIGHT – Thursday 16 May

The topic of tonight’s meeting will be SPACES. As we move forward to a paperless world, SPACES will be the main platform for school communication. Emma Clemens, Wyvern’s Innovative Learning Leader – ICT Facilitator, will present the topic and will include information on how to use and navigate SPACES and the Online Tuckshop. (As of term 3 the Tuckshop will only accept online lunch orders. However, students will still be able to buy snacks).

Our Senior GAP students will mind the children and the P & F will supply pizza and drinks for them.

Mr Holden will  be presenting an update of  the future direction of Wyvern  over the next 2-5 years.

MUSIC WEEKEND

Some of our musical boys will be required to attend the Music Weekend on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 May. Ms Belshaw and the Newington music teams put this weekend together and it combines both Wyvern and Linfield campuses at the Senior School for a weekend of wonderful of music making. Please review the music weekend timetable for your son’s attendance requirements. The Wyvern P & F  welcomes volunteers to help over the 2 days, serving food and cooking the BBQ. If you would like to volunteer, please contact our CAST contact Nicole Newson at nicnewson@msn.com

CHRISTMAS IN JULY

Tickets are now on sale for the ‘White Christmas in July’ evening to be held on Friday 26 July at ECCO Ristorante in Drummoyne. Kindergarten parents have done a fabulous job of making this special midyear event (a first for Wyvern) a wonderful white winter experience. The cost of the night is $78 per head and covers a welcome cocktail, Italian finger food, sparkling, white and red wine, beer, soft drink and live entertainment. The lucky door prize is a table of 10 to the Black & White ball on Saturday 14 September valued at $1750. Tickets can be purchased via the online payment system. Click here to download the flyer.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Student Free day – Friday 7 June
• Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday – Monday 10 June
• Rugby Season Launch – Friday 14 June
• Football Season Launch – Friday 14 June
• Term 2 Finishes – Friday 21 June
• Term 3 Starts –  Monday 15 July
• Founders Concert – Wednesday 17 July
• Christmas in July – Friday 26 July

Any comments or suggestions regarding the P & F are certainly welcome. Drop me an email, my computer is always on.

Julie Gigg
0411 240769
djgigg@gmail.com
President Wyvern P & F 2013

Wyvern’s ‘White Christmas in July’ Dinner

Friday 26 July 7.00pm – 11.00pm at ECCO Ristorante, Drummoyne.

$78 includes a welcome cocktail, substantial Italian finger food, drinks and live entertainment.

Come and celebrate White Christmas in July with the Wyvern community. Click here for the invitation.

Lucky door prize: a table of 10 to the Black & White Ball valued at $1,750

Gallopoli Bugle

The bugle played by Dominic Longhurst (11/JN) in the ANZAC Parade belonged to the 3rd Battalion of the First AIF and was carried into First World War battles from Gallipoli to the Western Front. The bugle bears the names of the battles and of members of the Battalion, many of whom did not return.

One name is that of Captain Arthur Leslie (‘Les’) Hewish, a Newington student from 1908 to 1910, who was killed at Passchendaele in 1917, aged 23. Another is Lieutenant Colonel Owen Glendower Howell-Price, commander of the Battalion, who was killed in Flanders in 1916, aged 26. He was one of five brothers who served in the War (two of them, in addition to Owen, were killed). None went to Newington, but one, Frederick Phillimore Howell-Price, sent his sons here: John (ON ’39) and Owen (ON ’44).

The bugle is now owned by Mr Brian Bown (ON ’48). It will be played again at Gallipoli for the Centenary of ANZAC Day in 2015.

David Roberts
College Archivist

National Simultaneous Storytime

On Wednesday May 22^nd at 11am, the K – 2 Wyvern boys will take part in the 2013 National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS), an initiative of the Australian Library and Information Association as part of its annually held Library and Information Week. The aims of the event are to promote the value of reading and literacy using an Australian children’s book, to promote the value and fun of books and to provide an opportunity for schools, parents, grandparents and the wider community to participate in the promotion and fun of reading through storytime activities.  This year, Nick Bland’s The Wrong Book, has been selected as the book to be read simultaneously at 11 o’clock on 22 May in libraries, schools, pre-schools, child-care centres, bookshops and many other places throughout Australia. It is expected that over 380 000 children will participate in NSS this year.

Wyvern Kindergarten boys will join Newington Year 12 students in the Senior School Library to participate in small group readings and guided discussions of The Wrong Book at the NSS appointed time. Later, each Kindy boy will have a shared reading of his favourite book with one Year 12 student. Follow-up literature activities about the book will be completed when the Kindy boys return to class.

Years 1 and 2 students will participate in NSS at Wyvern. Classroom teachers will read and discuss Nick Bland’s book and students will be involved in literature activities based on the book. For parents’ information, there is an interactive story app from Wheelbarrow for The Wrong Book available on the App Store. For further information about National Simultaneous Storytime, click here.

Nick Bland’s book character is Nicholas Ickle, who’s trying to tell his story. But every time he starts, someone new invades the page. Nicholas keeps telling them they’re in the wrong book, but they keep coming. Can he get his story out before the book ends?

Achievement Awards and House Points

Wyvern House Points

Newington College Centre for Ethics: Festival of Ideas Dinner

Looking for the Dinner party Conversation from Heaven where someone else cooks, don’t miss out on the Festival of Ideas Dinner with speaker Michael Parker, the author of Ethics 101 Conversations to have with your kids.

Join us to discuss the issues you son is bringing home to you each day. The issues will be chosen by a spinning chocolate wheel!

Would YOU torture a terrorism suspect to stop a bus blowing up?

Would YOU genetically modify your children to give them a better chance?

Would YOU loot a store after an earthquake to feed your family?

Would YOU pick the Reisling or the Pinot Noir?

Payment can be made here. Please go to ‘Events and Activities’ and follow the prompts

The First President and the First Council

A hundred and fifty years ago, in another step towards the establishment of Newington College, the Committee of Education of the Wesleyan Methodist Church appointed the Reverend John Allen Mantonas the first President of the Wesleyan Collegiate Institution.

The Committee had had a pivotal role in the movement towards the establishment of the College and it now functioned, in effect, as the governing council of the new school as it came into being. Indeed, it was not until the beginning of 1866, two and a half years after the College’s opening, that a separate Council to oversee the College was formed. Its first Chairman, the Reverend Stephen Rabone, had led the Committee of Education through the work leading up to the start of the College.

Manton’s appointment as President also represented the start of the system of ‘dual control’ of the College that continued to the end of the nineteenth century. Under this system, the President — always an ordained Minister — had overall charge of the College, including oversight of boarding, facilities, employment, domestic arrangements and the training of theological students. The ‘Head Master’ (as the title was usually shown in this period) had charge of the academic side of the school, along with sport and other student activities, subject to the overall supervision of the President.

This is why we have portraits both of Presidents (Rev John Manton, Rev Joseph Fletcher, Rev Dr William Kelynack and Rev Dr James Egan Moulton) and of Headmasters (Thomas Johnstone, George Metcalfe, Michael Howe, Joseph Coates, William Williams, Arthur Lucas and Edward Cornwall) for this period on the walls of the Prescott Hall and the Council Board Room.

It was only with the appointment of the Reverend Dr Charles Prescott as Headmaster in 1900 that the two roles were combined and the dual control system ended in practice. Technically, Prescott was also the College’s President until the Newington College Council Act 1922 (NSW) changed the basis of the College’s governance.

David Roberts
College Archivist

Term Two Calendar

For Term 2 Calendar, Click here

Next Two Weeks

Sesquicentenary Capital Campaign Reaches $5 Million

$5m of the $10m Sesquicentenary Capital Campaign Reached – Thank You!

Wyvern Parents recently decided to make a gift towards the Chris Wild (ON ’91) Indigenous Bursary which has resulted in the total of gifts and pledges of the entire Campaign (of which Wild is part of) to $5,011,10 – we are over half way to our goal!

There are so many positives out of this gift.

It takes the total in gifts and pledges of the Chris Wild (ON ’91) Indigenous Fund to $275,986 also pushing it well over half way to the $500 000 corpus required to set it up – forever.

So the gift that tipped us over the $1m was David and Julie Gigg (then Wyvern parents now Stanmore parents), $2m were Shaun and Jo Palmer (Stanmore parents), $3m Grant and Linda Bush (then Lindfield parents now Stanmore parents), $4m was an Old Boy and now the $5m gift milestone is also thanks to Wyvern Parents – now that’s all aspects of the Newington Family continuing to work together to make things happen for all of our boys to benefit – today and tomorrow!

To all donors a very big thank you from our boys – these milestones only happen because you have made a gift. All gifts make a difference – here we are at $5m.

Sesquicentenary Founders Concert

Don’t miss out on the Sesquicentenary Founders Concert to be held at 7.00pm Sydney Town Hall, Wednesday 17 July 2013.

This celebration of 150 years of music making at Newington College promises to be a spectacular gala evening. Musicians from Newington College will be performing with guests from the Newington Old Boys community and Tupou College Tonga.

The Headmaster is delighted to announce that the College Council has decided that The Sesquicentenary Founders Concert is a free concert as a celebration of 150 Years of Newington College

To avoid disappointment, please book your tickets early with Ms Jane Wynne-Jones

To view the Founders Concert Invitation, please Click here.

Black and White Ball

Tickets are now on sale for the Black and White Ball!

Date: Saturday 14 September

Time: 7-11pm

Where: The Ballroom, The Star (80 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont)

Dress: Black and White with a touch of silver (Black tie)

Tickets: $175pp www.newington.nsw.edu.au/payments

Enquiries: bwball@newington.nsw.edu.au

Please note: Your dietary needs and disability access requirements are welcomed when booking

School Transport

Newington Bus

As stated in SPACES last month, from Term 2 the only method for ordering Newington Bus passes is online.

Go to the Newington College website, click on Newington 7-12, then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on Online Payments, then choose Events and Activities and click on which service and pass you need.

Please note that there will be no “grace period” as there was in Term 1 and students without passes may be refused passage by the drivers.

If you have any queries regarding transport please contact Cate Lukins on 9568 9333.

Newington Sequicentenary Raffle

Please click on the following link for the Newington Sesquicentenary raffle ticket flyer.

http://www.newington.nsw.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/14_PF_Win-a-car_flyer.pdf

Sesquicentenary Memorabilia

To celebrate Newington’s 150 year legacy, the Sesquicentenary Committee has released a number of limited edition collectors’ items. To find out what items are available and to place an order, please click on the following links

Sesquicentenary Product Guide

Sesquicentenary Memorabilia Product and Order Form

If you would like further information on the events program, or to make an online payment, please visit the Sesquicentenary insite

Wyvern Uniform Shop

Wyvern Uniform Roster Term 2 Weeks 4 & 5, Click here

Wyvern Uniform Shop Winter Price List, Click here

Wyvern Uniform Shop Order Form, Click here

Wyvern Before and After School Care – OSHClub

Wyvern’s Before and After School Care Program is run by OSHClub. Enrolment for all students is recommended and allows parents to easily manage their before and after school care needs via an online account. Visit  www.oshclub.com.au to use the free enrolment service.

For all late bookings, please contact the Coordinator, Eleanor, on 0428 131700. OSHClub’s head office number is (03) 85649000

Click here for the OSHClub Information Flyer

Kind regards
OSHClub Team

Term Dates 2013

TERM ONE
Tuesday 29 January to Friday 12 April
11 week term followed by a 2 week break
Classes commence – Tuesday 29 January

TERM TWO
Monday 29 April to Friday 21 June
8 week term followed by a 3 week break
Anzac Day (Public Holiday) – Thursday 25 April
Wyvern Staff Training Day (Student Free Day) – Friday 7 June
Queen’s Birthday (Public Holiday) – Monday 10 June

TERM THREE
Monday 15 July to Friday 20 September (Wyvern Campus)
10 week term followed by a 2 week break

TERM FOUR
Tuesday 8 October to Thursday 5 December
9 week term followed by Christmas break

Faith Matters

When are you too old?

With yet another birthday coming up I’ve started to wonder “when are you too old?” At what age do you give up?

At 100, Grandma Moses was still painting, and Titian painted “Battle of Lepanto” when he was 98.

At 93, George Bernard Shaw wrote “Farfetched Fables.”

At 91, Eamon De Valera served as president of Ireland. At 90 Picasso still drew and engraved.

At 89, Arthur Rubinstein gave one of his greatest recitals in New York’s Carnegie Hall.

At 82, Winston Churchill wrote the four-volume work, “A History of the English-Speaking Peoples.”

At 81, Benjamin Franklin engineered the diplomacy, which led to the adoption of the US Constitution.

When are you “too old”? Only on the day when you have nothing left to give. And the good news is, we can always love.

Mr Peter Morphew
Chaplain

Football Season Launch

Come and help us honor our footballers of the past and celebrate footballers of the future.

Click here for more details

Flyers in the Bookstand

Martial Arts

• Kung Fu Action at Wyvern

Tennis

• Friday After School Tennis at Newington

Swimming

• Swim Squad Term 2
• Pride Swim Classes

Hopalong Occupational Therapy

• Handwriting Skills Program Flyer
• Social Skills Program for 6-12 Years Flyer
• Hopalong Parent Flyer

Speech Pathology

• Gladesville Speech Pathology and Learning Centre

All Co-curricular Activities (Before and After School)

Wyvern Before and After School Activities for Term 2

These activities are reviewed and updated weekly.

For Wyvern’s Before and After School Co-curricular Activities Table, click here

See Flyers below for Co-curricular Activities

Year 5 Drawing Skills Class, Click here

Term 2 Swim Squad Flyer, Click here

K-6 Martial Arts Flyer, Click here

Art Club Flyer, Click here

Photography Classes Years 3 – 6  Flyer, Click here

Tuckshop Menu, Roster and Online Ordering

Dear Parents

If your son suffers from an allergy it is imperative that you advise the Wyvern Office and the Tuckshop so that we are aware of it. Click here for the ‘Alliance Catering  – Food Allergens Advisory Statement’.

Term 2 Tuckshop Menu and Roster for Weeks 4 & 5, Click here

Everyday Menu and Price List, Click here

Online Ordering instructions, Click here

Online Ordering FAQs, Click here

Wyvern Sport

For all Saturday morning sport at Newington Senior School, parents are requested to park off site along the street. The schools onsite car park is  maintained for officials, emergency vehicles and staff only. With the winter sport season upon us, the car park area can become very busy early in the morning. Please consider this simple request to ensure the smooth management of Saturday morning sport at Newington. 

Term 2 Winter Sport Fixtures, Click here

Wyvern Sports Teams and Draw for Saturday 25 May 2013, Click here

Wyvern Sports Results and Match Reports for Saturday 18 May,Click here

Winter Sports News Term 2, Week 3,  Click here

Sporting Venue Addresses, Click here

Term 2 Swim Squad Flyer, Click here

2013 Sports Handbook, Click here

Tim Kyle Solo Exhibition – at Newington’s Concordia Gallery

Tim Kyle Solo Exhibition – Tuesday 14 May to Saturday 1 June from 10.00am to 2.00pm in Concordia.

Rugby Season Launch

Come and help us honor our rugby players of the past and celebrate rugby players of the future.

Click here for more information

Snow Sports

The snow sports program here at Newington is unique in that it is one of the only co-curricular activities that all three campuses (Stanmore, Lindfield and Wyvern) compete under the same banner. This year the NSW Interschools Championship will be run in Thredbo from the 10th – 14th July (the third week of winter holidays). For any information, please visit the NSW Interschools website: http://nsw.interschools.org.au/ or contact the Snow Sports Co-ordinator, Mr Justin Verco at jverco@newington.nsw.edu.au Watch this space!

Mr Justin Verco
Snow Sports Co-ordinator

Newington Crested Ware

There are a range of Newington crested ware items on offer at the Black and White shop. They range from memorabilia, clothing, keepsakes as well as an exclusive Sesquicentenary line which can be found on the Sesquicentenrary site. For more information about crested ware, please contact Rollanda Rosenstrauss.

To download the crested ware catalogue and price list click here

To view the crested ware page on the public website, click here

A Message from Mr Holden

STAFFING NEWS
At the end of Term 2 Mr Andrew Wood, Deputy (Years 4-6) will be leaving Wyvern to return to the UK for family and professional reasons. Andrew joined Wyvern House in 2010 following a successful teaching and school leadership career in the UK. Since his appointment Andrew has made a most positive contribution to the learning and teaching environment of the school including launching our learning framework ‘Building Learning Power’. Furthermore, he has been heavily involved in an overhaul of ICT at Wyvern including the introduction of our iPad program for all Year 5 and Year 6 students. We wish Andrew and his family every success for their future pathways.

We will be conducting a national advertising campaign to secure a high calibre Deputy (Year 4 –Year 6) with an anticipated start date of January 2014. In the interim, Ms Sandra Gray will take on the substantive Deputy role (Years K-6) and will be the main point of contact for pastoral matters.  She will be supported by Mrs Melanie Bryden, who will take on the role of Academic Administrator. Mrs Bryden will also maintain her class teaching commitment for Terms 3 and 4.

NAPLAN
Much has been reported in the media about NAPLAN. There is an emerging view that some schools and parents are placing a disproportionate emphasis on NAPLAN assessments, especially as a school’s aggregate NAPLAN results are used by the media to form the basis of ‘informal’ school league tables.  Hence, there are rumours and reports of some schools bowing to pressure and falling into the trap of over preparing students or making major changes to timetables in order to ‘teach to the tests’.

At Wyvern we place a strong emphasis on maintaining a balanced and engaging curriculum in both the lead up to, and during NAPLAN testing week. We challenge, encourage and support your son to achieve his personal best in the tests, but we do all we can to ensure that the classroom climate is one of low anxiety. Judging from the positive feedback from students about their experience of NAPLAN testing it does seem that our approach strikes the right balance. I congratulate Year 5 and Year 3 students and their teachers for their excellent effort shown during this week’s NAPLAN assessments.

MOTHER’S DAY BREAKFAST
I thank the P & F, and in particular the Year 3 parents, for organising an excellent  Mother’s Day breakfast last Friday morning.  The wonderful attendance and superb tone made the event a very special one. I also thank the hard work of the small team of Year 1 parents who co-ordinated the selection, ordering and distribution of Mother’s Day gifts.

Mr Ian Holden
Head of Wyvern House