*Newsletter was shared with Old Newingtonians – 18 Jun 2025

Dear Old Newingtonian, 

I hope everyone is settling into the winter months and that anyone impacted by the recent flooding across the State is safe and well. Please reach out if there’s anything our community can do to assist if you’re one of the people who have been impacted. 

There’s been a lot happening across the community over the last month or so and we’re overdue an update! 

ONU Week 2025

We’ve recently wrapped up ONU Week for 2025 at the school. It’s a whole week of activities designed to build connections between alumni and current students. A few highlights:

• ONU Chapel Service: Incredibly grateful to Pastor Richard La’Brooy for holding a Sunday service for Old Boys and their families. One of the best parts of joining ONU Council this year has been the opportunity to spend some time in the Chapel listening to Richard, and joining in song with the community. The way Richard makes ancient wisdom relevant for this community in this day is a testament both to his intellect and ability to connect and empathise with the community he looks after. 
   
• Reunions: On Saturday the 17th of May we had the first set of reunions for 2025. Brilliant turnout across almost every year group – with the total number of attendees being 12% higher than last year, which was also up on the year before. This was our second year combining the 5, 10, and 15 year reunions in the Function Room and the feedback has been outstanding – we’ll continue to do this in the future. It was great to also host the Classes of 2005, 1995 and 1985 on the night too. Peter Kuburlis (ON 1990) needs a second warm thanks for keeping our community fed with exceptional service. 
   
• Life After School Panel: Hosted by the brilliant Jack Ryan (ON2016) we had a panel of relatively recent graduates from different fields speak to boys in their final year of school about life beyond the Millner Gates. The thing I loved most about this evening was how different each of the panellists’ experiences had been – but how they had a common thread of using the period after school to get to know themselves better, exploring, and settling into things that they might not have expected. You could tell the students in attendance were super engaged from the questions that were asked – about the impact of AI, about the value of taking a gap year, and about practical tips on finding work experience after school. Huge thanks to Lachlan McKirdy (ON 2013), Costan Griziotis (ON 2016), Nick Jackson (ON 2016) and Jack Lawson (ON 2016). 

• ONU Assembly & ONU Staff Lunch: I was delighted to get along to my first full school assembly in about 18 years – to hear the band play, hear the Prefects rev the boys up ahead of the away game at Joey’s (more on that in a second), and share a few brief thoughts with the current students on the common bonds that come from feeling at home in the black and white. After the assembly it was great to sit down with the 20 or so alumni that are currently on staff. It’s always a bit disorienting seeing the different generations collide on staff – at one end of the table was my 13B’s rugby coach, and at the other someone that was a cadet in my platoon in my final year of school. The fact that we have so many Old Boys, from so many different generations on staff is one of the things that gives the school a feeling of timelessness even as lots of things about the school change. 
   
• ONU Theatresports Cup: This was our inaugural crack at a theatresports competition – with more than 30 people attending what was an amazing night pulled together by Kieran Casey. We had a fantastic cast of both Old Newingtonians and senior students. Congratulations to Luke Mesterovic (ON 2020) who took home the prize for improvisational excellence. This is something we’ll look to expand next year – hopefully with other GPS schools. 
   
• Year 12 Lunch: This is probably the student’s favourite ONU tradition – and we’re grateful to Tim Rosenstrauss (ON 2012) from BurgerHead and Dylan Duong (ON 2010) from Duo Duo for delivering against the unbelievably high expectations of hungry senior students. It’s great to have this point of informal connection with the next batch of Old Newingtonians. 

Thanks to everyone who participated, whether as an attendee, volunteer, or organiser. The strength of our community really shone through during ONU Week. It’s something we can all be proud of. I’ll share a brief thank you we received from the current Senior Prefects at the school to all of the alumni who were involved in the week:

On behalf of year 12, thank you for the past week’s ONU events… It is such a special thing to have the Newington family. We’re looking forward to contributing to the ONU in years to come, and seeing what changes and what doesn’t. As a school we would like to thank the ONU for your continued support in providing opportunities and experiences to current students. Newington has given us a priceless experience, and we know it will continue to for every student into the future. – Jasper, Ishan & Toby

70 Club Annual Lunch

On April 15, The 70 Club held their annual lunch in Centenary Hall, with 112 in attendance. I’ll let the report back from Vice-Chair Howard Wheatley do the talking on this one:

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support in organising the lunch. I am not sure just what we did but I have yet to receive a criticism. I have been most surprised at the number of people who have suggested that it was the best 70’s club lunch they have been to… Whatever it was, it was a winning formula and we should stick with it with minimal changes.  

A huge thanks to Howard, the entire 70 Club committee, and the alumni office for their assistance in putting on a great event. The ONU will continue to provide a modest ticket subsidy in future years to ensure the event remains accessible – and as always a massive thanks to Jim Kuburlis (ON 1983) and his team for their huge effort in catering the event.

Newington Golf Day

On the 31st of March we had a full draw of golfers from across the community take to the course for what was a really fun event. More importantly, a total of $10.5k was raised as a contribution to the ONU Mental Health Fund from fundraising on the day. A huge thanks to all alumni, parents and friends who attended, as well as the sponsors of the day – it’s a massive part of our effort to ensure that all alumni of the school have access to support in the moments they need it most. Our thanks to long-time Counsellor and administrator of the Mental Health Fund, Stan Comino, for being there too.

Final notes:

We’ve got two events on the horizon to watch out for:

• If you’re in the UK and don’t have plans for Thursday night, a reminder that we’re holding a London reunion in Islington. You can register to attend by clicking here.
• We’re also pleased that the Old and New Theatre Company is returning with their latest production in a few weeks. Tickets will be on sale soon. These are always incredibly high production value events, and a great way to support alumni as they continue to flex their dramatic talents. 

Keep an eye out for other upcoming events, including Back to Newington Day and our November reunions for remaining year-groups. And if you have any feedback or suggestions for future events, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
 

Kind regards,

Ed Miller (ON 2008) 
ONU President