From writing a book in a day to stimulating their grey cells with curly mathematical and engineering questions, there are enrichment opportunities aplenty for Newington Prep students. 

Looking for patterns, drawing diagrams, working collaboratively to solve problems, and participating in a mathematics relay: these are just a few of the things some of our Stage 3 Wyvern students participated in at the Inquisitive Minds workshop earlier this week.  

Inquisitive Minds, which runs educational workshops designed to challenge students with hands-on mathematical activities, attends Newington College several times throughout the year to work with groups in Years 1 to 6. In Term 4, 40 of our high potential students participate in the program, which sees them both working collaboratively and competing against one another to see how many questions they can answer correctly within the given timeframe. 

‘The students usually work within half-hour increments across the day,’ explains Mrs Diana Usanmaz, Inclusive Learning Teacher (High Potential) at Wyvern House. 

‘This program really hones their ability to unpack complex concepts. They spend time learning about problem solving methodologies and then apply these to solve actual problems.  

‘High potential students joined us from the Lindfield campus again this year, and it’s lovely to see the cross-campus collaboration as they all work together.’  

In August last term, two teams of Year 5 and 6 Wyvern students also proudly represented the College at the Tournament of Minds – East Division. Tournament of Minds, a competition that focuses on collaborative problem solving and critical thinking, requires participants to solve demanding challenges across disciplines including the arts, STEM, language literature and social sciences. 

This year our teams chose the Social Science challenge, where they were tasked with developing a facility, identifying two possible locations, and selecting the most suitable option while considering the needs of diverse community stakeholders. 

‘Our students rose magnificently to the occasion, showcasing their long-term and spontaneous challenges with creativity, collaboration, and lots of enthusiasm,’ says Mrs Usanmaz. 

‘Their commitment was evident in the many lunch breaks and after-school sessions they dedicated to crafting scripts, designing props, and preparing for the competition.’ 

For Year 6 student Jack B, the most challenging part was combining all the ideas put forward by team members. 

‘It was pretty fun working with friends on making stuff and solving a problem,’ he says.  

‘It was also hard though, because our team had a lot of ideas. We decided to combine all ideas instead of just coming up with one, because we wanted to make a fun and interactive town.’ 

Year 5 student Carlos S agrees. 

‘It was difficult at times to work with the others, but worth it because I am really proud of what we achieved at the end.’ 

Mrs Usanmaz says the Inclusive Learning Department continues to introduce and develop a range of extension pathways for our capable and high potential Prep students. 2025 saw the start of a new opportunity at Wyvern, 10 of our Year 5 and 6 Wyvern students took part in The Kids’ Cancer Project’s ‘Write a Book in a Day’ competition for the first time. These students spent 12 continuous hours working together to write and illustrate a full book to help raise money for childhood cancer research.   

‘They absolutely loved being involved and already want to be part of the next one,’ she says. 

‘Enrichment pathways such as this give students a chance to shine in their element and move outside curriculum restraints to explore their passions. Completing a challenge like Tournament of Minds or Write a Book in a Day also gives them a sense of success, especially when they have an opportunity to collaborate with peers that they wouldn’t usually work with.’ 

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For more information about Inclusive Learning at Newington College, visit https://www.newington.nsw.edu.au/learning-and-teaching/inclusive-learning/.