Newington College

24 October 2024

From the Deputy Headmaster

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Congratulations to our Year 12 2025 students who have had an outstanding start to their final year at the College. After an enjoyable retreat last week, they jumped back into class with vigour, engaged in IB or HSC information evenings, participated in a session with Mr Nic Newling on the important topic of mental health, and they have all taken the Prefects’ Pledge at our assembly. 

To support our new Year 12 cohort,  we have introduced a Senior Study Program which supports students to develop effective habits and independent learning during their study periods, supervised by an expert teacher. Year 12 have taken to this new program incredibly well, demonstrating their strong work ethic and maturity.  

Students utilising the Senior Study Program

At our Leadership assembly, all students were introduced to our new House Captains and Vice Captains, Co-Curricular Captains and Summer Sport Captains.  Our captains play a crucial role in fostering leadership skills and contributing to the legacy of our school. We recognise all students who put themselves forward for a leadership position and wish those who were successful all the best. 

Model European Parliament

A four-student delegation represented the College and Australia at the 60th iMEP in Athens last week, engaging in activities designed to emulate real-world parliamentary proceedings. Highlights included team-building around the Parthenon and Acropolis, speeches at the Maria Callas Theatre, and engaging debates and lobbying in the Zappeion Megaron, a historic venue for the first modern Olympic Games. A special moment was the plenary greeting by Sophia the robot, the world’s first robot citizen. Students, Evan, Miles, Peter, and Benjamin played significant roles in the General Assembly and were treated to a surprise visit from Mr. Parker, who took time from his sabbatical to support our students.  

2025 musical

Rehearsals for the 2025 musical Catch Me If You Can kicked off on Sunday, with choreographer Belinda Fleming putting the cast through their paces. An energetic and enthusiastic atmosphere set the tone for what promises to be a fantastic rehearsal process as the team work towards delivering an unforgettable performance next year.  

The CineArts Festival 

We are preparing to be wowed once again, with the CineArts Festival on tonight (Thursday) at 6.00pm in the Duckmanton Theatre. The evening promises to be an intriguing exploration of our students’ creative abilities, challenging our perspectives while provoking thoughtful dialogue and delightful entertainment. We may even find ourselves sharing a laugh or two along the way.  

Sport 

It was a very strong start to the GPS Summer Competition, with last weekend’s exciting home games against Scots.  They’ll have the opportunity to do it all again as the College heads to The King’s School for Round 2. There will still be plenty of action onsite, with fixtures across water polo, cricket, basketball, tennis, table tennis, NewFit and rifle shooting, while our touch football program kicks off its season this weekend. Best of luck to all of our students this weekend.  

Staff profile

In the coming weeks, we will be profiling a staff member from each of our different campuses. This week, we introduce you to Lindfield’s newest community members, Polly & Anne Fulcher.

We are happy to announce that, beginning next Wednesday, Anne Fulcher and her dog, Polly, will be visiting our campus once a week as part of a Lindfield Student Representative Council (SRC) initiative.  

Anne volunteers with PAWS Pet Therapy, which is a registered charity and offers an inclusive service, based on safe and ethical practices, ensuring everyone can enjoy the PAWS experience.  

The PAWS Pet Therapy Dogs are assessed for their ability to socialise, engage, obey commands and safely visit people in unfamiliar surroundings. All PAWS dogs love their work, are beautifully presented and are regularly rewarded for their efforts. 

Should families have any questions about this initiative, please contact Mrs Edwards, Mr Trethewey or an SRC Representative.

Q. Can you please introduce yourself?

A. My name is Anne, and I have just retired after 50 years with The Shepherd Centre. This wonderful organisation assists babies as young as two weeks of age right up to young adults who have all ranges of hearing disabilities. 

Q. Something other people don’t know about Polly?  

A. Miss Polly came into our lives 15 months ago. She is an adorable miniature Tamaruke (type of labradoodle). Tamarukes are bred as care dogs. They are very smart, empathetic and sweet. She loves everyone, particularly our eight grandchildren.

Q. Anything else you’d like to share? 

A. My husband’s father used to be the Senior House Master at Newington. His three sons all went to Newington, and their eldest, my husband Greg, was Dux of his year. Our three sons then went on to attend senior school as well, with our eldest following in his father’s footsteps.

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