Term 4, Week 7

28 November 2024

From the Deputy Headmaster

This week the senior school came together for our Christmas Assembly. We thank Pastor La’Brooy, our Senior Leaders and the Choir, lead by Mr Mark Scott, for a reflective and heartfelt gathering. I’d like to share some of Pastor La’Brooy’s words with you:

As we approach the end of the school year and look toward Christmas, we remember the birth of a little baby who would change everything. 

Here we have a king born to a peasant family,  

A ruler born in a stable surrounded by hay and animal filth, 

A saviour born for all people.  

At that first Christmas, it was the lowest in society, the shepherds, who first witnessed the birth. But it was the rich wise men who proclaimed him king. 

Christmas is a time where we celebrate God’s light and love coming into the world for all people, no matter who you are, where you come from or what your experience is, the gift of the Christ Child in the manger is a gift for all of us. 

Let me wish everyone in our Newington community a happy and blessed Christmas season and a safe summer holiday. 

Christmas Drive

Thank you to all those families who brought donations of gifts for our annual Rev Bill Crews Foundation Christmas Drive. It is not too late to bring your donations and place them under the Christmas tree in the reception area. Gifts are being collected from now until Friday 20th December.

More information about the Rev Bill Crews Foundation can be found here.

Sport

This Saturday marks the final round of summer sport for the year, with the College taking on Shore in Basketball, Cricket, Tennis, and Water Polo. A special good luck to our Water Polo 1sts 2nds, as their matches this weekend will determine the GPS Water Polo Premierships. 

While many teams will be competing away, there’s still plenty of action on campus, including fixtures across several sports like Table Tennis, NewFit, and Rifle Shooting. Best of luck also to our Year 8 and Year 9 Rowing Quads, who will wrap up their term competing in a regatta at Hen and Chicken Bay. 

With this being the final round of the term, there will be no sport training in Week 18B, except for Year 7 on Tuesday Period 5 and 6 and some senior squads. Details will be reflected in the Newington App. 

A huge thank you to our summer sports directors, coaches, ground staff, maintenance teams, medical staff, administrators and support groups. Your hard work and dedication have been instrumental in ensuring another successful and enjoyable term of summer sport for all involved. 

Annual Prize Giving

A friendly reminder that our Annual Prize Giving Ceremony will be held on Monday 2 December at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Darling Harbour. The ceremony begins at 7.00pm and is expected to conclude by 9.00pm. All students in Years 7-11 are required to attend this important school event. Parents and guardians are most welcome to join in the celebration. All students receiving a prize were notified today (Thursday) via email. Important information about the event can be found here. 

Mentor Big Day Out 

Thursday 5 December is ‘Mentor Big Day Out’.  This is an exciting day where we are able to meet as Mentor groups, to unpack the year, and connect out of our normal routine. It is a compulsory event, and we do expect every student to engage and participate.

Staff profile

This week we are profiling Philosophy and Religious Studies Teacher Samuel Giles, who recently received the Outstanding Beginning Teacher Award 2024 from the Professional Teacher’s Council. A dedicated and passionate teacher, this was a well-deserved recognition of his commitment to shaping young minds.

Q. If you weren’t a teacher, what other career would you imagine yourself in?

A. My passion is for philosophy and the discussion of ideas, so I imagine I would still be a student or working in a university. If I were forced to branch out, I would like to work researching and writing for documentaries or films, perhaps investigating the boundary between games and sport. 

Q. Which book, movie, or TV show do you think every student should experience at least once, and why?

A. There is a short film that we show in Year 7 called Flatland. It packages so many thought-provoking questions in a beautiful mix of considered scriptwriting, artistic creativity and geometrical thinking. Guaranteed to generate discussion, ideas and inspiration.

Q. What was your favourite subject in school when you were a student, and did you ever struggle with a subject yourself? 

A. I liked English the most. I struggled a lot to get back up to speed with Maths and German after neglecting them in Years 9 and 10. I still find rehearsing and revising things difficult, but at least I have learned that it is necessary if you want to improve.

Q. What’s one piece of advice you’d give to students that you wish you had known when you were in school?

A. There is a limited amount of time in your life in which there are lots of people around you who are actively invested in making you a more interesting and successful person. Honest conversations with these people can change your life significantly. Seek them out and find out about more things!