28 November 2024
From the Deputy, Head of Preparatory Schools & ELC
Thank You Parents
I would like to thank all our families for your support and efforts in partnership with the school this year. Your efforts at home, partnering with the learning your child receives at school, have been crucial in your child’s enjoyment and success at Lindfield.
Parents these days wear many hats; they work long hours, face long commutes, have financial and other pressures and must juggle competing priorities to achieve a work-life balance with their family.
I think that parents are the great unsung heroes in the stories of your child and their development. Thank you for all your work this year, and I hope you and your families enjoy an opportunity to switch off and recharge during the summer break.
What Happened This Week
International Market
Our International Market last Friday was a very successful community engagement event, and the results exceeded everyone’s expectations. Our students did a fantastic job in their various roles, the performances were brilliant and the whole atmosphere was warm, friendly and exciting. There has been a lot of hard work and dedication to bring this event to fruition and I would like to thank the parents on the organising committee who did an amazing job transforming the school into a vibrant market.
I would also like to thank all the staff who have been working tirelessly to make this happen. Pascal Czerwenka has developed and pioneered the entire concept over the last couple of years. He has done a great job conceptualising, organising and making it a reality. A special thanks to Pascal, Amy and Sophie for the huge amount of work in making this happen again this year.
We have raised over $7000 for Kiva.org and classes will be able to make use of these funds next year to choose loans to fund in developing countries. We look forward to engaging our students in such a meaningful and rewarding task.
Co-Curricular Clubs – Term 1 2025
This morning co-curricular clubs were published on New Spaces News for next term. Please refer to New Spaces for all information.
Chapel Thought
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 God’s 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.
– Pastor Richard La’Brooy
Buddy Program
This week concludes another two-year buddy cycle for our Year 6 leaders. As the older students prepare to graduate, they can look back fondly on the time spent with their younger peers which started when they were in Year 5 and their buddies were in kindergarten.
Over the previous two years, students have been able to spend time together on many occasions. The older students have helped in the JP classrooms each week, ran games in the JP playground as part of their service, helped out at carnivals, taught their buddies about the importance of native species through flower planting initiatives and have been supportive on the sidelines at Saturday sport as part of Barrack for a Buddy Day.
These are just a small number of ways in which the buddy program is mutually beneficial for both groups of students and helps to contribute to our unique sense of community at Lindfield.
Sport
Please watch a reflection of our sporting season below.
Year 6 Fair – Friday 29 November
All years are to join in this fun day run by Year 6. It is also a mufti day for the entire school, and we request a gold coin donation for White Ribbon, which the Year 6 cohort have nominated as their charity this year.
There will also be a sausage sizzle run by the Year 6 parents, for students from K-6. Students will need to bring an additional $4 to be collected on the day, which covers the cost of the sizzle and drink (there will be vegetarian sausage options).
Semester Two Academic Reports
Tomorrow (Friday 29 November) you will receive the second of two formal reports regarding your child’s achievement at school this semester.
Full information and full access details will be advised via New Spaces Friday at 4pm.
Prize Giving Awards
At our Annual 3-6 Prize Giving Ceremony all students are recognised for their growth and effort as we come together to celebrate the end of another big year of learning. A small number of students will receive awards at this ceremony. If your child is receiving an award, you will receive a Consent2Go next Monday.
We will be also announcing our award winners and student leaders for 2025 to our students at school next Monday afternoon. Those students will then participate in a rehearsal at school, in preparation for the Wednesday ceremony.
Prize Giving Ceremony
This year’s Annual Lindfield Prize Giving for students in Years 3–6 will take place at the Senior School campus in Centenary Hall on Wednesday 4 December at 11.00am. Students are asked to meet their class teachers outside the Music Centre (next to Centenary Hall) no later than 10.30am wearing their summer uniform without the black cap.
Following Prize Giving, we invite parents and students to join Lindfield staff for refreshments in the Sesqui Courtyard, next to the Library.
Years K-2 Final Assembly
Last Tuesday, our boys in Years K-2 participated in their final assembly where their growth and progress were celebrated as they were awarded a certificate and book and had the opportunity to reflect on their year of learning. It was a special event, attended by most staff.
Bus Transport 2025
Students wishing to take advantage of the CDC Coach service via the Annandale or Seaforth routes next year, please be reminded that all Annual Passes for 2025 (and Term 1 2025) can be purchased via the online payment portal from Monday 9 December 2024.
Uniform Prep Shop
Our last day for the Prep Shop will be next Monday from 3.00pm-3.45pm. If you wish to place orders online, they must be submitted prior to this time.
The Prep Shop will then be open on Tuesday 28 January from 10.00am-12.00pm for any additional items you need for 2025.
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!
