Term 1, Week 4

20 February 2025

From the Deputy, Head of Preparatory Schools & ELC

How Should Parents Help with Homework?

In the holidays, I read an article that reminded me of the difficulties that homework poses for us as parents. In the article, former principal Paul Oberman describes an all-too-common dilemma. A child is in tears at the kitchen table, past their bedtime, struggling with math homework that will be collected the next morning – and most of the problems completed so far are incorrect. What should you as the parent do?  

• Call it a night. 

• Do the homework for them. 

• Circle the wrong answers and have them correct those so they will see a better strategy.  

• Have them walk you through one of the solutions, noting where they are making errors.  

• Create a similar problem and walk them through the process; then they can do the others.  

• Create a similar problem and walk them through this process, highlighting errors.  

This is an immediate, short-term problem and the clock is ticking. Everyone is tired and pretty over it. But the real question is – what is best for your child in the long term? Oberman focuses on the research around students’ academic help-seeking behaviours. There are two types:  

Executive help-seeking

The student asks for the answer. If the parent provides it, that’s unhelpful. In the example above, it doesn’t help the child’s long-term success in math if the parent says something like, ‘This one’s wrong. It should be seven.’ Teachers definitely don’t want parents doing their children’s homework for them.  

Instrumental help-seeking

The student asks for just enough help to be able to complete the work independently. This is adaptive in the short and long term. In the above example, some effective parental prompts:  

• Have you checked your answers?  

• Can you find your mistakes?  

• Let’s look at your notes to see whether you did some sample problems in class.  

• Here is a similar problem. How would you solve it?  

• Can you explain to me what the problem is all about?  

With English homework, the prompts might be:  

• Have you addressed all aspects of the rubric?  

• Is this writing grammatically correct?  

• Have you put in your best effort?  

Oberman says the more ownership your child can take, the better. The pencil or pen should always remain in your child’s hands, and you should never just tell them the answer.  

If it’s late and your child has already put in the time and made a good-faith effort, it may be best to send them to bed and get in touch with the teacher to discuss what’s causing difficulty and what extra help your child could use.  

We are raising our children to leave us, so when should we get out of the homework-helping business? The trick is to encourage instrumental help-seeking to build independence. By senior school, we’re monitoring but no longer giving substantial help (which we may no longer be able to provide anyway). If we simply give them the answer, they won’t develop their own toolkit of ways to respond to problems and challenges. If done well, homework is a controlled way to help your child learn resilience.   

Article referenced is Parents and Homework: How Can Parents Best Support Their Children? by Paul Oberman.

What Happened This Week

Why Critical Thinking Matters

Critical thinking is at the forefront of education at the College, teaching students to listen, reason and develop independent critical and ethical thought by engaging with life’s big questions. Watch more about the importance of critical thinking below:

Carpark Collection – IMPORTANT MESSAGE

Kids Giving Back

It was great to hear from Kids Giving Back that a number of individual students from the Lindfield and Wyvern campuses recently took part in their holiday program, which is open to all ages and students for every school. Congratulations to the following students: 

• Oscar B

• Paxton C

• Daniel S

• Elliot S

• Quentin S

• Freddie T

These students were part of a group of young people who wrote heartfelt messages and helped provide over 6,500 meals, snack packs and care packages to those in need.

If you are looking for some service opportunities for your children over the next holidays, Kids Giving Back run a number of initiatives weekly, monthly and in the upcoming break.  

Chapel Thought

This term in Chapel we will be focusing on the idea of Exploring Notions of Faith. At Newington, we want to create a space where all students can explore Faith and discover their own understanding of its meaning and purpose in their lives. Through exploring Faith, we come to know the all-inclusive love of God and think about ways to make a positive difference in the world.   

At Newington, we celebrate the rich diversity that makes this such a vibrant community. And so, when we explore Faith, we do so in a way that honours our deep Christian traditions and celebrates the culture and diversity in this community.  

Exploring Faith means being curious about what Faith teaches us about our lives and the ways it guides our community. It means questioning deeply to find a more profound understanding. Exploring Faith also means being open-minded about what we hear, being willing to hear new perspectives or different ways of thinking and being open to being challenged in our own daily living.   

I look forward to continuing this journey of exploring Faith with all in the Newington community this year and look forward to meeting many families in the weeks to come.  

– Pastor Richard La’Brooy 

Did You Miss Our Handfish Update at the End of 2024? 

We are excited to introduce you to our very own Red Handfish, who will be affectionately known as ‘Wyvern’. Click here to find out more about ‘Wyvern’ on the Handfish Conversation Project’s website. 

Our 2024 Year 2 Artist Club, with the incredible guidance of our staff, Jacqui Bolt and Katia Pizzinelli, sold raffle tickets and magnets to support the conservation of the endangered Red Handfish. Following the students’ plea for support on our socials, the donations kept rolling in. We shared this post with the Handfish Conservation Project staff, and they were very excited. Dr Jemina Stuart-Smith wrote, ‘the video is gorgeous, and I have to say, has given us one of those moments where we were just completely stopped in our tracks. We’re so grateful for the support and to see such caring young people getting behind conservation is overwhelming.’ 

How to Share Your Contact Details in the Parent Directory

Using New Spaces, click on ‘Parent Services’ from the side menu and select Parent Directory. You will be prompted to authorise the sharing of specific details such as email, mobile, home phone and suburb. 

Select the details to be shared and proceed (Note: If ‘home address’ is selected, only the suburb will be shared).  

Within 24 hours, the information selected will be accessible to other parents in the year group of your child(ren). 

Wyvern Sport and Wyvern Spirit Awards

The Wyvern Swimming Carnival was a great success thanks to the fantastic efforts of our students and the superhuman efforts of our staff. It was exactly the right platform for many students to grow their confidence and excel, whilst enjoying the competition for the right reasons. It was also great to have so many appreciative parents in attendance. 

Mr Wilson has published a full report and photos of the recent swimming carnival here on New Spaces. 

The 2025 Age Champions have been announced: 

Congratulations to the Wyvern Spirit recipients in Round 1 of Summer Sport. A list of the recipients can be found here on New Spaces. 

Newington College Welcome Cocktail Party

All Newington parents from the ELC, Wyvern, Lindfield and Stanmore are warmly invited to the Newington College Welcome Cocktail Party on Friday 21 February 2025. The event will start at 6.30pm on Memorial Drive at Newington College Stanmore.  

The event will be a great opportunity to welcome new parents and reconnect with old friends in a relaxed environment on campus. We’re excited and we hope to see you there! 

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.  

Please direct all enquires to community@newington.nsw.edu.au 

P&F Meeting

You are warmly invited to attend the first Wyvern House P&F Meeting for 2025 on Friday 28 February at 7.45am in the Wyvern Library. 

Ms Amy Van Arkkels, Deputy, Academic (K-12), will provide an overview of the 2024 HSC and IB results and Mr Barrington-Higgs will provide a school update.  

Following the meeting, parents and carers are invited to attend our first Coffee on Cambridge for 2025. Please register to attend here.

Save the Date – Music Workshop Weekend

All students in Wyvern String and Wind Ensembles will be participating in the Music Workshop Weekend from Saturday 29 March to Sunday 30 March. Wyvern’s Head of Music, Mr Ashley George, will provide further details soon. The P&F will be coordinating the catering and volunteers for the weekend. If you would like to volunteer to assist at the workshop, please email wyvern@newington.nsw.edu.au. 

Co-ed Scholarships for Year 5 2026 Now Open

Become a part of history with the Pioneer Scholarship, created to celebrate Newington College’s transition to co-education and support girls and boys who are ready to lead, innovate and inspire. This is more than just a scholarship—it is an opportunity for trailblazers who are eager to make a lasting impact.  

This scholarship is available to existing and prospective students (both boys and girls) currently in Year 4 (entering Year 5 in 2026). This prestigious opportunity is designed for students with a balanced range of achievements who will benefit from the outstanding opportunities at Newington College while enriching our vibrant school community. 

Current and new students can apply here. 

Staff Profile

This week, we are profiling our ELC office administrator Stephanie Christofides. Known for her exceptional organisational skills and warm demeanor, Stephanie plays a crucial role in ensuring everything runs smoothly behind the scenes. Her attention to detail and unwavering support ensures that staff, students and families always feel welcome and well-cared for at the ELC.

Q. What is something people don’t know about you?

A. People don’t always know that I used to be a teacher. I have a Bachelor of Education in Primary/Junior School from Canada, where I was born and studied. In Canada, the schooling years are a bit different. Primary school includes pre-kindergarten (ages 3-4) and goes up until Year 8 (ages 13-14). High school starts in Year 9. I previously taught primary in Canada and early learning in Hong Kong.

Q. What is your favourite hobby?

A. My favourite pastime is travelling. I have lived and worked in five different countries on four different continents. I just returned from visiting Mexico with my family, which was the 65th country I have now visited. My two teen boys and my husband have also become seasoned travellers as we have visited over half of these countries together as a family.

Q. What is your favourite memory from school?

A. My favourite memory from my school years was the excursions. I loved not just the camps, but the real-world experiences. This included walking to the shops in my Year 1 class. I remember visiting the local butcher, watching the meat hanging and being cut, and then going to the bakery, where I was captivated by the cake decorators. It was in those moments that I decided I wanted to pursue cake decorating as my profession when I grew up. After the excursion, I wrote a long story about my experiences and received my first gold star sticker, which made me feel proud of my learning.

Other memorable experiences included visiting the local pioneer cemetery to study history, going to the local parks to help clean up rubbish and embarking to the local library to hear authors speak. All these excursions instilled a great sense of community for me in my local area and really engaged my curiosity for learning outside of just the classroom in a practical, more hands-on approach that worked well for me as a learner. 

Staff profile: College Leadership Group (CLG)

This week, we are profiling Kate Pollitt, our new Director of Admissions. With her expertise in navigating the admissions process and her approachable nature, Kate is the first point of contact for many families joining our community. Her deep commitment to ensuring a smooth and seamless experience for all prospective students and their families makes her an invaluable part of our team.

Q. What do you think is the Newington difference?

A. I am new to Newington and really love the Wyvern philosophy, fostering Great Hearts, Inspired Minds and Strong Wings. There is also a strong focus on academic excellence, wellbeing and future-ready skills. It embraces critical thinking, ethics and community service, which are all important for preparing our students to thrive in a dynamic world with courage, integrity and creativity.

Q. What is something not many people know about you?

A. I am lucky to have had the opportunity to live and work overseas, including 11 years in Shanghai and time in London and Poland. I’ve loved travelling with my family, exploring different cuisines and immersing myself in different cultures and histories—and I also attempt to speak some Mandarin! 

Q. If you were a student at Newington today, what would you be most excited about?

A. If I were a student at Newington College, I would be excited about the incredible range of co-curricular opportunities, including sport, drama and music and the school’s strong emphasis on academics and service learning. Access to the Ethics Centre is also a unique opportunity for students to develop their critical thinking skills, setting them apart as thoughtful and engaged learners. I also wish I had the opportunity to take part in the exciting community service program that our students experience at the Year 9 Eungai Camp. I look forward to hearing about their experiences and how they develop these important life skills through hands-on learning, collaboration and meaningful contributions. Newington students are privileged to grow academically and personally while being part of a diverse, forward-thinking community.

Q. If you could describe Newington College in three words, what would they be?

A. Innovative, inclusive, and inspiring.