Term 2, Week 2

8 May 2025

From the Deputy Headmaster

Dear Parents and Carers, 

This week Newington has celebrated its 12^th Biennial LitFest. It’s been a wonderful three days filled with stories, workshops, poetry performances, and tips and tricks for our students on how to become more engaged readers and writers. Authors have visited individual classes throughout the week, hosted larger cohort sessions, and sat down for one-on-ones with our strongest senior writers. They have enriched the school with their presence and reaffirmed the value of literature and the art of storytelling in our lives.

On Wednesday night, two Year 11 students, Evan Grillakis and Benjamin Chamberlain, hosted an author panel for the broader community discussing the role of storytelling in an age of AI, while our Year 9 and 10 student ambassadors volunteers hosted the authors around the campus and been great representatives of the college. LitFest has crossed all campuses of the College and we hope all students enjoyed the experience.

For more LitFest stories, do check out the Postscript articles hosted by ‘In Black and White’.

Our Year 8 play, The Trolleys by Sara West, begins next week at 7.00pm on Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 May in the Duckmanton Drama Theatre. The Trolleys is a futuristic play that explores themes of survival, friendship, and hope. It follows a group of children, called the Trolleys, who must navigate a world plunged into darkness. As they search for light, they confront fears, strengthen bonds, and ultimately discover the power within themselves. 

You can book tickets below.

Last Friday night saw Daniel Carter participate in the Lawrence Campbell Oratory, a highly prestigious public speaking competition which has now been running for 90 years. In the competition, speakers are presented with a previously unseen topic and then have fifteen minutes to prepare an eight-minute speech.  Daniel spoke on the topic: ‘a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?’  He examined the way art and literature provide a ‘heavenly’ space for an artist to reach into, sometimes allowing the artist to grasp aspects of life which would otherwise, in their ordinary existence, be beyond their reach. He incorporated references to Goya, Francis Bacon, Chekhov’s ‘The Seagull’, the ambitions of Caesar, and the achievements of Alexander the Great.  It was an excellent speech that was very well received, and we congratulate him on an outstanding achievement. 

We are excited to announce that the 2025 Artist in Residence, Gemma Smith has moved into Concordia studio and begun to engage with students. Gemma attended Year 11 Art camp at Q Station, Manly, where she joined students on a visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art. Her painting Compression Dissolve is part of the exhibition The Intelligence of Painting. She is also a 2025 finalist for the Art Gallery of NSW’s Sir John Sulman Prize. Gemma will be working with us for the entire Term 2 and will have a collaborative exhibition with Year 11 opening Thursday 19 June, 5-7pm. More details to come. 

In sporting news, this Saturday marks our first home winter fixture. We are excited to welcome Cranbrook in Rugby, Scots in Football, and Riverview in Volleyball. Additionally, our 1st XVIII AFL team will be playing Shore under the lights on Friday night at Sydney University. 

We extend our best wishes to our 1sts and 2nds Volleyball players as they kick off their GPS season on Saturday. Our Intermediate fencers will be competing in a Teams event on Saturday after the individual events last weekend. 

We look forward to seeing the boys from Johnstone and Prescott supporting the morning sports, and Tupou and Whitaker cheering in the afternoon. A big thank you to the Support Groups who will be staffing the BBQ this weekend. 

Over the coming months, Newington’s top five chess teams – each made up of four players – will compete against schools across Sydney in the Junior Chess League (JCL) every Friday afternoon. Matches will be played both at home and away.  These games demand intense focus, lasting up to 60 minutes. Each match contributes to the team’s overall score, which determines whether they advance to the quarter finals. This Friday, the season kicks off with matches against Sydney Girls High (away), International Grammar (away), Sydney Grammar (away), St Patrick’s Strathfield (home), and Fort Street High (home). Best of luck to all our teams! 

Chapel Thought

At Newington we want to encourage every student to explore notions of Faith. The concept of genuine exploration to discover meaning is key to this approach to Faith. Whether they are our youngest students in the ELC through to our oldest students in Year 12, each student is encouraged to engage deeply with Faith and discover their own sense of meaning personally as well as the impact of teachings of Faith on our broader community. We know that our students and their families come from diverse backgrounds, and this makes Newington so special, and so this exploration of Faith is always done with respect and openness.

Exploring Faith means being curious about understandings of Faith, asking questions and delving deeper to find new meanings. It also means being open-minded to hearing new perspectives or different approaches to belief. We also want students to explore Faith with rigour, thinking deeply and developing a robust understanding of these teachings of Faith.

Through our Chaplaincy programs, which are embedded in the theology and ethos of the Uniting Church, we hope each student develops a deeper understanding and discovers their individual meaning and purpose for their life.

– Pastor Richard La’Brooy 

Cyber Fraud Warning 

Please note that Newington College will never notify you via email – or any other form of communication – of a change to the College’s bank account details. The College’s preferred method of paying tuition fees is BPAY, Direct Debit and or by logging into New Spaces.   

If you are ever in doubt about an email, text or call you have received, please telephone Newington College Accounts department to verbally verify the information received. 

Parent Learning Series: Boys, Girls, Brains & Behaviour with Justin Coulson

Newington College warmly invites all parents and families from outside our community, to an evening with Dr Justin Coulson on Thursday 5 June in the Old Boys Lecture Theatre, starting at 5.30pm with refreshments.

Stereotypes about boys and girls have been around for centuries. We all grew up learning that girls play with dolls and boys play with trucks, girls wear pink and boys wear blue, girls are good at reading and boys are good at maths, boys are active and use their bodies, but girls prefer to be sedentary and talk lots.   

Despite the supposed gender revolution, boys and girls really do seem to be different. They relate to others differently, develop differently, play differently, receive diagnoses differently, experience mental health challenges differently, and more.   

In this science-based presentation, Dr Justin Coulson unpacks brain, behaviour, and gender myths, truths, and rumours to help parents work with their children to uncover their strengths, build motivation, and maximise their resilience and wellbeing. 

Staff Profile

For this week’s staff profile we caught up with one of our beloved Wyvern Kindergarten teachers, Jane Vuong. Jane has been in education for over 20 years and brings a wealth of experienced into her classroom every day, where she is in charge of moulding the minds of our youngest Wyvern students.

Q. Why teaching? What is it you enjoy about teaching?  

A. I have had the pleasure of teaching for over 20 years across a variety of educational settings and age groups. Throughout this time, I’ve come to view my role as not just a teacher, but as someone who helps shape students’ beliefs about themselves and their potential. It’s truly a privilege to support them in discovering their impact on the world around them. 

Q. What is something about you that other people may not know? 

A. Though I have always felt passionate about education, I must admit that teaching wasn’t a career I initially planned on. I actually fell into this profession unexpectedly, and it’s been a rewarding journey ever since. 

In addition to my teaching experience, I’ve had the opportunity to live in both England and Canada, and I am also trained as an art therapist and counsellor. In my previous school, I facilitated emotional intelligence and wellbeing sessions for primary-aged students, which was both fulfilling and impactful. 

Q. In a world where you could have any superpower for a day, what would it be and how would you use it in your teaching?

A. If I could choose any superpower, I think I would love the ability to teleport. The thought of being able to instantly visit any place in the world, gather authentic artifacts, or even bring back unique foods for my students to explore is truly exciting! 

Staff Profile: College Leadership Group

This week we are profiling Michael Marokakis, who is not only a member of the College Leadership Group, but also a cherished English teacher and the Director of Teaching & Learning at our Senior campus. A lover of books, Michael also helps to coordinate our student magazine, In Black and White, where this week they covered LitFest. Check out their articles here.

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

A. Despite my surname having Greek origins, my cultural background is a mix of Jordanian and Italian. I love to cook and over the past years I have been documenting and learning as many of the traditional, cultural dishes of my family as I can. I would also say I love travelling around the world, and am regularly visiting new countries or revisiting ones I have been to. 

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

A. I’d be most excited about the teachers I would have here. Getting to learn from teachers who are so passionate about and knowledgeable in their fields, and who genuinely care for their students would make me excited to come to school every day.  I would also be excited to go on some of the tours available, which would really bring to life what is happening in the classroom. 

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

A. Enriching, Empowering, Inclusive