15 May 2025
What Happened This Week
Mother’s Day Breakfast
Tuesday morning witnessed a much-loved event in the school calendar. The Mother’s Day breakfast was fantastic, and it was great to see so many members of the school community come together to celebrate our fabulous mums.
The food was delicious; the atmosphere was warm and friendly. Thank you to the P&F Executive and volunteers who worked tirelessly behind the scenes in the lead up to, and on the day, to ensure that the day was a complete success.
To view the post on Instagram, click here.
Wyvern Concert
Mark your calendars for the most anticipated musical event of the year, the Wyvern Music Concert on Tuesday 27 May from 6.00pm in Centenary Hall. All students in Years 3-6 perform in this compulsory event in a variety of ensembles and choirs, which is an amazing experience for them, the audience and our staff.
More details about the concert, rehearsal and pre-concert supervision can be found here.
Please click here to enrol your child in ‘Pre-concert Supervision’. This service is for students in Years 3–6 only and is not associated with our after-school care provider (Community OSH). Registration will close at 3.00 pm on Friday 23 May. For those students who have opted to stay for the afternoon, rest assured that our teachers will guide them to the venue. A reminder to pack plenty of food for those staying on in the afternoon.
Mandarin Co-Curricular Expression of Interest
We are exploring an opportunity to introduce a Mandarin Club to our clubs and co-curricular program in Term 3. If you would like your child to participate in Mandarin classes on a Friday afternoon, please use this link to complete an expression of interest.
Times
- Years K–2: 3.00pm–4.15pm
- Year 3–6: 3.15pm–4.15pm
If you would like more information, please contact Mandarin Stars.
- Mobile: 0424 251 231
- Phone: 1800 18 11 18
The Breadth of Opportunity with Amy Van Arkkels
Last term we checked in with Deputy, Academic (K-12) Amy Van Arkkels about the endless possibilities Newington provides for all types of students – because every child is unique.
To learn more about the breadth of opportunity available at Newington watch the video below or visit the Learning and Teaching page on our webiste.
Eungai Creek Campus Design Award nomination
We are thrilled that our Eungai Creek Campus has been shortlisted in the Urban and Community Scale Category as part of the 2025 Biophilic Design Awards!
The judges admired its light, respectful presence on Country, commitment to circular materials, and outstanding engagement with First Nations communities.’
We thank AJC Architects for their work on the project, creating the home of our social service immersion and outdoor education programs.
Learn more about the awards at the Living Future Institute Australia website.
Chapel Thought
At Newington, when we ‘explore Faith’ our hope is that all in our community may know the all-inclusive love of their God. In all faiths, the principal of love is central to what they teach. For Christians, love, and in particular the love of God, is fundamental to how we understand our relationship with God and one another. Our Faith, as expressed through the theology of the Uniting Church in Australia, affirms that God loves and includes all people. Our background or experience, our current context or our past actions don’t matter, we are simply loved and accepted by God, just as we are.
Knowing the all-inclusive love of God means having the courage to show acceptance towards groups that are marginalised and welcome to those who are different.
Sharing the all-inclusive love of God means having the integrity to stand up for what is right, remaining true to our beliefs in what the Kingdom of God represents for all people.
Showing the all-inclusive love of God means acting with kindness towards all people and offering compassion to those in need.
At Newington, our hope is that when our students and our wider community ‘explore Faith’ they might know and come to show the all-inclusive love of God in all that they do.
– Pastor Richard La’Brooy
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 the Kids Giving Back Holiday program, which is open to all ages and students from every school. Congratulations to the following students:
- Archer L
- Frederick WG
- Idris M
- Jesse M
- Milton Z
- Rishi P
- Thomas G
- Thomas P
These students were part of a group of young people who helped provide over 5,000 meals, snack packs, and care kits. Their kindness rippled through 15 partner charities and, just as importantly, through our team and the community they supported.
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.
Pupil Free Day
A reminder that the College will be closed for a pupil free day on Friday 6 June. CommunityOSH is now accepting bookings, please click here to book in.
Senior School Co-Education Parent Information Evening
We are delighted to invite families of future girl enrolments to an information evening at our Stanmore Senior school campus.
Building on our move to co-education in our Prep K-6 campuses from 2026, co-education will commence at our Senior School in Years 7 and 11 from 2028.
You will receive information about the College’s co-education journey and hear from our Headmaster Mr Michael Parker, and our Director of Co-education Ms Brigid Taylor.
Parent Learning Series: Boys, Girls, Brains & Behaviour with Justin Coulson
Newington College warmly invites our parents, and families 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.
Prep School Newspaper
Last week we announced the Prep School newspaper team. We were so impressed with the number of pupils who volunteered to be part of the team and with the quality of their submissions. We have now selected our team of keen Year 5 and 6 students who will be involved in the editing, photography and publishing of the newspaper.
As this is a newspaper for all students, we have launched a ‘Name our Newspaper’ competition. Please encourage your child to submit any ideas they have for the name of their newspaper. Entries are open until Monday 19th May. Please either email the suggestions to hloe@newington.nsw.edu.au or prepschoolnewspaper@newington.onmicrosoft.com.
The newspaper will be published at the end of Term 2 and we are now looking for students from Kindergarten to Year 6 to submit articles.
Anyone can submit ideas for publication from the following topics:
- Sports match reports
- Riddles / jokes
- Puzzles
- Book / movie / video game reviews
- Favourite recipes
- Reports from school events
We are looking forward to as many students as possible being involved in this newspaper, so please encourage your child to get involved through the submission of articles.
Coffee On Cambridge
Join us on Friday 23 May from 8.15am in the Cambridge Street Playground to connect with the Wyvern Community. Barista made coffee will be served.
This gathering is for parents and carers only, students should follow their regular morning routine.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Wyvern P&F Meeting
You are warmly invited to attend the Term 2 Wyvern House P&F Meeting for 2025 on Friday 23 May at 7.45am in the Wyvern Library.
Ms Jessica Wickenden, Deputy, Pastoral (K-12), and Ms Amy Van Arkkels, Deputy, Academic (K-12) will provide an overview of the Year 6 to Year 7 transition program for Wyvern students.
Following the meeting, parents and carers are invited to Coffee on Cambridge. We look forward to your support and seeing you at the meeting.
Staff Profile
A recent addition to the school, Argyris Giantsis brings with him a deep love of the classical world. Passionate about all things ancient, he’s excited to share the richness of the Greek and Latin languages with his students and become part of our growing community.
Q. Why teaching? What is it you enjoy about teaching?
A. Teaching lets me share my passion for the timeless, whether it’s the music of a classical sonata or the words of Cicero or Homer. I love helping students connect with the great minds of the past and seeing those ancient voices spark something new in the present.
Q. If you could have dinner with any historical figure or celebrity, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you talk about?
A. If I could meet anyone, I’d choose to interview an eminent philosopher of the past, someone whose ideas have shaped generations, like Socrates, Plato or Aristotle.
I’d want to explore how they saw the role of reason, virtue, and language in human life, and whether they believed we’re any closer to wisdom today. There’s something deeply moving about sitting across from a mind that still speaks to us across thousands of years. I wouldn’t just ask questions; I’d want to listen, to truly understand how they made sense of a world that was, in many ways, as complex and contradictory as ours.
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 have any superpower for a day, I’d choose the ability to walk through time… just once.
I’d take my students with me, stepping into the Athenian agora as Socrates questioned the crowd, or standing in the temple of Jupiter in Palatine Hill as Cicero delivered a thunderous speech. I’d let them feel the dust, hear the voices, and realise that these were real people with real thoughts, fears, and dreams.
Because once you’ve been there, even just for a moment, the ancient world stops being distant; it becomes something alive and deeply human.
