Wellbeing K-6

Our Wellbeing program is based on mutual care and respect: respect for one’s self, respect for others, and respect for the environment.

What's Wellbeing at Wyvern?

Our Wellbeing program is based on the concepts of mutual care and respect.

Respect for oneself
Respect for others
Respect for the environment

At Wyvern House, there is a strong emphasis on assisting each boy come to a better understanding of himself and the world around him.

The Newington College community celebrates diversity and difference. With firm foundations in the Uniting Church tradition, we welcome students and families of all faiths and cultural backgrounds. Each child is valued and we seek to promote tolerance and encourage understanding of differences.

Who am I?

Our teachers encourage each of our young boys to be assured of his individual worth, and to be open to new experiences and challenges. We hope all boys will find enough confidence to pursue their interests; enough courage to follow it through and enough resilience to persevere.

Learning Emotional Skills

The Wellbeing of each boy is important to us and our staff are always available to work with families on any academic, social or personal matters.

Boys follow a staggered social and emotional skills program. This gives every student the opportunity to develop positive attitudes that will help them work through setbacks and disappointments.

Our Emotional Skills Program is backed by the trusting relationships formed between the boys and their teachers, between the teachers and our parent body and between the community and our Chaplaincy team and School Counsellor.

A photo of four boys from the buddy program

Boys Buddy Up

The Buddy Program pairs boys in Kindergarten with boys in Year 6. This Program is a mentoring system that benefits both boys. It allows Year 6 boys to develop social and leadership skills by collaborating with their younger peers and it gives our youngest Wyvern boys the assurance that there is someone who will look out for them.

The buddies meet on a weekly basis and participate in activities that involve the Year 6s teaching the Kindy boys something useful such as how to use their iPads or tie their shoelaces. Our Year 6 boys are also responsible for taking the Kindy boys around the campus and explaining the school rules at the beginning of the year.

Once our Year 6 buddies have a better grasp of their roles, they are given the opportunity to help teach basic sign word practice and reading with the Kindy boys. Throughout the year, there are numerous activities that involve the Buddies from science class experiments to arts and crafts.

House System

Encouraging collaboration and competition.

Students present a trophy to members of the Senior Leadership team at their Annual Prize Giving assembly

House Competition

House competition involves the earning of points through effort and achievement in classwork, sport and service to the school.
House points are collected and updated weekly and revealed at our weekly assemblies
The House with the most points is presented the House Shield. Points are then combined with academic points to determine the top House which is awarded the P&F Shield.

For major sporting carnivals (Swimming, Athletics, Cross Country) the Prep Schools come together to compete as a six House competition. Winners of the various activities retain the House Shield for that year.

Learning about empathy

The idea of empathy starts when boys are asked to put themselves in someone else’s shoes - a fundamental step in understanding perspectives that differ from their own. In our complex world, it is crucial for our boys to learn how to embrace differences, build relationships, gain a global perspective, conduct richer and deeper analysis and communicate more effectively with others.

Young boys who care

Through the Building Learning Power framework, we introduce the concept of reciprocity – responding to a positive action with another positive action.

Our Wellbeing program seeks to find pathways for boys to make positive contributions to our school and the wider community.

Providing boys with opportunities to reach out and help others in their community is an important aspect of the Service Learning program at Wyvern. While the SRC spends considerable time fundraising for local, national and international charities, we are conscious that giving isn’t always just about donating money.

Service Learning Trip to Thomas Roseby Lodge

At the end of Term 3 in 2016, a group of boys were invited to visit the Thomas Roseby Lodge – a Uniting Care Aged Care facility in Marrickville where they met a group of elderly residents. The boys spent time introducing themselves to their hosts, playing games and enjoying afternoon tea. A few weeks later, the same residents were invited to watch the boys rehearse for their Pirates of Penzance musical.

Our boys then returned to Thomas Roseby Lodge to play music, share their artworks and share in the Christmas festivities.

Not only do our boys not only have the opportunity to meet other members of their local community through this partnership, but they have the chance to do something for others and put someone else first. The visits have taught our boys the power of selflessness and empathy as well as the unique joy of learning how make someone else smile.

Student Leadership

At Wyvern, the Student Representative Council (SRC) is made up of boys who represent the student body and help organise ways for students to participate and contribute to their school community.

The Wyvern SRC aims

The SRC encourages all boys to contribute to and share in the decision making process within the school. Not only does the SRC encourage active citizenship, it also provides older boys with useful leadership opportunities where they can practice mentoring their younger peers.

Foster a vision and sense of purpose in a friendly environment
Provide all boys with an opportunity to set and achieve collective goals
Promote active, reflective listening skills
Apply learning in a context that directly affects the school community
Promote Social Justice values

Counselling Services

Mr Sahil Sharma is the K–6 Counsellor (Educational Psychologist). He works across the two Preparatory campuses to counsel and assist students, parents and staff.

Mr Sahil Sharma’s services at Newington include:

Supporting staff in the wellbeing of all boys
Working with staff to teach social skills to boys
Assisting with the entry process of new boys
Psycho-educational assessment of boys’ learning and academic progress
Individual and group counselling of boys regarding issues that might impact on their school adjustment
Administration of anti-bullying surveys

Referral to the counsellor is usually by teacher request and the service is confidential within the limits of legal requirements for the protection of children.

For further information please contact the class teacher, school office or email Mr Sahil Sharma.

After School Care

Wyvern provides an Out of School Hours Care Centre (OSHC) daily between 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM in the afternoon and 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM in the morning. Boys travelling home via public transport boys will be escorted to the train station by a staff member. Boys travelling by bus are also supervised and seated by staff.

Outside School Hours Care Centre (OSHC)

CONTACT: OSHC Centre - Ph: 1800 460 870 Mob: 0428 131 700

OSHC is based at Wyvern House and is outsourced to OSH club who supervise boys and plan a range of activities.

At the conclusion of each school day, staff take any boys still waiting for parents to OSHC and ensure that the supervisor registers them for that afternoon. All boys, except those involved with after school sport and/or other co-curricular activities should be registered for OSHC.

The Centre’s fees vary according to the type of booking – permanent or casual. A form must be completed for every student for both legal reasons and health information. More information is available at Wyvern Reception.