Newington College

Head of Newington Drama Mr Paul Eastway says while few school students go on to conquer Hollywood, the life benefits of acting in a school production are universal. ‘Being part of a production is a peak event in the life of a student and one that I encourage every Newington student to experience, at least once during their school life.' In the next few weeks, students at Newington College will have the opportunity to audition for the 2025 Newington Musical 'Catch Me If You Can'. Read more on the website: https://newington.info/47dnqcq

As part of Science Week, Year 10 students Ben C, Charlie C, Evan G, Dylan H and Rhys H ran science experiences at both our Wyvern and Lindfield campuses to all students! Air cannons, elephant's toothpaste, liquid nitrogen and even ocean acidification took centre stage. Huge thank you to the Year 10 students whose enthusiasm and expertise truly brought the magic of science to life 🧪

'The online environment is much more dangerous for young people than their real-world community,' says Headmaster Michael Parker. 'Despite that, we, as a society, have wrapped our kids in cotton wool in the safer real world while at the same time letting them run amok unsupervised online.' How can we help our kids develop resilience - or anti-fragility - in the real world? Read more: https://newington.info/3B24Ckc

'At the end of the 12 days, I felt calmer, with a better understanding of the people around me. It was a fabulous 12 days, and I would like to go back.'

This is just one of many rave reviews from Year 9 students regarding their time at our Eungai Creek campus, home of our social service immersion and outdoor education program.

Whether in the water or on land, groups of Year 9 students have been enjoying their stays up north.

The ELC, Lindfield and Wyvern Father's Day Breakfasts were a huge success! It was heartwarming to see so many families come together to celebrate fathers and special friends. A big thank you to those who organised the festivities and made the day truly memorable. We hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful weekend filled with joy, laughter and cherished moments. ❤️

'For years I have believed social media is about the worst thing to happen to teenagers since the Children’s Crusade of 1212. But it is worse than I thought,' says Headmaster Michael Parker. 'Jonathan Haidt’s new book The Anxious Generation makes a strong case that social media and online activity is fundamentally changing the brains of both boys and girls.'
Read more at https://newington.info/478sGhy

Image by Dave Cicirelli

We are incredibly proud of our students for securing fourth place in the Science and Engineering State Finals at the University of Newcastle. This was our first time participating in this competition and our team excelled across multiple challenges, demonstrating outstanding innovation and problem solving. A fantastic achievement that sets the stage for success in the future. Well done!

ELC Book Week was a vibrant celebration of imagination and storytelling, with everyone embracing their favourite characters through creative costumes. The highlight was Headmaster Michael Parker's reading, which brought an extra touch of magic to the festivities. 📖

Who said a classroom couldn’t be outdoors?! Taking students out of the classroom and into the living world lets them observe invertebrates in their natural habitats, build bee hotels, study soil erosion and track weather patterns.
Last week our Lindfield Year 1 and 2 students ventured outside to learn about the Indigenous history of Australia, as well as how natural features like coastlines and rock formations can be communicated through models and topographic maps.
In the physical world, outdoor experiments can make abstract concepts tangible – Lindfield STEAM Teacher Susanne Williams explores the possibilities of outdoor classrooms on the blog: https://newington.info/3Z4l11F

Congratulations to Goc M, who was selected by Basketball Australia in the 12-player Emus (Australia U19 team) to compete at the FIBA U18 Men’s Asia Cup in Jordan from 2–9 September.

Best of luck, Goc and the Emus!

Good luck to our students at The Science and Engineering Challenge at Newcastle University today! They've been getting ready for the big day by sharing insights during training sessions 🔎💪

Our Year 6 students had a great time over the last couple of weeks partaking in the Wyvern Olympics! They had a blast competing in a variety of fun events, including Pillow Put, Egg Pong, Jump n Touch and Olympic Trivia. Congratulations to all our medal winners, and a big thank you to everyone who made this event a success🏅

Mr Michael Parker, Headmaster, warmly invites you to join us for the 40th Anniversary of the College Chapel. Partners, family and friends of the Newington community are encouraged to join us for what will be a memorable and historic occasion. Visit the website for more information about the event: https://newington.info/4dCj2Ga

A huge thank you to Pip Harry for visiting our Year 5 students and discussing her book ‘August and Jones,’ which they are currently studying. Pip talked about how she draws inspiration from real-life experiences and explained how her current and upcoming books are brought to life. It was an inspiring and engaging session that our students thoroughly enjoyed. We appreciate Pip Harry taking the time to connect with us and spark the students' love for reading and writing. 📚✨

‘What is beautiful about an HSC and IB show is the audience get to see and experience in material form often quite vulnerable ideas, thoughts and reflections from teenagers.'

Time Tells, an exhibition of artworks created by Newington HSC and IB Visual Arts Year 12 students, is open at Concordia Gallery until Saturday 31 August.

Featuring installation, video, sculpture, photography, drawing, painting and printmaking, it offers valuable understanding into the psyche of 17- and 18-year-olds.

Read more from curator and Visual Arts teacher Ms Hannah Chapman: https://newington.info/3yIfzXK

What a fantastic day at the Sydney Cricket Ground for our Year 9 Global Studies students! A huge thank you to Stuart Pendlebury (ONU 1977) for the incredible tour, where our students delved into the rich history of the SCG, explored the impact of sport on the local community and learned about revenue and sponsorships. To top it all off, they had the chance to meet Australian cricketer Mitch Marsh! 🏏👏

‘We have great capacity here at Newington to share our teachings and learnings as thought purveyors and our vision is to establish Newington College as one of the leading headquarters of critical thinking best practice in education. We are proud of what we have accomplished in just two years, but there is much more to come…’ Read more from Dr Britta Jensen about the Centre for Critical Thinking and Ethics (CCTE) at Newington on our website: https://www.newington.nsw.edu.au/blog/2024/08/23/newington-shines-critical-thinking-light/

Last week, our Year 10 Drama students performed a range of engaging theatrical adventures for our Year 3 and 4 Wyvern students. From pirate quests to monsters under bed and evil story-stealing villains, the students lit up the young audience’s imaginations in our annual Children’s Theatre showcase. 🎭

Over 600 parent volunteers worked behind the scenes and in front of the market stalls, cafes, activities and booths to make this years Back to Newington Day such a fantastic success. Here’s a glimpse of just a few of these amazing faces who helped make the day unforgettable 🌟🙌

Wow, what an incredible turnout at Back to Newington Day on the weekend! The sun was shining as our community turned out in droves to enjoy the vast array of food and market stalls, sport, music and activities. The event would not have been possible without the support of our P&F and the tireless efforts of almost 600 parent volunteers. A huge thank you to everyone who made this wonderful community event such a success.

The Mothers of Old Newingtonians (MOONs) were joined by Walkley Award-winning author and journalist Tracey Spicer AM at their annual Back to Newington Day lunch. Tracey spoke about the working mum juggle, her long career in journalism and the challenges she's faced along the way, plus her brilliant new book 'Man-Made', which looks at how the bias of the past is being built into the future. There is a link below if you'd like to take a look. Huge thank you to Tracey Spicer for joining us!

https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/Man-Made/Tracey-Spicer/9781761106378

📣Simon & Schuster Australia ODE Management

What a way to end our lunch time Science Week activities! Students were amazed by the explosive power of chemistry this afternoon, witnessing a dramatic thermite reaction as we ignited a 16.5 metre line of aluminium and copper thermite near the Johnson Bank scoreboard. A true spectacle of science in action! Thanks to Mr Davies for setting up this incendiary experiment 🔥💥

Fetes have been an important fundraiser for the College since the first Moonlight Fete was held in 1894, raising funds to support the new cricket oval.

These moonlight fetes gave way to the first alumni Back-to-College day in 1920, followed by the first Wyvern Fete in 1930 which was a jubilee fete celebrating 50 years at Stanmore.

Since 2003 Back to Newington Day has embraced the spirit and history of the ONU Back-to-College days combined with parent groups supporting the College by fundraising via fetes.

Our 2024 Back to Newington Day celebrates 130 years of fetes, fundraising and community. See you on Saturday!

Kindergarten students at Lindfield celebrated 100 Days of School with bright colours and fun activities! They raced to write their names in 100 seconds, played with $100 ideas and more. Year 5 buddies also joined for games and fairy bread-making with hundreds-and-thousands. Congratulations, Kindy, on an amazing first 100 days! 📚🎉

Best of luck to our Year 12 HSC and IB students, who begin their trial examinations tomorrow.

Just like these HSC English students (pictured), they've all been working hard to prepare for the trials. Many have been coming in early before school to sit practice papers under timed conditions and to seek feedback from their teachers.

It's not every day you see students toppling paper cups armed with a garbage bin firing nothing but air but that happened at our Stanmore campus today.

Another Science Week activity, this thrilling experiment allowed students to explore the power of air pressure in action. Onlookers were amazed to see many cups toppled with just a single puff of air 'shot' at a distance.

Don’t forget that we have a lineup of exciting sport fixtures scheduled for Back to Newington Day on Saturday! We've got Football, Rugby, Volleyball and more to help you get over those Olympic withdrawals! Get ready to cheer loudly and get in the team spirit. Go Newington 📣 ⚫️⚪️