I would like to thank all of our families for their attendance at the Junior School Celebration Night and Presentation Evening last week. A lot of time goes into the planning and preparation of these events. We very much appreciate parent support in ensuring these evenings are formal academic occasions and enable our students to conclude their year in a dignified and celebratory way.
Part of the evening was the recognition of departing staff from the College. Three staff who will be leaving us at the end of this year will be:
- Mrs Karen Faulwetter after five years of teaching in Junior School. Karen has been a highly regarded teacher in Grades 3 and 4. She spearheaded the Junior School Green Team and the Stephanie Alexander garden programme. In addition, she was the Junior School Curriculum Co-ordinator and has been a mentor to many teachers in her time with us.
- Mrs Sue Mitchell after twenty years. Sue has always been a consummate professional and passionate teacher. In her time at Newhaven, she has taught Physical Education, English, Food Studies and her current role as Head of Student Support. Sue’s intellect, compassion and commitment to building student capacity has seen those in her care believe in themselves and strive for their personal goals. As a colleague she is highly respected.
- Mr Andy Neal after twenty-five years of teaching in Physical Education, Outdoor Education and Health. Andy is a skilled and talented sports coach, particularly in football and cricket, coaching many Newhaven premiership teams. Andy’s main legacy at Newhaven will be the Surf Academy where Andy’s passion and drive for the sport has seen the programme grow from strength to strength. This includes from entry level Year 5 and 6 water safety days, through to surfing as part of SM offerings, and the establishment of our High Performance Squad which includes weekly sessions and training camps on the Gold Coast.
On behalf of the College we wish all the very best to Karen, Sue and Andy and thank them for their exceptional contribution in their areas of expertise.
In addition, we have two staff stepping down from important leadership positions to join our teaching ranks. Mr Ric Pearce is finishing after sixteen years as Head of Year 9. Under Ric’s guidance the Year 9 programme at Newhaven is the envy of many schools. Ric’s great understanding and appreciation of Year 9, his outdoor education expertise and appreciation of experiential learning has made our Year 9 experience special. Finally, Mr Geoff White has been our Head of Middle Years for the past three years – adding to his long list of accomplishments in his twenty-five years at Newhaven. In his time as Head of Middle School Geoff has been determined to build a truly Year 5 to 8 experience and create as much connection, belonging and purpose for the students as possible. He has been a passionate advocate for our vertical House system and worked hard to embed it into the culture of Middle School. I would like to thank Ric and Geoff for their efforts in these important roles.
In Quietness and Confidence Shall Be Your Strength
Tony Corr
Principal
Middle and Senior School Presentation Evening
Our 2023 Presentation evening for Year 5-11 was a wonderful success.
The Evening was hosted by the 2024 College Captains Tahlia Williams, Max Arceo, Tom Bird and Alice Mabilia who performed their first formal captaincy duties with confidence and style.
A wide range of awards were presented to recognise outstanding achievement in Academic Studies, Music, Sport, Values, Theatre and Drama, Design, Visual Arts, Technology, and Building and Construction. The highest achiever was Tilia Pires-Andersen, who received an outstanding 5 Academic Awards.
Major Student Awards
Senior School Dux Awards for Year 9 – Tilly Stecher, Year 10 – Maisie McMurray, Year 11 – Gabriel Winterson.
ADF Long Tan Youth Leadership Award – Thomas Scott (Year 10)
ADF Future Innovators Award – Isaac Savona (Year 10)
Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars Program – Lara Smyth (Year 10)
Luke Bolding Memorial Scholarship – Gabriel Winterson (Year 11)
St Vincent de Paul Society Frederic Ozanam Awards - Zachariah Coldora and Bonnie McBride (Year 6)
The Bendigo Community Bank Awards - Tilly Stecher, Felix Fothergill, Jasmine Ruffin and Meyanna Christensen (Year 9)
Peter Reith AM Memorial Prize – Tilly Stecher (Year 9)
Donald Cameron OAM Award – Zoe Scott (Year 10)
Rev John Leaver Award - Jack Ryan (Year 11)
Duke of Edinburgh Award – Gold – Mackenzie Wain (Year 11)
Staff Awards
Newhaven College is incredibly proud of its teaching and non-academic staff. This year, 3 staff members received recognition for twenty years or more of service and dedication to the school over those years. Recipients include Chris Appleby, David Arnott and Sue Mitchell. Six staff were recognised for fifteen or more years of service, namely Nathan Leys, Marcelle Krieg, Carmel Roberts, Stewart Bathgate, Melanie Flower and Ric Pearce. With 10 or more years of commitment to the college, twenty-five staff were also recognised.
New Life Governor announced
Mr Greg Price, after 20 years of dedicated participation on the College Board - over 10 years as the Board chair - and many years of support of Newhaven College, has been given the honour of being named Life Governor. Greg was thanked for his contributions over the years.
Musical Entertainment
The procession of award presentations was interspersed with some stunning musical performances. The Middle School Choir performed Easy on Me by Adele, Senior School band The Dropkicks pumped out Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis and the final performance of the evening was from the Senior School Ensemble, Waka Waka by Shakira. Our incredible orchestra supported the performances on the night.
Wardy's Newhaven College Christmas Tree
Thank you to our generous community for donating so many wonderful gifts under our Christmas Tree. Saint Vincent de Paul volunteers collected all the gifts today and expressed their appreciation to the College community.
We thank Linda Sparkes, President St Vincent de Paul Cowes Conference, Narelle Mulcahy, Cathy and Howard Jones for collecting the gifts for contribution.
Uniform Shop is moving!
The College Uniform Shop will be moving to a new location at the school pavilion, under the Canteen. News will be shared when the move is
complete.
