At our Thank You evening held in late November, our guests were welcomed by students from the Jazz Workshop, under the direction of Mr Josh Mann. Jarrah, a Year 11 student who is a recipient of a means-tested scholarship named in honour of F Stretton Jeffs (ON 1933), spoke of his Newington education.
Entering Newington from a state high school in the Sutherland Shire, Jarrah shared with passion about his gift of a Newington education, through the generosity of others:
“While the facilities are top tier, the history is rich and proud, and the resources are plentiful, the reason why Newington is the best school is the people within it. The staff take time to cater to your individual progress in each subject and you can feel that they actually care about your studies, ambitions, and goals. From my experience, the key difference between the students here and government schools, is that while everyone may have different backgrounds, aspirations, and interests; everyone wants to be here. And while the school is prestigious, there is certainly not a pompous culture, everything is still very real and down to earth.
“This unique culture was a shock to me at first, on my first day I mistakenly called one of my teachers “miss”, instead of “ma’am”, I carried my bag around until Mr Roberts pointed me in the direction of my locker, and I didn’t know what side of the road to walk on the way to the train station until I was apprehended by the sergeant. And although it took me a while to adjust to the atmosphere, I learned … quickly, if you love Newington, Newington will love you back.
“I know that there are thousands of kids in Sydney who are just like I was a year and a half ago, and it is because of the generosity of YOU that some of these lucky boys can experience a Newington education and to be part of the extended Newington community.”
