Newman News
It has been an exciting start to the year for our Newman Selective Gifted Education Program.
In Term 1, students settled in and have already demonstrated a strong work ethic and creativity in our Newman classes. It has been delightful to see students trying new things and sharing their gifts in a variety of areas. We also thank the teachers from across the school who support our students in so many ways and nurture their gifts by running clubs and facilitating participation in opportunities outside of the classroom.
External opportunities
Students have already taken up opportunities to shine in our wider community. We especially commend those entering writing competitions and registering interest in other competitions.
Some upcoming competitions and external opportunities are available for registration via this Google Form (to be completed by students only), and include…
- Write a Book in Day
- Australian Virtual Astronaut Competition
- CBCA Book Week Shadow Judging
- Tournament of Minds
- Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards
- Eureka Prize run by Australian Museum
Creative Writers Club
This year, we have introduced an extra-curricular activity run on Wednesdays at recess called Creative Writers Club. Students have been sharing their creative writing pieces for peer feedback, are receiving mentoring to improve their writing and are working towards publishing their work. This is a great opportunity for mentorship and workshopping for budding writers.
Book Club
After the successes of Book Club last year, we have started the year by sharing our favourite reads from the holidays. Despite some missed sessions due to school-wide events, we have caught up and nominated some ‘must reads’ for the holidays. See our list of recommended books below:
Independent Learning Project
Year 10 students in our Independent Learning Project elective have been busy planning and beginning to implement their projects. This course guides them while they research an area of interest and develop a tool or information resource to share their knowledge with a specific audience. Students might complete an online course or devise their own research plan. So far, we have students researching areas such as…
- Astrophysics and science communication for high school students
- Anesthesiology and career pathways
- Occupational Therapy courses
- And many more!
We look forward to seeing these projects develop over the year.
School Musical
Girls have been sharing their creative gifts in our school musical each Thursday during sport and on our Sunday rehearsals. A big shout out to Mrs Mason, who has been organising musical rehearsals across two schools. She has been working tirelessly, making sure that every student feels supported and their gifts nurtured.
Da Vinci Decathlon 2026
In Week 1 of Term 2, 32 girls from Years 7 to 10 competed in the regional round of the illustrious Da Vinci Decathlon. This competition, created by Knox Grammar School, encourages students to work as a team and celebrates polymaths like the great Leonardo Da Vinci.
Fresh off a win from debating the night before, the girls showed tenacity, grit and academic integrity as they competed as a team to complete ten challenges across different disciplines. In groups of eight, they completed challenges in:
- Code-breaking
- Legacy
- Mathematics
- Science
- Art and Poetry
- English
- Ideation
- Creative Producers
- Engineering
- Cartography
We came away with some great results, including:
- 2nd place Science – Year 7
- 3rd place Science – Year 9
- 2nd place Engineering – Year 8
- 2nd place Code-Breaking – Year 9
- 2nd place Art and Poetry – Year 9
We also had our Year 10 team place 9th overall in their cohort, Year 8 place 8th overall in their cohort and Year 9 place 6th overall in theirs.
Some other mentionable results were:
- 5th place English – Year 9
- 4th place Code-Breaking and Legacy – Year 10
- 6th place Ideation – Year 7
We are very proud of the way the girls conducted themselves – they were great representatives of our school and demonstrated the excellence we always strive to achieve. It was a fun day of learning challenges!
Ms Kate Berger, Newman Coordinator