A Week of Excellence

This week has truly been a week of excellence as we celebrated our Year 12 students and reflected on the traditions, community and spirit that make NEGS such a special place.

Our Valedictory celebrations, including Valedictory Chapel and the Year 12 Formal, provided wonderful opportunities to acknowledge the academic achievements, growth, character, friendships and contribution of our Year 12 students.

We were also delighted to welcome back Dr Jan Milburn, Principal of NEGS from 1973–1989. The morning tea was very well attended by past staff members and former students who were part of the NEGS community during Dr Milburn’s leadership. It was a lovely opportunity to reconnect, reminisce and share stories.

What was particularly striking was the recognition that, while NEGS has evolved over the years, many of our traditions remain. More importantly, the spirit of NEGS remains strong — a happy and vibrant community where students feel they belong, are known and supported, and have the confidence to be themselves.

Thank you to our students, staff, families, past students and friends of NEGS for contributing to such a memorable week.

I wish everyone a wonderful and restful Spring holiday.

Ms Liz van Genderen

Principal

Celebrating the Class of 2026
As the NEGS community gathered for Valedictory Week 2026, students, staff, and families came together to celebrate the remarkable achievements, character, and leadership of the graduating Class of 2026. Guided by Principal Ms Elizabeth van Genderen, Chairman of the Board Mr Peter Moffitt, and Head Prefect Chilali Baggins-Cupitt, the Valedictory Assembly highlighted a cohort that has distinguished itself through intellectual curiosity, determination, and outstanding academic standards.

Throughout their Stage 6 studies, the Class of 2026 demonstrated exceptional mastery across a broad spectrum of disciplines. Individual achievements spanned every corner of the curriculum:

• Dominique Baker achieved Full Colours Academics alongside First Place finishes in English Advanced, Ancient History, Modern History, History Extension, and Legal Studies, earning, amongst other prizes, the Armidale Old Girls; Union Prize for Top Student in Year 12 English and the Everingham Prize for History.
• Chilali Baggins-Cupitt earned Full Colours Academics with First Place in Biology and Music 1, as well as the Gossip Prize for Music. Chilali has also been nominated for Encore as part of the NESA HSC Showcase.
• Matilda Geue earned Half Colours Academics and 1sts in Economics, and Community and Family Studies, along with a host of other special prizes 
• Harsimran Kaur received Half Colours Academics and First Place in English Standard, Business Studies, and Mathematics Standard, along with the UNE Vice-Chancellor's High Achievement Prize.
• Top subject honours were also awarded to Robin Henry (1st in Mathematics Advanced & Sydney Old Girls; Union Prize for Excellence in Mathematics), Amanda Knight (1st in Design & Technology), Maja Lind (1st in Health and Movement Science), Hannah McIntyre (1st in Visual Arts; Half Colours Academics), Millie Packham (1st in Primary Industries), and Heidi Zwiers (1st in Agriculture & Sinclair Trophy for Agriculture).

Beyond subject mastery, the Class of 2026 has cultivated a strong culture of personal effort and intellectual growth. Awards such as the Reuben F. Scarf Award (awarded to Harsimran Kaur for consistent effort and commitment to improvement), the Staff Motto Prize for High Endeavour (awarded to Matilda Geue for a whole-hearted response to learning), and the Cudmore Trophy (awarded to Chelsea Curry for marked academic improvement) reflect a group deeply invested in their own development.

This unwavering work ethic was vividly on display as students from Years 7 through 11 assembled in the MPC to witness the formal academic presentations and join in the traditional Guard of Honour and All Praise tunnel. By demonstrating how resilience, daily discipline, and leaning on teachers and peers can unlock success, Year 12 has left an inspiring model for younger year levels to emulate.

In her Valedictory address, Principal Ms Elizabeth van Genderen commended the graduates for building a strong foundation at NEGS and facing their futures with grit and heart. As the Class of 2026 prepares to enter diverse fields, ranging from media and communications to heavy diesel mechanics, veterinary nursing, teaching, and agricultural research, they carry with them the legacy of academic pride and effort that defined their time at school. 

Congratulations to the Class of 2026 on an extraordinary final chapter!

Mr Ryan Caldwell

Director of Teaching and Learning/English Teacher

Celebrating Our Heritage and Learning at NEGS

This week, NEGS students proudly participated in Heartily Day, a special occasion to celebrate our school, inspired by our motto: “Whatsoever you do, do it heartily.”

When Florence Green founded NEGS over 130 years ago, her vision was to provide academic excellence while preparing students to contribute positively to an ever-changing world. Heartily Day honours this legacy by strengthening connections across the school and empowering our students to build skills in collaboration, communication, and creative and critical thinking through wholehearted effort.

Deep Learning in Action: Kindergarten Exhibition

Earlier this term, Kindergarten hosted their inaugural exhibition night to showcase Deep Learning in action. The evening highlighted the rich fruits of our Kindergarten students' hard work. Through observation, research, explicit learning and hands-on inquiry, Kindergarten became true "bird scientists" who demonstrated genuine care and compassion for their environment.

Through Deep Learning pedagogies, we aim to do more than teach foundational skills. We cultivate the curiosity, empathy, and resilience our children need to navigate the world, ensuring they grow up to be truly good at learning and good at life. Congratulations to Kindergarten and the wonderful Mrs McCann on an incredible showcase!

Looking Ahead

As we wrap up another vibrant term, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to you, our parent and carer community, for the active role you play in your child’s education. It was a joy to welcome so many of you to our recent campus events, including Book Week, the Father’s Day Breakfast, and Grandparents Day. These gatherings highlight the warm culture of connection that makes NEGS so special.

We wish all of our families a safe and restful term break, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back for our final term of 2026.

Upcoming Dates for Term 4:

• 26 Oct K-6 musical rehearsal after school 3:30pm - 5pm
• 30 Oct New England Sings! Rehearsal
• 1 Nov New England Sings! Concert
• 2 Nov K-6 musical rehearsal after school 3:30pm - 5pm
• 25 Nov Celebration of Learning, Musical Matinee, Family Picnic and Year 6 Dinner
• 27 Nov Musical evening performance
• 2 Dec Last day for PreK students
• 3 Dec Speech Day. School closes at the conclusion of the assembly. 

Mrs Deanna Ford

Junior School Coordinator/Year 6 Teacher

The end of term has been very busy for our Round Square Committee! We have attended two international postcards, been active again in Junior School and held a 60 for 60 whole school colouring competition.

On the 26th of August, NEGS attended an online Postcard for 13-15 year olds, hosted by Newcastle Grammar School. This Postcard was on the Topic ‘Headlines and Hoaxes’ and 110 student participants started the discussion with a fun Kahoot game on the topic, in which Imogen Lubke-Wood came in 5th! The students then broke into Baraza, or breakout groups, in which they had really wonderful discussions around how teenagers get their information and the importance of being able to see if news is real or fake. 

Then on the 9th of September, NEGS attended a Postcard for 16-18 yr olds, Hosted by The Affiliated High School of Peking University Dalton Academy in Japan, on the topic ‘Timeless Tales: Discovering the Classical Literature of Our Homelands’. There were 35 participants in this Postcard and our students had a wonderful time: 

We talked about our classic literature from Australia - The Man from Snowy River,  and some different Indigenous Dream Time stories. We learned about both India's and China's classical literature and how, through time, these stories are slowly forgotten and how the internet is both helping and not helping them survive. We talked about how this generation is not as appreciative of classic literature and does not learn or read pieces outside of school - By Sasha Scott-Hamilton, Round Square, Year 10

Round Square colouring competition was also run by the Round Square Committee. This was to celebrate Round Square's 60th anniversary with a little bit of fun (and adventure with colour!) and was run in weeks 6-8 of Term 3 and all sections: Junior school;  pre-k - 2 and 3- 6, and Secondary winners will be announced by secondary committee members at assembly Monday Week 2, Term 4. The entries were amazing and the committee had lots of fun (and a few heated discussions) in picking our final prize getters - great job everyone!

Junior school activities continued in term 3 with the sharing of more Round Square hero stories. Round Square themed boardgames, fun activities on kindness and colouring competition entries were all completed during Wednesday lunchtimes in Junior school. Our lovely Round Square Junior school board in the library displays all our wonderful collaboration work.

Looking forward to a wonderful break, and to see everyone Round Square ready for Term 4!

Ms Fiona Munzenrieder

HSIE Teacher/Round Square Coordinator/SRC Support

SRC

On the 3rd and 4th of September, our SRC went down to Armidale Central Shopping Centre to help with the Armidale branch of Legacy fundraiser.

We had the ability to talk and connect with the community, and get to understand the real reason for Legacy, which supports our war veterans and, best of all, get to spend our time volunteering for a great cause. 

I'd like to thank Mrs Ford, Ms van Genderen, Mrs Smith and Miss Munzenrieder for supervising and helping us to set this up, and thank you to all of the community who donated and stopped for a chat.  

Mackenzie Ellem, Year 10 SRC 

Leadership

On Thursday the 27th of August, NEGS leadership representatives attended The Armidale Schools’ Lead and Connect night, which aimed to connect future leaders in Armidale for a night of fun and focus. Schools involved included TAS, NEGS, PLC and O’Connor, bringing together leaders from years 6-12 within these schools. Our representatives on the night included Junior School captains, as well as Senior school leaders from the prefect team and the SRC.

The night started with afternoon tea, followed by an exciting game of bingo in which students had to mingle and talk to people they may not have met before to answer questions like ‘who has travelled overseas this year’, and ‘find someone who has two brothers’. They then split into randomly chosen groups to complete a ‘World’s Greatest Race’ challenge that had students working together to complete challenges around the TAS campus as fast as possible.

We then gathered into the Hoskins Centre to listen to Tom, an extremely well accomplished leader in youth work, both locally and internationally. After an engaging talk focused on how our values not only underpin who we are as people, but greatly influence how we are as leaders and students, Tom engaged in wonderful questions and discussions with the students that further explored the importance of values in leadership. This was all finished off by a lovely BBQ dinner provided by our hosts. 

A comment on the night from one of our student leaders:

The lead and connect afternoon was inspirational and taught me about my values and leadership. The games were very fun and got everyone involved which made a very enjoyable experience. - Clancy 

Ms Fiona Munzenrieder

HSIE Teacher/Round Square Coordinator/SRC Support

Science

Students from Years 8 and 9 got into the spirit of National Science Week throughout Week 5. Established in 1997, National Science Week runs every August and aims to encourage a fascination for the world we live in and to acknowledge the contributions of Australian Scientists.

This year, students participated in two events. Both of our Year 8 and 9 girls ran 100m sprints and analysed their data to not only compare their speeds with each other, but also to Usain Bolt. Whilst nobody managed to post a faster 10m split time than the world record holder, they had fun trying! Let’s just say they need to shave off about 7 seconds!

Our Year 8 students also participated in the National Storytime presented by CSIRO, where they read the true story ‘Bear the Rescue Dog’ by Romane Cristescu & Nic Gill. They then learnt about the differences between a dog’s and human’s sense of smell. They put their noses to the ultimate test in a blindfold challenge and given that garlic apparently smells like marshmallows, I think the dogs have won this one!!

Ms Stone

Science Teacher