True Colours 

Article Written By Liv Benedetto Coro


On the 7th of November, the announcement of Newton College's 25th Anniversary sparked excitement in the school. Following up, the school year of 2016-2017 is open to numerous exciting events for students, teachers, staff, and parents. "This is a very special year for families and students." , Rosa Tortosa, head of Newton College, stated on our interview together. "25 is a very big number!" Miss Tortosa chuckled, "So we wanted to make this a special year to host numerous events for all members of the Newton College community to enjoy. We wanted to reflect on our past because in the beginning we had a little number of students and a small amount of classrooms and now Newton has grown into such a large community so this is the perfect year to host our events in reflection to our past and warm welcomes to the future." 

Rosa Tortosa, Head of Newton College.

The 25th Anniversary is a great way for the community of Newton College to develop skills and abilities in certain areas of education. There will be events held every month where parents and students are encouraged to attend. These events are held so that students have an opportunity to speak. "Every student matters at Newton." Tortosa declared, "and everyone has a place, a voice and the right to learn at our school.". Students have the chance to prove their strength and abilities in certain fields at school: such as academics, the arts, and physical education. The theme and philosophy of the 25th Anniversary is Opening Minds, which depicts on the schools different ways of teaching."We have some amazing and creative student this year who we can use as examples for our label in Newton's philosophy of Opening Minds, such as the Newspaper Press (Newton Press) and The Radio Station (Newton Air)." 

John Patino, Sub-Director of Newton College

"Opening Minds is the philosophy of Newton College and our key is to open young minds to new opportunities with different ways of teaching, using didactic approach. Exploration and innovation is the key to opening minds." Patino explained. 

Newton College has four full-functioning houses where each student is placed into at the time of school enrolment. The four houses are Lincoln (Red), Da Vinci (Green), King (Blue), and Calcutta (Yellow). Each of these houses are derived from a famous icon in world history: Lincoln (Abraham Lincoln), Da Vinci (Leonardo Da Vinci), King (Martin Luther King), and Calcutta (Mother Teresa Of Calcutta). Four houses, four colours, and four systems- "It's a way to bring our school family together." Tortosa mentioned in hosting events. 

The Yellow House: Calcutta

The Green House: Da Vinci

The Blue House: King

The Red House: Lincoln 

  

On the 18th of November, students from Year 7 (Grade 6) to Year 11 (Grade 10) competed in an Inter-House competition in the Estadi Municipal D'Atletisme Manolo Jaen (featuring track and field events). As we approach the end of November, students and teachers are greeted with  19° C / 66.2° F  temperature and a sunny and clear sky as we began to fill into the stadium. The track and field is clear, our house captains are in check! 

House Captains 

Jorge Sevilla was an excellent commentator and kept the humour in check! 

Here are some great moments from Newton College's Secondary Athletics competition: 

Smile for the camera!

Duna Fernandez, Da Vinci (Year 9 Epsilon) and Claudia Herranz, Calcutta (Year 9 Omega). We are all family! 

Ready, set, GO BOYS! 

A successful win, Paco Agullo! (Lincoln, Year 11 Alpha)

You can do it girls! 

Thumbs up Duna!

A good start to a good race (Year 11 & 10 Girls)

Claudia Herranz, Calcutta- what a sweet jump! (Year 9 Omega)

Nice jump Marta Carazo, King (Year 9 Alpha)

Antonio Medina is a good pole dodger! (Year 9 Alpha) 

Pablo Ramos, King - an excellent high jumper. (Year 9 Epsilon)

¡Fuerza, chicas!

If anything went wrong, we had someone to save the day! 

Sarah Byles and Macarena Herrero keep the competition scores in check. "It's great- this competition has been great and keeping scores has sure been fun. Everyone is supporting each and other and everyone is having such a good time." 

"This has been an amazing competition so far. Go Newton!" Dianne Blackburn, Head of Arts Department remarked. She was there to support all the houses and she would like everyone to continue to strive to do their very best. 

Michael,  was in charge of the fielding event, Discus. He claimed it to be interesting and that it was a sport that need techniques in throwing and holding. "Everyone tried their best and I will say that it wasn't easy for everyone. It might've of been a little difficult but everyone was having such a good time!". His words of encouragement to fellow athletes were that they should try hard and do their best and they will succeed. 

Liz Ferrys, Ethics teacher was in charge of the fielding event, the High Jump. She claimed that she was impressed of how involved the students were and how they supported each other. "It was really fun and very interesting at the same time. You see lots of different skill in each student." 

Tim Evans, House Coordinator was in the charge of the fielding event, Javelin. "This competition is absolutely brilliant and it's nice that everyone gets to spend a day together as a school!" Mr Evans had exclaimed excitedly. He also stated that students learn a lot outside of school than inside. Interesting. 

The most anticipated moment yet, we claim our winner. 

Congratulations Lincoln! 

Lincoln holds the trophy as they mark themselves winners after a long yet victorious day.

And as for me- running around and interviewing and taking pictures was a tough load and yet I had to run an extra 400 meters coming in 3rd. The competition was absolutely amazing! 

Newton College hold their breath in prolepsis for the next big event. What do you have in store for us Newton? We can't wait to know more. 

LAUDE Newton College 

Newton College Press Team

Newton College Press Office

Newton College Press

Elche 

She's Beauty, She's Grace

Article Written By Liv Benedetto Coro

The name 'rhythmic gymnast' will spark interest to those who have recently heard of this unique, blended and influenced sport. Rhythmic gymnastics is a mix of dance, music and drama which creates a routine. A rhythmic gymnastic routine emphasizes on dance-like sequences accentuated with the use of ribbons, hoops and balls. The sport has been showcased on many government-sponsored organisations such as the Olympics which have featured Anna Bessonova (60 medals total) and Irina Tchachina (27 medals total), which have both won 2 Olympic medals. 

Sounds exciting doesn't it? We, as LAUDE Newton College, are pleased to say that we have three rhythmic gymnasts currently enrolled in our school: Maria Fuster (Year 7), Sofia Niñoles (Year 8), and Laura Ballesta (Year 11). These rhythmic gymnasts have travelled to Valladolid, Spain to compete against 200 other Spanish teams. 

I interviewed Laura in person on this exciting competition and how rhythmic gymnastics has shaped her as a student and person.

This is Laura Obrero- fifteen years old, Newton College student and Club Chamara rhythmic gymnast.

Laura was born in the Hospital General Universitario de Elche in 2001. She enrolled into Newton College with the age of four, starting at Year 1. Her brother Jose-Manuel Obrero Ballesta, also enrolls at Newton as a Year 9 student. She attended a local art academy in Elche back in 2012 where she spent time practicing and working on her paintings and drawings but she quit in 2014. She then took piano lessons. However, piano lessons and her days spent in the art academy really took up her schedule. She fixed on one of her hobbies and that became rhythmic gymnastics. 

I asked her further questions about her career in rhythmic gymnastics. 

When did you start doing rhythmic gymnastics? 

I started rhythmic gymnastics when I was six years old, in 2011.

When did you join Club Chamara? 

I joined Club Chamara when I was 12 back in 2013. 

Were you born flexible? 

No, I wasn't born flexible. I gained my flexibility with lots of training - over time. 

Before competitions and practices, do you warm-up? If so, how? 

We warm up by stretching during practices. The warm up's last from 5 to 8:30 PM. On weekends, we have small competitions in our clubs- not competing with community teams but within our own. 

Do you exercise or do personal training? 

I don't. I only train when I'm with my team and at the club. 

Do you have a diet to keeping your body healthy, fit and in shape?

I don't have a structured diet, but I keep to eating healthy on a daily basis. I preferably like pasta, because it's really tasty and it keeps me energised for training. I also like salad- and I combine pasta with salad sometimes to make myself pasta salad. That's also really good. 

I asked her questions about the competition in Valladolid. 

Which rhythmic gymnastic team are you in?

I am in Club Chamara, an Elche team. 

On this Valladolid competition, was it hard to be selected? How were you selected? Why? 

To be chosen for the competition, we went through a classification where we were tested on our skills- as a whole team. We did the classifications with teams from our community- the Valencian community. This made it more competitive for classifications. The chosen team would be able to go to Valladolid to compete. We were accepted through classifications and now me and my team are so happy to be competing in Valladolid! 

How many girls are on your team?  

We have seven girls- but for the competition they may select up to 5 to 6 girls. 

Where did you compete in Valladolid? 

Since we have lots of teams from everywhere in Spain, we have to compete in a large space. It's usually a very big gym with a big platform for performances. 

Are there specific age groups in rhythmic gymnastics? 

Yes, of course. Me and my team are Cadetes and the teams are sorted out (every age), by skills and abilites. So in one age group there is Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced. 

How do/did you captivate the attention of the audience and judges? What is the key?

Each team has to perform a routine made up by themselves. We have to choose what objects to use in the routine such as hoops, ribbons and balls. We practice a gymnastic dance-like routine sequence accompanied with instrumental soundtrack or song. We use the objects to throw them around and 'play' with them. We have to be flexible, and be able to hold a pose before moving on in the sequence. Flexibility may include pivots and spins. The key to winning, or capturing the attention of our audience is to portray originality (in costumes, music, dance, routine, object-use). 

The Chamara Club Elche. The girls competed in Valladolid on the 9/11/16 coming 7th place over 200. Congratulations! 

LAUDE Newton College

Newton College Press Team

Newton College Press Office 

Newton College Press

Elche