Head of Secondary School

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Yr 12 HSC and IB Trial Examinations

Last Friday I wrote a letter to all Yr 12 students and families to provide further information about Yr 12 events scheduled for the remainder of the year, and to also provide support and reassurance that the School is here with them and for them during this challenging year. This week our Yr 12 students have been taking their Trial HSC and IB Examinations on the fourth floor of the New Learning Hub, and it has been great to be able to flexibly convert this space into a study and examination centre for our Yr 12 students. When I went up to the fourth floor of the New Learning Hub on Monday morning, I was struck, not by the students milling about in preparation for their first examination, but by the colourful positive and motivational messages posted around the walls of the Learning Hub. These messages were a part of Aleisha Lawrence’s Drama assessment where she surveyed Yr 12 students to share those things in life that spark joy for them or for which they are grateful. A group of Yr 12 students then asked if they could post them around the fourth floor of the New Learning Hub for this fortnight to subtly reinforce these positive messages and reminders to the cohort. It is wonderful to see these physically small but incredibly powerful messages of reassurance and support that we all need during this time coming from the students themselves. I am so proud of our Yr 12 students and the continued leadership and resilience they are showing throughout this year.

Parent Teacher Night Feedback

Over the past two weeks we have held remote Parent Teacher Nights for Yr 7 and 8 students and parents via Zoom. While different than in person meetings, we still believe these meetings have provided valuable academic feedback for students and families. If parents were unable to hold a meeting with teachers for any reason, we would ask them to contact the teacher via email to arrange a time to speak to them. We have also been asking parents to take a few minutes to give feedback on the remote Parent Teacher meetings after their scheduled evening to help us with our planning moving forward. If you have not had an opportunity to provide this feedback, we would ask you to please complete this brief survey here.

Sports Update

This past Saturday, Mr Webber and I greatly enjoyed strolling around the sports fields on a beautiful winter morning at Macquarie University and watching our Football and AFL teams compete in a number of different fixtures. In particular, it was wonderful to see our younger students playing competitive fixtures across the morning and displaying tremendous spirit, effort and teamwork – dispositions that are not only important for them to cultivate on the sporting field but throughout all of their pursuits at school and in life. In particular, I want to congratulate the Junior A Girls Football team for their strong 3-1 victory against Oxley College; the 13A, 14A and 15A Boys Football teams for their hard fought victories against St Pius; and the Junior A Boys AFL team for their victory against St Patrick’s where they pulled away in the fourth quarter to run out convincing winners after a tight struggle for three quarters.

Athletics Carnival

As mentioned last week, we will be running the Secondary School House Athletics Carnival on Friday 14 August at Sydney Olympic Park; however, due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Carnival will take on a modified format. As communicated by the Sports Department earlier this week, we will have to limit the number of students participating in the Carnival. Accordingly, we will be taking all Yr 12 students to the Carnival as this will be their final House event during their time at the School, and we want it to be a fun way to celebrate the conclusion of their Trial Examinations; however, the Carnival is optional for students in Yrs 7-11 and we will have a maximum number of students in each Year Group participating in the event. For those students who are not participating in the Athletics Carnival in Yrs 7-11, regular classes will run back on campus. Further information has been communicated by the Sports Department and can be found on the Secondary School Sports page on Redlands Pulse. Please note that no parents will be permitted to attend the Carnival.

Jeans for Genes Day

Tomorrow we will have our Jeans for Genes Day in the Secondary School. Students may wear mufti and should wear as much denim as they can – the 80’s look will be back! Students who are in mufti are required to make a gold coin donation in their Tutor Groups. All money raised will go towards the vital work being done in the labs at Children’s Medical Research Institute to help the 1 in 20 children living with a genetic disease or birth defect. This week students will be learning more about this work in the Tutor Groups. I would like to thank Ms Shaw, Ms Riley, Ms Abe and the students in the Yr 11 McDouall Green Tutor Group for their efforts in organising this event.

Non-Government Schools Census

The Australian Government provides funding to Australian schools under the Australian Education Act 2013 (AE Act). As a result, Redlands is required to provide the Australian Government with certain information about the school, its staff, and student body to ensure the school’s funding is properly calculated and appropriately managed. This information is collected by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment (the department) on behalf of the Australian Government. Further information for parents and carers can be found on Redlands Pulse.

Mr Sean Corcoran
Head of Secondary School
scorcoran@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9870