Head of Secondary School

Head of Secondary School

Go Open

Over the past few weeks there has been a concerted focus across the School for teachers to open up their classrooms for observations of each others’ practice. Our theme this year was a focus on ‘Learning Environments for Thoughtful Interactions’ and teachers have been sharing reflections of how the learning environments they observed have facilitated thoughtful interactions in the classrooms. I have enjoyed popping into classrooms across various faculties and observing the varied, dynamic and collaborative learning environments, whether it was students conducting experiments in Science classes or students creating etchings in Visual Arts classes. We hope this regular reflection on our practice will lead to an enhanced culture of learning for our teachers and students across the School.

Camp Updates

We have been regularly reviewing our annual Camps in the Secondary School in light of the latest COVID-19 restrictions. We believe these are an invaluable part of the educational program for our students; however, we want to ensure they run in a COV-19 safe environment. Accordingly, we have the following updates on our annual camps.

  • The Yr 11 Camp (scheduled for 12-16 October) has been postponed until 2021 in the hope that we can find another suitable time to hold the students’ final school camp.
  • The Yr 10 Camp (scheduled for 9-13 November) is currently slated to proceed. This camp will be reviewed at the beginning of Term 4 in light of the latest advice and an update will be sent home to families then.
  • The Yr 8 Camp (which was originally scheduled for early Term 2 and has been re-scheduled for 9-13 November) is currently slated to proceed. This camp will be reviewed at the beginning of Term 4 in light of the latest advice and an update will be sent home to families then.
  • The Yr 9 Camp (which was originally scheduled for Term 2) has been rescheduled for the week of 16-20 November and will run this week with an onsite experience for students. While Yr 9 students will not have the opportunity to travel to Arnhem Land for their camp, we are planning a cultural immersive experience for Yr 9 students to broaden their understanding of both Yonglu and local indigenous cultures. Students will be onsite for this camp and will connect with communities virtually and in person (if possible). More information will be sent home to Yr 9 students and families early in Term 4.

Virtual Just Dance House Winners

Earlier this term, students across the Secondary School submitted their videos to our virtual Just Dance House Competition. It was wonderful to see students across the Year Groups enjoying their participation in this event. I was privileged to be asked to judge the finalists for this competition and congratulate not only them, but all students, who submitted entries for this event. I would also like to thank the Heads of House and House Captains for organising this event and their continual efforts to further develop or House and School spirit with events such as this.

Yr 12 HSC Visual Arts Exhibition

While we know many parents were disappointed at not being able to attend the Yr 12 HSC Visual Arts Exhibition in person this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, we are very pleased to be able to offer the exhibition virtually this year for the very first time. Parents can take a virtual tour of the exhibition while also viewing each artist’s works and hearing their individual reflections on their artworks. The virtual exhibition can be found on the Visual Arts page of Redlands Pulse here.

Study Skills Tips

In her Study Skills Handbook Tip for September, Dr Prue Salter discusses the “Power of Collaborative Learning” with some useful advice below. This advice is not only relevant for our Yr 12 students as they head into their final examinations, but also for all students as they reflect on their learning at school.

“Learning with other students can be a very powerful way to improve your learning outcomes. You might be sitting next to each other discussing what you are learning; or working together in a group online and sharing your screens; or giving a friend feedback about an assignment. There are many benefits to learning to work with other students.

Motivation: Studying together can be much more motivating than studying on your own. Setting targets and working towards them together can help keep you focused on completing assignments. Often study done together is more active and engaging than studying on your own and this is much better for retention. 

Deepen Understanding:  Discussing with a friend, being able to bounce ideas off each other, ask each other questions – all of these activities will help strength your neural networks and deepen your understanding of what you are learning. This can help to develop our higher order thinking skills. 

Different Perspectives: Sometimes we don’t realise that we are only looking at things in one particular way and there are different and diverse viewpoints to ours. Learning with a friend can help you see things in a different light and broaden your perspective. This can help develop our critical thinking skills.  

Build Teamwork Skills: Learning to cooperate, negotiate and problem solve with other people is a great skill to have in later life. By learning with other students you will have opportunities to learn to be a more active participant in group work and also develop communication and leadership skills. 

Canteen Update

As stated last term, we have commenced online ordering in the Secondary School Canteen and we are strongly encouraging students to use this system for purchasing food in the Canteen. There is a much more extensive menu through the online ordering system and by using online ordering, students will ensure that their order is waiting for them at the beginning of Recess or Lunch and will not have to worry about availability of food items once they arrive to the Canteen. Students can pre-order items from the Canteen through Flexischools, and parents and carers can create a Flexischools account for their family via this link https://www.flexischools.com.au/ and link a credit card and student number to the account. More details regarding online Canteen ordering are available on Redlands Pulse. 

Redlands Information Systems: Parent Navigation Guide

This is a reminder that this Navigation Guide sent to parents earlier this year and uploaded to Redlands Pulse can assist parents in accessing our school information systems (Pulse, Engage, iLearn) to help with students’ learning.

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