Year 10

Welcome back to Term 4! I hope you all had a restful time away from school routines and spent some quality time with your children. It has been lovely seeing all the students back on campus and this week we were able to hold a full Year Group meeting that was face-to-face and not over Zoom – the first time since March! This term is short but very busy and we are looking forward to enjoying some memorable moments with the Year Group.

Yearly Examinations

Yr 10 end of year examinations take place early this term in Week 3. The students will sit these exams at school and need to attend in full summer school uniform. They have received their exam timetable and I encourage you to have a conversation with them to ensure they know the date and time of all exams. Any students who missed the Minimum Standards Testing will be completing these tests during the exam period also. Students are encouraged to leave plenty of time to get to school for these exams as they will not be delayed for late arrivals. Students only need to be at school for their exams and they can leave campus after their final exam on each day, without needing to sign out of the Secondary School Reception.

Camp

We are very excited that the Yr 10 Camp is going ahead in Week 5. The location we are going to is the beautiful Myall Lakes where the students will be camping around the lake in various locations and enjoying the outdoor life and fun activities. We are so fortunate that the camp is now taking place and I have spoken to the students this week about the importance of the camp on their mental and physical wellbeing. During October, which is celebrated in NSW as Mental Health Month, this article by Beyond Blue is an interesting read on the importance of exercise and it raises some good points such as how exercise helps people sleep better, which is definitely the case for most students on school camp! We understand that some students may be apprehensive about camp, but we appreciate your support in encouraging your children to have a positive attitude, as I am sure they will look back on the experience with fond memories. David Gregory, Head of Outdoor Education, will be sending out information shortly to parents and we ask that you return permission notes and medical forms as quickly as possible, due to the short turnaround.

Beyond Blue

On 4 October, 13 Yr 10 students walked 40km to raise awareness for mental health. They completed half of the distance from Bondi to Manly, taking approximately 9 hours to walk from Bondi to North Sydney. They were able to raise almost $1000 from the event and all proceeds went directly to the Australian charity Beyond Blue. Beyond Blue provides a number of support services for issues including depression, anxiety and suicide. A big thank you to all those who participated, led by Sophia Maxwell, as well as those who donated!

Student Achievements

Congratulations to Victoria Butler who was recently successful in getting into the global top 30 secondary school students for the International Chinese Bridge Proficiency Competition and is entering the upcoming Semi Finals. This competition examines the players’ mastery of Chinese language and knowledge of culture, and the ability of their spoken Chinese.

Ms Rebecca Mountain
Yr 10 Advisor
rmountain@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9908 6462