Year 11

Term 3 Recap

As we come to the end of a long Term 3, I would like to say how incredible all of your children have been during this unprecedented time. As well as being Year Advisor, I have the privilege of teaching two Yr 11 classes, and every day they have studied diligently despite the circumstances, always attending lessons and often with their sense of humour still intact! I think they may be quite relieved at having a break from Ms Mountain always making them individually say ‘Good morning’ or ‘Good afternoon’ each lesson! Whilst it has been a term like none of us have ever experienced, it has also created memories and a sense of appreciation and resilience that perhaps we will all look back on fondly. I know that the students in my classes have regularly met my new puppy and understand that the strange noises coming from our Zoom lessons are a combination of my puppy biting my ankles or snoring loudly!

I want to thank the Yr 11 Tutors for all the care and concern they have shown towards every student this term, while many of them have also been juggling their own home families. I also want to thank our Assistant Year Advisor, Jess Howard, who has been an invaluable support this year and is taking parental leave at the end of this term. We all wish her the best at this exciting time in her life, as she and her partner become parents for the first time in the next few weeks.

Yr 6 Junior School Wellbeing Day

After enjoying the Secondary School Wellbeing Day last week, a number of students kindly volunteered to help out at the Yr 6 Wellbeing Day at the Junior School this week. Each of the Yr 11s did a fantastic job at leading a group of Yr 6 students, creating fun and laughter and establishing rapport with them that will also help facilitate their transition to the Secondary School at the start of 2022.

Mock Trial

The Yr 11 Mock Trial team have made it through to the last 16 teams in the NSW Law Society Mock Trial competition. The competition ran face-to-face in Term 1 and 2 of this year and then began running remotely this term. Due to the convincing number of points that Redlands gained in the first 3 rounds, they have progressed through to the final 16, coming 6^th overall, out of 90 NSW schools. The next round Redlands is representing the Defence in a virtual Zoom criminal trial of ‘destroying or damaging property’, against Sylvania High School. 

The team includes Louise Colin, Charlotte Harman, Sophia Maxwell, Sophie McMillan, Jack Murray and Callum Wardman-Browne.

Science Olympiad Awards

Congratulations to the brilliant Yr 11 students who received awards at the Science Olympiad:

ARTiculate French: La Francophonie Webinar

Last week some Yr 11s attended a Webinar for students of French. Dr Carolyn Stott, who is a former parent of Redlands, spoke on La Francophonie – the French-speaking world. Thank you to Madame Barbeau for supporting this event. Below are some reflections from the students:

Jacqui Gray

“It was an extremely engaging, insightful and interactive webinar which taught us about what it means to be a Francophone, all the different countries that speak French around the world and the history of the French colonial empire. It is not just citizens from a country where the dominant language is French, it is the community of individuals who speak French and cherish its culture all over the world. It was a great way to spend a lock-down afternoon and I am grateful it was made available to us.”

Charlotte Harman

“Speaking French is something I take for granted but being able to understand a 45-minute presentation completely in French made me realise how far I had come since Year 7. This presentation also opened my eyes to the opportunities for French study in university – interesting exchanges such as the Science Po Dual degree in which students gain a Bachelor of Arts at Sciences Po university in Paris, and a Bachelor of Arts/Economics from USYD. I’m so grateful to have the skills to converse with millions more people.”

Callum Wardman-Browne

“It was magnifique. Entirely in French, but that was a good way to test our skills. It was healthy to remind myself why I chose to study French: the culture, people and global reach. Sometimes I forget that French is a global language, the webinar taught me to familiarise myself with francophone cultures outside of France such as Haiti, Quebec and the Democratic Republic of Congo – which according to the webinar is the second largest French speaking country.”

I hope you all have a restful holiday and that your wonderful children take some time out away from screens to relax and enjoy the sunshine.

See you in Term 4 – the first term of Yr 12, class of 2022!

Ms Rebecca Mountain
Yr 11 Advisor
rmountain@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9908 6462