Head of Secondary School

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Week Three and Thriving

It’s been another incredibly hectic week and the students are making the most of their slightly extended recess and lunch times to run around, relax and converse with friends. Earlier this week I was witness to some pretty intense handball competitions in the Undercroft. Yr 8 and Yr 9 students were making a lot of noise (which is good) and expelling a great deal of energy (also good) – despite the inconsistent weather, appear to be thriving through the first few weeks of Term 1.

At lunchtime last Friday we held our annual Activities Fair to showcase the variety of extracurricular and cocurricular activities we have on offer to students. It was a wonderful event, despite the rain! Thanks to Mr Montz and the Yr 12 musicians for creating such an energetic atmosphere with live music, and to all the staff and students who were there to support and celebrate the many cocurricular offerings at Redlands.

All activities and clubs have now commenced. A timetable for 2022 is available on Redlands Pulse, along with details of the best staff contact should your child wish to find out more. For lunchtime clubs, students don’t need to pre-register – they can just grab a friend or two, and turn up on the day. We’re very excited to be able to offer our full suite of activities in a COVID-safe manner after all the disruption of recent years.

Our Yr 12 Leaders showcased their first Student Led Assembly this week. It was rather inventive, lots of fun and a great way to connect with the students. We look forward to more of their student-led assemblies later this term – they are already working on something special with Yr 9 for International Women’s Day.

Also, the Career Avenues interviews have commenced for Yr 10 students – they have been well attended by students and parents. The main topic of conversation is study options, strengths, and skills.

Study Centre

The aim of the Study Centre is to provide students from Years 7-12 with the opportunity to receive shoulder-to-shoulder support or assistance in specific disciplines from Secondary School teachers.

Teachers from a variety of subjects are available before and after school Mon-Wed each week in the breakout spaces of the New Learning Hub.

The full timetable is available on the Secondary School Redlands Pulse page and is shared with students via Year Group Pastoral pages.

Students are also welcome to use the Learning Hub before and after school, during Study Centre hours, in order to engage in independent study.

Yr 12

HSC and IB Success Webinar for Parents and Students in Yr 12 2022

Last night we held a 45-minute Webinar for Yr 12 students and their parents. Mr Webber, Mr Bentley, Ms Benjamin, Mr Taylor, Ms Mountain, Ms Hurst and Ms Fowler spoke to students about the following:

A recording of the Webinar can be accessed here.

At the commencement of the webinar I talked briefly about the importance of PACE.  Persistent And Continuous Effort. And the importance of gradually increasing the PACE as the year goes on.

I also underscored our experience as educators that often the ‘light bulb’ moments don’t happen until after the Trial Examinations. The Trials are always difficult and it is in the weeks after these challenging examinations, where typically students really drill down into deep learning, begin to transfer their learning to more complex unseen questions and also more confidently engage with how they learn best. The best exam, the best essay, the best anything the students ever do is in the final examination for a subject or course, and these final examinations are still a long way off.  Pacing oneself to the finish line is, therefore, essential!

In the coming weeks, we will be publishing the Holiday Study Opportunities for Yr 12. There will be three holiday sessions – Term 1, 2, 3 and in each holiday session the opportunities will be slightly different and build upon each other, as we move forward to the final examination period for both IB and HSC. We aim to offer workshops, lectures, study skill support, coaching conversations, examination sprints and also independent and collaborative study bubbles to our Yr 12 students. Punctuated within these academic support sessions will be a range of wellness activities, and we strongly encourage all students to get involved, in order to achieve a balance to their days and support the brain-body connection.  

Save the Dates for Yr 12 Events

Year Transition Support

In Period 4 on Tuesday, Yr 7 listened to a ‘student-friendly’ version of the School Readiness Webinar that was presented to parents last Monday.  Students got a tour of the Yr 7 Core Page, learnt what an assessment task is and who they can go to for help with home-learning and assessment tasks.

Below is a slide that takes them through what they should do when they are notified of an assessment task.  The English Assessment Task Notification has already been posted and students have had the task explained to them by their English teachers.

Yr 7 Meet and Greet

Monday 14 March is the Yr 7 Parent Meet and Greet Afternoon to be held on the Fahl Garden. Yr 7 parents – we would love you to come and join us for an evening of introductions and conversation. The purpose of the evening is to enable our Yr 7 Parents and Carers to meet our Teachers, Tutors and Year Advisors in an informal setting so you can begin to establish those connections that we see as so important in developing a productive partnership between home and school. It is also a wonderful opportunity to meet other Yr 7 parents. Light refreshments will be provided.

This is a strictly RSVP Parent only event.  RSVPs close on Monday, 7 March 2022. Book here.

COVID INFORMATION | Our current COVID plans are that all Guests and Staff must wear a mask during the event. On arrival you will be asked to check in using a QR Code and register your attendance by attaining a name badge in the John Robert Centre forecourt, before making your way to the Fahl Garden.

To those attendees who can access a Rapid Antigen Test, please do so 24 hours prior to the event, to ensure the safety of all attendees. Those individuals who record a positive Rapid Antigen Test, who have been identified as close contacts and are within their 7-day isolation period or who are displaying any COVID-19 symptoms, should not attend the event. If you have had COVID in the past 30 days you are not required to take a Rapid Antigen Test.

Environment and Sustainability

Our Yr 12 Environment Captains Iris Buisman and Jacob Gold have been hard at work promoting environmental consciousness at Redlands.  

Waste Free Wednesdays

In Term 4 last year the very first Waste Free Wednesday was held on the Senior Campus, and we are pleased to announce that Waste Free Wednesdays will be continued in 2022. From Week 4 onwards, all staff and students are encouraged to consciously minimise their waste on Wednesdays. Hopefully, as a community, we can identify the significant amount of waste we create in just one day, and gain a deeper understanding of what methods and swaps we can make to reduce this amount. Our Yr 12 Captains are seeking parent support and encourage parents and carers to also be mindful on this day.

Redlands Mask Recycling

Using money raised through the purchase of masks at $3 each in the Secondary School, a dedicated bin for the recycling of face-masks has been purchased – initiated by our Environment Captains Iris and Jacob. Students and staff who are discarding their mask at the end of the day are encouraged to use the mark recycling bin, which has its permanent home in the Secondary School Office. A mask-recycling drop-off point at the Gerard Street Gate will also be available each afternoon. Our Redlands Mask Recycling bin is one of the first of its kind in Australia, so having one on the Senior Campus is a great initiative, and we are excited to see the continuation of sustainable thinking and action despite the many challenges posed by the pandemic.

Winter School Information Session and Application Process

The Winter School Information Session will be help via Zoom at 6pm on Tuesday 22 Feb 2022 via this Zoom link.

Attendance at the Information Session is strongly recommended so students and parents are fully informed as to the nature of the program and application process before registering interest.

Families will be able to register their interest for Winter School from Wed 23 Feb via a TryBooking link.

In a change to previous years, students will then be required to submit a multimodal application via iLearn following the expression of interest.

After the initial application, prospective students and parents may be invited to interview, to be conducted in Week 7 (14-18 March). 

Places at Winter School are limited and due to the high volume of applicants, not all students will be offered an interview. Criteria on which applications will be assessed will be communicated at the Information Session, and found in the Terms and Conditions of the registration link. 

Pick-Up and Drop-Off via Car – please don’t use the Adams Centre driveway

We ask that you please do not use the Adams Centre driveway, located near the footbridge, to drop-off or pick-up your Secondary School children. This area is a main thoroughfare for students passing on the footpath and it’s very unsafe if cars are swinging into the Adams Centre driveway and out again in order to collect teenagers. There are many suitable places in Cremorne for a drop-off and pick-up via car, and we encourage you to identify a suitable place with your teenage children, and one that prioritises the safety of all members of our community.

Ms Gemma Van de Peer
Head of Secondary School
gvandepeer@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9811