Head of Junior School

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NSW da Vinci Decathlon Academic Success

As mentioned recently, Redlands entered teams in Yrs 5 and 6 in this year’s academic NSW da Vinci Decathlon, which involved over 800 students from across NSW. The Decathlon celebrates the academic gifts of young people by providing a stimulating and challenging competition run in the spirit of an Olympic Decathlon. This year, students competed online via Zoom in teams of eight across ten disciplines: Engineering, Mathematics, Code Breaking, Art and Poetry, Science, English, Ideation, Creative Producers, Cartography and Legacy.

This week, we received the outstanding overall results and I extend congratulations to the students involved and to Mrs Hibbert and Mrs Cocks for guiding them.

Yr 5 (out of 72 teams)

• 13^thoverall
• 2^ndin Ideation
• 5^thin English
• 12^thin Art and Poetry

Yr 6 (out of 81 teams)

• 8^thin Legacy
• 8^thin Creative Producers
• 11^thin English
• 11^thin Ideation
• 16^thin Art and Poetry

Swimming Carnival

What a day we had at the annual Junior School Swimming Carnival! Albeit in Winter, the tropical indoor climate and warm water made it feel like our usual summer date for this annual event which had to be postponed from Term 1.

It was inspiring and invigorating to see the students engage with and enjoy the carnival so much and it was impossible not to feel the tangible House spirit in the stands and on the pool deck, aided and abetted by the music playlist which seemed to be perfectly pitched for students, staff and parents!

I extend my sincere gratitude to all of the Junior School staff and coaches involved in every aspect of the day for their combined collegial spirit and effort to support an event of this magnitude to run as smoothly and as efficiently as it did, even finishing an hour ahead of schedule. 

Of course, on behalf of the students too, my sincere thanks are extended to our Sports team led by Mr Dunne, who led the very detailed pre-carnival preparation and oversaw the day’s events. As Deputy Principal, Mr Corcoran commented to me, the sign of a great carnival is seeing the stands devoid of students as they immerse themselves fully in the day and on this measure, the carnival was an unmitigated success.

Well done to all of the students involved and particular congratulations to Cowper House who won the overall trophy again. Further information can be found in the Junior Sport section of Note Day.

Light for Lismore Support

We are extremely grateful for, and proud of, the efforts of our school community in the support of the recent charity project to support the flood-affected Lismore region of NSW.

Last Sunday, Ms Rachel Riley, Redlands Service Coordinator, personally drove to Lismore to deliver the array of generous arts and craft donations, handmade storage boxes and cards of support written by our Redlands students to the CEO of the Northern Rivers Children’s Services (NRCS), Jane Isenhood.

Jane was deeply moved by the boxes and the beautiful caring messages from our students and was overwhelmed by the School’s generosity and the sheer volume of donations that came from Redlands families. These donations will support over 2000 children throughout the region for months to come.

Thank you again to our many parent volunteers, families, Ms McKenzie, staff and students who made the ‘Light for Lismore’ project a reality. As Ms. Riley described, she was not prepared for how devastated the town was and continues to be after the floods. The recovery will take over a year and lives will be impacted for the foreseeable future.

From the Junior Campus Wellbeing Team

Can feeling bad help students to feel good? 

We came across Professor Tracy Dennis-Tiwary’s article, The Anxiety Paradox and wanted to share some suggestions with you on how to help your children work through their anxiety in a way that develops resilience.

She claims that a parent’s natural impulse is to intervene and try to alleviate the fear, but that this isn’t always the wisest course of action. While anxiety-removal tactics may temporarily soothe children, this can stifle their ability to develop resilience. Professor Tracy Dennis-Tiwary suggests that you help your child to work through their anxieties.

For example:

• If your child is having a problem at school, gently guide them on how to handle the situation the next day at school. Is it possible for them to discuss their concerns with a teacher; or to express their feelings to a friend; or can they talk to a school counsellor about coping strategies? Help them to find a way to work through the anxiety. 
• Allow them to sit with their fears and help them in coping rather than trying to “fix” the issue for them. Parents are asked to listen and advise, but not to intervene right away. See if they can handle the situation and praise them on their efforts in a very specific way. This can reinforce positive and helpful behaviours. 

Children can learn to master their anxieties in this way, which is essential for feeling good and developing resilience.

FINAL CALL Code Camp – Holiday Camp 12-14 July (Yrs 2-6)

We are delighted to partner again with Code Camp to host a holiday program where Redlands students in Yrs 2-6 can design, code, problem solve and become storytellers and creators of technology, by creating games, websites, music and videos or flying drones! The program will take place on 12-14 July booking information including an early bird rate are on the flyers below.

Redlands CC Flyer

Code Camp at Redlands – Camp Information

Conversations with our Children – Setting Up a Cyber Safe Home

View Flyer

Term 3/4 Departure Notice

As we are approaching the mid-point of the year, this is a reminder that those families who are planning on leaving the School during or at the end of Terms 3 or 4 are required to give notice to the Principal via an email to registrar@redlands.nsw.edu.au by the following dates:

Term 3 Departure:  Friday 24 June 2022
Term 4 Departure:  Friday 22 July 2022

As per the 2022 Schedule of Fees emailed to all families in December last year, there will be fees in lieu payable for any notices of departure received after these dates.

Mr Ari Guha
Head of Junior School 
aguha@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9953 6022