Head of Secondary School

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Emotions

It has been an emotional couple of weeks. At the mid-point in the term, I want to acknowledge those members of our community who have had to identify and navigate some tricky situations of late. At Redlands, where learning is underpinned by explicit social and emotional skill development, we don’t shy away from our emotions and we are always impressed by how our young people grapple with, and manage, their emotions. It isn’t easy.

But perhaps I have been thinking about emotions more because of the great book I am currently reading. Research psychologist and founder of the Yale Centre for emotional Intelligence, Dr Marc Brackett’s book Permission to Feel uses RULER, an evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning, in support of school communities. I really like the mood meter which comes as an app that can be downloaded to your phone and available whenever needed.

Recognising emotion

Understanding emotion

Labelling emotion

Expressing emotion

Regulating emotion

And then last night I went to a great talk with our Director of Digital Innovation, Mary-Lou O’Brien, by Dr Adam Fraser who, among a range of interesting and useful advice about how to be courageous through change, reminded us ‘don’t believe everything you think’ because our brains are not always our friends. It made me realise that the way we feel and the way we think doesn’t have to be our reality. We can regulate and reframe. With this in mind, I look forward to Yr 12 returning to school next week – we will use some of these recent lessons with our graduating students as they receive the return of their Trial Examinations and the accompanying feedback. It can be a time of high emotion and questioning of capacity, and even self, but what we know from our experience as educators is that, the discomfort that may be felt upon the return of examination results can be harnessed for positive change and improvement. If you have time to look up these two researchers and writers, or even read their books, I hope you’ll find them as useful as I have in navigating teenage emotion (and my own).

Science Week

Students, staff and parents have enjoyed the wonder and possibility of science this week, in a variety of ways across the campus.

The Dark Side of the Universe

The Science Department commenced Science Week with a talk on ‘The Heart of Darkness’ by Professor Geraint F Lewis (University of Sydney).  Professor Lewis’ research focuses on cosmology, gravitational lensing and galactic cannibalism, with the goal of unravelling the dark side of the universe. He has published over four hundred articles in astrophysics, and regularly speaks to varied audiences on cosmology and the nature of the universe. 

Over 100 students across Yrs 7 to 11 attended the lunchtime presentation. Students were captivated as he presented an engaging summary of what we know and don’t know about black holes.

Crime Scene Investigation

On Tuesday lunchtime, students from all year groups were able to learn about the skills of forensic science and act as a CSI! Students learnt how to take finger prints, dust for prints and lift them from surfaces for analysis. They created ‘blood’ plaster patterns from various heights and used luminol to identify blood left at the scene. It was fantastic to see so many students take advantage of this great session and learn more about the practical applications of Science.

Active Learning

The Science Fair drew a crowd! Mr Bentley, our Head of Teaching and Learning (P-12) can be seen in the image below running across the Ooblek pool with James Morris (Yr 7). The Ooblek pool is simply made up of corn flour and water. The mixture then behaves as a non-Newtonian fluid – one that does not follow Newton’s laws of viscosity. Therefore, you can run across the Ooblek pool and come out with clean feet.

Beyond Blue

Redlands will participate in the Blackmores Running Festival on the 18th of September to raise money for Beyond Blue. Every $48 ensures a phone call, email, or webchat from those in need is answered by Beyond Blue staff. With three million people in Australia living with anxiety and depression and growing demand for Beyond Blue’s services, we’re running this year to raise vital funds and mental health awareness. 

The run is fun for everyone, with a distance for beginners and experienced runners. Choose from the Blackmores Sydney Marathon, Blackmores Half Marathon, 10km Blackmores Bridge Run or 3.5km Blackmores Family Fun Run for a truly unforgettable experience. It is a challenging and memorable run, with 3 of the 4 distances finishing at the Sydney Opera House.

Please help us to support Beyond Blue by joining our team or donating here.   

Senior Campus Cybersafety Seminar with ySafe

We are very pleased to host another Parent Seminar this term both via Zoom and in-person in the Learning Hub.

For those of you who would like to join us face to face for the session, you will have the opportunity to chat to the ySafe presenters as well as experience the Learning Hub. A link will be sent to those parents wishing to watch the ySafe Session at home.

In partnership again with industry leaders, ySafe, the session will focus on specific challenges and opportunities in the digital environment which Secondary School students may encounter, what parents should know and how to support your child’s digital safety and wellbeing.

Who:               7-12 Parents and Carers

Date:               Wednesday 31 August 2022

Venue:             Learning Hub – Level 2

Time:               6pm – 7pm

Booking:          Places are limited so please RSVP here (face to face and Zoom)

Parents are also encouraged to explore the Redlands’ Cybersafety Hub which was established last year in conjunction with ySafe for our parent community and is a valuable source of information and guidance.

Spring Fair

If you haven’t already heard, the Redlands Spring Fair is back on Saturday 3 September with tons of food, fun and entertainment, showcasing the community’s diversity and depth of students’ arts-related activities. Tickets are now on sale! Pre-purchase wristbands and coupons here to receive a special discount. Orders before 26 Aug can be delivered directly to your child’s classroom.

PURCHASE TICKETS

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