Head of Junior School

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Thank you to our staff and students for their unwavering commitment to finish a wonderful term of learning and experiences. Many events returned after the COVID-enforced break and it has been joyful to have warmly welcomed parents and families back on to campus for events such as the Junior Music Festival, Student-led Conversations, Grandparents and Special Friends’ Day, Father’s Day Coffee Morning and Gallery Walks.

With the busyness of a school term, it is important to rest and recharge over the break and I wish all in our community a restful and relaxing two-week break ahead of the final term of this year.

Gold Medal Winners: National Ethics Olympiad Champions

We were so excited and proud to hear that our Yr 6 team who competed in last week’s National Ethics Olympiad were awarded the Gold Medal! From an incredibly strong field of schools from across Australia, the team showed great poise and skill, receiving an honourable mention for their ethical theories, arguments and respectful discussion in the judges’ round-up and when the final results were released, Redlands was placed 1^st pipping Melbourne Grammar School (VIC) and Haileybury Rendall School (NT).

The Yr 6 team of Felix Davis, Fergus Kerr, Olivia Law, Vivienne Matthews and Lauren Rolfe are to be commended for their impressive application of ethical theory and I also congratulate our Yr 5 team of Azina Garrido Bulnes, Emily Heller, Sophia Moriarty and Jennifer Todd who competed well in the same field of teams that were primarily all Yr 6.

Gallery Walks

We have been delighted to have had parents from Yrs 4 and 6 into classrooms over the last week. I enjoyed talking to many parents about both their children’s learning and how enjoyable it was for them to be back on campus and connected to the classroom learning environment through events such as these gallery walks.

Yr 4 were able to share interactive digital guidebooks to communicate their understanding of the culture of Australia’s neighbouring countries with parents exploring animated population graphs, recordings of common phrases and the use of green screens to highlight landmarks. Thank you also to the parents who supported this morning by sharing delicious and unique dishes for others to sample. 

Yr 6 also shared a range of their learning from a diverse range of subjects this term through a range of multimodal medium. Also in attendance was Mr Jimmy Tod-Hill, who will be the Year Group’s Yr 7 Advisor next year. Mr Tod-Hill commented on the quality and range of learning he saw and the enthusiasm he felt from the students as they explained their projects to him. I know Mr Tod-Hill also found the chance to talk to some parents about his pastoral leadership role of the group which will be significant as the Year Advisor follows the group through until Yr 12.

Farewell and Thank You, Yr 12

In this past week, there have been a number of opportunities for the School community to acknowledge and celebrate the final days of our Yr 12 cohort, many of whom a number of Junior School teachers and I remember with great fondness from their time with us a few years ago. I have been able to observe from afar and take pride in the fine young people that they have turned into who will continue to make a difference in the world with the values and character that are simply part of who they are. Growing good people is very important for us at Redlands and in my time here, this has been a constant that I have seen in our departing students.

After a beautifully poignant Final Assembly today, our traditional student guard of honour took place again with every student from Preschool to Yr 6 involved in high-fiving and applauding our departing graduates as they snaked their way up through the campus. Many of the Yr 12 students were moved to tears by this touching acknowledgement and appreciation of them and this was then mirrored as they returned to the Senior Campus with Yrs 7-11 showing equal appreciation of Yr 12’s student leadership this year. I look forward to attending their Valedictory Dinner this evening and also connecting with parents at this event.

The teaching profession is an incredibly privileged one and to witness students grow from young children into Redlands graduates is both humbling and inspiring in equal measures. In some ways, it doesn’t seem that long ago that these Yr 12 students were part of the Junior Campus guard of honour for leaving Yr 12 graduates and as a number of Junior School students mentioned to me today, one day that will also be them. All the very best, Yr 12, 2022.

CISNSW Athletics Championships

Yesterday, 23 Redlands Junior School students represented HICES at the State Combined Independent Schools NSW Athletics Carnival. Simply getting to this level of competition is an exceptional achievement but our talented group of athletes also performed strongly to achieve some notable results. Congratulations to them all and further details can be found in the Junior School Sport section.

Second-Hand Uniform Sale Gratitude

I extend my sincere thanks to the many parents who volunteered to organise and support the Second-Hand Uniform Sale last Saturday. The parent-run group from the RPFA raised a staggering $8,000 towards the means- tested Dr Sue Morey AM Scholarship, which will contribute towards a student being able to access a Redlands education in the future.

Summer Uniform from Term 4

We look forward to welcoming students back to School in summer uniform and as was the case in Term 1, blazers are an optional item of uniform in the summer but will be required for some formal occasions such as Speech Day. Should girls wish to continue to wear trousers in Term 4, this is fine.

Key Term 4 Dates

We look forward to welcoming the students back for the start of term on Monday 10 October and for some advance notice, please find below a list of some key dates for your dairy. Additional information will be sent to families, as needed, closer to event dates but do keep referring to Redlands Pulse.

Redlands Cyber Hub

A timely reminder ahead of the holidays of our Redlands Cyber Safety Hub specifically for our community, which contains current, research-based information, support and resources for our families and staff. I encourage any family who has not explored this resource to do so.

Executive Roundtable

Last week, our eLearning Coordinator, Ms Anagnostu and I, were invited to be part of an education roundtable which Redlands hosted. This important conversation between a cross-section of the education industry including education leaders, thought-leaders, school advisers, and decision-makers was rich in conversation looking at the topics of wellbeing and teacher development, in particular.

Young Investigators Science – Term 4 Program

Young Investigators is and extra-curricular hands-on Science club run by Eye Heart Science, with whom Redlands has had a long-standing connection. Please see information below and the flyer for budding scientists.

When:              Tuesday afternoons
Time:                3:30pm – 4:30pm
Where:             Junior School Makerspace
First session:   Tuesday 18 October
Cost:                 $175 for a 7-week term (Creative Kids vouchers accepted)
Information:     www.eyeheartscience.com.au/redlands-junior

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