Head of Secondary School

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Week 2 Secondary School was one of Diverse Experiences

Archbishop’s Annual Commissioning Service for Student Leaders in Anglican Schools

Our Secondary School Student Leaders attended this event this morning with Mr Corcoran and Ms Jansons.

Redlands Secondary School Swimming Carnival

2023 Results

Many students saw success in the pool on Tuesday at the Swimming Carnival at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre. The Girls Champion was Holly Smith (Yr 9) and the Boys Champion was Xander Halfen (Yr 11) – a huge congratulations to both students, and to the following students who achieved personal excellence in the water!

Age Champions & Runners-Up

Divisional Championships

Records Broken

House Positions

Final placings:

1. McDouall (first win since 2015)
2. Roseby
3. Cowper
4. Dumolo

Head of Sport Announcement

Mr Cameron Ellis has been appointed as the Head of Sport (Acting) for 2023. Many of you know Mr Ellis well and will join with me in warmly congratulating him on this appointment.

Academic Achievement and Growth Assembly

On Wednesday it was wonderful to be able to gather to recognise and celebrate the successes of the 2022 Yr 12 cohort with parents, Redlands staff, and our senior students, Yr 11 and 12.

We bestowed congratulations on the students who made significant achievements in the HSC and IB, as evidenced in their very high results – they topped courses, scored Band 5 and 6s in the HSC and Grade 6s and 7s in the IB. They achieved high ATARs. Some are also being recognised because they demonstrated extraordinary personal academic growth, meaning they moved up a substantial amount in their cohort ranking between Yr 10 and Yr 12 – one of them shooting up 44 places out of a cohort of around 70 students. 

This year our focus on growth is intentional. We want to make distinct growth and achievement. We are pleased to recognise and celebrate growth and achievement. Not every student can top their course, or be in the top ten, or achieve perfect 7s or straight Band 6s. And whilst it’s exciting and deserving of high congratulations, the majority of students do not score 99.95 in their ATAR. 

But the vast majority of students do experience growth. 

Growth is development from a base line – it’s a marked demonstration of improvement via a measurement tool. The growth a student experiences can vary, depending on the student, and a range of other factors. It’s our role as educators to ensure that every student at Redlands grows and it’s our responsibility to create the conditions for every student to grow – to support and challenge them to develop. In this assembly, we celebrated those students whose growth in the final three years of high school was extraordinary. These students didn’t just move up – they soared to achieve their own personal success. At Redlands, we value this as much as we value high performance. We value each and every student’s success – because every student’s journey is different. And because regardless of whether a student comes top or not, if they’ve learned hard and achieved, they have experienced personal excellence. What’s not to celebrate? 

Yr 7 Parent Learning Support Webinar

Approximately 120 parents and carers joined members of the Secondary School Leadership Team for last night’s Yr 7 Parent Learning Support Webinar. You can find a recording of the webinar here.

Individual Portrait Photos – Friday 10 February

Individual Portrait Photos will be taken tomorrow, Friday 10 February. All students are required to wear full school uniform, including blazers with a tidy presentation. Boys must be clean shaven with hair that has been cut so that it is away from eyes, ears and collar. Boys and girls with a hair length touching the collar is to be styled and tied-up neatly so that it is away from eyes, ears and collar. Hair is to be tied back with navy and hair coloured accessories.  No jewellery is to be worn other than one pair of plain gold or silver studs in ear lobes.

Parent Events

Cocurricular Clubs and Activities

Today our students attended the annual Activities Fair to explore the wide range of Cocurricular opportunities available to them. Many of our Clubs, Ensembles and Extra Classes begin in Week 3. We hope the students are excited about what is being offered in 2023. Joining in activities outside of the classroom is a great way to explore a talent or interest, develop a sense of belonging and spark joy.

A full cocurricular timetable is available on Redlands Pulse, where each activity also has a dedicated page with more information and contact details. Parents and carers can also keep up to date with news and receive notifications by joining relevant Groups on Redlands Pulse.

Any general questions can be directed to Dean of Activities, Jon Gray:  jgray@redlands.nsw.edu.au

Study Centre

Study Centre commences from Week 3. Study Centre provides an opportunity for students to receive additional support from teachers across academic disciplines.

Students are encouraged to attend when they feel they need additional support with understanding concepts, developing skills or preparing for assessments in curriculum subjects.

Study Centre is available before and after school Monday-Wednesday and is based in the Learning Hub. A timetable will be posted to the Secondary School page of Redlands Pulse. Further information is available from Subject Coordinators.

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