Year 7
Back to School with Great Memories of Camp
After a wonderful week on camp at the beautiful High Country Campus, students returned back to the Senior Campus this week, getting involved in their lessons and back into the swing of Secondary School life. Home Learning has definitely started to become part of student lives now and students were encouraged in Tutor sessions to use their student planners effectively to plan ahead and ‘chunk down’ any major tasks they might receive.
Parents were also getting into the swing of things, attending a lovely ‘Meet and Greet’ evening on Monday night. Teachers, Tutors and Year Advisors alike had an enjoyable time meeting and sharing a story or two with the parents of our new Yr 7 cohort.
A reminder that all assessment task notifications, containing key details of what is required for each assessment and when each task component is due, are uploaded onto the assessment tab on the Yr 7 Core Page, which is accessible to students and parents alike through iLearn. Currently, Yr 7 have a Christian Studies assessment due in Week 6 (between 8/3-13/3 depending on Core class) and an English assessment due in Week 7 (16/3).
This week students had their first Year assembly, as we have missed each one due to various events so far! Mr Gray, Dean of Activities visited the event and praised Yr 7 on their exceptional performance over camp. In his words, it was up there with the best camps he has experienced in his time at Redlands. Well done Yr 7! Mr Gray also reminded students of all the activities and clubs they can be part of at Redlands and direct them to look at the Cocurricular Page on Pulse, which lists all the relevant details of each club.
Students enjoyed watching a photo montage of their week away on camp, reminding them of the challenges they overcame and the joy they experienced together. I also connected their experience on camp to our Redlands values, identifying how they had demonstrated these values throughout their week on camp, and encouraging them to continue embodying them through all their time at school. The core values are: honesty, respect, responsibility, compassion, fairness, and moral courage.
Key Dates and Upcoming Events
- Week 6: Yr 7 Burn Bright – Recipe for Success (Monday 6/3)
Students have an incursion led by ‘Burn Bright’ where they will explore strategies for successful integration into High School, including building positive relationships and personal confidence; enhancing their resilience and problem solving skills; and being inspired to make a difference in the school.
- Week 7: NAPLAN testing commences (Wednesday 15/3 – Friday 17/3)
On Wednesday 15 March, Thursday 16 March and Friday 17 March, students in Yr 7 will sit the annual National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). Parents should have received a detailed notification of this through the school portal.
- Week 8: School Musical (Thursday 23/3 – Saturday 25/3)
The school will be performing The Addams Family musical. This will be a great night out for all the family!
- Week 9: Cross Country Carnival (Monday 27/3)
This is a compulsory event for Yr 7 – so get excited and get involved!
Important Notices
Winter Sport Choices
A few students still have not submitted their Winter Sport choices. This must be completed ASAP as the new season will commence in Week 7 of this term. Selecting a Winter Sport in Yr 7 is compulsory. Students will have TWO training sessions a week as well as a Saturday commitment for the duration of the season. All Yr 7 students need to complete the registration form available on the Secondary School Sport iLearn page. Further information is available here.
Secondary School Individual Portraits and Sibling Photos Catch -up Opportunity – Friday 3 March.
A catch-up date for missed Year 7-12 Portrait photos and sibling photos will be offered on 3 March at 10.10-11.05am in the Learning Hub Level 2 Atrium. Siblings who attend both campuses should attend the catch up opportunity of the Junior Campus on 31 May before school.
All students are required to be wearing their full school uniform, including blazers. 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 hair dye, mullet style haircuts, make-up or nail polish is permitted. No jewellery is to be worn other than one pair of plain gold or silver studs in ear lobes.
If you have any questions, alterations or additional orders, please contact Melba Studios directly on (02) 9438 4566 or email sales@melbastudios.com.au.
NAPLAN Tests 15-17 March
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in the annual tests in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.
Our school will be participating in NAPLAN between 15 and 17 March.
In preparation for NAPLAN, our Secondary School Year 7 and Year 9 Students participated in practice tests on Thursday 2 March. The practice test were a trial run and key preparation activity for NAPLAN in March. It was not an assessment of student ability, and the tests will not be marked.
Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not recommended. Students can use the public demonstration site or links contained within the NAP Locked down browser, which has been installed on all students’ laptops, to familiarise themselves with the types of questions and tools available in NAPLAN.
Please ensure all students are fully prepared for the NAPLAN tests by bringing:
- A fully charged laptop
- Headphones or ear buds
- Pen or pencil
If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact the Dean of Studies (Years 7-10), Ms Anna-Marie Rolon.
15 March – Period 1. Yr 7 Writing
15 March – Period 2. Yr 7 Reading
16 March – Period 1. Yr 7 Conventions of Language
16 March – Period 5. Catch up Writing Test if absent 15 March.
17 March – Period 3. Yr 7 Numeracy
17 March – Period 5. Catch up Writing / Reading / Conventions Of Language Test if absent 15 or 16 March.
20 March – Periods 1, 3 and 5. Catch up Test sessions.
School Musical – The Addams Family
We are delighted to advise that tickets are now available for this year’s Musical, The Addams Family, being held at The Concourse, Chatswood on:
- Thursday 23 March, 6.30pm
- Friday 24 March, 6.30pm
- Saturday 25 March, 2.00pm
The Addams Family showcases the skills and talents of our Yrs 7-12 students and there are over 100 students involved on stage as performers, in the orchestra and in hair and make-up and production. View the Production Trailer here.
The Redlands Musical is always a wonderful night out with the family, so book your TICKETS HERE before they sell out!
Mr Jimmy Tod-Hill
Year 7 Advisor
jtodhill@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9908 6462