Year 11
Key Dates
- 23 June End of Term 2
- 18 July First day of Term 3
- 21 July Gala Arts
- 28 August Yr 11 Yearly Examination Block
Last Term of Yr 11 HSC Preliminary Course and IB Diploma Programme
Believe it or not, this cohort has already successfully completed two terms of the three term Yr 11 program. Students have spent a lot of time sorting out their study schedule, recognising the need for organisation and learning to create strong study resources. Students have managed their increase in expectations and rigour extremely well and they will continue to navigate their best course of action through next term as they prepare for Yr 12. Moreover, students have also expanded their leadership skills and they have started truly seeing themselves as leaders in the School. This is essential for the cohort to feel ownership over their studies, responsibility in their peer relationships and pride in their school as they continue to grow in their SEL development.
This three week break is well-earned and needed. Yr 11 will return for one more term with a lead up to an Examination Block in Wk 7 Term 3. Students are encouraged to use this break to rest and recover. However, they are also expected to catch up on any missed tasks, complete outstanding home learning, organise and write their own study notes and begin to plan out Term 3 in preparation for the Yearly Examinations.
We wish all families a fantastic term break and we look forward to seeing everyone back on Tuesday 18 July.
World Oceans Day Student Reflections
Several Yr 11 students participated in the World Oceans event in Wk 7. It was a meaningful experience for those involved. See four reflections written by Ashley Stapleton, Alisha Tang and Eva Osborn.
I, along with a few other Year 11 students, had the opportunity to be involved in an interschools event that celebrated World Oceans Day. This day is about informing the public about the impact human actions have on the ocean and proposing suitable initiatives. I was interested in this event because I wanted to understand how we can create a more environmentally friendly ocean and help support marine life that are being endangered by human impact. From the presentation, I was able to realise that being environmentally friendly isn’t about changing your whole lifestyle. Instead, it’s swapping your unsustainable products for sustainable ones, for example, plastic cotton swabs to bamboo ones. In addition, I was also able to understand that a lack of knowledge and awareness exists among most people about ocean pollution and its causes. For our school and wider school community, encouraging ways to incorporate environmentally friendly and sustainable ways of living every day. Creating more awareness about World Oceans Day and how we can make the swap to a sustainable life sound like a terrific goal so future generations can experience the wonder of our oceans.
– Ashley Stapleton
World Oceans Day provided students with the opportunity to collaborate with students from different schools towards building a solution in respect to issues that we had discussed in break out rooms following a panel discussion as well as a viewing of the film Rubber Jellyfish. Personally, I was very interested in the diverse perspectives that were displayed throughout our conversations with the students from other schools. It was interesting to see how the backgrounds and communities that the students came from were influencing their perspectives on the topics discussed, consequently expanding my own perspective. Furthermore, the opportunity to listen to numerous speakers and presentations displayed to me the variety of ways that people are fighting these issues, as well as what we can do to help. I believe we can incorporate some of these ideas moving forward by collaborating with other world schools to expand the reach of our projects. Some ideas proposed were collaborative beach clean-ups and/or providing information to our communities collectively to continually educate the public towards the issues and topics discussed, as well as continued discussions within the student body to continue to work towards a solution.
– Alisha Tang
I found the event incredibly inspiring. The main message was clear: our ideas and efforts as young people matter. The panel speakers showcased various ways in which they have initiated positive change, from Sarah-Jo collecting local beach trash data to Zali advocating for environmental laws, Tim designing art for sustainable straws and Kal speaking on environmental Youth Councils. Other content focused on the harmful impact of released balloons, particularly in the ocean where turtles mistake them for jellyfish, their food source. This helped expand my perspective on where our waste goes. One highlight was the small group discussions with students from other schools, where we collaboratively brainstormed strategies for a more sustainable future. I believe we can implement some of these ideas at Redlands, such as house recycling competitions, encouraging reusable mugs instead of plastic cups and promoting environmentally friendly choices like soap bars and sustainable clothing brands, because small changes over time make big differences.
– Eva Osborn
Push-Up Challenge
There are a few days left until the Push-Up Challenge is over and we would love to pass $8,000 in donations towards mental health. We need your support to make this possible! The Redlands Community has completed over 90,000 push ups, so support your teachers, friends, peers and yourselves for contributing towards this wonderful cause.
Last week, Nick Hudson, Chief of Push-Ups, flew out to Sydney from Perth to visit schools participating in the Push-Up Challenge. He spent time meeting those students who have been working to organise this event across the school and to incite enthusiasm and provide a reason for why students should participate in push-ups for mental health. Pictured below is Nick with our two Yr 11 student ambassadors, Daisy Thomas and Jaiden Confessore. These two Yr 11 students started organising this event early in Term 1 along with Grace Durrant, Johnny Wang, Jack Petering, Eva Osborn and Flynn Kieran. This event hit the ground running in Term 2. Thank you to Daisy, Jaiden and the team for all their hard work in pulling this event together!
Thank you all, for your participation this month!
Extreme Dance Competition
Last Sunday, Yr 11 student Ashley Stapleton performed in the Senior Contemporary Performance Group, where they received 3rd place in the High School Contemporary Troupe section out of 17 entrants! There were some significant cast changes from the last competition, and Ashley adapted to these changes commendably.
Additionally, Maddie Lamport, Tiana Vatandoust, and Josie Bannon performed in the Senior Jazz Performance Group 2 in the High School Jazz Troupe section. The performance was incredibly done and students are commended for their amazing and hard work!
Gala Arts
Friday 21 July, 6.30pm
The Concourse
Please join us at Gala Arts at the end of the first week of Term 3, an exceptional evening of entertainment where we celebrate the talents of our students, and book your tickets via the QR code in the following invitation.
This annual Creative and Performing Arts festival showcases the plethora of talents of the diverse Redlands student body from Year 7 to 12. The Festival was created to showcase the creative talents of Redlands students whilst at the same time promoting Inter-House competition and House spirit. Students perform in dance, instrumental, theatre and vocal categories. Visual Art photography work will be on display in the foyer and the winner will also be announced at the event.
Yr 11 PDHPE
Congratulations to the Yr 11 PDHPE class for completing their Senior First Aid Certificate this morning.
Ms Alissa Ynson
Yr 11 Advisor
aynson@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9865