Year 7

Yr 7 – Don’t we Look Darlin’ in our Denim?!

On Friday, students from across the School decked themselves out in their fanciest jeans and bluest clothes, whilst tightly gripping a gold coin, ready to donate to Jeans for Genes day. Some super individuals even managed to pull off an exceptional double or even triple denim combo! The day was a great success with valuable money raised for the Children’s Medical Research Institute who explore how to find treatments and cures for birth defects or genetic diseases, like cancer, cystic fibrosis, and life-threatening metabolic disorders in children. With 12 kids born every minute worldwide facing these issues, it was a great cause to support.

Students offered a gold coin donation to wear their jeans (or, in one case, tracksuit pants with a ‘jeans’ post-it note on them!) and were also able to contribute by purchasing blue ribbons and cakes sold in a bake sale. Pleasingly, a large number of our Yr 7 cohort went the extra mile to support the Junior School by helping to run their bake sale on the day. It was lovely to see them embracing the service values we affirm across the school.

Row, Row, Row your Boat into the Summer Sport Season

The Summer Sport season is almost upon us! Over the past couple of weeks students have had the opportunity to select a Summer Sport, which they will engage in for the final few weeks of this term and into next term. Now that Yr 7 have all completed both a Non-Representative and Representative Sport option, they had the choice this time to select whether they want to be in a Representative or Non-Representative team. Of course, the requirement still remains that students engage in at least one Representative Sport option across each year so, if they choose a Non-Representative option now, they will need to do a Representative option in the Winter Season. More information on School Sport can be found on the Secondary School Sport page on Pulse.

Importantly, students have a new option that they could select as a sport for this Summer Season – Rowing! Yr 11 came out to the Undercroft last week to promote Rowing, setting up ergs between the lockers and challenging students to row in the fastest time they could. There was some healthy competition and positive support as students, many for the first time ever, got onto an erg and imagined themselves rowing across the waters. Thank you to our Yr 11s who ended the session showing us how it’s really done!

Mrs Rolon Discusses Subject Selections for Yr 8 2024 and AI

Today, our Dean of Studies (7-10), Mrs Anna-Marie Rolon, spoke to Yr 7 about their upcoming subject selection process for Yr 8 in 2024. She made it clear to students that they will be automatically enrolled to continue in Core Classes for most of their subjects next year, but that they will need to select ONE Arts subject and ONE Language subject (unless they are part of the Learning Plus class). Students were encouraged to think carefully about their choices, particularly their choice of Language, in light of how this might impact their choices in future Senior studies.

Parents/carers and students have each received a Courses of Study Booklet, recently sent by Mrs Rolon via email. Specific course requirements and details about individual subjects are within this pdf. You can also access the pdf in the Documents and Forms section on our Yr 7 page on Pulse.

Mrs Rolon also spoke to Yr 7 about the new Academic Integrity Policy for Yrs 7-12, including the recent additions concerning the use of AI software. It was made clear to students that any use of AI programs like Chat GPT without appropriate referencing constitutes a violation of our academic integrity guidelines and can result in a zero mark for students. Mrs Rolon also made it clear that students should be keeping records of their research and drafts of their work, so that they are able to show evidence of the originality of their work, should there be questions raised about its provenance. These are important lessons for students to take on board as they navigate increasingly complex assessment tasks.

Science Week 2023

Next week, Redlands will jump into the annual Science Week. Coinciding with National Science Week, Science Week at Redlands will provide an excellent opportunity for students to be involved in a range of fun and interesting activities that will expand their science knowledge and give them a chance to try out a range of engaging pursuits. There will also be some special Science lessons during their normal scheduled Science classes. Some of the extra activities require signing up for in advance, so I encourage students to register their interest quickly before places fill up!

History Excursion – Week 6 (August 22 and 23)

In Week 6, Yr 7 are going on a History excursion to examine ancient artefacts at the Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney. It will be a wonderful and engaging experience for them, offering them the chance to see a wide range of interesting artefacts, and some surprising representations of the ancient world! If you have not already done so, please grant permission for your child to attend via Redlands Pulse.

Key information:

• Core classes 7B, 7O, 7P and 7Y will attend on Tuesday 22 August
• Core classes 7G, 7M and 7R will attend on Wednesday 23 August

Students will depart from the Senior Campus at 8.20am and return to school by 1pm. They will eat lunch at school and attend their regular timetabled classes in Periods 5 and 6.

Students are required to wear their full school uniform (including blazer), and are asked to pack their recess, water bottle and any personal medication (e.g. EpiPen, asthma puffer) in a small bag that is not their school bag.

Assessments Reminders

Today (Thursday), students sat their third Mathematics assessment of the year. Well done to them all on getting through it!

Importantly, this assessment was the first of many soon to be appearing on student calendars! While our cohort have all been working to plan ahead in Tutor time, it is worth reminding everyone of the assessments coming up, as it will soon be a busy time for our Yr 7s with further assessments coming up in Christian Studies in Week 5 and both English and HSIE in Week 6. At least one of two assessments per week then follow until the end of term! So, it is important for our students to plan ahead to ensure they manage this workload.

You can find all these details, including assessment notifications, through the Assessments page on the Yr 7 Core Page on iLearn.

Good Luck for the HICES Music Festival!

Next week, three of our Yr 7 cohort will be fortunate enough to attend the Heads of Independent Coeducational Schools (HICES) Music Festival. Held on the 13-16 August, this event draws schools from across Sydney for a three day camp, culminating in a concert at Sydney Town Hall on the final evening. It is a great opportunity for schools, students and teachers compare practice, foster excellence and nurture a love of music-making in a shared context.

This should be a wonderful event for our students, and we wish those attending – Clem Roumanoff, Elliot Taylor and Mackenzie Willis – all the best for a fantastic and enlightening time. Thank you also to our very own Yr 7 Tutor, Mr Owen, who will be attending the Festival as music staff, representing Redlands.

Term 3 Key Dates and Upcoming Events:

• Week 5: Science Week
• Week 5: Yr 7 into Yr 8 Subject Selections
• Week 9: ISA Athletics Carnival

Mr Jimmy Tod-Hill
Year 7 Advisor
jtodhill@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9908 6462