Head of Junior School
When Was The Last Time You Checked Your Child’s Device?
As you would be aware, we have a cyclical program of digital student education through ySafe foundation to help our students stay safe online and manage their digital world. This includes how to stay safe on social media and gaming platforms. The ySafe program also centres on digital wellbeing and dives deeper into using messaging apps and games as well cyberbullying and bystander behaviour online.
Today, I spoke with Yr 6 as we have become aware of large groups set up in TikTok and the use of highly inappropriate language and potential breaches of privacy. The legal requirements to use social media sites is for users aged 13 years and over. As Australia’s leading Cybersafety educators, ySafe experts suggest TikTok users are 15 years and over.
I strongly encourage every parent to explore our own Redlands Cybersafety Hub which has been co-constructed with ySafe for our community with resources, tips and information. This link is to a helpful Cybersafety fact sheet and as parents, please know that you can also report any concerns directly via the Office of the eSafety Commissioner’s report online harm section, just as we can do as a school.
From time to time as per our Junior School ICT Student Responsible User Guidelines (pp.16-17 of the Student Planner and signed by students and parents), we do occasionally carry out spot checks and audits on student devices to ensure that they are being safely and appropriately used. This is a practice that ySafe talked about last year as something that parents should also do periodically to check that your child is safe online and behaving appropriately. We would strongly recommend this too. If you need assistance with this process, please do contact our IT team who will be only too happy to help.
Ultimately, we are here to help provide students with the tools to navigate the digital environment but also to align this with our School Values and uphold our behavioural expectations. As parents, I know you would want the same, both at school and in your home.
National Science Week
We have really enjoyed the opportunity to shine the spotlight on Science this National Science Week, the theme of which has been Innovation: Powering Future Industries. Junior School students explored topics of why Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths are important in our every day and future lives including a fascinating presentation from Dr Melanie Zeppel, a Redlander and also a current parent of the school, who shared her passion for STEM and exploring how mechanical learning and AI supports Innovations in Agriculture.
Today, Dr Laura Driessen also shared her passion for STEM and her focused work in astronomy and innovations in space and on Monday, the Sydney Water Wonder of Waters Van visited our campus and Yr 3 investigated ‘Innovations Around Us’, understanding more about the management of water in Sydney and around the world.
Another new initiative has seen Yr 6 students leading a variety of fun STEM-themed activities for students to take part.
My thanks to our Dean of Teaching and Learning, Ms Anagnostu, for championing this week and providing such a breadth of activities and experiences for the students to engage in.
Education Perfect 2023 NSW Regional Languages Championship
We’ve done it again! After a very exciting finish, 5 Blue managed to bring us home in 1st place for Spanish in the final minutes of the NSW Education Perfect Language Championships. Special mention should also go to 3 Yellow and 6 Red from the Junior School and all the Junior and Secondary School classes who worked hard to set 5 Blue up for the fun-filled frenzy of the final moments of the competition last Friday morning.
Redlands answered around 96,000 questions and in addition to coming 1st in Spanish in NSW out of 151 schools, we came 12th in NSW for all subjects out of 453 schools and 3rd in NSW overall for our category of schools (1001-2500 students) out of 14 schools.
The following students achieved Certificates for their outstanding performance in the competition:
- Tara Clarke 6 Blue Bronze Award with 1,224 points
- Anne Zhang 4 Yellow Bronze Award with 1,012 points
- Isha Gupta, 5 White Credit Award with 530 points
- Teigan Clarke 5 Red Credit Award with 520 points
Congratulations to every student who took part in the Championships. You have all contributed to our success whilst practising your language skills during this fun and motivating competition.
Señora Colagiuri
Spanish Teacher, Junior School
Student Recognition – Kids Giving Back
Our Principal, Mr Corcoran, and I were proud to receive an email from Carole Schlessinger, CEO and Co-Founder of the organisation Kids Giving Back, sharing how a number of our Junior School students and their families spent time volunteering in the first half of the year to help others through this organisation.
Kids Giving Back is a charity whose mission is to create the next generation of generosity through meaningful, hands-on experiences for young people to give back to others. Through charity partners, they arrange opportunities for children aged 6-18 years old and their families to provide assistance and support for people experiencing food scarcity or hardship.
The contribution of our students resulted in the production of over 8500 hot meals, salads, fruit kebabs, breakfast boxes, snack packs and care packs with empathetic, positive messages, which were distributed to 15 charities around Sydney. In addition, 1800 servings of soup were served at a twice weekly soup kitchen.
I will duly acknowledge these students in assembly next week but I wanted to also do so through this wider community communication as well. Thank you to the following students who participated in one or more of the programs:
Charlie Benfield, Mac Costa, Amelie Doherty, Charlie Hutchings, Cameron Lloyd, Rachael Lloyd, Eloise Mather, Rafael Nicholas, Joanna O’Keefe, Noah O’Keefe, Aggie Storch-Lees,
To hear of our Redlands students embracing the concept of contributing back into the community is heart-warming and a wonderful example of our students living our School Values whilst making a difference to the lives of others and as Carole wrote, “their exceptional leadership qualities, compassion, and strong sense of civic responsibility are truly inspiring and a testament to the values that your school instils in them.”
Book Week Dress Up Day: Tuesday 22 August
We are looking forward to celebrating Book Week with this year’s theme, Read, Grow and Inspire. As shared previously, we are thrilled to welcome acclaimed authors, Louise Clark and Reece Clark to read to and inspire our students.
This year’s opportunity for students (and staff) to dress up in costume related to a book character of choice or connected to this year’s theme takes place on Tuesday 22 August. Start thinking about those costumes and, as always, we look forward to seeing the campus embrace this creative event!
‘A Flight Plan to Resilience: Guiding Your Little Pilot through Turbulence in Life’
Our termly parent session on Student Wellbeing will explore and focus on how to encourage the development of resilience in our children. Delivered again by our own expert team of Junior Campus School Counsellors, the session will explore the factors involved in how parents and carers can foster resilience, enhance independence, and allow controlled adversity for growth in children.
There will be some practical tips on how to equip children to handle setbacks, promote problem-solving, use assertive communication, and practise self-care. Our team will also cover skills on how to nurture emotional growth in children, sharing practical tools and strategies with you.
NSW Skiing Interschools
We extend our best wishes to students selected to represent Redlands next week in the 2023 NSW Snowsports Interschools Championships. Again, we recognise the commitment of these students and their families and look forward to hearing of their endeavours and recognising them in due course.
Correction – Class 4W
Last week, I incorrectly listed Class 4Y as the class who led our Jeans for Genes Day activities when it was in fact Class 4W. My apologies to Class 4W and I was grateful to some of the students mentioning my error to me in the playground this week which in turn allows me to publish this correction.
Road Safety
A reminder to parents and carers to help model the safe use of the pedestrian crossings on either side of our campus. This includes not parking directly next to the crossing in unauthorised zones which cause obstructions to visibility for pedestrians and is highly dangerous.
Wayside Chapel
Thank you to those families who have already donated to our winter appeal for Wayside. We still need more donations as the need is great – if you are able to help, please send your donations to Prep or Junior School Reception. Look here for a list of items needed.
Winter Uniform Clearance – 30% Off Selected Items
As we will be introducing our new Redlands uniform in 2024, we are having a Winter Uniform clearance sale with 30% off the following range, whist stocks last:
- Blazers
- Knitted Jumpers
- Girls Skirts
- Girls Blouses
- Boys Long Sleeve Shirts
Uniform Shop Opening Hours
The Uniform Shop will be closing at 4pm on Thursdays until further notice.
Mr Ari Guha
Head of Junior School
aguha@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9953 6022