From the Principal

With this being the final Note Day for 2019 I will update parents on some important news regarding vacation works during the summer break.

Storm Repairs

With the local area mentioned as having been one of the worst hit areas in the storm and torrential rain that fell early yesterday morning, we had a very busy day managing to keep the School open and achieved that goal through a combined staff effort. A number of buildings on both campuses suffered water incursions of some kind, due to a variety of reasons. Four buildings on the Senior Campus and three on the Junior Campus had to be addressed during the day; some of the water incursions were relatively easy to fix quickly and today all is well on the Junior Campus, largely thanks to our Facilities staff, and the annual Junior Campus Carol Service was able to proceed this afternoon in Dunnet Hall.

More serious water problems were experienced in two of the Senior Campus buildings. The Fitness Centre is likely to be out of action for the remainder of the term and the same will be the case for the Music classrooms, although the practice rooms and lockers and corridor were not affected. The water ingress into the John Roberts Centre was not a repeat of the issues earlier this year; but was the result of a huge amount of water which came down Monford Place and across the building site, and entered the southern side of the building. Very sadly it seems likely that the timber floors of the auditorium and the two Music classrooms will again have to be replaced. Our insurance will cover this and the floors will be replaced before the start of Term 1 next year. The hydraulics consultants will provide a solution before the new floors are laid to avoid any recurrence until the whole area is covered with the landscaping above the car park.

New Learning Hub Development

On Monday this week the Board’s Property Committee received a progress report on the engagement of a new Head Contractor. The Board is expecting to be in a position to award a contract before Christmas and the School’s target is to have a new Head Contractor commence a validation period in early January. This validation work will lead to a revised construction schedule. The Board’s new target is to have the New Learning Hub ready for operation in Term 1 2020, with landscaping, car parking and access road to follow, to complete Stage 1 of the Senior Campus redevelopment. Completion of the New Learning Hub is the key priority of the Board and Executive.

There will be no work on site by a new builder during the coming summer vacation, but we have retained the crane and work sheds on site until work is ready to commence. This will save both time and money, as it is already confirmed that the crane will be used in its present position.

The School is working with its Project Managers to identify associated works that can be progressed in the interim until the new builder is ready to start work.

Junior Campus Air Conditioning

In the first months of this year the Property Committee commissioned a report on the best means to extend air conditioning on both Campuses. With the New Learning Hub to be climate controlled, the decision was taken to commence with addressing the recommendations for the Junior Campus. Those works commenced earlier this month. No disruption has been caused during the school days as the contractor has been working outside of school hours. We are also expecting to have the remaining classrooms currently without air conditioning in the Cornish Building and the classrooms in Redlands House ready with climate control functionality from the start of 2019.

Ballet and Dance Concert

I very much enjoyed the annual Ballet and Dance concert last week, which surpassed even last year’s Dance spectacular. In the beautiful performance of The Nutcracker ballet in the first half of the concert, the lyrical movements of the Contemporary and the high energy of the Jazz and Tap sections after the interval, it was such a delight to see our dancers’ impressive technique and the joy on their faces as they showcased their skills in front of a very appreciative audience.

Congratulations to all students on such a fine performance and thank you to Ms Karen Martin, Head of Redlands Ballet and Dance Academy, all of the Dance teachers and the many parents involved in staging this year’s Concert.

Australian Science Olympiad Success

I wish to congratulate Yr 11 students Isabel Binnekamp and Lachlan van der Pluijm who were both awarded a High Distinction in this year’s Australian Science Olympiad competitions, Isabel in Biology and Lachlan in Earth and Environmental Science. They have both been invited to attend the Science Olympiad Summer School and have the potential to be selected to represent Australia at the International Science Olympiad competitions next year. Well done to Isabel and Lachlan.  

I take this opportunity to wish all families a very Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year.

Dr Peter Lennox

End of Year Events

Please click here for the Speech Day (Junior School) and Speech Night (Secondary School) events on Wednesday 5 December. 

Photo caption: Redlands Ballet and Dance students enchanting the audience at this year’s Concert at The Concourse, Chatswood.