Head of Secondary School

Standing with the Students and Staff of St Andrew’s Cathedral School

This weekend will see members of our Basketball (Boys and Girls) program play against St Andrew’s Cathedral School. It has been a difficult week for their school community as well as some of the Redlands community who have connections with St Andrew’s Cathedral School. There may be St Andrew’s Cathedral School teams who will be observing a minute’s silence prior to games commencing this weekend. We know the Redlands teams will be supportive of this minute’s silence in remembering the staff members lost in the past week.

We are aware that there may be a media presence at some of the fixtures. St Andrew’s Cathedral School has released the following statement to the media ‘Given the recent tragedy at St Andrew’s Cathedral School, we respectfully request that you honour the privacy of our students and school community. Therefore, we ask that you do not take any photos or film during the moment’s silence and today’s fixtures.’

Personal Formation Underpinned by School Values

The Redlands Values guide our interactions, shape our character and enable students to be positive members of our school community:

Respect – Responsibility – Compassion – Honesty – Fairness – Moral Courage

Redlands has always been a school where difference has been celebrated – this means that we are inclusive in outlook and action. We are not cookie cutter. We embrace diversity. Our students are kind, inclusive and celebrate each other’s unique gifts. They have friends with whom they play sport, friends from the musical, friends from their core class and friends they catch the bus with. The Redlands staff support student friendships and lots of them. We know it’s good to have lots of friends, especially lots of different friends.

Students are regularly reminded that they should embrace multiple friendship groups at school – it’s not always healthy to only be a part of one friendship group. Rather students are encouraged to find a range of friends through a range of endeavours. We want our young people to genuinely be inclusive and see the excitement in getting to know peers who are not the same as them. We know that as they move through Secondary School, students tend to move into smaller classes. They might find themselves in a language class with only four other students or working on a collaborative project with only two of their peers. More often than not, students do not get to select the people they learn and collaborate with and so viewing friendly interactions with peers as an opportunity for learning and growth is as important to developing resilience as it is to aligning with the Redlands values. Students don’t need to be friends with everyone but they do need to be friendly with everyone. When we interact with others, we leave our impression on them – a positive impression should be what we strive for.

This year we’ve talked to students regularly about ‘safety’ – and how every student has the right to come to school and feel safe. At Redlands, psychological and emotional safety is just as important as being physically safe. To uphold this commitment to our students and their families, we will not tolerate behaviour or words that are unkind or mean. There is no place at Redlands for inappropriate comments or behaviour that humiliates or intimidates.

An expression that is being used more widely in social media and we have heard on the Senior Campus from time to time is “simp”. Urban Dictionary defines ‘simp’ as being when a male is overly submissive to a female and gains nothing from it. Essentially ‘simp’ is a slang insult for men who are seen as too attentive and submissive to women, especially out of a failed hope of winning some entitled sexual attention or activity from them. At Redlands the use of this expression is viewed as unacceptable. More often than not, students who choose to use this expression rarely understand the negative implications of its meaning and may simply view it as a way to engage in ‘banter’ with others. Assistant Dean of Students, Ms Matthews and Year 7 Advisor Mr Tod-Hill, spoke candidly with Year 7 students this week about the use of this expression (and some other expressions which are holding currency with young people on social media) and also the implications of being a bystander when others use inappropriate expressions, which regardless of intention, can be harmful.

Ms Matthews said:

“When you laugh because someone says something mean and risky, you are supporting that point of view. You may not have directly called someone a “simp” but by laughing you are saying “that kind of judgement is okay with me”. This is not who we are and I challenge you to be individuals who demonstrate care and consideration for others, who want to leave a positive impact”.

When our students leave school and go to university or perhaps even before then when they might have a part time job, these lessons and values will be significant to them being included and respected. In these environments bigotry, racism, sexism, misogyny and other inappropriate language and/or physicality are not tolerated. The Redlands Values teach our students how to be life ready; to be respectful of everyone; to take responsibility and self manage; to have moral courage and call out poor behaviour by being an upstander rather than a bystander. I feel privileged to lead a community where these values are honoured and authentically pursued by all – students, staff and families.

The recently published Student Code of Conduct is very clear. It articulates the school’s expectations for student behaviour whether that be at school, at home, on the bus, at the beach, at Warringah Mall, at sport or online. At all times our students are expected to conduct themselves in a way that aligns with our values. We are privileged to have such a powerful collection of School Values and to belong to a community that genuinely upholds them in words and actions.

Below are some images of our Year 7 students collaborating with their peers on how to live the Redlands Values during their first period back this week post-exams. In recent weeks staff and parents whom I have spoken to about Year 7 have all expressed their affirmation for how maturely and impressively Year 7 have been moving into being their own – their own people, their own cohort and their own person. It’s a pleasure to observe their growth in and outside of the classroom and their capacity to lean into the School’s Values and to model themselves on the older students who do this so seamlessly in their daily interactions in the School and external community.

2024 Student Motto: “Step Beyond”

On Tuesday, our new student leadership team ignited the spirit of aspiration and community here at Redlands. Inspired by Mr Corcoran’s wisdom—magic occurs beyond comfort zones—the student leadership team unveiled their 2024 student motto: “Step Beyond.”

This motto fuels students to shatter comfort zones and powerfully contribute to our rich school community. It beckons them to seize opportunities across school life, fostering genuine growth.

Promoting themes of community strength, teamwork and Redlands pride – anchored in the values of authenticity and courage – our student leaders call upon every student to embrace “Step Beyond” and carve their path in the year ahead:

Break free from self-imposed limits
Claim a seat in class next to someone new
Dive into fresh cocurricular activities
Rally for service initiatives
Extend a hand to a friend in need

Students will make 2024 a year of bold ventures, personal growth and community enrichment. Step Beyond expectations and watch their Redlands family flourish.

Speech Giving and Big Hearted Leaders

Our new student leaders have been sharpening their speech-giving skills and I am proud to say they are developing well and most definitely ‘falling forward’ and ‘stepping beyond’ via each new experience. Below is Tara Gold and Conor Petersen’s speech from Tuesday’s senior assembly. They are a divine pair who were happy to share this with the parent community. (And I can share that when Conor said ‘Step Beyond’ he did so with great exuberance which brought joy to all!)

Tara: About a fortnight ago we all got together to discuss what we wanted to achieve over the next year and learn more about what makes successful leadership. We are all very excited for the next year and we found that focusing on strengthening the community, thinking more as a team and less as an individual and encouraging Redlands pride, were all key themes within our discussions.

As a team, we were inspired by Mr Corcoran’s frequent message that we each have our own small, individual bubbles. However, it’s when we push outside of these personal bubbles and engage with the broader Redlands community where all the magic happens. During our last year of school as a team, we wanted to focus our leadership around the key values of authenticity and courage. Our new theme for 2024 allows us to do just that, as well as embracing the unique culture we have at Redlands. So our theme for 2024 is…

Conor: Step Beyond!! This theme is about stepping out of this bubble, out of your comfort zone and exploring how we can contribute to this close-knit community we have at school. By making the most of the opportunities available to you, in all aspects of school life.

Step Beyond builds on last year’s motto, Fall Forward’s foundation of embracing mistakes and setbacks as opportunities for growth; as Step Beyond encourages us to put ourselves in positions where growth can happen. We would love for everyone to personally embrace this theme, adapting and adopting this mindset to fit into your own trajectory across the next year.

So what we would encourage you all to do this term and into 2024 is to Step Beyond what you think you can achieve, Step Beyond and sit next to someone new in class, Step Beyond and enrol in a new cocurricular activity, or maybe sign up for a service initiative, reach out and help a friend in need. We want you to go beyond what is expected of you and what you expect of yourself! Thank you.

Examinations Conclude and the Feedback Begins!

As the final Year 7 to 10 examination blocks conclude (and even more excitedly, the HSC concludes for 50% of our Year 12 cohort this week) the students can be proud of their achievements and resilience. But parents, please be ready! The next stage of this learning journey can prove as challenging and we warmly encourage our students to lean into the discomfort that may surface with the return of exams – marks and improvement targets!

When we spoke to the students at the start of this final term of 2023, Ms Rolon, our wonderful Dean of Students (7-10), and I strongly emphasised the priority of the examination block for students in Years 7-10 – learning about learning! The following elements are important and with your teenager, we encourage you to use the following list as a diagnostic tool to evaluate their performance:

Exam Preparation – did my study schedule support me?
Exam Preparation – which study strategies were most effective?
Exam Preparation – was studying in the evening or on the weekend more helpful?
Mindset – did I engage in useful and supportive thinking strategies?
Exam Week – what worked well and what did not?
Exam Technique – during the exam/s, did I maintain focus? If not, why not?
Exam Technique – during the exam/s did I use my time well? If not, why not?
Exam Experience – rate the exams 10 to 1 in terms of experience and discuss why
Managing the Return of Exams
- Did I take note of the mark/grade and also the feedback?
- If I performed well or was satisfied with my marks/grade and feedback, then have I considered what contributed to this positive experience?
- If disappointed, did I reflect for 24 hours before seeking further teacher feedback and support? A nicely crafted email to your teacher requesting support is welcome.
- Did I consider my marks/grade in one subject with all of the other marks/grades in my other subjects so as to contextualise my experience and surfacing emotions?

For parents and carers managing a young person’s experience of examination return, the following strategies have been noted as helpful to developing resilience and contextualising the experience as one of self-learning (rather than self-defining).

Listen and affirm a young person’s feelings – they may feel unhappy and/or unsuccessful about their examination results (it’s normal to feel an uncomfortable emotion)
Affirm their experience if it was unexpected (young people can cope when things turn out differently to what they imagined)
Put the ball in their court – ask a young person ‘what do you need to do now to be able to cope with this?’ (this shows our young person that as adults we have confidence in their capacity to cope)
Reiterate the ways the young person can self-manage (supports the adults to avoid stepping in and taking over and ultimately shows the young person that their parent works in partnership with the School by recommending the counsel of subject teachers and tutors as support people)
Reframe the narrative – an examination experience may be challenging rather than impossible; a student may have been feeling nervous rather than having anxiety; an examination mark may be really disappointing rather than devastating – avoiding catastrophising language and placing the young person’s experience in perspective is always helpful
If concerned, please phone the Year Advisor for a confidential conversation and together we can empower the student to greater agency and self-learning

Redlands Christmas Drive 2023

We’re excited to announce our 2023 Christmas Drive, focusing on compassion and generosity. Each house will collect donations for their chosen charities. Students are encouraged to pledge a minimum of $10 and find creative ways to fundraise, such as skipping a coffee or assisting with car washes.

During Vertical Tutor Week 6, detailed information will be shared. In Week 8, we’ll record the pledges, represented by Christmas ornaments on our school tree. The Drive will conclude in Week 9 with a Carols ceremony and House activities, celebrating our students’ efforts.

Last year, our community successfully raised thousands for flood-affected families in Lismore. We aim to exceed that effort this year. Your support is vital. Thank you for helping our students make a difference.

Years 10-11 Cocurricular Drama Production – A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Book Here

AIS Perspectives Survey

A sincere thank you to those parents and carers who have provided their feedback via the AIS Perspectives Survey. We would still love feedback from those who haven’t had the opportunity to provide it to date. You can do this via the survey link in the email sent to parents/carers from Redlands evidence@aisnsw.edu.au. The survey will remain open until next Wednesday 8 November.

Ms Gemma Van de Peer
Head of Secondary School
gvandepeer@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9811