Head of Junior School
Theme of the Week – Persistence
In this week’s assembly we spoke about the attribute of persistence. To illustrate this, I recounted the story of Malala Yousafzai, who became a global symbol of resilience and persistence in the face of adversity. Growing up in the Swat Valley under Taliban rule, she defied the oppressive ban on girls’ education and advocated for the right to education for all. In 2012, Malala survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban, sustaining severe injuries. Undeterred, she continued her advocacy, ultimately receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 at the age of 17. Malala’s unwavering commitment to education and human rights highlights the power of persistence in the pursuit of justice and equality. Albeit on a completely different scale, there is a message that our school can take from Malala’s story. As we move into the busy second half of the term the challenge for our students is to be tenacious and persistent in maintaining high standards and their best effort in all areas of school life that have undoubtedly led to their very good start to the school year.
Uniform Recycling Week
Textile Recyclers Australia (TRA) has been selected as our uniform recycling partner following a comprehensive review of available options in 2023. TRA will commence the collection of unwanted Redlands uniforms in Week 7 of Term 1, with each Year Group having a specific day to bring in their unwanted uniforms. Bin collections will be monitored, so please ensure only requested items are brought it, or they will be sent back home. Any non-Redlands branded uniforms can be taken to your local charity bin for reuse, or to H&M and Zara (who offer used clothing recycling).
Student Safeguarding
In my recent letter to parents, I spoke about how students’ personal safety is a key area that falls under all schools’ safeguarding responsibilities under NSW Child Safe Standards. Redlands’ Statement of Commitment to Child Safeguarding can be viewed here. I also mentioned that it is important for students to be provided with the tools to navigate this area, be-it in their normal interactions with other students as well as in the complex online world. As such, a key focus in our regular wellbeing and PDH sessions for the rest this semester will be lessons on personal safety, including areas such as staying safe, consent and respectful relationships. Further information about the topic areas to be covered will be sent out next week by the Year Co-ordinators. Please don’t hesitate to contact me or our Dean of Students, Mrs Clinton if you have any further questions.
Arnold Library
Thank you to parents who attended the recent workshops on the revised English and Mathematics curriculum. Our Head of Library, Mrs Katherine Wiebe has set out below an overview of how the Arnold Library supports the development of literacy for our students.
Our goal is to foster a love for reading, support learning across various subjects, and promote library literacy skills among our students. Our library lessons operate on a fortnightly basis, to engage students in reading and learning. One week focuses on borrowing books, being read to and reading their own books for pleasure. The alternate week involves collaborative teaching with class teachers, we support research units across various subjects like history, geography, and science and technology.
During borrowing lessons, students enjoy being read a story, students have the opportunity to choose books from a diverse range of fiction books of different genres, graphics and information books. During borrowing lessons students also share reviewing books, discussing themes, analysing characters and reflecting critically on texts. When class teachers bring students to the library, we focus on developing research skills. Students learn to define their research tasks, locate and select information from various sources, and present their findings. We also emphasize the importance of using proper citation formats like the Harvard Bibliographic format and encourage students to reflect on their research process.
All library lessons teach students essential library literacy skills, including understanding library layout, using the library catalogue, navigating book features, and learning library terminology. We aim to produce independent library users. We actively promote literacy through various activities such as following the Children’s Book Council Australia notable lists, organizing author visits, with Deborah Abela visiting in 2024, and participating in the Premier’s Reading Challenge.
Library Page on Pulse via Student Accounts
We encourage students and parents to explore age-appropriate online encyclopedias RedeLearn, World Book and Britannica available through our school’s subscription, as well as eBooks and audiobooks through Borrow Box.
We value the partnership between home and school in promoting literacy. We encourage parents to visit the library during designated hours to explore our collection and borrow books with their children. We believe that a strong home/school library connection enhances a child’s reading experience.
- 8 – 8:20 am Monday through to Friday
- 3:20 – 4pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
Students are encouraged to borrow books for both classroom and home reading. They can choose up to three books in Library classes and swap them over as often as they like. Parents can also borrow books with their child on their own account, with a limit of up to ten books for two weeks.
Finally, included is a research article highlighting the benefits of reading for pleasure. We hope it inspires you to continue nurturing a love for reading.
Reading for Pleasure Early in Childhood Linked to Better Cognitive Performance and Mental Wellbeing
Bake a Difference
This week the Junior School/ Preparatory School were visited by some Year 10 students who shared information about a fundraising initiative they devised and are leading across the school.
- Raise Dough: Bake a Difference
- What: A bake sale for Raise Foundation
- When: Monday 25 March lunchtime (classes will be staged)
- How can we be involved: Get together and spend Sunday Funday baking your favourite treats!
- Please label any Tupperware containers so they can come back to you.
- Drop off on Monday morning in the Prep Meeting Room.
- No nuts or nut products to be used and label any Dairy of Gluten Free options.
- Bring gold coins for purchasing or a debit card!
Redlands is proud to support Raise who provide youth mentoring to 13–15-year-old students around Australia. These young people are grappling with issues like anxiety, depression, loneliness and bullying. With 1 in 4 young people saying they feel lonely all or most of the time, there’s never been a better time to support the work of Raise Foundation.
Not only are we providing access to a trained mentor, we are also supporting our Year 10 Redlands students who devised this fundraising initiative in their Commerce group project last year. Raise Foundation loved the concept so much they wanted to use it immediately. We have just heard word that one of their corporate partners utilised our students’ concept and raised $3000 in a single event! That’s enough to sponsor 1.5 entire mentor/mentee programs. Let’s see if we can do better!
Junior School Holidays Arts Club
International Women’s Day
As we draw nearer to International Women’s Day we’d like to invite our Redlands community to a breakfast panel being held on the Senior Campus. Please do bring a significant (m)other with you to this event – a friend, son, daughter or someone important to you. There will be a chance to enjoy a light breakfast and good conversation before hearing from two incredible leaders and changemakers, The Hon. Bronnie Taylor, Deputy Leader of the NSW Nationals, Member of the NSW Legislative Council and Vicki Condon AM Founder, CEO, Executive Director of Raise Foundation.
Mr Ian Holden
Head of Junior School
iholden@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9953 6022