Redlands House / Transition Gold

Adventure to the Aquarium

Yellow Class Seniors adventured to the Sea Life Aquarium this week to extend on some project work that began last term. They were lucky to have a hands-on tour with one of the aquarium staff as well as free time to explore, observe, admire, question and learn. The dugong was definitely a highlight and they have already begun investigating some of the follow-up questions. Their curiosity for the penguins and sharks blossomed and they couldn’t help but be in awe as the large Grey Nurse and Stingrays swam above them. The children should be admired for their behaviour, sense of responsibility and conduct on the excursion. They were naturally inquisitive, polite and followed the instructions of their teachers and the aquarium staff. Following on from this, staff used photographs to foster some reflective thinking and the Seniors were then asked to represent their favourite part of the excursion through visual representations and verbal descriptions. Thank you to our parent volunteers who assisted us on the day and made this excursion possible.

Independent Thinkers

At Redlands, one of our major objectives is to encourage children to be critical, independent thinkers. Children are naturally curious and therefore the educators’ role is to introduce them to different more effective ways of thinking. The staff support the children to focus on critical thinking, and problem solving, communication, collaboration, creativity and innovation. Staff develop these skills by assisting the children to make connections between new ideas and their own experiences, building on their prior knowledge, identifying children’s current understandings and addressing any misconceptions. Staff engage the children in real-life problem solving, encouraging them to describe and verbalise their thoughts to co-construct meaning, challenge ideas and viewpoints. Families can assist in developing these thinking dispositions by:

Helping children make connections between new ideas and their own experiences.
Engaging children in solving problems and talking about what you are thinking.
Asking children to describe their thinking and expose them to a variety of viewpoints.

Illness

As the cooler weather of winter approaches, and we come into cold and flu season, we encourage you to please keep your child(ren) at home if they are unwell. This prevents the spread of infection amongst the children and staff. If your child is absent, please let us know.

Redlands Gala Ball – Early Bird Closes Tomorrow!

Tickets are selling fast to this not to be missed event on the Redlands social calendar! Fantastic entertainment and a band to dance to as well as incredible prizes to be won.

Early Bird tickets are open until Friday 14 June. All proceeds raised will be dedicated to the means-tested Redlands Scholarship Fund. This Fund creates life-changing opportunities for exceptional young people to realise their full potential, when a Redlands education would otherwise be out of reach. For further enquiries, please visit our website or contact Jenni at jdejager@redlands.nsw.edu.au.

Preparatory School

Please note that my title “Head of Early Childhood” (Mrs Fellowes) has changed to “Head of Preparatory School”. ‘Early Childhood’ actually refers to the years prior to formal schooling, Preschool and Transition. I am the Head of Section for Years K-2 and our Early Childhood program.

Mrs Audrey Fellowes
Head of Preparatory School
afellowes@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9848