Head of Secondary School

Winter School

Last week I had the great pleasure of visiting our staff and students at Winter School where I was struck by the positive community and collegiate atmosphere on High Country Campus. (Despite rumours to the contrary, I booked my visit to Winter School back in Term 1, long before the weather forecasts of snow – which certainly eventuated from last Thursday to the joy of staff and students.) Students attend Winter School for the duration of Term 3 where they can continue their academic studies while also developing their snow sports skills in a supportive residential school environment. It is a full program as each week students have two long academic school days, three days split between school and the snow and two days on the snow. In addition to developing their skills of independence, teamwork and responsibility through the many and varied activities provided for them at Winter School, students also spend two hours of focused, supervised study and revision each evening. Over two nights of this study time in the evenings, I interviewed each student about their experiences of Winter School thus far and some of their responses (in addition to their excitement about skiing in fresh powder) were:

“Meeting new people and making new friends”
“Dorm life- hanging out with friends and telling stories”
“Living and working together in a community and taking on new responsibilities”
“Prep time is great – there are fewer distractions than at home and I can finally get on top of my work”
“Others can help with my homework during prep if I am not sure how to do something”
“Being able to connect to nature at High Country Campus and take bushwalks around the area”
“It’s the best thing I have ever done”

I hope they enjoyed the snow on the weekend and that the rest of the term continues to go well for all of the staff and students at Winter School this year. More information can be found in the Winter School article in this week’s Note Day.

Science Week

This week we have been celebrating Science Week in the Secondary School with a number of different activities to promote science in the community, as well as stimulate and ignite student interest in science. On Monday the Secondary School staff were treated to “Heston Blumenthal inspired” treats for morning tea. On Wednesday at lunchtime the Liggins Quad was full of different Science activities and experiments for students to experience. Today, a planetarium was set up in Redlands Hall for a Yr 7 incursion while all Year Groups have been treated to guest speakers throughout the week. Yesterday, I was able to join many of our students for our “Breakfast with a Scientist” morning. Eight Redlands parents shared their experiences and advice from working in various science and maths fields. I was so impressed by their positive messages such as following your passion, learning from your mistakes and being willing to step outside of your comfort zone. These messages are not only applicable to those students who are interested in a field related to Science or Maths, but to all students in best preparing them for life-readiness. So, a special thank you to these parents and especially to the Science Department for organising this week and providing all of these wonderful opportunities for our students.

Winter Sports Update

Last Saturday was the last regular round of ISA fixtures for most of our winter sports teams. This week we move into Semi Finals or Finals for many of our winter sports and I wish our competitors all the best in these competitions. I remind players and parents of our ISA and Redlands Code of Conduct (which can be found in the Student Planner) so that we represent ourselves and the School in the best possible light either on the field/court or from the sidelines. I also remind students that they should be dressed in full school uniform if they are attending a match as a spectator. (They can wear their sports uniform to a match if they are coming from their own sporting fixture.)

Book Week Presentation

Last Friday the Library organised an early Book Week presentation, as Yrs 7 and 8 students and teachers were treated to an amusing and educative presentation by Australian children’s writer, Jack Heath. Jack entertained our students with delightfully witty anecdotes about his journey to becoming an international best-selling author. He gave an intriguing and perhaps controversial theory about Shakespeare and his most famous play, Romeo and Juliet, enlightened us all on the dangers of polygraphs, explained why it’s important to know what the capital of Sweden is, ensured that we are all aware of “wolves in our art supply cupboards” and finally educated us on why boredom is the mother of all creativity. His energy, wisdom and self-deprecating humour kept students and teachers enthralled from beginning to end and plans are already underway to have him return in the future. Thank you to Jack, as well as the Library staff, for this magnificent experience for our students.

Visual Arts Exhibition

Greenlands 2040 Screening

Mr Sean Corcoran
Head of Secondary School
scorcoran@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9870