Head of Secondary School

Head of Secondary School

Term 4 Welcome

I hope all Redlands families were able to spend some quality family time over the recent school holidays and that the students had a refreshing and relaxing break. I am sure for many of them (and you), it is hard to believe that we are commencing our final term of the school year and are on the home stretch for 2019. Before you know it, the summer holidays will be upon us. Therefore, it is important that students quickly focus and prepare for the term ahead so that each of them can get the most out of the final two months of the school year.

Class of 2019

While we officially bid a fond farewell to the Class of 2019 at the end of last term, it was wonderful to see many of them (on some days up to fifty students) using our HSC and IB Examination extra support programs at School to study in the Library or to complete practice examinations over the recent holidays in preparation for their upcoming final examinations. We wish the students all the best with the commencement of the HSC examinations on today and the IB examinations at the beginning of Week 3.

As mentioned in my letter to parents in the holidays, it is important to note that we at Redlands are very proud to be one of a handful of schools in Sydney to offer both the Higher School Certificate (HSC) and International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma for our senior students and are also very proud of the successful results our students achieve in both examinations. With this in mind, it is important to remember that publications such as the Sydney Morning Herald, which offer comparison tables of schools’ results in mid-December, are only comparing HSC results and do not take into consideration the IB results which are not known until early January. Redlands prides itself on its non-selective enrolment policy and while the ATAR is one measurement of a student’s success at school, we take equal pride in the myriad of other successes and contributions our students achieve whether they be academic, cocurricular, pastoral, social, or through service and leadership initiatives. It is wonderful to see so many students continue to achieve their own personal bests and to “Let Their Light Shine” both at Redlands and beyond.

Updated Canteen Payments Options

In support of our aim of moving to a cashless Secondary School Canteen by the start of 2020, there will be a new option for students to pay for their Secondary School Canteen purchases commencing in Term 4. In addition to the debit card and credit card facilities already in place, students will now be able to use their Student Identification Card (currently used to borrow library books or for printing) through FlexiSchools. To utilise this option, parents should go to FlexiSchools at https://www.flexischools.com.au/ to create an account for the student and link a credit card and student number to the account. Parents will then be able to deposit money into the account and students will be able to use their Student Identification Card to pay for purchases at the Canteen. Parents will also have options such as setting a daily spend limit, creating an auto top-up and viewing all transactions. Students who have lost their Student Identification Card should go to the ICT Help Desk for support. If parents already have a FlexiSchools account for a Junior School child, they can add any Secondary School children and their student numbers to enable Canteen purchases. If parents already have a FlexiSchools account for a Secondary School child, they simply need to add their student number to enable Canteen purchases. Please note that students will still be able to use cash for purchases in the Secondary School Canteen through Term 4; however, we envision that the Canteen will be cashless from the beginning of 2020.

Revision to 2020 Term Dates

Please note there has been one revision to 2020 Term Dates.

  • Term 3 2020 will now end on Thursday 24 September (previously Friday 25 September)
  • Term 4 2020 will now commence on Monday 12 October (previously Tuesday 13 October)

The 2020 Term Dates have been updated accordingly on our website and on Redlands Pulse.

Parent iLearn Access

From this term, parents of students in Yrs 7-10 will now have the ability to view their child’s Course Information Pages on iLearn. This access will allow parents to view course outlines, assessment notifications and information and key resources for each of their child’s courses. Parents will only be able to see raw marks for assessments on iLearn and should still use Edumate to view moderated assessment results. In addition, parents will not have access to their child’s individual class pages on iLearn. We hope this access will provide even more academic information to parents moving forward. Further information can be found in a separate communication to parents of students in Yrs 7-10.

Opal Cards

2020 school travel applications are now open. Students progressing to Yrs 3 and 7 no longer need to re-apply if they are:

  • are continuing at the same school
  • are residing at the same address
  • have not been sent an expiry notification from Transport for NSW.

Where a student meets the new distance eligibility, the system will automatically update their entitlement. If they do not meet the new eligibility, they will receive an expiry notification via email.

Students who have an entitlement approved under a medical condition which is due to expire will receive a notification advising them to re-apply. Term Bus Pass holders will receive a notification to re-apply. 

If students need to update their information or re-apply, they should go online to https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/updateDetails. Applications need to be submitted before 31 December 2019. 

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