Head of Junior School

Head of Junior School

UPCOMING EVENTS

Please note that all Upcoming Events for the Junior School are now on their own Note Day article/page. 

This Head of Junior School page will consist of general information from the Head of Junior School. 

Thank You to our Parent Volunteers

Last Friday, I joined a number of colleagues at the School’s annual Volunteer Thank You evening, a formal opportunity for the School to recognise and thank the many ways in which our parent community contribute to the School.

Both Principal, Dr Lennox, and Chair of the Board of Directors, Ms Glenda McLoughlin, spoke warmly and appreciatively on behalf of the School, noting the example of giving back that volunteering also models to our children as well as others.

In recognising that not all parent volunteers were able to make this evening, I wanted to acknowledge my gratitude to all of the parents who have selflessly served our community in roles this year including as members of our School Board of Directors, the Redlands Parents and Friends Association, the Foundation Steering Committee, Friends of Groups, alongside the many parents who have taken the time to share their expertise and wisdom in the context of supporting learning.

This morning was the final meeting of 2019 of our wonderful Junior School Class Parent representatives and I thank them for the role they have played in building relationships within classes and Year Groups and embodying the spirit of school community here at Redlands. On behalf of all of our Junior School families and teachers, I thank our Junior School Class Parents for 2019:

Yr 3: Cristine Ambrose, Carrie Jelley, Megan Mansell, Bree Stevens, Kirsty Svensson and Bec Wood
Yr 4: Mara Bond, Rebecca James, Sigrid Keller, Virginia Nicholls and Rhonda Sheeran
Yr 5: Annie Flynn, Anita Larsson, Caroline Nochar, Claire Richardson, Angela Snedden, Nona Subasi and Rachelle Zoccolan
Yr 6: Leena Gupta, Tania Tan, Kerryn Wilson, Paula Kalleske and Nicole Doukas 

Leading and supporting these parents, we have been fortunate to have had Jay Cunningham and Christa Green in the role of Junior School Parent Group Coordinators for 2019 and I extend my gratitude to them for both their calm, people-focused leadership and for being such an important conduit between the School and our parent community, it has truly made a difference.

Yr 4 STEAM Learning Day

Next Friday 1 November, our Yr 4 cohort will enjoy a day of experiential learning in the connected areas on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) as part of a broader schoolwide program of STEAM immersion. The day has been devised by our eLearning Coordinator, Mrs Winrow, and the students will be engaged in a variety of STEAM-related projects throughout the day.

We are keeping some of the workshops as a surprise for the students but one that I can share is a creative ‘Art’ project, where students will have the opportunity to create their very own running shoe design, just as Nike, Vans and Converse do to help artists share their work. We have partnered with a low-socioeconomic school in Western Australia who have a significant indigenous student population in need of necessities such as shoes. As such, we will be donating the shoes to the school as part of this project.

Second Hand Sports Shoes Collection

Connecting to the Yr 4 STEAM Day, we are also inviting all students to support a second hand shoe drive across the School and kindly ask that if you have any second hand shoes from students in Kindergarten to Yr 6, that you can drop these off at the Junior School Office before Friday 8 November, when we will ship them to Warlawurru School in Red Hill. Redlands supported Shoes for Planet Earth three years ago and below is a summary of how donations can be accepted:

  1. Sports shoes only please
  2. No holes and good soles
  3. Clean shoes 
  4. Tied together in matching pairs
  5. Ensure laces and inner soles are intact.

Students will be informed of this in assembly next week too and any donations will be gratefully received.

Junior Campus Bush Dance

Our Bush Dance team have done a wonderful job in selling over 200 tickets so far for the upcoming Bush Dance next Saturday 2 November. More details can be found on the Upcoming Events page.

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 Ari Guha
Head of Junior School
aguha@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9953 6022