Head of Secondary School

Head of Secondary School

Start of Year

It has been great to see students and staff “get into the routine” of school over these first two weeks of the year. Students have been commencing their academic programs in the classrooms, their pastoral programs in Tutor Groups and their many and varied cocurricular activities both in and out of School. I also realise (as a parent myself) that the beginning of the year means parents are getting back into “the school routine” whether that means drop-offs and pick ups, school lunches and/or new cocurricular schedules. If parents have any questions about schedules or activities, please first look on Redlands Pulse to find the necessary information. If the information is not there, please let us know and follow up with the Tutor, Year Advisor, Activity Coordinator or Secondary School Office for further information.

Over this week we have held Information Evenings for Yr 11 and 12 HSC and IB students and parents. As part of these Information Evenings, I have been sharing some of our preliminary findings from our 2019 academic review and some suggested “strategies for success” which I will share below.

While we are still gathering data and feedback from our current academic review, some of our school wide initial findings are:

  • The importance of students and staff maintaining high expectations and balancing these with high support
  • The importance of relational learning for students in the classroom
  • The value of students completing practice papers
  • The value of targeted feedback by teachers and reflective practices by students
  • The importance of collaboration amongst students and positive peer pressure.

Some of the strategies for success we have been sharing with our senior students are:

  • The importance of maintaining a consistent effort over the course of the final year or two years of schooling
  • The importance of “doing the little things right” and getting into good habits of learning
  • The value of setting their own academic goals where they strive for their own academic “personal bests”
  • The value of working collegially with their peers while using the professional support and advice on offer from teachers and staff
  • Avoiding complacency while maintaining a balanced approach over their last year or two of schooling.

Over the course of this year, we will continue to implement specific strategies to support our senior students in the IB and the HSC, while looking to add additional strategies as well. These include targeted use of the before school and after school Study Centre, practice examination sessions held in the holidays, targeted workshops to develop specific IB and HSC skills and approaches, focused study skill development and looking to open up senior study spaces later this year. In addition, individual departments are developing their own subject specific findings and strategies for success.

As we review further information, feedback and practices in the weeks ahead, we will continue to strive for continuous improvement while supporting students to achieve their best academically, cocurricularly and personally over their time at the School.

Activities Fair

Last Thursday we held our Activities Fair in the Liggins Courtyard at lunch. The Activities Fair provided an opportunity for student leaders and staff advisors of the many different clubs and cocurricular activities offered in the Secondary School to promote their activities and provide further information to students. An overview of the various clubs and activities on offer can be found under the Special Programs/CoCurricular section of Redlands Pulse. 

Study Centre

After positive feedback from the last few years, we are continuing our before and after school Study Centre for students. The Study Centre will take place Monday from 7.30-8.15am and 4.30-6.00pm and Tuesday and Wednesday from 7.30-8.15am and 3.30-6.00pm. The aim of the Study Centre is to provide students from Yrs 7-12 with the opportunity to receive shoulder-to-shoulder support or assistance in specific disciplines from Secondary School teachers. These sessions are not to be seen as formalised one-on-one tutoring sessions but instead should be seen as opportunities for students to get assistance or feedback on specific areas of learning. While the Study Centre will take place in the Library for most subjects, some more practical subjects will hold these in specialised spaces. The Study Centre will commence in Week 3 and a schedule of offerings can be found on the Secondary School page of Redlands Pulse.

Flexischools App for Canteen and Uniform Orders

There is now a Flexischools app to facilitate Canteen and Uniform orders. Please visit the Flexischools website which has a link on the home page for downloading the Flexischools app.

Twilight in the Piazza

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