Year 7

Key Dates

Secondary School Swimming Carnival 

The Swimming Carnival will be held next Thursday 20 February at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre. This is a compulsory school event that contributes to House and school spirit. As this event is held off-site, it is a requirement that all parents and carers login to Redlands Pulse and grant online permission asap. A full Swimming Carnival program including all transport, uniform, rules and event details is on Redlands Pulse. An email should be sent to Secondary School Absences for any missed school day, late arrival or early departure.  As a reminder for carnival days and excursions, please read through information posted for each event as attendance is compulsory and please alert Secondary School Absences for any changes to transportation to or from the venue. The Tutor, Year Advisor and Assistant Year Advisor appreciate being cc’d in this communication. When this information is received prior to the event, it ensures we have accurate information for the care and safety of your child throughout the day. It is expected that students depart and return with the cohort on the provided school bus (except for students on our three Redlands bus services in the morning which will go straight to Sydney Olympic Park after pick up) and remain for the entire duration of the event. We appreciate your cooperation and support with this.  

School Photographs

Sibling photographs will be taken by Advanced Life on Wednesday 11 March in Redlands Hall from 7.15am. Any Junior School siblings are welcome to have their photo taken on 11 March if they are unable to attend the Junior Campus Sibling Photo day on 21 February. Year 7 Portrait photographs will be taken by Advanced Life on Wednesday 11 March during school. Students are required to wear blazers.

Order envelopes are available from the Secondary School Office and orders for photography packages can also be placed securely online at www.advancedlife.com.au using our School Order Code: NWL 4NR ETY. Portrait and group package orders are due by photography day. Should you have any queries concerning school photographs or online ordering, please direct them to enquiries@advancedlife.com.au.

Yr 7 Camp

The success of Yr 7 Camp last week was wonderful. Despite a logistical change of camp venue and extreme changes in weather, it was fabulous to note the huge smiles, stories and comradeship between each Tutor group and the cohort as a whole. This was a fabulous opportunity for our students to bond and develop new friendships, to appreciate and value the outdoors, to build on their skill set of resilience, achievement, persistence, organisation, teamwork, self-awareness, self-management, and mindfulness. A huge thank you to the staff who were away from loved ones during the week for their tireless efforts, level of professionalism and desire to make the camp experience the best our students could have.

“I loved cooking and preparing your own food because it felt good to eat something you had made”. Max P

“I enjoyed mountain biking because I got to challenge myself”. Annabel M

Uniforms

Tutors are conducting regular uniform checks and we have asked students to remedy any uniform problems immediately. The Redlands school uniform regulations can be found in the Student Planner on page 19.

Redlands Study Centre

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 answers to specific questions of feedback on specific areas of learning. The timetable can be found on Redlands Pulse.

Practical subjects: Additional support is available in Music on Monday am and Friday pm in the Music Hub.
Additional support is available in Visual Arts Week A: Wed pm, Fri am; Week B: Mon Lunch, Wed Lunch, Wed pm, Thu Lunch in T Block.

Absences

Just a reminder on processes for absences and approved leave. Please email the school as soon as possible if your child is sick and unable to attend school that day. Please note that this is a dedicated absence email address only – any emails sent to this address will not be responded to. If a student is absent from school for any longer than two days, please supply a doctor’s certificate. No medical appointments should be made during school hours, including Thursday afternoon Sport. This obviously does not include medical emergencies. Requests for approved leave should be made in writing to Mr Sean Corcoran. Would you please cc me in this correspondence as well. When absent, students are expected to check iLearn for any missed work and are encouraged to write to their teachers an email asking for any further information to support their learning when they are absent for multiple days.   

Debating

Congratulations to the Yr 7 students who have been selected into an ISDA Debating team! All students have been emailed details of their team (including the other team members’ names) and should check their school emails for this.

The ISDA competition starts in Week 4 and runs on Friday evenings. For away games, a bus is provided to the venues, however parents will be required to make arrangements for students to go home after the debates. Parents usually come in to watch the debates and then take their children home after this. Our new system will be updated for you to give permission for these away debates and you will receive a notification when this is set up.

More information about our Debating program can be found on Redlands Pulse.

Science

Science Club encompasses a number of the already existing activities offered by the Science faculty, such as Engineering Club and Titration Club, and expands to take in more opportunities with possibilities including Sleek Geek and the Young Scientist Competitions, as well as being a way of disseminating information about external Science based events for interested students.

Science Club meets on: Tuesday lunchtimes in R2.1.

Some students have already signed up for the Engineering or Titration Club and this is part of the Science Club.  The Science Club will focus on particular events at different times. All students are welcome and we would like to hear their ideas of what interests them.

Pastoral Care

The Pastoral Program for our students is developed around creating a strong connection between students and their Tutors, students and their peers, organisation with finding classes and materials, and feeling comfortable and confident on the Senior Campus.

This week students will receive their 2020 Assessment Handbooks (a guide for students and parents). Tutors will focus on the organisation and planning methods required when looking at schedules for the year ahead. We appreciate your support at home with this to ensure we are not providing undue stress to an already busy transitional period for our Yr 7 cohort.  

Prue Salter Study Tips

Our school’s subscription details to www.studyskillshandbook.com.au are – Username: Redlands; Password: 68results

How Much Time Should You Spend on Schoolwork?

In Secondary School if you do not have any specific homework or assessments to work on, you are then expected to spend some time that night on independent learning. This is where you ask yourself, what else could I be doing that will help me understand my subjects better and improve my results? Examples of independent learning are: reading ahead in your textbook, making a mind map about what you have been learning, doing extra research on a topic that interests you, making study notes, reviewing work you find difficult… the list is endless.

However, schools do not expect students to spend all of their time on schoolwork! We want you to play sport, see your friends, spend time with family, do activities you enjoy and have some rest and relax time as well. If you work effectively, then you can do your work for school, but still have a life! So, given this, how much time are you expected to spend on schoolwork?

It depends on your year level, your school, your parents and your own abilities and goals. First, check your Student Planner or ask your teacher what is expected in their subject. Then discuss these outlines with your parents and see if you can both agree what is right for you.

As a general rule, expected time to spend on schoolwork at home: In the first years of high school students usually do at least half an hour to an hour each day. In many schools it is around 1-1.5 hours on average or 7-10 hours of home learning over the whole week.

Remember this is just a guide. Some parents and some schools will expect more (or less!) so treat these as guidelines.

What about the weekend? The amount of time students need to spend on schoolwork on the weekend will depend on their current workload and how much work they complete during the week. You also need to ensure you are getting enough sleep.

Student Achievements

Congratulations to Stella Simpson-Morgan who attended the ISA Girls Open Tennis trials at Barker College on Tuesday. Stella was successful in making the Girls ISA team and will trial at the NSW CIS level next Wednesday. Best wishes Stella for the next stage of your trials!

Ms Lisa Vale
Yr 7 Advisor
9968 9837
lvale@redlands.nsw.edu.au