From the Principal
It was wonderful to welcome back members of the Class of 2019 to our Academic Achievement Celebration Assembly this week to celebrate and acknowledge their individual effort and performance. The messages Redlanders Lindsay McNeil and Siddhant Saha shared with current students were most valuable, as they encouraged them to maintain balance, enjoy all the opportunities that the School has to offer and to maintain consistent effort.
I implored our Year 11 and 12 students to challenge the ‘myth’ that they tend to assume is true; the ‘myth’ that students who do well are just naturally talented and that the students present from the Class of 2019 were somehow different to them. In fact, the ‘truth’ is that these students put in the effort, they delayed self-gratification, were disciplined and committed. It is all too easy to dismiss their achievements as this is the easy way out. I also focussed my message on the importance of teamwork and collaboration in order to get the best out of all members of their classes, just as you would in a sporting situation. My favourite NBA team, the San Antonio Spurs, also received a mention for their commitment and dedication to play team first basketball.
Teamwork was most evident over the weekend at the NSW Rowing Championships, as was resilience given the weather. I was most impressed by our crews’ commitment, approach and performance, which resulted in some excellent achievements. Our Boys 1st Quad won a silver medal along with our Girls 1st Quad coming in fourth place in their final, only 0.08 seconds off a bronze medal. We also won a silver medal in the U16 Boys Double.
I was also most impressed by our Junior School Basketball teams’ performances against Newington on Saturday morning. They deserve a special mention as all eight teams were victorious in their games against Newington and The King’s School, with some very determined play towards the end of some of the closer games.
Information regarding Secondary School winter sport selections will be sent out early next week. Parents will notice that for our Year 7 and 8 students (boys and girls), there will be an additional option to select, which is AFL. This has been decided following a review of winter sports offerings with the Head of Secondary School, Mr Corcoran and our Head of Secondary School Sport, Mr Kindred. We have offered AFL in the Junior School and extending this into the Secondary School will enable students the option to continue with this sport.
As parents are aware, we offer a broad range of cocurricular activities and where possible, aim to best meet the needs of our students. It has been clear from my discussions with students that they would like the option of being able to play AFL for Redlands in the Secondary School. We have chosen to only offer it at Year 7 and 8 combined level at this stage to enable a gradual introduction of the sport over time, with a view to other teams at higher levels being added in the years ahead, depending on interest. In the AFL Independent Schools program, teams at Year 7/8 level are 12 a side, which means that 12 or more boys and 12 or more girls would need to select the sport for teams to be viable. Further details will be available when making selections.
I am very much looking forward to meeting many of you at our New Families Afternoon Tea event this Friday 14 February at 3.30pm in the Junior School Piazza as well as the Twilight in the Piazza event the following week at 6.00pm in the same location.
Mr Stephen Webber
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