Year 8

This Week

Welcome back to our New Zealand Exchange students: Tara Gold, Olivia Salmond, Emma Sullivan and Scarlett Thorp who have returned to classes this week after spending three weeks at the Kristin School. We look forward to hearing more about their experience abroad at an upcoming year assembly. 

Yr 8 Camp

We are looking forward to Yr 8 camp on 4-8 May in Yarrahapinni. Further information and medical forms will be distributed in the next weeks. This is a beautiful location with a lot of opportunity for students to explore various ecosystems and take part in a range of physical activities. 

Parent Suggested Resources this week: Adolescent Risk-Taking

You may have heard your child mention the discussion during Pastoral Time this term revolving around positive and negative risk-taking. Students were introduced to risk-taking in Yr 7 PDHPE and will continue this topic in Pastoral Time and PDHPE in Yr 8. We are aiming to provide an opportunity for students to reflect on their own actions as well as educate students about how their brains work and why they might behave a certain way during their teenage years. With a bit of knowledge and understanding, we aim to make more educated decisions moving forward. Below are a few articles from various organisations on this exact topic.   

Stanford Children’s Health 
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Frontiers in Psychology 

Yr 8 Pastoral Program

This term, students will focus on developing their understanding of self-management and responsible decision making through setting clear goals, creating an evolving term planner to be added to and adapted throughout the term, and by studying positive and negative risk-taking. Outcomes for this term include understanding the connections between emotions and choices, identifying safe and unsafe risks, understanding how choices/impulses can impact personal wellbeing and resilience, and to be introduced to some of the consequences involved in these decisions. 

Ms Alissa Ynson
Yr 8 Advisor
9968 9863
aynson@redlands.nsw.edu.au