Head of Preparatory School
Thank You
These two simple words can and should always carry great weight and importance in how we connect with each other but, at times, the words can carry even stronger meaning and significance. Now is one such time.
I express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to everyone in our special school community for their unwavering support, efforts, adaptability as well as the deep sense of school community spirit.
Our teaching and support staff have been nothing short of phenomenal in their commitment to their students and in embracing the changing landscape of learning and as I mentioned in our remote assemblies this week, I am equally proud of our students and their ability to adapt and be open to new ways of thinking and learning.
On behalf of the staff at Redlands, I also acknowledge and express appreciation to all Redlands parents for your continued messages of support and feedback.
I have been in contact this week with Ainslie Breckenridge, our new Head of Preparatory School, and she is extremely excited to take up the helm during the holiday break when she and I, along with our Junior Campus Deans, will also meet to plan and prepare for the start of Term 2.
As I said to parents in the webinar session, we can either go through this or we can grow through this and I believe that our community’s response thus far will see us in a far better position for this experience when we get back to school and our everyday business.
Many of you will have heard the Queen speak to the Commonwealth this week and her final comments really resonated with me as to where I think we are at Redlands:
“Better days will return; we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.”
With continued best wishes to you and your families at this time and the very best of wishes for the Easter period.
Parent Webinars
It was just wonderful to connect with over 500 Junior Campus families as we hosted four separate webinars this week for parents in the Preschool, Prep School, Yrs 3 and 4 and Yrs 5 and 6. Alongside our Principal Mr Webber, Deputy Principal Ms McGarry, Dean of Teaching and Learning Mrs Smith, Dean of Students Mrs Kourakis and Redlands House Coordinator Mrs Huon, it was wonderful to be able to share information with Redlands families through this medium and have real-time connection with our families. As I mentioned, as well as missing the students, I have missed daily interactions with families at times such as morning drop-off, pick-up or on the sidelines of sports matches so it was great to see so many friendly faces on screen.
We will seek to place the recorded video links to the sessions on Redlands Pulse during the upcoming holidays.
Remote and Online Learning
This week saw a really positive introduction to Zoom in the Prep School and I received lots of very positive feedback from our Prep Coordinators Mrs Finlayson, Ms Hurley and Mrs Sharp about the way in which the children followed all the rules and expectations. Teachers also saw the joy amongst the students as they saw each other for the first time in a while and equally, the teachers themselves commented on how much they had missed seeing the children in their class. The teachers look forward to continuing to develop this synchronous learning platform next term.
Connected to this, we were delighted to have our Kindergarten Coordinator, Mrs Finlayson, invited to be part of the Association of Independent Schools’ panel on Remote Teaching and Learning in K-2, where some of our practices have been highlighted as high-quality.
Easter Hat Parade Joy!
Nothing gets in the way of the Easter Hat parade and judging by the smiles in the photos below, the children had a ball making their Easter hats at home. Thank you to parents and teachers for their partnership in ensuring that the students were able to see each other’s magnificent creations.
Term 2 Student Resource Packs
In listening to feedback from families who haven’t had ready access to printers, our Prep teachers have been collating student resource booklets which will be copied and collated before Term 2 commences. The teachers are preparing booklets for the first three weeks and if you would like to collect a booklet from Prep Reception, please note the information and instructions below to ensure a smooth and safe collection process:
Date: Friday 24 April
Times: Kindergarten 9.00-11.00am
Yr 1 11.00am-1.00pm
Yr 2 1.30-2.30pm
There will be a clear process marked out and only one family member should come in to collect the pack. There will be a one way system with entry through Prep Reception but an exit through another door out onto Allister Street as will be signposted. Please ensue that you wait at the front gate and come in when requested and that you maintain a 2m distance from other parents.
Student Wellbeing Matter
In preparation for the school holidays and in support of wellbeing, a resource list has been placed on Redlands Pulse. Here you will find a range of ideas, suggestions, links and activities centred on the Five Ways to Wellbeing: Staying Active, Keeping Connected, Learning New Things, Taking Notice and Being Kind.
Term 2 Staffing News
We said farewell to Mrs Kim Chipper this week as she commences her maternity leave. We thank Mrs Chipper for her efforts up until her last day and look forward to hearing of her impending arrival in due course. As Kindergarten Yellow parents are already aware, we welcome back Mrs Rachel Haines to our staff team to take over the class for the remainder of the year. Mrs Haines worked at Redlands for a number of years before taking some time off to look after her young family and we are delighted to welcome her back as a permanent member of our staff team.
We are delighted to welcome back Mr Brad Hemopo to our Junior Campus PDHPE team for the rest of the year. As some of you may recall, Mr Hemopo left us at the end of 2019 to commence a professional Rugby contract in the US but has returned after just four games with the abandonment of the season until 2021. As Mr Hemopo returns, we thank Mr James Duncan for fulfilling the role in Term 1.
Some Possible Holiday Non-Screen Activities
Term 2 Start
Please note that Term 2 commences on Tuesday 28 April. We look forward to resuming our remote and online learning program and we will be in touch again ahead of this date.
Uniform Shop
The Uniform Shop will remain closed to customers until further notice. We will continue to place orders online through Flexischools or via email to uniformorders@redlands.nsw.edu.au during Term 2.
You can choose to have your order delivered to your house via Australia Post or request a pick up from the Shop on Mondays and Thursdays only.
Further information can be found on Redlands Pulse or by calling the Uniform Shop on 9968 9850.
Chaplain
Please visit the Chaplain page to read their interesting article.
Mr Ari Guha
Head of Junior School (covering Head of Preparartory School)
aguha@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9953 6022