From the Principal
Last Saturday I enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and watched our Football teams playing at Macquarie Playing Fields against opponents from several schools. The Boys’ First Eleven were pitted against possibly the strongest team in Division 1, St Pius. Winning the Division 2 title last season has lifted our Firsts back into the very strong and competitive Division 1 of the ISA competition. The game was played at a cracking pace from the start right through to the final whistle. The skills and commitment of both teams was a wonderful spectacle for spectators and for some of our younger players to watch and, for those younger players, to aspire to. Exceptional fitness, great tactical awareness and fine ball control meant both goalkeepers had a busy time. 2-2 at half time meant the game was still for either to win. It was not until the third quarter of time that St Pius scored a third goal; what was wonderful to see was that our players did not drop their heads but continued to press forward to get shots on target, but could not pierce the strong opposition defence. Pushing forward relentlessly to score an equaliser for at least a draw as time ticked by, meant taking risks at the back, and sadly that led in the final few minutes for two break-away goals to go against us to leave a score-line that did not really reflect the effort, skills and courage of our team. But they will continue to improve, as they play other quality teams in this top Division. We wish them all the best for their future matches. They are doing themselves and their school proud. That is the spirit which we want to see from all teams who play for Redlands.
Congratulations to our Junior School Cross Country athletes who this week won the Division 1 HICES trophy for the 3rd year in succession (!) and to the Secondary School athletes who competed at the ISA Cross Country, providing our best results for some years with the Junior Girls finishing 1st and our Girls teams coming 2nd overall and with our Senior Boys finishing 1st for the first time ever! Thank you to all our Athletics coaches who develop both skills and attitude in our athletes.
Gala Arts is on at The Concourse Chatswood and I am looking forward to another spectacular evening which will showcase the talent among the Secondary School across the Performing Arts. Next week is another important week in the Redlands calendar with Redlands Heritage Week, which includes an annual Platinum Luncheon for Redlanders who graduated 50 or more years ago, and which ends on Friday with our Foundation Day Service, as the School turns 134 this year.
Annual Giving Thank You
As we approach the end of the financial year, I would like to acknowledge and thank all the families who have made a donation to our Building Fund, Scholarship Fund or Library Fund this year. We are very fortunate at Redlands to have a long history of community support for our School through volunteering, corporate ties and financial donations.
Our current facilities are enjoyed by our students and staff, thanks to the generous support of both current and previous generations of families. We would greatly appreciate any families who have not already done so to support us in our journey. All donations are tax deductible. For further details, please see the Foundation section of Note Day or contact our Director of Development, Mrs Dana Casimaty on 9968 9858 or dcasimaty@redlands.nsw.edu.au.
Dr Peter Lennox
Main photo caption: Congratulations to our Junior School Cross Country athletes who won the Division 1 HICES trophy for the third year in succession