Community Update
Welcome back. The School has quickly sprung back to life with a number of significant student and community events taking place as this week has unfolded.
Earlier this week I was I was delighted to attend the Annual General Meeting of Redlands where our Chair of the School Board, Principal and Chief Financial Officer presented a positive and engaging account of our progress, achievements and accounts through the challenges of another pandemic ravaged year. It was lovely to chat with the wide variety of passionate Redlands Directors and Members who were in attendance.
ANZAC Day was commemorated earlier in the week with a moving Senior School Assembly that featured first hand experiences of those in the service of our country along with some personal and equally impassioned student reflections. Redlanders Major Jean-Marc Grant (Class of 2002) and Lt William Samios (Class of 2016) and Redlands Director and former army officer, Reverend Timothy St Quintin each recounted their personal experiences of active duty and what ANZAC Day means to them.
Yr 10 students Celine Patel and Olivia Salmond provided an inspiring historical reflection during the service, highlighting the remarkable story of Lt Colonel Vivian Bullwinkel MBE AO. Lt Colonel Bullwinkel enlisted in the Australian Army Nursing Service in 1941 and while sailing out of Singapore to escape the imminent Japanese Army invasion with 65 other nurses, the boat they were travelling in was sunk. Lt Colonel Bullwinkel was the only female survivor of the massacre at Banka Island where 21 members of the Australian Army Nursing Service and other survivors of the sinking ship were shot by the Japanese Army. She escaped into the Indonesian jungle where she remained for 12 days before being captured and interned in a local prisoner of war camp where she remained for three and half years. Vivian retired from the Army in 1947 and became Director of Nursing at the Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital in Melbourne. She devoted herself to the nursing profession and to honouring those killed on Bangka Island, raising funds for a nurses’ memorial and serving on numerous committees, including a period as a member of the Council of the Australian War Memorial, and later president of the Australian College of Nursing. A truly inspiring Australian.
We give thanks to the many men and women who gave their lives, along with those that have served, like Lt Colonel Bullwinkel, and those who are still serving, in times of both peace and conflict.
A reminder that we seek parents and carers in our community who have a passion for, and significant experience in, driving sustainability outcomes. At Redlands, we have a strategic commitment to sustainably managing the facilities and grounds of the School whilst continually engaging our students and the wider community in this endeavour. Commencing in Term 2 2022, a Sustainability Community Advisory Group will be formed to provide guidance and support to the Sustainability Working Group in the development of a School Environmental Management Plan and contribute to ongoing and future sustainability initiatives at Redlands. For more information on the Sustainability Community Advisory Group or to register your interest in joining click here or email us at sustainability@redlands.nsw.edu.au.
The support from our community for the Redlands Science and Innovation Luncheon event has been terrific. Tickets are still available and are on sale here. Proceeds from this event will be dedicated to the Dr Sue Morey AM Scholarship. Those unable to attend can still support the event through a number of different channels that include the purchase of raffle tickets, bidding on auction items or just by making a donation. For more information on the Science and Innovation Luncheon, along with our special guest panellists, please visit our Foundation page.
These events provide a mere snapshot of the wide variety of opportunities our community has to engage with our School and we look forward to welcoming more of our community back on to the campus as Term 2 unfolds. Thank you to those parents that I met this week for sharing your time and feedback with me.
I remain grateful for the continued guidance and support our community provides and, as ever, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Community Engagement team should you have any feedback, suggestions or questions.
Mr Grant Birse
Head of Community Engagement
9908 6406
gbirse@redlands.nsw.edu.au