From the Principal
It has been fantastic to see the Head of Secondary School, Ms Gemma Van de Peer, immerse herself in the life of the School and form strong connections with students and staff in a short space of time. Her energy, drive and passion for meeting the needs of individual students has shone through, as has her determination to work collaboratively with staff with a focus on continual improvement. Whilst we are pleased that we have been able to welcome more parents on site this year, we were conscious that some parents, who had not yet met Ms Van de Peer, might enjoy the opportunity to get a better sense of her as a person. Who better to ask the questions than School Captains, Piper Allen and Theo Mirrlees-Black, who have worked closely with Ms Van de Peer this year and first met her as part of the interview process last year. I trust you will enjoy this video.
I sincerely congratulate the Yr 9 team which placed 1st Overall in the Yr 9 division of the da Vinci Decathlon, competing against 71 other NSW teams. The Redlands team placed in 9 out of the 10 disciplines – 1st in English, 3rd in Ideation, 5th in Art and Poetry, 6th in Mathematics, Cartography, Legacy, 10th in Science, Creative Producers and 13th in Engineering. They have now been selected to participate in the National da Vinci Decathlon in June and we wish them all the very best in this next level of competition.
Congratulations also to our Yr 5, 6, 7 and 10 teams which also placed in various categories in this NSW competition, with the Yr 5 team placing 2nd in Engineering and the Yr 6 team placing 3rd in Cartography.
There was a huge buzz on Junior Campus this week as we held our first full Open Morning for some time, with a large number of tours led by Yr 2 and 6 students. I was so impressed with the confidence of the students and how proud they were to show people around their school. Parents I spoke to at morning tea couldn’t speak highly enough of how articulate, passionate and enthusiastic their tour guides were. It was also wonderful to have current Yr 11 students, Julia Saunders and William Thomas, share reflections on their time at the School, having started many years ago in Kindergarten and Preschool respectively. I always come away from Open Mornings feeling exhilarated as it enables me to stop and reflect on all the positivity happening within the School. Hearing students and staff conveying this to prospective members of the community is very powerful.
Mr Stephen Webber
Photo Caption: Yr 10 students enjoyed visiting a range of industries during their recent Industry Day. You can read more about their experiences in the Yr 10 section on Note Day.