From the Principal

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It has been inspiring to see our athletes perform at such a high level at the Tokyo Olympic Games and many people have commented on the lift the games have provided during this period. As a massive Patty Mills fan, I have enjoyed following the Boomers Mens Basketball team and was pleased to note that they won against Italy on Wednesday evening. With a scheduling clash, it goes without saying that my full focus at the time was on our Board Zoom meeting and full credit as well to Mr Corcoran, whose commitment to the meeting was unquestioned, even with his two sons cheering loudly in the next room.

Mr Guha has been providing a regular update to Junior School students on the Redlands Olympic Challenge results at the Junior School assemblies. There is no doubt that the staff team have some ground to catch up on the House groups, who are surging ahead. As of today, the results of our school-wide Olympic Challenge are:

It has been positive to note the collegial support that Principals across the Independent sector have provided to each other throughout this period. I am a member of a group of Heads who meet via Zoom each week to share strategies and organisational plans, which rapidly have to be adapted in the current climate. Another meeting this week involved all NSW Independent School Principals discussing a range of alternative plans for Yr 12 trial examinations.

With the Premier’s announcement on Wednesday that Yr 12 students would return to face to face schooling from Week 6, Monday 16 August, our Secondary School leadership team have been reviewing our plans for Yr 12 trial examinations and will be updating all Yr 12 students on Friday morning, along with communication to families. With the Remote Learning period for all other year levels being extended for another four weeks we will continue to refine our plans based on student, parent and staff feedback. We will soon be sending a short survey to parents to gather specific feedback regarding the program and as always encourage you to continue to use the feedback@redlands.nsw.edu.au email channel as well.

Our Ethics Olympiad team, which won the Gold Medal in the NSW Senior Ethics Olympiad last term, competed in the International Ethics Olympiad Final last Friday against 38 teams from a range of countries. Due to the lockdown, our team competed remotely on Zoom, and while not placing in this international final, they very much enjoyed this international challenge. Our Ethics Olympiad team also featured in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Independent Schools Guide last weekend in this article.

Finally, I wish to congratulate School Captain Theo Mirrlees-Black who has been awarded one of only 25 Australian National University Tuckwell Scholarships for study commencing in 2022. Well done to Theo, we are very proud of you. You can read more about Theo’s outstanding achievement here.

Photo Caption: One of the younger members of our Redlands community proudly celebrating the Australian Olympic Team’s medal winning performances at the Tokyo Olympic Games this week.