From The Principal
It was an absolute joy to welcome around 380 parents onto the Junior Campus last Friday evening for Twilight in the Garden (relocated to Dunnet Hall due to the inclement weather). There was a definite buzz in the air as parents enjoyed welcoming new families to our Redlands community and making new friends, as well as catching up with old friends on campus. I sincerely thank the Redlands Parents and Friends Association for their wonderful hospitality in hosting the evening and in transforming Dunnet Hall into a twilight garden. Thank you also to Chris Blundell, Redlander 2013, and his band for the musical entertainment during the evening.
The breadth of the School’s Performing Arts program has been very evident this week with Battle of the Bands on the Senior Campus on Monday night and Red Factor, which will be held in Dunnet Hall tomorrow afternoon. In the annual Battle of the Bands competition, 21 acts performed Hits of the 90s in the Edwards Auditorium, competing in the rock band and unplugged categories, along with guest performances from two Junior School rock bands. Congratulations to all performers, the Music department and Music tutors. More details including the divisional winners can be found in the Secondary School and Music sections of Note Day. Tomorrow afternoon, 18 Junior School Dance, Vocal and Instrumental acts will take to the stage and perform in front of their peers at the annual Red Factor. What a fun way to conclude a very busy term!
On Monday this week, all Year 9 students were involved in presenting their pitches, developed through the new Industry Entrepreneurship Unit. My thanks to all staff in the HISE department for their work in bringing this unit to fruition, to enable the students to develop their skills in Entrepreneurial and Innovative Thinking. Obviously, entrepreneurship will not be a path that all students take in the future; however, the creative thinking, innovation, collaboration and critical thinking involved are all skills that are already in high demand.
On Tuesday this week, we celebrated the 50+ countries of birth of our students during International Day. The Junior Campus was awash with a multitude of colours from national costumes, while parents shared diverse cultural backgrounds of China, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Japan, Malaysia, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Tanzania, Thailand and Wales. On the Senior Campus, the lunchtime International Showcase featured student food stalls and other activities, raising funds for UNICEF Australia’s Ukraine Emergency Appeal.
Our Year 12 students enjoyed their camp this week in the Blue Mountains and were able to take advantage of some sunny weather with activities such as bush walking, mountain biking and horse riding, before the wet weather set in. The students returned to school today and this evening will enjoy an evening of celebration with their final Camp Dinner, now in Redlands Hall.
I would like to add my congratulations to our Girls Basketball teams which won the ISA Overall Girls Championship Shield for the third year in a row, and especially to the five teams which finished the season as Division Champions: 1sts, Intermediate A, Junior A, Junior B, Year 7A. Well done to all players and coaches!
I wish all families a Happy Easter and a restful break during the school holiday period and look forward to students returning to school on Wednesday 27 April in winter uniform.
Mr Stephen Webber
Photo Caption: This year’s Battle of the Bands competition saw a truly amazing array of musical talent from our students. Congratulations to this year’s overall winners, Callum Wardman-Browne and Austin Stapleton.