From The Principal
One of my aims moving into the Principal role this year has been to reach out to members of our community to get authentic feedback on the School. While we have done this formally through various surveys of staff, students and parents (there are more of these to come with our parent community), I have also been doing this informally in individual and small group meetings with staff and students. Over the course of this year, I have been preaching that we are “too good not to be better” and these feedback sessions have assisted in highlighting specific areas for improvement.
At the beginning of the year, I set out to have a 15 minute individual meeting with each of our over 300 non-casual staff members at Redlands. While it has been a big undertaking and I will be racing to complete these meetings by the end of the year, it has also been one of the most rewarding aspects of my year to date as I have listened, learned and been inspired by the reflections and insights of our staff.
While the feedback has shone a light on specific areas for improvement, pleasingly, from what I have heard (and seen) from staff we are authentically living our Values, Mission and Vision as a school. Staff have reflected that what they love most about Redlands is our strong sense of community; our positive culture; our focus on the holistic development of students; our balanced approach of maintaining academic excellence while providing diverse opportunities for students to develop their individual passions; and our forward thinking and innovative approach to education.
Most inspiring for me is that when staff have reflected on what brings them the most satisfaction working at Redlands, the majority have mentioned the students – “making a small but significant impact on their lives”; “witnessing their ‘lightbulb’ moments”; “seeing their joy of learning and achievement on their faces”; “being a part of something that is bigger than me and positively supports our students”.
While I will continue to look for ways that we can be “better” as a school, it is also important to reflect on what is “good”, as well.
Redlands Parent/Carer Arnhem Land Midawarr Trip
Last week we informed our community about a truly unique opportunity for parents and carers to visit Arnhem Land for a cultural immersion with the Yolŋu community from Sunday 26 – Thursday 30 May 2024. After years of developing our relationship with the Yolŋu community through Culture College and providing this amazing experience to our students, we are now offering it to parents and carers.
You can reserve a place at our information evening on Thursday 14 September here. Places for the Arnhem Land trip will be limited so please express your interest to attend early to reserve a place.
Staffing Update
As I communicated earlier today, our esteemed Head of Junior School, Mr Ari Guha, will be leaving us at the end of the 2023 school year after eighteen years of dedicated service to Redlands. Ari’s warmth, commitment and genuine care for each individual will be greatly missed by the many students, staff, parents and alumni who he has positively impacted in so many ways. We look forward to having an opportunity to properly acknowledge and farewell him later in the year.
Mr Sean Corcoran
Photo Caption: our Intermediate Concert Band attained the GOLD Award at the Australian Strings, Band and Orchestra Festival (ASBOF) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Well done to all involved!