From the Principal
Over the past few days I have been visiting our High Country Campus just outside of Jindabyne and seeing our Year 10 Winter School students immerse themselves in this special program. I have often said that our High Country Campus is an important part of the heart and soul of Redlands, and it has been wonderful to see it bustling with our students’ positive energy these past few days.
In recent weeks Ms Van de Peer and I have been speaking to parents and students from Preschool through to Year 8 about our Moonbah Program commencing next year for our Year 9 student where they will all have the opportunity to partake in an immersive, residential, experiential learning program either in Term 1 or Term 2.
Pleasingly, many of the future benefits for students participating in the Moonbah Program which we have been speaking about in these various forums, I have seen and heard firsthand from our Winter School students this week. In speaking to them, they have talked about how much they have already developed their self-confidence, independence and responsibility; how they have forged and strengthened relationships with other students; and how they have already gained new insights about themselves which they will take back with them to Sydney to assist them in their final two years of schooling.
The five key areas of our Redlands Student Wellbeing Framework (Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Responsible Decision-Making, Relationship Skills and Social Awareness) are clearly being profoundly developed from this experience.
(Some students have also told me how they have learned some excellent practical skills in terms of cleaning, meal preparation, vacuuming and washing clothes. However, they were not sure how much of this newfound knowledge they would share with their families when they return to Sydney, so parents, make sure to ask them!)
While it is great to see firsthand the current benefits of our Winter School program, it also fills me with tremendous excitement to know so many more students will be able to experience similar benefits from our Moonbah Program next year.
Last Friday, it was wonderful to see all three sections of the school come together for Jeans for Genes Day to support the 1 in 20 kids who face a birth defect or genetic disease. Denim was resplendent across the campuses and there were many yummy treats to enjoy from the various bake sales. Overall, Redlands raised just under $10,000 for this important cause making us once again the #1 School for donations. Congratulations and thank you to everyone involved for their support.
Last week in her Note Day article, Ms Van de Peer wrote about Yr 9 student, Amelie Swann’s, outstanding achievement representing Redlands at the School Nationals Swimming Championships where she finished 7th overall in her age group in the 50m butterfly and competed in two NSW relay teams. However, I would like to acknowledge Amelie, not for her swimming achievements, but for the character she displayed at the Championships.
I recently received an email from the NSW Swimming Manager who praised Amelie for her selflessness throughout the meet (joining one of the relay teams at short notice and helping them to finish 4th) and also for regularly supporting her teammates. As he said in his email to me, “Redlands should be very proud of her as both a swimmer and a person”. Congratulations, Amelie on representing yourself and your school in such a fine manner.
Giving Day
A reminder that on Wednesday 21 August we are excited to launch our major philanthropic campaign, Giving Day. Our Giving Day campaign supports the High Country Campus expansion and establishes another important means-tested scholarship in honour of Redlander Coralie Amos OAM.
Giving Day promises to be a fantastic day of celebration that will have a transformational impact for our students. I will personally be a part of the Giving Day team and look forward to connecting with members of our community on the day where we have 24 hours to reach our giving target of $400,000. Thanks to the incredible support of our matching gift donors, every donation on this day will be tripled, increasing the impact of everyone’s contributions significantly. For more information about our Giving Day and how you can get involved, please visit the Foundation section.
Mr Sean Corcoran
Photo Caption: Year 10 students enjoying the snow at High Country Campus