From the Principal
Back in the first week of Term 3, our Year 12 student leaders organised a whole of Secondary School student led assembly to kick off the second half of the year. The theme of the assembly was “Why Redlands?”, and each of the Secondary School captaincy pairs shared their reflections on what they love most about Redlands and what they have valued most from their schooling experience.
It was quite an affirming and moving experience for me to hear these personal and passionate reflections from our Year 12 students as they are coming to the end of their Redlands journey. The spoke of the close-knit community; the authentic spirit of giving; the supportive environment; and the endless opportunities to discover and develop their passions – just to name a few.
Over the past year and a half, I have been meeting individually with each staff member and asking them the same question, “What do they love most about Redlands?” Pleasingly, and not surprisingly, the staff’s answers resonated with the students’ ones: our strong sense of community and supportive environment; our focus on student growth and wellbeing; our innovative and progressive culture; and our diverse and inclusive environment.
And for me? What do I love most about Redlands? Well, my answer is quite simple, and it is the same answer that most of the teachers shared with me. It is the students. They are that EV battery giving energy and joy, not just to me, but to so many of the other staff each and every day here at school.
Over the past few weeks, it has been wonderful to feed off that energy and see the students thrive across so many different areas of the School, whether it was the excitement of the Prep School students at their various Olympic events; the passion of our Junior School students at their House Athletics Carnival (despite a bit of rain); the growth of our Year 10 students at Winter School; or the talent of our Year 11 students in their performance of Away over the weekend. I look forward to seeing our students’ lights continue to shine brightly at many other events over the rest of the year.
It has been a big week for many of our musicians over the past week with the stellar Junior Music Festival on Thursday and the Junior HICES Music Concert last night with Redlands students in Years 5-8 joining musicians from over 40 coeducational independent schools from across NSW for a performance at the Town Hall. Congratulations to all of the student performers and a thank you to our dedicated music staff who make these opportunities possible for our students.
The Redlands Musical is always a highlight on our school calendar, and we are excited to announce that the 2025 musical will be Disney’s smash hit, High School Musical. Further information can be found in the Secondary School Section of Note Day.
Giving Day
The countdown is on as we get closer to our inaugural Giving Day next Wednesday 21 August, in support of our High Country Campus expansion and Coralie Amos OAM means-tested scholarship. I sincerely thank those very generous members of our Redlands community who have either volunteered their time next week or already made their pledges to this philanthropic campaign.
Please join us in making your contribution to Giving Day next Wednesday or for further details, please visit the Foundation section of Note Day.
Mr Sean Corcoran
Photo Caption: Congratulations to our Junior School students on their stellar performances at this year’s Junior Music Festival.