From the Principal
School Musical
Last Friday night I very much enjoyed the School Musical, Return to the Forbidden Planet. Our talented cast gave a superb performance and the musical accompaniment, mostly comprised of our very able students and conducted by our equally talented Mr Jonathan Gray, was outstanding. Those on stage, in the pit and working behind the scenes in production, hair and make-up, film and puppeteering truly transported us to the intergalactic world. Congratulations and thank you to all the students for their extremely professional performance, to our Coordinator of Theatre and Drama Mrs Joy Daley and her team and to the many other staff and parents who helped stage such an entertaining show.
International Day
One of the hallmarks of a Redlands education is the cultural diversity at our School and this week it was wonderful to celebrate International Day on both campuses. The Senior Campus saw a special Prefect-led International Day Assembly, then Years 7 and 8 participated in an Aboriginal incursion and classes in Chinese painting, Kung Fu and Tai Chi, French cooking and craft, Japanese fan design and cooking, Spanish salsa dancing and an Ancient Roman cultural activity.
The Junior Campus was awash with students in colourful dress, wearing either national costumes or national colours from all around the world. In the Junior School, parents shared their international backgrounds and experiences and curriculum lessons had an international perspective, while Preparatory School students were treated to a performance from Indigenous storyteller, Matthew Doyle, and Redlands House students enjoyed a range of international activities and experiences.
Thank you to all of the staff and parents involved in staging this special day in the Redlands calendar.
Science and IST Success
I wish to congratulate Year 9 students Theo Mirrlees-Black and Harrison Winton who both performed exceptionally well in the University of Sydney’s Gifted and Talented Science Discovery Program Qualifying Examination, placing in the top 5% of the 1500 students from around Australia who sat the exam. As a result of their achievements, they have been invited to participate in the Gifted and Talented Discovery Program in the July school holidays. Congratulations Theo and Harrison!
Congratulations also to the 16 Year 10 students who achieved a perfect score in Grok Learning’s 2018 Web Design Competition, a coding competition which teaches students how to design their own websites. The students competed for five weeks alongside over 6,000 students from across Australia and the world. Eight of these students have chosen to participate in the next challenge, the Intermediate Level Web Design tournament.
CIS Swimming Success
Congratulations to Laura Holtheuer (Yr 12), Jemma Donoghue (Yr 12), Sean Russell (Yr 12), Jodie Ah Chong (Yr 12), Jasmine Chubb (Yr 11), Olivia Donoghue (Yr 9), Samuel Virtue (Yr 8), Ella Palmet (Yr 8) and Sophie McGrath (Yr 7), who between them achieved 12 Top 10 places at the NSW CIS Swimming Championships at the end of last week. I especially congratulate the Open Girls 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay team who placed 4th and the Open Girls 4 x 50m Medley Relay team who placed 6th. More details about their achievements can be found in the Sports section of this week’s Note Day.
Happy Holidays
I wish all students, parents and staff a restful break over the school holiday period and look forward to welcoming students back to school on Tuesday 1 May.
Dr Peter Lennox
Main photo caption: The multi-talented cast and crew from the intergalactic spectacle of the School Musical, Return to the Forbidden Planet.