From the Principal

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As communicated in a letter to parents on Monday, we are very pleased to confirm that Buildcorp Group Pty Ltd has been appointed as the head contractor for our Senior Campus redevelopment project, and that they have commenced work this week. Our New Learning Hub, which will provide state-of-the-art learning spaces for English, Mathematics, Social Science, Visual Arts and Innovative Design, is on track to be ready for occupation students at the commencement of Term 3 next year.

Last Thursday night over 100 members of the Redlands community celebrated our Redlands Art Prize Collection and Redlands Konica Minolta Artist in Residence program. They heard from RKMAIR artist Cameron Robbins and had the opportunity to view many of the artworks from the Redlands Collection, acquired over the past 22 years of the Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize, which were exhibited on the walls of the John Roberts Centre. The evening was the culmination of a fortnight of experiential learning for our Visual Arts students in both Junior and Secondary Schools, as they interacted with Cameron Robbins while he created his site-specific artwork En plein air in the Innovative Design workshop and installed it outside the John Roberts Centre.  I sincerely thank our Coordinator of Visual Arts, Mr Mark Harpley, RKMAIR Coordinator, Dr Kate Williams and our Director of Development, Mrs Dana Casimaty and her team for providing this wonderful learning opportunity for our students and special evening for our parents. 

Last Friday was last day of National Careers Week which we celebrated on the Senior Campus. This careers-focused week included presentations by Professor Tim Flannery and RKMAIR artist Cameron Robbins and a career speed networking session where 18 Redlanders provided valuable career advice to Secondary School students. The week concluded with a Great Debate between teachers and students on the topic “formal examinations do not prepare students for real world careers”, which was won by the students. Thank you to University and Careers Advisor, Ms Simone Salier for organising this wonderful week of life-readiness activities.

This past couple of weeks has seen a number of service initiatives which exemplify our School motto of Let Your Light Shine, specifically letting our lights shine for the benefit of others. I wish to add my thanks to the 130 parents, students and staff who celebrated Mother’s Day by participating in the Mother’s Day Class Fun Run and Walk, raising valuable funds for breast cancer. Our School was recognised for having the third highest number of participants in the Schools category.

This coming Sunday, Year 11 students will be door knocking in the streets of Cremorne to collect donations for the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal, which provides so much support for people in need. At the end of this term, Year 10 students will participate in the Redlands School Sleepout to gain a greater understanding of the realities of homeless.

From Visual Arts to Careers to Service, the past couple of weeks had been a strong demonstration of the holistic Redlands education we seek to provide for our students.

Dr Peter Lennox

Photo caption: Exploration, challenges and friendships abound at Year 3 Camp this week.