From the Principal
I thoroughly enjoyed attending the International Women’s Day (IWD) breakfast at the Mosman Art Gallery last Friday, hosted by Mosman Council, along with our Junior School Captains and Secondary School Service Captains. Maeve O’Meara provided an entertaining and thought-provoking address which impressed our students, in terms of the barriers she had overcome and her drive and inspiration.
The Secondary School students were fortunate to have Mary Jerram AM as the guest speaker at our IWD Assembly this week. Born in New Zealand, Mary began her working life as a high school English teacher before moving to Australia to study Law. Her career subsequently included stints as a Legal Officer at the Independent Teachers’ Union and as a Senior Advocate at the Legal Aid Commission, rising to become Deputy Chief Magistrate of the Local Court of New South Wales in 2000 and in 2007 she became the first female State Coroner of NSW.
I enjoyed the opportunity to talk to the students about my experiences in leading my previous school to become fully coeducational and my subsequent membership of the group ‘CEOs for Gender Equity’ in Perth. The group formed to address key issues such as the large gender pay gap in many organisations in WA and the low percentage of women in C-suite and Board Director roles. I highlighted the benefits our students gain in learning together in a coeducational environment that will assist them in life beyond school when they are working and leading together as equals. I also touched on the importance of diversity of thinking in leadership and the move in many companies to strategically aim for a more diverse workforce, as research has demonstrated it leads to improved outcomes.
I thoroughly enjoyed being at Penrith for the ISA Basketball Grand Finals on the weekend and congratulate all our teams that played on the day. My heart certainly had a workout with so many close games and our teams fought valiantly in all contests. It was wonderful to see the large amount of support on the day. I congratulate all members and coaches of our teams that played in the Grand Finals and in particular the 1st Girls team who won the ISA Shield as well as the Boys 17A, 15A, 15C and 15D teams who were victorious. In addition, Redlands Girls teams were awarded the Overall ISA Girls Basketball Shield for their performances over the entire season. The 1st Girls team now go on to compete with the winners of other school competitions with the goal of going on to represent the State at the National Schools Basketball Championships. It has certainly been a very strong season in Basketball.
Congratulations to all our students who represented the School in the ISA Swimming Carnival on Wednesday. It is an honour to be selected to compete at this event and there were a number of outstanding performances.
Olivia Donoghue Division 1A: 50m Freestyle 1st – 28.03; 100m Freestyle 1st – 1:00.80; 50m Butterfly 2nd – 29.76
Sam Virtue Division 1A: 50m Breaststroke 3rd – 36.88; 50m Butterfly 2nd – 28.94
Erik Scott Division 1A: 50m Backstroke 3rd – 31.69
Xander Halfen Division 1A: 50m Backstroke 3rd – 34.63
Chloe Jennings Division 1A: 50m Freestyle 2nd – 30.18; 50m Breaststroke 2nd – 42.48; 100m Freestyle 3rd – 1:09.75; 50m Backstroke 3rd – 39.01
Ruby Voyce Division 1A: 50m Backstroke 2nd – 37.26
Josh Miller Division 1A: 50m Breaststroke 3rd – 36.77
Inter Boys 4x50m Relay (Erik Scott, Sam Virtue, Josh Miller & Max Symons) 3rd
The Intermediate Boys finished in 3rd place in Division 1 and the Senior Girls in 4th place in Division 1.
I also pass on my best wishes to our Rowing crews competing in the ACT Head of the Lake and ACT Championships this weekend and know that they are very well prepared. It was a pleasure to recently get out on the water with our Director of Rowing, James Petering to see our Senior crews in action early in the morning.
Mr Stephen Webber
Photo caption: Congratulations to our 1sts Girls Basketball team who won the Div 1 ISA Championship Shield.