Head of Early Childhood

Community

The warmth of the Redlands community was certainly felt at the Twilight Cocktails held last Friday night, with many families from Early Childhood in attendance. Dr Lennox warmly welcomed new families to the School and reminded everyone about the upcoming social events in the School calendar. I enjoyed chatting with many parents and although I didn’t have the opportunity to speak to all Redlands House and Preparatory families, it was heart-warming to see so many in attendance this year. It was lovely to hear families enthusiastically sharing stories with me of their children’s positive start to the school year. Events such as these take many weeks of planning and I would like to thank Melanie Hendra, the School’s Event Manager, the Facilities and Maintenance teams for their behind the scenes preparation, the Redlands Parents and Friends Association (RPFA) committee members, in particular, President Michelle Tea, Anna Maria Stillone and Jean Martin who were closely involved with the organisation of the evening. This week also held the first Early Childhood Parent Coordinator Group meeting for the year. Thank you to Jennie Cadman and Bree Stevens for their coordination of this Group and to the parents who have given their time to organise various social functions for their cohort for the year ahead.

Dr Judith Locke Presentation

This week we were fortunate to have Dr Judith Locke, clinical psychologist, former teacher and workplace trainer present workshops to staff and families of the School. Her advice to support children in a friendly and relatable way as well as providing specific strategies around how to help them become independent and make the most of their opportunities whilst at school was invaluable. Dr Locke reminded parents that by allowing children to face a world with some challenge and disappointment it can lead to opportunities that develop resilience and confidence. If you missed this wonderful learning opportunity and would like more information, please visit this website where Dr Locke’s book; “The Bonsai Child” is available, or refer to the Facebook page – Confident and Capable. The five essential skills for long term success in children, which she challenges is more important than academic scores are outlined below:

Resilience – the ability to cope with difficulty
Self-Regulation – foregoing current pleasure for future gain
Resourcefulness – the ability to take the initiative to improve your situation
Respect – for others and authority
Responsibility – contributing to the community

We are very keen for feedback about this event to help us inform our planning for future events. We would appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to answer some simple questions by clicking here (even if you were unable to attend).

Parent Teacher Learning Meetings

Parent Teacher Learning Meetings will be held for the Preparatory School in Week 8, between Monday 18 and Friday 22 March. Bookings will open at 9.00am on Monday 4 March and close on Wednesday 13 March. These meetings are a wonderful opportunity for collaboration between parent and teacher and I therefore urge you to take up this important time with your child’s teacher. You are able to book meeting times that suit you by following the steps below:

Go to schoolinterviews.com.au and follow these simple instructions.
School Event Code – wnkcf
Enter your details
Choose your teacher
Choose your time
When you click Finish, your interview timetable will be emailed to you automatically – check your junk mail folder if you do not receive your email immediately.
You can return to schoolinterviews.com.au at any time, and change your interviews, until bookings close.

Easter Eggs for Sydney’s Homeless

Redlands Preparatory school will once again provide Easter eggs and special encouraging cards to the men and women experiencing homelessness at Edward Eagar Lodge in Sydney this Easter. What started as a simple gesture of care has become a much-anticipated tradition among both those who give and receive. The homeless men and women who have received the gifts in the past often ask about the wellbeing of the students who made their special cards and are looking forward to their treats again this year. The children love the story of one man who has kept his cards each year and they have become his most prized possessions. They also love preparing the gift bags and the cards and this simple gift allows some fellow Sydneysiders experiencing homelessness, a sense of inclusion in this celebration.

For families wishing to be involved, please send Easter eggs, especially small and medium-sized eggs to Prep Reception. The students will create gift bags with the donated eggs and cards during recess, lunch and Christian Studies lessons. Our aim this year is to create 300 bags. For any additional information please contact Fiona McKenzie, Junior Campus Chaplain.

Teaching and Learning Presentation

Next Tuesday 5 March, Dean of Teaching and Learning Mr Nigel Coutts, and Dean of Students Mrs Samantha Kourakis, will be presenting an information session for parents and carers. If you would like to know more about our contemporary teaching and learning pedagogy, as well as how we support student wellbeing at Redlands, please join us for this opportunity. The presentation will take place in the Arnold Library, Junior School, beginning at 8.30am. Tea and coffee will be available from 8.00am.

Clean Up Australia Day

Clean Up Australia Day is a wonderful opportunity for all Redlands students and their families to make a positive contribution to our local community. This year the location has changed from Balmoral and the focus is on cleaning up the Spit Reserve. Many Redlands students have spent time in this area for various sports including training sessions in the park and our older students row on the harbour. I encourage you to come along on Sunday and help the School make a difference and see if we can remove as much rubbish as possible from the park and the harbour foreshore.

Date:                           Sunday 3 March
Arrive:                        1.00pm for a short briefing
Clean up:                   1.15 – 2.30pm
Afternoon tea:         2.30pm, BYO some snacks to share

Redlands Inaugural Sports Luncheon

The Redlands Inaugural Sports Luncheon, celebrating 120 years of Redlands Sport, will be held towards the end of this term on Friday 5 April between 12.00 – 4.00pm at the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Kirribilli.

This Luncheon is open to all Redlands parents and alumni and provides a great opportunity to celebrate the integral value of sport to the Redlands community and its students of the past, present and future. We are delighted to announce our guest speakers, all past Redlands students, who will share their very inspiring journey during this luncheon:

Karyn Gojnich (née Davis), Class of 1978 (Olympic Sailor, Redlander and former Redlands parent)
Janusz Hooker, Class of 1987 (Olympic Rower)
Lachlan Mackay, Class of 2000 (Rugby: Australian Wallaby)
Holly Crawford, Class of 2001 (Olympic Snowboarder)

Tickets are $130 per person and include a gourmet two course meal and beverages. Limited spaces are available and bookings can be made here. I hope to see many of you there as we recognise this milestone in the history of Redlands Sport.

Easter Working Bee

Mrs Audrey Fellowes
Head of Early Childhood
afellowes@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9848