Head of Early Childhood

Learning and Teaching for Understanding

“The goal for going to school is not to be good at school, it is to be good at life”. This was just one of the many messages that was shared by Project Zero’s Graduate School of Education Director of Learning, Tina Blythe, at last Sunday’s conference. Life-worthy learning that lasts, underpins the School’s Vision of life-readiness for our students. I was pleased to attend the Sydney Conference with key note speaker, Tina Blythe, along with a variety of smaller workshops led by practicing educators inspired by Project Zero’s ideas. The Harvard group is made up of a team of researchers who delve deep into learning and their focus stems around three main questions:

What does learning look like?
How and where do learning and thinking thrive?
What’s worth understanding today and tomorrow?

Several Redlands staff attended the conference and Junior Campus teachers, Ms Julie Francis and Mrs Jo Benneyworth, together with Mr Nigel Coutts, led a thought-provoking session on exploring Design Thinking. The audience were receptive to the practical solutions they provided to teachers who are navigating their way through the complex tasks of translating curriculum documents and meeting students where they are in their learning to maximise the impact of teaching.

Redlands Konica Minolta Artist in Residence

Last Thursday, the School held the 2019 Redlands Konica Minolta Artist in Residence evening which was well attended by the Early Childhood section of the School. The School was proud to celebrate the remarkable collection of artwork that is used as a teaching collection at Redlands and reflects and documents contemporary practice in Australia and New Zealand. Together with this unique teaching collection, the School was fortunate to have artist in residence, Mr Cameron Robbins, share his reflections on the week he spent with students at Redlands. Mr Mark Harpley, Head of Visual Arts, spoke of the interactions the students have had with Mr Robbins:

“Our students have been incredibly engaged with the Artist in Residence Program and with Cameron Robbins’ practice. They have watched him visit the site, they have watched as he pondered the sky and waited for the wind. They have spent time in his studio watching as he explored ideas, made plans, drew ideas, investigated possibilities. Our students have been incredibly privileged to be provided with an insight into the practice of an artist.

Cameron has spoken with every Yr 4 student and all Visual Art students in the Secondary School; he has talked them though his practice; he has emphasised the need to experiment; to allow for mistakes and not be afraid of getting things wrong. The insight he has provided for Redlands students has been incredible and I thank him for his patience and professionalism with our students whilst working on his own practice to ensure he was able to make a site responsive artwork”.

We are fortunate at Redlands to have a community with a strong tradition of generously giving back to the School and we are most appreciative of the families who attend events such as this and give of their time and generosity with sponsorships, community building events, volunteering and donations.

Junior Campus Open Morning

On Tuesday morning Redlands hosted an Open Day for prospective families. 123 guests were greeted in Dunnet Hall by our delightful Yrs 5 and 6 Junior Piano Competition Finalists: Toby Anderson, Aneke Golowenko, Daniel Koppers, Keith Liu, Konnie Pan, Lachlan Svensson, Leonardo Vaccarezza and Nicholas Wright. Our student body was further showcased when Yr 11 students, Harrison Garrett and Anna Saunders, spoke about their educational and sporting journeys at Redlands, beginning in Kindergarten. The Q & A session completed the official presentation and Yr 2 students Sophia Moriarty and Alexia Tsacalos, together with Yr 6 students Federico Gazzilli and Tali Feldman, ably fielded the questions. A challenge for anyone to answer impromptu questions, Sophia and Alexia confidently and enthusiastically addressed the large audience on a number of different topics, including their experiences with Science and Sport. Thank you to the following Yr 2 students who were wonderful ambassadors for their School, leading tours for families through the Prep and Junior Schools.

2A – Alexia Tsacalos, Wesley Rinaldo, Jennifer Todd, Luca Cowlishaw
2C – Sophia Moriarty, Henry Hitchens, Sylvia Dagg, Ekam Sethi
2E – Ayden Berry, Charlotte Crawford, Jackson Humphreys, Chloe MacDonald
2P – Grayson Sloot, Callum Jayasekera, Ava Grasso Revland, Sophie Coolen

Yr 2 Science Incursion

Linked to their Term 2 Unit of Inquiry Wondering about Water and Weather, Kaleidoscope Science came into school on Wednesday this week to share information and experiments with the Yr 2 classes all about Air, Atmosphere and Weather. Hands-on demonstrations focused on developing an understanding of air and weather, particularly in relation to the air being warmed or cooled. Yr 2 watched with wonderment when the balloon attached the top of a glass bottle was sucked right inside the bottle! Equally, they were in awe when a ‘tea bag’ rocket launched off its launch pad! Through the many experiments shown, the students had the chance to use their skills of prediction and observation while furthering their understanding of some concepts related to their unit of study. Overall, the students thoroughly enjoyed this engaging learning opportunity.

Before School in the Lucy Hill Library

The Lucy Hill Library is open for parents and students from 8.00 – 8.20am on Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays. On Wednesdays students must be accompanied by their parent. The Library is a quiet space for reflection and reading and therefore the students who would like to be there are expected to uphold the Positive Behaviour for Learning Agreements.

Uniform Shop

On Monday 27 May, the Uniform Shop will be closed between 9.00am – 1.00pm. We apologise for any inconvenience.

OOSH

Information pertaining to the upcoming July Vacation Care program for Prep and Junior School students can be found on Redlands Pulse/OOSH for families to view. Flexischools will be open for bookings on Monday 27 May at 5.00pm. The cut-off date will be Wednesday 26 June at 5.00pm and after this time no further changes or bookings can be made.

As a reminder, OOSH at Redlands is open from 11.00am to 6.00pm daily. If you would like to make a general enquiry, booking or alter a permanent booking please email OOSHbookings@redlands.nsw.edu.au. If you need to contact the OOSH team to relay a message affecting the day your child is in attendance, please call 0413 764 443 between 2.30-6.00pm only. Email messages are unable to be read between the hours of 2.30-6.00pm because staff are looking after the children in their care.

The Lost Sheep

Thank you to Mrs Sharp and 2E who led the first of our student-organised chapels this week and shared with other classes and parents the parable of the Lost Sheep. A beautiful message and a worthy reminder of love and compassion that we can apply to all aspects of our life.

Redlands Gala Ball

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