Head of Junior School

Language Perfect World Championships

Once again, our Junior School students achieved phenomenal results in the 2018 Language Perfect World Championships which took place from 21-31 May. In our focused area of Spanish, which all students in the Junior School learn, Redlands placed in the following local and global positions:

4^th overall in Spanish in the world out of 1,058 schools
2^nd in Spanish in Australia out of 712 schools 
1^st in Spanish in NSW out of 212 schools 

These remarkable results and continued improvement on previous years are a testament to the students’ engagement and enthusiasm for the subject, guided by Senora Colagiuri.

We will recognise all of the student certificate recipients in our assembly next week but I make mention of the students listed below who scored an exceptional amount of points.

Gold Certificates with 3000+ points

Emerald Certificates with 5000+ points

Elite Certificates with 10,000+ points

Education Perfect has provided the school with a ‘Churros Party’ that will take place at lunchtime in the Spanish room next Friday 22 June. The top scoring student in Spanish in each class and the next top six students in the Junior School will be invited to attend and we congratulate these hardworking students too.

* Denotes top points scorer in each Year Group and recipient of $20 iTunes voucher from Education Perfect.

The highest scoring class was 6R with 28,329 points and Mrs Colagiuri remarked that the best thing about this competition is that regardless of whether you score 10,000 or 10 points, all the learning that the students do helps to improve their Spanish skills and their overall literacy skills. BIG congratulations to every student on their incredible effort and commitment to learning.

Junior Canteen

In accordance with the New South Wales Healthy Eating Guidelines, we are delighted to share some updated information of the Junior Campus Canteen menu. In NSW, the revised strategy has been informed by a comprehensive evidence-based report and a consultation process that included key stakeholders to understand the barriers and enablers for increasing healthy food and drink choices in all NSW school canteens. In addition to these guidelines, Redlands has sought feedback from health professionals in the community who have provided suggestions.

A wider variety of freshly made to order food will be available to families, as well as daily, hot food specials with more gluten and dairy-free food options. There is also a considerable reduction in the pre-packaged food choices.

It is important to note the limitations with the cooking facilities currently in the Junior Campus Canteen. With small amounts of preparation space and a lack of stove-top cooking, there is a constraint to the amount and variety of food that the School is able to prepare. The School is however looking at ways to increase the Canteen’s capacity in the future.

We hope that these first steps, coupled with our plan to move all ordering online from the start of Term 3 will provide families with a more efficient and appealing range of culinary options for you and your children. We thank our Canteen staff for guiding these modifications as a part of our commitment to the ongoing improvement of our catering offerings. The revised menu will be in effect from next Monday 18 June.

Drinking Bubblers

We were delighted to have installed another new water bubbler for students, staff and families to utilise on a daily basis. In addition to the one installed at the end of last year by the Junior School play equipment, we have installed a three-station water bubbler and chilled and filtered water bottle refiller on the Parkes Building near the flagpole. Many students have a daily water bottle that they refill and I will encourage all students (and parents) to use this station as a water source to refill drink bottles rather than purchase bottles from the Canteen as we seek to reduce our plastic consumption at School.

Annual Giving

The support from our community is very important for the School’s development. We are very fortunate at Redlands to have a long history of community support for our School through volunteering, corporate ties and financial donations. Our current facilities on the Junior Campus are enjoyed by our students and staff, thanks to the generous support of previous generations of families.

We would greatly appreciate any families who have not already done so in this financial year to support us in our journey. You can secure a family plaque, get involved with the Spring Fair preparation or donate a raffle prize. For further details, please see the Foundation section of Note Day or contact our Director of Development, Mrs Dana Casimaty, on 9968 9858. Once again, your generous support and assistance is greatly appreciated.

Term 3/Term 4 Notice of Departure 

As we are approaching the mid-point of the year, this is a reminder that those families who are planning on leaving the School during or at the end of Term 3 or Term 4 are required to give notice to the Principal via an email to registrar@redlands.nsw.edu.au by the following dates:

• Term 3 Departures: Friday 22 June
• Term 4 Departures: Friday 27 July

As per our Conditions of Enrolment emailed to all families in December last year with the 2018 Schedule of Fees, there will be fees in lieu payable for any notices of departure received after the relevant date.

Mr Ari Guha
Head of Junior School
aguha@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9953 6022