Head of Junior School
Wellbeing Wednesday
What an uplifting occasion Wellbeing Wednesday was as our Junior School students and staff enjoyed a different pace and range of activities. After ten weeks of Remote Learning, the feedback from students was that this was something that they enjoyed immensely and I am grateful to our staff for their planning and preparation to organise 28 live sessions across the Junior School to engage with the students.
I also acknowledge some of our Yr 6 Technology Student Leaders who confidently led two well-planned and coordinated sessions utilising breakout rooms and even a blended learning option with students on site. Yr 5 students enjoyed a GarticPhone Fun Game session where they put their technology and creative talents to the test in breakout rooms run by Cameron Petrie, Amelie Swann, Chloe Howard and Jessica Jackson.
The ‘Design Your Own Magnet’ saw Chloe Howard, Eva Simpson, Jessica Jackson, Misato Ueno and Orla Collins running create and chat rooms with Yr 3 students who celebrated and shared their amazing magnet creations.
Parent Connection and Feedback
In our final staff meeting of the term, I was delighted to welcome our Junior School Parent Group Coordinators, Rebecca James and Becky Gait, as a ‘surprise’ final agenda item. From my conversations with them both over the term and feedback that they had received from other parents, Becky and Rebecca warmly articulated gratitude to the staff on behalf of the parents. As you can imagine, the generous comments were graciously appreciated by our staff including our Principal, Mr Webber.
Looking Forward to Term 4
As previously communicated, the current advice from the NSW government is that schools will have a phased return as outlined below:
TG, Kindy, Yr 1 & Yr 12 Monday 25 October
Yrs 2, 6 & 11 Monday 1 November
Yrs 3-10 Monday 8 November
Hence, all NSW schools will commence Term 4 with Remote Learning and our Junior School timetables will follow the same structure as is currently in place after one or two refinements earlier this term.
I will send Junior School families a Term 4 information letter towards the end of the second week of the holiday break and Term 4 timetables will be uploaded at this time too.
Please be reminded that Term 4 starts on Tuesday 5 October.
Junior School Ethics Olympiad Team
Congratulations to our inaugural Junior School Ethics Olympiad team who placed 10th in a field of 30 schools from across Australasia. Redlands was given an honourable mention from the judges as our team of five competed against schools from across Australasia where they analysed and discussed real-life, timely, ethical issues.
The team of Eliana Angus, Isabelle Bannon, Kernel He, Alex Heller and Chloe Petering were impressive in their application of ethical theory and presenting their case, as well as listening to other teams and posing provoking questions in each of the three heats across the day.
Yr 6 Remote Visual Arts
Staff Professional Learning
Building Community in our Online Classrooms
Despite it being the final week of a whole term in Remote Learning, it was inspiring to join 35 Redlands colleagues yesterday morning as we joined other teachers from across Melbourne and Sydney to be inspired by Tina Blythe and Kurt Wootton from the Harvard Graduate School of Education as they led a workshop on Building Community in our Online Classroom. Having heard Tina Blythe present at a conference in 2019, her online presence and delivery was equally impressive in tandem with Kurt Wootton and provided rich stimulus for all in attendance.
When Change Has Legs: Leading Growth in Classrooms and Schools
In the second week of the holiday break, Redlands is delighted to partner with Project Zero Australia to host a major online academic conference. With keynote speaker, Jim Reese, from Washington International School, as well as a number of workshops, some led by Redlands staff members, the day promises to be a highly engaging learning opportunity for staff across the world who will join us in this global online platform.
My thanks to our Head of Teaching and Learning, Mr Matthew Bentley, for his leadership and organisation of both professional learning opportunities for our staff and for K-12 educators across the world.
Staff Achievement
Congratulations to our School Counsellor, Mr Alessandro Digiacomo, who has been invited to speak at the upcoming 2021 School Counsellors and Psychologists Conference. In a short space of time, Alessandro has provided high-quality support for our students, staff and families and his role across into the Secondary School will be of added value as we plan and prepare for the best possible transition for Yr 6 into Secondary School.
Request for On-Campus Learning for Children of Essential Workers: Week 1, Term 4
Parents of students wishing to be considered for On-Campus supervision are asked to submit the online request form for the first week of Term 4 using the link below. This should be completed by 10am on Friday 1 October to allow sufficient time for staffing to be organised based on the numbers ahead of the long weekend.
Please click HERE to submit a request for Week 1, Term 4
Redlands Cyber Hub
A timely reminder ahead of the holidays of our Redlands Cyber Safety Hub specifically for our community, which contains current, research-based information and assistance for our families and staff. I encourage any family who has not explored this resource to do so.
Mr Ari Guha
Head of Junior School
aguha@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9953 6022