Head of Junior School

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Parent Appreciation – Thank You

Tonight, I am looking forward to joining staff and Board Directors at our annual School ‘thank you’ to our many parent volunteers, whose dedication and service to our community makes such a significant difference to Redlands.

The voluntary roles that so many of our parents play has a significant role in fostering and strengthening the palpable sense of school community that embodies Redlands as was highlighted in our most recent external parent survey as an absolute strength of the School. It also serves a great example of a giving back mindset that volunteering models to our children as well as others.

I acknowledge the parents who have selflessly served our community in roles this year including as members of our School Board of Directors, The Redlands Parents and Friends Association, Class Parent Representatives, the Foundation Steering Committee, Friends of Groups, alongside the many parents who have taken the time to share their expertise and wisdom in the context of supporting learning or cocurricular activities.

On Tuesday, we held the final meeting of 2022 of our Junior School Class Parent representatives and I thank them for the role they have played in building relationships and friendships within classes and year groups and embodying the spirit of school community here at Redlands. On behalf of all of our Junior School families and teachers, I extend my sincere gratitude to our Junior School class parents for this year.

Leading and supporting these parents, we have been fortunate to have had Catherine Brown and Catherine Grinham in the role of Junior School Parent Group Coordinators this year and I extend my appreciation to them both for their calm, people-focused leadership and for being such an important conduit between the School and our parent community; it has truly made a difference.

World Teacher’s Day – Friday 28 October

Tomorrow is World Teachers’ Day and on behalf of the staff, I extend appreciation to the Redlands Parents and Friends Association who will be providing a delicious pastry for morning tea for the staff to acknowledge the occasion.

Our Redlands staff continue to demonstrate great care, expertise, collegiality and passion for the work that they do, and it is humbling to work alongside them each day in a profession that we know has such a profound impact on so many people for years to come and sometimes for a lifetime. We all remember our favourite teachers from school and why that is the case, right?

Below is a message from JP Forrest, RPFA President, which has also been passed on to Redlands staff:

On this World Teacher’s Day, on behalf of all Redlands parents, the RPFA would again like to thank our wonderful teachers for the tireless work you do to educate our children. 

We appreciate your efforts to provide a welcoming learning environment for all of our young people and at the same time challenge and stimulate their minds, not accepting less than their best. We value how much you believe in them for who they are today and see their potential, motivate them to dig deeper, dream big and hold a growth mindset. We are grateful for the care, the patience, the role modelling, the enthusiasm, the shared knowledge and how you engage and inspire our children every day. And for all the things we know you do that we can never directly witness, we do see it shine through in the way our young people step into the world and thrive. 

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you all!

Important Campus Access Notice: Murdoch Street Gate

As also communicated last week, with a safety lens on the Murdoch Street access to the Junior Campus, the usage of the Murdoch Street pedestrian gate has been recently reviewed with the aim of ensuring greater student safety and campus security.

In response to this review, the following changes to usage of the Murdoch Street pedestrian gate are being trialled for the remainder of Term 4:

A gate closer has been installed to ensure that the gate cannot be accidentally left open during the day and there is a sign in place advising our community that when the gate is closed, access to the campus is via the Junior School or Prep Receptions on Allister Street. A reminder too that all visitors must sign in at Junior or Prep Receptions when entering the campus for an extended period of time (not for drop off or collection).

Yr 7 2024 Scholarships

Applications for our Yr 7 2024 Scholarships Program (Academic, Merit, Music, Ballet) are now open to both current Redlands Yr 5 students and those at external schools.

Thanks to the very generous donations from parents, alumni and friends within the Redlands community, we are also offering the Dr Sue Morey AM Means-tested Scholarship for Yr 7 2024.

For more details of our 2024 Scholarships program or to apply, please visit: 

LEARN MORE

Applications for all Scholarships close on Monday 6 February 2023.

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