Head of Junior School
And We’re Off!
The first day of a new school year is one of my favourite days in the school calendar and what unadulterated joy it was to welcome our students back this week as we start the 2023 school year full of hope, expectation and excitement.
Monday’s orientation session for our 62 new and 3 returning students allowed them to feel much more settled as they began this first week. On this day, it was also delightful to be able to welcome new parents in for refreshments before they collected their children, also attended by staff and members of our Redlands Parents and Friends Association (RPFA) team who generously volunteered to attend to help to start new connections within our Redlands community.
There has been a palpable and visible vitality around the campus and I acknowledge the preparative work of our teachers, leaders, support staff and facilities team over the holidays to allow us to hit the ground running. In particular this break, we had major renovations work in the Parkes classrooms and I am gratefully to our Property Services team for their project management and to teachers in these rooms for their flexibility and support in preparing their rooms later than we had anticipated.
In our first assembly on Tuesday, we welcomed our new students and staff and the students also heard from our new Principal, Mr Corcoran; setting the tone, and expectations for a great year ahead.
During this assembly, I shared my three key messages for the students for the year ahead and I encouraged them to also talk to you about these topics too so do prompt them if they have not done so yet!
The first was about the significance of our School Values, which underpin all that we do. Respect, Honesty, Fairness, Compassion, Responsibility and Moral Courage are personal qualities that we hope become part of who our students are. As I explained to the students, an important role we play at School is to grow them into good people as well as skilled thinkers and learners and I asked the students to strive to aim to live these values, both at school and at home, and not just when someone else is watching.
My second message highlighted goal-setting and us all focusing on just one word that we hope might inspire, centre and define us in 2023. This has been a theme for the Junior School for the last few years where instead of having longer-worded goals, each student and teacher has chosen to focus on just one word for the year. I shared my one this year of ‘Progress’ and the thinking behind this choice and a number of students have shared their #oneword2023 with me already in passing. I encourage you to ask your child what their one word for 2023 might be and ask them to explain why they have chosen this word. And you may even like to consider a word yourself and share it with your child?
My third and final message was around how we treat and interact with one another and how important this is in life, not only just in the context of a school. Sometimes it can be the small gestures that make the most difference to others and helps to nurture our supportive, diverse and inclusive community.
The staff and I look forward to supporting each and every child this year as we aim to provide experiences and opportunities to enable each student’s light to shine and to illuminate the light in others around them.
2023 Junior School Captains
After the formal announcement of our new Junior School Leaders for 2023 at last year’s Speech Day, I was delighted to re-introduce these students to the Junior School in our assembly, where they were duly recognised. As I shared with the students, I have every confidence that they, alongside every one of their peers in Year 6, will set a wonderful example to the rest of the Junior School in the year ahead and we wish them all the best in their student leadership roles.
Junior School Captains Sophia Moriarty and Kenzo Takeda
Arts Captains Elysia Angus and Cameron Lloyd
Sports Captains Piper Aubin and Jake O’Sullivan
Environment Captains Pearl Brown and Calvin Macnab
Cowper House Captains Ella Lorriman and Arlo Wainberg
Dumolo House Captains Daisy Nassar and Harrison Bird
McDouall House Captains Jenna Forrest and Charlie Hutchings
Roseby House Captains Mila Lipscomb and Kyler Simpson
‘Meet the Teacher’ Evening
As mentioned in the start of year letter, there is an opportunity for parents to come in and meet your child’s class teacher for this year next week as outlined below.
Please note that this is strictly for parents only and d children should not be left to play by themselves in unsupervised in the playground for safety reasons.
Years 3 & 4 Wednesday 8 February 5pm – 5.45pm
Years 5 & 6 Wednesday 8 February 6pm – 6.45pm
With spaces limited in each classroom, it would be preferred if only one parent per child attends.
Drop off, Parking and Pick-up
The safe arrival and departure of our students remains of the highest priority and I thank parents as we have returned to school and the different options available to do this safely.
Please be mindful that many families are new to Redlands and getting to grips with new parking and pick-up arrangements. For families using the car line process, please remind your child to wait with the duty teacher at the Junior School gate and follow the guidelines clarified in the letter sent before term.
Two key points are not to leave your car in this no parking zone and to arrive early and as close to 3.20pm as possible to avoid additional congestion to our younger Prep School students’ departure times. We have duty staff looking after the children at all gates and bus stops until 3.45pm so do not worry if you are held up in traffic or a little late. Thank you, in advance, for your cooperation and support.
Extracurricular Activities
Some of our paid activities that are run by external providers commence next week as outlined below. Teacher-led cocurricular clubs commence in Week 3 and this will be circulated at the start of next week.
Junior School Debating Trials – Tuesday 7 February
Representative debating is an exciting way for your child to develop their reasoning, persuasive and public speaking skills. Redlands students are taught by experienced coaches and compete against school across Sydney on Friday evenings. Debating trials will be next Tuesday.
For more detailed information, please go to the Junior School Debating page on Redlands Pulse and if you have any questions regarding the program, please get in contact with Mr Watkins.
Debating is an optional cocurricular activity that is available to students in Yrs 4, 5 and 6 and takes place across the year. The debating workshops are run by coaches who are experienced debaters and coaches. They prepare lessons and track progress of every student.
Term 1 Code Camp Clubs
In Term 1, two after school classes will be run by Code Camp, who have run holiday camps here for us. These classes run for 8 weeks from 3.35pm – 4.50pm on site here at Redlands and are booked directly with Code Camp through the links provided.
Minecraft Engineers (Years 3-6) Tues 7 Feb – Tues 28 March
Learn fundamental concepts of engineering and command-based programming through building a fully featured rollercoaster in Minecraft’s Education edition.
To book, please click HERE.
Drones (Years 5-6) Thurs 9 Feb – Thurs 30 March
Please note this class is small with a limit of 9 students. It is a repeat of the class content offered in 2022 and is offered for students who did not attend a 2022 Drone class. Students will learn about drone tech and safety, movie making, and discover how drones can save the world by fighting bushfires, rescuing koalas, spotting sharks on the coast and loads more.
To book, please click HERE.
Science Club
Our extracurricular Science club opportunity will run from Week 3 this year through Eye Heart Science, who have been part of our school offerings for many years.
Safer Internet Day
Next Tuesday 7 February is Safer Internet Day, a global event that brings together our communities to help create safer online spaces. This Safer Internet Day our government agency, the eSafety Commissioner, invites us all to Connect. Reflect. Protect.
- Connect safely and with purpose – by keeping apps and devices secure and using social media in positive ways.
- Reflect before we act – by taking a moment to consider how what we do and say online may affect others.
- Protect ourselves and others by taking action – by telling family, friends or colleagues about eSafety and how we can help.
The eSafety Commissioner is offering a range of webinars for parents during February on a range of topics such as online friendships, gaming and setting your child up for success online.
In addition, and in partnership with ySafe, Redlands has our own Cyber Safety Hub specifically for our community; a treasure-trove of current, research-based information and assistance for our families and staff. I encourage every family to take the time to explore this valuable resource to support you and your child, which includes a range of relevant topics such as:
- Cyber safety guides
- Managing screen time
- Creating a safe home
- Gaming
- Setting up parental controls
- App and Game reviews
Arnold Library Student Use Before and After School
Junior School students are able to use the Arnold Library before school each day from 8am until 8.20am and after school on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays until 4pm.
Class Parent Representatives
We are always fortunate to have parents volunteer for the role of Class Parent each year and class teachers will seek interest for this role at the ‘Meet the Teacher’ evening next week. The role is not an onerous one but is one that makes such a huge difference for families in the class, particularly our newer families to Redlands. If you would like to nominate as the person for your child’s class or if you have any questions about the role, please contact your child’s teacher or if you want to know a little more about the role, do contact one of our Junior School Parent Contact Group Coordinators, Catherine Grinham or Michelle McDonald, who will be only too willing to assist.
Flexischools – Change your Year Group
Parents who use Flexischools for ordering food at school are kindly asked to check that you have updated your child’s year group and class accordingly as some students are still being listed in last year’s year group.
Mr Ari Guha
Head of Junior School
aguha@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9953 6022