Head of Junior School

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Student Leadership

I firmly believe that all students have the capacity to show leadership in a range of settings and I have been pleased to see many instances of this across the first part of the year. One recent example was in the playground where a group of Year 6 students, without prompting, gave up their time to help much younger students shoot baskets, much to the delight of those Prep School children. A simple act but one that displayed the essence of good leadership which in my view comes down to putting others before self, in other words servant leadership.

To support our students to develop their leadership skills, at times we run targeted programs. Last Friday Year 5 students took part in a workshop, facilitated by Cameron Brown from ‘Explore, Discover, Act’ to further their understanding of leadership and to instil associated skills and characteristics.

On 26 March, Year 6 students will also participate in a leadership workshop to be run by David King who is a leadership coach to the ACT Brumbies and Australian Wallaroos Rugby. Through a series of interactive teamwork activities and problem-solving trials we aim for our Year 6 cohort to develop and agree their 2024 mission as they provide student leadership and role modelling to the rest of the school. To provide ongoing support and advice, senior staff and I are running regular “Lessons in Leadership” sessions with the Year 6 cohort this year.  

I am pleased to acknowledge and thank a number of Year 6 students who have taken on additional responsibilities to support our Library, Wellbeing and Technology programs.

NAPLAN

This week Year 3 and Year 5 students have participated in NAPLAN testing. I have been impressed by the calm approach our students have demonstrated. They have all shown a great deal of maturity and focus and it’s clear they take their education seriously. Their ability to handle the pressure of more formal assessment will serve them well in the future.

Harmony Day

On Thursday 21 March we celebrate Harmony Day on the Junior Campus. Harmony Day is an Australian government initiative designed to celebrate our culturally diverse nation starting with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples who have called this land home from the beginning. We are asking students and staff to wear their normal school uniform with a touch of orange as this is the official Harmony Day colour, for example with shoelaces, hair ribbons, socks, ties, bracelets or handmade Harmony Day badges. Consider it “accessorising” with orange!  Anyone who forgets can make a wrist band outside the canteen from 8am. No hair or face paint is to be worn or orange-coloured clothes. Later in the term on International Day there will be an opportunity for students to wear traditional or other culturally appropriate clothes.  One of the special things about Redlands is our culturally diverse community. We have much to celebrate, learn and take pride in. Harmony Day is an opportunity to have conversations at home and at school about our cultural heritage and identity. We look forward to helping our students grow in their appreciation of our diverse and unique community.

Junior School Holidays Arts Club

Raise Dough: Bake a Difference

Mr Ian Holden
Head of Junior School
iholden@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9953 6022