Head of Junior School

Baby Gwenyth Clements

We were delighted to hear of the safe arrival of baby Gwenyth Snooks Clements, a first child for Yr 3 teacher, Leila Snooks, and her husband, Shaun. Both Leila and Gwenyth are doing very well after Gwenyth’s safe arrival last Wednesday evening and they are all now at home and enjoying this precious time together as a family of three.

National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) Results 

Parents of students in Yrs 3 and 5 would have received your child’s NAPLAN results for 2018 via post this week, as well as an email from our Head of Teaching and Learning, Dr Burgess.

These assessments are sat by all students in Australia in Yrs 3, 5, 7 and 9 and the individual student report shows information including how your child performed in relation to other students in their particular Year Group here at Redlands, and in comparison to the national average score for each of the Reading, Writing, Language Conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy tests.

As teachers, there is always a degree of frustration on our part that the results of this diagnostic assessment come four and a half months after the students sat the assessments in mid-May but nevertheless, class teachers as well as other academic leaders are starting to evaluate individual and Year Group results, which have been encouraging again.

If you have any questions regarding your child’s NAPLAN results, please contact your child’s class teacher in the first instance.

Farewell and Thank You, Yr 12

In this past week, there have been a number of opportunities for the School community to acknowledge and celebrate the final days of our Yr 12 cohort, many of whom a number of Junior School teachers and I remember with great fondness from their time with us many years ago. From Captains’ breakfasts, to visits back to Prep and Junior classes, to their final assembly yesterday, we have been able to observe and take pride in the fine young people that they have turned into who will continue to make a difference in the world with the values and character that are simply part of who they are. Growing good people is very important for us at Redlands and in my 13 years now at Redlands, this has been a constant that I have seen in our departing students.

After a beautifully-poignant final assembly yesterday, our traditional student guard of honour took place again with every student from Preschool to Yr 6 involved in high-fiving and applauding our departing graduates as they snaked their way up through the Campus. Many of the Yr 12 students were moved to tears by this touching acknowledgement and appreciation of them and this was then mirrored as they returned to the Senior Campus with Yrs 7-11 showing equal appreciation of Yr 12s’ student leadership this year.

The teaching profession is an incredibly privileged one and to witness students grow from young children into Redlands graduates is both humbling and inspiring in equal measures. In some ways, it doesn’t seem that long ago that these Yr 12 students were part of the Junior Campus guard of honour for the Yr 12 graduates of 2012 and as a number of Junior School students mentioned to me, one day that will also be them. All the best, Yr 12, 2018.

National Football Championships

Last week, Sports Captain and Yr 6 student, Jasmine Black, competed for New South Wales in the National Schools Football Championships, held this year in Sydney. As the goalkeeper for New South Wales, Jasmine played well across the whole week, conceding only three goals in the tournament as New South Wales played exceptionally well to finish as silver medallists, narrowly behind Queensland. Head of Sport, Mr Carter, and I were able to watch one of Jasmine’s matches which was also watched by the Australian Women’s Football National Head Coach, Alen Stajcic. We were impressed with both the standard of play and Jasmine’s role in the team as goalkeeper. For Jasmine, the opportunity to be part of a tournament of this stature ranked alongside the opportunity to see the time as a week of friendship building with new team mates and players from across the country. This level of achievement in a very competitive sport is recognised and we congratulate Jasmine on this level of success.

Jump Rope for Heart

Despite the rain, Wednesday saw our planned Jump Off Day enjoyed by all Junior School students with skipping-based games and activities arranged for the students by the visiting Jump Rope team. This concluded a term of support for the Heart Foundation and I am thrilled to share that Redlands is currently top of the leaderboard of fundraising schools in Australia with a staggering $45,045 raised as of today. Fundraising will still be active during the holiday period if you wish to continue donating. In Term 4, as a reward for their hard efforts to fundraise, the Junior School students will get the opportunity to meet a gold medal road cyclist, Chloe Hosking. Thank you to students, families and other supporters who have collectively contributed to this charity and to Yr 1 teacher, Mrs Chipper, who has coordinated the Junior Campus event throughout the term with amazing energy and organisation.

Appreciation

This has been another highly productive and action-packed term and I wish students and families an important rest in this next fortnight and also thank everyone for their contribution in supporting a memorable Term 3. We look forward to welcoming students back to School on Monday 15 October in summer uniform and, as was the case in Term 1, blazers are an optional item of uniform in the summer but will be required for some formal occasions such as Speech Day. Have a restful and rejuvenating break.

RPFA AGM and Volunteer Thank You

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