Head of Junior School

The Big Day In STEAM Event  

There was palpable excitement in the Junior School last Friday as we were thrilled to again host this year’s STEAM Big Day In, supported by the ACS Foundation, with every student in Yrs 5 and 6 having the opportunity to interact with a range of Science Technology Engineering Arts and Maths (STEAM) industry professionals in hands-on workshops throughout the day. The range of sessions were highly engaging and it was a delight for me, and a number of our executive team, to wander in and out of sessions and observe the engagement, curiosity and challenge presented to students by our visiting experts. In addition to our Stage 3 students’ participation, we were also delighted to welcome 150 visiting students from local schools to join in this experiential learning opportunity.

The day was an unmitigated success and I am grateful to the leadership of Mrs Winrow (eLearning Coordinator) and Mr Coutts (Dean of Teaching and Learning) for working closely with the organisers to ensure the day ran smoothly, ably assisted by Ms Atkins (Dean of Administration) and our ICT team.

I know that the organisation are already looking for Redlands to host this again in 2019 and Mrs Winrow is already exploring the potential of a STEAM Big Day Out excursion for Yrs 3 and 4 on the same day next year to include them too.

World Teacher’s Day Recognition

We were delighted to hear that Mr Nigel Coutts, Dean of Teaching and Learning P-6, was presented with a certificate of recognition at last Friday’s Teachers’ Guild of New South Wales Awards. As well as his work here at Redlands, Mr Coutts is also part of a wider group of educators across NSW who are leading and collaborating to build a culture of thinking in schools across the State and his lead role in this steering committee was also noted. We congratulate Mr Coutts on this noteworthy accolade.

Student Selected for Aspects of Love Role

We were thrilled to hear that Yr 5 student, Charlee Kwintner, successfully auditioned for an exciting lead role as Young Jenny in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Aspects of Love. The show will be playing at the Hayes Theatre from 22 November until 30 December and is produced by Walk This Way Productions in association with the Hayes Theatre Company. 

Charlee will share this role with one other girl and will be in half of the 50 planned performances in the coming months and is looking forward to working alongside and learning from some of the best performers and creatives in the industry. 

As well as additional training outside of School, Charlee has really enjoyed being part of the Redlands Choir since Kindergarten, Junior Voices, the extra-curricular Musical Theatre program and also benefits from private singing lessons at School, all of which she believes has prepared her well for the role.

Congratulations on this wonderful achievement Charlee and I know you will thrive in this wonderful opportunity for you.

Teacher Appreciation Lunch

To coincide with last Friday’s World Teacher Day, our staff were overwhelmed with the generosity and thoughtful nature of Junior School class parents who provided a sumptuous morning tea and lunch for us to enjoy. It was an unexpected treat at the end of the week and on behalf of our staff, I extend sincere appreciation to all of these parents who contributed towards this gesture and also set up and cleared away.

Yr 6 Fair & Rock in the Quad

On Tuesday lunchtime, Yr 6 students hosted their annual fair to raise money towards leaving a legacy gift for the Junior School on behalf of their cohort. This altruistic idea started with the Yr 6 group of 2016 and has been something that the Yr 6 group have continued since.

It was wonderful to see the students and teachers come together in their planning and ideas to provide a wonderful lunchtime extravaganza for the Junior School alongside a hugely enjoyable Rock in the Quad concert with our Junior School rock bands entertaining students, staff and parents in the glorious sunshine.

The total money raised was a fantastic $1632.80 and the Yr 6 students will discuss their own ideas of how they might like to see the funds serve as a legacy to their time on the Junior Campus.

2019 Junior School Student Class Placements

Junior School staffing for 2019 will be finalised shortly and will be communicated in Note Day towards the end of term. We continue to have the same number of classes in each Year Group as listed below:
Year 3 2019: 4 classes, Year 4 2019: 4 classes, Year 5 2019: 5 classes, Year 6 2019: 5 classes

Class teachers will undertake the process of class formations for 2019 towards the end of this term once we have finalised the composition and balance of each Year Group team of teachers. Past experience has shown that the meticulous and professional approach we take ensures the optimum learning environment for each student.

Class placements are organised by the teaching staff who see and teach these students each and every day and hence, know the students best in the context of the classroom learning environment, taking particular account of the following factors:

• the individual learning, social and emotional needs of each child
• knowledge of the different teaching styles of teachers in the next Year Group
• friendships of students where this has a positive impact on their learning (students are also involved in this step)
• ability levels to ensure an even spread of ability levels across each class
• an aim to balance gender in each class, as best possible

Please understand that it is not possible to request a specific teacher for your child as this would set a precedence that is neither sustainable nor fair to all families. Please also note that younger siblings will not necessarily be placed with the same class teacher as older siblings as invariably, siblings can be very different in both their learning preference and their personal traits.

A significant amount of time, professional dialogue and thought goes into this important operational process to aim to match each individual student with the right teacher and peers and I also take part in this process with my additional knowledge of students. Once year groups have finalised these, there will be a comprehensive face-to-face handover of knowledge between teaching staff before the start of Term 1 2019, to ensure that teachers have as much information as possible ahead of next year. These class lists are then prominently displayed on the first day of the new school year but we also have individual student timetables up on the portal a day or two before the start of term so that parents have access to see who their child’s class teacher will be before the start of the 2019 academic year.

I hope this summary clarifies the detailed process that will take place later this term in this very important part of our preparation for 2019.

OOSH December/January Vacation Care 

In preparation for your summer holidays, we would like to take this opportunity to give you notice that Vacation Care will be operating from Thursday 6 December to Monday 17 December and Monday 7 January to Friday 25 January inclusive. The OOSH department will be closed for the Christmas holiday period from Tuesday 18 December to Sunday 6 January. If you are leaving Redlands at the end of the year, the last day of class attendance is Tuesday 4 December for all Junior School children and considered the end of your enrolment. Unfortunately, you are unable to access Vacation Care after your enrolment has ended. Further information on the exciting program and how to book for Vacation Care will be emailed to families in the coming weeks.

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