Head of Junior School

2019 Student Leadership Elections

In a week where the mid-term elections in the US have taken centre stage in terms of media coverage, elections of a friendlier variety began for us in the Junior School.

On Wednesday, our Yr 6 2019 student leadership nominations took place ahead of the group’s transition into Yr 6 and the Junior School leadership opportunities that come with this move next year. With candidates encouraging and supporting one another, I was both heartened and proud to see 86% of the cohort of 125 students self-nominate for one of the 14 leadership positions below; a reflection of the safe, encouraging and supportive environment nurtured by teachers and students.

• Junior School Captains (one boy and one girl)
• Arts Captains (one boy and one girl)
• Sports Captains (one boy and one girl)
• House Captains (one boy and one girl per House – eight in total)

As part of the process, students heard from some of the present Junior School student leaders who were able to share their experiences as well as another student in Yr 6, Will Algar, who has shown great leadership this year without having an official title; an important message for all of the students to hear. In many ways, Will’s story of initial disappointment at not becoming a School Leader to moving past that quickly to congratulating those elected at Speech Day was the most significant one for me and perhaps many of the Yr 5 group. I have enjoyed observing Will, and so many of the current Yr 6 cohort, see where they could contribute to the School and as a Year Group, they have effected positive change as leaders this year. Another common message from the Yr 6 students was that they saw their role as one to serve the student body, not to tell them what to do. 

Looking around at the students, I know we have no shortage of potential School Leaders who I know would be very capable representatives of the student body in 2019. In the coming days, Yr 5 students as well as teachers who know them, will now have the opportunity to vote and then these Captains will be formally announced by Dr Lennox and me for the first time at Speech Day on the final day of this term.

I am grateful to Ms Francis and her team for the meticulous planning and organisation of the nomination process and congratulate the students who have taken the first step towards leadership.

2019 Student Orientation Morning  

As we continue to have one eye on 2019, this Friday, we are looking forward to welcoming 56 new Junior School students who will be joining us next year as they spend time with us as part of their transition to Redlands next year. A hallmark of this day has always been how our current students embrace their soon-to-be classmates with warmth and empathy.

For part of this morning too, we also look forward to welcoming our current Yr 2 Prep students to enjoy spending time in Yr 3 classrooms. Similarly, at the same time, Yr 3 will move up into Yr 4, Yr 4 into Yr 5 and Yr 5 will move up to Yr 6, where students will enjoy an early opportunity to meet teachers and experience a taster of next year. Our Yr 6 students will be away on Surf Education and they have their own Secondary School Orientation Day later this term on the Senior Campus.

Whether it is between Prep and Juniors or Juniors and Seniors, or in fact between any two Year Groups, a lot of careful thought goes into every aspect of transition for our students and it is certainly never assumed that the move will be a smooth one just because they are all under our Redlands umbrella. The ongoing dialogue between teachers in each of our sections is a key aspect of transferring knowledge of students from one section of the School to the next and this will also continue into next year, where necessary.

I look forward to reporting on the morning next week.

Visitors to Redlands  

Last Friday, Mrs Fellowes and I were both thrilled and proud to welcome and host 70 Heads of Independent Primary Schools from across New South Wales for the group’s Term 4 professional learning session and lunch. It is always particularly gratifying to hear positive feedback from colleagues who have similar roles and many spoke of the warmth they felt around the Campus (not related to the heat last Friday!) and the beautiful learning environment that we are fortunate to have on the Junior Campus. Our thanks are extended to the many staff who supported us hosting this event but particularly to our Events Manager and Facilities team, who provided support before, during and after the event, such that the students and staff were able to carry on as normal through the day.

Parking & Safety

May I take the opportunity again to remind parents of the need to choose safety over convenience when parking near the school, particularly at the end of the day. Three areas of concern that have been flagged to me by concerned parents and teachers this week are:

• Parents double parking on Cranbrook Avenue whilst waiting for their child which is causing other cars to have to drive around them and across the middle of the road
• Parents parking in the clear No Stopping areas by the crossing at the top of Allister St, and the turning area at the top of Cranbrook Ave.
• Parents irresponsibly beckoning their child to cross unsafely on Allister St and Murdoch St and not use the crossings on both sides of the Campus that are there for the purpose of safe crossing.

I implore this small minority of parents to take note of these reminders, which have student safety at the heart of its purpose.

Whooping Cough Alert

We continue to be notified of cases of whooping cough in the Junior School and parents are reminded to look out for signs and symptoms. NSW Public Health have advised us to remind parents to keep your child at home if they are unwell and are awaiting the results of testing. If diagnosed with whooping cough, they should remain at home until five full days of the prescribed antibiotic have been given.

Anglicare’s Toys ‘n’ Tucker Campaign

Redlands Junior School will again turn its focus to ‘Letting our Light Shine’ by sharing the joy of Christmas with children in need in Sydney by participating in Anglicare’s Toys ‘n’ Tucker Campaign.

If you wish to participate, please bring your gifts the Junior School Reception and place them under the Christmas tree. Christmas is a wonderful time to reflect on God’s generous gift to people and on the joy, we can share by giving.

While our focus in Junior School is the Anglicare collection, many families at Redlands also like to support our Secondary School collection for Matthew Talbot Homeless Shelter. Our staff and Yr 11 students serve breakfast there every Monday of the year and it is wonderful to be able to know that the people we meet each week will be the recipients of our gifts.  Our Yr 6 students have also been keen to meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness in a practical way. There will be a box for items in both Prep and Junior School Receptions. Collections begin on Monday 12 November and conclude Tuesday 4 December.

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