Head of Junior School
Welcome Back to Term 2
Welcome back to students and families as we commence Term 2. In particular, I welcome new students and families this term and look forward to connecting with you in person very soon understanding that these are strange circumstances in which to start a new school.
It was great to see the students in our Zoom assemblies on the first day, where we were also joined by our Principal and Deputy Principal, Mr Webber and Ms McGarry. Mr Webber again spoke to the students and reminded the students of their ‘One Word for 2020’ which I had set them a task to focus on in the very first assembly of 2020 and in particular, he spoke of perseverance which he knew was a focus word for a number of students.
You will have received my Term 2 Information letter sent last week and this has a large amount of important information for Junior School families.
Weeks 3 and 4 – Phased Return to On-Campus Learning
The letter from Mr Webber earlier today outlined our plans for returning to On-Campus Learning in Weeks 3 and 4. Please be assured that the health of students and staff will remain paramount in this process. More detailed information will be provided to families tomorrow.
ANZAC Day
As is always the case in the start of Term 2 assembly, we paused to remember the many Australian and New Zealand Army Corps military personnel who served, fought, and given their lives for our country whilst recognising their courage, mateship, skill and perseverance.
The Dawn Service at Mosman has been an annual event for me and the School so it was hard not to be there this year and mark the occasion more privately. However, I was moved to hear of some of our Junior School students’ efforts in remembering this day which I was able to share in our student assemblies.
Georgia Slack (Yr 5) wrote to me and shared a wonderful photo of herself with her sister and brother as they played the Last Post at dawn outside their home for their neighbours. Similarly, Thomas (Yr 6), Alice (Yr 4) and Grace Flynn held a short ceremony in their school uniform outside their house at 6.00am on ANZAC Day. Alice read the Ode to the Fallen, Grace held a candle and Thomas played the Last Post on his trumpet.
Budding artist, Viraj Tandon (Yr 3), created a wonderful tribute to ANZAC Day; a charcoal drawing of a faceless soldier which he also submitted to ABC News. His image was selected to be displayed on their website and received an overwhelming online response from the general public.
I commend these students for their community-minded gestures which were appreciated by their others at this poignant time and to all students and families who may have marked the occasion in a different way this year.
Learning Review Meetings
Information has been circulated to families via email by the Dean of Administration, Ms Atkins, on the online booking process for families to make times to speak with class teachers about students’ learning. Please note that this time will not be a time for technical assistance or feedback on remote learning but any feedback on this topic should continue to be sent to the School’s central feedback email address.
NAPLAN Cancelled for 2020
As you may well be aware, the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), which is an annual assessment for students in Yrs 3, 5, 7 and 9 will not proceed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 situation.
Curriculum Camps for Yrs 3, 4 and 5
In addition to the Curriculum Camp for Yr 5 that was cancelled at the end of last term, this term’s scheduled camps for Yrs 3 and 4 will also not take place. Early preliminary exploration is taking place to see if there is scope to reschedule these at a later point in the year, subject to school being back to normal and the health and safety guidelines at that time.
Borrowing Books from The Arnold Library
To help the balance between online and offline reading, our Junior School Library team are able to help support this and you can request some books or the team are happy to choose some for your child(ren). If you wish to do this, please email Juniorlib@redlands.nsw.edu.au and books are then loaned to parents or students, cleaned, packaged up with their name and left in the foyer for next day pickup. Returns are put in a box, also in the foyer where books are cleaned and shelved. The service will be subject to change as based on government announcements and gradual return to school.
Live Zoom Workouts
It was wonderful to see so many students involved in our first ‘live’ workout sessions on Wednesday afternoon when we have Sport in our timetables. We will continue to run these and also explore opportunities to have optional Saturday morning sessions when we would normally be playing interschool sport.
Uniform Shop
Please visit the Uniform Shop article for information about opening hours and more.
Mr Ari Guha
Head of Junior School
aguha@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9953 6022