Head of Preparatory School
Please note that all Upcoming Events for Prep are now on their own Note Day article/page.
This Head of Preparatory School page will consist of general information from the Head of Preparatory School.
End of the School Year
As I write the last Note Day for 2019, it is the close of another busy and rewarding year in the Preparatory School. I would like to thank the Preparatory School community; the wonderful parent body, for their endless support, without which the staff couldn’t have accomplished so many successes with your children. I wish you all a very joyous and blessed Christmas and a lovely summer break affording you the time to rest and reflect on another wonderful year. To assist with your planning for the 2020 holidays, please find below the term dates for next year. Could I please ask that all Preparatory families plan their vacations within the holiday periods, as this ensures a consistent and undisturbed education for your child(ren). I hope that by providing this information before the 2020 school year it allows sufficient time to plan your holidays, fully informed of term dates.
Term 1 – Wednesday 29 January – Friday 9 April
Term 2 – Tuesday 28 April – Friday 26 June
Term 3 – Tuesday 21 July – Thursday 24 September
Term 4 – Monday 12 October – Tuesday 1 December
Prep Picnic Day
Tomorrow we will be holding our annual Prep Picnic Day at North Harbour Reserve. This day is a wonderful tradition for the Preparatory School, where staff and students come together to celebrate and reflect on their year of learning together. All students should be in PE uniform, with a hat and sunscreen applied before school. More details can be found on the Upcoming Events page.
Preparatory School Reports
Preparatory School reports for Semester 2 2019 are now being processed. It has been a pleasure to read about the progress each student has made throughout the Semester. Reading over your child’s report with them is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate achievements in learning and also look toward areas that may need further development. At this stage, it is expected that all Prep School reports will be available to parents in the week following the end of the school year. An SMS will be sent to parents once the reports have been successfully loaded onto Redlands Pulse. To access the reports, parents will need their Redlands Pulse username and password. Parents requiring assistance regarding username or password should email pulse@redlands.nsw.edu.au as soon as possible.
Prep Presentation Day
Please refer to the recent email detailing uniform requirements for next Tuesday. If you have any questions regarding this, please talk to your class teacher who will be happy to assist.
School commences at the regular time of 8.20am on Tuesday 3 December and parents are asked to return to Dunnet Hall at approximately 9.45am for a 10.00am start. Please make a note of your seat number to ensure you are seated in the correct place and a reminder that no stilettos or beverages are permitted in the Hall. At the conclusion of the concert, at approximately 12.00pm, all children will return to their classroom and be dismissed from their usual dismissal area. Term 4 concludes directly after the concert and all children are to be collected at this time. As previously communicated, OOSH will not be operating for Prep School on this day.
Prep Presentation Day will be filmed this year and a closed link will be available on Redlands Pulse for download in the New Year.
Staff Update
Dean of Teaching and Learning P-6
Dean of Teaching and Learning, Mr Nigel Coutts, will step down from his role next year and will be taking a year’s leave of absence from Redlands. We thank Mr Coutts for his expertise and vision whilst leading a Cultures of Thinking at Redlands; the children in Yr 1 have particularly enjoyed his Scientific and Mathematical lessons. I also thank him for the positive contributions he has made in the Prep Learning Plus Department and Junior Campus Leadership team. Mr Coutts has a number of plans during this time including further study, research and possible travel and we wish him all the best on his adventure.
From January, we are delighted to confirm the appointment of Mrs Stacey Smith as our new Dean of Teaching and Learning P-6. Mrs Smith is a highly experienced educator and leader of learning with nearly twenty years’ experience in a number of leading schools including Pymble and Newington College and joins us more recently, from Wenona.
Junior Campus Sport
After a number of years in the role of Head of Junior School Sport, Mr Adrian Carter will return to a full time PDHPE teacher role at Redlands from 2020. Mr Carter has decided to spend more time with his own sons’ sporting commitments from 2020 and in supporting this, we are delighted to retain his expertise on staff as a full time PDHPE teacher on our campus. I acknowledge and thank Mr Carter for the significant contribution he has made to Sport on the Junior Campus, leading various Prep initiatives with dedication and commitment.
As his replacement, Mr Trevor Dunne will commence as Redlands’ new Head of Junior School Sport in 2020. Mr Dunne has spent the last 17 years as Sports Master and PDHPE teacher at St. Aloysius College Junior School and brings a wealth of leadership in sport to this role. He has already spent time with Mr Carter and the Sports team as part of the handover and will also bring fresh ideas to this role.
Mrs Kimberlee Chipper will be taking Maternity Leave at the end of Term 1, 2020 and we are delighted to have Mrs Rachel Haines take on the role as class teacher, for the remainder of the year. Mrs Haines is well known to all students as she has been in the role of casual teacher in 2018 and 2019 in the Prep School.
Mr Brad Hemopo, PDHPE teacher, has signed for the New England Freejacks Rugby Union team in the US and is looking forward to starting a professional Rugby career. The Prep students have immensely enjoyed Mr Hemopo’s engaging lessons and expertise in various sports.
Mrs Danielle Vita concludes her Music teaching contract with us after three terms and we thank her for assisting with weekly Chapel and her expertise on Strings.
Ms Eliza Peirce comes to the end of her part time contract in our PDHPE team and I would like to thank her for her commitment to the Yr 2 students and Prep School.
Arrangements for Day 1, Term 1, 2020
The Preparatory School office will re-open on Monday 20 January 2020. Student and class placements will be made available on the parent portal before the first day of school. There will also be a list of classes and students in the Prep Administration and Piazza area on the first day of the school year, Wednesday 29 January 2020.
Yrs 1 and 2
All children commencing Yrs 1 and 2 are asked to please arrive at school between 8.00-8.20am and go directly to your new classroom, where teachers will be waiting for you.
Kindergarten
All children commencing Kindergarten are asked to make their way to their classroom between 9.00-9.15am. We encourage parents to say a timely goodbye, as this can be an emotional period for all. Please feel free to call School Reception if you require reassurance about your child’s day. Kindergarten will finish at 2.45pm. On the second day and thereafter, Kindergarten will commence at 8.20am at their meeting point.
All children will need to bring their new textbooks and stationery on the first day of school. Timetables and Student Planners will be distributed to all children on their first day. These will provide you with information about specialist lessons for 2020. Dress for the first day will be full school, summer uniform for all students.
Car Line
The Car Line registration for 2020 is now open and all families who have previously used car line will be required to complete a new form for next year. Please access the Car Line form on Redlands Pulse and email prep@redlands.nsw.edu.au. Please note – there will be no car line operating on the first day of school.
Stationery List Information
All parents/carers of Preparatory 2020 students should now have received an email providing information on the process of ordering books and stationery for the 2020 school year. Orders are to be made online using the code 2SNV and should be placed before Thursday 5 December to ensure delivery the week ending Friday 17 January 2020. Please note: families who are overseas during January and unable to receive their parcel are permitted to enter the School’s address for delivery: Redlands Preparatory School, 2 Allister Street, Cremorne, 2090.
Exporting Content on Seesaw
We hope that you have enjoyed seeing your child’s learning on Seesaw throughout their time in the Preparatory School. For any student who is leaving the Preparatory School this year and all Yr 2 students progressing to Yr 3, we will be archiving your child’s activity on Seesaw from January 2020. After this time these families will no longer be able to view any activity. If you would like to keep a copy of your child’s work that has been shared on Seesaw you can download and save it to a personal computer. Instructions on how to download student content has been written on Redlands Pulse. All students in Kindergarten and Yr 1 who are continuing at Redlands will continue to see their learning on Seesaw, you do not need to save anything yet.
Vacation Care December/January
If you would like your child to attend the December/January Vacation Care program, please visit Flexischools and make a booking using the Prep and Junior Vacation Care icon. The last day of bookings will be Friday 29 November at 5.00pm. All calendars, information pertaining to activities and requirements can be found on FlexiSchools and Redlands Pulse. Please contact the OOSH Coordinator, Trinetta Newbond, with any Vacation Care or After School Care queries.
Anglicare Toys ‘n’ Tucker Campaign
Thank you to those families who have so generously donated to the Anglicare Toys ‘n’ Tucker Campaign. If you would like to donate to this campaign please place your gifts under the Christmas trees in the Prep or Junior School Reception by Tuesday 3 December.
Uniform Shop
The shop will open on Friday 6 and Monday 9 December from 9.00am – 3.00pm before returning on Monday 13 January 2020. For details on making an appointment, please see Redlands Pulse.
From 13 January 2020, the Uniform Shop is going cashless. You will be able to pay for your uniform purchases via debit cards and all major credit cards including American Express.
You can also order online by visiting www.flexischools.com.au and following the prompts where you will see a full list of uniform items to order.
Mrs Audrey Fellowes
Head of Preparatory School
afellowes@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9848