Head of Secondary School

Sunday morning saw an early start for me this week, as I headed to George’s Heights for the ANZAC Dawn Service. Meeting me were Mr Webber, Mr Corcoran and three of our Student Leaders, Laura Sidoti, Julia Parker and Harrison Winton. We were privileged with a beautiful sunrise to accompany this special occasion which featured a strong focus on Indigenous contributions to Defence operations. One of the speeches was particularly poignant and offered both personal and collective insights on Indigenous experiences of war. The ceremony was strongly represented and quite different to how we celebrated ANZAC Day last year, making it all the more commemorative.

We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon with Yr 7 parents and teachers at the Meet and Greet on Tuesday. Utilising the beautiful Fahl Garden, it was great to be able to mingle and chat with parents about their children. It was also helpful to hear feedback on the recent Study Skills talk and the ways we can support Yr 7 during assessment periods. We look forward to some deeper conversations at the Parent Teacher Night in early Term 3.

As the Redlands Learning Hub was in active use by our teachers and students on Tuesday afternoon we are unfortunately not able to host tours of the facility within the event. We look forward to welcoming parents on tours of the Learning Hub as the year unfolds, but in the interim invite you to view our virtual tour of the hub here.

As part of this evening, we offered Yr 7 parents the opportunity to engage in Parent ICT Information Sessions. These are designed to support parents to navigate iLearn, manage eSafety requirements on their child’s laptop and offer some tips for avoiding online distractions at home and school. Please register your interest using this link.

It was lovely to welcome Yr 12 back to school this week after an intense period of examinations. The Yr 12 Student Leadership Team met on Wednesday to explore their roles thus far and to discuss feedback from a recent Prefect Survey. Ever empathetic and generous, they explored ways to support each other, the Yr 12 Prefect body, and the Redlands community. 2021 sees an evolved Student Prefect system take shape, and one that enables a great many more students to be able to call themselves a ‘Prefect’. This term, our large Prefect body will have the opportunity to explore the practices of leadership more deeply by engaging with others’ perspectives of leadership and through some specifically designed leadership experiences. Ms Jansons and I so enjoy our time reflecting and guiding Yr 12 leaders. Despite their youth, they are wisely able to discern the dispositions of authentic leaders as being of service to others, as growing others and as positively influencing culture. Our future is in safe hands!

This term the Redlands staff have been focusing on how best to support students with ADHD. As you would be aware, our students diagnosed with ADHD benefit from a range of adjustments, and these vary depending on the student and often, the subject area. In conjunction with our Learning Plus Department, the counsellors and the Pastoral Team, we are currently exploring the common learning challenges faced by students with ADHD and also the executive skills challenges they face such as organisation, getting started, completing and returning assignments and working memory. As part of our collaborative practices we will be connecting with parents of students who manage ADHD over the coming term in order to review the effectiveness of these practices. As always, we value your feedback and welcome any comments on how your child is travelling in terms of their executive skills development.

This weekend we commence the Winter Sports Season. I am looking forward to heading out to Macquarie University to watch a few games and enjoy a coffee with staff and parents, who are up early and enjoying the crisp air. Although there are a few injured students currently filling up the lifts at school, we anticipate a strong season across a range of sports. We wish all students well this weekend, and to those nursing sprains, bruises and fractures, a speedy recovery.

Are you a parent of a Yrs 11 and 12 student who is learning to drive or thinking about it? Lane Cove Council and Hunter’s Hill Council (in conjunction with Hornsby Shire Council) will be hosting an online (Zoom) Graduated Licensing Scheme Workshop for parents/carers and supervisors of Leaner Drivers. The session will offer practical advice about:

current driving rules and requirements for L and P platers
how learners benefit from supervised on-road driving
how you can help make learning to drive a safe and positive experience

Thursday 3 June 2021
6:00pm – 7:15pm

Find out more here.

Ms Gemma Van de Peer
Head of Secondary School
gvandepeer@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9811