Head of Secondary School
At times it’s almost astounding how much we can achieve in one school week. The past week has been particularly fulsome and as a community, we have accomplished much.
It was reassuring to witness Yr 10 tackle their Examination Block and National Minimum Standards Tests with maturity and confidence, especially as they are about to embark on some significant decision-making in the coming weeks. I know so many of them exerted substantial effort in their preparation for the exams, and anticipate strong results. I have been privileged to engage in conversation with a group of Yr 10 students this week, who shared their experience of the Examination Block with me. It was affirming to hear about their commitment to study and to witness their developed sense of self. Attending Industry Day tomorrow should further cement this growth, allowing them to move out into the world to explore and consider their place in a broader context. I wish Yr 10 all the best for their Industry experiences tomorrow and look forward to hearing their stories when they return next week.
Yr 7 and 9 students engaged in their NAPLAN tests with energy and perspective this week. In my English lesson with Yr 7 today, they were full of their usual vigour despite the intensity of their week. As we move into the half way point of the term, we once again approach a period of assessment submission and testing. Yr 7, 8 and 9 students will all be responsible for completing a range of tasks this term to represent their learning, understanding and skills. As well as subject-specific skills, organisation, collaboration and communication will also be tested as we anticipate students juggling their assessment preparation with sport, co-curricular and family commitments. I strongly encourage students to access the Study Centre in the Redlands Learning Hub, open before and after school, to access subject-specific teachers for support and feedback.
Tomorrow a communication will be made available to parents and students in Yr 11 and 12 detailing the workshops and Study Centre access for the upcoming holiday period. Dedicated HSC and IB Workshops will be available for Yr 12 students on Level 2 of the Learning Hub across the three-week break. Level 3 will be accessible to all students in Yr 11 and 12 who wish to engage in Independent Study in the final week of the break. We expect a significant amount of Yr 12 students to access this space during Week 3, as they did in the previous holiday period. This year we will be inviting Yr 11 students to also access the Learning Hub for private and collaborative study. We hope that by sharing the space with Yr 12, our Yr 11 students will continue to adopt and develop their own independent learning practices.
Dr Tessa Opie’s presentations to Yr 11 and 12 students on Monday were well received and engaging. Her focus on developing students’ sexual health literacy is designed to enable the growth of confident, competent young people who care about themselves and others. What particularly resonated with our senior students was the skills-based approach and the strategies offered for developing a broad set of relationship skills, with which to navigate both sexual and non-sexual interactions. We look forward to welcoming her back in Term 3 when she will deliver age and stage appropriate presentations to Yr 6-10 students.
Dr Opie’s presentation to parents can be viewed via this link until Monday 24 May. It can also be accessed through the Secondary School page in Redlands Pulse.
At our Yr 12 Leadership Meeting this week, Mr Webber was a guest speaker. He spoke about the challenges and joys of leadership and referenced Jim Collins’ leadership text, Good to Great. One insight that Mr Webber provided was about how ‘great’ leaders display humble leadership, and enable other people to shine and grow. They also care more about the success of the organisation rather than their own individual success. He posed a question to Yr 12 leaders: ‘In thinking about your leadership, take a step back and think about why you are in this?’.
He reassured Yr 12 that leaders sometimes have to make tough decisions and recognise that leadership is not always smooth sailing and there are some tough experiences along the way. He was able to succinctly connect this aspect of leadership with some specific Yr 12 experiences, as reflected in a recent Student Voice Prefect Survey, such as managing prefect duties with learning priorities. He spoke of the competing demands leaders face and the need to prioritise these demands. Notably, he affirmed that we often grow the most during times of difficulty.
If you have been finding it tough, recognise the diverse resources around you, and work together collectively as a year group. Step up and show initiative which is a powerful action.
Mr Webber concluded his presentation by complimenting Yr 12 and expressed his great respect for them as a cohort. When they broke into groups after this presentation to work in teams for the upcoming Winter Solstice Fair, it was easy to see how well they do work together as a cohort and how energised they are to serve their peers as student leaders.
Wishing you all a wonderful end to the week and a restful weekend. I am looking forward to heading out to Sport on Saturday morning and seeing more examples of Redlands students working together, learning together and achieving much.
Ms Gemma Van de Peer
Head of Secondary School
gvandepeer@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9811