Head of Secondary School

House Athletics Carnival 

On Tuesday 26 June, all of the Secondary School were at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre for our House Athletics Carnival. There were some excellent individual results on the track and in the field with school records broken by Emma Mahon (Yr 9) and Alexandra York (Yr 10). I would also like to recognise the following Division Champions:

  • Junior Girls: Emilie Bessell
  • Junior Boys: Joshua Hicks & Sebastien Griffith (shared)
  • Intermediate Girls: Alexandra York
  • Intermediate Boys: Jonah Kloppers
  • Senior Girls: Anna Jackson
  • Senior Boys: Cameron Pascoe

There was also great House Spirit on display throughout the day (exemplified by some of the Yr 12 outfits) and congratulations to Dumolo for taking out the House Shield. Most impressively, students were able to have the proper balance of competitive spirit and fun throughout the day. 

Staffing 

To maintain proper communication, I wanted to inform you of some staffing updates for Term 3. Sadly, Ms Holly Peck will be leaving us at the end of this term to return to the UK. In her year at Redlands, she has had a significant positive impact on students and has been a valued member of the Science Department. We welcome Ms Lorna Wooley to the Science Department who will be picking up Ms Peck’s classes for the remainder of the year and has most recently been teaching at St Augustine’s College. Mrs Elizabeth Scott will be going on Long Service Leave in Term 3 and Ms Sarah Simpson, who has most recently been teaching at Pymble Ladies’ College, will be taking her classes for this term. Ms Emma Bergin will also be going on Long Service Leave in Term 3. Mr David Newling, who has most recently been teaching at Cranbrook, will be joining the HSIE Department in Term 3. In addition, for this upcoming term Mr Eddy Atkins will step into the role of Acting Yr 10 Year Advisor and Ms Kristen Privett will be Acting Yr 10 Assistant Year Advisor. Finally, with Mr Nick Walker taking on the role of Yr 9 Assistant Year Advisor earlier this term, Ms Amy Richardson has stepped into the role of Acting House Mentor of Cowper House, leading the Cowper team at Tuesday’s House Athletics Carnival. 

Reports 

By the end of Term 2, all parents across Yrs 7-12 will have received Semester 1 Reports on their child’s progress over the first half of the year. In line with our focus on growth mindsets, we hope they provide timely, quality and useful feedback on student progress and performance to date, whilst also giving strategies for future growth and improvement. We have tried to align Reports with Parent Teacher nights where possible so that parents can discuss specific aspects of the Reports during these meetings. Where this is not possible, parents should contact class teachers or Tutors with any other specific questions. We hope that parents have an opportunity to read through these Reports with their child over the holidays to assist them in the development of goals and areas of focus for the second half of the year. Students will have an opportunity to reflect on the feedback from their Reports with their Tutors on the first day back at school in Term 3 on Tuesday 24 July. 

Vinnies Sleep Out 

Tonight, approximately 130 Yr 10 students will be joined by a number of staff members braving the cold in the Vinnies School Sleep Out in support of the St Vincent De Paul Society. This Pastoral Care initiative aims to further develop student awareness and empathy for the issues surrounding homelessness. The students will also be raising funds for Taldumande, a local Youth Crisis Centre, and also Orange Sky Laundry, who provide support to the homeless on the streets of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. While one evening out in the cold in no way can replicate the daily struggles our homeless community faces, I hope it will allow our students to gain a little more appreciation for what we have and maybe develop a little more empathy for those who have far less.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Yr 9 students, Theo Mirrlees-Black and Tylor Wessels, who have achieved outstanding results in the UNSW Programming Competition. This event was a demanding two hour online computer programming competition, and they placed 17th out of 202 schools Australia-wide for all divisions. In the Intermediate division (Yrs 9 and 10) they placed 3rd out of 75 schools – an outstanding result!

Also, congratulations to George Murphy (Yr 9) who has been awarded with an Emerging Talent Scholarship from Ski and Snowboard Australia in Freestyle, Mogul Skiing. The program is designed to recognise and support talented and emerging athletes such as George towards a high performance pathway and we wish him all the best in his upcoming competitions. 

Term 2 Review

It has been a very busy term for students and teachers in the Secondary School with a vast array of academic, pastoral and cocurricular activities taking place. It has been a pleasure and an honour to see so many members of our community shine in so many different ways this term. It has also been a very challenging term for our community and I would like to once again express my gratitude for the continued support from the wider Redlands community. I will send a communication home towards the end of the holidays updating the Secondary School community on upcoming events and initiatives for Term 3. I hope students and parents can spend some quality time relaxing with family and friends during this mid-year break.

Mr Sean Corcoran
Head of Secondary School
scorcoran@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9870