Head of Secondary School

• Print

Ready to Reconnect

It’s been an interesting start to Term 4. The students in Yr 7-10 have launched straight back into Remote Learning, Yr 11 are sitting online assessments and Yr 12 maintaining focus in the closing weeks before their final exams.

Following this morning’s announcment by the new NSW Premier, we look forward to welcoming Yrs 7-11 students back to On-Campus Learning on Monday 25 October and will provide further details regarding this next week.

It was lovely to see students online this week, and reconnect after the 2-week holiday break. We began the week with a brief online assembly, where we welcomed Yr 7, 8, 9 and 10. The main focus of this assembly was to reiterate our goals for the term; wellbeing, balance, organisation and opportunity. The upcoming online assessment blocks pose a valuable opportunity for students to test their knowledge and skills, flex their organisational muscles and find a balance in their days, and ensuring wellbeing is prioritised. In this first assembly for the term, I gently challenged our Yr 7-10 students to push themselves over the next four weeks – to exert effort in the learning space, to test the limits of their discomfort by more frequently participating in Zoom discussions, to seek guidance and apply feedback with gusto. And if not now, then when? The year is nearing to a close, and a release from the restrictions of the past few months, is on the horizon. And whilst the students are still not back at school, they are safe, they are familiar with how to learn remotely, they have goals to achieve and a breadth of opportunities to showcase their skills and talents.

Also, at our first assembly, Head of Teaching and Learning, Mr Bentley, spoke with the students about their opportunity to use their voice to provide feedback to their teachers. The Student Voice Surveys are currently underway, and we anticipate rich feedback from which we can continue to propel forward, as a staff of learners and as a learning community.

The first week of term also brought opportunities for Yr 12 students to access the campus and connect with each other. Many students from the Class of 2021 have come onto site to revise with friends in Study Bubbles in the Learning Hub. Today, I supervised with Dean of Students, Ms Jansons and Yr 12 Year Advisor, Ms Matthews, and it was a delight to hear the students’ talking and laughter float out across the floors of the Learning Hub. Many stopped to chat: long hair, desperate for a cut, shared vaccination experiences, and gratitude for being able to ‘just get out of the house’ and ‘see people’ were the easy conversations had between us.

So, we look forward to the coming weeks, and the easing of restrictions as vaccination rates increase. We are busy planning for how school might look and feel when the students return in a few weeks. And although the Premier announced today that schools will return earlier, there is still uncertainty about what will happen when society does ‘open up’. We are committed to continuing to be flexible and consistent in how we approach teaching and learning. We are confident that as a community we are familiar enough, resilient enough and adaptive enough, to cope with whatever comes our way. In the next two weeks, the teachers in the Secondary School will be stress testing some models for returning the students to campus. We will communicate these with you and as always, rely on your support to ensure a safe return to On-Campus Learning and one that enables the young people in our care to connect with each other before we break for the Christmas holidays.

Next week is an exciting one in the Term 4 calendar. It’s full of beginnings and endings. Yr 11 conclude their online exams. Yr 12 conclude their formal lessons. We officially farewell Yr 12 in a final chapel ceremony and celebratory assembly and then formally induct Yr 11 into their leadership roles for a new year. While these events are most significant for the students in these year groups, they are also important rites of passage for younger students to observe and experience. We have shaped the Week 2 Timetable to ensure that every student in the secondary school is able to participate, online, on Thursday and Friday next week. Thank you for encouraging them to be engaged and respectful at these times, as they would be, in a typical year, on campus.

The registration form for Children of Essential Workers Attending School for Week 2 needs to be completed by Friday 8 October at 3.30pm. It is essential that all students who attend site are registered, even those in Year 12. This is because we have tight structures in place to ensure the safety of our community and especially our Year 12 students, at this time. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

School-Wide Parent/Carer Survey

The input and feedback from our community are important to the success of our continuous school improvement process as we aspire to enhance the learning experience for everyone at Redlands. All parents and carers were sent a letter on Tuesday confirming that Redlands will be once again using the Perspectives: Your school in focus suite of surveys developed by AISNSW to support our school improvement endeavours as the School successfully conducted this survey with all stakeholders in 2019. The information gathered will assist in furthering the growth and development of our school community, and the survey results will be used to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies. These surveys have been specifically designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of stakeholders’ perceptions of five important areas: School Environment, Teaching and Learning, Student Wellbeing, Leadership and Community. All parents, carers, staff and Year 5-11 students will be invited to participate.

The parent/carer survey will be available from 25 October to 7 November and is conducted online, taking approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. A reminder that, as outlined in this week’s letter, if you wish your child to opt-out, the deadline for opting-out is 12pm tomorrow Friday 8 October.

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