Head of Secondary School

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Saturday was such a beautiful day – sunny and hot, and perfect weather for the Redlands Sailing Cup. Our students competed in a number of races in Pacers and Elliots down on Sydney Harbour. I was lucky enough to go out on the water and get up close to the action. I was so impressed by the students’ capacity to read the wind and the water and work collaboratively with each other. Even though some of them were tired after camp and the end of a long year, they enthusiastically explained all of the rules to me, and enjoyed each other’s company on and off the water. They were up against strong teams from Ascham, St Ignatius College, Riverview, St Aloysius, Wenona and Monte.

A Time for Giving

For most in our community, Christmas is a time for joy and celebration. But for many in Lismore, who lost homes and businesses in the recent flooding and are in the early stages of a costly disaster recovery, this holiday season will be one of hardship.

This term, we are calling on the generosity of our Redlands community to support the residents of Lismore. We are asking each student to donate a small Christmas gift to the Northern Rivers Children’s Services. We hope these donated gifts will bring joy to a number of families this Christmas season.

To support this cause, we are asking students to bring a new children’s gift to their Tutor class in Weeks 6 and 7. The students and our Chaplain put the tree up in the John Roberts Centre this morning and the gifts from the School to Lismore will be placed in this area as a visible sign of giving and service to others.

Yr 10 Orientation Day 3

On Monday, Yr 10 attended Phase 3 of their orientation into senior studies. Mr Castelli, Head of Learning Analytics, started the session with a presentation on the key to success. Based on extensive analysis of the past 6 cohorts, Mr Castelli outlined the importance of having a holistic strategy that statistically enhances ATAR, references, university offers and interest from recruitment agencies.

Ms Benjamin, Dean of HSC and Mr Taylor, Dean of IB took the students through preparing for Yr 11; the session covered key attributes and attitudes that make a successful learner as well as establishing the high expectations we have of our senior students, but also the high support that we have in place for them. The students were introduced to study timetables and key study skills to help them to prepare for the step up to Yr 11. They were given time to reflect and set goals for the coming year. Ms Benjamin and Mr Taylor were supported by new Yr 12 students from both pathways, who did an excellent job sharing their reflections on what they wished they’d known this time last year, as well as advice for a new Yr 11 student. Yr 12 supported our new Yr 11 students in the activities during the session and it was great to see them working together so positively.

Yr 7-9 Assembly (SL) Launch of Fall Forward

After lots of difficult decision making, the 2023 Yr 12 Student Leadership Team have decided that ‘Fall Forward’ will be the slogan by which they lead the school. Inspired by a motivational speech by Denzel Washington, the leadership team aims to interpret ‘Fall Forward’ in their own way – striving to shift the narrative of disappointment or setbacks, shining a positive light on failure.

Their goal is to bolster Redlands’ inclusivity, promoting an environment where students feel comfortable to fall in their endeavours, knowing they have the support of their community. Celebrating that every failed experiment is one step closer to success. To share with the Secondary School, the leadership team collated a video which explored community experiences of falling forward.

View Here

Thank you to Oliver Noakes and Alex Tully for their efforts in editing this video.

Cocurricular Offerings 2023

We are in the process of updating our cocurricular offering for 2023, particularly the lunchtime clubs. We currently offer a wide range of clubs which extend curriculum subjects (such as in Science, Languages and Technology) or provide a unique experience beyond curriculum subjects (such as Knitting, Ethics, Model UN or Public Speaking).

We want all our activities outside of the classroom to be of high value. They should: allow students to demonstrate growth; provide opportunities to develop a unique talent or interest; allow them to take risks and be adventurous; to experience joy; and to foster a sense of belonging.

We ask staff to work with students to be inclusive, to create and support positive experiences, to provide genuine opportunities for accomplishment, and to help support student-led initiatives.

If you have any feedback or questions about lunchtime clubs or any of our other cocurricular activities, please contact Jonathan Gray, Dean of Activities (jgray@redlands.nsw.edu.au) who will be happy to hear from you.

Yr 7 STEAM

The Yr 7 STEAM Challenge for 2022 explored the Future of Innovative Transport. The challenge started with a guest speaker – Ms Mandi Mees (Head of National Rail Skills and Reform Design – National Transport Commission). Ms Mees talked to the students about transport issues such as equity, digitisation, accessibility and decarbonisation. This challenged the students to then identify, define, research, ideate, create and present their solution in the form of a prototype, model, app etc.

I saw them early on Day 1 of the Challenge, after the guest speaker Ms Mandi Mees had met with them and they were brainstorming ideas for their driving question, supported by Yr 12 student volunteers. There was a lot of energy and exciting ideas.

Then late on Day 2 of the Challenge, I was invited to judge the finalists, along with Member for Parliament, Ms Zali Staggall, Ms Mees and our 2023 Environment Captains, Marina and Matt. It was a challenging situation as all four of the final presentations were strong. They all met the brief, applied technological innovation, and offered engaging presentations. The Yr 7 audience were excited for their House group peers and cheered them on, ending the two-day challenge on a high in Redlands Hall. There were two winners in the end – we just couldn’t decide! We rewarded scientific contributions and persuasive presentations, but all students should feel proud of their collaborative achievements.

A sincere thank you to Ms Wendy Duckworth and the teachers and tutors involved. They spent two huge days with Yr 7 and spent significant time planning the engaging event.

The winning teams were:

Yr 7 Robert Smith’s Reflections on the Steam Challenge

2022 STEAM Day involved engaging entrepreneurial thinking to create a sustainable product that could be used to revolutionise transport. The many groups throughout Yr 7 designed unique and creative products and then competed against each other until four finalists were selected. Even though my group wasn’t a part of the finals, watching how the other teams’ creations worked was fun and exciting. Ms Mees, a transport innovation leader, began the two days of STEAM with a speech about how effective transportation benefits society. After this we split up into our Tutor groups, where the Yr 12 students presented their STEAM products. Following this, students were invited to brainstorm possible solutions to current transportation issues. Tuesday involved the process of bringing our ideas to life and creating a seamless slideshow on how our product would work, as well as a hand-made model of our design. We had to include both a brief overview of our idea and some FAQ’s and dilemmas with our product. After lunch, the four selected teams came together in the hall where our judges (Ms Van de Peer, Zali Steggall and our two environment captains) decided on the winning teams; Cowper and Dumolo were the victors, presenting a turbine powered ferry and a magnetic hovering car. Overall, it was a very fun and successful experience and I can’t wait to participate again next year.

COVID-19

With the increase in positive COVID-19 cases in Sydney and the wider community, please be reminded of the key points from Mr Corcoran’s letter of 17 October to the Redlands community as outlined below.

• students and staff must notify the school of a positive COVID-19 test in the same manner as before
• while self-isolation is no longer mandatory, students and staff should only return to school if they no longer have any acute symptoms (sore throat, runny nose, cough or shortness of breath)
• once their symptoms subside, students and staff must wear a mask in indoor settings on campus for 3 days after they return to school
• if any students or staff members are household contacts of a positive COVID-19 case who is unwell at their home, they should also wear a mask in indoor settings at school while that person continues to have acute symptoms.

Thank you again for your continued support of the health and wellbeing of our school community noting the continued importance of keeping students at home if they are unwell.

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