Head of Secondary School

Yr 9 Connect with Country in Arnhem Land this Reconciliation Week

It’s been a quieter week on the Senior Campus with Yr 9 away on camp. On Wednesday, our Student Leaders offered a reflective Reconciliation Assembly to the school community. Yr 11 and 12 engaged in person in Redlands Hall and the students in Yr 7, 8 and 10 watched via live stream from their vertical House groupings. David Barnett from the Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council delivered the Welcome to Country and delivered a meaningful and at times amusing, address to the students. He ended by having them each turn to each other and express love in an indigenous language. A thoughtful part of the assembly was offered by Alfie Leach and Antonia Morgan, who shared some reflections from their recent visit to Arnhem Land. Alfie spoke beautifully about how to connect with Country:

“One way to connect to country is to just stop, and take a minute to absorb everything around you. In a practical sense, on your walk home from the bus stop, or to the shops, just slow down, take your earphones out and look around, listen to all the sounds that the land is making, breathe in the air and try to allow yourself to relax, try to empty your mind and really feel that connection with everything around you. It is extraordinary how fulfilling and stress relieving this can be, especially at the end of a long day. I’d encourage you all to try this at some point today, whether it be in between classes, at lunch time, on your way home or walking the dog. Just take a minute, and slow down to absorb and appreciate the captivating land around you.”

Antonio then went on to explore the impact of Reconciliation Week:

“The theme for this year’s Reconciliation Week is ‘be a voice for generations’. To me this theme encompasses what reconciliation aims to achieve. To be a voice for generations means for us to recognise privilege and responsibility. It means to reflect and acknowledge our history, our past and where we wish to go in the future. It means to listen to all with open ears and to develop an understanding of the views around us. It means to open our eyes and challenge our perspectives in order to see change in our world. It means, at the core of all things, to ensure the voices of each individual are heard, equally, loudly, and clearly. This theme fosters the change we wish to see in the future, a future we hope is near.”

The past week has provided further evidence of the talents and skills of students across the Secondary School. The following Yr 9 students recently competed at the U15 Boys and Girls NSW All School AFL Championships in Albury.

Oscar Carlyon – U15 Boys
Heidi Charles – U15 Girls
Lachlan Price-Pontifex – U15 Boys
Heidi de Saxe – U15 Girls

Lachlan was appointed captain of the NSWCIS U15 Boys team. The Boys team won the All Schools Championship winning all four games and the Girls finished runners up.

Lachlan was also voted ‘Player of the Tournament’ by the Selectors. Both Lachlan and Heidi were then selected in the respective NSW All School U15 AFL teams to compete at the National Championships in Ballarat July 22 – July 29.

Also this week, our Senior Theatresports Team competed against 8 schools at the Semi-Finals Theatresports Schools Challenge. Congratulations to them as they placed Second! They will now perform at the Grand Final at the Enmore Theatre. The students are incredibly excited and this is an exceptional achievement for: Phoebe Barnett (Yr 12), Claudia Lalich (Yr 12), Hallie Hunt (Yr 11) and Sholto Mirrlees-Black (Yr 11).

Term 3/4 Departure Notice

As we are approaching the mid-point of the year, this is a reminder that those families who are planning on leaving the School during or at the end of Terms 3 or 4 are required to give notice to the Principal via an email to registrar@redlands.nsw.edu.au by the following dates:

Term 3 Departure: Friday 23 June 2023
Term 4 Departure: Friday 21 July 2023

As per the 2023 Schedule of Fees emailed to all families in December last year, there will be fees in lieu payable for any notices of departure received after these dates.

Redlands Gala Ball – Early Bird Tickets Available Now

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