Head of Secondary School
Celebrating World Ocean Day at Redlands!
We are thrilled to share the highlights of our World Ocean Day event held on Tuesday, where Redlands had the pleasure of hosting five schools from the Round Square network. Radford College in Canberra, Bishop Druitt College Coffs Harbour, Newcastle Grammar, MLC, and Barker College joined us for a day filled with inspiration and environmental awareness.
The festivities began with lunch on Redlands’ rooftop garden, where our visitors had the opportunity to learn about our gardening club and sustainability initiatives. It was a fantastic way to start the day, connecting with nature and sharing ideas. Our program then moved into a more formal setting, where we were honoured to have Ms. Zali Steggall OAM MP as a special guest speaker. Ms. Steggall emphasised the importance of ensuring our elected government represents the interests and concerns of the people, as well as the current environmental projects being pursued. The event continued with engaging presentations featuring ocean conservation experts Sarah-Jo Lobwein, Kal Glanzing, and Tim Johnston. Their remarkable work to protect our oceans inspired our students to take that crucial first step towards becoming the change they wish to see in the world. To deepen our understanding of marine conservation, we screened the documentary film “Rubber Jellyfish,” shedding light on the devastating impact of balloons on marine life. It was a powerful reminder of our responsibility to safeguard our precious ocean habitats.
In the spirit of collaboration, our Redlands students led breakout groups, enabling students from the various schools to share ideas for future collaborations and initiatives. It was heartening to witness the passion and dedication of these young minds in their commitment to protecting the ocean we all share. But our efforts didn’t stop there. On Wednesday, our Redlands students had the privilege of sharing their learning and experiences with an international audience of Round Square schools through a Zoom “Post Card.” Over 80 participants from India, China, Australia, Kenya, and South Africa joined in to hear about our live event and collaborate across national borders.
World Ocean Day reminded us of the power of collective action and the global impact we can effect when we unite for a common cause. Let us continue to be the stewards of our oceans and work together to preserve these invaluable ecosystems for future generations.
A sincere thank you to Redlands staff Ms Carty Haverhals and Ms Liz Green and to all the schools, guests, and participants who made this event a tremendous success. Together, we can make a difference!
2023 Athletics Carnival
The Athletics Carnival was a fun day of track and field events. There was laughter and colour across all year levels, and it is always pleasing to see Year 12 enjoy themselves in one of their final Redlands events for the year.
Most impressive was the High Jump session I watched with Ms Partington and a lot of very loud young Redlands men who were cheering on Daniel Benoliel (Year 8) and Ashley Corn (Year 9) whose jumping achievements were outstanding. It was a delight to watch the support the students had for these two young men and the collective joy in their success.
While the Redlands Athletics Carnival was taking place, the CIS Cross Country (XC) Championships were also being held at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre. Of particular note:
Isaac Brooks placed 8th in the CIS XC Championships and has now qualified for the NSW All Schools XC
Imogen Howard placed 7th in the 15 years 4 KM and has also made it through to the All Schools XC
Yr 9 Camp Reintegration Evening
The Year 9 Camp to Arnhem Land was an incredible experience. Students will no doubt have shared their experiences; there is a lot for them to process.
To assist with this, we’ll be holding our Reintegration Evening on Tuesday 13 June at 5.30pm in Redlands Hall. All Year 9 students are expected to attend and we also invite parents and carers to attend to find out more about what the students experienced in Arnhem Land. If students are returning from Sport training they may attend this event in sport uniform (otherwise full school uniform). If students wish to remain on campus prior to this event, they are expected to attend Study Centre in the Learning Hub for the duration of the time. If not, they need to depart the campus and return with parents at 5.30pm.
The purpose of the evening is to guide students to purposefully use the knowledge and understanding they have gained, and for them to be able to share their experiences with parents, carers and other members of the school community.
We look forward to all Camp Groups contributing, through a series of reflections or by sharing their ‘giving back’ performances.
We will be joined by Emily, Troy and Randy (Yolngu man) from Culture College who will offer advice to students on how to make sense of what they experienced and give them some ways to implement the learnings to their life back in Sydney. We are excited to share some further opportunities for students to connect with the Yolngu in the future.
We look forward to welcoming parents and carers of Year 9 students to school next Tuesday evening for this important connection event.
Senior Music Festival
Don’t forget to get your tickets for next Friday’s Senior Music Festival at The Concourse in Chatswood. We have over 200 students performing in what promises to be a wonderful celebration of Music. Participants and their families are asked to check the communication from the Music Department for rehearsal and bus timings.
Tickets can be purchased directly from The Concourse Box Office.
Reminders for Parents
Student uniform standards are important. We appreciate you taking the time to support the School and in particular, the Year Advisors, who uphold these standards as part of their mission to develop students’ self-respect, self-care and commitment to being part of a community.
Students must arrive and leave school wearing their School blazer, even if they are stepping out of your car on Waters Road and walking a few steps into school. All students are expected to wear their Blazer in Term 2 and 3.
If students are cold during the day at School, they are permitted to wear one of the two blue woollen jumpers for sale at the uniform shop. Hoodies, fleeces and other sports jackets are not permitted with the Winter uniform. For Sport training, students are required to wear their appropriate sport uniform and for PDHPE classes, students need to wear the appropriate PDHPE uniform. Basketball hoodies and alumni hoodies are not permitted and if worn, students will be required to remove them.
Girls’ skirts should be worn just above the knee – not mid thigh. Girls wearing tights with holes or ladders will be required to replace them from the uniform shop.
Students are permitted to wear one set of earrings – one earring in each lower lobe. This should be a small understated stud or sleeper.
Students are expected to have a hair-cut which enables their face to be visible to the community. Mullet hairstyles are not permitted and students will be sent to the barber for an appropriate haircut. Students with hair longer than shoulder length will need to tie it back in a simple ponytail or bun.
Mobile phones are to be left in student lockers during the school day. All students should have a lock on their locker. If parents need to contact a student during the day, we strongly encourage you to phone the school rather than reach out to your teenager directly via text message or phone call. The reception staff are happy to field your requests and thereby support our young people to experience individuation.
We take our duty of care seriously and request your support to ensure your child is safe at all times. The School day concludes at 3.30pm or when students return from Sport training. If students wish to remain at school after these times, they are expected to attend Study Centre, which is a supervised space, inside the Learning Hub. There is no supervision for students to ‘play’ on the Fahl Garden, basketball courts or in the undercroft after school. Students are requested to go directly home from school and not visit McDonalds, Chargrill Charlie’s or Woolworths. They should make their way home, rest and then engage in homelearning and revision. If they wish to engage in homelearning at School, then they must go straight to the Study Centre. We suggest you encourage them to pack afternoon tea, because students are not permitted to leave school to buy food and then return again later to study. As part of our duty of care students either remain at school to study in the Study Centre, or they travel directly home.
Redlands Gala Ball – Early Bird Tickets Available Now
Ms Gemma Van de Peer
Head of Secondary School
gvandepeer@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9811