Head of Secondary School

Head of Secondary School

Experience Project

Yr 9 have been flexing their muscles in the collaboration and creativity space this week, stepping gracefully and with good humour into the challenge of group work – not with friends, but with peers in their Year Group – for the purpose of supporting those in need at Christmas time, via an entrepreneurial venture.

Their challenge is to improve the experience of Christmas for someone else in their community through the lens of

  • Advocacy
  • Health & Wellness
  • Sustainability
  • Arts & Culture

While their recent Commerce unit had them working for ‘clients’ as an intrapreneur, we are now loosening the reins and asking them to be social entrepreneurs as they strive to bring an impact driven idea to life.

Highlights have been:

  • Seeing the walls, windows and whiteboards of the Learning Hub reflect their ideations
  • Observing how well they interact with our alumni and sport coaches Kathryn Wightwick, Emma Brady and Sophie Bailey, who are allocating and monitoring points for the Spirit Cup
  • The silence in Redlands Hall this morning when Andrew, a self-described ex-con, shared his story of redemption via the entrepreneurial startup Con-Fit
  • Hearing Yr 8 students walk through the Learning Hub whispering excitedly ‘Yr 9 are having an experience…will we get one too?’
  • Having little chats with students who shared their ideas and seeing the self-awareness in their honest response when challenged to come up with a stronger idea – ‘Oh okay then, yes I can do better…’
  • Very strong examples of self-management, collaboration and leadership
  • Seeing students engage with experts from their chosen fields on Monday: Meliissa Drennan, CEO of Green Friday a website that marries e-Commerce and sustainability, Sarah Grattan, Northern Beaches Councillor and former COO of UNICEF Australia, Alex Long, Community Engagement Officer at the Wayside Chapel and Sangeeta Leach, Board Member for the Wayside Chapel and Zach Pincini, Redlander, School Captain 2018 and thespian.
  • Newly elected leaders facilitating the Q&A with experts

Below are some pictures of our Yr 9 cohort in action during Experience Week.

Today the Guest Speaker was Andrew from Con-Fit.

He shared the story of his life from being a prefect in high school to being sentenced to jail for commercial drug dealing. In jail he was lucky enough to be invited to participate in a juvenile offenders course where he found the benefits of fitness – for mind and body. He found an alternate path to crime, a new purpose and regained his health. He shared some very compelling and powerful stories with Yr 9 about mistakes made, lessons learned and the power of reflection and a mind-body connection.

Andrew shared an important life lesson that you are the sum of the people you surround yourself with. He asked students to consider the top five people in their life because they are the people who shape and influence you. Andrew shared who these people are for him now – one being his mum.

At the conclusion of his talk, Yr 9 asked some insightful and thoughtful questions. Lachlan Mather asked about feelings during a difficult time. Ms Green asked Andrew what message he would give to his Yr 9 self. To this Andrew replied, “My Yr 9 self would be in absolute shock. I thought I would be married by now. But I wouldn’t trade my life for anything. I am completely content. Don’t be sad if your life doesn’t turn out the way you planned it. Things work out in the end.”

To conclude Andrew and Ms Green reminded Yr 9 to consider the following important questions when planning a business that has social enterprise at its core:

  • How can our ideas have social impact?
  • How do we know what a particular group of people need?
  • How can we test to see if our idea/plan lands well?

Yr 10 Camp

Yr 10 students are having a wonderful time on Camp at Myall Lakes. So far the weather has been kind, with warm days and still nights. This Camp is an important stepping stone to develop skills in resilience and self-management as students prepare for Yr 11. There is time for reflection after the challenges of the day and we find it to be a formative experience for those who attend. Ms Vale will be posting photos and reflections in next week’s Note Day.

Australian Mathematics Competition                                                    

This week in our Yr 7 to 9 student-led assembly in Redlands Hall, our Head of Mathematics Ms Karen Pittard proudly bestowed awards on students who achieved strongly in the AMC this year. The AMC is the largest problem-solving competition of its kind, with more than 170,000 participants from over 2000 schools. The participants are often drawn from the best mathematicians in their school, making achievements even more notable. It was exciting to see the students’ joy and the way they supported each other’s achievements as Ms Pittard bestowed the awards.

164 students from Years 7 to 11 sat for the Australian Mathematics Competition held online in Redlands Hall and at Winter School in Term 3. The following students demonstrated excellence in mathematical problem-solving at the highest levels.

In Yr 9 there were 4 Distinctions

  • Christopher Bai 
  • Oscar Pearce             
  • Tessa Griffith                                                          
  • Elizabeth Whelan

In Yr 8 there were 3 High Distinctions and 7 Distinctions

  • Sam Ashby (HD)                               
  • Alex Heller (HD)        
  • Abby Stante (HD)
  • Lewis Davis   
  • William Thompson     
  • Kai Feldman                                                              
  • Samuel Turton          
  • Rowan Peterson                                                       
  • William Vass              
  • Charlie Reeves  

In Yr 7 there were 2 High Distinctions and 17 Distinctions

  • Liv Law (HD)                         
  • Phoebe Sun (HD)                              
  • Angus Baird                                                                 
  • Ruari MacLochlainn
  • Gabby Demian                                              
  • Anay Mishra Mall                   
  • Jun Chen Gong                                             
  • Aaron Oh                   
  • Angus Goodall                                              
  • Connor Price              
  • Thys Hulsbosch                                            
  • James Priestley                     
  • Aimee Kang                                                              
  • Liam Randall              
  • Lucas Keall                                                               
  • Lauren Rolfe              
  • Fergus Kerr                                                    
  • Eloise To                   
  • Joshua Lim                 


Best in School was awarded to Yr 7 student Lachlan Carter

Lachlan Carter earned a rare Australian Mathematics Competition Prize. An AMC Prize is achieved only by scoring in the top 3 tenths of one percent of the thousands of AMC participants across multiple countries. Lachlan ranked 47th overall in Yr 7 mathematicians, and today receives a Prize Certificate and voucher and a ‘Best in School’ Certificate for the School’s Highest Standardised Score. Congratulations Lachlan who is shown below with Ms Pittard after receiving his award!


HSC and IB Senior Studies Information Evening (Redlands House to Yr 9 families)

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