Head of Secondary School
Seventy of our Year 9 cohort have nearly spent their first week at High Country Campus on the Moonbah program. It was such a joy to see them all arrive early on a sunny Saturday morning for the send-off and then see them all arrive at the Campus six hours later to slightly chillier weather. Ms Godsell welcomed them off the bus for an Acknowledgement of Country and then the students started to unpack, settle in and meet and key staff.
Mr Atkins and his team were keen to begin – to put all of their thinking and preparation into action and the first weekend was filled with an induction and some free time. It was wonderful to be down there with the first ever cohort and we certainly experienced four seasons in one day. We had electrical storms, hail the size of gold balls and a power outage (which didn’t last long due to the new generator).
There was some trepidation in the first few days as students acclimatised to a new setting, which is to be expected. But there was also feelings of surprise and joy – ‘I thought it would be so hard. It’s great here – can we stay for two terms?!’ The students love their dorms, the three recreation rooms and the dedicated music and dance spaces.
Mr Corcoran’s arrival was highly anticipated and we both enjoyed having dinner with the students and staff across a couple of nights. I know Mr Tod-Hill, Ms Wunder and Ms Willis and other staff are also keen to join Cohort 1 down there in the coming weeks. The students have already commenced writing letters and postcards to those back home. If anyone wants to send them a kind word, the postal address is PO Box 91, Jindabyne, NSW 2627.
The Year 7 Information Webinar
Thank you to all parents and families for the overwhelmingly strong turnout on Monday evening for the Year 7 Information Webinar with presentations from Dean of Studies 7-10(Acting), Alissa Wunder, Dean of Students (Acting), Lucienne Willis and Dean of Activities, Jon Gray. Expectations were clarified around classroom engagement, assessments and examinations, digital citizenship, academic integrity, social-emotional learning, camp and cocurricular opportunities. Overall, Year 7 are embracing exposure to a range of subjects and they should be prioritising their Student Planner for organisation. Students were reminded to check their iLearn courses for daily tasks and parents were reminded to find all news and important documents pertaining to all subjects on the Year 7 Pulse page. The full video with slides is included here for your reference:
The Transition to High School and the Tech Tango – Jocelyn Brewer
Sydney-based psychologist Jocelyn Brewer has a special interest in cyberpsychology and digital wellbeing spoke to Year 7 parents on Wednesday night. She began by telling us that young people do not really see a difference between their online and offline world. Jocelyn doesn’t preach to parents about how to parent. She recognises that each family has its own values system. What Jocelyn says is very important is that the parents of that family make their family values clear and defined to their children – and then parents need to walk the talk of their values. She also said we need open and transparent ways of working with our children. Kids love rules. Do not secretly track them – tell them you’re going to monitor their smart-devices and be open and clear about it. Set rules for your children and then be consistent with following through on these.
Jocelyn used a wonderful water safety metaphor to explore the complexities of digital use and young people in tech spaces. Essentially, she asked are young people prepared to swim in digital waters? A pool, lake, river, surf, ocean? All forms of water pose different risks and require alternate skills and strategies to stay afloat.
She also advised that we take a keen interest in the world of our children – what is going on, what they are interested in, who they follow, etc. Jocelyn reminded parents that if we are not interested in the small stuff of our child’s life, then they might not come to us with the big stuff, when they need to.
Fundamentally, Jocelyn advocates for all parents to utilise a Technology-Use Agreement with their children. Further details and resources will be made available for all parents in the coming week.
Year 11 & 12 Students Get Organised
Senior students in Years 11 and Year 12 HSC and IB programs have hit the ground running. In Core lessons Academic Deans, Ms Boase and Ms Matthews have emphasised the importance of sound organisation skills to ensure students are able to effectively plan their time in relation to key learning tasks. To assist students in their planning, the School has provided students with a large A1 calendar for their ‘at home study spaces.’ Students have been encouraged to organise their study areas paying attention to decluttering their space, ergonomic seating and good lighting. Students were excited to receive their planners from the Stage 6 Administration Assistant, Ms Leanne Kells.
International Women’s Day – March Forward Breakfast
Monday 10 March, 7am-9am
Redlands is pleased to announce the first event in our inaugural ‘Voice Notes: Illuminating Issues that Matter’ series. The series aims to spark conversation on issues impacting education and will span a range of topics across 2025.
We are starting the year by marking International Women’s Day with a breakfast event in conversation with Australia’s e Safety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant. An event not to be missed.
Please also save the date for future Voice Notes events throughout the year:
Term 2: Gen AI: Who’s Really in Control?
Thursday 8 May – evening event
Term 3: The Future of School: Seeing Around Corners
Thursday 7 August – breakfast event
Term 4: Navigating a Changing World
Thursday 30 Oct – evening event
Twilight in the Garden
Our Twilight in the Garden event provides a wonderful opportunity for our new families to connect with our school community on the Fahl Garden on our Senior Campus. We are expecting this to be another sold out event for parents and carers, so please purchase your tickets here.
Musical Tickets Now Available
Learning Plus Volunteers
Learning Plus (support) are looking for volunteers with weekday availability and a desire to contribute regularly to the Redlands student community working with Yrs 7-12.
We need calm and confident community members who understand confidentiality. We need writers (scribes) and readers. You need to have legible handwriting and the ability to communicate in English.
Our volunteers find this a rewarding activity and a fantastic way to support students at Redlands.
We need volunteers to start training now!
Contact sprovisions@redlands.nsw.edu.au to express your interest or request more information.
Ms Gemma Van de Peer
Head of Secondary School
gvandepeer@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9811