Head of Secondary School
Christchurch
As news filtered in on Friday and over the weekend about the horrific terrorist attack in Christchurch, which left 50 men, women and children dead and many more injured, I struggled through a mixture of emotions. Firstly, I felt shock and incredulity as the details of the tragic and harrowing events came to light. I then felt a mixture of grief and anger as the reality of the hateful, callous and evil acts sunk in. And as I reflected more on these events and the world that has bred this extremist, white supremacist terrorism, I felt a mixture of hopelessness and frustration at the way various leaders, commentators and individuals around the world have created an undercurrent in society that has spread fear and ignorance, leading to a rise of extremist ideologies, hate-fuelled trolling and racist or sexist abuse.
However, over the past few days, this hopelessness has been turned to hope and renewed resolve to counter this reality. This hope comes from seeing the strength, compassion and humanity of New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Arden, as she leads her country through the grieving and healing. This hope comes from listening to commentators such as Waleed Aly sharing their honest and emotional reflections on these events. And this hope comes from interacting with the community of students at Redlands, a community of students from a rich tapestry of nations, ethnicities and religions, who illustrate a genuine love, compassion and respect for each other in their daily interactions. This diversity is truly a strength of Redlands.
This week there has been Pastoral time for students to reflect on the events of Christchurch. We realise that events like this can affect all of us, but especially young people, in different ways, so we would remind you that your sons or daughters can turn to the Pastoral support team at School if needed. My thoughts and prayers go out to the many victims and their families and anyone affected by these events.
Safety Around Our Streets
We ask parents to please take extra care when dropping off or picking up students around the Senior Campus as the safety of our students and members of the wider community remains our highest priority. Once again, we ask parents to use the designated drop off and pick up zones on Waters Road and Winnie Street near the Senior Campus or Allister Street and Murdoch Street near the Junior Campus. We also remind parents when dropping off or picking up students of some of the following expectations: not to double park on Hampden Avenue; not to pull into the bus parking lot in front of the Adams Centre; not to park or stop illegally on Military Rd; or not to pull into the small Senior Campus parking area off Military Road in front of Lone Oak. North Sydney Council parking rangers regularly patrol the areas around the School to enforce the parking and traffic regulations.
Rowing
I would like to congratulate all of our rowers who competed at the NSW Schoolgirl Head of the River and NSW Schoolboy Head of the River at Penrith on the weekend. Overall, we had arguably our most successful results in Redlands history across these prestigious competitions. In the NSW Schoolgirl Head of the River, we had three podium finishes, ten A final qualifications out of a possible 11 events and, even though we were up against many of the much larger all girls’ schools, finished 12th overall out of 40 schools and 4th in the Senior point score out of 20 schools. In the NSW Schoolboy Head of the River, we had 11 podium finishes out of 24 events, three top three results in the Yr 8 races and, once again even though we were up against some of the much bigger all boys’ schools, finished 5th overall out of 13 schools competing. Thank you to all of the coaches and parents who supported our rowers over the weekend and throughout this successful season.
Sports Luncheon
We are very excited to be holding our inaugural Redlands Sports Luncheon, celebrating 120 years of Redlands Sport, on Friday 5 April from 12.00 – 4.00pm at the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Kirribilli.
This Luncheon is open to all Redlands parents and alumni and provides a great opportunity to celebrate the integral value of sport to the Redlands community and its students of the past, present and future.
We are delighted to announce our guest speakers, past Redlands students, who will share their very inspiring journey during this luncheon, Karyn Gojnich (Davis), Class of 1978 (Olympic Sailor, Redlander and former Redlands parent), Janusz Hooker, Class of 1987 (Olympic Rower), Lachlan Mackay, Class of 2000 (Rugby: Wallaby) and Holly Crawford, Class of 2001 (Olympic Snowboarder).
Tickets are $130 per person and include a gourmet two course meal and beverages. Limited spaces are available so don’t miss out, book now!
Mr Sean Corcoran
Head of Secondary School
scorcoran@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9870