Head of Secondary School

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Term 2 Welcome

It has been wonderful to see the students return this week and hear their excited greetings and their laughter ringing through the playground. Our Yr 12 HSC and IB students are sitting their Half-Yearly Assessments and Examinations offsite for the first two weeks of this term and we wish them all the best during these assessments of their learning. It was a busy holiday period for many of our students who traveled to Arnhem Land on our Service Learning trip, who travelled to Melbourne for visits to universities or who participated in the Winter Sports Camp at Berry. It sounds like all of these have been fulfilling and enjoyable experiences for our students and I would like to thank the teachers and staff who organised these trips for them. It was also a great pleasure to see a number of staff, parents and students at the ANZAC Dawn Service at Georges Heights or North Sydney in the holidays, where the School was represented.

On Monday, Judith Locke returned to Redlands to follow up with staff on the talks she gave to parents and staff last term as part of our Professional Learning Day. She shared further research on responsible parenting and emphasised how parents and schools need to work in partnership to ensure that students achieve their best while at school and are best prepared for life after school. Much of what she said further supports our vision of inspiring girls and boys to achieve “life-readiness” by learning to deal with mistakes, disappointments and challenges. She discussed how the ideal of “authoritative parenting”, where parents balance high demandingness with high responsiveness, is mirrored in schools by “authoritative teaching” where we balance high expectations with high support. I look forward to sharing more from her presentations in future Note Day entries.

On Tuesday morning, we held our own Secondary School ANZAC Service in Dunnet Hall. It was a moving and poignant service of music, reflections, history and powerful messages, punctuated by an address by our guest speakers Lieutenant Colonel Colin Morrison, Lieutenant Colonel Karen Such and Reverend Tim St Quintin, focusing on the sacrifice and service of those who serve in the armed forces. I thank everyone who made this Service such a special start to the term. 

Congratulations

Regularly, our students are acknowledged for their wonderful achievements and I would like to draw attention to two recent acknowledgements we have received. A number of our sailors competed in the Australia Schools Sailing Championships over the holidays and we would like to congratulate Ella Delaney (Yr 9) for winning the Sportsmanship Award in this prestigious event.

In addition, congratulations to Ben Kittle in Yr 12 who has have achieved a place as a finalist in the Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize. The prize was established in 2007 and is a national competition that awards and promotes Australian contemporary photography. Ben’s photographic work Du Cane Hut, Overland Track, Tasmania made it into the final 25 from over 6000 entries. The Moran Prize will be exhibited at Juniper Hall, 250 Oxford St, Paddington from 4 May to 2 June and the overall winner of his category will be announced 7 May.

Study in the USA Information Evening

Redlands is proud to once again host the Study in the USA Information Evening on Monday 6 May from 5.30-7.30pm. Representatives from over 30 American universities will be in attendance to not only share specific information on their universities, but to also give students and parents valuable insights on the process of applying to American universities. I would encourage families who are thinking about applying to American universities in the future to attend this excellent event.

Parent Event: Professor Tim Flannery Presentation 

To launch our National Careers Week in Week 3, Redlands invites all parents and students to a presentation by eminent scientist and 2007 Australian of the Year, Professor Tim Flannery. Professor Flannery will be giving a 30 minute presentation on the topic: Where are the jobs in the future clean economy? followed by a Q & A session. He has been recently appointed to the Australian Museum as Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Climate Change and the presentation focuses on the need for science and innovation in a whole of economy transformation as we address climate change.

This special event will take place on Monday 13 May at 6.30pm in Redlands Hall. We look forward to seeing you there. 

Redlands Konica Minolta Artist in Residence 2019 

Redlands is excited and honoured to have esteemed contemporary artist, Cameron Robbins, as our Artist in Residence in Weeks 2 and 3 of Term 2. Not only will Cameron will be working with students during this time, but he will also be creating a site responsive artwork on the Senior Campus. We will be hosting a celebration of Cameron Robbins and the Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize Collection on Thursday 16 May from 6.00-8.30pm at the John Roberts Centre. The Collection was created as a direct result of the acquisitive Prize over 22 years and is a remarkable collection of artworks which provides a unique and valuable teaching tool and includes pieces from Imants Tillers, Ben Quilty and Lindy Lee, amongst others. We hope to see you at this special event which will showcase many works from this collection.

Important NSW Transport Information

As noted in my letter over the holidays, the School has been informed by Transport NSW that the Hampden Ave bus stop on Military Rd has now been closed from 6.00-10.00am on weekdays to add an extra city bound lane in the mornings to ease congestion and help improve citybound traffic flow. Students who previously alighted at this stop should now alight at Neutral Bay Junction Stand D, which is two minutes walking distance from the current stop, or at the Spencer Road bus stop before Murdoch Street. Unfortunately, students will now need to walk across additional roads to arrive at the Senior Campus and we urge students to use extreme caution when crossing any road. While we have teachers on duty at some crossings, we are unable monitor all of these. To ensure the safety of our students with this Transport NSW bus stop change, please note the following:

1. Students are still NOT permitted to cross Military Rd at the lights at Murdoch St after alighting from buses to get to the Senior Campus. They should always use the footbridge to cross Military Rd.
2. Parents are NOT to drop their children at the top of Hampden Ave in the mornings as there will be more students crossing Hampden Ave. Parents should drop off students at the designated School drop off zones on Winnie St, Waters Rd or around the Junior Campus.

Please note the Hampden Ave bus stop will still remain operational for afternoon bus services.

Winter Sports and Macquarie Parking

We wish students all the best as they fully commence their winter sports seasons this weekend. Please also note that in October last year, Macquarie University moved to a digital parking platform across the campus and at the same time, introduced paid parking for all Sport and Aquatic Centre users. As part of this change, paid parking will also be applied to the Sport Fields as the last stage in this strategy. As of 1 May, all parking at the sport fields will attract a fee of $1.50 per hour. Further information can be found in the Sports section of Note Day.

Winter Uniform

A reminder that students should be in proper winter uniform for Terms 2 and 3. Please ensure students continue to take pride in their uniform by wearing their blazers to and from school. Also, a reminder that girls should have skirts with a “hem falling to the top of the knees” and that boys should have hair that is cut “away from the eyes, ears and collar and a style that is neat and conservative” and “no hair dye is permitted”. Students and parents can refer to the Student Planner (p. 19-22) and Redlands Pulse for further information.

Mr Sean Corcoran
Head of Secondary School
scorcoran@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9870