Head of Secondary School

Reflection

Yesterday I was saddened to hear of the death of Toni Morrison, the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Like many other readers, Morrison’s novels moved me with their linguistic eloquence, emotional rawness and gripping reality. Former American President Barak Obama described her as a “national treasure… who reaches us deeply, using a tone that is lyrical, precise, distinct and inclusive. She believes that language arcs to the place where meaning might lie. And the rest of us are lucky to be along for the ride.”

In reading and listening to some of obituaries for Morrison, I was particularly struck by a quote of hers in response to a question about her confidence. She stated, “I was always gallant because I was always very comfortable with my flaws and very comfortable with my gifts”. To be as equally comfortable with our flaws as we are with our gifts is an eloquent way to describe one of the mindsets we continually aim to develop within our students across their various pursuits at Redlands.

Parent Presentation

Technology Addiction and Sleep – Wednesday 14 August 6.00-7.30pm

Good sleep is crucial to health and wellbeing. The use of digital devices, especially before bedtime, can have a major impact on sleep quality. Child psychiatrist Dr Philip Tam and sleep expert Lisa Maltman will discuss how to help your child create good sleep habits and avoid the pitfalls of too much technology. Dr Philip Tam is an award-winning child psychiatrist, researcher and pioneer in internet-related psychological disorders and video-game addictions. He will examine how to address these often-challenging problems in young people. Lisa Maltman is the founder of The Sleep Connection, established to meet the growing need to educate students, teachers and parents in schools on the importance of sleep health, and works closely with the Woolcock Medical Institute in Sydney, a body world-renowned in the area of sleep research. We are pleased to have Dr Philip Tam and Lisa Maltman present on these important topics on Wednesday 14 August from 6.00-7.30pm in Redlands Hall. All Secondary School parents are invited to attend. No RSVP is necessary.

Visual Arts Exhibition

Jeans for Genes Mufti Day

Last Friday was our Jeans for Genes mufti day where we raised money for the Children’s Medical Research Institute. This year we raised over $1600 for this worthy cause.

A Night to Delight

Last Friday evening was a wonderful night of entertainment and culinary delights spanning our different languages of Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese and Latin at Redlands. Yr 8 Language classes performed on the night (along with a Chinese dragon dance performance) while some of our Yr 7 Language students were waiters and waitresses for the evening and the Yr 10 Language students developed the hotly contested Cultural Quiz. Some of the Yr 11 students who will be part of the Service learning trip to Cambodia later in the year also provided assistance throughout the evening and raised funds for their upcoming trip. I would like to thank the Language teachers for their efforts and organisation for this wonderful evening.

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

year of schooling
category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).

If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact Mrs Lisa Ole (Coordinator of Learning Support K-12) lole@redlands.nsw.edu.au.

Redlands Gala Ball

With only a few weeks left until the Gala Ball, start bidding in our online auction for incredible prizes valued at over $50,000.

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