Head of Secondary School

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Self-Reflection

At our Term 4 Welcome Assembly I spoke to the Yrs 7-10 students in attendance about the importance of self-reflection and have shared some of this talk below.

“Critical and honest self-reflection can be hard and is something that we might instead choose to avoid. But it is exactly this type of self-examination which can be so personally beneficial and can lead to positive and meaningful growth and change.

However, sometimes when we are asked to self-reflect, we are not honest with ourselves. Maybe we are too hard on ourselves and do not celebrate and embrace our strengths. Or we gloss over our weaknesses or the challenges we are facing and pretend everything is fine. Or we do not accept responsibility for our actions and blame others – parents, teachers, peers – for when things don’t work out how we had hoped.

Personally, I have always tried to live by the words from the opening of the Serenity Prayer, as a guide to self-reflection, which reads:

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.”

But sometimes this serenity, courage and wisdom can be hard to obtain. Sometimes, when we critically self-reflect, it can be quite confusing and we can even find that our strengths or our virtues can also be our weaknesses.

I want you to pause and think about this. What are some of your strengths, your virtues, your positive characteristics? Can some of your strengths also be weaknesses?

For example, on the positive you might be independent but on the negative you might then refuse to accept the help of others. Or, on the positive you might have high expectations of your self and be highly conscientious, but on the negative you might be a perfectionist who is overly critical of your self or others. Or, on the positive, you might be highly organised and disciplined, but on the negative you might lack flexibility and can’t adapt to change.

Upon my own self-reflection, I know that a possible strength of mine can be my passion and enthusiasm; however, I also am aware I need to be cautious not to let my emotions cloud my judgement.

What we can aim to do is strive for balance. Aristotle said that our virtues should lie between the excessive extreme on one side and the deficient extreme on the other. So, we should strive for that middle ground, where we are building on our positive characteristics, while being aware to limit the possible negative side of that same characteristic.

So, I hope you use some time in Tutor Groups this morning, as well as the other opportunities that arise this term, to engage in proper self-reflection. Don’t be afraid to be honest with yourself. Have the courage to change the things you can. And strive for balance where will you allow your strengths to flourish, without becoming weaknesses.”

Yr 11 Camp

Last week our Yr 11 (moving into Yr 12) students had their annual camp in the Snowy Mountains where students engaged in a week of outdoor education and leadership training activities in separate groups before all students and teachers returned to our High Country Campus on Thursday evening for a dinner and celebration. This final dinner was meant to not only culminate their experiences in the bush, but also to signify the completion of Yr 11 and their transition into Yr 12. It was a wonderful evening to suitably conclude a special week which signifies an important rite of passage for these students as they have taken on the mantle of student leadership returning to the School this week as Yr 12 leaders.

Yrs 7-10 Yearly Examinations

Over the next few weeks our Yrs 7-10 students will be sitting their Yearly Examinations. We hope that students keep these assessments of their learning in the proper perspective. While on the one hand we want students to put forth their best effort and utlise the opportunity to effectively illustrate their learning in these assessments, on the other hand we do not want this single measure of their learning to be built up so much that it causes them undue concern or worry. There are different arrangements for each Year Group during their examination weeks and separate communications, along with exam timetables, have been communicated to each Year Group. We wish our Yrs 7-10 students all the best on these upcoming Yearly Examinations.

2019 Redlands Instrumental Competition

On Monday evening, the annual Redlands Instrumental Competition was held in the Edwards Auditorium, showcasing sophisticated levels of musical expression by all finalists as they explored a wide variety of styles and performance contexts. I would like to commend all students participating and their instrumental teachers for their ongoing tuition and support as the overall standard was outstanding. A special congratulations to Division 1 (Yrs 7 and 8) winner Kokoro Sawa and runner-up Yumi Konetzny and Division 2 winner Izaac Nisbet and runner-up Annabelle Swan. A special congratulations to Kokoro Sawa for being named the overall winner of the competition.

House Theatresports Competition

Yesterday evening was the House Theatresports Competition where students from Yrs 7-11 competed for their Houses in a variety of Theatresports games. It was great to see so many students competing, many of whom had never competed in Theatresports before. I would like to especially acknowledge the new House Captains who showed tremendous House spirit on the evening; the event was yet another example of our growing House spirit in the Secondary School. I would like to congratulate McDouall for winning on the evening in a very close contest.

Volunteer Thank You

Last Thursday was the Volunteer Thank You Evening. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend in person as I was attending Yr 11 Camp. However, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my appreciation and thanks to all of the parents who support the Secondary School in so many different ways. Whether it be through the RPFA, cocurricular Friends of Groups, assisting in Learning Plus or as a Year Group volunteer, our wonderful parent community plays such an important role in so many different areas. I have said many times that our strength is our community at Redlands and the positive partnership between School and home continues to foster this strength.

Yr 12 Parent Thank You

On behalf of all of the Secondary School staff, I would like to thank the Yr 12 parents for their generous parting gift of a new coffee machine for the staff common room. I can assure them that it has been appreciated (and heavily used) by the staff this term.

Yr 12 HSC and IB Examinations

Last Thursday our current HSC students commenced their final HSC examinations while our IB cohort finish their classes this week and begin their final IB Examinations on Monday 4 November. We wish all of our graduating Yr 12 students all the best on these final examinations.

Opal Cards

2020 school travel applications are now open. Students progressing to Yrs 3 and 7 no longer need to re-apply if they are:

• are continuing at the same school
• are residing at the same address
• have not been sent an expiry notification from Transport for NSW.

Where a student meets the new distance eligibility, the system will automatically update their entitlement. If they do not meet the new eligibility, they will receive an expiry notification via email.

Students who have an entitlement approved under a medical condition which is due to expire will receive a notification advising them to re-apply. Term Bus Pass holders will receive a notification to re-apply. 

If students need to update their information or re-apply, they should go online to https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/updateDetails. Applications need to be submitted before 31 December 2019. 

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