Head of Secondary School

Head of Secondary School

Reflection

It has certainly been a long and challenging term for all of us and I am certain that everyone is looking forward to this upcoming Easter break, even if it will be very different than how most families would usually spend it. While I know that we would prefer “normal” school and face to face learning, I am so proud of how staff and students have quickly pivoted to this new remote educational space. Many businesses speak of the importance of agility, and I have seen it in droves from teachers and students in recent weeks. A few of the highlights have been:

  • Our Yr 12 student leaders working collaboratively to put together a wonderfully uplifting end of term assembly on Tuesday – and even allowing me the opportunity make a fool of myself in front of the camera!
  • The dedication and creative thinking of our Learning Plus Department, ensuring that students would still be able to access special provisions during their recent Yr 12 HSC Half Yearly Assessments

  • Witnessing true school spirit as over 200 students and staff competed in the Virtual House Cross Country Carnival over the past week, led admirably by Cross Country Captain, Leo Colin, Head Coach of Cross Country, Mr Nick Walker, and the Sports Department.
  • Seeing our debaters “keep the spirit of debating alive” with a trial virtual debate via Zoom against Pymble Ladies’ College last Friday, tuned in by 60 staff, students and parents across the two schools. Congratulations to Ela Yohannan, Aleisha Lawrence, Sirena Scotting and Theo Mirlees-Black who were victorious in the debate.

  • Witnessing Science experiments occurring outside of my office window yesterday and live streamed to classes via Zoom.

These are just a few of the many examples of staff and students working collaboratively and creatively to ensure wonderful educational experiences are still occurring throughout the Secondary School.

As some of the students on the Virtual Cross Country Carnival chat are aware, I do enjoy listening to music for inspiration. Recently, I watched Ben Platt and the cast of one of my favourite musicals, Dear Evan Hansen, perform You Will Be Found on the Late Show with James Corben. The performance was uplifting and reminded me of the importance of keeping a positive outlook and being there for others during this time. These lyrics from the song particularly resonated with me:

“Out of the shadows
The morning is breaking
And all is new, all is new
It’s filling up the empty
And suddenly I see that
All is new, all is new”

Like many of you, while I would prefer a different reality, I am also witnessing some “new” positives in these recent weeks.

  • I have seen once again that our community is our strength as it has come together not just in support of one another, but also in the many messages of genuine and heartfelt gratitude shared amongst one another
  • Like many of you, I have been able to share in quality family time with my wife and sons in recent weeks
  • I have seen people reaching out to one another across cities, countries and continents to connect with each other remotely. (Every morning when I am driving into school, I have been calling a family member or friend in the United States to check in or just say hi.)
  • I have noticed in the wider community that “random acts of kindness” are no longer random, but are becoming more commonplace as people are showing greater compassion and empathy for one another
  • I have begun to further appreciate the little things in life that I might have previously taken for granted – a run outside with my dog, the call of a cockatoo echoing across the Campus, a beautiful sunrise.

So, I hope all of you can have some quality time with your families during this Easter break and find your own “new” positives during this time.  

Reports

Term 1 Approaches to Learning Reports will be available on Pulse at the end of the term for all parents and carers in Yrs 7-12. The aim of these reports is to bring parents in to conversations between students, teachers and Tutors in tracking students’ effort. Parents will see both student self-reflections and teacher feedback on areas of Engagement, Diligence and Behaviour. There will be no marks, teacher feedback on outcomes, teacher comments or Tutor comments on these reports as these will constitute reports later in the year. More information can be found on the cover pages of this upcoming report. In addition, further information on how to access these reports on Pulse will be sent to parents and carers. We hope these reports are useful feedback for students and parents at this stage of the year.

Cross Country Carnival

Congratulations to the over 200 students and staff who competed in the Virtual House Cross Country Carnival over the past week. It was great to see everyone posting their runs in recent days. Congratulations to McDouall for winning the House Cross Country Shield and for all of the individual age champions. A special thank you to Cross Country Captain, Leo Colin, Head Coach of Cross Country, Mr Nick Walker, and the Sports Department for their leadership of this event.

Staffing Update

As mentioned in last week’s Note Day, I wanted to update our community on a few staffing changes at the end of this term. As many of you are aware, Ms Kristy Walker has commenced her maternity leave towards the end of this term, and we thank Ms Sahya Saheki for covering her classes during these past few weeks. We are pleased to welcome Ms Ashleigh Moore to Redlands to cover Ms Kristy Walker’s maternity leave for the remainder of the year. Ms Johnson has five years’ experience teaching Dance to Secondary School students in the NSW system.

In addition, after 13 years as a valued History teacher, Tutor and Year Advisor, Ms Emma Bergin will leave us at the end of this term to take up a position as Subject Coordinator of History at Queenwood commencing in Term 2. We wish Ms Bergin all the best as she moves into this new leadership position. We are pleased to announce that Mr Luke Cantrill will be returning to Redlands to fill Ms Bergin’s position from the beginning of Term 2. Mr Cantrill is a familiar face to many Redlands students as he taught History in the Secondary School covering a leave position last year. Mr Cantrill has also taught History at a number of other independent schools in Sydney.

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