Head of Secondary School

New Learning Hub Opening

As Mr Webber has mentioned in his section of Note Day, we are thrilled to be moving into our New Learning Hub on Monday. This space will transform the Senior Campus and provide state of the art learning opportunities for our students. I appreciate that there has been a tremendous amount of effort by a large group of people and over a long period of time to see this building come to fruition. I would like to extend my thanks to them and to all of you for your continued support and patience during its construction. I enjoyed joining Mr Webber in taking our School Captains, Izzy and James (along with a special guest) on a tour of the building today. I hope you enjoyed the video in the Principal’s section of Note Day so you could get a sneak peak of the New Learning Hub yourself. Students will receive further information on the expectations of the use of this space over the coming days. We look forward to the opening of the New Learning Hub coinciding with the return of all students to the campus on Monday on what we will be a very, very special day for our Redlands community.

Return to Campus Arrangements Week 5

As stated in the letter sent to parents earlier today, it has been wonderful welcoming back students to the Campus over the past two weeks and we are excited to be transitioning to a full return of students to On-Campus Learning from the beginning of next week. While the letter gives a more in depth overview of the arrangements for the return of all students to the Campus, below are some of the key updates:

All Year Groups will be on campus daily.
We will continue following an amended timetable with staggered Recess and Lunch. Yrs 10-12 will follow Timetable A and Yrs 7-9 will follow Timetable B.
Temperature checks will continue to occur for all students and staff upon entering the campus. We ask for parent support in taking their child’s temperature in the morning before they arrive to school.
Students can arrive on campus from 7.30am, unless they have an earlier scheduled cocurricular activity where they will be temperature checked upon arrival.
Students who have a temperature above 37.5C, are unwell or are displaying other symptoms should be kept at home.
Any student absences should be sent through to the Secondary School Office at ssabsence@redlands.nsw.edu.au as per the normal student absence guidelines.
We will continue with physical distancing measures for students when possible in classrooms and around the campus. The move into the New Learning Hub will allow for larger teaching spaces.
Students are expected to continue to follow proper hygiene expectations.
Students in Yrs 7-12 may carry their school bags to classes to avoid congregating in locker areas. Students will still be able to use their lockers before and after school and at break times through the day, but they should be mindful of physical distancing.
The Library will be open for students from 7.30am-4.00pm; however, a limited number of students will be permitted in the Library at any one time. The before school and after school Study Centre will not run for students in Week 5.
Parents are requested not to come onto the campus, even for drop off or pick up of students or their belongings.
A modified Sports and Cocurricular activity schedule will commence in Week 5. However, lunchtime clubs will not run until further notice. More specific information will be communicated by these individual activities.
Students who have Sport training before or after school on Tuesday may wear their PE Uniform to school for the day. Students should wear their Winter uniform at all other times (except for Thursdays, when they can also wear Sports uniform, as per normal).
Students who have a scheduled practical PE lesson on a day are expected to change back into their school uniform as per the directions and guidelines of the PDHPE Department.

We have been so proud of the manner in which the students have returned to On-Campus Learning over these past two weeks and can’t wait to see all of them back on campus next week.

National Careers Week

We have had a great start to National Careers Week this week with our opening Assembly on Tuesday, Tutor Activities and two outstanding keynote presentations on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. I know many students and parents joined me in tuning into Janine Garner on Tuesday talking about the importance and benefits of networking and Matt Church on Wednesday focussing on leadership in this age of disruption. We were so fortunate to have two speakers of such high calibre present to our community and I would like to thank Ms Simone Salier for organising these sessions and all of the other events of Careers Week. This afternoon a number of students will connect with over 20 Redlanders worldwide as part of our Speed Networking event and I thank Alumni Manager Caroline Jane for her assistance in organising this event; and tomorrow we look forward to the Great Debate between staff and students.

Paul Dillon Parent Presentation

Parents would have received a letter earlier today inviting them to a remote parent presentation by Paul Dillon on Monday 25 May from 6.00-7.15pm. Paul Dillon is an expert in the area of drug and alcohol education and has regularly spoken to students and parents in the Redlands community over a number of years. This year he will be speaking to students in Yrs 10 -12 (via video conference) as part of our Pastoral Care program. On Monday evening, he will be speaking just to parents on the very new and relevant topic Teens, Socialising and Alcohol: Parenting Post-COVID-19. Parents will be able to access this webinar via this Zoom link.

This presentation will examine the most recent data available and will examine how teens have adapted to the current Covid-19 situation and discuss some of the risks, as well as potential benefits of teens living in greater ‘isolation’. Most importantly, as the restrictions are gradually rolled back over the months ahead, how should parents respond? Socialising, in all its forms, is going to look different for some time to come and Paul will look at a number of issues, including underage drinking, during this time. We look forward to seeing many of you tune in remotely.

Canteen

Please note that the Canteen will be open for student use from 7.30am-2.30pm daily. These extended hours will allow students to purchase food before school, especially after morning Cocurricular activities, and will also allow senior students to purchase food at other times of the day when they have activities during Recess and Lunch. Students will not be permitted to purchase items from the Canteen between lessons. We encourage students to pre-order items from the Canteen through Flexischools. Parents and carers can create a Flexischools account for their family and link a credit card and student number. More details regarding online Canteen ordering are available on Redlands Pulse.

Uniform

We ask families to support the school in ensuring students are in the proper Winter uniform as they return to Campus. This includes following the School’s expectations in terms of hair, jewellery and blazers. A reminder that all students are expected to wear their blazers to and from school in Terms 2 and 3 on all days except when they are wearing Sports uniform. Details of the Uniform Shop process for purchase of Winter uniforms and more can be found here.

Thank You

Thank you to all students and parents who contributed “goodies” to the teachers as a sign of appreciation. We had a lovely morning tea last Friday and the Prefects delivered care packages to each department earlier this week. Your generosity is very much appreciated by all of the Secondary School staff.

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