Head of Secondary School

Gala Arts

Congratulations and bravo to all of the performers at Gala Arts last Friday. It certainly was a night of the highest quality of dance, theatre, vocals and instrumental music capped off by a stirring Yr 12 Finale of Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now. Special congratulations to Samantha Menzel (Yr 12) and Chloe Church (Yr 11) who took out the overall prize for their moving self-choreographed dance piece, To this Day, and to Cowper House for winning the House competition on the evening. While I would like to thank all of the staff and crew for their efforts in making the night such a success, I would like to make a special mention of Tom Wightwick (Yr 10) who was the stage manager for Gala Arts and expertly handled the significant technical and leadership responsibilities associated with this role. More photos can be viewed on Redlands Pulse .

Theatresports 

Our Senior and Junior Theatresports teams have excelled in their improvisational comedy competitions over the past week. The Senior Theatresports team just missed out on reaching the finals, finishing third in their heats. However, the Intermediate Theatresports team of Yr 10 students Grace Bracks, Flynn Henry, Maddi Howard, Toby Paige and Tadgh Robinson went one step further winning their heat and advancing to the Grand Final which will be held at the Enmore Theatre on Sunday 17 June. A special thank you to Ms Sarah Sparke for her coaching and leadership of Theatresports over the past two years and we wish her and the team all the best in the upcoming Grand Final. 

Sports Update 

Last Saturday was a tremendously successful day for our Winter Sports 1sts teams as they reached the halfway point of their respective seasons. Our 1sts Tennis team drew with a strong St Patrick’s College team 4-4 only to lose on a countback of games (38-34). Our 1sts Girls Hockey team continued their undefeated season beating Oxley College 1-0 while our 1sts Boys Rugby team also continued their unbeaten start to the season, beating Redfield College 28-22. Our 1sts Girls Football team had an impressive victory over rivals St Andrew’s Cathedral School, winning 8-0, while our 1sts Boys Football team beat St Patrick’s College 2-0, the first time that the 1sts Boys Football team has beaten St Patrick’s College in over twenty years. Congratulations to all of the players and coaches involved and good luck to all of our junior and senior Winter Sports teams over the second half of the season.

Debating

On Friday night Redlands hosted the FED Debating Grand Finals for Secondary School Debating teams. While we did not have any of our teams competing in the Grand Finals of their respective age groups, our Debating staff and students were exemplary in their organisation and hosting of the event. A number of students, staff and parents from other schools complimented our staff and students on their hospitality, and I commend them on representing the School so well. 

Piano Competition 

On Monday evening I was very fortunate to attend the Senior Piano Competition, our first official performance in the new Music Recital space. The quality of the performances across all of the age groups was of the highest calibre and the intimacy and amazing acoustics in the new space further added to the sense of occasion. Congratulations to Lauren Zhang (Yr 8) for winning the Yrs 7 and 8 Division, Cara Eccleston (Yr 10) for winning the Yrs 9 and 10 Division and Michelle Li (Yr 12) for winning the Yrs 11 and 12 Division, as well as the overall prize on the evening.

Recycling at Redlands 

This year Environment Prefects, Kat Stuart and Marcos Brisson, have been working to improve paper recycling at Redlands and in recent weeks blue recycling boxes have sprung up around the School to facilitate their aims. Earlier this week it was wonderful to see Kat and Marcos leading students from other Year Groups in collecting and emptying these recycling boxes and I commend them and all of the students involved in driving this worthwhile initiative.

Term 3/Term 4 Notice of Departure 

As we are approaching the mid-point of the year, this is a reminder that those families who are planning on leaving the School during or at the end of Term 3 or Term 4 are required to give notice to the Principal via an email to registrar@redlands.nsw.edu.au by the following dates:

• Term 3 Departures: Friday 22 June
• Term 4 Departures: Friday 27 July

As per our Conditions of Enrolment emailed to all families in December last year with the 2018 Schedule of Fees, there will be fees in lieu payable for any notices of departure received after the relevant date. 

Annual Giving

The generous support from our wider community is integral to the School’s continued development and directly benefits our students. We are very fortunate at Redlands to have a long history of community support for our School through volunteering, corporate ties and financial donations. For example, the Roseby Science building on the Senior Campus is enjoyed by our students and staff, thanks to the generous support of previous generations of families.

We would greatly appreciate any families who are able to assist, and have not already done so in this financial year, to support us in our journey. You can Secure a Family plaque, get involved with the Spring Fair preparations or donate a raffle prize. For further details, please see the Foundation section of Note Day or contact our Director of Development, Mrs Dana Casimaty, on 9968 9858. Once again, your generous support and assistance is greatly appreciated.

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