Head of Secondary School
Spirit Week
This week is Spirit Week where our Yr 12 student leaders organise a variety of activities to celebrate our School Spirit in the Arts, Sports and through the Houses. On Tuesday, our Yr 12 Prefects focused their last Prefect Assembly around “school spirit”, and yesterday, our House Spirit was further on display with spirited House dodgeball competitions. Congratulations to Cowper for winning the Junior competition and McDouall for taking out the Senior competition. Today we celebrated our School Spirit through Sports with some games including a friendly staff v Yr 12 students Basketball shooting competition. And on Friday, we celebrate our School Spirit through the Arts with musical performances in Liggins Quad and a highly anticipated Lip Sync Battle. (Rumour has it that a staff team might make an appearance). Friday is also a mufti day for Yr 12 students only where they will be raising money to go towards their Yr 12 Legacy Gift and the Scholarship Fund.
Yesterday evening I was fortunate enough to accompany some of our Yr 12 student leaders as they presented (virtually) to the Redlands Board on their experiences from this year. In my conversation with the students before the presentation, I was struck at how positive they were on this year and that they wanted to ensure they articulated to the Board the positives from this year, despite its many challenges, and how appreciative they were of the many people who have made the events of this year possible for them. This attitude struck me as the embodiment of true School Spirt far more than any cheer squad, sports victory or arts performance ever could and, once again, made me so proud to be a part of this community and to work alongside the inspiring students of Redlands.
Cocurricular Assembly
This afternoon we held our Term 3 Cocurricular Assembly virtually for all students and staff to view. While we know that the cocurricular space has been particularly disrupted because of the Covid-19 restrictions, it was wonderful to hear our Yr 12 student activities leaders reflect so positively on their experiences this year and to see and hear so many of their accomplishments. I congratulate all students for their continued participation in so many different and varied activities at the School and express my gratitude to the many staff who support them along this special journey.
Gala Arts
One event that we are still able to run this year in a modified format is the annual Gala Arts House competition. While we were not permitted to have the usual Term 2 performance at The Concourse, this weekend we will have the finalists across the different disciplines competing for House honours at various venues around School. I wish all competitors the best of luck this weekend and look forward to seeing the final video when it is released next term.
Yr 12s
The banner for the Yr 12s is up in the Liggins courtyard counting down their final days at School. (Although this year is a little bit different as HSC students will return to classes for three days of revision at the beginning of next term while IB students will return for a week of classes in Term 4 before their final examinations.) It is an exciting and emotional time for our senior students as one stage of their life’s journey comes to a close and another one is about to begin. Personally, I have been so impressed by the leadership, thoughtfulness, camaraderie and support this group of Yr 12 students has shown towards each other and the rest of the Secondary School community during this challenging year. As I said to the Yr 12 Captains of Activities and Sports at their Appreciation Breakfast on Tuesday morning, I am sure this is not the year they would have imagined when they stepped into these leadership roles 12 months ago. However, while many of the “big” events they would have led or been involved in have been altered, postponed or cancelled this year, they have excelled as leaders in the “little” things they have done day in and day out to lift the spirits of all staff and students in the Secondary School. This is a wonderful example of the type of exemplary servant leadership which I so often talk about to our students. I could not be prouder of them. I hope all of the Yr 12 students are able to balance their continued preparation for their final examinations with a sense of joy and appreciation of the events planned for them over the next week and into next term to wish them a fitting and fond farewell.
Yr 12 House Morning Teas
One way we have already acknowledged and celebrated our Yr 12 students over the past few weeks is through House Morning Teas. These events have provided an opportunity for the two Tutor Groups in each House to gather to reflect on their time together in the House and/or their Tutor Groups. For many students their first “connection” with Redlands has been through their House and they have had this association from their first day at school – even all the way back to Kindergarten! They have also been together in the same Tutor Groups from the beginning of Yr 7 (or from whenever they individually started their Redlands journey). It was wonderful to hear the Heads of House and the House Captains from the four Houses share their individual reflections on this special connection to the School as Yr 12s come to the end of their Redlands journey.
Yr 12 IB Visual Arts Exhibition
Last night was the official opening of the Yr 12 IB Visual Arts Exhibition in Redlands Hall. The exhibition showcases not only the talents, but also the effort, dedication and discipline of our Yr 12 IB Visual Arts students who have produced works of amazing quality. Like everything this year, the creation of the students’ major works has been disrupted due to Covid-19, as during remote learning, many Yr 12 students’ homes were turned into art studios so they could continue to work on their pieces remotely! Still, it was wonderful to see the thoughtfulness, creativity and talent on display in their final exhibitions last night, and I hope each student feels immeasurable pride with their creations. A special thank you to the staff and parents who have supported these Visual Arts students on this journey. We look forward to making a visual tour of the exhibition available to parents next week.
Thursday 24 September
Next Thursday 24 September will be the last day of classes in Term 3 for students as we will be holding a staff professional learning day on Friday 25 September. Please note that there will be no after school sports training on Thursday 24 September. We will send out a notification of the finish time for next Thursday.
RPFA Community Trivia Night
Mr Sean Corcoran
Head of Secondary School
scorcoran@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9870