Redlands Parents and Friends

Friends of Touch Rugby

Friends of Groups are a subset of the RPFA made up of interested parents who support the activities in a particular sport or performing art within the School. We currently have Friends of Basketball, Dance, Drama, Football, Hockey, Music, Netball, Rowing, Rugby, Sailing and Snowsports and now (drum roll) Friends of Touch (FoT). For more information on these groups and contact information, please click here. 

We are very excited to welcome Friends of Touch Football to the Redlands “Friends of” family! Touch Football continues to grow in popularity as a summer sport option with 140 students participating in 2023, a growth of 30% over the past three years. This year Redlands is fielding 9 girls teams and 3 boys teams, with the prospect of performing well across many divisions.  Friends of Touch will assist Jordan Parsonage (Director of Touch Football & Rugby) with in season activity, as well as organising the inaugural Friends of Touch End of Year Presentation Dinner in early 2024! If you’d like to be part of Friends of Touch community please email Friends of Touch with the title “FoT Mailing List.”

Second Hand Uniform Sale

Thanks for everyone who participated in the flash Second Hand Uniform Sale earlier this week. We raised almost $2,000 for the means-tested Redlands Foundation Scholarship Fund. 

Secondhand Textbook Sale – for current Yr 6-11 students

We will be conducting a secondhand book sale on Mon 4 Dec. Please see more information on Pulse. Book lists have been sent via email and are also available on year group pages as well as the RPFA secondhand book sale page. If you do want to purchase some textbooks second hand, we suggest you don’t complete the Box of Books order until you know what books can be fulfilled. Any books you wish to donate from this year to the sale would be greatly appreciated.

Coming Up 

Parent / Family Get-togethers 

Walks on Tracks

Weekly guided walks around the northern Sydney area are organised by an RPFA volunteer. This is a great way to meet other Redlands parents and get in shape, plus a wonderful way to spend a morning discovering the many paths of the Sydney area.

The invitation for walks is open, so if you have friends or family who you think would like to come along, please feel free to bring them. Dogs are also welcome on most walks.

Our walk next week on Wed 22 Nov is from the Spit to Manly. Meet at the Orso carpark at 8.40am. 

Mark your calendars with the last two walks for the year:

• 29 Nov Balmoral to Clifton Gardens. Meet outside the Boathouse at Balmoral Beach
• 6 Dec Mosman to the Rocks. Meet at Mosman Bay ferry.

Any questions, please contact Ann Marie on 0406 691 533.

Book Club

The Redlands Book Club is a group of Redlands parents – past and present – who share a love of reading. New members are always welcome! The Book Club meets twice each school term to discuss a book, rotating among members’ homes. Occasionally, outings are also organised to events, movies or shows that are tied in with books, including annual attendance at the Sydney Writer’s festival in May. If you would like to join Book Club, or simply want to know more, please contact Monica or Sabiha.

Our Christmas lunch is planned for Thurs 30 Nov, where we will be discussing Mans’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.

Behind the Scenes with RPFA: Meet Your Class Parents 

Class Parents (CP) play a pivotal role in building connections and fostering a supportive social spirit among parents and children outside the classroom. From welcoming new families, organising class playdates and events to facilitating communication, these dedicated superstars are the backbone of Redlands community. Follow this series each week to meet your 2023/24 Parent Coordinators and Class Parents, put a face to a name and discover what they do. AND keep an eye out for opportunities to join the team! 

Nancie Pageau, Secondary School Class Parent Coordinator

Kiddos: Remie Gibbs, Year 10 (Alex Gibbs, Class of 2022)

CP Five with Nancie

If your role as a Senior School Class Parent Co-ordinator had a superhero name what would it be? Why?

Buzzing Juggler! To represent the superpowers of enhanced charisma and facilitation.

Why did you decide to be a Class Parent?

When we came to Redlands in 2015 (ok, the kids had been at Redlands House North Harbour from 2007-2011) I was “thrown under the bus” to be a Year 5 Class Parent as “a great way to integrate and get to know people”.  Thankfully, it was sold correctly and I’ve made some wonderful friends as a result of being involved.  A favourite moment was the 2016 Spring Fair book sale, a bonding event filled with lots of laughs. 

Why would you encourage other parents to volunteer for this role?

As Class Parent Coordinator, I help bridge communication between the school and all the Year Parents. I have the opportunity to engage with the parent community across all years at different events. It’s always wonderful to see new friendships grow as groups come together.

I interact with the School to provide information and support for issues that are year-specific as well as cross all Year Groups. This year we held a brilliant information session run by the Deans of IB and HSC to “bust the myths of IB and HSC”.  This was developed in response to parent queries post-results and is being rolled out across the School. 

If you could trade places with your child/ren for a day, what aspect of their world would you most want to experience?  

I would love to be able to spend a day in Redlands classrooms.  When we did our tour of the School many years ago, we looked into a Language class being led by a very inspiring teacher and I remember wishing could join the lesson. 

If you were asked to write a survival guide for new Class Parents, what would be your two top tips?

???? Be organised

???? Keep your ears and eyes open

Parent Power Needed: Join the Team

Nancie is looking for a Secondary School parent to partner with her in 2024 as the Class Parent Coordinator. All you will need is a sense of fun, enjoy people wrangling, a Working With Children Check and have a spare couple of hours a week. Contact Nancie to have a chat about the volunteer role via the RPFA.

Photo Gallery

Members of Redlands Book Club enjoyed a fun night out last Friday at dinner and at the Opera House production of Dictionary of Lost Words.

Walks on Tracks were all smiles on the Mosman to Cremorne Point walk this week.

Do you have pictures of parent / family get-togethers you want to share? Please send them to RPFA Note Day.

2024 RPFA Committee

President: Brittne Whitelaw
Vice President: Carrie Taylor
Secretary: Jennifer Mast
Treasurer: Joe Russo
Committee: Monika Crennan, Michelle McDonald, Lisa Middlebrook, Karen Nicholson, Emma Okhovat, Sophia Stewart-Kasimba

Contact us!