Redlands Parents and Friends

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We are so looking forward to celebrating all Junior Campus Redlands Mothers and Carers on Monday 13 May. There’s always such a buzz in the air when we get to gather at school without the immediate rush off to the rest of the day!

Coming Up 

Festival of Redlands – Shining a light on 140 years – Saturday 19 October

Planning is under way for this first-of-its-kind event for our community to celebrate 140 years of Redlands. Set in the grounds of the Junior School, this event will include games, sports, arts, drama, music, and refreshments and will also showcase our High Country Campus.

To bring this epic occasion to life, we are calling on as many in our community as possible to volunteer. Thank you to those who have reached out so far and we welcome more. Contact us if you would like to find out more and the RPFA will be in touch soon.

Parent / Family Get-togethers 

Walks on Tracks

Weekly guided walks around the northern Sydney area are organised by Ann Marie, a wonderful 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, look for the ???? below .

Walks are roughly 1 1/2- 2 hours and for those with the time we love to stop for a coffee afterwards. We have planned all the walks for the term so mark your calendars.  Next two shared here:

• Wed 15 May: Balmoral to Chinamans Beach. Meet outside Balmoral Boatshed ????
• Wed 22 May: Manly Dam. Meet at Wakehurst Parkway Golf Club car park. Upper Clontarf St Seaforth. Sorry no dogs this week.

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.

Monica shared ”We had a great meeting this week with the author, Lynne Johnson, of ‘The Bait Trap’. It was a lively discussion, both about the book and what’s involved in writing crime fiction”.

A number of Book Club members will be attending the Sydney Writers Festival this month. If anyone is interested in joining in, they can contact Monica or Sabiha (see details above) to find out more.

We are delighted to share the next four books and meeting date:

1. Hello Beautiful by Anna Napolitano – next meeting Thur 13th June at 7:00pm
2. The Women by Kristin Hannah
3. The Other Side of Beautiful by Kim Lock
4. Safe Haven by Shankari Chandran

The Week in Pictures

???? Gold Star photo goes to the parents and pups that had coffee together on Tuesday morning at Sandy Bar Cafe. Who is chaperoning who?!

Book Club joined by Lynne Johnson, author of The Bait Trap, who contributed to lively chat about her book and writing crime fiction!

A great supporters’ drinks night last night organised by Friends of Hockey!

Behind the Scenes with the RPFA: Meet your Class Parents

A wonderful group of volunteers, Class Parents are in place from Redlands House all the way up to Yr 12. Their efforts in welcoming new parents, organising teacher celebrations and facilitating class social events go a long way in maintaining the connected and engaged school community we enjoy here at Redlands.

Check back here each week to meet 2024 Class Parents and discover how you can get involved!

CP Five

Name: Liz Curran
Role: Redlands House Orange Class Junior Parent
Kids: Lluis Serra-Curran (Kindergarten White) and Ferran Serra-Curran (RH Orange Juniors)

If you could choose a Class Parent theme song what would be the title name?

Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees. That is success in my view – everyone alive and well! Plus I’ve found the parents and class parents in particular support me to do that!

Why did you decide to become a Class Parent, and what do you love most about it?

We’re new this year to Redlands and I thought it would be a great way to get to know other parents, the teachers and the school better plus I was hoping I could be representative of other parents who have similar questions / queries to mine. In addition, my co-class parent Ervina twisted my arm:) She’s the brains behind the operation! I love meeting everyone and hearing their stories and experiences with Redlands and parenting in general. The final reason is that my dad Peter was the volunteer Tuckshop Dad at my school when I was growing up and he did so in his army uniform to the shock and awe of all the students. He’s a terrible cook but if he could give back, then I thought I could find a way too!

What advice would you give to a parent or carer looking to get more involved in the school?

Just reach out to the school, your own class parents or the RPFA and let them know how you might like to contribute. I’m impressed with the many skill sets and experiences Redlands parents have. Some are experts in social event organising, some love sport, some have amazing PR/comms skills, some love music, some love to celebrate  different cultures and some love supporting amazing charities. There are lots of different ways to get involved in a way that suits your own interests and the time you have to give. I work full time so I thought that maybe I wouldn’t be able to play a role but I’ve found a way to get involved – I’m a little “feast or famine” about it depending on how the work week shapes up or if I’m travelling but everyone has been very flexible with that.

If you could trade places with your children for a day, what would you most want to experience?

Finding my true passions from scratch again – including getting back into music! I love music but life got busy and there hasn’t been space lately. Seeing Lluis’ passion for music is inspiring. I also love meeting new people so I think there’s something so exciting being in a school environment and meeting new friends that may end up being life long!

Do you have pictures of parent / family get-togethers you want to share?

Please send them to RPFA Note Day.

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!