Service

Service Prefects for 2019

Welcome to the incoming Service Prefects Isabel Binnekamp and Lachlan van der Pluijm.

Both Issy and Lochie have been very actively engaged in Redlands life throughout Secondary School and have participated in many of the Service initiatives available within school and in the wider community. They have shared with me some insights about Service and their new roles:

What does service mean to you?

  • Issy – Service is to show genuine compassion and care for our fellow human beings. I hope I can role model kindness, respect and understanding for others. If you see me around feel free to say hi.
  • Lochie – Service for me is to put the needs of others in the community above those of your own.

How can Service be demonstrated within our school community?

  • Lochie – One of the easiest ways to serve our school community is to donate your time and to lend a hand within the school community. Whether nominating yourself to run for a student body, or assisting others through maths or reading clubs, I firmly believe there is the opportunity for everyone to help make a difference.
  • Issy – For me personally, empathy for others and humility which has always motivated my involvement in Service. It is important to put the needs of others before your own, and to think of others before yourself. C.S. Lewis summarised this well by saying, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less”.

Where or how can Redlands contribute beyond our school community?

  • Lochie – There are numerous opportunities for Redlands students to serve the community. Locally, Redlands has long standing partnerships with charities such as Matthew Talbot, Clean Up Australia, The Smith Family, and Anglicare. In addition, Redlands runs numerous Service trips each year, assisting less fortunate communities abroad in countries such as Fiji, Cambodia and Tanzania. These activities both build new skills and widen outlooks, and I urge everyone to get involved and take part.
  • Issy – I look forward to leading students with the many Service initiatives this year to contribute both within and beyond our school community. In Term 4 alone, Redlands will be selling bandannas for CanTeen, contributing to The Matthew Talbot Hostel Christmas donation drive, collecting Toys and Tucker for Anglicare, gift wrapping for Mary’s House and fundraising for Assistance Dogs Australia.

Why is Service, philanthropy or a helping hand important in our world today?

  • Issy – Having attended Redlands since the age of three, I have seen first-hand how Service is viewed as a key element within our school community and beyond. We are encouraged to use our practical skills and resources to play a positive role in society.
  • Lochie – Often in our world there is a fixation on the individual especially through the prevalence of both technology and social media. Lending a hand to someone else offers the opportunity to build a connection between you and the surrounding community. In addition to this, I believe from service comes an intrinsic reward from knowing that you helped someone else, and made a small change for the better.
CanTeen Bandanna Day

This week our focus has been on CanTeen Bandanna Day, with a very proactive team of Yr 11 students volunteering their time to sell the Canteen Bandannas before, during and after school. Tomorrow is the day we are encouraging students to wear their new bandannas to show their support of CanTeen, an Australian organisation for young people affected by cancer. CanTeen helps young people cope with cancer in their family. Through CanTeen, they learn to explore and deal with their feelings about cancer, connect with other young people in the same boat and – if they’ve been diagnosed themselves, CanTeen provides specialist youth-specific treatment teams.

Ms Kria Coleman
Service Coordinator
kcoleman@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9892