Service

Last opportunity to Give to our Donations Drive

Sadly our donations boxes are not brimming over with donations as yet. It has been a short term and the end of term has come around very quickly but please see if you can pick up something to add to either the Toys and Tucker donations for Anglicare or socks, underwear or toiletries for Matthew Talbot.

Textbook Donations

At this time of the year we are often surprised by the very many textbooks that are disposed of in our skip bins as students clean out lockers for the end of the year. This year, if there are no younger siblings, we would like to ask students to consider donating clean textbooks, in good condition and we will pass them onto schools or students that need them.

What a Year it Has Been!

As we come to the end of a very busy year at Redlands, I thought it would be a good idea have a look back over all of the wonderful Service activities that have taken place within and around our school community.

Over the course of the year, we have been active in the outdoors participating in Clean Up Australia Day, the Mother’s Day Classic, the Pink Sports round in support of the McGrath Foundation, and recently, Yr 9 boys completing the Spring Trek for Room to Read.

Many students have generously given their time to wide range of activities including weekly visits to the residents at Bougainvillea, The Smith Family Student2Student reading program, the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal as well as our weekly commitment to breakfast service at the Matthew Talbot Hostel. Within the school, students have supported Junior School Reading and Maths clubs. Hopefully these rewarding experiences have given our students an opportunity to give back to others in a meaningful way and reflect on their good fortune.

We have also made very valued contributions through donations drives for Matthew Talbot (socks, underwear and toiletries) and  Anglicare (Toys and Tucker). Not forgetting the many bake sales, pizza sales and sausage sizzles as fundraisers for causes such as farmers in NSW impacted by the drought, the Tanzania Service project, the Cambodian Service trip to non-profit M’Lop Tapang and a range of other smaller, but no less valued, initiatives.  

Significantly, students have thoughtfully participated in a wide range of learning, thinking and reflection activities as part of our Pastoral program. These have examined the meaning and value of Service in Yr 7, culminating this term with a visit from Assistance Dogs Australia, and the positive and negative impact we have on our environment in Yr 8. Students visited the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) to make connections between their learning in Geography, Science and Service. We have examined inequality in Yr 9, and in Yr 10 we have built a deeper understanding of disadvantage and the issues of homelessness with our second Redlands School Sleepout attended by over 100 students and a hardy bunch of teachers. And finally, Yrs 11 and 12 students have worked passionately and independently on a wide range of Service initiatives of their own choosing which hopefully will stay with them as they come to the end of their schooling.

Lastly, we have sent some very fine groups of students on wonderful, exciting and thought provoking expeditions with Service and cultural exchange as a key element. This year, students have travelled to Fiji, Arnhem Land and Tanzania and learnt about the places and the people as well as making a contribution to the communities they have visited. Next week we are also wishing our next group of students travelling to Cambodia all the best for a safe and meaningful journey.

Thank you very much to all of the teachers who have made these activities possible. It is very rewarding to reflect of the very many ways Redlands teachers, students and their families contribute to our own community and also on a much wider basis. A final thank you to our outgoing Service Captains, Nono Nakamura and Hugh Smylie, for their engagement throughout their time in these roles.

Best wishes for the upcoming holidays and I’m looking forward to another busy year ahead working alongside by our Service Captains, Isabel Binnekamp and Lachlan van der Pluijm.

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