Year 10

NSW School Vaccination Program 2020

The Northern Sydney Public Health Unit will be holding a NSW Schools Vaccination clinic on Tuesday 1 September to administer the Meningococcal ACWY single dose vaccine to Yr 10 students. Parent Information Kits that include an information sheet, consent form and privacy statement will be sent home to parents/guardians next week. Consent forms are due on 21 August and are to be handed in to the Secondary School Office. Please include a copy of the vaccination record for any vaccines that your child has received in the last 12 months. This could be a report from your GP, or a letter from you including the name of the vaccine and the date given.

Redlands and the Northern Sydney Public Health Unit have added additional infection control measures within the program to help minimise viral transmission between students, nurses, and school staff.

In preparation of the clinic:

  • Students who are not feeling well must be kept at home. Students who are sick, especially with any acute respiratory symptoms, will not be vaccinated. The nurse will perform a pre-vaccination assessment and determine the student’s suitability to be vaccinated. Catch-up vaccinations for these students can occur at the next clinic.
  • Students will be asked to use hand sanitiser upon entry to the clinic and before returning to their classroom.
  • Students will arrive in smaller groups to prevent close-proximity queuing and physical spacing will be applied.
  • Please ensure your child has had a good breakfast on the morning of the vaccination.

A Record of Vaccination card will be provided to each student vaccinated at each clinic. Details about vaccinations given at school will also be uploaded to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) to support complete vaccination histories. Further information about the Meningococcal AWCY vaccine is available here.

Registration for ICAS 2020 

The 2020 International Competition and Assessment for Schools (ICAS) in Science will take place on Monday 17 August in school. This competition is undertaken by over 400,000 students across Australia and the region, and is a rigorous test of scientific thinking. Participation in the competition provides our students with excellent examination practice and an opportunity to see how they fare in competition with students of their own age from across the country. Students who are interested in Science can use the test to assess areas of strength and weakness. Success at the test is a way of demonstrating aptitude when applying for Science related opportunities in and out of school.

Entry for students in Yrs 7-10 is voluntary. Please complete the registration form before Monday 3 August if you would like them to take part. A fee of $15.95 will be charged to your account if you wish your child to participate. 

More information about ICAS is here. Please contact Ms Simone Bryant, Assistant Science Coordinator, if you have any queries.

Pastoral Care Program

This week some of the Tutor Groups had a visit by Ms Salier, our University and Careers Advisor, in which she provided information and resources as to how to write a resume for a job application. Ms Salier will be visiting the remaining Groups next week.

As part of the aim is to improve organisational skills and become better prepared for Yrs 11 and 12, students completed either a hard or soft copy of their first weekly planner this week. In it they were asked to provide as much detail as possible for their daily schedule after school and at weekends, to enable them to set sufficient time aside for studying and learn to use their free time wisely and productively. Please have a conversation with them about this process and encourage them to work out each week what works for them and what needs to be changed for the following week. Week 4 is a busy week for assessments, and planning now should help make this time less stressful for them.

Most students this week will have begun looking into the issues surrounding mental health and wellbeing as part of our Pastoral Program for Term 3. Initially, they have been learning about anxiety and how it is a natural biological response to fear or uncertain situations, and that everyone experiences it. In addition, they have also learnt how approximately 22% of female and 9% of male Australians aged 16-24 experience some form of anxiety disorder.

Social Awareness Program

Our Social Awareness program also began this week looking at aged homelessness, with the students learning that around 17% of homeless Australians are aged over 55, with the projection for this to increase significantly over the coming decades. They are learning how homelessness has a negative impact on both physical and emotional health, with 64% of people living on the street being at risk of death within five years.

Ms Rebecca Mountain
Yr 10 Advisor
rmountain@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9908 6462