Year 11

Welcome Back to Term 3

Welcome back to Term 3, albeit remotely! The unpredictability of life at the moment has caught us all by surprise during the holidays, resulting in a lockdown and Remote Learning once again. In some ways it seems like such a long time ago we finished our last Remote Learning lockdown, but in other ways it seems like just yesterday! I know that some of you managed to escape Sydney before the government restrictions were put in place and I hope that you had a lovely break from school routine. For others who have remained at home all of the school holidays, I hope that you managed to have some downtime and quality time with your family. I appreciate that the holidays may have been quite challenging and upsetting for many students, and at our Year Assembly via Zoom on Tuesday, I spoke to them all about how it is okay to have these feelings as well as perhaps feeling added stress and anxiety about the uncertainty that is now Term 3.

Despite the unexpected change to schooling this term, I am incredibly proud how well Yr 11 have adapted to Remote Learning so quickly and so maturely. While it appears that this may go on for a few weeks, as both a Year Advisor and a teacher it has been a very smooth transition for everyone involved. It would appear that we are all now professional at this – staff and students alike! Please have a look at the photos on this page of some of your children as they participate in Tutor Group sessions.

Zoom Reminders

A reminder regarding absences during Remote Learning, please can you ensure that you email ssabsence@redlands.nsw.edu.au if your child is going to be absent for the whole day or part of the day, or misses any lessons during the day, as you would do when we are on campus. If you can continue to copy me into those emails, that would be most appreciated as it means I am on top of everything should any teacher contact me during the day. Students have been told that they are expected to have their camera on during lessons, unless told otherwise by their teacher, and are also aware of all the other Zoom protocols, with a copy of all of this on our Yr 11 Pastoral iLearn page.

Wellbeing Support

Please remember that the Tutors, Jess Howard and I are all here to support you during this time, and as always, don’t hesitate to contact any of us should you have any concerns. In addition, our school counsellors are also available for any support your child may need, and can conduct Zoom counselling sessions with individual students. They will reach out to some students but please encourage your child to contact them directly via sscounselling@redlands.nsw.edu.au if they would like additional support. Also, on our Yr 11 Pastoral iLearn page there are counselling support services available, which the students are aware of.

New Tutor

I would like to formally welcome Cowper Blue’s new Tutor, Luca Signorelli, who has joined us this term to replace Nerida Patton. Luca introduced himself to the Tutor Group last term and I am confident he is a great fit for this group. He will be emailing all Cowper Blue parents shortly, to introduce himself.

I hope you all are surviving the first week of ‘home-schooling’ and please know that we are supporting your children remotely and they seem to be doing very well, given the circumstances.

Ms Rebecca Mountain
Yr 11 Advisor
rmountain@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9908 6462