Year 7

Building the Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens

Semester 1 was a busy time for our Yr 7 cohort. For many students, assessments were a challenge as they were still finding their feet in the new Secondary School environment. Some were still developing their organisation skills, study procedures and general executive functioning skills. Indeed, many are still developing these skills, and we are continuing to work on them through explicit teaching in Tutor time as the term unfolds. Our focus this term in Tutor time is exploring the ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens’. Adapted from a book written by Sean Covey, we are introducing students to importance of:

  1. Being proactive
  2. Beginning with the end in mind
  3. Putting first things first
  4. Thinking win-win
  5. Seeking first to understand, then be understood
  6. Synergising
  7. Sharpening the saw

Each week we will cover a new habit, hoping to build these into students’ approaches to their school life.

Pleasingly, a wide range of students are already embodying such successful habits, putting great effort into their studies and using this to power them towards high achievements. On Monday, in our Year Assembly, we recognised those students who achieved top academic results in one or more of their subjects from Semester 1. It was lovely to award so many certificates, showing that many students are working really hard across their courses.

Our Year Assembly was also boosted by Jaime Rogerson’s presentation on her recent involvement in the Netball State Championships. Representing her North Sydney club, Jaime’s team woke at 5:00am each morning, played around 7 games a day, and by the end of the tournament had achieved 5th place overall. An excellent achievement!!

Service Learning

Mrs Riley, Service Coordinator at Redlands also visited our Assembly to speak to Yr 7 about the importance of service learning and charity initiatives within the school. Service initiatives are not only a fun activity but an extremely worthwhile one, encouraging students to look beyond themselves to consider others; developing their empathy, compassion and worldliness.

This semester, Yr 7 will be introduced to a service program in Tutor, one which encourages them to consider how they can give back to our school community and local area. Watch this space for more details about how Yr 7 can ‘give back’ to our local area.

Yr 7-9 Assembly and Reminders about Behavioural Expectations

On Tuesday in our Yr 7-9 Assembly, students were treated to another magical piano performance from our resident maestro, Grace Walker-Barker. Again, she wowed the audience with her poise and confidence, serenely playing her Gala piece, Debussy’s Arabesque, to a rousing round of applause.

Following the performance, Mrs Jansons also took the time to remind students of behavioural expectations within the School. She particularly emphasised the importance of all of us playing a role ensuring that school is a place where everyone can attend with being nervous / anxious about unkind things being said about them or unfair actions being done to them. Behaviour like laughing at others, rather than with them; pulling down others’ sport uniform shorts or tripping them over as ‘pranks’ are not part of our values at Redlands and students who continue such behaviour will face consequences. Redlands is a school where fostering a safe and caring environment for everyone is a priority, and so Mrs Janson’s message was an important one for students to hear. We encourage it to be reiterated at home.

Yr 12 Buddy Support

Last Friday we began the first of four support sessions run by Yr 12 students as part of a service initiative established by Yr 12 student, Jessica Marshall. The students are attending a different House group’s Tutor time session each fortnight, and taking time to share their experiences with students around engaging in service initiatives in the school, and on how students can process examination / assessment results in order to make the most of feedback for improvement. Both of these areas are part of our Tutor time focus this term, and so having the Yr 12 students share their experiences with Yr 7 will be extremely valuable. It was wonderful to see how well the Yr 12s were interacting with our Y7s and how receptive the Yr 7s were to the advice and guidance of their Yr 12 buddies. Cowper had this benefit last week, but Dumolo, MacDouall and Roseby will not be far behind!

Yr 7 Make Some Shapes in PDHPE

In my adventures this week, I managed to pop my head into Core class 7O as they began their unit on gymnastics. I have new found respect for my PDHPE colleagues as they seek to harness the unbridled enthusiasm and energy of Yr 7 students and transfer it into valuable sporting pursuits. Our very own Assistant Year Advisor, Mrs Adams, was doing a fantastic job coordinating a variety of warm up fitness activities for 7O, including a teamwork focus as, mid exercise, students were required to form quickly into groups to make letters Mrs Adams called out to them. They were up to the task and worked collaboratively to form their letters – though, some were more convincing than others!

Public Speaking

Congratulations to Yr 7 students, Lauren Rolfe and Josh Lim, for their outstanding participation in the local final of the Legacy Junior Plain English competition at Queenwood School on Thursday, August 3. Both of them exhibited great confidence while delivering their prepared and impromptu speeches, which were not only insightful but also inspiring. Drawing from their personal experiences and thorough research, they addressed the topics of Journey and Social Media. Well done!

Jeans for Genes Day – August 4

This Friday, August 4, we are supporting Jeans for Genes day at Redlands. 1 in 20 kids faces a birth defect or genetic disease, like cancer, cystic fibrosis, and life-threatening metabolic disorders. That’s 12 kids born every minute worldwide. Jeans for Genes Day is all about helping to find treatments and cures by making a donation towards fundraising for the cause.

On Friday, a mufti day will be held to raise important donations for the cause. There will be a gold coin donation required for students wearing mufti – jeans and blue-themed clothing. Money will be collected in Tutor time. There will also be blue ribbons for sale and a sausage sizzle at lunch. So, make sure you bring in those gold coins!

This cause is particularly close to our Yr 7 heart with a push for supporting the day coordinated by Ari Abe-Apostolou and several of his friends. Together, they promoted a video encouraging support amongst the school Year Groups. You can find that video HERE.

Mackenzie and Vivienne on ABCs War on Waste:

This week, in recognition of his whole-hearted involvement in a range of Arts activities across the School, including performing in two pieces in the recent Gala Arts, Mackenzie Willis was the recipient of the ‘Fall Forward Award’. Mackenzie certainly embodies a vision of Redlands students as committed, compassionate and caring, and is certainly a valued recipient of this award.

Amazingly, his award also coincided with the airing of Episode 2 of ABC’s War on Waste where both Mackenzie and Vivienne Matthews were interviewed by presenter, Craig Reucassel, on how to reduce waste in the home. You can watch the episode through ABC iView.

Subject Selections for Yr 8 2024 – Coming up in Week 5!

In Week 5, Yr 7 students will be required to complete subject selections for Yr 8. They will be required to continue with one Language and one Creative / Performing Arts subject OR continue with both languages they are currently studying into Yr 8. On Thursday of next week, our Dean of Students (Yrs 7-10), Mrs Rolon, will be speaking to Yr 7 about the process involved and the implications some of their choices may have down the track. Full details in a Selection Booklet will be published and sent out to parents on Wednesday, August 8 – so, watch this space!

Mrs Rolon will also be speaking to Yr 7 about the new Academic Integrity Policy for Yrs 7-12, including the recent additions concerning the use of AI software. This will, no doubt, offer Yr 7 valuable information as they continue to move ahead in their studies this year.

Student Absences for Assessment Tasks (Years 7-10):

With the assessment season surely upon us this year, it is worth reminding parents / carers of the processes involved if student absence / leave during term time impacts the completion of assessments. These details are also outlined in the 7-10 Assessment Handbooks that are accessible through Pulse.

If a student intends to be absent on the day an assessment task is due, there are clear processes that need to be followed. 

  • The parent must inform the School via the Secondary School Absences email
  • The parent must write to the Head of Secondary outlining the reason for the leave, providing requisite details so the nature of the leave can be determined.
  • The Head of Secondary will either deem the leave ‘approved’ or ‘unapproved’ and write to the family letting them know.
  • The Head of Secondary will pass this on to the Dean of Studies (Yrs 7-10) and she will communicate with the student and families regarding the requirements for any missed assessments, based on the nature of the leave.

Thank you for taking note of these details and adhering to this process.

Term 3 Key Dates and Upcoming Events:

  • Week 5: Science Week
  • Week 5: Yr into Yr 8 Subject Selections
  • Week 9: ISA Athletics Carnival

Mr Jimmy Tod-Hill
Year 7 Advisor
jtodhill@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9908 6462