Year 8

General Communication in the Secondary School

Redlands prioritises open and supportive communication between students, families and the School. Clear lines of communication are central to developing and sustaining these important partnerships. In the first instance, parents are encouraged to communicate any messages to teachers via email, as during the day, teachers are not able to engage in detailed phone conversations. Any urgent messages or general enquiries can also be directed to Ms Jane Coutts (9908 6407) or Ms Susan Jones (9968 9811) through the Secondary School Office.

Communication to staff via email is via the standard email address format: the first name initial followed by the surname@redlands.nsw.edu.au, eg. lvale@redlands.nsw.edu.au.

When communicating with Redlands staff via email, please note the following:

• Staff will respond to emails in a timely manner and will reply within 48 hours
• Emails should be respectful and courteous in tone
• Face-to-face meetings are encouraged for more complex or sensitive discussions and these will be scheduled at a mutually convenient time, or via Zoom
• Staff are not expected to answer emails in the evening or on weekends. It is important that they have this time for planning, preparation and family
• For academic queries, please contact the class teacher initially, followed by the Subject Coordinator if needed. For Pastoral or Wellbeing queries, please contact the Tutor first, followed by the Year Advisor (Ms Lisa Vale) or Assistant Year Advisor (Ms Vanessa Wang) if needed. A full list of Tutors can be found on Redlands Pulse.

Reporting Absences and Lateness

Please notify the School via email on the morning of your child’s absence by 9.30am, and every morning they are absent. Use the Secondary School Absence email (ssabsence@redlands.nsw.edu.au). If a student is absent from school for three days or more, a medical certificate from a General Practitioner is required. Please attach the medical certificate to the absence email so that we can accurately record your child’s attendance.

Medical Appointments

Please note that regular medical appointments should be scheduled outside of the school day. Thursday afternoon sport training should be avoided for medical appointments. Occasionally, emergency and/or specialist appointments occur, over which students and parents have no control. In such instances (e.g. orthodontist appointments) students should return to school as soon as possible after the appointment. Students need to record their onsite and offsite presence through the Secondary School Office and provide evidence of their appointment. Parents are required to send an email to ssabsence@redlands.nsw.edu.au before any student is granted authorised departure from the Secondary School Campus.

Term Dates and Requests for Leave

To assist with your planning of the school year and holidays, click here for the 2021 Term Dates. I would like to remind parents that in order to minimise the disruption of students’ learning, Redlands does not endorse requests for leave of absence during term time, particularly at the end or beginning of term. In exceptional circumstances, absence during term time will be approved by the Head of Secondary School and requests for leave should be forwarded to Secondary School Absences email at ssabsence@redlands.nsw.edu.au well in advance of the leave. Each case will be judged on an individual basis before permission is granted in these exceptional circumstances.

Homework

Students have access to their 2021 Assessment Handbooks (a guide for students and parents). Tutors will continue to focus on the organisation and planning methods required when looking at schedules for the year ahead. We appreciate your support at home with this to ensure we are not providing undue stress to an already busy start to Yr 8.  

This week, Tutors have discussed with students the Redlands Homework Policy, as per page 17 of the Student Planner. Key points:

• Yr 8 – Up to 1 hour to 1½ hours per day (averaged across a week).
• In Yr 8, no new home learning is set on Thursday night which is due on the following day (Friday). This evening is used to catch up on home learning tasks from the week.
• In Yrs 7-10, there will be no new home learning tasks set over the holidays.  

PE Uniform

The Redlands Secondary School has reverted to regular use of the PE uniform. Students are able to wear their PE uniform on Thursdays. During the remainder of the week, students will travel to and from school in their full school uniform. Students will use the student change rooms to get changed into their PE uniforms at the following times for practical lessons:

Flexischools

Purchasing food from the Canteen is now via a pre-order system, Flexischools.  While some snacks will still be available for students to purchase in person, the majority of meals will need to be pre-ordered via Flexischools using the app or website, prior to 8.30am.  

Pastoral Program

The focus this term of our Pastoral Program will be based around academic self-management and responsibility (Study Skills), risk-taking – positive and negative (including online risk-taking) and a continuation of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. A number of activities will be based around the all-school focus of Social and Emotional Learning. Many of our activities will be Tutor-run, whilst also allowing students to reflect and work independently to ensure growth and success throughout the year.

Ms Lisa Vale
Yr 8 Advisor
9968 9837
lvale@redlands.nsw.edu.au