Year 9
Important Dates Coming Up
Yr 9 Naplan – Term 2 Week 4
Yr 9 Parent Teacher Evening – Wednesday 16 June
Yr 9 into Yr 10 Information Night Wednesday – 14 July
Yr 9 Camp
Our Yr 9 Camp this year will be to NE Arnhem Land in the NT to spend a week immersed in the Yolngu indigenous culture. We are working closely with our provider, Culture College, to be able to deliver this experience despite the ongoing COVID complications.
Having been in further consultation with the community in Arnhem Land, and given the vaccine rollout dates in the region, Culture College have made the decision to start programs in NE Arnhem Land from June. This impacts our planned Yr 9 Camp date of mid-May.
Given this update, we will move the Yr 9 Camp program to alternative dates of 7-12 November (Term 4, Week 6). This will give significant time for the vaccination to be rolled out within the Indigenous community as well as the wider Australian population. I spoke with the students earlier today to inform them of this change.
We are very excited to be able to move forward with this Camp, which represents an incredible opportunity for our students.
Battle of the Bands
Congratulations and a job well done to all students who participated in the Battle of the Bands on Monday evening. The work put in behind the scenes and in the lead-up to this event was evident. It was truly meaningful to see parents in the audience and incredible to offer to view by Zoom for many people to enjoy and support these talented musicians.
Yr 9 Rock Band students:
William Algar, William Andrew, James Ashby, Noah Berbic, Olivia Everingham, Harry Fenton, Thomas Jackson, Halycon Hunt, Nico Laliberte, Alfie Leach, Gianmarco Pradel, Damian Roesink, Tommy Sigaloff, James Stuart, Emma Sullivan, Daisy Thomas and Lara Wilson.
Student Parent Discussions
Over term break, this might be the perfect opportunity to take some time to speak with your teens about peer pressure and moral courage. Yr 9 marks the beginning for many students of further pressure around negative risk-taking. In Yr 8, students learned about negative risks in PDHPE as well as through Pastoral sessions. This year, these topics become incorporated into how we work with others in various contexts. Research continues to support discussing topics with students prior to them asking questions about it. If they have found the courage to ask a question about a difficult topic, they have probably been thinking about it for quite some time.
Paul Dillon speaks to our students in the Secondary School on multiple occasions in the later years. He has worked with several schools, families, students and internationally recognised organisations with his research around drugs and alcohol. Please take a moment to read the following two articles as a starting point for further discussion with your child.
Wishing all students and families a well-deserved and restful break. Happy Easter!
Ms Alissa Ynson
Yr 9 Advisor
9968 9863
aynson@redlands.nsw.edu.au