Head of Secondary School
Term 4 Welcome
I hope you were able to spend some quality family time over the recent school holidays and that the students had a refreshing and relaxing break in preparation for Term 4. It was great to see the students return to campus on Monday with the added excitement that the warmer weather naturally brings.
In my holiday letter I outlined some of our current COVID-19 arrangements as we commence the term. We are closely monitoring the situation and remain vigilant in enacting appropriate safety measures at school.
On Monday we held our Leadership Induction Assembly for our incoming Yr 12 students from the Class of 2021, and it was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the whole Year Group as student leaders at Redlands. Excerpts from my speech to the students are below.
“In his collection, North, the great Irish poet, Seamus Heaney writes that, ‘we pine for ceremony, customary rites,’ and I believe today’s assembly is an opportunity for us, as a school community, to celebrate one of our customary rites as our departing Class of 2020 students, represented by our school-wide leaders from this year seated behind me, pass the torch onto the new Yr 12 students.
Every year we tell all Yr 12 students that they play an important role as school leaders whether or not they have an official position. However, this sentiment is even more applicable this year as over these next 12 months, we are trialing a new student leadership model for Yr 12 students where every student in this cohort has had an opportunity to put their hand up to take on the responsibilities of a School Prefect this year, and we are excited to see so many of you volunteer to do this.
And while I know some of you sitting in the Hall this morning will be disappointed that you have missed out on a school-wide Leadership position, a House Captain position or a Sport or Activity Captain position, over the next year, you will still have the opportunity to illustrate your leadership and earn a School Prefect position based on your actions over these next 12 months.
A few weeks ago, as my family and I were driving down the South Coast for our holidays, my son played the Paul Kelly song about indigenous land rights, ‘From Little Things, Big Things Grow’ and it reminded me of a line my late father would preach to my siblings and me regularly when we were growing up.
‘Do the little things right.’
When I would give him an English essay of mine to read over for some feedback, he would often shake his head and gently say, ‘Try to cut out the careless grammar and spelling mistakes. Do the little things right to make your writing better.’ (Students who have been in my Yr 7 English class, now you know where I get my pedantic literacy tendencies from!)
Before I would head off to play in a baseball game, he would remind me to, ‘Stretch out your arm properly before you pitch. Do the little things right to avoid an injury.’
And before heading out to meet friends or family, he would often say, ‘Always remember to be kind to others. Do the little things right.’
Now when I was your age, as a somewhat strong-minded teenager, and I would regularly hear him say these words to me in his Irish accent, to be quite honest, I would more often than not inwardly roll my eyes and think, ‘What does he know?’ or, ‘There he goes again just nagging me’.
But now, with the benefit of many years of hindsight, I now know he was actually right. For me to be the best version of myself, I needed to do the little things right. Nowadays, I try to live by this simple creed.
So, that is my message to you, our rising Yr 12 students, as well as all students in the Secondary School. Try to do the little things right.
Whether that be taking pride in your school by wearing your uniform correctly. Or taking the time to check in on a classmate or a younger student who might seem upset or down. Or just saying thank you to a teacher at the end of a lesson or a coach at the end of a training.
Do the little things right.
A wonderful example has been set by our outgoing Yr 12 students. Sure, they might not have had as many opportunities as school leaders to shine on the big stage or under the bright lights as some of the previous Year Groups had before them, but the leadership they displayed on a daily basis was so much more impactful because they did the little things right for each other and for the school community.
So, Class of 2021, as each and every one of you take on the mantle of student leadership here at Redlands as Yr 12 students, I encourage you to strive to do the little things right over this next year so that not just the best version of yourself, but the best version of yourself as a true leader, will shine through.’
Class of 2020
This week our departing Yr 12 students have been attending final HSC and IB revision lessons in preparation for their upcoming examinations, but they will still have some of their final celebratory events such as their Formal, Final School Assembly and Valedictory after the completion of these examinations. We are so proud of the Class of 2020, and, as a school community, we wish them all the best in these final examinations over the coming weeks.
Yr 12 HSC Showcases
While the final HSC Examinations do not start until next Tuesday, we have already had a number of students who have been nominated for HSC Showcases for their Major Works. This is a wonderful accomplishment and a fitting tribute to their efforts in these practical HSC subjects over the past year. We congratulate the following students on these nominations:
- Visual Arts (ARTEXPRESS): Sunday Stephens and Alannah Walton
- Dance (Callback): Mary Argyropoulos
- Drama (OnSTAGE): Grace Flavell, Alec Henderson and Faith Oosthuizen
Congratulations
We would like to congratulate two Secondary School students for their recent accomplishments. Yr 11 student Emma Mahon competed in the NSW Cross Country Championships in the recent holidays and placed 6th in the U18 girls’ event, thus making for the NSW Cross Country team 7th year in a row. Unfortunately, there will be no National Cross County Championships this year; however, it is quite an honour for Emma to once again qualify for Nationals.
Each year UNSW hold their ICAS Assessments in English, Maths, Science and Digital Technologies across Australia and the Asia Pacific. The ICAS Assessments are designed to recognise academic excellence, and students are assessed on their ability to apply classroom learning to new contexts using higher-order thinking and problem solving skills. Each year many Redlands students make up the almost one million entries globally. We would like to congratulate Yr 7 student Jesse Forrest who has been confirmed as a medal winner in the ICAS Science Assessment. An ICAS medal is awarded to students who have achieved the top score in each subject in each year level meaning Jesse has achieved the top score in the ICAS Science Assessment globally. This is an amazing achievement and we congratulate Jesse on this outstanding accomplishment.
Opal Cards
Please review this important update regarding 2021 Opal Cards.
Mr Sean Corcoran
Head of Secondary School
scorcoran@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9870
