From the Deputy Principal, Mr Sean Corcoran

Recently, I was speaking to a colleague from another independent school in Sydney about our new iGrow platform. As some of our families are aware, iGrow is the name of our student data analytics platform which has been developed internally to holistically track and nurture the academic growth and wellbeing of every student from Preschool to Year 12. After being successfully trialled with targeted students in the Secondary School last year, it is now in the process of being further embedded throughout the Secondary School this year and will be more widely used for coaching conversations with students and “data digs” with teachers. Work is also being done to expand and establish iGrow in the Prep and Junior Schools over the next year.

When I told this colleague about iGrow, he remarked, “It must be great to have a school that is data-driven”. I quickly corrected him and responded, “No, Redlands is not data-driven. We are student-driven but data informed”. The distinction is essential as while we are excited to see Redlands further embrace data and feedback so we can better track, support and extend students to help them individually achieve their own personal bests, it is also important to know that we realise our students are so much more than just a number.

I have personally seen our student-driven school in full flight over the past week, whether it was the Kindergarten students excitedly touring their parents through their classrooms during their Open Morning on Monday; the Year 6 student leaders pitching some of their new sustainability initiatives at the Junior School Assembly on Tuesday; or the Year 12 student leaders presenting a powerful Secondary School assembly on diversity and inclusion earlier this week.

At the same time, this year we have also been using various forms of data and feedback to evaluate our current practices and help shape our strategic direction. A professional learning option for Secondary School teachers is to join colleagues as part of a Change Lab. Working in collaboration with professors from UTS, these Change Labs allow a group of teachers to use data from our iGrow platform to identify a specific area to target for student growth and then assess the effectiveness of their interventions over a two year period.

In Term 4 last year, students, staff and parents/carers had the opportunity to participate in our biennial whole school Association of Independent Schools Perspective Survey, giving feedback across the following five domains: School Environment; Teaching and Learning; Student Wellbeing; Leadership; and Community. We have been analysing this data to help us better understand what our community thinks is working well at the School and what could be done differently, and this feedback is informing our continuous improvement program, as well as our strategic planning. Pleasingly, we have seen an improvement in each of the five domains from when we conducted this survey two years prior, and we look forward to sharing further feedback from the survey with the community in the months ahead.

We also had informative feedback from our annual Year 12 Exit Survey at the end of last year, and later this semester students in Years 3-12 will take part in Australian Centre for Educational Research’s Social Emotional Well-Being Survey. This data will help us assess the overall wellbeing of students so that we can better target our pastoral programs and resources. So, while we are excited by the many different ways we are using data and feedback to inform our school-wide decisions and strategies, please know that we will always remain a student-driven school.

The COVID plan that has served the school community well over the last two years, and especially over the first six weeks of this term, continues to be reviewed and updated in direct response to the increasing number of cases in the wider community.

We have seen a corresponding increase in positive COVID-19 cases in some Year Groups at the end of last week and beginning of this week. As previously communicated, when we see an increase in cases in a specific cohort, we will notify the parents and carers accordingly so that they can more closely monitor for symptoms in students. However, we have also seen a decrease in positive COVID-19 cases over the past few days.

We are aware that a number of other schools in our area have significantly higher rates of positive COVID-19 cases in their communities, and as such we are pleased with the relatively low number of positive cases recorded at Redlands to date. While we are keen to be returning to more “normal” school activities and events, we will continue to take appropriate measures to do so in a safe way. This week another supply of Rapid Antigen Tests will be sent home with students across the School so they can continue to test and screen at home., as required.

Much like those in the wider community, our COVID-safe measures will continue to evolve and change if necessary as we increasingly learn to live with COVID-19 in our school community. If you have any further questions or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact us at feedback@redlands.nsw.edu.au.

Mr Sean Corcoran
Deputy Principal

Photo Caption: Some of our youngest budding ballerinas enjoying their ballet lesson at our Redlands Ballet and Dance Academy.

Head of Secondary School

Resilience has been demonstrated this week across the Secondary School. Despite approaching the end of term, and fatigue setting in at the end of a long, wet term, the students have demonstrated their typical ‘can-do’ approach to all things learning and community. After a week on Camp, Yr 7 have energetically re-entered the Senior Campus and their learning this week, finalising their Christian Studies assessment which involved the composition of a letter to Mr Webber outlining the School’s values underscored by stimulus passages from the Bible. Yr 11 were also feeling a little tired this week too, after their enjoyable Harbour Cruise on Friday evening. Dancing, speeches, awards and generally looking extremely gorgeous was the order of the night. It was wonderful to be able to share this experience with Yr 11 and see Mr Walker flexing his moves on the dance floor.

It was a privilege to attend both the camp and the Harbour Cruise, punctuated by the Basketball on Saturday morning at Barker. The Yr 7 Girls Basketball team won their match despite their fatigue and celebrated together by singing happy birthday to their coach Alex, very loudly at the conclusion of the match, demonstrating some surprisingly unrealised energy. Then I watched the nail-biting triumph which marked the final match of the Girls 1sts Basketball, expertly coached by Kate Seebohm, and a special ceremony which celebrated their success this season, and the presentation of certificates to students who have been selected to play in the ISA team. The three Redlands students who made the ISA team are: Emilie Bessell, Meera Coburn and Eva Osborn. After competing in the ISA competition, they will hopefully take out the CIS championship. 

Despite an increase in COVID-19 cases across the Secondary School at the end of last week and at the beginning of this week after the weekend, since then, the numbers of positive cases and household contacts have declined again each day this week. Whilst students might tell you that ‘everyone is away’ this is not the case. Some students do have COVID or are at home isolating as a household contact. The overall percentage of students who fall into these categories is very low, and we appreciate the calm and supportive approach of parents to the temporary increase. But we also know that some students have been away from school this week for other reasons.

As I said to parents and carers who gathered for the Yr 7 Meet and Greet on Monday evening on the Fahl Garden, we are now ‘living with COVID’ and this means that, unfortunately, some members of our community will contract the virus and need to isolate. At Redlands, it is our goal to keep adapting and shifting so we can manage to live with the virus, and so that we can run the School as normally as possible. We want the students to engage in typical experiences and be connected to each other and the community – and it is through camps, Harbour Cruises, sporting competitions and arts events, that we do this. We will continue to run the school as normally as possible, whilst weighing up the benefits to student wellbeing, health and learning, with the risks. It is comforting to know that we do have fewer positive cases than many other schools. (You might have read the articles in the news this week.) To continue to protect themselves, students and staff are able to wear their mask at school – we know that masks are one of the most significant ways to minimise the spread of the virus. This week, we saw an increase in students voluntarily wearing masks at school and I was proud to see so many of our students taking responsibility and exercising their agency in the community in this way.  

A further supply of RAT tests are being distributed to students tomorrow. Taking a test at home is preferable to taking one at school, and to avoid any heightened anxiety around COVID transmission, we strongly encourage you to RAT your children before they come to school if you are in any way concerned they might have the virus. 

The coming weeks see the Yr 8 Camp at Yarrahappini and the rescheduled Yr 12 Camp at Katoomba and we are looking forward to these events as a community and so that these students can get away, spend time outdoors with each other and engage in the typical rites of passage that are so formative for students of their age.

Sport Success

A huge congratulations to 2022 Redlands Swimming Captain Erik Scott who competed over the weekend at the NSW State Open Swimming Championships. He dominated the 200m Backstroke and has now qualified to compete at the National Swimming Championships in Adelaide over Easter. 

Further congratulations to the Redlands Swimming team on representing Redlands at the ISA Swimming Championships at SOPAC recently. It was a significant day for many of our students as they swum in multiple events throughout the day. Some notable highlights include:

• Erik Scott (Yr 12)
  • 3^rd Boys 18-19 50m Freestyle (25.87)
  • 2^nd Boys 18-19 100m Freestyle (56.88)
  • 1^st Boys 18-19 50m Backstroke (28.97)
  • 3^rd Boys 18-19 50m Butterfly (28.40)

• Loch Wilding (Yr 11) 
  • 1^st U17 Boys 50m Freestyle (25.71)
  • 1^st U17 Boys 50m Breaststroke (32.04)
  • 1^st U17 Boys 50m Butterfly (26.40)

• Xander Halfen (Yr 10)
  • 2^nd Boys U15 50m Backstroke (30.63)

Also, recently the Rowing program travelled to Canberra for the double header regattas of ACT Head of the Lake and ACT Championships. The Junior students lead the way on water with some outstanding racing from all crews. The day started with an impressive third place in the Yr 8 Boys Single Scull for Kieran Newman. The Yr 9 Boys raced well with a strong second place in the A final for our 1^st crew while the 2^nd crew finished third in the B final. The Yr 9 Girls also represented well with the 1^st crew finishing third in the A final while the 2^nd crew had a convincing win in the C final.

The Yr 8 Boys crews rose up to the challenge with a strong win in the A final for the 1^st crew and 2^nd place in the D final for the 4^th crew. It was our Yr 8 girls who dominated with some very impressive results such as the Girls 1^st crew winning the A final while the 2^nd crew finished in third place in the same final. The 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th crews all finished in first, second and third place in the B final and the 6^thcrew finishing second in the C final.

Our senior crews also achieved some significant results with the Girls 2^nd crew finishing second in their division while the Boys 2^nd crew won their division with the Boys 3^rd crew in third place.

The combined results saw Redlands take out the School Girl Points Score for the ACT Head of the Lake.

The following day at the ACT Championships also saw some great results, with the Yr 9 boys 1^st crew improving their position to win the Men’s Under 16 Coxed Quad and Angus McInnes also winning the Mens Under 15 Single Scull. The Yr 8 Girls also were very impressive with a 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place in the Yr 8 Single Scull to Isobel Campbell, Scarlett Cortes and Mila Osborn and another win for the Yr 8 Girls 1^st crew in the Women’s Under 15 Coxed Quad.

Performing Arts

We are delighted that rehearsals and events are back up to full speed, with upcoming Term 1 events to include Jazz in the Garden, the Redlands Musical and Battle of the Bands. Personally, I am really looking forward to Jazz in the Garden this Saturday night and the Redlands Musical next week! Students and staff have been working supremely hard and are keen to perform for us so I do hope you take the time to purchase a ticket and come along to these wonderful Redlands events.

Ms Gemma Van de Peer
Head of Secondary School
gvandepeer@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9811 

Community Update

Redlands is proud of our warm, diverse and inclusive school community. Our local community is enriched by those from interstate and overseas, with more than 50 countries represented in our student cohort. We are kown as  an international school for Australian families and an Australian school for international families.

Redlands cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths, and is at the heart of who we are. Redlands recognises and celebrates our diversity through a wide range of activities, learning experiences and events across all campuses. Earlier this week our student leaders hosted a compelling Secondary School assembly that spotlighted diversity and inclusion. Early next week in our Junior and Prep Schools  and Redlands House Preschool we recognise Harmony Day, an annual event that encourages people to share the message that ‘everyone belongs’, followed by a day celebrating International Day right across the School early next month. It is always inspiring to hear the personal stories of our students, teachers and parents interwoven within these events and activities. 

We are thrilled to announce that Redlands will be hosting a Science and Innovation Luncheon at the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron in Term 2. It will be lovely to gather face-to-face as a community in celebration of the long history of Science and Innovation at Redlands.

Proceeds from this event will be dedicated to the Dr Sue Morey AM Scholarship. The establishment of this new Redlands Foundation Scholarship honours and celebrates Dr Morey’s outstanding service achievements and standards of excellence within Community Health. Further information about this exciting event will be released as this Term unfolds. In the interim, please save the date in your calendar – Friday, 20 May from 11.30pm to 3.00pm. For more information on Dr Sue Morey AM and other Alumni news please visit our Foundation section.

It was a pleasure to welcome our Preparatory School parents and carers into their children’s classrooms earlier this week. Lots of excited (and very proud) students dutifully ushering their parents and carers in and out of classrooms. We were also delighted to host Yr 7 parents and carers on the Senior Campus for our annual Meet and Greet. These events remind us of the important sense of place that Redlands provides. We look forward to welcoming more of our community on campus as the Term unfolds including Jazz in the Garden this Saturday night followed by Twilight in the Garden on the evening of Friday 1 April.  A reminder that tickets are on sale here for the Twilight in the Garden event.

Thank you for your continued guidance and support and, as ever, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Community Engagement team should you have any feedback, suggestions or questions.

Mr Grant Birse
Head of Community Engagement
9908 6406
gbirse@redlands.nsw.edu.au

Foundation

Redlander Parents Morning Tea

We were thrilled to welcome a special group of past students back to campus last Friday whose children now enjoy the benefits of a Redlands education and all the opportunities the School offers. This special event highlights a tradition of multigenerational families valuing a Redlands education and continuing connections with our community. It was exciting to learn that one attendee’s family connection goes back to least 1920 when their own grandmother was a student here. To learn more about the Redlands exciting history, please click here.

We also welcomed Dr Jennifer Farrell, the President of the Redlanders Alumni Association. Jennifer graduated from Redlands in 1962 and was also a past teacher and both her children received a Redlands education. Alumni engagement and support is so vital to our community and Redlanders connect with the School during the year as speakers or mentors, and to support numerous events. For more details, please visit here.

Year 7 Meet and Greet – Fahl Garden

It was wonderful to see many Year 7 parents gathering on Monday for their teacher and tutors Meet and Greet.  This exceptional outdoor space, now being used for both recreational and educational purposes, has been named the Fahl Garden. Redlander Lynette Fahl passed away in May 1963 after completing her Intermediate Certificate the previous year.

In 1980, Lynette’s father, Richard Fahl bequeathed the proceeds of the sale of his house to Redlands, which the late John Roberts, who was Treasurer at the time, considered to be extremely important in terms of supporting the School financially at a critical time. The Board resolved to name the new landscaped podium the Fahl Garden in recognition of the entire family.  

Thank you again for your support of this wonderful development!

Science and Innovation Luncheon – Save the Date

We are delighted to announce the Science and Innovation Luncheon which is behind held to celebrate a long history of Science and Innovation at Redlands. Proceeds from this event will be dedicated to the Dr Sue Morey AM Scholarship to honour and celebrate her outstanding service achievements and standards of excellence with the establishment of a new Redlands Foundation Scholarship, strictly means-tested and is awarded annually for the entire six years of a Redlands Secondary School education.

Dr Sue Morey made an enormous contribution with over 60 years of service in the area of community health within cities as well as across regional and rural Australia and is perhaps best known for her dedicated leadership as Chief Health Officer for NSW from 1988 to 1994. In 1999 she was made a Member of the Order of Australia for her service to the development and promotion of improved public health services. 

Mrs Dana Casimaty
Director of Development
dcasimaty@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9858

RPFA

New and Notable

The online second hand uniform sale raised over $12,000 for the Redlands Foundation Scholarship Fund. Special thanks to all the volunteers who spent 101 hours over eight days sorting through donated uniforms, picking, packing and delivering 144 orders with 517 pieces of uniform. All Prep and Junior School orders have been delivered; all other orders need to be collected from the Uniform Shop next week (21-25 March, closed Tuesday).

Coming Up

Parent Get-togethers

• Fri 18 Mar: Yr 9 coffee at Local’s Corner in Seaforth from 8.45am
• Fri 18 Mar: 5White Cross Country lunch at Miller’s Kitchen, Cammeray from 12pm.
• Fri 25 Mar: Yr 10 drinks at the Oaks from 6pm
• Wed 23 Mar: Yr 7 drinks at Neutral Bay Club from 6.30pm. Please purchase a ticket here.
• Thurs 31 Mar: Yr 12 coffee at The Sandy Bear at Clontarf from 9am
• Sat 2 Apr: Friends of Hockey welcome morning tea at the season-opening trial games

After two years of interrupted seasons, Friends of Hockey (FoH) has been relaunched to bring together our Redlands Hockey community and help our players have a great experience. By connecting parents in and across teams as well as helping to raise the profile of our great sport to increase participation, FoH aims to build a vibrant and supportive culture. FoH looks forward to meeting parents and supporting our players and coaches with great ideas, ride sharing and sideline cheering.

Walks on Tracks

Next week’s walk on Wed 23 Mar will be a Seaforth bush walk, so no dogs please. Meet at Seaforth Oval, in the carpark opposite Burnt St at 8.40am. Any questions, please contact Ann Marie Kimber or call 0406 691 533.

Book Club

Our next meeting is an evening function on Thurs 31 Mar to discuss Anxious People by Erik Blackman. If you would like to join, please contact Katherine Dixon or call 0432 619 890 for further information.

Twilight Drinks

The RPFA invites you to the 2022 Twilight in the Garden, an opportunity to meet and socialise with new friends, old friends and our whole school community. Please join us for this parent-only event on Fri 1 Apr from 6-8pm at the Fahl Garden on the Senior School campus. Light refreshments and drinks will be served. Please purchase a ticket here.

Event Details 

17.45pm Doors open for registration – please enter from the Gerard St gate and collect your name tag.

Look for your year group flag (eg Year 7-8 in the photo below) to find parents and teachers from your year group to meet and mingle.

18.00pm Event Opening – food and drinks service begin.

18.30pm Speeches 

JP Forrest, RPFA President
Glenda McLoughlin, Redlands Board
Stephen Webber, Redlands School Principal

19.45pm Conclusion of food and drinks service 

20.00pm Event Concludes

As this is a on campus school event, the event must conclude strictly at 8pm. Please endeavor to leave promptly.

In the event of wet weather, Twilight in the Garden will be moved to Dunnet Hall on the Junior Campus. A notification will be sent on the day if there is a change in venue.

Spring Fair

The Spring Fair is a highly anticipated bi-annual event for our School community, with stalls raising money for the school as well as charities nominated by students. The daytime event currently scheduled for Sat 3 September is centred around food, fun and entertainment, showcasing the community’s diversity and depth of students’ art-related activities. Please let us know if you would be interested in joining us for a coffee to discuss and be part of organising this wonderful event here.

Photo Gallery

2 Yellow and 3 White coffee at Sunflower Lounge 

Yr 8 Drinks at The Oaks

Yr 9 Drinks at The Oaks

Yr 11 Drinks at King St Wharf, before and after the Yr 11 Harbour Cruise 

Thank you Yr 11 advisors & chaperones!

2022 RPFA Committee

President: JP Forrest
Vice President: Brittne Whitelaw
Secretary: Rebecca James 
Treasurer: Annette Swann
Committee – Declan Hourihan, Jennifer Mast, Jo Lloyd, Karen Nicholson, Kate Kesby, Lisa Middlebrook, Maria Kinsela, Monique Scattini

Contact us!

International Day

International Day

Tuesday 5 April

International Day is the day when we celebrate Redlands’ diverse international community and highlight the cultures of the Languages that we teach.

International Day Lunchtime Stalls

At lunchtime, there will be international-themed stalls to celebrate both the cultures of the languages studied and also of students’ own cultures. Students are encouraged to consider running their own stall to share an activity which showcases the culture of their country, or to sell a sweet or savoury snack which is important in their culture. Alternatively, they could demonstrate a traditional dance or musical item from their culture.

Students should express their interest in running a stall by Wednesday 30 March (Week 9).

UNICEF Australia

All proceeds from sales on the day will be donated to the UNICEF Australia Ukraine Emergency Appeal. UNICEF will use these funds to provide access to health care, clean water and education for up to 7.5 million children affected by the crisis in Ukraine.

International Food

At lunchtime there will be an opportunity to sample delicious international dishes from China, Japan, France and Spain provided by the Canteen.

Muchísimas gracias, merci beaucoup, arigatou gozaimasu, xie xie & vobis gratias ago.

Mr John Holden
Coordinator of Languages
jholden@redlands.nsw.edu.au

Uniform Shop

Appointments are now available for winter uniform fittings and can be made by clicking HERE. We recommend if your child needs to try on uniforms, you make an appointment to avoid having to wait in a queue. 

If you simply need to go up a size and know what you need, you may also order online at www.flexischools.com.au or come to the shop and purchase these items.

We are happy to help you with any questions regarding winter uniform requirements or sizing, so please call us on 9968 9850 or email uniformorders@redlands.nsw.edu.au

University and Careers Advisors

Redlands Events

University College

Monday 28^th March. 1pm H19

Redlands is hosting a webinar with University College at Melbourne University. Learn all about college life and how to apply.

ANU Early Applications Webinar

Redlands is hosting an on 31st March 2022 at 4.30pm. You can join this meeting from your computer, tablet, or smartphone. 

View Here

Password: 023911

Open Days and Info Sessions

Charles Sturt University Advantage Early Offer Program

Round 1 for the Charles Sturt Advantage early offer program are open until 31 March 2022 with students receiving offers by early May. We’ll be looking at two things: Students’ Year 11 results and soft skills, apply and get more information here

Bachelor of Accounting (BAcc) Information Session (Online)

Join us in this online session to learn about what accounting really is, our Bachelor of Accounting Co-op program and where accounting can take you.
Thursday 11 May 2022
6.00pm – 7.00pm
Round 1 applications for the 2023 intake closes on Friday 20 May 2022.

Early Entry And Pathways Webinar

Join ACU Online To Have Your Questions Answered About Entry To ACU. The webinar is on Tuesday 24 May 2022 from 6 – 6:30pm. Register now 

USYD admission pathways, adjustment factors and entry schemes

Join USYD at 5pm on Wednesday 23rd March For this webinar where you will learn essential information and deadlines. RSVP 

iCanMed | Free UCAT Webinar: How to Finish Your UCAT Study During Term 1 & 2

Thursday 17 March 2022, 5:00 pm – Friday 18 March 2022, 5:00 pm

View Here

WEP | Student Exchange Info Session

Wednesday 23 March 2022, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

View Here

ACU | Talk with Teachers

Tuesday 5 April 2022, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Find out more

ACCE | Careers in the Water Industry – Student Session

Wednesday 6 April 2022, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

Find out more

ACU | Talk with Lawyers and Criminologists

Wednesday 6 April 2022, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Find out more 

ACU | Talk with Business and IT Professionals

Thursday 7 April 2022, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Find out more 

UTS | Intro to Computing Science

Monday 2 May 2022, 5:30 pm

Find out more

UTS | Intro to Biomedical Engineering

Tuesday 3 May 2022, 5:30 pm

Find out more

SAE | Open House

Register for Byron Bay: https://sae.edu.au/event/open-house-sae-byron-bay/

Register for Sydney: https://sae.edu.au/event/open-house-sae-sydney/

Register for Online: https://sae.edu.au/event/virtual-open-house/

Kenvale College | Open Day 2022

Saturday 7 May 2022, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Kenvale College, Randwick

Our Open Day is the perfect opportunity for our current students to celebrate and showcase the skills and experience they’ve acquired with you all at this warm and fun event!

• Find out how you can fast track your career with paid work and study.
• Get first-hand advice from our current students and lecturers.
• Tour the campus and get your questions answered.

Find out more

Workshops and Courses

AFTT | Acting High School Workshop

Tuesday 12 April 2022, 9:30 am – 5:00 pm

Academy of Film, Theatre & Television. Find out more

AFTT | Film High School Workshop

Wednesday 13 April 2022, 9:30 am – 5:00 pm

Academy of Film, Theatre & Television. Find out more

AFTT | Theatre Production High School Workshop

Thursday 14 April 2022, 9:30 am – 5:00 pm

Academy of Film, Theatre & Television. Find out more

Santos Science Experience for Year 9 and 10 students

University of Sydney

20-22 April

https://www.scienceexperience.com.au/

NIE | Medical Interviews Preparation Workshop, Online

Saturday 7 May 2022, 10:00 am – Sunday 8 May 2022, 4:00 pm

Online. Find out more: https://www.nie.edu.au/medical/umat-interviews/medical-interviews-workshop

BiG Day In 2022, Port Macquarie

Wednesday 8 June 2022, 9:00 am – 2:30 pm

Charles Sturt University, Port Macquarie Campus. The BiG Day In events are aimed at senior secondary school and university students interested in careers in ICT and technology. Find out more: https://www.thebigdayin.com.au/portmacquarie2022

Competitions

The Best Australian Yarn 2022

The West Australian and Minderoo Foundation present The Best Australian Yarn, a search for Australia’s best short story. Your story doesn’t have to be long, just 1500 – 2500 words. There is a prize pool of $50,000 to be won across a range of categories. Entries close on Tuesday May 31, 2022.

Find out more: https://bestaustralianyarn.com.au/

CSIRO Circular Fibres Pitchathon

In a 3 minute pitch video, we want to hear your ideas for:

• Redesigning fibres
• Lessons from First Nations
• Tracking fibre lifecycles
• Fibre waste

The Pitchathon opens Tuesday 15 March and closes Monday 2 May.

Find out more: https://events.csiro.au/Events/2022/February/8/Threads-and-Opportunities

Further Searching

Torrens University Australia – Career Crush Quiz

Torrens’ fun, 5-minute Career Crush quiz will reveal how you can turn your passions, aspirations and strengths into a career you love.

Find your Career Crush: https://www.torrens.edu.au/career-crush

Searching for your dream course

Looking for the perfect course to study? Going through every single university website and seeing if they offer the course you want can be tedious.

Thankfully, you don’t have to do that. This is where Course Seeker comes in.

Looking for something similar for VET courses? Try MySkills.

International Opportunities

Guide to London Universities

https://www.studentcrowd.com/page/london-universities

Work Experience

Fellowship by the organisations at Harvard or MIT

Why choose when you can get the best of both. In collaboration with Harvard College Project for Asian and International Relations, MIT Solve(Ed) & Leadership Institute at Harvard College, the Take the World Forward fellowship(https://learnwithleaders.com/taketheworldforwardfellowship/) is a 6 month journey(starting 26th March) for high-schoolers who want to solve the biggest challenges of today and become the changemakers. https://learnwithleaders.com/taketheworldforwardfellowship/apply_now

goIT Girls – Virtual Work Experience Program

Tata Consultancy Service’s virtual Work Experience Program, goIT Girls, is open for registrations for female students in years 10 and 11 across Australia in 2022.

Students will learn from real executives about the range of exciting STEM roles across the business spectrum and be introduced to key skills and big ideas in the IT industry. The program will enhance confidence and employability in participants. goIT Girls is about inspiring a new generation of innovators, problem solvers and technology leaders.

Learn more

Jobs

Bricks 4 Kids

We are currently looking for energetic instructors to help deliver and support our school holiday programs and birthday parties.

You need to be flexible with timings and have the ability to work weekend days, occasional nights and school holidays. This is a casual position and could be one to five days per week with approximately a 3hr+ time frame each day. If this is for you, you must:

⚛ be passionate about kids and education

⚛ be positive, nurturing, outgoing, dependable, and mature

⚛ enjoy working with children ages 5-13. Any experience of teaching, leading or supervising children is beneficial but not crucial

⚛ have great organisation skills

⚛ be on time and have an excellent work ethic

⚛ have reliable transportation

⚛ have completed your Working With Children check.

The compensation we offer is above award rates.

Email your resume to sydney-lns@bricks4kidz.com. 

Master Builders

Master Builders employs apprentices and places them with building and construction employers for training in a range of different trades and fields of expertise. A strong team builds the best work site, that’s why Master Builders Apprentices are coached, trained and ready to go!

http://www.mbaapprenticeship.com.au/contact

Year 12

Fun Fridays

Yr 12 students have been enjoying some downtime on Fridays during Tutor time, which is fondly becoming known as ‘Fun Friday’. It is a time for no use of technology and participating in activities such as basketball, board games or quizzes. Below are some photos of the students having this much needed relaxation and spending time with their friends.

ISA Basketball – Report by Captain of Basketball, Sasha Jansz

What a breath-taking way to end my basketball career at Redlands! After a reasonably comfortable win against CCGS, we met our match against Barker which was a nail biter. Those last crucial minutes of our final game as a team were full of emotion, and when we finally won, we ran at one another with such excitement and joy. I have never met a better group of hard working, talented and fun girls who together made the strongest and most cohesive team. I feel so privileged to have been given the opportunity to play in the Firsts for four years and am so grateful to have had such incredible role models as coaches at Redlands who have continued to push us to success. For me personally, Basketball at Redlands has been such a safe and comfortable place over the years since starting Redlands in Yr 8 and I have always felt valued as a member of the team. What an intense but amazing last two games to end off such a successful season! It’s very sad to say goodbye!

Congratulations go to the Redlands team who have won the Division 1 Championship for the third consecutive season. Yr 12 players include: Meera Coburn, Julia Saunders and Sasha Jansz

ISA Swimming Carnival – Report by Captain of Swimming, Erik Scott

ISA Swimming event 2022 was a really fun and enjoyable day, the Redlands team put in 100% effort into their respective events and achieved many personal bests. The journey to the Sydney Aquatic Centre at the Olympic Park was full of excitement and optimism with the swimmers discussing their respective races and sharing advice on how they prepare before a race to keep their nerves in check. Due to the flooding last week, the traffic was heavy on the way to the Olympic Park which meant the bus was slightly late, raising the anxiety levels amongst the swimmers. However, on arriving inside the Aquatic Centre the Redlands team were able to get changed and fully complete the warmup, ensuring everyone was completely prepared for their races. The atmosphere during the events was fantastic, there was great camaraderie and support amongst the Redlands team and they could always be heard cheering whenever one of our swimmers stepped up to block or finished their race. Throughout the day everyone encouraged each other and as a result there were lots of happy faces and personal best achieved. Congratulations to everyone who swam at ISA and a special call out to Lachlan Green, Xander Halfren, Rafferty Heard, Julius Keller, Erik Scott and Loch Wilding who have been selected for the upcoming CIS Carnival in May.

Redlands XC Training 

The Redlands XC Training will be open for all Yr 7-12 students on Friday afternoons from 3:30 (Meeting in the Undercroft) until 5pm, as of next Friday afternoon. Students need to get changed at school, meet in the Undercroft and then will walk down with the supervising teacher to Primrose Oval at 3:40. They will return back to school by 5pm to be picked up. The training will be very useful in the lead up to the school XC in Week 10. In Term 2, the training will continue but will be at Balmoral Oval with a bus which will take all XC runners to and from the venue. If a student is interested in signing up, they should complete the following form.

Shrek the Musical

Thursday 24 – Saturday 26 March

The Concourse Chatswood

Book your tickets here:  https://www.theconcourse.com.au/Whats-On/Redlands-Shrek

Twilight in the Garden 

Friday 1 April, 6-8pm

Fahl Garden, Senior Campus 

Book your tickets here:  https://events.humanitix.com/twilight-in-the-garden

​​Balmoral Swim Schools Relay Challenge

Redlands will be participating in the 2022 Balmoral Swim Schools Relay Challenge on Sunday 3 April. The Schools Relay Challenge is a community-based initiative where schools help raise funds for the Children’s Cancer Institute, increase awareness of this important cause and importantly have fun participating in an open water swim relay.

Click on the link if you are interested in taking part  Balmoral Schools Swim Relay Challenge 

Ms Rebecca Mountain
Yr 12 Advisor
rmountain@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9908 6462

Year 11

Yr 11 Harbour Cruise – An unforgettable evening!
 

Yr 11 had a spectacular, memorable and unforgettable evening at the Year 11 Harbour Cruise last Friday night. Every student looked absolutely dashing in their gowns and suits and embraced coming together as a cohort for the first time in two years for a social event. From the staff’s observations, every single student enjoyed the evening, particularly when it came to the dancing! The Harbour Cruise emphasised the importance of social connections, particularly as Yr 11 embark on their senior studies where students will need that social outlet for a break from their senior studies. 

Below are some reflections by students who attended the Harbour Cruise to give their insights from a very special evening:

There was a  feeling of camaraderie when we all came together as a Year Group for the Harbour Cruise. I believe the most prominent feeling for the night of our formal was the camaraderie, as all of us decided to put aside our social groups and purely decided to have a good time dancing without judgement and without shame. The thing that solidified the Harbour Bruise is how the teachers got into the party spirit and decided to join in with the dancing making this Redlands event one of the most fun and memorable events I’ve ever been to. (Tobias Bowgerald)

“The Year 11 formal was so much fun! Dancing on the dance floor all night long with my friends to Taylor Swift and ABBA. It was great to have a social event with the whole year involved and so nice to connect as a Year Group. Thanks so much to all those who did all the hard work behind the scenes, it was such a privilege for us all, especially in such difficult times and already can’t wait for the Year 12 one!” (Freya Gait)

Congratulations to the following Harbour Cruise award recipients who were selected by the Year 11 cohort:

• Life of the Party: Allegra Brown
• Most likely to become famous: Seb Tang
• Most likely to become famous – Tik Tok Edition: Jess Marshall
• Most likely to win an Olympic Medal: Emilie Bessell
• Biggest party animal: Hugo McKay
• Most likely to win a Nobel Peace Prize: Dan Close 
• Most likely to become a millionaire but donate all their money to charity: Lucy Horton
• Most likely to Save the planet: Sophia Lark
• Most likely to cheer you up: Sensei Okawa
• Most approachable: Sam Chubb
• Best bromance: Keian Murphy & Corey Twining
• Best Hair: Lily Hobbs
• Best dressed: Jess Gross, Tobias Bowgerald and Oli Stevens
• Most sparkly outfit: Taylor Riddell

Prue Salter Reflection

This week Dr Prue Salter from Enhanced Learning Educational Services (www.enhanced-learning.net) ran a study skills session with Yr 11.  The session focused on helping students identify changes and improvements they could make to their approach to their studies in order to maximise their results in their final years of school. The main areas covered with Yr 11 were working effectively in the evenings and dealing with distractions, managing time efficiently, planning for assessments, making brain-friendly study notes on a regular basis and using a wide variety of active study techniques to suit individual learning preferences. Parents are encouraged to review the handout from the session with students and discuss the main areas identified where changes need to be made. Parents can also find extra study skills tips on the following website: http://studyskillstoptipsparents.com/.  All secondary students and parents at our school also have access to a great study skills website to help students develop their skills. Go to www.studyskillshandbook.com.au and enter the username: redlands and the password:  68results. There are lots of useful handouts on the THINGS TO PRINT page on this site and students can work through the units where they need additional help.

Some of the ‘to do’s’ for Yr 11 after the Study Skills Workshop are that:

• It’s important for every student in Yr 11 to discuss with their parents any ideas that resonated with them or anything they would like to try to further maximise their results or be more efficient. Talking it through helps to embed a student’s understanding and will allow parents to feel what the student is going through.
  
• Students will need to start thinking about what they are like in the classroom in each subject, who they sit next to, and what they need to change to be more efficient and effective in class.

• Yr 11 will need to examine the space where they work at home and how they file and manage all of the books and papers for school. They are asked to do anything they can to improve their study space and their organisational system.

• Yr 11 need to be organised and have a good look at the folders and files on their computer and see what they need to change to make it easier to find things later. Year 11 should also think about their back-up system and what they would do if they lost their computer – i.e. can the student still access their files?
  
• If a student doesn’t have a Term Planner set up for at least this term with due dates for assessments on it, get that sorted ASAP. Might be a good idea to map out the whole year.

• Yr 11 students are asked to think critically about what they do when they are given an assessment task notification, what sort of planning they do, how quickly they start, can they use any of the planning ideas from the session to modify their approach to assessments?
  
• How effectively are the students working at home? What are their main distractions and what are they going to try to manage these? Do any of the apps suggested appeal to them?

• Yr 11 students are asked to share their study notes to a teacher, parent, friend and discuss how they might make the notes more ‘brain-friendly’ so they are easier to learn when they get closer to exam time.
  
• Next time Yr 11 has a written exam, they have been asked to look over the study techniques and see which ones they could add in – remember students are trying to increase the range of techniques they use so there are more paths in the brain to access and retrieve the information when needed.
  
• Finally, Yr 11 are asked to pat themselves on the back for all the things they ARE already doing! The aim is to keep just making little adjustments and improvements to help them manage the last years of school with the least amount of stress and the best results they personally can achieve.
  

Student Achievement

ISA Swimming

Congratulations to Loch Wilding who achieved the following first places in the  following events at the recent ISA Swimming Championships:

• 1st U17 Boys 50m Freestyle (25.71)
• 1st U17 Boys 50m Breaststroke (32.04)
• 1st U17 Boys 50m Butterfly (26.40)

Well done Loch!

Congratulations also to:

• Isabella Havryk  who finished 7th in the 50m Freestyle
• Sam Chubb who finished in 6th place in the 50m Freestyle
• Finn Woodward who finished in 7th place in the Div B 50m Freestyle and 9th in the 50m Butterfly
• Marli Prado who finished in 5th place in the 50m Breastroke

Congratulations Emilie – Redlands 1sts Basketball Team win the ISA Grand final! 

Congratulations to Emilie Bessell who was a part of the Redlands Division 1 Girls Basketball Team who won their grand final game against Barker over the weekend! 

Redlands XC Training 

Next Friday afternoon, XC training will begin at Primrose Oval from 3:45 – 5:00 pm. The training is open to all of Year 11 in the lead up to the Senior School XC Carnival in Week 10. Students can sign up via the following form. 

Mr Nicholas Walker
Yr 11 Year Advisor
nwalker@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9909 3133

Year 10

Important Upcoming Dates

• Friday 18 March National Day of Action Against Bullying
• Thursday – Saturday 24, 25 & 26 March Shrek the Musical
• Friday 1 April Twilight in the Garden
• Tuesday 5 April International Day
• Friday 8 April End of Term 1
• Wednesday 27 April Start of Term 2
• Thursday 26 May Meningococcal ACWY Vaccinations
• Thursday 3 November Vaccination Catch-Ups

ySafe CyberSafety Workshop Presented by Dave Smith

This week, Yr 10 were very fortunate to engage in the ySafe CyberSafety Workshop presented by Dave Smith focusing in Cyberbullying, Nudes and the Law and Respectful Relationships as well as a short summary on gaming. While students are familiar with these topics, Dave presented facts, scenarios and advice that caught the attention of all students as they listened attentively throughout the workshop. 

As we are currently focused on Healthy Relationships in Tutor, these topics have been woven into many discussions from PDHPE last year, Tutor this year and each day in the playground.

A few takeaways from the workshop include:

• Use the #probs acronym for assessing potential cyberbullying – Perception, Reach, Outcome and Better Solution
• Practice diffusing situations to avoid the “joke to drama”
• Common etiquette practiced in the classroom, in the playground and in friendship groups also applies online
• Sexting or sending nudes is considered a federal crime under the age of 18
• Sending non-censual images or forwarding images sent to you can result in fines and possible jail time
• 27% of young adults send nudes and 12% forward them without consent
• What to do if someone is cyberbullying you or coercing you to send a nude or inappropriate images?
  • Get receipts – take screenshots
  • Report to the platform first.  Then report to the esafetycommissioner, https://www.esafety.gov.au/.
  • Speak to a trusted adult at home, at school or contact an external support like Headspace, https://headspace.org.au/. 

Please see the Redlands Online Safety Hub for more information and resources. Parents have access to this informative website.  Thank you for your support in speaking with students at home about these important topics. 

Redlands XC Training 

Next Friday afternoon, XC training will begin at Primrose Oval from 3:45 – 5:00 pm. The training is open to all of Year 11 in the lead up to the Senior School XC Carnival in Week 10. Students can sign up via the following form. 

Student Acknowledgements

Congratulations to Xander Halfen for earning 2nd in the Boys U15 Backstroke at the ISA Swimming Carnival last week. Well done, Xander!

Best of Luck to Thomas Reeves and Daniel Lev at the ISA Touch Football Trials at Oakhill College this Friday.  Well done and good luck, Thomas and Daniel!

We are thinking of Daisy Thomas and sending her all the best as she continues to compete and experience a high level of competition while learning remotely in Europe this term with Snow Australia.  She is currently preparing to represent Australia in the Junior World Championships in Laax, Switzerland. Good luck, Daisy!

Ms Alissa Ynson
Yr 10 Advisor
aynson@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9865    

Year 9

ISA Swimming Championships

Congratulations to the following Yr 9 students who represented Redlands at the ISA Swimming Championships:

• Lachlan Green
• Charles Hargraves
• Annabelle Hwang

ICT

This week Yr 9 were lucky enough to have a presentation from ySafe.

ySafe was founded in response to growing concerns amongst parents and school communities regarding children’s online activities, and the increasing prominence of technology-related developmental and behavioural issues. ySafe’s approach has also been one of a pro-technology ethos, uniquely focussing on the social and emotional components of cyber safety and online behaviours. The particular focus for Yr 9 was around Cyberbullying and Online Conflict, Nudes and the Law, Respectful Relationships and Digital Footprint and Online Reputation.

Key take aways for students were as follows:

• Clean up social media posts and profiles
• Add positive content to your digital footprint
• Consider other people’s perceptions before posting
• Look yourself up online every now and then
• Set person accounts to private
• Unfollow damaging people/pages.

APP + GAME REVIEWS – #VPN – Wi-Fi Hotspot Security

This is a VPN (Virtual Private Network) app, and it’s most problematic feature is that it will allow your child to get around any parental controls or filters you have in place on their device. Via a VPN, children will be able to directly access unfiltered, unrestricted internet. VPNs work by creating a barrier between the user and any outside traffic, so safeguarding tools like Family Zone and other parental safety controls will not be able to carry out their important functions. Even a school’s safe network can be circumvented via a VPN. We recommend that you remove this from your child’s device promptly.

Parent Resources:

https://redlands.onlinesafetyhub.com.au/app-review/38984-56

NAPLAN 2022

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in the annual tests in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. All NSW schools will sit NAPLAN online in 2022.

Our School will be participating in NAPLAN between 10 and 13 May 2022.

In preparation for NAPLAN, our Secondary School Year 7 and Year 9 students will also be participating in practice tests on Tuesday 22 March. The practice test is a trial run and key preparation activity for NAPLAN in May. It is not an assessment of student ability, and the tests will not be marked.

Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not recommended. Students can use the public demonstration site (https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site) to familiarise themselves with the types of questions and tools available in NAPLAN.

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact the Dean of Studies (Yrs 7-10), Ms Anna-Marie Rolon.

Key Dates

Term 1 – Monday 31 January – Friday 8 April
Term 2 – Wednesday 27 April – Friday 24 June
Term 3 – Tuesday 19 July – Thursday 22 September
Term 4 – Monday 10 October – Wednesday 7 December

Ms Lisa Vale
Yr 9 Advisor
9968 9837
lvale@redlands.nsw.edu.au

Year 8

Camp Medical Forms 

Please ensure all camp medical forms have been completed through Operoo. Any questions regarding medical forms or Operoo – please contact Helen at OEG  – medicals@oeg.edu.au

ICT – ySafe Presentation 

On Monday Yr 8 were lucky enough to have a presentation from ySafe. 

ySafe was founded in response to growing concerns amongst parents and school communities regarding children’s online activities, and the increasing prominence of technology-related developmental and behavioural issues. ySafe’s approach has also been one of a pro-technology ethos, uniquely focussing on the social & emotional components of cyber safety and online behaviours. The particular focus for Yr 8 was around Cyberbullying, Nudes and the Law, Respectful Relationships and Digital Footprint & Online Reputation.

Key take aways for students were as follows:

• Consider other people’s perceptions before posting
• Look yourself up online every now and then
• Online Bullying 
• Set person accounts to private
• Unfollow damaging people/pages.

Cross Country Training

The Redlands XC Training will be open for all Yr 7-12 students on Friday afternoons from 3:30 (Meeting in the Undercroft) until 5pm, as of next Friday afternoon. Students will need to get changed at school, meet in the Undercroft to get their name marked off, and then will walk down with the supervising teacher to Primrose Oval at 3:40. Students will return back to school by 5pm to be picked up. The training will be very useful in the lead up to the School XC in Week 10. In Term 2, the training will continue but will be at Balmoral Oval with a bus which will take all XC runners to and from the venue. If you are interested in signing up – please complete the following form. 

Mr Edward Atkins
Yr 8 Advisor 
eatkins@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9909 3133

Year 7

Yr 7 Meet and Greet

It was wonderful to see you all at the Meet and Greet on Monday night. The Fahl Garden was abuzz with conversation as parents and teachers connected and chatted. It was lovely to have the opportunity to speak and talk about the Redlands philosophies for student growth and development in Yr 7. Of course the first year of high school is as much about the academic program as it is about building friendships and your child finding their tribe. It is about offering each student a broad range of experiences and opportunities. It really is a chance for them to taste, try and buy before they start refining their choices as they move into Yr 8.

In many ways Yr 7 Camp facilitated opportunities to try new things and to build connections. We tried hard to create an environment where there was an opportunity for students to move out of their comfort zone and we sought to create a balance between stretch and security. It was a chance for students to extend their friendship groups and to develop new relationships. The cocurricular program is another space where students can build new friendships in a more structured environment than perhaps the playground. Groups and clubs allow students to develop their skills and interests in a cross grade environment with like minds. I strongly encourage parents to talk about the cocurricular opportunities on offer for students. Queries can be directed to our Dean of Activities Mr Jon Gray jgray@redlands.nsw.edu.au 

Yr 7 Camp

Yr 7 Vaccinations 2022

Each year NSW Health works in partnership with schools to offer the vaccines recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for adolescents as part of the school vaccination program.

In 2022 the following vaccines will be offered for Yr 7 students:

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine 2-doses at least 6 months apart
Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine Single dose

Parent Information Kits that include an information sheet, consent form and privacy statement have been handed to students this week to bring home to parents/guardians. To consent to the vaccination of their child, parents/guardians are advised to:• read all the information provided
• complete the consent form, including signing their name next to the vaccine/s they would like their child to receive
• return the completed consent form to their child’s school.

Parents please ensure:
• your child eats breakfast on the day of the school vaccination clinic
• your child does not attend school with any symptoms of Covid

Absent students
Please note that, to improve vaccination completion, students will be opportunistically offered catch-up vaccination for any missed doses. Any catch-up vaccination will be done on the same day as Year 7 and 10 clinics. They do not need to go to their GP for the missed vaccine.

Parents/guardians who later on wish to withdraw their consent after they have handed in the consent form can do so by writing to the school Principal or phoning the school. The Procedure for Withdrawal of Consent is available on the NSW Health website at www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/.

A Record of Vaccination will be provided to each student vaccinated at each clinic as a physical card. Details about vaccinations given at school will also be uploaded to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) to support complete vaccination histories. Parents can obtain this through the myGov website or the Express Plus Medicare Mobile app. (Anyone aged 14 years or older has to get their own statement.) https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/immunisation/getting-vaccinated/check-immunisation-history

The dates for vaccination the clinics are:

Visit 1 – Wednesday 6 April 2022: Year 7 HPV dose 1
Visit 2 – Thursday 26 May: 2022 catch up opportunity for Year 7 HPV dose 1
Visit 3 – Thursday 3 November 2022: Year 7 HPV dose 2 & dTpa

NAPLAN 2022

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in the annual tests in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. All NSW schools will sit NAPLAN online in 2022.

Our School will be participating in NAPLAN between 10 and 13 May 2022.

In preparation for NAPLAN, our Secondary School Year 7 and Year 9 students will also be participating in practice tests on Tuesday 22 March. The practice test is a trial run and key preparation activity for NAPLAN in May. It is not an assessment of student ability, and the tests will not be marked.

Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not recommended. Students can use the public demonstration site (https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site) to familiarise themselves with the types of questions and tools available in NAPLAN.

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact the Dean of Studies (Yrs 7-10), Ms Anna-Marie Rolon.

Ms Sarah Matthews
Yr 7 Advisor
smatthews@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9908 6494

Head of Junior School

Understanding Generation Alpha (Born 2010 – 2024)

Last Friday, I enjoyed a morning of professional learning with Mrs Breckenridge (Head of Prep School) and several other Primary Heads from independent schools across NSW in our termly meeting, the first time that this group has met in person for over a year. We enjoyed an excellent, thought-provoking presentation from Ashley Fell at McCrindle Research who spoke about Generation Alpha, children born between 2010 – 2024. This is a generation that comprises more than one in seven people now and by the time they have all finished being born in 2024, they will be the largest generation in the history of the world.

Five overarching words the research used to describe this age group which captures our primary-ages students now were: digital, mobile, global, visual and social and we the discussed possible effects of COVID (positive and negative) on this generation and some of the character qualities, challenges and opportunities of this group as they grow and their possible future of work.

The research indicated that to raise Generation Alpha to live a life of impact, we should encourage, equip and entrust them with one example citing that 80% or parents have had their actions or consumption decisions influenced to be more environmentally aware by their Generation Alpha children, something I also see glimpses of in our students here at school.

As this generation grow, skill groups that were identified to be of increasing importance were: technology use and development, critical thinking and analysis, problem-solving, self-management, working with people, management and communication of activities, core literacies and physical abilities.

Character qualities that were identified as important for Generation Alpha included curiosity, initiative, persistence, adaptability, leadership and social/ cultural awareness.

The opportunities and challenges with screens were also discussed and the tension between wanting children to have a high degree of digital literacy and intelligence but also wanting to limit their screen time.

As both schools and parents, our role will be to equip and entrust this generation with the skills and competencies that will enable them to thrive in this era of change knowing that how we equip them will be different to how it has been done in the past.

Year 5 Camp – 22-25 March 2022

 We are looking forward to our first Junior School camp of 2022 taking place next week as our Year 5 group head to the Southern Highlands. Yr 5 families should have received a detailed updated letter today outlining our planning and Covid protocols and I look forward to joining the group during their time away.

 Monday 21 March: Parent Cybersafety Webinar – registration essential

It has been great to see so many Junior School parents register to join us and our partner ySafe for a Cybersafety Webinar between 5.30pm – 6.30pm next Monday 21 March.  The session will be led by Yasmin London, who was very well received by parents, staff and students last year when she led workshops and seminars for the Junior School.

The webinar will focus on specific challenges and opportunities in the digital environment which Junior School students may encounter, what parents should know and how to support your children’s digital safety and wellbeing.

Yasmin will spend time with staff after school too and if you have not already had a chance to do so, please explore Redlands’ Cybersafety Hub which was set up last year with ySafe.

Registration is essential via this link as only registered parents will receive a Zoom link 24 hours prior to the event.

Remote Learning for Students in Mandatory Isolation

As has been the case all term, we will continue to provide Remote Learning options for students in mandatory isolation but just as would be the case for any unwell student, please know that there is no expectation to complete this learning if your child needs to rest and recover. At present, we are not offering a hybrid model of teaching for families to choose if they want their child to learn at school or at home and class teachers will continue to focus their teaching on the students in class.

iPad/iPhone Check

From time to time as per our School ICT Student Responsible User Guidelines (listed in the Student Planner and signed by students and parents), we do occasionally carry out spot checks and audits on student devices to ensure that they are being safely and appropriately used. This is a practice that ySafe talked about last year as something that parents should also do periodically to check that your child is safe online and we would strongly recommend too. If you need assistance with this process, please do contact our IT team who will be only too happy to help. 

2022 Premier’s Reading Challenge

The Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) website is now open for 2022 and over the past fortnight. Our Teacher Librarian, Mrs Wiebe, has provided students with their usernames and passwords in library lessons. These are also glued into their student planners, and all class teachers also have a copy of each class’ usernames and passwords for reference. 

In class, students have been shown how to view the student site and a great new way to enter PRC books. We have been looking at the discover function of the PRC and saving books to read in the future as well as adding books they have read.

The PRC is a great way to further develop our students love of reading and enjoyment of all sorts of books. For any inquiries please do email our Junior Library team who will be only too happy to help. 

Masks on Buses

A reminder that ALL students require a mask on Wednesdays for Sport when they are likely to travel to and from a venue on a bus. This remains a mandatory protocol currently.

Harmony Day – Monday 21 March

Students are encouraged to wear a ‘splash of orange’ next Monday as we recognise Harmony Day, a day that recognises diversity, inclusivity, respect, and the idea that people of all different cultures can make a valuable contribution to our society.

Students will also be involved in activities to promote this day and our library team have also created a book display connected to this week for students to access and read.

Mosman Youth Awards in Literature 2022

Over many years, Redlands students have enjoyed participation and success in the annual Mosman Youth Awards in Literature, a competition in prose and poetry writing. Now in its 30^th year, I share this year’s details for parents and students to consider and class teachers will also encouraging student involvement with this literary opportunity ahead of the closing date of 31 May. Please note that entry forms must be signed by a parent or guardian and not a teacher if the entrant is under 18 years of age.

For an entry form or more information, please click here or call Barry O’Keefe Library in Mosman on 9978 4091.

Holiday Code Camps

As also mentioned last week, in a new initiative, we have partnered with Code Camp to host two three-day camps in the second week of April holiday break as per the flyer below. The camps is exclusively for Redlands students between the ages of 7-12 yrs and will be run by their staff who run our after school Drone Club in the Junior School. Please note that Creative Kids rebate vouchers can also be utilised.

NAPLAN 2022

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills. Students in Yrs 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in these annual tests in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. All NSW schools will sit NAPLAN online in 2022.

Our school will be participating in NAPLAN between 10 and 13 May 2022.

In preparation for NAPLAN, our Junior School students in Yr 3 and Yr 5 will also be participating in practice tests on Thursday 31 March. The practice test is a trial run and key preparation activity for NAPLAN in May. It is not an assessment of student ability, and the tests will not be marked.

Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not recommended and our students will be appropriately prepared for the types of questions that they might face and guidance on how best to manage their time in a timed situation. Students can use the public demonstration site to familiarise themselves with the types of questions and tools available in NAPLAN.

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact our Dean of Teaching and Learning, Mrs Stacey Smith.

Mr Ari Guha
Head of Junior School 
aguha@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9953 6022

Head of Preparatory School

Staffing News

Rachel Gordon

Our beloved Yr 1 teacher, Ms Rachel Gordon will be leaving Redlands at the end of the term. Ms Gordon’s decision has not been an easy one after working at Redlands for many years across both Redlands House and Prep School. We wish Ms Gordon all the best with her future adventures.

Ana Nogueira – OOSH

Ana commences with Redlands on 21 March as our new OOSH Coordinator K-6. Her most recent role was with TeamKids where she was OSHC Mentor Program Manager and Vacation Care Area Manager. Ana commenced her career as an English Teacher in She has a Diploma in Early Childhood Education, a Cert III in Children’s Services and a Bachelor of Languages.

Upcoming Events

It was wonderful to welcome our Kindergarten and Yr 2 parents on to campus this week. The anticipation and excitement made the Prep feel like it was the first day of term. Students were so proud showing parents around their rooms and share their learning. The reading workshops that followed provided an insight into the diversity of teaching reading and how specific types of questioning at home is so valuable when a child reads. Please don’t hesitate to talk to your classroom teacher if you have any questions about the home reading help process. The workshop booklets and slides can be found on the Grade Pulse pages.

We still have more exciting connection points over the next few weeks. Please pop these dates into your diaries.

One parent per child and each adult is required to wear a mask.

Friday Fun Run

The excitement is building for our Kindergarten and Yr 1 Fun Run on Friday. Students are to wear PE uniform on Friday and to bring lots of energy!  We can’t wait to see all the posters of encouragement that students have made.

Yr 2 will be travelling to Tunks Park for their Cross Country.

We encourage all our Prep students to try their best, demonstrate a ‘can do’ attitude. I know that either by walking or running the courses, our Prep students can finish and feel a huge sense of achievement. We can do this!!

What is it?

Harmony Day is a time to celebrate Australian multiculturalism, and the successful integration of migrants into our community. Australia is one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world and we should celebrate this and work to maintain it. Harmony day is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values.

How will we celebrate Harmony Day at Redlands Prep?

Students and staff are encouraged to wear a ‘splash or orange’ on Harmony Day, Monday 21 March. Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect.

Thanks to Mrs Clinton, Mrs Haines and Miss Fiebiger, we will have diverse activities throughout the day for students to participate in. If you would like to know more about Harmony Day, click here https://www.harmony.gov.au/

Book Covering Call Out and Thank You

A big thank you to all the parents who have helped with covering new decodable and guided reading books over the last three weeks. Your time and enthusiasm have been so very appreciated. I have enjoyed talking to you all and hearing parent voices on campus again. All our books are just about ready for classroom circulation but we ask for one more favour from you. If you can spare an hour or two over the weekend to cover a few books, please come to the Prep Reception door on Friday morning or afternoon to collect a bag of books and some contact. If you use the car line, please email me and I will send home books and contact in your child’s bag. Please return the books on Monday either to Reception or via your classroom teacher. Again, your time is very much appreciated.

Learning About Our Community 

Yr 2 Parent Classroom Visit and Reading workshop 

Mrs Ainslie Breckenridge
Head of Preparatory School
abreckenridge@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9848

Redlands House and Transition Gold

Harmony Day

On Monday 21 March, Redlands House will be celebrating Harmony Day. The children are encouraged to wear a touch of orange with their normal school uniform. Harmony Day is about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. Each morning, the children join together to sing a welcome song and recite our welcome to country, we then say the words “Warami, wellamabami”, meaning “It is good to see you, wherever you have come from”, a lovely inclusive in the language of the Dharug people.

Sandpit Photos

Due to poor weather,  we had to postpone  our photograph last week. Sandpit photos will return to Redlands House on Tuesday 22^nd March. Individual and class photos for Redlands House children will be taken on Tuesday 22 March for  Orange Class Juniors, Yellow Class Seniors and  Blue Class Seniors.

Learning Discussion for Seniors

Parent Teacher Interviews for families of Senior and Transition Gold Students will be held in Week 9 of term, 28 March to 1 April. Interviews can be booked via the https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au  website. The code is 2wu5v Bookings can be made from Monday 21 March at 9am to Friday 25 March at 9am.  If you’re unable to attend these interviews in person, we can arrange for the interview to be conducted via zoom. Please book in via the website and  advise your child’s teacher directly if you would prefer a zoom interview session.

Mrs Chemane Huon
Redlands House and Transition Coordinator
chuon@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9904 1448

Mrs Ainslie Breckenridge
Head of Preparatory School
abreckenridge@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9848

Secondary Sport

COVID-19 Guidelines – Week 8

Mask-wearing

• Mask-wearing is required when traveling between sports venues and on school grounds (this includes students walking or traveling by bus to or from school).

Change-Rooms and Uniform

• Students continue to be permitted to wear the PDHPE uniform to school on Thursdays
• Students attend before School training are required to change into their School uniform after their training session, before attending their period 1 lesson
• Students who attend after School training on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday are required to change into their school uniform during lunchtime in preparation for their afternoon training session.

Representative Sport

• Students whose Representative Sport training session is not scheduled on Thursday afternoon will be dismissed from school at 2.30pm.
• Sport Specific information is also available to families on the Secondary School Sports Page on Redlands Pulse.

Cross Country Training

In preparation for the Redlands Cross Country Carnival on 7 April, we will be offering Cross Country training on Friday afternoons to any interested student. These sessions are open to all students and will not only prepare students for the upcoming Cross Country Carnival, but a great way to prepare for the 2022 Winter Sports Season.

When:              Friday Afternoons

Time:               3.30-5.00pm

Meeting point: Undercroft (Secondary School Campus)

At the commencement of each session, students be split into ability-based training groups who will be supervised by experienced staff in locations within a close proximity to the school.

If you are interested in joining this group please fill out the Cross Country Training Expression of Interest Form. Please contact Mr Walker (Head Coach) if you have any questions.

Redlands Cross Country Championships – Thursday 7 April 2022

The Redlands Cross Country Championships are scheduled to take place on Thursday 7 April at Macquarie University Playing Fields. Further information will be sent out to families during Week 8.

Swimming

Congratulations to Xander Halfen (Yr 10) who has also qualified for the Nationals Swimming Championships in Adelaide over Easter, qualifying in the 100m Backstroke. Xander will join Erik Scott (Yr 12) at the National Swimming Championships. We wish both swimmers the best of luck in the preparations and we look forward to hearing how they went. 

We have six swimmers representing ISA at the NSWCIS Swimming Championships next term, with our Intermediate (15-16) Boys Medley Relay team qualifying in 3^rd spot, with the team comprising of Lachlan Green (Yr 9), Xander Halfen (Yr 10), Julius Keller (Yr 10) and Rafferty Heard (Yr 10). We also have Xander Halfen (Yr 10), Loch Wilding (Yr 11) and Swim Captain Erik Scott (Yr 12) competing in a number of individual events, the NSWCIS Championships will take place on the 2-3 May (Term 2, Week 2).

Summer Representative Sport

Touch Football

Last weekend saw an end to the ISA Touch Football Championships, unfortunately with a number of washouts there were a few teams who didn’t get many games, however it was great to see all the boys teams back in action on Saturday as well as out 1^st VI, Inter A and Jnr A teams mixing together to take on Oakhill College in some friendly matches at Oakhill College. 

To close out our Redlands Touch Football season we are hosting a round robin FAST FIVE Fun Morning at Macquarie University Sporting Fields. 

To participate you must: 

• Pick your own team.
  • 5 players on the field at any given time. (Maximum 8 players per team, Minimum 6)
  • team can be mixed (boys/girls and between year groups)
  • if you do not have a team, please email Mr Ellis (cellis@redlands.nsw.edu.au) you will be allocated a team. 

• 8 minute round robin games.

Modified point scoring systems:

• Yr 7/8 Girls tries = 4 points
• Yr 7/8 Boys tries = 3 points
• Yr 9/10 Girls tries = 2 points
• Yr 9/10 Boys tries = 1 point
• Yr 11/12 Girls tries = 2 points
• Yr 11/12 Boys tries = 1 point

Entry

Is via the Fun Fast Five Touch Football Tournament 

• Please fill out players full names and year group
• Please only fill out 1 form per team.

General Overview:

• Round Robin games will begin at 8:00am (games should finish approx. 9:30am)
• At the completion of the games there will be the much-anticipated Redlands Students vs. Coaching Staff game.
• Students need to wear their Redlands Touch Football uniform.
• There will be a BBQ available for students which will be recharged at the end of term.

Basketball

Most of our Redlands Basketball teams have now finished up the 2022 Basketball Season. We had some fantastic results across the board over the weekend. A very special mention to the Girls 1^st Basketball team who have been undefeated for three seasons in a row and again finished the season as the Division 1 ISA Champions. Playing a double header against Central Coast Grammar School and Barker College over the weekend, the Barker game ended with a thrilling finish, a huge comeback ending with a one point win and an exciting end to the year. The final placings for all divisions are still being finalised by the ISA and will be shared in Note Day next week. Best of luck to the Junior A and Junior B Girls Basketball players as they play in their last game of the season this Saturday. 

Thank you to all players and parents for their commitment to the Redlands Basketball program this year, we hope to see you involved again next year.

Rowing

After such a successful weekend in the ACT, the rowing students have been preparing for their final regattas of the season with the Junior Head of the River to be held on Sun 20 March and the Senior Head of the River to be held on Sat 26 March with both regattas at Iron Cove. Details will be communicated as soon as they are released by Rowing NSW.

We wish these crews all the best for the regattas ahead.

Sailing

Last weekend, the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, in conjunction with Redlands, hosted the Redlands Sailing Cup. Six teams competed in the Elliott division and 18 teams competed in the Pacer division. The event attracted entries from Redlands, Ascham, Pymble Ladies College, St Ignatius College Riverview and the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, making it the largest Redlands Sailing Cup ever held.

Despite light winds keeping the sailors onshore in the morning, around the middle of the day, a moderate easterly breeze filled in, allowing for over 20 races to be completed. The weather conditions proved to be challenging for the sailors, with the wind frequently shifting in direction, resulting in some very close racing. 

In the Pacer class, Izaac Nisbet and Sholto Mirrlees-Black took out 1st place in the silver division finals. In the gold division finals Alex Gibbs and Hugo Baird placed 6th followed by Alissandra Braden and Caitlin Edwards in 7th.

In the Elliott class, Redlands took out the top spot in both the gold and silver division finals. First place in the gold division was Oliver Noakes and his crew Conner Ikin, Otis Cooper, Thomas Flynn and Jerry Sun. First in the silver division was Isabella Treloar and her crew, Max Nicholson, Hugo Christy, Etta Buggy-Axton and Alex Byrne. A special mention must also go to Sienna Wessels and her crew Maria Monsees, Cleophe Eliatamby, Eliza Osborne and Yvie Marjoram who placed third overall in the gold division finals.

Results can be found via the following link.

A special thank you must go out to all of the Redlands parents and RSYS member volunteers who all helped make the run so smoothly. 

Photo Credit: Simon Lee

Tennis

The final competition round of the NSTA and TNB competitions brought with it a mixture of results. With the NSTA finals coming up this weekend, our teams are ready to rock and roll. The TNB competition will be replaying Round 3 which was washed out, and the finals have been pushed back to next Saturday.

Winter Tennis trials/training has started this week and will continue for the rest of the term. Please refer to the Tennis page on Redlands Pulse for the preliminary information which includes important details about the upcoming season,

Please join me in wishing all tennis students good luck for this weekend’s fixtures!

Summer Sport – Contacts

WINTER SPORT

Winter Sport Registrations have now closed. If any student wishes to make any changes to their current selection, please contact sports@redlands.nsw.edu.au.

Further information regarding trials has been communicated to families during this week. Additionally, you will find preliminary information on the Winter Sports Page on Redlands Pulse.

Football 

It was great to see our Football students back out on the field this week as we commence Football trials. A reminder that all students registered for Football have two trials per week and all trials are compulsory. All students will need to wear shin pads and football boots for all trials, training sessions and matches. For further information about the upcoming Football season please refer to the Redlands Pulse – Football page. 

Netball

It was great to see our Netball students back in action this week as we commence Football trials. For further information about the upcoming Netball season please refer to the Redlands Pule – Netball Page.

Hockey 

It was great to see our keen Hockey students back in action on Tuesday morning in preparation for the 2022 ISA Season. We are looking for a few additional students to join the Hockey program for the upcoming season, if you are interested in giving Hockey a go please contact Ms Seebohm – kseebohm@redlands.nsw.edu.au or stop by the sports department. A reminder to check the information on the Redlands Pulse – Hockey page for the key details and dates ahead of the upcoming season.  

AFL

Please refer to the AFL page on Redlands Pulse for the preliminary information which includes important details about the upcoming season. Training will be on Tuesday and Thursdays with options in mornings and afternoons as per normal Redland’s training times.

Games for the season will be for the girls primarily on Friday nights 5pm-8.30pm with a game or two on Saturday. The boys will have Games on Saturday mornings from 8am-1pm.  

If there are any questions or your child would like to play AFL for Redlands, please contact the new Director of AFL Locky Pryor. 

Ph: 0408247571

Email: lpryor@redlands.nsw.edu.au

Winter Sport – Key Contacts

General Sport Information

Wet Weather

If training is cancelled due to wet weather, a notification will be posted on the Redlands Sport Twitter page (@RedlandsSport) in addition, an email will be sent out to both students and parents. This includes morning & afternoon training along with weekend fixtures.

Thursday afternoon sport – wet weather arrangements (Year 8-12)
In order to limit student mixing indoors, Students in Year 8-12 who are dismissed at the end of Period 5 are required to go directly home. Sport coaches and Redlands staff will supervise their COVID-safe departure. 
Thursday afternoon sport – wet weather arrangements (Year 7)
In the event that year 7 sport is cancelled on Thursday afternoon, students will remain at school until 3.10pm and participate in cohort-based activities.
Thursday afternoon – early departure (Year 8-12)
As we attempt to limit student mixing indoors, there will be no classroom supervision for students who do not have any scheduled sport training on a Thursday afternoon. Therefore, students who do not have training on Thursday afternoon will have permission to leave early.

Fixtures

A friendly reminder that the weekly Fixtures (The Redlands Rhino) can be found on the Secondary School Sport page on Redlands Pulse from Wednesday each week. Please ensure you check this on Friday each week to ensure you have the most up to date fixture information.

Uniform

The Redlands sports uniform should be worn to all trainings and matches (students are not permitted to wear any non-Redlands branded clothing). In the event of inclement weather students should wear their Redlands fleece or sports tracksuit.

Game time and arrival times

Students should arrive 30 minutes prior to the start of their scheduled fixture on Saturday (unless directed otherwise). Please ensure you know where you are playing and the likelihood of traffic on Saturday mornings to allow adequate time.

Attendance at Sport

Can we please draw your attention to the following communication process regarding absence from sport:

1. Parents are required to send an email to the appropriate Sports administrator prior to missing any training session asking for them to be excused 
2. Any student unable to attend a Saturday fixture due to illness, is required to submit a Medical Certificate to their Sports administrator by the Monday morning following the missed fixture
3. Injured students are required to attend all training sessions and Saturday fixtures
4. Failure to do any of the above will jeopardise a student’s eligibility for Colours, Pockets, and Awards & result in school disciplinary action

Please note that the first unexplained absence will result in a lunchtime detention with further unexplained absences escalating to a Friday afternoon Detention. Please refer to the Student Planner 2022 for full details on requirements for participating in a Representative Sport.

Mrs Alison Cox
Head of Secondary School Sport
acox@redlands.nsw.edu.au

Junior Sport

As you would be aware our final Summer Sport Wednesday session for both Rep-Sport and Non-Rep Sport was this week (Wed 16 March). The final Sat Sport round for our Rep Sport is Saturday 19 March. The season then pauses and resumes in Term 4. At this stage we are asking those families in Basketball and Touch Football to hold onto their Basketball and Touch Football singlets that are on hire from the School.

We then swap over to our Winter Sport Program on Wednesday 23 March for all students (Year 5 on camp) in both our Rep and Non-Rep Sports. Before school morning sessions concludes this week, final Basketball and Football session taking place tomorrow morning and Basketball and Touch Football Friday 18 March. The morning skills sessions for Winter Sport commences Week 1 Term 2 for Netball, Football and Hockey. Please review the information below that has also been available on Redlands Pulse.

For both programs please see the following links that will assist you in the changeover from Summer to Winter next week. 

What winter sport is my child in?

For our representative sports program there are compulsory trials/training and in some cases trial matches against other schools on the following dates;

Wednesday 23 March * Year 5 on camp
Saturday 26 March * Year 5 Rep Sport students must attend as they are one session behind
Wednesday 30 April
Saturday 2 April

Specific details can be found here, (scroll half way down) on the home page of Redlands Pulse Sport Page

Winter Sport Trials Information

For those students in one of our Non-Rep sports these swap over Wednesday 23 March.

For a refresher on what is involved in each Winter Sport please refer to the winter sport booklet which can be found here.

Wet Weather update

With the wet weather having a significant impact on our Sport program specifically on the Wednesday a reminder that parents/carers can refer to the wet weather link that gets updated in real time. This is particularly important for those parents who pick up at the venues. As Junior School Reception is very busy on a Wednesday and so enquiries about Sport may go to voicemail. Updates are shown in red font and the cut off time for cancellation is midday. On wet days parents are also asked to send any sport specific equipment in with their child and not make the decision prior to departure from home that sport is going to be cancelled. With the amount of sport that has been cancelled over the last two years contractors will always try to come up with an alternative program ahead of cancelling.

View Update Here

2022 Term 1 Sport Calendar

For an outline and timeline of all our sporting events in Term 1 our Junior School Sport calendar can be viewed by selecting here.

Mr Trevor Dunne
Head of Junior Sport
tdunne@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9953 6022

Snowsports

Snowsports

Registrations are now open for the upcoming Snowsports season!

We encourage you to view the 2022 Snowsports handbook on Redlands Pulse for further information.

Families wishing to register their interest for the 2022 Snowsports season are asked to complete complete an online REGISTRATION FORM to register your interest / intention to race. This will put you on our mailing list which will offer regular updates on the upcoming Snowsports season. You will also need to indicate which events your child(ren) is interested in entering. 

New Parents Information Evening:

We will be holding a New Parents information Evening on Wednesday 23 March from 5.30pm in the Learning Hub (Room 2.7) on the Secondary School Campus for any families new to Redlands Snowsports.

Ballet and Dance

Photos at the Academy

Our little Redlands House Senior and  Transition students enjoyed their class yesterday with Ms Maria, and posed beautifully for photographer Vicki Skarratt. Not many buns in this class, but lots of hairspray used throughout the day in all grade classes. 

We are hoping that this will spark a desire for buns on ballet days! Please continue to remember to bring hair brushes, nets, pins etc.  

Isobel Anderson Memorial Awards 2022

Academy students’ Dante Minassian, Imogen Jeffery-Bilich and Summer-Eve Smyth have been taking part in Preliminary Classes for the RAD Isobel Anderson Memorial Awards this week. If successful they will move onto the Semi Finals, take part in a workshop to learn some newly commissioned Choreography and then on to the finals. Good luck students!

Isobel Anderson was appointed RAD examiner in 1952, she chaired the NSW advisory panel and was appointed its Patron. Ms Anderson was awarded a Fellowship of the RAD in 1986 and in 1987 the Isobel Anderson Awards began in her honour. 

Interestingly Ms Kate has been an invited choreographer for these awards and worked personally with Ms Anderson, and Ms Samantha is training this year to become an RAD examiner.

Holiday Workshops – Book Now

Thank you to all those that have already secured their place in our Holiday Workshop.

Bookings close 5pm Monday 28 March. For our Timetable and details of classes and guest teachers, as well as a link to Trybooking, please see Redlands Pulse.

Save the Date – Morning Tea Time

The Academy would like to invite parents/carers to a morning tea.

10:30am – 11:30am on Tuesday 29 March in P1.6 (Ballet Studio) in the Parkes Hall on Junior Campus.

Ms Revie is really looking forward to meeting you all. No RSVP needed.

Can’t Come to Class?

Please do not forget to let us know if sickness, injury or change of circumstance has occurred by sending a quick email, including student name and year group, to dance@redlands.nsw.edu.au

Any Questions?

As always, please contact us at dance@redlands.nsw.edu.au with any questions, concerns or feedback.

We also remind you to check our Ballet and Dance page on Redlands Pulse for the latest up to date information on all things dance. Please click here.

Ms Gilly Revie
Head of Redlands Ballet and Dance Academy
grevie@redlands.nsw.edu.au
02 9908 6488 

Drama and Theatre

The Drama and Theatre program continues to thrive as we navigate our way through the term. We are more than halfway through the term and already we can see consistent skill and collaboration development across all age groups. Thank you again to all the families for sending through absences prior to class. 

Musical Update 

All musical families have been added to the Shrek iLearn page. All important information updates, information and requirements will be sent out via the announcements. Please keep a particular eye out over the upcoming weeks as we distribute information for Production Week. 

Tickets 

Tickets are On Sale Now the Concourse Website. Showtimes, dates and links below:

Show 1: Thursday 24 March, 6:30pm 

Show 2: Friday 25 March, 6:30pm

Show 3: Saturday 26 March 2:00pm 

Theatresports Competition 

Details are below for the Theatresports Competition which will be held in the Secondary School Drama Theatre. Limited seats are available. To reserve a seat, email: drama@redlands.nsw.edu.au

Extra-subject Drama and Theatre 

Classes are going well. If you want to enrol your child please contact drama@redlands.nsw.edu.au. Some classes are at capacity and have a waitlist. 

Reminder: A friendly reminder to communicate with your child about their extra-curricular classes in the morning. We have had cases where students are in car line or their designated pick up spot and have needed to be located before class starts. Please ensure any absences are sent to drama@redlands.nsw.edu or your child’s class tutor prior to the lesson. 

Highlight of the Week: Redlands House 

Creative Kids:Today in one of our activities we took turns acting solo in front of each other. Everyone really committed to their character with so much confidence!

Ellie is a Unicorn 

Harry is a Dinosaur 

Highlight of the Week: Year 3 Acting 

Music as Stimulus: Developing mime skills through the use of music. 

Highlight of the Week: Junior School

Year 5 Acting: Today students explored the importance of creating clean and precise characters for scene work. They developed characters for multiple scenarios that required them to expel different audience emotions, reactions and involvement. They continued to focus on the elements of focus, movement, character and role.

Higlight of the Week: Secondary School 

Senior Acting Year 9-12: Acting is reacting. Year 9-12 Acting students have been developing their observation skills through a series of exercises inspired by Sanford Meisner of the Meisner Technique. These observation skills, combined with a connection to their impulses will enhance their ability to develop
a living, present character.

Key Dates 

Ms Alyssha Clarke 
Head of Drama and Theatre (Acting)
aclarke@redlands.nsw.edu.au 
drama@redlands.nsw.edu.au 
02 9968 9857

Music

Jazz in the Garden This Saturday! Where else would you rather be this Saturday early evening, than picnicking, watching the sun set and listening to some Jazz? The forecast is showing a chance of 0-4mm rain, but we’re wildly optimistic that these light showers will be quickly done with, allowing the skies to brighten again ahead of the afternoon!  Join us in our dogged optimism? If too wet, we’ve decided we will keep the venue outdoors for extra ventilation, and we’ll simply head undercover to the Undercroft for the show instead. Grounds open to guests at 5:30pm. Students are welcome to sit and eat with their parents in between sets. CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE TICKETS

PERFORMER NOTE:  ALL PERFORMERS NEED TO RETURN A NEGATIVE RAPID ANTIGEN TEST ON THE DAY

We will have a supply of tests on site for anyone who hasn’t managed to test prior to arrival.  As advised, performers are to present to the Music Centre in Full School Uniform at the call times below.

2pm – Jazz Combo
3pm – Intermediate | Advanced Stage Bands | Jazz Vocal Ensemble

Prep Music Orientation Session

Thank you to those parents and community members who attended our our Prep School Orientation Session this morning. We trust you found the chance to meet your children’s Music teachers enlightening and that you enjoyed hearing more from Ms Katherine Moses (Head of Junior Campus Music) and the whole Music team about the adventures ahead!

If you missed this sessions and would like to know more about our programs, don’t hesitate to reach out to our Junior Music Office. We will help your child find their place.

Finalist Annoucements

We have many performance opportunities and competitions coming up in the months ahead, and are pleased to announce the finalists for all of these below.  Please see the ‘Events Page’ on Pulse for the dates of the Finals below. Information will come regarding our selected Covid-smart venue, alongside ticketing information.  Though many of the people below have been notified by email, we would like to extend our congratulations to the following successful finalists:

Battle of the Bands – Monday 4 April 2022 | 5pm

Red Factor – Friday 8 April 2022 | 1:50pm

Junior Piano Competition – Friday 29 April 2022 | 4pm

Senior Piano Competition – Friday 6 May 2022 | 4pm

Congratulations again to all our finalists.

Managing the community landscape at the time of each of these events, we hope to throw the doors wide open to share these wonderful happenings in the weeks and months ahead!

See you there!

Amy Richardson
Director of Music

 Junior Music Office | 9908 6495
Senior Music Office | 9968 9820