Head of Junior School

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One of the great strengths of a P-12 school is that students do not need to start again as they move from one stage of learning to the next. They take with them the relationships, experiences and understanding that have been built along the way. Their interests and strengths continue to develop, new opportunities open up and they remain part of a community that knows them well.

To help families see what this journey can look like, we warmly invite current Junior School families to attend The Inside Story on Monday 31 August from 5pm-7pm at the Senior Campus. Year 5 and 6 students are also encouraged to attend. You can register to attend here.

The evening has been designed specifically for current Redlands families. Through student-led tours, presentations and panel discussions, families will have the opportunity to experience the Secondary School, explore learning and cocurricular spaces and hear directly from students about their own transition and experiences.

Importantly, The Inside Story is not simply about understanding what happens in Year 7. It is about seeing how the interests, strengths and learning experiences students develop in the Junior School can continue to grow in new and different ways throughout their secondary years. Whether their passions lie in academic learning, sport, music, leadership, service, innovation or the performing arts, families will see the many ways students can pursue these interests as they progress through the Secondary School.

Families will also hear from current Secondary School students about what surprised them most, what helped them settle and the opportunities they have embraced along the way. Their stories will provide an honest insight into what the transition is really like and what it feels like to become part of the Senior School community.

The evening is part of our ongoing work to strengthen the connection between the Junior and Secondary Schools and ensure students experience a seamless P-12 journey. We want our families to have a clear understanding of how their child’s learning, relationships and interests can continue to develop as they move through Redlands.

For me, this is an important part of what makes a P-12 education so valuable. We want our students and families to see Year 7 not as a new beginning, but as the next step in a journey that has already begun. The Inside Story will provide an opportunity to explore that journey and to see the breadth of experiences, relationships and opportunities that await students as they progress through the Secondary School.

We also encourage parents to share any questions they would particularly like addressed on the evening. This will help us tailor the presentation to the information that is most relevant and useful to our families. Registrations are now open, and I encourage all Junior School families to attend.

Celebrating Collaboration at the HICES 5-8 Music Festival

I had the great pleasure of attending the HICES 5-8 Music Festival performance last night at Sydney Town Hall. Bringing together musicians from more than 60 independent co-educational schools, the festival gave students three days of workshops, collaboration and learning before coming together to perform.

A select group of Redlands students were fortunate to be part of this wonderful experience, working alongside students from a diverse range of schools and developing their musical skills through collaboration and performance. It was particularly pleasing to see our students embrace the opportunity to learn with new musicians and teachers and then perform together on the Town Hall stage. I was incredibly proud of their contribution and the confidence they demonstrated as part of such a large ensemble.

The festival also provided a valuable professional learning opportunity for Mr Mathew Owen and Mrs Nicole Roberts, who assisted in running the music workshops. Working shoulder to shoulder with colleagues from across the independent sector allowed them to share expertise, learn from experienced music educators and refine their own practice. It was wonderful to see the spirit of collaboration extend beyond our students to our staff, reinforcing the value of learning from and with others. Congratulations to our students, Mathew and Nicole on being part of such a valuable musical and professional learning experience.

Michael Quach
Head of Junior School
mquach@redlands.nsw.edu.au

Kindergarten Science in Action!

As part of our Science Week celebrations, Kindergarten was very lucky to welcome Ash Millar, one of our Kindy parents and a food scientist, who shared the fascinating science behind creating some of our favourite snack flavours – including Honey Soy Chicken chips! Ash took the children through the different stages of experimentation involved in developing a new flavour and taught us about our taste buds and the five main tastes they detect: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and savoury (umami).

The children loved seeing how a real food scientist conducts experiments and were fascinated to discover just how much science, testing and creativity goes into creating the foods we enjoy. A huge thank you to Ash for generously sharing her time, expertise and passion for science and providing our Kindergarten students with such an engaging and memorable Science Week experience!

I Wonder…

What do you wonder about? As part of Science Week, our students have been recording some of the scientific questions that keep them up at night! Have you ever wondered if the Earth is a perfect sphere or how rainbows are made? Please make your way to the K-6 Reception area to view our ‘I Wonder’ Wall. Later this week, the students in K-2 will also have the chance to participate in some Science experiments based on a ‘I Wonder’ question.

A massive thank you to Mr Birbeck and Mrs Duckworth for organising such an exciting Science Week for our students.

Lost Property

Lost property for students in Kindergarten to Year 6 is now located in one convenient place, near the Chaplain’s Office and K-6 Reception. If your child has misplaced a hat, shoes, drink bottle, lunch box or another item, it will be placed in the lost property cupboard for collection. Just a reminder to please label your child’s belongings; they are much more likely to be returned to your child if we can clearly see who the items belong to. Thank you for your cooperation.

K-2 Assemblies: Term 3

Kindy Blue and Kindy Red did such a lovely job of presenting their assembly this week. The remaining Kindy classes will have the chance to lead our assembly in two weeks. Assemblies start at 1.50pm in Dunnet Hall and usually end at 2.20pm.

• Tuesday 1 September- Kindy Yellow and Kindy White
• Tuesday 15 September- All of Kindergarten

We look forward to welcoming you!

Ashley Bentley
Deputy Head of Junior School: Students (K-2)
abentley@redlands.nsw.edu.au

Science Week: From Wonder to Discovery

The school has been buzzing with curiosity, wonder and discovery this Science Week! Science begins with asking questions, observing closely and wondering why and how, and our students from P-6 have embraced every opportunity to do just that.

From contributing to our Wonder Wall, to visiting the Secondary School science labs and experiencing the excitement of the Big Science Show and a parent Scientist Ash Millar, students have enjoyed an incredible week of hands-on scientific exploration.

And there’s still more to come! It has been wonderful to see excitement for science bubbling over across the Junior School.

A special thank you to Mr Birbeck and Mrs Duckworth, who coordinated the wonderful range of activities and experiences across the week.

Year 6 – Write a Book in a Day: Creativity with a Cause

Our Year 6 students are preparing to take part in Write a Book in a Day, an inspiring service-learning opportunity that combines creativity, teamwork and community impact.

During book week, our students will work in teams to write and illustrate an original book in a single day. The completed books will be shared with children in hospitals while funds raised through the project support The Kids’ Cancer Project and its vital childhood cancer research.

We are incredibly proud to share that our Year 6 community has already raised more than $7,000 so far. This generosity reflects the enthusiasm and compassion of our students and families.

We warmly invite families and friends to support our students as they take on this unique challenge. Every donation, no matter the size, helps fund research that aims to improve outcomes for children diagnosed with cancer.

Donations can be made through the Redlands Group page link.

Thank you for your support.

Martina Petersen
Deputy Head of Junior School: Learning and Teaching
mpetersen@redlands.nsw.edu.au

Helping Children Thrive in an Age of Instant Answers

From AI tools and social media to on-demand entertainment and instant messaging, today’s children are growing up in a world where answers, solutions and entertainment are available within seconds. While technology offers tremendous opportunities, it also presents an important challenge for parents and educators: helping children develop the resilience, persistence and critical thinking skills that come from grappling with challenges rather than avoiding them.

As adults, we know that meaningful growth rarely happens instantly. Learning to ride a bike, mastering a musical instrument, solving a complex maths problem, navigating friendship issues, or developing sporting skills all require patience, effort and perseverance. These experiences help children build confidence because they learn that success is something that can be earned through hard work and determination.

However, when children become accustomed to immediate solutions, they can sometimes find it difficult to tolerate frustration or uncertainty. A challenging homework task, a disagreement with a friend, or a setback in sport may feel overwhelming if they have not developed the skills to work through difficulty.

One of the most valuable gifts we can give our children is the opportunity to struggle productively. This does not mean leaving them unsupported. Rather, it means resisting the urge to solve every problem for them and instead coaching them through the process of finding solutions themselves. When children overcome obstacles independently, they develop resilience, self-belief and a stronger sense of capability.

At school, we actively encourage students to embrace challenges, make mistakes and learn from them. We want children to understand that mistakes are not failures; they are an essential part of learning. In fact, many of the most important lessons come from moments when things do not go exactly as planned.

As parents, there are several ways you can support this growth mindset at home:

• Praise effort, persistence and improvement rather than focusing solely on outcomes.
• Encourage children to think through possible solutions when problems arise before stepping in to help.
• Model positive responses to setbacks by sharing your own learning experiences and challenges.
• Allow children to take age-appropriate responsibility for their forgetfulness, mistakes or poor choices.
• Celebrate examples of perseverance, courage and resilience in everyday life.

Children who learn to navigate challenges develop the confidence to face future uncertainties with optimism and determination. While technology can provide quick answers, it cannot replace the character strengths that come from persistence, resilience and personal growth.

Together, as parents and educators, we can help children develop not only the knowledge and skills they need for the future, but also the confidence to tackle life’s challenges with courage, integrity and independence. These qualities will serve them far beyond the classroom and help them thrive in an increasingly complex world.

Kate Moore
Deputy Head of Junior School: Students (3-6)
kamoore@redlands.nsw.edu.au

Car Line Video

Over the next few weeks, filming will take place along Allister Street as we create a professional Car Line Procedures video for our Redlands families, covering drop-off and pick-up procedures from Preschool to Year 6.

If your family is featured, we will contact you directly to seek permission. If you are happy for your family to be filmed during drop-off or pick-up, please email Amber Wilson at awilson@redlands.nsw.edu.au.

Please don’t be alarmed if you see filming taking place. Individuals or personal property will not be filmed without explicit consent, and every effort will be made to respect the privacy of our community.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Tuesday Year 3-6 Clubs Collection Reminder

For questions about Tuesday Year 3-6 Clubs, please contact Will Senior at juniorclubs@redlands.nsw.edu.au

Thank you for your continued cooperation with our 4.30pm collection procedure:

• Students will be brought to the area outside the old 3-6 Reception.
• Parents/carers should wait outside the Allister Street gates for their child.
• Students will be dismissed directly to their parent/carer.
• The Murdoch Street gate is closed from 4.20pm. Students must be collected via Allister Street.

OSH Collection: Please continue to collect OSH students via the new K-6 Reception, using the door buzzer for access.

Lost Property

Lost property for students in Kindergarten to Year 6 is now located in one convenient place, near the

Chaplain’s Office and K-6 Reception. If your child has misplaced a hat, shoes, drink bottle, lunch box or

other item, it will be placed in the lost property cupboard for collection.

Junior School Father’s Day Celebration

Our Junior School Father’s Day Celebration will take place on Monday 7 September, from 8am-9.30am.

Students will enjoy a range of activities with their dads throughout the morning, similar to our Mother’s Day Celebration.

We look forward to welcoming all our dads for this special morning!

Amber Wilson
Deputy Head of Junior School: Operations (P-6)
awilson@redlands.nsw.edu.au

We are proud to recognise Alexander Elgoweiny (Year 3) and Aveer Varma (Year 3) for their outstanding contribution to the community through Kids Giving Back.

During last term and the school holidays, they joined thousands of young people in hands-on volunteering activities, helping to prepare 6,844 nourishing meals, 1,022 care packs, 885 snack packs, 266 handmade items and 75 Warm4Winter packs for people experiencing hardship.

Every item prepared was distributed through Kids Giving Back’s charity partners, making a meaningful difference to those in need. Their compassion, generosity and commitment to serving others are a wonderful reflection of our school values, and we congratulate them on this remarkable achievement.

Congratulations to Willow! 

Willow has been recognised in the Mosman Youth Awards in Literature, placing in the top 50 entries from more than 400 submissions. With five categories and just 10 shortlisted entries in each, Willow was named in the top 10 for Poetry!