Year 10

Upcoming Events:

• Year 10 Commercialisation Challenge – Week 7A: Monday 23 – Friday 27 November
• Harbour Cruise – Week 7A: Wednesday 25 November
• Term 4 Ends and Speech Night: Week 8B: Tuesday 1 December

Year 10 Week in Review

Bougainvillea Visits the Junior School

On Monday, several Yr 10 students who have been part of the School’s service group who visit the Bougainvillea retirement home each Thursday at lunch, instead directed their efforts to visiting a Redlands Year 1 class to support the Junior School students. The Yr 1 students were exploring ways of creating a sense of belonging and working out strategies to make a positive impact in the community. Their aim was to interview our Yr 10 students, asking questions about what they had done this year in terms of creating a sense of belonging and using their voice to create a positive impact. It was a wonderful opportunity for our students to model to the younger students the importance of supporting others and thinking beyond yourself, as they do each week in their Bougainvillea activity. Congratulations to Charlie, Harvey, Tahlia, Olive, Matilda, Seren, Maddy and Mia who represented the cohort with positivity and enthusiasm, and modelled respectful and authentic service for the Junior School students.

Approaches to Learning

Parents and carers will be aware of the new Approaches to Learning capabilities framework that is being rolled out at Redlands this year. It is an exciting new initiative designed to encourage our students to think deeply about their learning and consider closely how they are growing as a learner across their subjects. Based on assessing their growth each semester across four key capabilities – Curiosity, Intellectual Courage, Connection and Responsibility – the Approaches to Learning are designed to offer a shared language for discussing how our students are developing their learning. You can read more about the Redlands Approaches to Learning on the School webpage.

On Wednesday, Head of the Secondary School, Ms Ripley spoke to our cohort, reminding them about the new Approaches to Learning and, over the next week, students will be given time to reflect on their learning and self-assess based on the four capabilities. Teachers will then, in turn, provide their perspective on students’ Approaches to Learning. We look forward to the thoughtful conversations this may engender at home and at school, as students develop further understanding of their personal learning growth.

Spotlight

Matthew Talbot Christmas Drive

This Christmas, our school community is coming together to support Matthew Talbot Hostel, our Cowper House Partner, through our 2026 Christmas Donation Drive. In Tutor Groups, students will be collecting donations to help create Christmas hampers for the men supported by Matthew Talbot Hostel. Last year, Cowper alone collected enough donations to create 50 Christmas hampers. This year, we are delighted to extend the initiative across all Houses, with the ambitious goal of helping create 100 Christmas hampers.

We were fortunate to launch the initiative with a special guest speaker, Mike from Matthew Talbot Hostel, who spoke with Cowper students about the important work of the hostel, the people it supports and the impact our contributions can have. Mike shared insights into the many and often complex circumstances that can lead to homelessness, reminding students that there is rarely one single reason someone finds themselves without a safe place to call home. Mike also spoke about how particularly challenging Christmas can be for people experiencing homelessness, a time when many others are surrounded by family, friends and the comforts of home. He highlighted how seemingly small acts of kindness can have a significant impact, helping people feel seen, remembered and supported during a difficult time. Our Christmas Drive is one way our community can reach out and wrap these men in care and generosity when they need it most.

Throughout the donation period, Tutor Groups will work together to coordinate their contributions, ensuring a thoughtful variety of practical essentials. Donation boxes will be placed in Tutor Rooms, with students encouraged to pledge items, track their contributions and work collaboratively to fill their boxes. For every full box collected, the relevant House will earn a bauble for its House Christmas Tree, with the winning House announced at the Christmas Carols!

At the heart of this initiative is the opportunity for students to put compassion into action. By supporting Matthew Talbot Hostel, our students are learning about the importance of community connection, generosity and empathy. We are grateful to our students, staff and families for supporting this initiative. Every contribution, no matter how small, helps us work towards our goal and make Christmas a little brighter for members of our wider community. You can find a list of suggested donations below:

Japanese Haiku Competition

Recently, a haiku writing competition was run in the Japanese classes. The haiku is a traditional form of short Japanese poetry, beginning in thirteenth century Japan, where pieces are made of three lines and with a distinct syllable count. Often focusing on images from nature, the haiku poetic form emphasises simplicity, intensity and directness of expression; it can be read in one breath and offers a sudden sense of enlightenment. Congratulations to Finaly Drumm with Ari Abe-Apostolou who beautifully transcribed pieces came in first and second place, respectively, in the recent Stage 5 competition!

Future Pathways – Weekly Newsletter 

VIEW HERE

Future Pathways – Career Avenues Profile meetings 

Over the past week, the Year 10 Career Avenues Profile meetings took place. We would like to thank students and parents / carers for their engagement in this valuable process.  

Detailed Future Pathways information is available on Pulse, including key facts and myth busters for Year 11 and 12.  

Newsletter: highlighted events 

• Explore speech pathology at Sydney – Webinar for Future Students 

• WSU Sport, Exercise and Health Webinar 

• CSU Online Parent Information Session 

• Basair Pilot Career Seminar, Sydney 

• UTS Engineering & IT: A Parent & Guardian Information Evening 

• Discover nursing at the University of Sydney – Webinar for Future Students 

• Camp America Sydney Job Fair 

Newsletter: scholarships 

• UNSW Academic Achievement Awards (AAA) 

Newsletter: experiences 

• The Y NSW Youth Parliament 2027 for Years 10-12 

• Hack Club Haven, Sydney Game Jam for teens 13-18 

Reminders and Notices

Term 4 Harbour Cruise

We are now moving into final chance territory for purchasing tickets to the Yr 10 Harbour Cruise. If you have yet to buy your ticket, please purchase it asap.

You can purchase tickets and find event information through the Humanitix event site here. You can also find out all the relevant information about the event through the parent / carer and student letter that went out last term on Pulse.

We look forward to the night being a wonderful celebration of the cohort’s growth, efforts and achievements across 2026!

Mr Jimmy Tod-Hill
Year 10 Advisor
jtodhill@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9908 6462