Year 11

Upcoming Events

• Week 6 – Monday 16 November – Year 11 Student Led Conferences (2nd for the year) 
• Week 6 – Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 November – Redlands Dance Concert Performance (Chatswood Concourse)  
• Week 6 – Thursday 19 November – Year11 Alumni Careers Breakfast 
• Week 7 – Monday 23 November – HSC & IB Dance Filming 
• Week 8 – Tuesday 1 December – Final day of Term 4 with an early finish at 12.00pm for Speech Night 

Whitehouse Institute Excursion

Last Friday, our HSC Textiles students visited the Whitehouse Institute of Design, where they were given an insightful tour of the campus and its facilities. Students also had the opportunity to speak with current Whitehouse students about their experiences and the technical skills they are developing through their studies. Of particular interest was fashion illustration, which aligns closely with a current area of focus in the Year 12 Textiles course. The visit provided valuable industry insight and helped students further connect their classroom learning with future study and career pathways.

IB Collaborative Science Launch

Last week our Year 11 IB students stepped into the role of researchers. We welcomed four partners to Redlands to launch the Collaborative Science Project, and each brought a real problem for students to dig into:

• Australian Hearing Hub / Cochlear Australia: how can we strengthen access to hearing healthcare in Australia through better coordinated, equitable and evidence-informed policy?
• Loop Hydro Copper: how can Australia build a more ethical and circular supply chain for critical minerals?
• Australian Centre for Health Informatics: how might we understand heat-related health risks for young people, and help them access reliable information to act on them?
• Smart Commercial Energy: how might we get more energy, more life and more value from the solar panels and batteries we already have?

Each partner shared the science behind their challenge and took questions from students, who took notes and began shaping their own research questions. Over the next four weeks, students will work in transdisciplinary teams, bringing different subjects and ways of thinking together, to investigate their chosen question. Teachers will give feedback on each team’s proposed question along the way.

The project builds to a proposal that each team presents back to the researchers, with a full day at Macquarie University on 20 November to finalise their work. Even better, we’ll be visiting our partners’ labs and workplaces to see the science in situ.

A huge thank you to our partners for giving their time and expertise. Students tackling live problems alongside working scientists, with a real audience waiting for their ideas, is exactly the kind of learning we love to see.

Design and Technology Major Work Launch

This week, our  Design and Technology students spent the day on a single challenge: take one real-world problem and explore it from every angle.

Each student arrived with a problem space they cared about and pitched it to the room in just 30 seconds. They then moved in mixed groups through four rotations. They studied competitors and target markets, tested their ideas against what’s desirable, viable and feasible, learned how to gather good feedback, and practised communicating their design. To finish, every student gave an elevator pitch to a staff panel and fielded some tough, thoughtful questions. Students explored problem spaces like work health and safety for trades, swimming for people with epilepsy, increasing the convenience of EpiPens and more! 

Our judges pushed students on stigma, safety approvals, what’s already on the market and, above all, whether people would really want to use their design. Most students left with a clear next step: get out and talk to the people who live with the problem. If you’ve got a Design student at home, challenge them to get out there! We can’t wait to see where these ideas go next.

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.

Today, Ms Rachel Riley (our Instructional Lead) 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:

Future Pathways – Weekly Newsletter 

VIEW HERE

Future Pathways – HSC and IB Core lesson 

Over the past week, Year 11 students participated in a Future Pathways presentation during their Core lesson, focusing on university applications and post-school planning. 

Detailed Future Pathways information is available on Pulse, including the 2027 Year 12 Overview that was discussed during the lesson.  

Students were reminded that every pathway journey is unique. There is no single “right” pathway, and the Future Pathways team is available to support students as they explore the opportunities available to them and begin planning for life beyond school. 

Throughout next year, students will participate in additional sessions covering topics such as early entry programs, adjustment factors, university application systems, and other post-school options. These sessions are designed to help students make informed decisions and navigate the application process with confidence. 

Students are encouraged to explore the resources on Pulse and seek guidance whenever they have questions about their future pathway options. 

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 

Mr Tobias Horan
Yr 11 Advisor
9968 9872
thoran@redlands.nsw.edu.au