School Newsletter

A wonderful feature of the Secondary school this year has been the assemblies. These provide opportunities to get together and unpack the motto for the week, listen to Middle School or Senior School successes and share ideas on topics that touch all students. Special thanks go to Mr Drevikovsky, Mr Anderson and Mr Tanna for their coordination of these assemblies. Again, please ask your son about what is discussed and addressed during these times, as this enriches and reinforces what we do at school.

Middle School and Senior School assemblies have recently covered the topical issue of vaping that has ensnared many people in our society. 

I encourage you as parents to read the address by Phillip A. (Vice-Captain of Community Service) to the students on this issue (click here) and to watch the video shown to students. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aasKIDz9ZX4

Additionally, use the parent resource attached to have a conversation with your son. https://www.scholastic.com/youthvapingrisks/FamilyResourcePage_middleschool.pdf

We were very fortunate to have Year 9 parent Dr Sebastian Kwon provide his expertise on this issue of vaping. His slides are attached: 

CNN news Vape explosion.mp4
Dangers of Vaping.pptx

Please have a conversation with your son about the dangers of vaping. It’s up to all of us to do more to increase awareness of this issue. 

The Redfield Leadership Course has been very well received by students and the second installment is being given by Mr Daniel Assaf this week. Attached are the slides from Daniel’s first session.

Session 1 
Primary 
Secondary

Session 2
Primary
Secondary

It was wonderful to have many fathers attend Mass with their sons on the feast day of St Joseph. Fathers and sons praying together and for each other is a special touch that we can be so proud of at Redfield. Below are some pictures from the day.

Thanks go to Mr Sarks for his work in coordinating the three Father & Son Camps this term. I attended the Year 2 Father & Son Camp and visited the other camps where all fathers and sons were bonding and having a blast!

Please save Thursday, 29 April as the date for the Term 2 KPF with Alexander Harvard. Alexander is the author of Virtuous Leadership and will talk about parent leadership in this context. It will be a presentation not to be missed! The KPF will commence promptly at 7:45pm.

Attached is the link to a flyer and short promotional video: Building Leadership In Your Kids

The students at Redfield receive a school-issued laptop in Year 10. Student responsibilities relating to this device are clearly outlined during a briefing by the IT Staff and this message is reinforced during a subsequent meeting with the Head of Senior School, Mark Anderson. Additionally, students and parents sign an IT Agreement form when this laptop is issued. It covers responsible use of school property.

In order to better support parents with laptop usage, a FAQ list is being developed across the four PARED schools and will be posted on the school’s website. Here is a link to four common questions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ss7-Awsf5LZY_7IgZc_qq51Vfr6MwJ0WS7XLyZAoYtY/edit?usp=sharing

NSW Youth Week will take place from 16 to 24 April and there will be a variety of activities, opportunities and events across the state for young people. As part of Youth Week, students can lead the direction of the new NSW Government Strategic Plan for Children and Young People. All they need to do is complete a short survey and they will go in the running to win prizes. Entries close on Saturday, 24 April, 2021. 

Click on the following link to find out more: http://bit.ly/SEYW2021

www.youthweek.nsw.gov.au

It is remarkable to think that some of the people in the crowd that celebrated Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday would be condemning him to death five days later on Good Friday. It is also remarkable to think that some of Jesus' closest followers, such as St Peter, who said they were willing to die with him, would abandon him only a few hours later.

But then again, when we examine our own conscience, is it really that remarkable? I think we can all see in ourselves similar inconsistencies. One minute we can be swearing our allegiance to Christ, and the next minute we can betray him with our action.

Holy Week is a good moment to reflect on the virtue of fidelity. The obvious model is Jesus himself, who is faithful to his Father's plan, "even unto death" (Philippians 2:8). Perhaps we can find a more unlikely model in the donkey Jesus rode into Jerusalem. Donkeys are not flashy creatures, but they get the job done, day in, day out. Without drawing attention to themselves, they carry heavy loads and go the distance. With God's grace, we can do the same.

Fr Phil Elias
Chaplain, Redfield College

Redfield College had its first Whole-School Assembly for 2021 on Monday, 29 March. This occasion provided an opportunity for staff and students to farewell our outgoing Headmaster Mr Expo Mejia and Head of Primary Mr James Ramos in a formal setting.

The assembly was marked by several musical performances and speeches by students from both Primary and Secondary and was a fitting tribute to these two stalwarts of the College.

The Australian Catholic University officially welcomed its inaugural group of Ramsay Scholars at its North Sydney campus earlier this month. John Tabateau and Thomas Meney, members of the Redfield Class of 2020, were part of this special group. Former Prime Minister, the Hon John Howard OM AC, attended the event in his role as Chairman of the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation.

A partnership between the ACU and the Ramsay Centre has created the opportunity for these students to complete the university's newly created Bachelor of Arts degree in Western Civilisation. They will be supported by scholarships worth up to $30,000 p.a. for up to five years. They will be taught in small class sizes, receive academic mentoring and will also be funded to participate in an overseas experience as part of their studies. Internationally renowned educators will also feature as teachers of the program.

To Order your school photos, go to www.advancedlife.com.au and enter the code

BK6 47M C3

Please refer to the flyer HERE.

This term in Science, Year 3 has been discussing what makes something living or non-living. This discussion led to distinguishing animals' unique features and what makes all living things so different. This is what we call categorisation. During this lesson, we went out of the classroom to count all the different animals we could find in one area. We found many types of minibeasts such as spiders, ants, beetles, lizards and moths. 

Dominic Boddy
Year 3 Teacher

This term in English, Year 4 has been learning about composing a structured narrative text. The class has been brainstorming in groups to come up with the character, location and problem, with guidance of what is needed in a narrative text (such as an action start and tightening tension). The boys used these strategies to write their stories and here is what they came up with.

Far, far away in ancient times, a battle between elves and their sworn enemies, the hobbits, broke out. No one knows why they fought that mighty battle ten years ago, but many lives were lost including Terry the hobbit's parents, Garry and Annie. So for all the years of his life, Terry has had no one with him except for his pet dragon Colossal…

-Alexander S.

To celebrate World Maths Day this year, the boys in Primary had a visit from the company ‘World of Maths’, a unique travelling maths show that provides fun, colourful, hands-on, mathematical problem-solving activities for students to participate in at school.

Our boys engaged with 34 different activities designed by World of Maths to challenge and stimulate their mathematical thinking. Some of the favourite activities involved visualising 3D shapes, problem-solving skills and calculating routes using an electrical circuit board.

The boys all enjoyed themselves and below are a few comments from our students and teachers.

“I love the way that our boys developed their understanding of maths through a variety of fun and engaging activities.” – Mr Boddy

“What a wonderful way for our students to engage in meaningful mathematical tasks with their peers.” – Mr Sarks

“It was great fun!” – Marc

“The tractor activity was really fun and wasn’t too tricky.” – Kian

“I loved the challenge of beating the other boys.” – Oliver

“Some of the activities were really challenging, and I liked that!” – Henry

International Women's Day is a special day that honours women and promotes women's rights. The Primary school boys spoke about the importance of the women in their lives and how we should always be thankful and respectful. 

To show our appreciation of the ladies at Redfield, the boys decided to spoil them by putting on a morning tea and saying a special prayer for their sisters, mothers, grandmothers and female helpers.

Our God, we thank you.

We thank you for the gifts and skills that you have freely given to each of us, while we pay particular attention to the varied and abundant gifts of women among us whose work, talent, sacrifice and wisdom often go unnoticed and taken for granted.

On this day, we not only take notice, but we affirm, lift up, and loudly proclaim the gifts of our sisters, mothers, grandmothers and female helpers.

Amen.

So far, the Primary boys have attended two Lunchtime Leadership workshops with special guest presenter Mr Daniel Assaf. We have looked at the different types of leaders there are and what skills we need to be a great leader. It has been lots of fun and we have learnt so many skills. The young leaders have had to work together to discover that we need to stand up for ourselves and others if we want to succeed. Mr Assaf reminded us that God gave us all two ears and one mouth so we really should listen more than we speak. Communication is key to meeting new people.

This week we learnt that our manners speak louder than our words. Mr Assaf told us that we need to be respectful otherwise no one will look up to us or we could possibly be bad role models. We have also learnt how to handle people with respect when they are being challenging.

We look forward to our next meeting about ‘connectedness’ early in Term 2. 

Oliver B. and Samuel H.
Year 5 Leaders

While some people are just getting out of bed, the Primary Cross Country Team is already burning up the track in preparation for the IPSHA Cross Country Carnival. The boys have been training as a team three mornings a week and they bring their enthusiasm, energy and determination to every session to achieve their absolute best. 

Ben Nolan

“Ubi concordia, ibi victoria” - Publius Syrus

Where there is unity, there is victory. This is the motto for the Class of 2021. Another one of the four goals of the Class of 2021 is to become the founding cohort of real and tangible unity, in both purpose and kinship. This specifically entails blurring the divisions between grades, and the divisions between Primary and Secondary. It means rallying our entire school around a clear sense of purpose and brotherhood. In practical terms, it means designing programs and initiatives which target two specific types of unity.

The first of these is “Unity in Kinship”. This idea involves creating a sense of camaraderie across the years through more frequent planned interactions, primarily recreational, and encouraging students to foster meaningful relationships across grades.

The second, “Unity in Purpose”, will take us one step further. Rather than simply just bonding our students together through fun and enjoyment, we will aim to truly unite them behind the key purposes of College life: personal development and academic achievement.

Throughout Term 1, the Year 10 Music class has been learning about the compositional devices used in certain styles of Jazz music and working hard to discover ways to create new and interesting compositions using these devices. 

The parameters of this in-class task were to create an 8-bar 'Call and Response' composition. 

Reshan W. (Year 10 Altair) decided to go one step further and compose a full 35-bar jazz ensemble piece - a great example of the talent we have at Redfield!

Lachlan McDonald
Secondary Music Teacher

The Maths Club is now in full swing, with students working on challenging problems, playing the ASX stock market and collaborating to solve mathematical puzzles.

You can also be part of this great learning environment. The Maths Club runs every Tuesday morning before school from 7:30 am and every Wednesday after school until 4:00 pm.

See you there!

Jason Ursino 
Head of Mathematics

This term, the boys in Year 10 have been covering the most bloody and consequential conflict of world history, the Second World War. In this unit, students have learned about the rise of fascism in Europe, the pitfalls of appeasement and of the heroic resistance to tyranny by Australia, Britain and other democratic nations.

A few weeks ago, the boys staged a debate on the merits of appeasement in the 1930’s (appeasement was the policy of allowing Hitler to seize territory in Europe as long as it prevented or, at least, delayed war). The proposition up for debate was as follows: “Neville Chamberlain did the right thing”.

This debate was a remarkable success and saw boys on both sides of the argument use historical data, advanced vocabulary and sophisticated debating techniques to convince the audience of their perspective. At the end of the day, the victors where those who claimed Neville Chamberlain did notdo the right thing when he enabled appeasement of the Nazis. Pictures of this debate are included below. Well done to all the boys, both those who researched and those who presented!

Beware, parents of Redfield! The Vikings are coming!

Our fearless students have been working hard over the last few weeks, forging and crafting their models of Viking artefacts for their Year 8 History assessment.

We have had some exceptional submissions which you can see in the images below. Artefacts ranged from models of shields, axes, longboats and helmets, as well as 3D-printed objects, replica scrolls and model houses. The variety and quality have been outstanding.

We'd like to highlight the incredible contribution of Benjamin C. (Year 8 Altair). A keen musician, Benjamin chose to create his very own Viking ballad which he performed in front of his peers. Watch it here: [link]!

Finally, thank you to the mums and dads who assisted with these projects. While the majority of the effort was from the students, we appreciate the time and support given to them. 

Valhalla, Valhalla, we long for you. Valhalla, Valhalla, one day we'll pass through!

Oliver Foxe and Mark Anderson

Year 8 History Teachers

Years 9 to 12 Geography students have just finished participating in the Australian Geography Competition, testing their knowledge and understanding of the subject against the rest of the country. This is an opportunity for Redfield to gauge where each cohort is sitting in comparison to students from around Australia. Last year, we had some fantastic results and we are hoping to emulate or even better them this year. Well done to all the boys who put their best foot forward.

In a Redfield first, Year 7 Geography had to construct a mountain, riverine, coastal or desert landscape and identify five landforms associated with the landscape. It was the first assessment task attempted in Geography this year and the creativity of the cohort was excellent - Mr Ilves and I were blown away by the quality of the submissions! A special shout-out goes to the parents for covering the expenses and assisting many of the boys with their assessments.

Click on this link to see the projects the boys presented.

Nick Georgiou and Karl Ilves
Geography Teachers

The CSDA Public Speaking competition has come to an end. The Grand Final took place on Friday, 19 March. Our last remaining competitor was Sebastian H. (Year 8 Sirius). Sebastian did a tremendous job to come so far into the competition, defeating the best competitors from greater Sydney in the first and second rounds. Unfortunately, his tremendous run came to an end on Friday, but he once again impressed us with a masterful performance against the state’s very best.

I would also like to thank all of those students and their parents who participated in this year’s CSDA Public Speaking competition. Below is a layout of who competed and how far they progressed through the competition:

Competitors who progressed to Round 1:
Raphael C. (Year 8 Sirius, competing at Year 9 level), Benjamin C. (Year 8 Altair, competing at Year 9 level), Joshua L. (Year 10 Sirius), Jacob R. (Year 12 Castor), Christian H. (Year 12 Castor), Peter S. (Year 12 Hydrus).

Competitors who progressed to Round 2:
Jackson B. (Year 7 Castor), Luca B. (Year 7 Hydrus), James C. (Year 8 Altair), Isaac B. (Year 10 Castor).

Competitors who progressed to the Finals:
Sebastian H. (Year 8 Sirius).

Dear Parents and Students,

I am happy to formally communicate to you all the recommencement of the Duke of Edinburgh program here at Redfield for 2021. As you are aware, last year saw the program introduced in our school with great popularity and success, and I aim to make this year just as fruitful and rewarding for those participating in the award.

As the Award Leader for Redfield, it will be my role to monitor and assess the progress and completion of the various activities required of the participants.

For those who registered last year and have already completed (or are in the process of completing) the Bronze, Silver or Gold awards, I will shortly have access to your logbooks and will be able to work through the approval process.

As part of our procedure writing lessons this term, Year 3 had to create a recipe for the best cheese toasties and then make them. It was like an episode of Master Chef with everyone having secret ingredients and methods. It was a brilliant opportunity for the boys to put their writing skills to great use and to create a delicious lunch snack for the day.

Congratulations to all our Junior Master Chefs!

Jason Hatcher and Dominic Boddy
Year 3 Class Teachers

Congratulations to the following students who received a Merit Card at last week's Middle School Assembly:

Hamish A. (Year 7 Hydrus)
Luca B. (Year 7 Hydrus)
Christopher F. (Year 7 Castor)
Nicholas J. (Year 7 Altair)

Each of these students received at least ten Merit Stamps from teachers over the course of the first six weeks of this term - well done!

Stefan Drevikovsky
Head of Middle School (Years 7 to 9)

This term has been a particularly busy and productive one in the D&T Department. Our students have been working with enthusiasm on a wide variety of projects, designing, prototyping and producing some amazing and unique products, and also (particularly students in Stage 4) learning about safe practices in the workshop.

Anticipation is ramping up amongst Year 11 students as they are almost ready to race their electric ultra-light vehicles and put their engineering skills to the test in a time trial around the COLA.   

Most of the projects started in Term 1 will be completed and assessed in Term 2, so the second half of the semester could be even more exciting and rewarding for the students.

Click on this link for see some of the students at work.

Leo Carol 
Head of D&T

Our Mock Trial team made a valiant effort last week, competing against Northholm Grammar School. The Redfield College team, representing the defence in this criminal trial, consisted of barristers Damien D. (Year 11 Castor) and Adrian N. (Year 10 Hydrus), solicitor Eamonn T. (Year 11 Hydrus), witnesses Jamie L. (Year 10 Sirius) and Matthew F. (Year 10 Hydrus), and court officer Isaac B. (Year 10 Castor). 

None of us had been involved in Mock Trials before, but we enjoyed putting all our hard work into practice and going head-to-head against a very formidable team. 

Despite our loss (it was very close!), I am confident we have a great team which will improve and show great gumption in the next rounds. We will certainly be ready!

Many thanks also go to Christian H. (Year 12 Castor) for coaching the team and assisting us with preparation. 

Karl Ilves 
Mock Trial Coordinator

The World’s Greatest Shave initiative at Redfield has been an overwhelming success!

It is truly amazing to see what our community is able to achieve when rallied to support a great cause. Together, aiding the funding of research to find a cure for leukemia, we were able to raise an amazing $7664 .34!

This has far exceeded our initial goals, and it is truly heartwarming to see the levels of generosity present in our College. For all the support that the parents, teachers and students have shown over the past three weeks, on behalf of the Redfield College Community Service Team, thank you all so much. It has been our aim to make a positive impact in our community, and this has been an astounding first step. This makes me extremely proud of the atmosphere of care and service we are creating in our school.

I would like to give a very special thank you to Redfield dad Mr El-Chaar of Pure Hair Pure Body hair salon in Castle Hill for very generously donating his time on the day to give us professional help in shaving the participants!

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.

Please click HERE for more information.

Your career is an enjoyable journey. We say “journey” because the nature of work is dynamic, and we do not always know exactly where we will end up once we complete our final year of higher education. Not knowing can be stressful, but it can also be part of the excitement as we discover new opportunities, develop and change over time, and consequently pivot our careers to better suit our needs. You are, therefore, not expected to know exactly what you want, but taking key steps throughout your studies can help put you onto a more suitable path sooner.

Throughout the year, sessions and seminars will be run to address any specific concerns or questions you may have regarding your careers. Students in Years 9 to 11 must realise that high achievement in the HSC does not occur as a result of cramming the week before exams, but rather the consistent and steady application in the years leading up to Year 12.

The main careers events at Redfield College are outlined below for 2021.

Champions

On Saturday, 13 March, the Redfield College Tennis team competed in the 2021 North West Secondary Schools Challenge. The team comprised three doubles pairings of Jayden C. (Year 10 Altair) and Noah D. (Year 10 Altair), Declan B. (Year 9 Castor) and Joshua F. (Year 9 Castor), and Eduardo P. (Year 8 Hydrus) and Matteo G. (Year 7 Castor), and all pairings fought out a tough contest.

The challenge was played in eight divisions from 15 different schools by over 100 students. It was the first official Tennis completion for some of the boys, but that didn’t faze them at all. The games were played in great spirit, with exceptional sportsmanship displayed by our boys.

Team 1 (Jayden C. and Noah D.) was able to place equal-first with the Pennant Hills pairing. It was a nail-biting wait for the pair, hoping for a favourable result from the very last match of the evening.

We pass on huge congratulations to all the boys for participating and pushing themselves in a great day of sport. Special thanks go to all the parents for their great support in making the evening happen.

The 2020/2021 ISA Basketball season has officially wrapped up. The competition, having run during Term 4, 2020 and Term 1, 2021 was like no other year. Due to the many challenges presented by the pandemic, the ISA decided to have a participation competition in Term 4 and commenced a briefer championship competition at the start of this term, with only the first and second-placed teams going through to the finals after five round games. The shorter season meant that each round game had a lot of implications for finals contention. Unfortunately, none of our teams qualified for finals; however, we had three of our five teams (U13s, U14s and U15s) finish in the top four on their respective ladders, which was a great result. Congratulations to all students who participated! Their hard work and perseverance deserve commendation. Special thanks go to all parents for their support during what was a different ISA Basketball season. Here’s to a successful 2021/2022 season!

Marvin Fidel
Secondary Sports Coordinator