The Red

Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful break and a magnificent holiday. Many powerful memories can be created by times like these. Perhaps you will only realise the significance of these moments when your children are older and seated around your dining room table with their own families. When they all come together at special family occasions, and you, in your twilight years, are watching over the playing grandchildren, they will reminisce about old times… ’Do you remember the time that dad took us walking in the Blue Mountains, or the time we went camping and got stuck in the mud, or when we went apple-picking and we had so much fun?’ Family is about enjoying each other’s company and creating memories. What were some of your happy memories from the holidays?

Thank you for making me feel so welcome on my return to Redfield. I have received many lovely emails and messages from parents and students that have made this transition a lot easier, so, again, thank you. I look forward to working with you and building on this wonderful legacy that we have here at Redfield.

A busy term lies ahead: exams, camps, the KPF this Thursday, May pilgrimages, mentor meetings and more. In addition to normal homework and assessment tasks, all Secondary boys should now be factoring in some nightly study in the lead-up to exams. 

Open Day is on Wednesday 26 May. My advice is not to hold back on sharing our message and educational philosophy with family and friends. Please encourage anyone who you feel would benefit from our approach to attend.

Monday’s Anzac ceremony was moving and memorable. It brought home to us all how much our countrymen have suffered for us, how grateful we must be, and how we must show our gratitude with our prayers for them. It was even more special with our own Pilot Officer Jake Brennan, member of the 2011 graduating class, to commemorate the day with us. Jake spoke fondly of his days at Redfield and about how many of the virtues that our ANZACs displayed were emphasised at Redfield, a great reminder to us all that grounding in virtue has real-world impact. 

One of the best things about challenges is that often we are most proud of the events in our life where we have had to overcome something: a struggle against our own fears or biases or insecurity, overcoming injustice, or just sitting an exam. It is clear that we are happiest and most fulfilled when we rise to become better versions of ourselves. When we face difficulties and rise to meet them, we grow personally. 

I hope you are able to make Mothers Day very special. Mum’s contribution is unique on many levels. Pope Francis spoke about a women’s superior ability to respond with faith - it was women who were the first to believe in the resurrection of Christ:

‘This is the mission of mothers, to give witness to their children and grandchildren that Christ is risen! Mothers go forward with this witness! Women have had, and still have, a special role in opening doors to the Lord, in following him and communicating his face, because the eyes of faith always need the simple and profound look of love.’

Finally, our congratulations go to our colleague Nick Georgiou and his wife Brittany on the recent birth of a baby boy, Zayn.

Matthew Aldous, Headmaster

Last week, Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson published a long interview with Robert Barron, auxiliary archbishop of Los Angeles. In the interview, Peterson, who is not (yet) Catholic, suggested that one of the reasons many young people do not practise their faith is because the Church is not doing enough to challenge them to live their lives with a sense of adventure. Barron agreed, adding that the adventure that Christians are called to pursue is a life of heroic virtue, that is, sanctity.

Essentially, in inviting people to follow Him, Jesus is throwing down the gauntlet to us: either strive for sanctity, or forget it. Boys have an intuitive awareness that if something is not worth doing whole-heartedly, it is not worth doing at all. We do them no favours by encouraging them with our words or example to live a half-baked Christian life. If we live a materialistic lifestyle and are content with the external practices of faith, we can't expect the boys to do more, or even to do the same. They will soon go in search of something more adventurous. The sad thing is that they will miss out on the only adventure that is truly worthwhile.

Fr Phil Elias, Chaplain, Redfield College

Dear Parents,

School photographs are scheduled to be taken by advancedlife on 28 May, 2021. Whilst an envelope has been distributed, it is our preference that ordering be completed online to reduce administration and potential security issues related to the return of cash and envelopes on photo day.

Orders for packages and sibling photographs can be placed securely online at www.advancedlife.com.au using our school's unique 9 digit advancedorder code BK6 47M C3J. Portrait and group package orders are due by photography day.

Should you wish to purchase a sibling photograph online, the order must be placed no later than the day before photography day. Sibling photographs will only be taken if an order has been placed.

Should you have any queries concerning school photographs or online ordering, please contact us at www.advancedlife.com.au/contact

The next session of photography will take place on 22 July, 2021.

Welcome to Term 2. It is a pleasure to be writing this for the first time as the Acting Head of Primary and I look forward to a fantastic year. 

Last term, the Primary school gave Mr Ramos a wonderful send-off to Wollemi. Mr Ramos will be sorely missed and he leaves big shoes to fill. He has left a brilliant team of teachers who I am proud to work with. We all know that Mr Ramos will do a magnificent job as the Principal of Wollemi College and we wish him all the best and hope that he will visit us soon. 

Last week at our first Primary assembly, the boys met our new Headmaster Mr Aldous. It was great that he was able to meet the Primary boys and we look forward to his guidance and leadership. Mr Aldous also addressed the whole school at a special assembly on Friday and he spoke to the students about needing to ‘eat our brussel sprouts’. Ask your son what Mr Aldous meant about eating your brussel sprouts first. 

The boys had a great first week and all settled in well. It was tremendous to see them wearing their winter uniform with pride. Our new Primary teachers, David Wagner and Nathan Dodd, also had a good week and the boys welcomed them warmly. We look forward to getting to know these teachers as the year progresses.

Term 2 is a short term with a lot happening. Just on Wednesday, we had 20 students (along with teachers Justin Roberts, Ben Nolan and Peter Harb) represent Redfield at the IPSHA Cross Country which was held at The Kings School. There is a write-up with more detail in this edition of The Red but they all performed extremely well and did the College proud. Mr Nolan was particularly pleased with the results and it was nice to see his early morning coaching during term time and the holidays pay off. Well done, all! 

We are well and truly into the winter sports season and it was great to see so many boys running around and enjoying the sunshine and competing on Saturday. Afternoon training has also started with gusto and it is pleasing that the boys are using our wonderful fields. Good luck to all in your different sporting endeavours this season.  

On Monday this week, we commemorated ANZAC Day. The Primary boys were respectful and well behaved. We were lucky to have as our guest of honour Pilot Officer Jake Brennan, a Redfield Old Boy. He gave a poignant speech in what was a touching ceremony.

I look forward to working with you all throughout the year and please feel free to contact me if you have questions.  

Darren Corke
Acting Head of Primary

After the Redfield Cross Country, 20 of Redfield Primary’s fastest students began a vigorous training schedule of 7:30am starts three days a week for six weeks leading up to the IPSHA Cross Country Championships. It was during these early morning training sessions that we saw something truly remarkable come to fruition. The boys transformed from a group of individual runners to Team Redfield. It was from this moment that the boys warmed up together, trained together and encouraged each other to achieve their very best. It was truly inspiring to watch!

The big event, the IPSHA Cross Country Championships at The Kings School, finally arrived on Wednesday, 21 April. The boys were quietly confident, as they all knew they had done the hard work to prepare for what would be the most gruelling test of all their dedication and training.

The boys performed outstandingly, with each one giving his best effort up against 130 boys from 25 other schools.

We were fortunate enough to have two boys make it through to the CIS Cross Country Championships, those boys being Paul M. (Year 6B) who placed 12th and Isaiah S. (Year 3B) who placed 3rd in their respective age groups. We wish both of these boys every success in their races at CIS.

We would like to acknowledge the efforts of Mrs Lara Chee who drove the boys to the event and Mrs Jenny Mejalli who provided the boys with lunch on the day.

The Redfield Primary Cross Country Team

Under 9s - Isaiah S., Xavier T., Jordan L., Sergio M. and Joseph T.

Under 10s – Luke A., Thomas R., Xavier S., Tristan A. and Matthew C.

Under 11s – Luka R., Ruben M., Lucas C.-H., Roman G. and Amaan A.-R.

Under 12s – Paul M., Patrick D., Alexander R., Dominic C. and Yohan M.

Ben Nolan and Justin Roberts

Welcome to Term 2 of 2021. I hope you all enjoyed the break. For me, it was nice and cold up top thanks to the World's Greatest Shave run by the Community Service team. It was an amazing day and I thank everyone involved in the preparation for the day, all who made donations and, of course, the 18 members who had their heads shaved for happily volunteering for a great cause.

I am very excited about what this term holds. We have events such as Rock Night, Games Night and possibly a Sleep Out or Kebab Day. We are also hoping to continue with the Inter-House Competition and the Great Minds Club, as well as the Debating competition run by our Public Speaking Captains. We will attempt to resume the end-of-term barbecue for the House with the most points and we will also continue the Leadership Program run by Mr Assaf.

I strongly encourage you all to start the term strongly with a valiant effort, getting into routine as soon as possible and applying yourselves diligently to all aspects of College life. What you make of this term is up to you.

I’d also like to wish all mothers an early happy Mothers' Day for Sunday, 9 May. Your days always revolve around helping others, so it is only fitting that we have a special day for all of you. Thank you for fulfilling our dreams, caring for us and loving us. A mother is not only the epitome of love, but also the greatest warrior. She is the one who fights all day to make her children happy. We have always been taught to be grateful for what we have, but I honestly don’t know what we would do without our mums. As  Leonardo DiCaprio put it, “my mother is a walking miracle”. You are each a walking miracle and we are blessed to have you - I hope you are spoiled and have a lovely day.

Elijah T. 
College Captain

I'm always keen to try something new and different. Some parents have suggested that I do a video on some of the highlights coming up this term.

You can view that video through this link.

In addition, I have attached some photos from our recent Middle School Assembly. The photos include an address from new Headmaster Mr Matthew Aldous, motto talk by Sebastian H. (Year 9 Sirius) and guest speaker Senior Constable Lynda Hart talking about digital responsibility.

Trent Thomas
Director of Formation

It was a jam-packed agenda for the first Middle School Assembly for Term 2 last Wednesday. As well as being the first opportunity for our new Headmaster Mr Matthew Aldous to address the Middle School, we also had a special guest in Police Liaison Officer Senior Constable Lynda Hart. SC Hart talked to the students about a range of relevant issues, including the legal aspects of our online behaviour. The boys listened attentively and left the assembly better informed about their legal rights and responsibilities.

Special mentions go to Joseph S. (Year 9 Sirius) who was the MC for the assembly, and to Sebastian H. (Year 8 Sirius) for his outstanding address on the motto "Some give away things they can replace but I give my time".

Stefan Drevikovsky 
Head of Middle School

The Year 10 students who are involved in the elective D&T course are producing very fine work for their skateboard projects.

Not only are the boys showing a high level of technical ability and excellent cooperation in the 'pressing' stages of their skateboards, but there is also a remarkable level of creativity and design flair on display, proof of the great potential of this group of students.

Several students have even taken up the challenge of designing or redesigning skateboard presses in order to produce their own new and unique longboard models.

One of the highlights of this project is the opportunity for the students to gain skills and experience working with a band saw.

All indications are that the finished products of this fantastic group of Redfield boys will look fantastic.

Leo Carol 
Head of D&T

Year 11 Mathematics Extension 1 students have hit the ground running this term with the topic of trigonometric identities. Proving relationships between trigonometric expressions using higher-level algebraic techniques is an excellent way to stimulate neuron growth. We wish the boys luck as they study such a challenging course.

Special mention goes to the syndicate "Punk Kings" which is leading the ASX Stockmarket Game.

Jason Ursino
Head of Mathematics

Please click on this link to view the fixtures dates, time and venue for winter sports.

Click on this link to register - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfAwH8mL6tjVkKGD6-j6ZrWisKPz16T8seBReMlQxOitd1dxQ/viewform