Our Primary school students took part in an array of events including wellbeing workshops focused on building strong friendships and connections, fun games at the end of each day, a gratitude wall and, most importantly, no homework for the week (instead they had to connect with their families members each day)! All agreed, however, the highlight of the Primary Wellbeing Week Calendar was our mural competition on Wednesday. Each class spent the first half of the week planning and designing their wellbeing mural and had a period on Wednesday to put their ideas into action using chalk. The quality of these artworks was simply amazing. As such, our judges had a hard job deciding which mural was best as they were all fantastic. In the end, 4R took line honours for best Wellbeing Week Mural for 2025with their RUOK Collage Mural,2R was second with their Wellbeing Patchwork,and 6B came 3rd with Be Kind, Be Respectful. Congratulations to all Primary classes for their fantastic efforts.

Secondary school was equally abuzz with our students participating in a gambit of activities. Each year group was involved in a range of talks from:

• spiritual mediation with Fr PhilEliaswho talked about the importance of having a strong focus on gratitude for wellbeing
• ‘Counsellor’s Corner’ with our College Counsellor Mr John Soulemezis,who focused on the pertinent issues of friendship and bullying with our Year 7-10s, and importance of balance with our Year 11 students

In addition, Years 7-10 students participated in year-specific wellbeing workshops, each with a different focus - Year 7: Strong Relationships, Year 8: Resilience, Year 9: Reframing Thoughts and Year 10: Managing Stress.

The highlight of the week for a number of our secondary students was the various recess and lunchtime activities put on during the week. From rugby passing targets, our gumboot toss challenge (who knew boots could fly so far!), to Our Sponge the LeaderCompetition and the range of Staff v Student matches. The Staff v Student Ping Pong was a particular hit. This saw the COLA transformed into Ping Pong Stadium with 4 tables all hosting students trying to beat staff in a series of first to 5 matches. The competition was fierce - even seeing the staff champion Mr Michael Kairouzfinally being beaten by newly crowned ping pong king, Sebastian Lee. The Staff v Students Volleyball match was also one to remember. In a close-fought tussle of digs, blocks and spikes, to the cheers of an enthusiastic crowd in the COLA, it was the students who ended up claiming the day winning 2 sets to 1. The week ended with the Redfield Wellbeing Week Sport and Games Afternoonin which our students in Years 7-10 competed in their houses in a range of sports including volleyball, basketball, futsal and touch football.

Wellbeing Week also provided the opportunity for us to come together as a College community to spend time with each other and to think of others. During Admin, students from Year 7-9 students came together with Year 10-12 in their house to share a range of short conversations on important topics such as “If they could have any superpower, which would they have and why? Or “Best place they have visited, or would like to visit”. This provided a great vehicle to begin building connections between our junior and senior secondary students. On Wednesday, all students hung up their Redfield uniform and in its place they wore mufti to school to support St Vincent De Paul Homeless Appeal, with each student bringing in a donation item. A big thank you to all students for their generosity in supporting this fundraiser - the Vinnies Van was full to the brim! On Thursday, students shared a “break with a mate” enjoying a Kit Kat and conversation with a mate at recess, as well as a sausage sizzle and drink at our Lion’s Lunch. It was so wonderful to conclude the week by coming together to share a meal. Nothing brings people together more than food!

We did not forget about our wonderful staff. They enjoyed some beautiful barista made coffees (made by our resident coffee connoisseur Mrs Natasha Doherty) that were hand delivered to their classrooms on Tuesday and a smorgasbord of food at their Wellbeing Lunch on Friday.

A week like this could not take place without the hard work and dedication of many people. Thank you to Mr Darren Corke, Mr Jason Hatcherand Mr Corey Rawlings, along with our Primary teachers, for all their work in organising the range of fun and engaging wellbeing activities in the Primary School; to Mr John Soulemezisand Fr Phil Eliasfor all their efforts in preparing and delivering their talks to our secondary students. A big vote of thanks to our Year 7 and 8 House Captains for being our coffee uber delivery drivers on Tuesday and to our Year 9 and 10 House Captains for cooking up all the sausages on Thursday (a huge effort); to all our Year 12 Student Leaders who helped run and supervise the various recess and lunch time activities; Matta Hannafor giving up his time each day to take photos of the various events. A big thank you must also go to all our teachers for their support, help and accommodating their classes to attend the range of wellbeing workshops and talks, and their enthusiasm to be part of the student v staff volleyball match (a special shout out to Mr Colin Laifor coaching the staff team). Finally, to our Redfield men for the way they enthusiastically and positively engaged themselves in Redfield Wellbeing Week once again. This was so great to see. Well done to all. It was a great week.

Lions Awards

Congratulations to Liam Streeter (Year 9)on receiving his Bronze Lions Award at our last School Assembly. Bronze Awards are awarded to students who achieve 5 Lion Awards Nominations. This is testament to their consistent effort and demonstration of cardinal virtues of justice, prudence, temperance and fortitude. Congratulations Liam.

David Vassallo, Head of Pastoral Care & Service Learning

The short sides went on the inside between the long pieces. We nailed 3, 20mm nails into everywhere we glued the box. We then sanded the box so it was smooth on the top and bottom. Gluing the top and bottom on was the next step. We used clamps to hold it together. We drew some lines over the edge where the rest of the box was but roughly 5mm off the edge. We then nailed some 12mm nails into the box on the lines we drew before, it was 6 on the long sides and 4 on the short sides. We used a coping saw to cut the excess of the wood off but left just a little bit on the edge and used a wood rasp to rasp the rest. We then sanded the rest so it was smooth. We used a nail punch to punch all the nails in further. We puttied the all the holes where the nails are. We sanded the dried putty so it was flat and smooth. We then had to sand the whole of our boxes so it was really smooth and had no scratches in it. That is all we have gotten to so far but we will continue to work on this for the rest of the year.

Some things I enjoyed about this project was the disc sanding and hammering. The hammering was enjoyable because I found it fun to hit the nails into the box. The disc sanding was enjoyable as I found it fun to push the wood into it. Some new skills I learned doing this project are wood rasping, sawing and many more. Wood rasping is a tool that we use to scrape towards our boxes so they don't splinter. Sawing is just moving the saw forwards and backwards and letting the tool do its work. The hardest part was sanding by hand because it was annoying to do and took up a lot of time. To overcome this I just pushed through and kept on going until I finished.

Thank you for letting me share my story about making this with you.

Lachlan Palmer-Burton, Year 7

A big thank you to Mr Michael Kairouz, Mr Chris Tannaand Mr Jackson Ryanfor accompanying us on the camp and we are certainly stronger as a class after this experience. Trips like this remind us that we have fantastic nature around us in Sydney and it is important to frequently get off the devices and enjoy the outdoors. It was difficult coming to school the next day but it is clear that challenging journeys like this deepen friendships with your mates while discovering more about oneself.

On Monday morning, I had the privilege of presenting certificates to all students who participated. Winners received vouchers and tokens, which they were able to redeem at our annual Book Fair. Throughout the week, students visited the Primary Learning Centre to explore a wide range of books and stationery, further supporting the Redfield College Library. In addition, our Year 5 class proudly received published editions of the books they have been working on throughout the year – a milestone achievement for these young authors.

Book Week concluded in grand style with our combined Grandparents Day and Character Costume Parade. Year 2 and 3 delighted the audience with their traditional parade, while students in Years 4, 5, and 6 had the option to dress up – many of whom embraced the opportunity with enthusiasm. The celebrations were enriched by musical performances, including the Primary Choir and Junior Voices presenting Hakuna Mungu Kama Weweand Larger than Life, as well as the Year 4 and 5 Bands performing I.D.K. and Chariots of Fire. It was a fitting finale to a week filled with creativity and joy.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to all students, parents, and teachers for the energy, imagination, and support that made this year’s Book Week such a success. From the thoughtful projects and costumes to the shared love of reading, the week was a true testament to the spirit of our community. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the Primary staff for their valuable assistance in preparing these events. Planning is already underway for next year’s Book Week, and we look forward to celebrating with you once again. Until then, may your love of reading continue to inspire and enrich your lives every day.

Carlos Del Rosario, College Librarian