Latest News

Monsignor Fernando Ocariz, Prelate of Opus Dei, visits the school

24 Aug 2023

Term 3 KPF with Dr Karen Bohlin

10 Jul 2023

Mother's Day 2023

15 May 2023

Redfield held its most remarkable Mother's Day stall to date, thanks to the exceptional efforts of Mrs Mejalli and her dedicated team. The event was filled with love, appreciation, and thoughtful gifts that left mothers feeling truly cherished. 

The wide array of offerings catered to every taste and preference, making it a delightful shopping experience. From cozy fluffy blankets to delightful cookie and coffee packs, stunning jewellery sets, and even trendy macramé craft packs, there was something for every mum to treasure. In addition to the heartfelt gifts, there were also exciting prizes to be won. Redfield extends warm congratulations to these lucky winners:

- 1st Prize: The Shalala family had the pleasure of winning a Family Feast at Baba Ghanoush Restaurant in Dural. 

- 2nd Prize: The Harb family snagged a $100 David Jones Voucher.

- 3rd Prize: The James family was fortunate to win a Portable Air Conditioner.

Redfield applauds the efforts of Mrs Mejalli and her team for their meticulous planning and execution, which contributed to the overwhelming success of the Mother's Day stall. The event provided an opportunity for boys to demonstrate their love and appreciation for their mothers, while also experiencing the joy of giving. We look forward to celebrating mothers in the years to come!

ANZAC Day

26 Apr 2023

Yesterday, Redfield College held a ceremony to pay tribute to the brave ANZACs who selflessly served their countries. The event took place in the COLA and brought together students, staff, and special guest Mr Paul Quinn, a former Staff Sergeant in the Australian Army and a cherished member of the Redfield teaching faculty. 

A highlight was the wreath-laying ceremony and a performance of The Last Post and Rouse by Raphael C, Year 10. As the ceremony drew to a close, the words "Lest we forget" echoed throughout the COLA. The phrase serves as a solemn pledge to remember and honour those who sacrificed their lives for the freedom we enjoy today.

Redfield College extends its heartfelt thanks to Mr Paul Quinn for gracing the ceremony with his presence, as well as to all the participants who made the event a moving and unforgettable experience. By commemorating the ANZACs, Redfield College continues to instil in its students a deep sense of respect, honour, and gratitude for the sacrifices made by those who came before us. Lest we forget.

Beyond Blue fundraiser

04 Apr 2023

Ordination of Old Boy Deacon Matthew Dimian

03 Feb 2023

On Thursday, 2 February, Redfield Old Boy Matthew Dimian (Class of 2010) was ordained to the Presbyterate by Bishop Vincent Long at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta.

Dad's night and BBQ

03 Dec 2022

Yesterday, our Headmaster, Mr Matthew Aldous, hosted a Redfield Dads BBQ night at the College! The weather was perfect for the event, which included a talk from Mr Aldous and a delicious feed!⁠
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We are so grateful to have a Headmaster who is dedicated to the school's parents. We truly believe that this is what sets us apart from other schools!⁠
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Thank you to everyone who came, those who organised the night, and especially to Mr Aldous for hosting! We hope to do it again soon!

Old Boy Simon Carrington speaks to the Secondary school

16 Nov 2022

On the 9th of Novemeber, Redfield Old Boy Simon Carrington (2010 Vice Captain) came to speak to our secondary students. He discussed topics like authentic masculinity, relationships and strategies to combat addictions.⁠

Simon is the founder of Fire Up Ministries, an organisation that delivers courses on similar topics to young adults. He spoke affectionately of his time at Redfield and was very open about his own struggles with confidence, mental health, addictions and a stuttering condition.⁠

It was a confronting topic, but Simon delivered a sincere presentation that was very practical, engaging and entertaining. Thank you for visiting Simon! We know the boys learned a lot and we hope you can visit again soon!

Redfield announces its 2023 Senior Leadership Team

04 Nov 2022

On Wednesday, November 2, the Senior Student Leadership Team for 2023 was presented to the College at a whole-school assembly. We are incredibly excited for the young men who have been selected for these positions in Years 10 to 12 for next year. 

Congratulations to our Collge Captain, Amin A, and our Vice Captain, Issac B. We also welcome House Captains Alexander K for Castor, Dominic N for Altair, Jack W for Sirius and Raphael K for Hydrus to the team. Finally, our Leadership Team consists of the Debating and Public Speaking Captain, Jamie L, the Community Service Captain, Dominic N, the Creative Arts Captain, Jayden C, and the Music Captain, James E. 

Student leaders are vital for a healthy school culture, setting the tone in academics, participation and personal character. This is even more important when considered in the context of our drive for a culture of excellence at Redfield, as excellence is lived out daily by students and teachers alike. Congratulations, gentlemen! We know you will lead with diligence, be strong role models for all and represent the College proudly. Good luck with your final year of school!

Japanese exchange students visit Redfield College

19 Aug 2022

In August 2022, Redfield had 15 visiting Japanese exchange students from our brother school, Seido Mikawadai, the twenty-sixth time that they've sent a delegation to Redfield.

During their stay, the students and their teachers had a jam-packed itinerary of cultural excursions. On their last day, they presented various aspects of Japanese culture to the Primary school during a special assembly, with Headmaster Mr Aldous presenting them with gifts and certificates, and finally serving their host families a barbecue lunch.

Planning is currently underway to send a group of nine students in Years 9 and 10 to visit Nagasaki in October this year. Thank you to the Redfield families who generously volunteered to host the Japanese students and teachers this year.

Primary Social Justice Group

23 Jun 2022

On Wednesday, June 15, the newly formed Primary Social Justice Group attended the inaugural Kindness Convention at Pymble Ladies' College. Keep reading to hear a recount from one of our boys!

Those of us lucky enough to attend were motivated by a group of inspirational people who all said that kids are the future. We heard a great speech by Jack Berne (the boy who invented the Fiver for a Farmer Day) and felt empowered to do great things. Jack told everyone how kids can make a difference in our world and challenged each of us to do something great in our own school community. We also heard from a mum named Danny Kinder talking about the legacy of her daughter Billie. She told us about the way her daughter looked out for others and really made a difference to those she met. Mrs Kinder reminded us that we have a duty to look out for each other and make our schools a better place. 

Inspired by our speakers, we set forth to do all of our group activities. The organisers had divided us into over 40 teams made up of boys and girls from every different school. My group's topic was “Swimming in Plastic”. We had to brainstorm some different ideas to reduce the amount of plastic in our oceans. Our end idea was called “Token 4 The Ocean”. The idea was that every year, on the 24th of May, you would go down to the beach and pick up a minimum of four pieces of plastic. You would then dispose of it to earn a token, which would result in some sort of coupon. 

After all the votes had been counted, we piled into the auditorium again and the people running the convention announced the winner of best project. According to the vote counter, my group won easily with the award for the best and most original project. It felt great to win and, once it was over, we were given small gift bags to take home. What was impressive was that Redfield was part of a few of the winning teams. 

It was a great day. We all made new friends and some of us were reunited with old friends. Special thanks go to Mr. Hatcher for driving us to and from the venue! We are very grateful for your efforts. The Social Justice Group is now inspired to make a difference in our world and we have a few projects in the works. Our first project for Term 3 is Squishy Chicken Day, where our Redfield families can purchase a family of chickens for families in Africa. We will share information with you next term! 

Alex S, Social Justice Group (Year 5R)

Year 9 class camp

08 Jun 2022

The Year 9 cohort recently went on a three-day bushwalk, learning the values of perseverance and comraderie. Read one of the student's reflections below!

An experience to remember!

That is possibly the most common expression of every single person who went on the Year 9 camp. There is no denying that this year’s camp was one of the hardest things I and most of the people in my grade have ever done. The camp was an expedition-style camp, meaning that every day involved walking. We carried everything we needed - our food, water, clothes, sleeping bag, tents, cooking equipment et cetera - and we walked a total of around 27 kilometres up and down rocky mountains. It was definitely hard and, at some points, many of us were discouraged and just wanted to give up, but we were encouraged to push on. When something is as physically challenging as this was, often our first instinct is to give up and say "It’s too hard", but, in reality, our bodies are capable of incredible things if we break out of the mindset of giving up and instead decide to persevere. This, in my opinion, was the single most important lesson this camp taught me: always persevere because this hardship will end. In fact, that was what I was telling myself the whole time, and, in the end, I as well as the rest of my grade completed this grueling task.  

But the camp wasn’t just rewarding because of the end result and the satisfaction of completion. It was also rewarding because it was an opportunity to spend time with not only my classmates but also our teachers in a setting most of us hadn’t seen them in. I can still remember many humorous experiences coming out of the camp, like watching Mr. Tanna perform a crazy witch laugh, something I never expected him to be able to do. Not only did humorous memories come out of the camp, but also many demonstrations of community and mateship that our school represents. For example, on the first night, the second group was running late and so, by the time they reached the site, it would’ve been 8:30 pm. As an act of generosity and kindness, the first group helped cook them dinner as well as set up their tents. Overall, between completing the walk and the humorous moments, this camp was, in hindsight, very memorable and rewarding! 

Raphael C, Year 9 

Year 7 Camp to Vision Valley

07 Jun 2022

From the 1st of June to Friday the 3rd of June, Year 7 went on a camp to Vision Valley. These camps are a great way for the students to spend time together, learn new skills in different environments, and most importantly, have fun! Here is the reflection from one of the students.

This camp helped us to get to know each other better and to learn about survival in the bush. On the first day, we arrived and got to know our group leaders, teammates, and roommates. Later in the afternoon, we participated in some really fun activities such as canoeing and a scavenger hunt. The following day, we woke up nice and early from the earthquake of noise from some overactive classmates in the hallway and quickly got ourselves ready for a climbing day. We had so much fun with the crate stack challenge and the vertical challenge! We finished the day with some sock hockey which was awesome!

On the final day, we made hot chocolate using survival cooking utensils. I just have to be honest when I say that it may have been the worst-tasting hot chocolate I've ever had, but the fact that we were drinking it while on our first high-school camp made it just a bit sweeter. We also did some initiatives which included using teamwork to try and solve survival puzzles. 

There were so many highlights of our Year 7 camp, that they would not fit in this story. By the end of camp, I was so sad to leave, and I’m sure that all my other friends were too, but these memories that we made will definitely be a topic of conversation (or rather a topic of laughter) for many, many years to come. We all send big thanks to the teachers, group leaders, and chefs for their amazing and hard work over the three days.

Paul M, Year 7

Mother's Day Mass

12 May 2022

Recently, we finally got to celebrate our annual Mother's Day mass again. With the COVID restrictions finally easing, it was lovely to be able to welcome so many of our mothers and grandmothers back to the sun-lit Redfield Chapel last week. It was standing room only and the boys were so excited to see their mothers walk into our celebration. Mother's Day is a day when we all stop and say "thank you" to our mums for all they do for us during the year. 

After our joyful Mass, the boys sang a heartfelt song to their mothers (led by Mrs Pensini) in the Atrium, which brought a tear to a few mothers' eyes. Congratulations to the boys who sang solo parts in front of so many people and to Roman G (Year 6) for playing the piano so well. 

After the performance, it was time for the mothers to be spoiled at the high tea celebration hosted by the fathers and Primary teachers, who wore very bright aprons while serving drinks and stocking the buffet tables. Thanks go to our wonderful team who really gave the Redfield mothers a special treat on this day. 

We hope that our community enjoyed this beautiful event and look forward to hosting a celebration for grandparents at the end of the term. Click here for the video!

Jason Hatcher, Deputy Head of Primary

Colour Mufti Day Fundraiser for Lismore

24 Mar 2022

Primary celebrates Harmony Day with a colourful show of support for Lismore

There may be over 700 kilometres between Redfield College and Lismore, but Year 6 student Jacob R did everything he could to bridge that gap by supporting the community devastated by the recent floods. Inspired by his family friend, the Bishop of Lismore, Greg Homeming OCD, Jacob wanted to help the members of the Lismore community who have suffered so much over the past two years.

Jacob, a strong advocate of Catholic social justice teaching, shared a video that he found of Bishop Homeming on the Catholic Weekly website with our school community. He was motivated to help those less fortunate and decided that Redfield needed to celebrate the colourful community of Lismore with a Colour Mufti Day.

Jacob shared the message that the parish of Lismore had not specifically asked for anything like food or clothing, but informed his peers that Bishop Homeming needed to raise money “to get back everything that has been lost”. The floods have caused millions of dollars' worth of damage to the city and that is why Jacob wanted to hold a Colour Mufti Day fundraiser at Redfield.

Selecting Harmony Week as the time to come together, Jacob, with the help of the Primary Social Justice Group, visited classrooms and spoke at the Primary Assembly. The Social Justice Group informed the younger boys that Harmony Day is a time to celebrate Australia’s cultural diversity and promote inclusiveness, with their key message being that "everyone can help!" The boys set forward to raise much-needed funds for Lismore and educate their peers that we can all do something to help others.

The teachers are very proud of Jacob and his team for gently raising this issue with the Primary students and raising an impressive $924.75. The group, led by Jacob, said they wanted our school to get behind the struggling community during one of the biggest crises the boys have seen in their lifetime, and they now hope more members of the Redfield community can support the Bishop’s Lismore Flood Relief Appeal. If you would like more information about this appeal, please check out the article published in the Catholic Weekly via the link below. The link also includes bank details for those wanting to assist Bishop Homeming and his community.

https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/lismore-bishop-launches-flood-appeal-after-very-tragic-days/

Jason Hatcher, Deputy Head of Primary

Year 12 Jerseys 2022

15 Mar 2022

On Friday, 4 March, a long-awaited event for Year 12 students was held in the Atrium: the distribution of their Class of 2022 jerseys.

Year 12 students receiving their jerseys is a College tradition that marks the transition into their final year of schooling, providing a personalised and visual point of difference in the College uniform. Designed by the students themselves, the jersey also emphasises Year 12's significance as leaders in the school, while allowing for some friendly joking with their jersey nicknames.

Importantly, this cohort's jerseys are emblazoned with the initials “Z.E.” in honour of Zack Egan who passed away in 2021. During the ceremony, the Class of 2022 presented a jersey to Scott and Jenni Egan, parents of Zack, who also received a portrait of Zack painted by Joseph B. This, in addition to the new memorial bench which has been installed in front of the College dam, made for a fitting tribute to their much-missed classmate. Mrs Egan spoke to the students about the importance of friendship and the value of unity in their final year and after school.

Our sincere thanks go to the Egan family for their attendance and example, and congratulations to the Class of 2022 for receiving their jerseys.

We look forward to a fantastic year ahead!

Year 12 Graduation Week 2021

03 Nov 2021

Week 3 saw the return of the Class of 2021 and the start of Graduation Week. This was a wonderful opportunity to farewell our Year 12 students in a way that celebrated all of their achievements while providing them with input about opportunities after the HSC. The theme for the week was 'Stay Strong', encouraging our young men to remain focused on their work ethic and resolute in their beliefs and, thereby, to put themselves in the best position possible for 2022.

Over the course of the week, Year 12 students heard from a variety of speakers from across multiple professions and industries. This included but was not limited to:

 - Journalism
 - Business Leadership
 - Accounting
 - Corporate Law
 - Health & Fitness
 - Trades (Plumbing/Electrician)
 - Organisational Psychology
 - Construction
 - Architecture

Speakers gave presentations on their experiences in these professions, particularly on how they started their careers, pathways they undertook and lessons they have learned in the process. 

Students were particularly amazed at the presentation given by George Peppou, CEO and Co-Founder of Vow Food. His company creates sustainable alternative food sources manufactured from protein cells. His vision for the company and the future of human food consumption is inspirational.

The week was not purely 'Future Focused', however. There was also an emphasis on 'Life & Family', with inspiring talks from Redfield Old Boys Rick Alloggia (Class of 1999) and Charlie Burfitt (Class of 2008), sharing their wisdom and experiences of marriage, family and the challenges of finding an appropriate work/life/family balance.

Finally, we celebrated our Year 12 students with a Farewell event held on Thursday afternoon. As usual, the occasion was bittersweet. While we are sad to see them leave, we are also incredibly proud of this grade for their growth and development into fine young men while navigating the challenges of the most disrupted HSC year in history.

Please keep the Class of 2021 in your prayers as they enjoy some final HSC study workshops in Week 4 and then prepare for the HSC Exams starting on Tuesday, 9 November.

Mark Anderson, Head of Senior School

The World's Greatest Shave

01 Apr 2021

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!

And of course, thank you to all the brave souls who offered up their flowing locks in the name of charity, and especially the teachers who led by example: Mr Anderson, Mr Boddy, Mr Del Rosario and Mr Fitzgerald!

We hope to continue to shape the students of Redfield into gentlemen who make a difference in our wider society, and we will continue to work hard to provide the events to do so!

Thank you all so much.

Allan C., Phillip A. and Maximillian J.
Redfield Community Service Leadership Team of 2021