Each student is encouraged to leave school better than he found it by setting high standards in all that he does, from the way he presents himself to his punctuality to lessons and his behaviour and contribution in class. By leaving his area neat and tidy (be it his desk in the classroom, his locker or the playground), he shows respect and generosity to others by creating an environment that is safe, supportive and conducive to learning where everyone has the ability to thrive.

2. Home

Home is an important place in which students can show generosity and service to others daily. Students are encouraged to leave home better than they found it by helping out with chores (without being asked or reminded) and keeping their room neat and tidy, but relationships and interactions with others in the home are also key. By ensuring effective and open communication, making a conscious effort to resolve conflicts with siblings in a fair and timely manner and making the effort to spend quality time with others free of any distractions, we can leave home better than we found it.

3. Relationships

To grow, strong relationships require generosity and selflessness. To help leave people better than they found them, students are encouraged to THINKabout their words and deeds and the impact these can have. This should be underpinned by five key principles:

• True – Do our words and deeds avoid spreading rumours, misinformation of falsehoods?
• Helpful – Do they assist a situation and offer support or constructive guidance?
• Inspiring – Do they inspire others positively to be the best versions of themselves?
• Necessary – Are they needed? Sometimes, the less said, the better.
• Kind – Are they respectful and do they treat people with dignity?

4. Community

At the heart of Redfield’s mission statement is the desire to empower our students to leave society better than they found it by getting involved and helping out. Students are encouraged to assist an elderly neighbour, be involved in their local parish, to involve themselves in a fundraising or community service project or to perform a random act of kindness for someone else.

To help reinforce this message with our students, Leave things better than you found themposters have been displayed around the school. House Patrons and mentors will revisit key ideas with the students throughout the term. I encourage each of you to discuss with your son how he can leave things better than he found them.

In terms of building a supportive school culture, it has also been great to continue visiting Admin groups to lay down my 'Deputy’s Challenge’ to Hydrus and Sirius this term. I have been so impressed by the energy, enthusiasm and camaraderie shown by these group as they work together to complete the challenges set before them. Well done, boys. Keep up the good work.

I wish you all the best for the term ahead.

David Vassallo, Deputy Headmaster

• A student’s hair should be:
  • neatly groomed at all times;
  • short enough that it cannot hang over the eyebrows and face and/or rest on the collar;
  • cut and styled so that the length of the hair on top decreases gradually and blends with the sides and back;
  • of a minimum length of 6 millimetres (No. 2);
  • moderate in length or style, so that it does not invite comment.
• No extreme hairstyles are permitted, including unnatural colouring of the hair. This includes but is not limited to shaved lines, mullets, undercuts, perms and bleached or coloured hair.
• The minimum length for a fade cut is 6 millimetres (No. 2) on the sides, which must blend with the hair on top. The lowest point of the cut should end at, or below, the tip of the ear (top).
• Sideburns must extend no lower than the bottom of the earlobe, no higher than the top join of the ear to the head, be squared off with a horizontal line at the bottom edge, be evenly trimmed to blend with the hairstyle, and be of an even width.

Personal Presentation

• Students are to be clean shaven at all times.
• Students are not to wear any jewellery such as rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings or studs, including clear plastic ones. Wristwatches are permitted.

We thank you for your assistance in ensuring that your sons look their best for Photo Day. Please note that students whose uniform and personal presentation do not meet the College's expectations may be excluded from having their photo taken.

As a family, we have enough; we have everything we need. We are a normal family. Our house is in no way a mansion; it is often messy but it is lived in, and often chaotic. We have three children. They are loud and messy, there is fighting, there are chores, there are arguments, and there are arguments over chores. We have busy lives, with both of us parents working. Hosting another person, in this case another child, would present challenges in terms of space, schedule adjustments and also budgeting. In all cases, the rewards were well worth the small sacrifices we each had to make.

Here are the benefits that we have found as a family that make hosting an international exchange student a no-brainer:

1.Cultural exchange

Our whole family learned about a new culture. Moreover, we learned it firsthand from someone in that culture, not from a book or from a Youtube video, but rather someone in living flesh who was present to answer even the most seemingly silly questions. (We encouraged all our children to ask questions, no matter how silly they thought they would be!) This made the children appreciate and understand a little bit of a different way of life, or, in some cases, it may have even made them appreciate what they have at home!

2. Widening world views

Learning about a different culture has the ability to foster understanding about different perspectives on global issues.

3. Language immersion

Hosting a student who speaks a different language is very interesting. Our children certainly learned a few Japanese words from our Seido students. In the case of Ramon, our Uruguayan exchange student, we were able to correct his English as well as learn some Spanish (in the case of my two younger children) and practise our Spanish (in the case of Noah and myself). It was very interesting to learn about little nuances between Latin American Spanish, and Spanish from Spain.

4. Family bonding

Sharing the home with an exchange student strengthened our family’s bond as we all had to work together to make our guest feel welcome and supported.

5. Educational enrichment

Hosting an international student gave us an insight into different educational systems. It showed us what some cultures tend to focus on, and how the academic lives of the students progress.

6. Lifelong connections

In our case, hosting Ramon from Monte VI in Uruguay was the turning point in this last and most important point (at least in my perspective). With the help of WhatsApp, Ramon’s mother and I initiated a friendship, with her reaching out with the natural motherly concern of having her firstborn son leaving home for a whole five weeks and staying with people she didn’t know. We started chatting even before he arrived, with her telling me what his favourite food was and me assuring her that I would learn how to make “milanesas” (crumbed meat or schnitzel).

With her I got to practise my Spanish, she got to practise her English. We had conversations about our families, and learned that we had a lot more in common that we had realised. She thanked me so much for having Ramon over, for treating him like a son, and I mirrored those thanks right back as I knew that Noah would be going to live with her at the end of Ramon’s stay here. We continued to communicate while Noah was over there, sharing photos and learning more and more about each other’s lives. Upon Noah’s return we created a whole new WhatsApp group for both of our families, cleverly named Fellés (a play on their last name, Ferrés, and our last name, Fell). We all chime in to greet each other hello every now and again and we promised that we would visit them one day.

That day came a few weeks ago. Adding Uruguay to our epic family holiday was the best thing we could have done. We met the Ferrés family in person. We spent five days in Uruguay. We heard Sunday Mass together, ate numerous meals together, had countless laughs, great conversations and some moments of utter disbelief that we were indeed there with each other in real life!!! We talked about how lucky our boys were to be matched in this exchange program and how much our boys had learned and grown and experienced through this opportunity.

And in that short span of time, the friendship that we had forged through the virtual space had cemented itself in real life. We now have lifelong friends and another family in another part of this world.

I would like to extend my gratitude to Stefan Drevikovsky who works tirelessly to keep this exchange program running. Thank you for matchmaking and putting the right boys with the right families.

I encourage my fellow Redfield parents to take up the wonderful opportunity to host and even endeavour to send your boys on the exchange! Host! Participate! This will be one of the best things you will do for your family!

Beatrix Fell, Year 10 Parent

We are incredibly grateful for the generosity and dedication of everyone involved, and we extend heartfelt thanks to each and every person who helped make Taco Wednesday a great success. We look forward to more fundraisers to come later this year.

Jacob Elias, Year 12 Hydrus Captain

We can use this underdog story as motivation to persevere through our sports and studies. If you’re not in the starting line-up in your sport team, don’t just give up and lose hope; train harder and show your coach that you’re capable enough to start. For studies, dedicate a little bit more time to each subject and I guarantee that you’ll be able to see an improvement in your marks. Everyone can improve in academics, whether your rank is first or last. Shock your teacher, the same way the Indiana Pacers continue to shock the world.

Most importantly, ensure you celebrate your wins, even if they are small wins, as it not only fosters a positive mindset, but boosts your motivation to continue the hard work.

Just remember, anything is possible.

Gabriel Choi, College Captain

A big thank you goes to Senior Constable Hart for sharing her time and expertise with our boys. I know our students benefited from her talk. Thanks also go to Christopher Fernandez(Year 10) for his vote of thanks to Senior Constable Hart on behalf of the Years 9 and 10 students.

David Vassallo, Deputy Headmaster

In the first game at 9:30am, the boys played against Rouse Hill Anglican College and won 5-1. The boys were happy with the result and there was some great play, including a flick pass to send one of our wingers over for a try. Twenty minutes after that, Redfield then went on to play against Hills Adventist School and swept them off the field with a comfortable 12-0 win. In the third match and last pool game, Redfield came up against Marsden Park. The boys were gathering momentum now, understanding each other and how we wanted to play. We were helped by having the biggest squad of any of the schools at the Gala Day and, thus, plenty of fresh legs to take over from the tired ones. In this game, we finished with an 8-0 win. The camaraderie amongst the squad easily morphed into good team play on the field. The Year 7 boys were now in the semi finals against Pacific Hills. We knew that this game was going to be more difficult than the previous games. After gaining the ascendancy in the first five minutes, however, Redfield was able to pull off a 7-1 win. The boys were delighted with the result which now put them in the final. We were to play Arndell College. Even in the final, we stamped our authority on the game early, and with some great tries and with our ability to sub players on and off with ease, we came out 6-0 winners.

We were the champions for the day - undefeated, conceding only two tries all day and averaging seven tries a match. The boys deserved the medals they received from the Hills Zone Sports Association for being the champions of the Gala Day.

Matthew Chee, Year 7 Touch Football Squad