Week 5, Spring Term 2019
A very hot week for us here in Perth and we are guessing that may have been the case for most of the regional areas. The Year 7 and 8’s cooled off on Tuesday with a trip to the beach while the rest of us hid inside in the air conditioning. We even had ties off for a couple of days because of the heat!
That concludes Week 5 and with only three and half weeks to go the count down is on! We only have the IB exam boys left in the House with all the others now finished and preparing for leavers – good luck Dunsborough!! With the Year 11’s and Year 12’s out on Bib Track, the Senior House has been a bit like a ghost town – absolutely no excuse for not getting any work done. If you have not confirmed your son’s travel plans for the end of the year can you please do so as soon as possible.
Congratulations Yarlalu Thomas
Though not a boarder during his time at Scotch, Yarlalu certainly had an impact on our Indigenous boarding boys and this year has been working as a tutor and mentor within our Residential Community. He took a year off from his studies in Medicine before embarking on further studies next year. Yarlalu was last week named the Young Western Australian of the Year and is now a contender to win the Young Australian of the Year award. We are privileged to have had Yarlalu working with us for the past year and we hope that he keeps in contact with us over the coming years.
Bib Track
Our first groups of Bib Track adventurers return today after six days walking in the South West of WA. The Year 12’s, with Matt Bradley and Kate Webster-Blyth, went from Inlet Road to Peaceful Bay and now they only have the walk into Albany to complete their Bib Track journey. The Year 11’s were accompanied by Ash Keatch and Outdoor Ed Staff member Katie Guy and walked from Palings Road to Northcliffe. Richard Hales travelled down on Tuesday to stay the night with the group at Pemberton.
The Year 8’s and 10’s head off on Saturday with the 8’s moving from Randall Road to Dwellingup. As this group is quite large they are being split into two and walking from opposite ends. Richard Ledger, Jonathon Rugg, Keiran Simpson, Tristan Mann and Rochelle Gaudieri will be joining these boys for this section of the walk. The Year 10’s (Year 9’s) are on their way from Dwellingup to Collie for a 7 day epic journey and they will be joined by Sean Mecham, Steve McLean, Amber Flynn, Rhys Holdman and Shaye Pett.
A big thank you to all staff who are attending these walks and the Outdoor Ed team for organising everything.
Online Medical Records – Update
It is timely, with the boys walking the Bib Track, to check your son’s medical records online at Home.Scotch.wa.edu.au and click on the Medical Update icon to complete the required details.
Year 10 Tomorrow Man
The Year 10’s (Year 11’s) will have their last session of Tomorrow Man on Monday 3 December. The boys have slowly grown throughout the program and we are starting to see them trust each other more and, therefore, their depth of sharing has improved. We are looking forward to seeing how the session concludes.
Albany Show
Richard and Fran enjoyed their time down at the Albany show as they did at the lunch hosted by Ronael Humphris who lives in Beaufort River. Both Richard and Fran were very appreciative of all who stopped by to say hello.
Paintballing
On Saturday 7th December we will be holding our annual Paintballing Day. This is the final activity that we do as a Residential Community for the year and it is the only activity that we request all boys to attend. As per previous years we will be leaving the College at around 7.30am and will return by 2.00pm. The boys will play 4 paintball games, receive 600 paintballs, receive a sausage sizzle for lunch and have the pleasure of trying to shoot as many staff members as possible!! The cost for the day will be $50 with this being added to each boy’s accounts. This cost covers 50% of the fee with the Residential Community covering the other half. It has been the highlight of our calendar over recent years and the banter has already begun for what is set to be a great day!!
Holiday Travel Arrangements – End of Year Information!
Now that we are back and in full swing your attention should be (that is, if your son flies home) on the end of the year. With school having different finishing days for each Year Group it is important that you know what date your son is finishing so that you book the appropriate train or plane.
The Middle School like to have all Year 8 boys here for the Middle School Speech Night because predominantly the night is designed to say farewell to the Year 8’s. We will be keeping the Boarding House open on this night for those Year 8 boys who need to stay on and will organize transport to the airport or train station the following day. If you need any help with understanding when your son is due to leave, then please feel free to contact Michelle or Jan.
The same could also be said for any Year 9 to 12 boys who might receive an award at Speech night on the last day of the year. We will keep the Boarding Houses open that extra night and provide transport on the following day so the boys can attend if they wish.
We hope you all have a great weekend!!