Week 2, Spring Term 2020
Dear Boarding families
I trust you are well and that the farmers among us are preparing for a big harvest over the coming weeks and months. I appreciate the long hours and hard work that goes into harvest and we cross our fingers for you with respect to the yields that this season may bring. I know that many of the boys are missing home a lot at the moment as they pine to be back home helping out.
We have had a great start to the term in boarding so far, with a lot of cause for celebration over the first fortnight. Our term started with a big celebration dinner for our graduating Year 12 boarders which occurred at the picturesque Freshwater Bay Yacht Club. Each of the graduating boys stood up and told us a short story about one of their mates and they gave each other a small gift. It was wonderful to hear the stories and to get a sense of the amount of respect that these boys had for one another. It was clear that the group had formed a real brotherhood and it was great for us all to get an insight into that special bond that the boys had created over their time in boarding. We also had a chance to hear a keynote speech from Mr Bradley about the boys whereby he had written a poem, with a verse about each boy as well as accompanying photos. The speech was both touching and hilarious in equal parts! It was a fitting time to thank Mr Bradley for all the great work he has done in boarding over the past 16 years and to wish him well as he takes on his next challenge, leading Cameron House in the day school.
The next day was March Out for our graduating group which was a very memorable ceremony for both the boys and their parents and grandparents as well all celebrated the great contribution that the leaving class of 2020 had made to our Scotch community and welcomed them officially into the Old Scotch Collegians. We have included a short video below that is worth watching.
Last weekend was also a big weekend for our incoming boarders, in fact it was a bit poetic that we had our Orientation weekend on the same weekend as our graduation ceremony. The cycle of life continues! It was a fantastic couple of days which saw our incoming Year 7s and 8s have a tour of the boarding precinct and the Middle School on the Friday afternoon before sharing a dinner together in the Dining Hall. It was a good chance for parents to meet and it was great to see the boys gel so quickly and run out to the playground and the ovals together making friends. I think we will have another very tight-knit year group on our hands! On the Saturday morning the boys did some academic testing whilst the parents and staff shared morning tea and went through a brief workshop about what to expect for next year. It was wonderful to have a few of our current families join us who already had older children in boarding at Scotch and I know that the new families really appreciated their insights into boarding at Scotch. The boys all received their iPads for next year a bit early so that over the next term we will be able to engage with the boys through online meetings to further help them get to know each other a bit better and answer any questions that they have about boarding next year. Our Welcome to Scotch Orientation experience is really special and we hope that all our new families feel well prepared and welcome in our community as the begin their boarding journey.
Last weekend our Head of Communications and Admissions, David Kyle, also took a group of our music ensembles to the Kojonup show to visit families out there and help contribute to the show. This weekend we head to Katanning Agricultural Show to do the same thing. We are hosting an event at the Premier Mill Hotel in Katanning tonight for our current, future and OSC families before heading to the show on Saturday. If you are in the area we would absolutely love it if you would swing by and say hello. We love seeing our families out in their own communities and it would be great to catch up right on the eve of harvest for a chat before work life starts to become very busy indeed for many of our families down in the Great Southern.
As always, please feel free to get in contact with any queries or feedback about Scotch Boarding and please come and visit us whenever you are in Perth. You are always welcome in our Dining Hall for a meal and we love to see our families around the place.
All the best
Jordan
March Out
Yr 12 Boarders Farewell Dinner
Katanning – Scotch Event
The Katanning Agricultural Show is being held tomorrow, Saturday 24th October 2020. If you are in the area, please come by the Scotch College stand and say Hi. The Pipe Band will be playing and marching and putting on a show. We would love to see you there!
If you are at a loose end this evening, join us at the Premier Mill Hotel for a family friendly get together.