Week 4, Summer Term 2021
Dear Boarding Families
I hope you are looking forward to a relaxing long weekend, it seems as if the first half of this term has whizzed by! We have had a lot to celebrate, including the Year 12 Ball and the famous Yr 9 Rottnest Camp. We have also had some fantastic recreation events over the past two weekends, a mobile mini golf set up and a trip to Adventure World. The boys have settled in well and there is a buzz around the community. Next week we will have the first of our themed dinners, which will be a celebration of Chinese New Year! This is an initiative set up by our students and supported by our catering department and I can’t wait to enjoy our ‘festival of lanterns’ within the boarding community. Many of our Chinese students haven’t been home since January in 2020, so I am sure that this celebration will be very special for them and it is a chance for us to pay testament to their courage through trying times.
If any families are heading to Albany for the long weekend, please come along to our Boarding function on Friday night and have the opportunity to speak with Dr O’Connell and Mr Hales. Light refreshments are provided. The next morning, the Yr 12 boys walk into the Southern Terminus of the Bibbulmun Track to the sounds of the bagpipes which will be another event worth coming along to.
At the end of term, we have organised for our traditional Boarding Parent Sundowner on the 31st March. We hope that you can please save the date and an invitation will come out next week for that. The next day, on the 1st April, we will set up a Boarding Parent Support Group meeting which will be a good opportunity to discuss how the year has begun in boarding from a parent perspective and look at plans for the future.
By all accounts, the new Clan system in the Senior School Boarding environment has worked very well and the Year 9s and 10s have settled into the ‘Big House’. They have enjoyed a few of the extra privileges that come with being in the Senior School, such as having their bikes in the bike shed and being able to go on local leave during the week when they aren’t playing sport. It has also worked well that, although the boys have been divided into two vertical clans, they are still together in year groups when it comes to their bedrooms and common rooms. The year 12s have led the Clans well and we have even had our first ‘Clash of Clans’ event, with Stirling coming out the winners in the mini golf!
One thing of note that I have been particularly impressed with this term is the way that our Assistant Heads of Residence, Mrs Sullivan, Mr Wood and Mr Ninkov have been able to organise our academic tutoring programme. It has been well set up and the boys are utilising the help that is available. I encourage parents to continue to discuss our tutoring options with your sons and alert our staff if your son expresses that he is struggling in a particular subject.
Finally, a big congratulations to the following boys for their participation in the recent Quads Swimming Carnival. The resurgence in Scotch swimming continues! Well done to Jarrad Coppen, Tom Falconer-Radford, Harrison Hammond, Oscar Rogers and Ben Simpson for representing the School at the carnival.
I trust that families will enjoy their long weekend and I very much look forward to welcoming boys back on campus for the second half of the term.
Jordan
Yr 12 Ball Before’s
If you would like to view more Ball photo’s please go to https://au.vidigami.com/scotchwa/albums
And don’t forget the Yr 10 Boarders who waited tables all night
This is before they started!!
CLASH OF CLANS – Mini Golf
Congratulations to Stirling Clan!!
SCOTCH ON THE ROAD – ALBANY
Yr 9 Rottnest Camp
The Year 9’s went to Rottnest with their House Heads on Monday and are on their way back on the Ferry.
Boarders’ Wellbeing Programme
REMINDERS
Please remember to update your son/s Online Medical information by going to Home.Scotch and clicking on Medical Information check. This information is required by the Health Centre, as well, Outdoor Education and the Boarding Houses. It should be updated every 3 months.
Name badges – please always wear your parent name badge when on Campus and at parent functions, assemblies and when picking up your son/s from the Boarding Houses. If you have misplaced or lost your parent name badge, you can order a new one at a cost of $25 per badge.
If leaving early from School at Mid term breaks or end of Term, please don’t forget to let the Middle School Reception and Senior School Absentees know. They mark school attendance, and need to know where boys are at all times.