Week 8, Spring Term 2021
Dear Boarding Families,
I want to start by thanking you all for working alongside us in boarding this year as we have cared for your sons in partnership. Unless people are in boarding, whether it is as a family or as a staff member, it is hard to fathom exactly what it entails. It can be all-encompassing and it runs 24/7. Together, we ride the highs and lows of school life as well as home life and all the extras – friendship group dynamics, differing levels of maturity, celebrating successes and personal milestones, learning from mistakes, not to mention an intense focus on ‘what is fair’. If you think your family home has siblings that care too much about who got a slightly bigger slice of cake or a slightly different consequence for misbehaving, try running a boarding house of 120 students from different backgrounds! But do you know what? We absolutely love it and we wouldn’t have it any other way! And, what is more, it works!
I have found myself reflecting a number of times this term, just how well the vibe is going in boarding at the moment. The boys are friendly and supportive towards each other and are generally pushing themselves to achieve their personal best. The staff have a wonderful balance of care and accountability for the boys and a professional approach to how different issues should be addressed. There is a consistency amongst the staff as to how to work alongside the boys which is not easy to achieve but is vitally important in a boarding community. Likewise, the level of commitment is outstanding. We simply could not function how we do if staff just did “what is required” but so often our staff go above and beyond, whether it is the extra hours that they put in beyond their roster, or taking an extra load such as Mrs Sullivan recently has with our orientation programme or Mrs Hannington has with running a couple of socials in the Middle School Boarding House on a Friday evening, or the countless hours Mr Hales, Mr Mecham and Mr Mellor put in to the boarding house and the mentoring of both staff and students. I would also like to thank the Boarding Mentors, Health Centre Staff, Catering staff, Maintenance Staff, Laundry Staff, and Mrs Usher from Boarding Admin for all the effort they put in to make our boarding community thrive. Yes, it is the season to be grateful, but we are truly lucky in boarding and I appreciate all the support that we get from staff and our families.
It is certainly the season to celebrate and to reflect. There are wonderful ceremonies happening on campus at the moment that celebrate the year and boys’ achievements. The recent valedictory dinner last weekend was a very special event for our graduating Year 12s and it was great to see the parents again as we celebrated the boys one last time. We also have our Middle School Valedictory evening coming up and our Senior School presentation ceremony. In boarding, we have our Christmas dinner this week which will be another time to pat each other on the back before we all file off for the school holidays. Our boys have had a good year and deserve to celebrate.
Speaking of boys’ achievements, I wanted to make mention of a few individual achievements from our boys in boarding. I am sure there are others that I have missed and I would love proud parents to keep me up to date with a text message or phone call when their boys do special things! 5 boarders have recently been selected for the Fremantle Dockers Next Generation Academy and have been playing scratch matches against the West Coast Team recently. Congratulations to Timothy Jorda, Rangga Evans, Jaezari Wynne, Jett Sibosado, and Tom Councillor-Dann. We also have Coen Livingstone who will be representing the mighty West Coast Eagles in that fixture! Congratulations to Jake Eidne-Brown who has been selected in the u/17 State Hockey Squad and has his induction into the WAIS this weekend. Other boys have been going remarkably well in the classroom, congratulations to Thomas Sounness, Eason Tian and Shunta Numano for achieving academic excellence this semester and Coen Livingstone, Brody Haywood, Sam McGinniss and Eli Blackburne and Cameron Bourne for completing their Certificate II courses. Shunta and Eason also recently scored incredibly well in an international chemistry competition, ranking in the top 25% of students globally! A big congratulations also to Oliver Gooding, Jayden Clarke and Mike Liu for recently achieving an IB Learner Profile award for displaying excellence in learner characteristics and congratulations to Hudson Hammond for achieving an industry award in the Senior School presentation night for consistency of effort and achievement in his full suite of subjects. Lastly, a huge congratulations to Shunta Numano, Tom Sounness, Kody Waters, Maxx Della Franca, George Purser, Julius Robberechts, Muddy Sgro, James Holtham and Jake Mackintosh for earning subject prizes at Senior School presentation night, meaning that they were the top student in their entire cohort for that subject. It is an incredible achievement and it is so good to see such a large number of boarders excelling at Scotch.
Last week I took the Year 12 Boarders’ Council to have a dinner with the PLC Boarding prefects so that they could discuss their year ahead and make some plans. They came up with some good idea for their Boarders’ Ball and also for PLC and Scotch’s respective Boarding Weeks. I want to alert parents to our very special Ag Day that is locked in for June 10th 2022. I am hoping that most seeding has been done by then and that parents can make the time to come down for the day. Ag day will be on a Friday and we will have marching down at the rugby oval in front of the boarding house. We are also planning on having a set of stalls to create our very own ‘country style’ show. We will be showcasing small businesses as well as career opportunities in the regions. We will also be showcasing our Indigenous programme and our international students’ contributions. I will really need parent help for this event so pretty please put it in your diaries! If you have a business and would like to book a stall, or if you have something to contribute to a raffle item or even if you would just be happy getting behind a barbeque and helping out, I would love for you to get in contact! I will send something out specifically about Ag Day in the new year, but please save the date and put your thinking caps on, we want boarding to really shine on that day! We will organise a parents thank you lunch at the conclusion of the event, which will be a good time to socialise.
Over the past couple of weeks the boys have been busy having fun on the weekends! Not only have they had a few socials with girls’ schools but the boys have also had a few clan games amongst themselves. Last weekend we had our annual paintballing event and you will be pleased to know that I did not get as many bruises as I thought I was going to get! The boys loved the day and there was a fantastic turnout. We had Stirling vs Blair, split into 4 different teams and had a morning of fun. Days like these fill the boarding houses with stories which last a long time and creates a strong bond between year groups. Next term we have booked Adventure World for the boys which will hopefully be just as popular. I think it’s really important that the boys go on recreation events on the weekends and stay in boarding, not always look to go out on leave. Recently we have also had Shearer House come down and visit us in boarding for a couple of games of soccer, a tour of the boarding house and a barbeque. It was great to see the Shearer boys come down and it was even better to see that the Shearer house boarders chose to play for their boarding clans against their House! Good to see the boarding House pride ringing loud and clear! On Wednesday of this week we had another clan game where Stirling and Blair squared off in a game of softball and the Middle School boys squared off in another game on the neighbouring field. A good time was had by all and well done to Blair for getting the chocolates! Next week Mr Hales and Mr Mecham will be taking their groups out to the beach for fish and chips to celebrate the year.
Finally, I ask that all families, as they are planning to collect their boys for the long break, prepare for their boys to take as much home as possible. We need bedrooms empty so that they can get a thorough clean over the break and so that boys can have a go at thinning out the amount of stuff that they have in boarding! We will allow each boy to store one box of things in our downstairs storage room, but we need bedrooms empty. May families please help bring all the boys’ things home for the holidays. I also want to mention that boys won’t be receiving a written boarding report this year. If parents would like to check in on their sons’ overall progress in boarding, please give you Head of Residence a call, like you can do at any time, and have a chat. We have found it difficult to align boarding reports with the statement of results that boys now get for their academic reports. Written boarding reports or online parent meetings are something we are looking at bringing back in 2022 but we haven’t been able to make it happen this year.
I wish all of our boarding families a restful and fulfilling festive season and I hope you all get a nice holiday or ‘staycation’ with family. Thank you again for an incredibly rewarding year and, on behalf of all the staff in boarding, we wish you all the very best
Jordan
Boarding Christmas Dinner
Last night was the Boarding Christmas dinner and what a great night we had. Boys were allocated seating and were served by the Hospitality students under Mrs Bloodworth’s supervision. The Catering team did a fabulous job and we had roast dinner with all the trimmings, Christmas jelly dessert and a wonderful gingerbread house which Trevor opened up with a mallet. Thank you Jordan for our wonderful gifts, we very much appreciate you too!
Shearer House visit
Mr Galipo‘s Shearer house came to visit on Friday afternoon. Shearer House produced two teams and we played a round robin competition of three games on the “Sacred Turf” (Rugby field). What the games lacked in skill was made up for with enthusiasm, and the mixture of older and younger boys playing together added to the festival like occasion. Ben Riggs and Rhys Poole playing in Ugg boots, added to the spectacle.
Stirling Clan narrowly won it’s three games, with one going to a penalty shoot-out, whilst Blair and the two Shearer teams each won one game. The plan to have a grand final did not eventuate, but instead a penalty shoot-out occurred with mate versus mate. Very quickly any notion of keeping a score was lost, and after most boys had had a go a draw was declared. A notable highlight was Mr Owenell representing the boarding-house versus Mr Galipo representing Shearer house. After 4 shots each it was decided to call it a draw as the level of accuracy was waning as fatigue set in.
The Shearer boys were then invited to a barbecue and were shown around the house. This was a good activity played in excellent spirit. A big thank you to Captain of Boarding Kalib Dempster-Park, a Shearer boy, for organising the event.
RJAH
Middle School Residence in action
A few photos of the MSR in action, which Christmas craft, fun in the amphitheatre, Christmas social with St Hilda’s and online Orientation with Ms Grech.
Last Marching for the year
Kalib Dempster-Park led the school in the last Friday morning marching for 2021. It is a great honour to be asked and he did a fantastic job.
Scotch and PLC Boarding Leadership dinner
Orientation for Yrs 7, 8 & 9 2022
A big Welcome to our new Year 7, 8 and 9 starters for 2022. They enjoyed a sleepover in the Middle School Residence on Sunday 28th November before joining their year group cohorts at Middle School Orientation and Yr 9 Transition Day in the Senior School. We look forward to welcoming you next year into boarding.
Blair vs Stirling – Softball
After 2 runs each in the first innings, Blair racked up 7 people home in their second innings to Stirlings 3 to take a 4 run lead.
But Stirling came back in the 3rd innings with a 5-1 home run tally to even up the scores at 10 -10. The 4th innings started poorly for Blair with no runs. Stirling had Rory Purser on Base 3 early in their 4th innings but could not get him home and the scores remained locked at 10 -10.
Finally Blair got 3 runners home in the 5th innings. Stirling stepped up to bat and got players on bases before Noah McCreery pulled off a double play, catching out the batter then swiftly throwing to Base 2 to run out Stirling Captain Tom Sounness. Despite bringing on pinch hitter Ed Graham, he was run out at Base 1 and so Blair won the game 13-10.
Dockers Next Generation Academy
NGA Match: Tendai Mzungu Squad
Golf at Cottesloe Golf Club
Within the boarding community, golf is gaining head way and popularity with boys frequently heading to the Wembley driving range or Lake Claremont’s small golf course to play. Recently the boarding community was offered a to play a round at the prestigious Cottesloe Golf Club. Hudson Hammond, Lachie Willmott, Lochie Mactaggart, Toby Jones, Tyler Messina, and Noah McCreery, were able to experience playing on a highly regarded as well as popular golf course. Edward, the Cottesloe golf clubs pro, who is a scratch golfer assisted & followed the boys, providing tips and technical advice. There was certainly plenty to see, whether it be long drives, nifty chip shots and some seriously good putts. However, there was the odd shank, slice, hook, skinny, chunky monkey and the dreaded Airey, but this did not deter the boys, who were committed to complete the course. The experience at the Cottesloe Golf club has fuelled the boys desire to return to play the course.
Mitch Clarke – Boarding Mentor
The Perth Wildcats have signed Boarding Mentor Mitch Clarke, who works in the “Big House”, as a development player for the 2021/22 season-opener.
Clarke has been a part of the Wildcats Academy and pre-season training squads since 2018 and impressed at the recent NBL Blitz pre-season tournament in Tasmania.
The Scotch College ex Captain of Basketball is thrilled to be added to the Wildcats 2021/22 roster. Mitch is the current coach of Scotch’s 2nds Basketball team, and was an assistant coach of the successful Scotch 1st XVIII Football. In the Athletics season he was a specialist discus coach for the very successful throws team.
Mitch Clarke will wear the number 41 uniform when the Wildcats open their season on Friday night at RAC Arena.