Week 6, Spring Term 2022
Blog 17 November 2022
Dear Boarding Families
I hope you have enjoyed the past fortnight, no doubt working hard and looking to the finish line, whether it be for harvest or for the end of school! The boys certainly do feel the length of this term given that there is no mid-term break and there is often a lot of excitement and business back home. This year, PLC trialled an unofficial mid-term break for boarders. School and boarding were still open but there were no assessments allowed on either the Friday or the Monday so that the boarders had a chance to get home if they wanted to. I think this is a great idea, however, there are difficulties with it being implemented at Scotch due to our PSA fixtures.
We have quite a few events on the horizon in the next fortnight that I want to let parents know about. Firstly, we are planning a Barbeque on Tuesday 6th December 5:30-7:30pm for Senior School families. It was initially going to be a Year 12 function, but we have decided to expand it to include all senior boys and parents. It is the evening before the last day of school for the senior schoolboys, so we are hoping families will be up in Perth to pick up the boys the next day. The Middle School boys and parents will have Middle School Speech night that night. The barbeque will be a relaxed atmosphere and a good chance for parents and boys to say a final farewell to Mr Hales, who leaves us at the end of the year. Please let us know if you are coming to the Barbeque and register via the following link: https://calendar.scotch.wa.edu.au/event/5510471
Next week at our boarding assembly on 23rd November, the Year 8 boys will be informed of their Senior School Clan. We will announce whether they move to Blair Clan with Mr Mellor, Mr Wood and Mrs Seaby or Stirling Clan with Mr Montgomery, Mr Ninkov and Mrs Garraffa. It will be a special part of our fortnightly assembly. A follow up letter will be sent to Year 8 parents the next day.
On Wednesday 24th November, the Year 12s have organised an event to get the day boys down to the boarding house called “Bring a mate to dinner”. The basic plan at this stage is that each of our Yr 12 boarders invites a friend to stay behind after school and hang out as a boarder for an evening. We will have some activities in the afternoon, dinner together and then activities for the first half of prep before the day boys get collected and everyone gets some study time after 7pm. I think it’s a great initiative and hopefully a successful experience so that we can open it up to other year groups in 2023. This will be our pilot project! It is great to see the Year 12 boarders’ council coming up with ideas to showcase the joys of boarding to the wider community.
Next weekend on 26th November we have our annual paintballing rec activity for the boys and it is one of our few ‘closed’ weekends. I ask that parents discuss this with the boys and support the event. Tell them it’s a chance to shoot their teachers! The boys always have a great time. They will be allowed Leave on the Sunday 27th or even that Saturday evening if they need to.
On the Sunday 27th there are also a few things happening! It is Orientation day for our incoming boarders including a sleepover experience in their 2023 boarding house. Our incoming Year 7s will come to the boarding house on Sunday afternoon and sleepover before having a day at school as a Scotch boy the next day. They will meet their teachers and spend time in their classrooms for next year. Our current Year 8s will also have their first sleepover in the Senior House on the Sunday evening and then have a similar orientation experience in the senior school that day. They will get to meet their house head and other important people as they prepare for senior school next year.
As you can tell, we love being busy in boarding! If you were to look inside the Middle School boarding house this week, you would see that their latest pet project is about to hatch! The Middle School boys have been incubating eggs for the past three weeks and the word on the street is that they are due to hatch this Sunday! The chickens have homes already booked and there is plenty of excitement building the house in anticipation for hatching day. A big thank you to the Chadwicks for the eggs and the Coopers for the incubator!
Our Senior House is a bit quiet at the moment as we have two year groups out on the Bibbulmun Track. For our Year 12 cohort, this is their second last walk before they get to Albany next term! Mr Mellor, Mr Gill and I were fortunate enough to have a zoom meeting with Dr Arne Rubinstein this morning to discuss our Bib Track programme and how important is to us. We have engaged with Dr Rubinstein to consult with us throughout 2023 to continue to strengthen this programme for us as a key Rite of Passage. Dr Rubinstein is the founder and leader of the Rites of Passage institute and a preeminent thinker in this area, it was a real privilege to meet him. He will be visiting us in person next week as he is over in Perth for a conference. I encourage parents to visit his website and to read his book “The Making of Men”. We are using his theories on Rites of Passage to help inform and develop our Bib Track programme. To have him agree to work with us in person is extremely exciting!
Last weekend Dr O’Connell, Mr Mecham and I had the pleasure of travelling down to Albany to visit families in the region and to attend the Albany Show. We had a great time and enjoyed catching up with our current families, Old Scotch Collegians and prospective families who are keen to find out what Scotch is all about. Dr O’Connell also hosted a lunch in Kojonup on the way down to Albany which was a good opportunity to connect with our families in that area. A big thank you to all of those who made an effort to see us and to recommend us to others.
I wish families all the very best over the next few weeks and look forward to hopefully seeing you in person at the end of term.
Jordan
Year 7 on Bib Track
In the past few weeks different year groups went on Bib Track. The boys share tents, enjoy the amazing views, campfires, cooking food and enjoy each others company. Mia went with the Year 7s and took the amazing photos below.
Year 8s on Bib Track
Year 11s on Bib Track
Year 12s on Bib Track
Jett, Harrison, Azhar and Lochie at Coalmine Beach, Walpole.
Volleyball
Well done to our volleyballers who competed in the Volleyball High School Beach Competition.
Clan Games
After dinner, the senior boys organised and played their Clan Games. Tactics were discussed and the boys had a good night.
Perth Aqua Park
The Middle School House went to the waterpark in Baldavis. It was a bit cold but the boys enjoyed themselves. We saw front flips, back flips, “chasey” and a lot more!
The Egg Incubator
The eggs are laid out in the incubator, ready to hatch on this weekend!
Afternoon Tea with Waffles, Fruit, Biscuits and Croissants
New Year 10 boys playing basketball
This Morning in the Middle School House
Boys fixed up the Christmas tree, some of the boys tried a two minute meditation with Fran and Sean showed us his medals that he won with Karate back in the days at the National Championships.
Perth Zoo and the Movies
A few weeks ago the Middle School went to the Perth Zoo and movies. A Rainy but good day!