Week 8, Summer Term 2023
Dear Boarding Families,
We hope you have enjoyed the past two weeks and you are looking forward to the upcoming school holidays. We have had an enjoyable time in boarding and the boys are settled in a productive routine. There have been a few assessments in the last little while that have taken the boys’ focus and I am sure that there will be a couple more in the final weeks of term before they get a well-earned break.
I wrote in my last blog about our tutoring programme in boarding and our staff ratios. I hope you got the time to read that paragraph and please let us know if there are any questions in that regard. We are committed to every boy getting the opportunity to extend themselves and reach their potential, tutoring in prep is not only available for boys who are struggling, but also for every boy to try and reach their goals. If you have checked your sons’ recent results and had conversations with him about seeking help, please let your Head of Residence know and we can arrange individual or small group tutoring for him. One of the advantages about boarding is that there are often a handful of mates who are doing the same assignment as you, and there is a great opportunity to grab a couple of friends, grab a tutor, and use one of our tutoring rooms in prep to make a plan and do some collaborative research.
At the start of next term, the senior boys have an important examination period and it won’t be long before Year 9s have their first examination period and then Year 10s will have to finalise their course and subject selections for the next academic year. As well as our House Heads in the day school, all of our Senior Boarding staff, either Heads of Residence or Assistant Heads of Residence, are experienced teachers and are very willing to help boys and parents with any questions during this important time in the school year.
Our weekend recreation schedule has been jam-packed this term, which has been great to get the boys out and about in Perth. We have been catching up with boys and girls from other schools as well as going out to a wide variety of activities. We also realise the need for our boys to have down time on the weekends, so it is always a careful balance. We want to provide great activities for the boys, but we don’t want to have them running at 100 miles an hour all the time and then exhausting them for school the next week. With the Eagles and Dockers back on the big screens, we sense that many boys will want to watch them on the weekends for the next couple of terms. I would like to take the chance to thank Mr Chris Stretch for all that he does to organise our recreation programme. A big one that is coming up for our Year 7 cohort, whilst the Year 8s are on Bib track, is to take our Year 7s to Rottnest for a day trip on Sunday 2nd April. We will catch the ferry there in the morning, ride bikes around to a couple of beaches and then catch the ferry home in the afternoon. Boys will not really require anything other than a towel, hat and water bottle but if they want to bring their own bike helmet and set of goggles, they are most welcome to. I am sure there will be boys in our boarding house that haven’t been to Rottnest before, so we are looking forward to showing them a place that is close to the hearts of many of us that live in Perth.
I was lucky enough to accompany 3 of our Year 12 leaders to a special dinner last weekend, with Perth College hosting boarding leaders from all the different boarding schools for a dinner and a chance to ‘compare notes’. We were lucky enough to have a guest speaker address the group before a lovely dinner and then a round table brainstorming session. The three boys that represented Scotch enjoyed their time seeing friends and meeting new ones and discussing issues in common. I was very proud of the way in which the boys represented our community.
This Sunday we have our Year 9 group going out on Bib track with Mr Montgomery and Mr Holdman from Outdoor Ed. The boys will be walking from Collie to Balingup. This was the leg that almost broke me in my first year at Scotch when I was walking with the current Year 12 group, it was a very humbling experience! However, I will never forget the red-tailed cockatoos that flew with us every day and the way in which the boys interreacted on the track. You may see that in this week’s Farm Weekly, there is a feature on Scotch College’s Bibbulmun Track programme which I urge you to read.
I want to alert parents to the fact that Scotch is currently experiencing very strong enrolments in boarding, which is excellent. However, if you have younger son/sons can we please encourage you to register them via this link, and please reach out to Admissions if you require further information at admissions@scotch.wa.edu.au. It might also be worth speaking to any friends in your communities who are thinking of Scotch as a preferred boarding school in future years, that we would love to come see them and show them the campus as soon as possible. Our enrolments for next year are at capacity in the Middle School House and enrolments for 2025 are already filling up fast.
Finally, this year Scotch is hosting an ANZAC Day Dawn Service at the Gooch Pavilion. Scotch College’s community-based Dawn Service is open to all. We are gathering to reflect on the past and connect with the local community while expressing our respect and gratitude for our armed services, both past and present. The Service will be held on the Memorial Ground, which is a symbolic place for Scotch College. Opened in 1925, the Memorial Ground was built in part by the students of the school, working on weekends, to commemorate Old Scotch Collegians who had fought and died only a few years before in the First World War. 475 OSCs had enlisted to fight by the end of the war, which was over half of all Old Boys at that time. 72 former students and four staff were killed in that conflict. Guests are asked to arrive at the Gooch Pavilion, Scotch College Memorial Playing Fields from 5.30am for pre-service contemplation, with the service commencing at 6am sharp. Please register here.
I wish you all a fantastic weekend and good luck to our boys, especially our Year 12s, in the final PSA fixtures for summer sport. A special congratulations to our rowers who did us all proud at the Head of the River last weekend.
All the best
Jordan
Farm Weekly article
Middle School Residence
World’s Greatest Shave
Raising funds for the Leukaemia Foundation has never been easier. Mr Gill and 40 Middle School students sat down for a shave last Tuesday lunch time.
Proud to say we had some Senior and Middle School Boarders get involved. Across all three sub schools, to date over $155,000 has been donated. You can still donate at the link Leukaemia Foundation – Scotch College
Work in Progress
Visual Art classes with Mr Mecham look like lots of fun.
PSA Inter-School Swimming
Congratulations to our Scotch Boarders that swam at the PSA Inter-School swimming carnival. A great win for Scotch, the first in 38 years!
Alexander, Lochie, Ben, Rhama, Aubrey and Van – well done!
All School Boarding Leaders dinner
Perth College hosted an All Schools Boarding Leaders dinner on Sunday night. Lochie, Jett and Jensen attended with Mr Owenell. After dinner groups worked on answering questions around what routines etc each school has.
Senior School Residence
Clan Games
Flu Vaccines
As the Flu season is approaching, the College is offering free flu vaccinations to all boarders.
We strongly advise that all students take up this offer to help protect the boarding community.
Getting a flu vaccine is the best way to protect against the Flu.
GP’s on Bayview will be in the Health Centre on Wednesday April 5th from 7am – 9am to administer the vaccine to the boys.
Attached below is the consent form that must be completed and returned to the Health Centre by Wednesday March 29th.
Please take the time to read the consent form as it conains information regarding the vaccine.
Completed forms are to be returned to the Health Centre or via email at Fiona.Richmond@scotch.wa.edu.au
Reach Holiday Travel Arrangements
It is almost the end of term, and boys need to have their holiday leave entered into Reach.
The last day of Summer term is Thursday 6 April. Senior School and Middle School finish at 12:55pm, but the boarding houses remain open during the afternoon for boys that have late flights etc.
Boarders are returning on Tuesday 25 April, which is ANZAC day. The houses will be open from 3pm and we will be picking up boys from the airports and bus / train stations during the day.
Below is the attachment of instructions on how to add leave in Reach for Holiday Travel. We wish you a wonderful stay with your son/s.