Week 3, Spring Term 2023
Dear Boarding families,
As this is the first blog of the term, it has certainly been a busy first three weeks! Plenty of action and plenty of fun being had. As well as all that has been happening in boarding, it is important to note that Senior School boys have also all changed their academic year, so everyone has new teachers and new subjects to learn.
Graduation/ March Out
Our first week of Spring Term largely revolves around graduation ceremonies for our Year 12s, including special breakfasts and dinners, exam hand back and final preparations and then culminating in Assembly and March Out on Friday.
The night before March Out the parents and boys of Year 12 had our graduation dinner at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, which was a fantastic evening. The beautiful setting was a fitting way to celebrate the boys completing their journey of boarding at Scotch. It was wonderful to celebrate the boys and parents. Each of the boys gave a small speech about each other, which was a nice touch.
March Out the next day was a great celebration of the leaving Year 12s was another great spectacle. It was a beautiful day and the whole school turned out as well as over 1000 relatives and friends to see the boys complete their March Out. It was also a good moment to do a handover ceremony for next year’s House and School leaders.
Parent Committee Meeting
On the first day of Term I hosted a Parent Committee Meeting and we discussed a range of things, including a new proposed renovation of the Senior Boarding House for 2024. We are looking at renovating the kitchen and patio area downstairs and the big TV room upstairs. Other issues we discussed included some ideas around increasing the amount of parent functions we have throughout the year, with the new kitchen and outdoor area, we are hoping that on drop off days we can host parents so that they stick around when they are dropping boys off and socialise with each other and with Heads of Residence and House Mothers. We are also looking at having a Yr 7 and a Yr 11 Mother/ Son dinner in 2024, to start a new ongoing tradition and a pre-Father’s day BBQ and games day in September.
Mrs Usher on Leave
I want to inform parents that as of next week, Mrs Usher is on leave for four weeks. Jan is having surgery and has a recovery period that will keep her out of action for a while. We wish her all the very best as she goes away on leave. In terms of Boarding Administration, I will be getting some help from Mr Chris Stretch, who knows our systems very well and I will also be keeping an eye on the Boarding Admin email inbox. May I ask that parents keep in close contact with their Head of Residence in the first instance, especially for any leave or host arrangements and then myself as per normal. If you email Boarding.Admin@scotch.wa.edu.au we will work as hard as we can to attend to your issue. However, it is hard to replace the irreplaceable! As well as my mobile number, please be aware of my direct office number 9383 6919.
New Staff and boys
On staffing updates, we have a number of new staff and boys. Mr John Black joins us in the Middle School Residence as a Boarding Mentor, as does Ms Maddie Bridle who moves from being a tutor in prep to being a Boarding Mentor. Mr Peter Tresise, who is a much-loved Year 7 teacher, is now working one night a week to undertake prep shifts, which is fantastic.
In The Senior School House, Mr Dylan Watson joins us as a Boarding Mentor as does Mr Jerome Woods. Both Dylan and Jerome are young teachers in Maths and Science respectively. We also have Ms Aman Bhabra joining us to tutor in Maths.
We have also recently hired a new Health Centre Assistant to drive our boarders to and from medical appointments. Mrs Dianne West, a former teacher herself, is taking on that role. Lastly, we have hired a casual relief House Mother who can help out if and when required. Mrs Mandy Martin has already done her induction and has met the boys and staff. Mandy will be there for times when Kerry, Theresa and Pam are away.
In terms of boys, this term we welcome a whopping 12 boys into boarding. Many of those boys are day boys who are staying temporarily for a month, or even for the term, however, we make special mention of Dallmyn Kelly (Yr 11), Lachlan Kirkham (Yr 11), Oliver Campbell (Yr 11), Shae Brown (Yr 11), Zach Darling (Yr 10) and Blair Haultain (Yr 10) who have joined us on a permanent basis.
Year 12 Ball and Bib Track Next Term
For Year 12 Parents, we have booked in a pre-ball function at Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club. We look forward to hosting all boys and parents at this function on 17th February from 4pm-6pm. There will be photo opportunities down by Cottesloe Beach and we have booked a bus to take boys and partners to the ball.
I also wanted to alert parents to the Bibbulmun Track Albany weekend which is next term on the March long weekend. The boys will walk from Sunday 25th Feb until Saturday 2nd March. We have a breakfast with the boys in the track on Thursday 29th February at 8am. We have a function on Friday Night 1st March without the boys and then another on Saturday night 2nd March with the boys. I would love for as many parents and boys to make a weekend of it in Albany that long weekend. I am writing in advance so that parents have the opportunity to book accommodation. Please note that the school does not provide transport back to Perth after the walk, so if parents are not there, please arrange for your son to get a lift back to Perth with another group of parents.
Year 10 Bibbulumun Track
This Term I had the privilege of walking on the Bibbulmun Track with our new Academic Year 10 boys. Whilst the walk itself was difficult and I am currently nursing a sore calf (I think they call it the ‘old man injury’) and a lot of mozzie bites, it was an absolute pleasure walking alongside the boys. It was also a real pleasure walking alongside our Outdoor Ed staff member Callum and Rev Gary van Heerden, who has walked the track with these boys since they were in Year 7. We walked from around Collie north towards Dwellingup in the beautiful hills of the jarrah forest alongside the Murray River. There were a couple of great swimming spots along the way and the boys sure knew how to have a great time. We found a rope swing at one spot, a zip line at another and camped at some beautiful huts along the way. We also had some deep chats around the campfire about times where life can take a turn for the unexpected and we have to find a way to deal with it. Our boys battled through heat, hills and blisters on their feet and still found that the most memorable times were the ones where we laughed together, and such is life.
Year 11 and 12 Bibbulmun Track
Our Year 11s and 12s get to head onto the Track this term as well, leaving on 12th November and arriving back on the 17th. I encourage all boys to go on the track, whether or not they will be end-to-enders in Year 12. For our senior boys, and especially at that time around Week 6 of term, I encourage them to start a dialogue early with their classroom teachers and find a way to navigate a personalised assessment plan where necessary so that they can catch up on assessments or study review they miss while they are walking, but then don’t get overwhelmed when they return. Assessments are important, organisation and pre-planning is important, and the Bibbulmun Track is important as well.
PSA Bye 10th and 11th November
This Term there is a PSA bye for Scotch on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th November. This is about half way through term. There is no mid-term break this term and the boarding houses will not be closing, but I did want to alert parents to that fact. I am mindful that, with the school year ending in December, many boys miss out on experiencing harvest season or having a break at home. The school week will function as normal, with school on Friday and Monday, there is no long weekend this term. However, with no sport on Saturday 11thNovember, families might want to pencil that weekend into their calendar as a possible chance for their boys to reconnect with home. If families look to include a day off school and create a long weekend, parents will need to be proactive in informing teachers and working around any assessment requirements for the boys.
Rec
There have been some really good rec events this term, including a Year 10/11 river cruise with St Hilda’s. We have also started surfing lessons for some senior school boys and will soon be starting a recreational skippers ticket for senior school boys. This weekend coming up, our new VC Boarding – Middle School, Toby Jones is organising a soccer game for Year 12s with the Year 7s and 8s which will be a great way for them to bond. There have also been lots of trips to the beach in the afternoons and Mr Stretch is investigating an end of year trip to Adventure World. We also have our big paintballing end of year event coming up in late November.
Yr 8 Communty Project Showcase and Denmark Camp
Over the last couple of weeks, our Year 8s have held their Communtiy Project Showcaes where they have shown the fruits of their labour, making the world a better place. This is an important part of their IB MYP learning experience but also reinforces the community mindset and servant leadership model at the heart of the College’s value system. The boys put a lot of hard work in, often boarders contribute to their local communities at home, and they should feel proud of their efforts. As the Community Project finished off, boys have now gone down in separate waves towards Denmark and Walpole to undertake Yr 8 camp. This is a new initiative in Middle School and I am sure it will be well received by the boys. Not to be too controversial, but I have done a lot of travelling around WA and Denmark has to be on my podium for WA’s best regional town. I am sure the boys will have an amazing time.
I wish you all the best over the next two weeks, The boys have settled into a rhythm here in Perth and we will concentrate on putting smiles on their faces and helping them set challenging goals to achieve their personal best. We love our work in boarding and we love our community. If you need support from us in boarding over personal issues or to check in with your son about a specific issue, please never hesitate to call.
I wish Mrs Usher all the very best in her time away from the College. She will be missed as a friend and colleague. We look forward to seeing her back at 8am on the 29th November! A huge thank you to Mr Stretch for his offer to help out in the interim. I look forward to seeing him in his smart casual attire (RM Williams and a checked shirt) at 8am on 30th October.
Kind regards
Jordan
Assembly
This morning’s assembly saw our Captain of Boarding, Rhama address the senior school about Boarding and Rory and Clem spoke about Remembrance Day which is coming up.
Year 12 Graduation Dinner
Here are some lovely photos of the Grad dinner at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club. It was a very special night and lovely to see your son’s grow into wonderful young men.
March Out
It was a glorious Friday morning for March Out this year. These photos are from Vidigami and highlight our Boarders enjoying the sunshine and supporting the end of School for our outgoing Year 12s. Congratulations on a wonderful display. Vidigami
New Boarders
Welcome to Boarding!!
Senior Boarding Residence Breakfast
Captain of Boarding, Rhama and the new Boarding Leadership team organised for the boys to have breakfast in the recreation room on a beautiful sunny Friday morning. It just happened to be Kai’s 17th birthday and they sang him a rousing Happy Birthday. Great way to start the day!!
Year 8 Community Project Presentations
The Year 8s presented their community projects to boys, parents and staff with resounding success. The Headmaster and Head of Middle School were very impressed with the standard of work and presentation skills.
Clash of Clans – Cricket
New Year 12 leaders set their first Clash of Clans event on Thursday of Week 1 – Backyard cricket on the Chapel Lawn. Three games, Year 7/8 game, a Year 9/10 game and a Year 11/12 game. Boys cooked a BBQ dinner and had a refreshing swim in the pool afterwards. Congratulations to Blair for winning.
Yr 9 Bibbulmun Track Walk (Academic Year 10s)
Our new Year 10s walked Harris Dam, Collie to Swamp Oak, Dwellingup. Rev Gary, Callum and Jordan walked with the boys from Sunday to Thursday. Weather was great, the walking was challenging with the heat and the hill at the end. The boys were fantastic. Congratulations.
Year 10 (Academic Yr 11) River Cruise
St Hilda’s invited the boys to join them on a river cruise on Friday