I hope you have all enjoyed the recent long weekend with your sons, either at home or abroad. For me it has been a pleasure getting to see some of the boys in different environments in the past couple of weeks.

Year 12 Bibbulmun Track in Albany

No doubt the highlight of the fortnight in boarding was getting to celebrate the Year 12s that completed their final expedition on the Bibbulmun Track. The boys walked over 130kms in 6 days to walk from Peaceful Bay to the Southern Terminus in the centre of Albany. Whilst there were some big days of walking, the boys were often afforded day packs rather than having to carry all food, water, shelter and safety equipment like they are accustomed to. They walked through forests, walked on beaches, walked amongst the huge windmills of the Albany wind farm and eventually walked into the middle of town. For anyone that knows the stunning scenery of the south coast, it is definitely worth encouraging your sons to persist with the track to experience those final walks. The boys were even treated to a rest at the mid-way point in Denmark, courtesy of the Gooding family who gave them a home cooked meal and a shower. The boys were even a bit spoiled the next day as the Gooding’s delivered pizzas to them on the track!

On the Friday, a large number of the parent group and some siblings met with the boys on the Track for a special breakfast. Many of the parents then walked a section of the track along the beach with the boys, getting to experience about an hour and a half of what the boys have every day. A number of the parents commented on how special that was and I know the boys loved it as well. As the boys walked in on Saturday morning, they were piped in by a Year 9 Keys house boy, Hugh, who also made the journey down with his family for the weekend just to honour our boarders. The boys were presented with certificates by a member of the Bibbulmun Track Foundation, it was a really lovely ceremony. All parents and boys then shared a lunch together later in the day before heading off to enjoy the rest of the long weekend. Many of the families made a weekend of it and stayed in Albany as a family.

The Bibbulmun Track experience is an incredibly enriching experience for our boys, and the final stage is also a very special time for Year 12 parents. I urge all parents to encourage the boys to persist with the Bibbulmun Track experience, whether they boys have completed every section or not. It becomes a truly memorable experience, and it was clear for all to see what a special bond that group of young men had on the track, forming memories that will last a lifetime. It is opportunities like these that make Scotch such a special school.

There will be a Bibbulmun Track presentation by the Yr 12s in Week 1 of next term.  If you are able to attend, please join us on Friday 19^th April at the Senior School Assembly to congratulate the boys on their incredible achievement.

Year 8 Bibbulmun Track

On Monday 18^th March we walk again with our Year 8s. I am excited as I will actually be walking with the boys that week. They were such an enjoyable group to walk with last year so it will be great to link up with them again. The other teacher walking with the boys is Mr Peter Tresise, a Middle School teacher who also works in the Boarding House. We will be walking from Brookton Highway to Gringer Creek, roughly alongside the Albany highway from around Serpentine to North Bannister. If any parents are in the area and want to come and say hello, please get in contact with Katelyn Guy from the Outdoor Adventure and Learning Department – Katelyn.Guy@scotch.wa.edu.au

Katanning and Wagin

This week myself, Mrs Nixon and Mr Montgomery are heading down south again to host an event in Katanning for our families down in the Great Southern. It is a great chance to catch up with you in your own back yard and to hear about your sons in a face to face conversation. Please also feel free to bring any friends or family along who might be considering boarding school and we can answer any questions that they might have. On Friday and Saturday we will be attending the Wagin Woolorama. If you are in the area, we would love to see you there, please come and say hello at the education stand.

Year 9 Rottnest Camp

Last week the boys went to camp on Rottnest Island, which is always a great time and a meaningful induction into life in Senior School. The boys were able to play beach games, snorkel, learn about the history of the island and its ecology. I was able to get over to the island for three days of the camp and helped take the history lessons for the boys alongside Mr Hindle. I was having flash backs of being in his history class as a Year 12 student! Good memories of course! It was a great opportunity for the boys to form new friendships now that they have been reshuffled into their senior school house groups and to bond with their House Head in a relaxed environment. The boys behaved very well and it was great to see the boarders mixed amongst the day boys, which I don’t often get to see.

Staffing – House Parents

As many of you would know, Mrs Kerry Wilhelm, one of our much loved House Mothers in the Senior House, has been away for an extended period of time, attending to a family funeral over in the United Kingdom. We have missed her a lot and we have really appreciated the relief work done by Mrs Mandy Martin in the interim. I am pleased to say that Kerry will be returning to work on Monday 18^th March.

In the Middle School House, Mrs Pam Seaby has decided that the time is right for some well-deserved Long Service Leave. Pam will be away for all of Term 2 and around half of Term 3. We have been able to recruit a wonderful lady to work with us as the House Mother of the Middle School House, Mrs Kathy Finlayson. Kathy comes with great experience as a boarding parent, a nurse and now a grandmother of the next generation of Scotch boys. Kathy has been a nurse in both Boddington and Williams for over 17 years. Her sons went to Guildford. Many boarding families would know Kathy and I am excited for her to start work later this term with Pam and then alongside Sean in the Middle School House from next term.

End of Term Parent Sundowner and Parent Interviews

As we enter the second half of term, I want to bring parents attention to our Boarding Parent Sundowner that we host at the Gooch Pavilion on the evening before the last day of term. The Boarding Parent Sundowner this year is on Wednesday 27^th March. It would be great to see as many of you as possible there to socialise with each other and with our staff. I will be hosting a Boarding Parent Committee meeting on 27^th March at 3pm, before the Sundowner. The next day, Year 11 and 12 parents have the opportunity to book a time with their son’s classroom teachers. For parents that want to book in an individual time for a chat about their son in boarding, I will be available all day the next day on 28^th March and  Steven Montgomery and Sean Mecham are available after midday once they have finished their teaching duties to meet with boarding parents, please just email or call us and book in a time.

I wish all families a wonderful fortnight and look forward to seeing you soon.

Kind regards

Jordan

Mouthguards

Mouthguards are required by all boys playing contact sports.

If your son needs a mouthguard for Winter sport, please organise this through your local dentist when you are with your son in the school holidays.

If you are unable to do this, you can make an appointment at Swanbourne Dental on Shenton Road.  Please make appointments for after school.  When making appointments, please also include the Health Centre in your email so they are aware of the appointment and can co-ordinate boys walking there together.

Mouthguards take 2 weeks to make and cost $225 for one colour.  Swanbourne Dental will issue you with an invoice so you can claim back from your health fund.

Winter sport will start when boys return to school on April 16th.

Bibbulmun Track

What a fabulous achievement for our young men to complete 130km walk and some of them becoming End to Ender’s.  Very proud of you all.  Congratulations!!

See the video link below to hear Hugh pipe the boys in.

Yr 12s being piped into Albany Southern Terminus

Around the Houses

Middle School boarders at recreation activities and celebrating birthdays.  St Hilda’s invited the boys to lunch and pool games.

In the Senior boarding house we had a few birthdays to celebrate, Valentines day from the boys to Theresa for all her love and support, swims at the beach with icecream and some very happy Boarding Mentors and House mum.

Clash of Clans

Blair and Stirling Clans started the competition off with a game of Touch Rugby. Congratulations to Stirling Clan (wearing Teal) on their close win.

Boarding Parent Sundowner – Wednesday, March 27

At the end of Term 1 we like to celebrate our Boarding community with a Boarding Parent Sundowner to catch up with our wonderful parents and guardians.

If you are able to join us on Wednesday 27 March from 6:30pm at the Gooch Pavilion for a bit of jazz, welcome drink and light dinner, we would love for you to join us.

Register here for the Boarding Parent Sundowner

We provide a Welcome drink, but the event is BYO alcohol.

2024 Boarding Photography Competition

Yes, it’s on again.  Get your camera’s at the ready for the biggest competition of the year.  Mr Mecham will be judging the 2024 Boarding Photography Competition and the competition closes at the start of Term 3.  All winners appear in the Boarding School Calendar 2026.

I hope you have enjoyed you last fortnight, by now many families have had the chance to catch up with their sons at least once and we have a long weekend on the horizon.

The boys have settled into boarding, although it is fair to say that boarding has been a busy place this term so far. We have had some homesickness from some of our new boys but they have been well supported by our more established students. The hot weather has been another factor in the past couple of weeks that has been a challenge for our boys, but frequent trips to the beach and pool have helped us all cool down a bit. We have had a few cases of Covid in boarding this fortnight, so we have been reiterating the importance of hygiene and social distancing with the boys. We appreciate parent help in this regard.

Blair Clan

With Mr Mellor finishing up his time at Scotch at the mid-term break, I hope that Blair Clan families get a chance to thank him for his service over the past three years. We were able to give him a round of applause at our most recent boarding assembly.

As Mr Mellor steps away, Mr Montgomery will step in to take charge of the whole senior boarding house. He will be given more time to do this by lightening his teaching and coaching load in the day school. He will also have increased support from myself, and he has amazing deputy heads of clan and House Mothers who will help him. We will look to replace Mr Mellor on a more permanent basis in the near future but in the mean time, Blair families can contact Mr Montgomery as the Head of Residence for their son.

Yr 12 Ball

Last weekend the Year 12s had their Ball which was a great success. The theme was “Vivid” and there were plenty of bright colours and exciting performances for the boys and their partners to enjoy. We also had a magnificent pre-ball function at the Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club where the boys and their partners and our parents and the partner’s parents were all invited for a get together, some great photos, and then the students all left together in a party bus to the ball, via Kings Park. A huge thank you to all the Year 12 boarding parents that helped organise that function and then, once the boys went to the ball, parents and myself all gathered back at a restaurant together to share a meal. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Year 12 Bibbulmun Track

This Sunday, the Year 12s hop on a bus down to Peaceful Bay and walk from there, through Denmark, and into Albany to reach the southern terminus of the Bibbulmun Track. It is a fantastic achievement, with 8 of our Year 12s set to become “End to Enders” and a couple more who have only missed one or two legs of the journey over their six years in boarding. In total, we have 14 boys walking. I am looking forward to seeing the boys in Albany and spending the weekend with them and their parents.

Year 9 Rottnest Camp

Next week the Year 9s travel across to Rottnest for their Pastoral Care Camp. They will get to bond really well as a House group with the House Heads and I will be going over there to spend some quality time with the boarding students. It will be an action-packed week, full of fun and adventure. It is always a highlight of a students time in Senior School. I am showing my age here, but I was actually part of the very first Rottnest Camp back in 1996 as a Year 8 student! I still remember my time there as a student and making friends with some of the new boys to the College, who are still some of my dearest friends today.

Middle School Boarders

This past month has been a big one in the middle school. Everything is so different and new. It has been hot and the boys have felt a little cooped up with all the building that is going on at our doorstep. It is also challenging getting to learn to live with 41 other boys under the same roof. The boys have been really good at including each other in games and utilising the grounds after school, playing football on the oval and cricket in the nets. There has also been a couple of table tennis competitions going on in the house. Congratulations to Noah for winning the Year 7 competition and the grand final of the Year 8 competition is being played today between Darcy and Tom! We have been using prep time to try and help the boys focus on organisation skills as homework has been a bit thin, however, after the long weekend, homework will start to ramp up and the boys will be able to utilise their term planners and weekly planners to stay on top of it all. As the building of the playground gets into its final stages, we look forward to the boys having more space to play after school.

I wish all families a wonderful week ahead and a restful long weekend with their sons at home. Please make sure all families have put their plans into REACH so that we know the boys’ movements and can help organise transport if required.

Best Wishes

Jordan

Scotch on the Road – Albany

If you are planning a trip to Albany over the long weekend, join Jordan for a catchup at Due South on Friday 1st March from 6:30pm.  Details are at the link:

Scotch on the Road Albany – Due South

We are also welcoming our walkers in after finishing the End to Ender’s walk on Saturday 2nd March at 10:30am at the Southern Terminus on York Street.

All welcome!

Year 12 Pre Ball Function – Cottesloe Surf Lifesaving Club

Our wonderful Yr 12 boarders looking amazing in their suits at the Boarding Pre-Ball function at Cottesloe Surf Lifesaving Club.  Thank you to the wonderful parent helpers run by Jane Wandel for the stunning decorations.

Around the Houses

Photos from recreation activities, assemblies and at ‘home’ relaxing.  Enjoy!

Boarding Parent Sundowner – Wednesday, March 27

At the end of Term 1 we like to celebrate our Boarding community with a Boarding Parent Sundowner to catch up with our wonderful parents and guardians.

If you are able to join us on Wednesday 27 March from 6:30pm at the Gooch Pavilion for a bit of jazz, welcome drink and light dinner, we would love for you to join us.

Register here for the Boarding Parent Sundowner

We provide a Welcome drink, but the event is BYO alcohol.

Welcome to the 2024 school year! A special welcome to all our new families, and welcome back to all our families who were already with us last year. It has been lovely to see parents over the last two weeks as they have dropped their sons off and for those who have stuck around in Perth for a couple of extra days. It was lovely to welcome you all back into a newly refurbished entrance foyer in the Senior School Boarding House. The facilities team did a great job over the summer recreating the staff area and creating a good study space for our boys. I have included some photos below for the families who weren’t able to see it. Unfortunately for Middle School families, we couldn’t reveal the new playground as planned, however that should be finished before the end of term.

Andy Mellor – Head of Blair Clan

I have also had to write to families this week to inform you all that Mr Andy Mellor has made the difficult decision to step away from his role at Scotch in order to spend more time with his family. Andy will continue with us until the mid-term break at the start of March. After that, Mr Steven Montgomery and myself will share responsibilities for the families in Blair Clan whilst we go through a recruitment process. I will keep families updated. I would like to thank Andy for his service to the College and wish him well for his next chapter. Andy will remain a Scotch parent because his and Jodie’s two sons attend the College so he will remain connected in that way.

Parent Information sessions – Day School

In the past couple of weeks, there have been parent information sessions for the parents of Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 boys. For those boarding families who were unable to attend, or perhaps one parent attended but the other couldn’t make it. There are links to the presentations here.

Scotch MS 2024 Middle School Parent Information Evening

https://clickv.ie/w/hFKw

Scotch MS 2024 Year 7 Parent Information Evening

https://clickv.ie/w/DEKw

Scotch MS 2024 Year 8 Parent Information Evening

https://clickv.ie/w/8EKw

The Year 9 presentation will be sent to you next week by Senior School and was unavailable to add to the Blog.

If you have any questions, please get in contact with your son’s Head of Year (Middle School) or Head of House (Senior School) and please feel free to include your sons boarding Head of Residence into that email correspondence to make sure we are all on the same page.

I also want to make sure parents of Year 8 boys are aware that there are parent/teacher interviews coming up so parents have the opportunity to meet their son’s PCG Teacher. This is an important touch point at the start of the year, the PCG teacher is a main point of contact in the day school, they will see you son at the start of each day at school and also teach them a number of lessons each day. If you are unable to make the meeting in Perth, please contact your son’s PCG teacher directly and arrange for an online meeting through Teams or a phone call.

Academic tracking in boarding

As the academic year gets underway, I would like to assure parents that we have academic tutoring available for the boys during prep time in boarding and if your sons want/need to access these services, please contact his Assistant Head of Residence to arrange for tutoring.

Stirling Clan – Michael.Ninkov@scotcjh.wa.edu.au

Blair Clan – Alex.Wood@scotch.wa.edu.au

Year 7 – Brent.VanIngen-Kal@scotch.wa.edu.au

Year 8 – CJ.Jackson@scotch.wa.edu.au

We are also trialling a new system of academic tracking by asking our tutors to complete online feedback forms from their tutoring sessions. These forms are emailed to Assistant Head of Residence and can be forwarded on to parents as required. Furthermore, Mr Michael Ninkov recently addressed all boarding students about study skills and organisation. Each boy was presented with a weekly planner and a blank assessment calendar that they can fill in and display in their rooms. We will be using Sunday prep time to focus on organisational skills. We ask that all boys are back from weekend leave by 5:30pm, in time for Sunday dinner and prep so that they can spend some quality time organising their week ahead.

Adventure World

Last weekend we took the boys to Adventure World. The boys had a fantastic time and were able to mingle with each other as well as many boarding students from other schools. It would have been nice for the boys to see friends from their home town who may attend different schools. We took all Year 7-10 students and it was great to see some Year 11 students opt to join us as well. The boys were well behaved and enjoyed the day. They were certainly exhausted on Sunday evening after the first week back at school and then a big weekend in boarding. This weekend is a bit more chilled out with regards to rec to give the students a chance to recharge their batteries.

Swimming Carnivals

This week we had both the Middle School and Senior School Inter-House swimming carnivals. This is the first chance for the boys to earn points for their house and hopefully have a bit of fun along the way. The first inter-school swim meet was last Friday and there will be another couple of swim meets coming up in the next two weeks. If your son has an interest in swimming, training is before school every day. There are also swimming squads that the boys can join all year round. The best person to speak to regarding swimming is Mr Ryan Steenkamp Ryan.Steenkamp@scotch.wa.edu.au

Chinese New Year

This week our community is celebrating Chinese New Year. This is a wonderful tradition that started in Scotch Boarding three years ago. Two of our Chinese students are leading the charge with regards to organising the event, we have decorations, quizzes and a special dinner planned for the evening. Dr O’Connell will be in attendance which is special and so will a large number of Chinese day students and their families. Many of our Chinese families are coming in before the dinner to help prepare dumplings with our catering staff. Congratulations to Mike Liu and Jerry Li for all their work on this event.

Yr 12 Ball

Next weekend is the much-anticipated Yr 12 Ball and I am looking forward to seeing our Year 12 parents in Perth for the big event. We have a pre-ball event down at the Cottesloe Beach Surf Lifesaving club and then the boys are travelling together to the ball. We have a booking for Year 12 parents to have a dinner together once we have gone and seen the boys and their partners enter the Dickinson Centre.  If you haven’t yet RSVP’d to either event, please email Boarding.Admin@scotch.wa.edu.au and let Jan know.

Year 9 Rottnest Camp/ Yr 12 Bibbulmun Track

In the week leading up to the long weekend we have two year groups out on camp. All year 9s will go to Rottnest, which is one of the great camps in Senior School. It is a chance to get to know their House Head very well and to bond as a cohort. It’s an excellent time for our new students to make friends with the boys in their House.

In the same week, the Year 12 boys embark on their final Bibbulmun Track expedition. They will be walking from Peaceful Bay, through Denmark and into Albany. I have encouraged all boys to consider walking, whether they will be an “end-to-ender” or not. It is a great event to tick off in year 12 as one of the many “final times” that the boys will experience. For year 12 parents, I also encourage you to consider travelling to Albany for that weekend to see the boys come in and to share the celebrations as the boys complete their Rite of Passage by completing the Bibbulmun Track. We have a function planned on the Friday and Saturday night for the families that make a weekend of it down in Albany.

I wish all families a wonderful fortnight ahead and I thank you all for your support as you have trusted us to care for your sons in your absence, it is a privilege that we take very seriously. Please continue to stay in contact with us about anything concerning you son. We know the first couple of weeks are difficult as the boys adjust to our routines and miss their families. It might be worth having another read of our homesickness booklet, which we have attached here Homesickness Handbook 2024

Kind regards

Jordan

Middle School Residence

Welcome to our new Year 7 and 8 boys and families.  We have a full house this year which is wonderful.

Our boys with their home room teachers.

MS Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to Robert house (Red) on winning this year.  The boys had great weather for a day at the pool.

Senior School Residence

The Reception area and new prep/study room were refurbished over the holidays.  The team headed up by Matt Luton did a fabulous job.

House Mothers, Kerry and Theresa keep a tight ship – work, rest and play!

SS Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to Cameron House, who by coincidence have only one boarder, won the Inter-House Swimming Carnival on Wednesday.

Clans

Welcome to our new clan members in their Blair and Stirling shirts with the Student Leadership team.  Mr Montgomery addressing the big house at Clan Meeting on the steps of the big house.

Recreation

Some great photos from rec activities.

Marching

The first assembly of the year in Senior School with marching and the pipe band.  We have boarders that are pipers and drummers.  Captain of Boarding Rhama, on the right.  Always a treat.

Swanbourne Tigers Football Club – early registration

The new registrar at Swanbourne Tigers Football Club, Genevieve Hohnen, has offered Scotch College boarding families the chance to register their son’s early.

This is the link to register:

Swanbourne Tigers early registration

If you would like to chat with Genevieve, please email registrar@swannytigers.org.au

Photographs

Thanks to Ivan (Yr 12) for taking great professional photos of rec activities, dinners and sports events for me to use.

Ivan is our official boarding photographer this year.

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 17^th 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 25^th Feb until Saturday 2^nd March. We have a breakfast with the boys in the track on Thursday 29^th February at 8am. We have a function on Friday Night 1^st March without the boys and then another on Saturday night 2^nd 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 12^th November and arriving back on the 17^th. 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 10^th and 11^th November

This Term there is a PSA bye for Scotch on Friday 10^th and Saturday 11^th 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 11^thNovember, 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 29^th 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 30^th 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

Its nearly the end of term and, for senior school families, the end of the Academic year! For our year 12s, many of them have only a few examinations and a graduation ceremony before they officially make their way onto the next phase of their young lives.

The past two weeks has seen our Year 11 and Year 12 boys undertake their end of year examination period. The boys have done a good job balancing their commitments and it has been great that our House Mothers have taken a more active role in supervising the students during the day, working hours that they don’t normally work in order to prioritise our boys during this stressful time. We hope the boys have made the most of our evening tutors, in conjunction with the advice from our Assistant Heads of Residence, and that they achieve the results that they have been aiming for. We have also had two weeks of activities for our AAP boys, last week the boys were given time to complete their certificate courses and this week there has been a range of activities for them to do, such as a course to attain their “white card” for the construction industry, an RSA course for the hospitality industry, and a two day first aid course.

Kerry and Theresa have also used this time with me to do some furniture rearrangement to try and reinvigorate our downstairs common room and encourage more of a café style kitchen/dining experience for our boys. Some of our boys have been using their study breaks to help us juggle things around and it has been nice to have their input into how they currently use the space and how they would like to see it used in the future. I have also had the pleasure of a few parent conversations this week who have also given their input. Our Senior refurnishing project is an exciting one and we hope to continue to make good progress over the next term, to the point that we can host a family function at the end of next term.

The last few weeks has involved Scotch’s Art exhibition and there is a large number of boarders who have contributed. Some of the art work is outstanding! I walked around and took some photos of boarders’ work. I didn’t get them all, but a good showcase of what our boarders have been producing. I love seeing our boarders making art, taking photos and making things in our woodwork and metal work after school workshops with Mr van Ingen Kal. It is so important that boys continue to nourish their creative streak. It was also wonderful to see a number of boarders at Scotch Rocks, playing music on stage at the Rosemount Hotel recently.

This week we have had our Year 10s on Expeditions. Some boys have been up north on the Karijini expedition, whilst others have been down south in Margaret River, either caving and climbing, walking the Cape to Cape, mountain biking, or horse riding. Some lucky boys have also been off to New Zealand! Our Year 10 boys that spent that last week of their school holidays in July in Exmouth on Expedition were able to spend this last week of term at home.

Next Term

Next term starts in a an unusual way for boarding families, particularly those that have boys in both boarding houses. Please note that the Middle School boarders are due back in Residence on 9^th October and start school on 10^th October. Our new Year 12 leaders are also in on this day. The Senior School Boys are back in Residence on 10^th October for school to start on 11^th.

I will be hosting a Parents Committee meeting at 1pm on 10^th October. I apologise if Middle School families are not able to be there for that meeting, due to drop off being the day before, but it was impossible for me to have a common day. As always, all parents are invited to join, please send me through any topics of conversation prior to the meeting. The Dining Hall is being used on that day, so we will hold the meeting downstairs in the Senior Boarding House. This can give parents a good look at the space and we can discuss our plans for renovation and refurbishment, as I have a meeting with the architect during the holidays, and a meeting with our CFO in the first week of term.

Also in the first week of term we have our Yr 12 Boarding Graduation Dinner which takes place at the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club on Thursday 12^th October, the night before March Out. Friday 13^th October has an Assembly in the morning, followed by a House Assembly for the boys and March Out is scheduled to begin at around 11:40am. March Out is a fantastic spectacle and I encourage all families to consider being there, not just Year 12 families. It really is a fantastic day on the Scotch Calendar.

Next term we have a number of families joining our community. In fact, at last count, we have 12 new boys starting boarding next term! 6 new permanent boarders, and 6 current day boys that are boarding for a temporary period. We look forward to welcoming them all into our community. The word is spreading fast that Scotch Boarding is the place to be! It’s a very good sign and a testament to the pastoral and academic support that our boarding staff give to our boys and their families. As of 2024, we will be very close to capacity in boarding at Scotch, which is fantastic. I was recently in Esperance with Mr Gill and Mr Kyle connecting with our current families and also some families that are joining us in 2024 and 2025. It is always such a pleasure to meet families in their own backyard and we had a wonderful time in Esperance. We were hosted for dinner and lunch at family homes, visited farms and stayed at lovely accommodation owned by a Scotch boarding family. We also had the privilege of being toured around the region by Jason Riggs, father of Ben in Yr 11, and seeing the amazing Cape le Grande National Park with all of Esperance’s world-renowned beaches. We love travelling to the regions and believe it leads to building genuine relationships with our families and helps our boys feel more at home in our boarding community.

I also want to alert parents that next term we will be reviewing our mobile phone policy in boarding, with the view to make some changes in 2024. In short, we believe the boys are spending too much time on their phones accessing social media and gaming, and this is to the detriment of their social skills and their overall wellbeing (although the boys may not agree). Specifically, I would like to limit the time the boys get on their phone in the evenings after prep, just before bed. I acknowledge that many boys like that time to call parents, and that this time might also work well for busy parents, so I will look for ways to accommodate that. However, in reality, many of the boys spend most of that time scrolling through social media and being exposed to a blue light just before bed. It has been my longstanding belief that boys don’t need the phones after they hand them in for prep at 6:30pm (Middle School) and 6:45pm (Senior School). I will be putting this on the agenda of our upcoming parent meeting and I do invite your feedback on the matter. I would like to ask parents to consider that their daily phone call to their son be before dinner, ideally at around 5:30pm. There is also an opportunity to text before school. Addiction to devices is a societal issue and it is something that we are exposed to in boarding. Some of our boys are struggling to interact appropriately with people without a screen in front of their faces. We also need to ensure boys are not wound up each evening from social media use and gaming just before bed. I encourage parents to please have this conversation with your son. If, due to work, this time is not possible for families, we can always arrange for a boy to call home on the house phone. I realise that, in a teenagers psyche, this is a hot topic and so I am following a process of consultation with parents, however, from a staff point of view, people who see how they are using their phones each day, we believe that this is a good thing and it is in the interest of the boys overall wellbeing. I would be interested to hear your views on the matter. Any changes are likely to be implemented in the first terms of 2024.

I wish all families a relaxing and restful break, hopefully away from devices! I encourage you all to have a rest, get outdoors, and spend some quality time together.

All the best

Jordan

Yr 12 Boarding Graduation Dinner – Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club

We farewell our outgoing Year 12 Boarders at the Graduation Dinner on Thursday 12 October.

For Parents and Boys still wanting to book, please use the link below:

Yr 12 Graduation Dinner bookings

Surf Lessons

For the new Academic Year 10s next term we are offering Surfing lessons with Perth Go Surf.  The boys will have 5 lessons on Saturday mornings at Leighton or Brighton beach.  If your son is interested, please email Boarding.Admin@scotch.wa.edu.au for the forms.

Lessons begin on Saturday 21st October.

Recreational Skippers Ticket

In Spring Term boarding are offering the new Academic Year 11s the chance to gain their Recreational Skippers Ticket.

If you think your son will be interested, please check out the link below for the necessary requirements and email me at Boarding.Admin@scotch.wa.edu.au to register interest.

https://www.transport.wa.gov.au/imarine/how-to-get-an-rst.asp

Save the Date – Year 12 Pre-Ball Function 2024

Scotch Boarding will be holding a Pre-Ball Function on Saturday 17 February 2024 at the Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club from 4:00pm to 6:00pm.

We will be catering the event and the bar will be open for parents of boys and their partners and families.

Year 8 Bibbulmun Track

The Year 8 boys received their Bibbulmun Track Certificates and sew on Waugal badge at Boarders Assembly last week and all seem pretty happy.

Ms Kerry walked with the boys and had a wonderful time getting to know them.  Congratulations boys!

Art Exhibition

In Boarding we have many talented boys and the showcase of art and craft within the College provides a wonderful array of boarders work.  The annual Senior School Art and Design Exhibition had its opening night on Tuesday 5 September and was held in the Mathematics & Commerce building. Here’s a snapshot of our boy’s work.

I hope you have had an enjoyable fortnight, this term seems to be racing along. It seems only yesterday I was talking about mid-term break, and now we are looking at only a fortnight left of school! There has been a lot happening across all the year groups at school, in boarding and also on the athletics track!

Today is the inter-school athletics carnival and we are pleased to see many of our boarders having trained over the last little while and make the team, with approximately 20 boarders making the team. Hopefully Scotch can continue its strong showing in the PSA athletics and successfully defend the Alcock Shield.

As well as training for athletics, many of our boys have been involved in various special dinners over the last week.  Many of the winter sports had their end of season ceremonies and the Pipe Band also had their special annual dinner. Many of our boys were involved, and the boys who weren’t directly involved still had to share the dining hall, or have the occasional dinner in the boarding house to accommodate these groups, so it was very much appreciated that our boarders were able to be flexible over the last week with their dinner arrangements.

I am very pleased to announce that we have finalised our leadership process over the past week. The Year 11 boys undertake a leadership course throughout Year 11 and it culminates in nominating for leadership positions for the new academic year. We have a very strong group of leaders in this year group and I am thrilled that many of them have been awarded positions throughout the school next year. I am particularly excited to announce our new boarding leaders, starting next term.

Boarding Leadership 2023/24

I would also like to commend the following boys for achieving leadership positions within their Houses in the Day School.

Rohan Bignell – House Captain of Brisbane

Rory Purser – Vice Captain of Brisbane House

Hudson Hammond – Vice Captain of Keys House

Clement Hardie – Vice Captain of Stuart House

We had a very strong field of candidates this year and I am excited about the impact that these boys and their cohort can achieve over the next twelve months. I would also like to take this time to thank our current Year 12 cohort, some of whom have their final official day of school today, for their leadership over the past twelve months. Lochie, Jett, Jensen, Kaymus and the rest of the cohort did a great job this year and pass over the baton to our new crop of leaders with boarding in a great state.

This week I had the absolute pleasure of walking the Bibbulmun Track with the Year 7 group. I took half the boys on the track and Mr Mecham took the other half. It was an incredibly joyful and rewarding experience and I loved getting to know the boys in a different setting. They worked very well as a team and our themes for this walk were the themes of “Connection” and “Gratitude”. After a hard days’ walk, the boys would prepare a meal to share and we would reflect on the day and then on some of the deeper themes. The boys spoke of their parents often and how much love, respect, and gratitude they have for their parents and for their friends. It was really special and I hope they have relayed that home with their phone calls. The previous week, our Year 8s walked the track with Mrs Wilhelm and Gyles Davies. Both staff members thoroughly enjoyed walking the track with the boys. The “camp fire chat” themes for Year 8 was the theme of role models and what qualities make them special. I am sure that many parents would have been discussed in those chats too!

The year 9 boys have also spent time outdoors recently, with the Year 9 camp in Moray in full swing. The Year 10s, 11s and 12s have been preparing for and undertaking examinations, which started for Year 10s this week and get underway for Year 11s and 12s over the next two weeks. I wish all boys well with their preparation and their performance. Just like the athletics carnival, all we ask for is to plan well, give it your best shot and aim for a PB! Next week some of our Year 10s get the chance to undertake our Try-a-Trade programme, which is a three day programme off campus. I hope our boys take up those opportunities to explore possible career options.

Last week we had the pleasure of giving out awards for our world-famous boarding photo competition. The pictures are worth a thousand words, so all I will say is that I hope you enjoy the display of creative talent we have in our community. It’s a very special competition and thank you to Mr Mecham and Mrs Usher for all the work they do in this regard.

I have been travelling a lot recently, having visited Karratha, Mingenew, Geraldton, Dowerin, and Mr Mellor and Mrs Nixon visiting Newdegate this week. Next week I visit Esperance. I love getting to regional communities to visit families and I thank all those who have made the time to see us whilst we are out there. I am looking forward to Esperance soon.

I wish all families all the very best over the next two weeks. Please make sure your son’s Holiday Leave is in REACH so we can best arrange help with transport and other logistics.

Many thanks

Jordan

2023 Photographic Competition Winners announced by Sean Mecham

Hold the press….. like any highly competitive competition, there is always a bit of controversy, but all sorted now….

So, Nick Scotney’s photo of the “Sheep coming home” was in fact, Tom Dennis’ photo (it was unnamed, and he did Airdrop it to me, ages ago). So this is the new and updated results: Tom Dennis will get equal 1^st Place with Will Fox in the Junior Division and all other places remain the same in that Division.

In the Families Division, Nick Scotney is eliminated …. His beautiful wife, Nyree Taylor takes 1^st Place, Shay Creagh moves up to 2^nd and Kate Stoney moves up to 3^rd Place.

Family Category:

1^st Nyree Taylor

2^nd Shay Creagh

3^rd Kate Stoney

Staff Category:

1^st Michael Ninkov

2^nd Kerry Wilhelm

3^rd Alec O’Connell

HC Jordan Owenell

Junior Category:

Equal 1^st: Will Fox & Tom Dennis

2^nd Archie Macnamara

3^rd Wesley Cooper

HC: Sim Stoney

Senior Category:

1^st Noah McCreery

2^nd Ivan Berdychevskyi

3^rd Henry Dyke

HC Myles Ross

Middle School Residence

Year 7 Bibbulmun Track walk

The Year 7 boarders have just returned from their walk up Mount Dale.  The boys walked in two groups, one with Mr Mecham and the other with Mr Owenell.  Looks like they all had a great time in the wilderness.

Year 8 Bibbulmun Track walk

Reflection by Kerry Wilhelm

Boys in great spirits, all food, cooking utensils & gear was distributed out to all boys and staff Callum Rigby and Kerry Wilhelm.

Bus to the start was loud with songs and singing. Clearly the boys were excited.

Ms Katie Guy was our back up, driver & met us on the last day for BBQ breaky/lunch.

Day #1 – Sunny and quite warm which added to the exhaustion we all felt by the time we reached base 1. With3/4 hills on first day and our packs at the heaviest, was challenging to say the least.

Dinner 1 -Shepherd’s Pie 7 bed by 7:30pm. Little rain during the evening but nothing to make us uncomfortable.

Day#2 Bellies full of porridge. Off we set out on our 16+km trek.

There was much talking , games, questions, a lot of eye spy & loads of bartering with snacks.

Was fantastic to see the group show leadership, resilience, team work & compassion to those struggling.

Blisters, Lethargy, Frustration and Emotions were all part of the day. Boys did incredibly well. Some speedy, some steady & some slow. Boys played camouflage after setting up tents, which was fun to watch.

Dinner 2 – Salami Pasta , boys were excited for this, not so much when the veggies were added. Bellies full. We had a circle chat with the talking stick. Base 2 was on a hill. Full moon and chilly.

Day#3 We all could see our breath on waking up! Boys getting good at pack up & fire lighting for porridge. Not many grumbles when items were distributed to packs…

An amazing view on first pack break, was nice to see the boys really appreciate it. Wind was up & still chilly, again we set off over rocks, gravel, sand, through bush trails & up hills. Base 3 was nice and in a low-lying valley. Clear night, more talking stick convo’s around the fire & a quiet last night. Boys were Very excited for BBQ meat and the news of 8km to the BBQ in the morning not 3km … was taken well. Slight mis calculation from Callum!!

Day #4

ALL boys had great attitudes on this last day. Covered in dirt, hungry & tired, all showed strength.

Leaders were instructed to shout their chosen calling “CHEESY” when they got too far ahead, if the back people didn’t reply with ” DIBBLE”, the speedy walkers were to stop and wait. BBQ was a hit, boys ate sausages, burgers and lots of bread! For me MY highlight was the coffee not the bbq. Ms Guy is an absolute legend. Snack’s were in high demand, still lots of bartering going on, which was very entertaining for me. A relatively flat walk on this last day with 26km to walk. But not easy by any means. The last 5 km was a day pack only between two people, with more snacks given at this Dwellingup stop and swap. We pretty much walked to the finish which was Moray camp, as one big family, really lovely feeling to be part of this journey. Fabulous year group, that was enjoyed by the majority.  I have seen strong leaders, contributors, care givers and entertainers in this year group. Cant wait to walk again with them in year 9.

Senior School Residence

Jake Ednie-Brown

There were four teams, being two very professional Malaysian sides on their own horses, and two comprised of boys who had flown in from all over the world, who jumped on four strange foreign horses each.  (As in, 16 ponies per polo team!)

Jake’s “International All Stars” side were runners up in what was a very close, and fast contest between the international representatives.

Their team was coached by Pakistan’s National Coach Agah Khan.

…..And Jake was awarded Most Valuable Player of the tournament.  Congratulations Jake!!

End of Winter Term – Reach entries and Transport

The last day of Winter Term is Friday 22 September and Middle and Senior School finish at 12:55pm.

If you have flights, bus or train tickets booked, would you please add these to Reach or email to Boarding.Admin@scotch.wa.edu.au

Reach – Holiday Travel Arrangements Creating a Leave Request

Information for Year 10s

If your son has either already completed his year 10 Expedition (in Week 3 of the July School Holidays) or will be undertaking one in Week 9 of this term, there are no classes for year 10 students in Week 9.

If your son has already completed his expedition (Sea Kayaking, Dive Expedition), his last day of term is Friday 15^th September (end of Week 8).

If your son is attending the New Zealand expedition, it is important to note that the return date for this expedition is Saturday 30^th September, at which point the boarding house will be closed for the October School holidays, so we would advise collecting any items from boarding that your son may need before your son departs on his expedition.

If your son is attending an expedition in Week 9 (Mountain Biking, Caving, Horse Riding, Karijini, Surfing or Margaret River Experience) then your son will return to boarding around lunchtime on Friday 22^nd September. The boarding house will close for the end of Winter Term at 6pm.

We will use time in the evenings of Wednesday 14^th & Thursday 15^th September to allow boys to do an end of term pack up.

The boarding house will reopen for students to return for Spring Term at 1pm on Tuesday 10^th October, with school resuming Wednesday 11^th October.

Could you please make your “Holiday Travel Arrangements” in REACH by 8^th September, any questions please don’t hesitate to contact either Andy or Steven.

I hope you all enjoyed the recent mid-term break. It seems crazy that we are halfway through this term already!  

As the winter sport season has concluded, we have now begun the athletics season and it has been pleasing to have boarders participating in training. Please encourage your boys to go down to training and maintain an exercise schedule, even without PSA sport as it helps them get that initial pent-up energy out of their systems after having been in the classroom all day, it gets them playing outdoors and helps a huge amount with their general wellbeing, particularly helping them to get a good night’s sleep. 

Our Middle School boys are about to embark on outdoor adventure of another kind, with the Year 8s out on Bib track next week and the Year 7s out the week after. I am really looking forward to getting out on track with the Year 7s and enjoying some time together out in the bush and working with them on our Rites of Passage Programme. A lot of work is going into developing our Bib Track programme and I have been working closely with our Director of Pastoral Care, Mr Hindle and our new Head of Outdoor Learning and Adventure, Dr Picknoll, to further refine our planning. As the boys go out on the track, our Outdoor Ed and Boarding Staff lead them through conversations around the campfire that help them grow as individuals and as a group. In Year 7 the boys explore the themes of connection and gratitude. In Year 8 the boys explore the themes of leadership by looking into important role models in their own lives. I am sure that next week a lot of parents’ ears will be burning because the boys will be discussing them at night and how important their parents are in shaping the people we are and how our parents serve as an inspiration for us.  

Speaking of inspiration, we have also had a series of inspiring speeches recently, with our Year 11 group presenting to our boarders’ assembly and making their case for leadership roles next year. I was so proud of the way that the boys conducted themselves and all of the staff agree that this was a very strong group, who are clearly very passionate about boarding and creating strong relationships amongst the boys. It will be a pleasure to work alongside these boys as we start to shape what boarding will look like under their stewardship. One topic of conversation later in the week was a meeting I had with a number of Senior School students about a planned refurbishment of the Senior Boarding House, particularly our common room areas. This is a really exciting project and it was so good to get the boys’ input. We are taking our ideas to the architects and our facilities team, who are all very keen to get something happening soon. It is our plan that with a better kitchen/dining space downstairs we will be really well placed to host more functions with parents at the start and end of terms to build an even greater sense of community. 

Recently we held Naidoc week at the school and were able to celebrate our Indigenous students and Australia’s indigenous culture, heritage and connection. It not only builds our human relationships, but also our sense of place, which is extremely important in boarding. Furthermore, most of our Indigenous students at Scotch are boarders, so Naidoc week has a particular importance to us. Our students took leadership roles thoughout the week, going down to the junior school to chat to boys, participating in Naidoc assembly and running barbeques during lunchtime. There was also the famous staff vs students basketball game at lunchtime which was a joy to watch. 

Coming up, our Middle School boys are about to embark on some Yoga classes as part of our wellbeing programme, this will take place during half of prep, with the year 7s and Yr 8s rotating. It will be a four week block of lessons. We hope to give the boys some skills in mindfulness and helping them be in control of their bodies and being able to calm themselves down. Yoga is great for staying present in the moment, being very aware of our bodies and our minds and our breathing cycles, and also increasing flexibility and improving posture. If we ignite a passion for yoga in the boys when they are young, it is hoped that in more stressful times in life, such as when they are going through examination periods, they can take some concentrated time out to clear their mind and look after their bodies. There also a great sense of fun in learning new skills and I think that the boys will really enjoy their yoga classes.  

Our year 10-12 boys are all starting to ramp up their preparation for examinations coming up. Mr Ninkov recently took the boys though some study techniques and also the importance of planning and being organised. Please encourage your sons to utilise our tutors, who are there every evening to help the boys prepare for their exams. Tutors can work with individuals or lead a small group session. Boys are able to book times in with boarders in the afternoon so that they are prioritised during prep time. Boys and parents have also recently been sent information on career tasters that boys can sign up for. There are courses in the last week of term for boys doing the AAP programme, boys can do their construction white card, a carpentry and bricklaying try-a-trade course, a barista course, a responsible service of alcohol course and a first aid course. Many of these courses are aimed at making our boys highly employable in their time after school. There are also career tasters for our years 9s coming up, an Automotive career taster, a STEM workshop, a Construction career taster and an Animation and Game-Art career taster. These are all courses that happen at TAFE and need to be signed up for, so please check your emails and chat to your sons (see below). 

I wish all families a great week ahead and I hope that some of you are able to make it to the athletics carnivals on Thursday and Friday. 

All the best 

Jordan 

Middle School Residence Courtyard refurbishment

We’d like to share a few photos of the refurbishment of the Middle School Residence courtyard.

Surprise Barbie Dinner

Catering staff surprised the boys with a Barbie themed pink dinner.  The boys tucked into Pink burgers, pink gnocchi and pink icing on cupcakes.

Senior School Residence

Ms Theresa captured the Year 9 footy boys after their games looking pleased after a good season.

Jayden Clarke, Toby Jones & Jaezari Wynne who were all members of the Alcock Cup winning (outright) 1^st XVIII footy team when Scotch 8.18.66 def Aquinas 7.3.45, meaning that the team also went through the season undefeated, 12 wins from 12 games. Completing a historic four-peat (2020-23) in the process.

1st XV Rugby team

Donnacha  who was a member of the Brother Redmond Cup winning (outright) 1^st XV rugby team, when Scotch 51 defeated Aquinas 5. It meant the team finished the season undefeated with 11 wins and one draw record from 12 games.

Year 9 Career Taster program

The Year 9 Career Taster Program (CTP), which is run in conjunction with North and South Metro TAFE, aims to inspire secondary school students to become ‘career curious’ about further study opportunities and potential careers.

The program offers the following.

• Industry-led experiences and activities that will introduce them to new and different areas of work and career opportunities.
• Career development training that will assist them in making informed decisions on their subject selections and post-school options.

We are delighted to be able to offer a variety of Career Taster’s to your son. This is a pilot programme being run at Scotch College with the aim to make this available to every Year 9 student in the coming years.

The experiences that we have on offer are as follows:

Automotive Taster- 22 September @ Kwinana

Students will have a full day at South Metropolitan TAFE’s dedicated automotive campus in Kwinana where they will get to be in a real-life workshop.

They will be provided with a pair of safety glasses for the day and get to tour the workshop facilities. Students will get to hoist the vehicles up to where they will learn how to change tyres, check the pressure, and hoist them back down again. They will be shown a variety of engines and end the day by seeing how air bags are deployed with the inclusion of strapping watermelons on them to see how they burst!

Students must wear steel capped footwear, long trousers (no jeans) and t-shirt preferably long sleeve with no offensive print.

STEM workshop- 9 November @ Munster

STEM Workshop collaboration with Sci-Tech to discover all things STEM!

Students will be able to explore South Metro TAFE’s Munster Campus where they will have a quick morning welcome before taking part in 2 activities, one hosted by Sci-Tech, the other hosted by SMTAFE.

Sci-Tech will host a Bucket Tower Challenge where students will work together to find innovative solutions to a complex problem and South Metro TAFE will host hands on activity involving a robotic arm where students will try to program it to pick up certain items.

Construction Taster- 27 November @ Rockingham

Students will undertake hands-on experiences in the Construction Industry at South Metropolitan TAFE’s Rockingham campus.

This taster program will give students a great introduction into the building and construction industry. This taster will see students getting their hands dirty in 3 different trade industries across bricklaying, plastering/tiling and wall and ceiling.

Students must wear steel capped footwear, long trousers (no jeans) and t-shirt preferably long sleeve with no offensive print

Animation and Game Art- 5 December @ North Bridge

Build your own robot!

Students will have a chance to learn all about robotics in this taster experience. Students will have the opportunity to model and texture a robot using real industry software.

To gauge interest and assign your son to a taster programme, we ask that you please complete the form below by Friday 1 September. Transport will be provided to all the Career Taster programmes and there is no cost involved.

Career Taster Expression of Interest Form

Middle School Athletics Carnival

A great day for the MS Athletics carnival on Thursday this week, with glorious weather.

The results will be announced on Monday 4th September.

End of Winter Term – Reach entries and Transport

The last day of Winter Term is Friday 22 September and Middle and Senior School finish at 12:55pm.

If you have flights, bus or train tickets booked, would you please add these to Reach or email to Boarding.Admin@scotch.wa.edu.au

Reach – Holiday Travel Arrangements Creating a Leave Request

I hope you have enjoyed the past fortnight and that your sons have settled well back into boarding. Please feel free to find a time to touch base with your son’s Head of Residence or myself to have a ‘mid-year chat’ on his progress and goals for the remainder of the year.

It was lovely to meet with the parent committee at the start of term and I remind parents that you are always welcome at those meetings. The next meeting is 9^th October at 3pm in the Dining Hall Annexe. I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome our boarding parents to dinner in our dining hall at any time you are in Perth and visiting your boys.

One exciting project that we discussed in boarding for the next year is a refurbishment of our Senior Boarding House common rooms, both the downstairs and upstairs. We are currently consulting stakeholders, including a committee of boys, about what they would like to see in these spaces so if you are in the boarding house visiting or collecting your son, please feel free to have a chat to our House Mothers about the plans. We are currently looking at the downstairs area having a “café” theme and the upstairs being a “sports lounge” theme. This will have overflow effects on what we do with prep spaces, the entry foyer and the staff office. It is an exciting project.

Another topic we discussed and agreed upon was the value of having a soft curfew for boys when returning from leave on weekends and holidays. It would be great if boys returning from leave could please be back in boarding by 6pm (dinner time) so that they have time to pack their room, settle, and prepare for the next school day and then be in bed in time for a good night’s sleep. It would also help to build community amongst parents. We would love parents to stick around and socialise, perhaps stay for dinner on those days. It will be something we incorporate into our planning of the downstairs “café” space, the idea of hosting more barbeques in the boarding house and a casual place for everyone in our boarding community to socialise, especially at the start and end of term. In general, I think that boys should be home by 6pm on a Sunday evening so that they best prepare for the week ahead.

Last week we had our very special Spirit Award evening. Boys are celebrated for their Sparkle, Imagination, Resilience, Integrity, and Tenacity (SPIRIT). Congratulations to our nominees and our overall winner, Lochie Elliot (Yr 12).  Please see below for photos of the evening.

This week we also kicked off our student leadership process for the Year 11s hoping to gain leadership positions in Boarding and in the Day School. In Boarding we have 4 senior leaders, our Captain of Boarding, Vice Captain of Boarding (Middle School), Vice Captain of Boarding (Stirling Clan) and Vice Captain of Boarding (Blair Clan). We also have a Year 12 Boarders’ Council which is a committee that gives voice to the boarders and helps with various portfolios, such as organising Boarding Week, our Clash of Clan tournament, Rec events, Peer mentoring and various other things. Yr 11 boys will nominate themselves for positions, prepare a speech and go through an interview process throughout this term in preparation for the changeover to new leaders at the beginning of the Academic year in October.

This week and next I am embarking on a bit of work travel. The Headmaster and I fly to Karratha on Friday 4^th August for the FeNaClNG Festival to meet our families in the Pilbara. I return on Monday and then drive with Mr Gill up to Mingenew for the Mingenew Midwest Expo and then Geraldton for a sundowner event, returning on Sunday 13^th August. I always love visiting boarding families in the regions, so please make a time to come and say hello whilst I am in your area. In terms of contact, I will be available on my mobile and intermittent emails. Please contact your Head of Residence or Jan in Boarding Admin in the first instance.

All the best

Jordan

Spirit Award

Congratulations to Lochie Elliott and the boys nominated.  Very proud of you all.

NAIDOC Week

The week started on Monday 31 July with the Student vs Teachers basketball game which saw them tie at 30 all.  On Wednesday, the Middle School was treated to a sausage sizzle of kangaroo and the SCIN’s Dance troupe performed for the Junior School.  Another sausage sizzle for the Senior boys on Thursday and on Friday the flag raising, smoking ceremony, marching and assembly.  See the videos of assembly below.

NAIDOC Week – Three dances 040823

NAIDOC Week Didgeridoo and Dance

Middle School Residence

As part of NAIDOC week Thomas W spoke to the Year 7 cohort about his culture and heritage.  Well done Thomas!!

Senior School Residence

Jayden spoke about his experience in Melbourne for the Footy U15 at the Blair Clan meeting!  By all accounts he had a great experience and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Mid Term Break – Friday 18th August to Monday 21st August – Reach Holiday Leave and Transport arrangements

Thank you to those that have already entered Holiday Travel Arrangements for your son’s. A reminder that leave for Mid term break needs to be put into Reach no later than Monday, 14th August.

The boarding houses will be closed on Friday 18th and open from 1:00pm on Monday 21st.

When you enter leave it is from Thursday 17th through to Monday 21st August.  Please use Holiday Travel Arrangements when selecting the type of leave.

If your son is travelling over the break, you must send through flight, bus or train tickets to Boarding.Admin@scotch.wa.edu.au

Please add all the ticketing details to Reach, as this helps with our transport arrangements to get boys to the airport, bus and train stations on time.

Below are the instructions on how to enter leave into the Reach Leave Management System, please also email if you have any questions regarding Reach or leave entries.

It has been a busy couple of weeks in boarding since the mid-term break, most notably with Boarding Week happening last week, which was a great success. The aim of boarding week is to celebrate the diversity of our boarding community, to celebrate the value the boarders bring to our wider community and the relationships that are formed between boarders and day boys. I sincerely hope that our boarders stood proud during the week, the feedback has certainly been very positive

Boarding Week

Boarding Week kicked off with some social media coverage over Scotch’s Facebook and Instagram pages, including photos from our boarding photo competition, videos of what boarders get up to when they are at home and photos of what boarders get up to on weekends through our Rec programme. Finally, the week finished with a podcast I did with some of our boarders, I encourage you to have a look here

There was also a focus on our Yr 7s as they began the first leg of their Bib Track Journey, including an outstanding Welcome to Country given by Mr Spratt and other Noongar Elders, to give a blessing to our boarders as the embark on a journey through our magnificent South West, Noongar Boodja. In many ways, the boys start a journey from boyhood to manhood and the Bib Track marks, follows, and symbolises that progress. There will be times of rain and big hills, and there will be times of bonding and celebration – and there is an overall goal in sight, that shows the boys that persistence and hard work does pay off, and it is made all the more achievable and enjoyable when we support each other through the journey.

On campus, we had a bunch of activities throughout the week. The Middle School boys held a footy kicking and basketball challenge to raise money for the RFDS, the Senior School boys had a netball game against PLC on the Chapel lawn and a tug of war against each other. We also held a sausage sizzle on the Thursday for the senior school and the Friday for the Middle School! On Thursday afternoon the Middle School boys invited a day boy friend to the boarding house for afternoon tea and a few games.  Throughout the week, we invited teachers to join us for dinner in the dining hall and a tour of the boarding house, and had about 10 teachers each night throughout the week take us up on the invite, which was amazing! It was really good to see the boarders showing off their ‘home away from home’ to the wider community and everyone who visited also had a positive experience.

On Friday we held our biggest Ag Day yet! The weather was kind to us, which was a big relief. We had our very own Field Day down at the Gooch Pavilion, with a free dress day, marching and pipe band, an incredibly special indigenous dance, and special guest speaker Mr Ben Macnamara, an old Scotch boy and CEO of CBH address the assembly about the value of regional WA, career opportunities in the Ag sector and the value of boarding at Scotch. He shared some of his own personal journey and encouraged the boys to spread their wings and be open minded with career choices after school. Throughout the day there was a careers tent for the boys to see the many opportunities the regional WA presents from tourism to veterinary studies to agri-business, the Gooch carpark was jam packed with machinery, there were farm animals, and activities for the boys such as whip cracking and bubble soccer. At various time throughout the day, all three sub schools made it down, Senior School, Middle School and even the kindy kids!

That evening we took the Year 12s away for a special retreat to share some time together. As their journey is coming towards an end, we wanted to mark it with a special night, whilst everyone is still all together, as the boys will start to graduate and leave boarding at different times starting from next term. It was a special evening and Mr Mellor and myself certainly enjoyed spending this time with the boys. We were blessed that the Westerman family hosted us at their property in the Helena Valley and I can certainly recommend any boarding parents who want to have a weekend away at a retreat to visit the website of Amaroo Retreat and Spa in the Perth Hills.

Life Skills Programme

Our Life Skill programme continues to grow and next week we have another special day for the year 12s, a programme named “City After Dark” where the boys will be taken around the streets of Northbridge at night time by a couple of police officers and boarding staff, looking at how to be safe and make smart decisions when they are out in the big world in their life after school.

In another aspect of our Life Skills programme, we are about to start running a cooking course, led by Mrs Wilhelm on a Wednesday night for Yr 12s to learn how to cook some good healthy meals so that by the time they leave boarding, and often stay in Perth to work or study, they can better fend for themselves.  By the time our boarders leave school, hopefully we have taken them through experiences that allow them to be ready for independent living, which is what our Life Skills programme is all about. We also recognise that older boys don’t use as much rec opportunities on weekends, so this is a good way to invest in them, appropriate to their age and stage.

Boarding photos

I would really like to encourage both parents and boys to get involved in our boarding photo competition for 2023. They are such special representations of our families and help us create that home away from home. It is also growing a formidable reputation in our broader community, who love that we have now created a monthly calendar out of the photos and we can use them in various other ways in boarding. You may have noticed that Henry Dyke’s recent photo of his farm in Narrogin had made the front cover of the Clan! The deadline for photos is the end of the July holidays, so please take some snaps and encourage the boys to as well.

End of Term pack up

Finally, I would like to inform parents that at the end of this term, most boys will have to do a significant pack up. Over the July break, the Middle School boarding house is being used for an Orientation Camp for our incoming Year 7s in 2024, who will be spending a weekend in the house. All rooms need to be packed away. We have some storage rooms in boarding but it might also be a chance to take some things home. In the Senior House, we also have a Scotch Camp on, and that means all the downstairs bedrooms need to be fully packed away. That means all Year 9s and 10s and a couple of Year 11s. Again, we have storage boxes and storage rooms in boarding. Please be aware of this and talk about it with your sons.

I wish families all the best over the next two weeks and into the holidays.

Kind regards

Jordan

Boarding Week

In the Middle School Residence, boarders were asked to invite a day boy to afternoon tea.  Looks like everyone enjoyed themselves and the day boys had a taste of what it’s like to be a boarder for an afternoon.

In the Senior School Residence, teaching staff were encouraged to join the boarders for dinner and a tour of the Boarding House.

Mrs Jane Mills, Senior School English teacher, joined Rory, Lachie and Noah for a look around their ‘home away from home’.

Netball with PLC

As part of Boarding Week, PLC were invited to play a game of netball with the Scotch Boys.  You may notice that they swapped sport uniforms to undertake this task.

Mr Mellor provided this commentary of the game:  The boys were under pressure as they adapted to the rules. Jensen and Myles held the defence early while Ben and Lachie struggled to score.  Some swift coaching moves from Mr Owenell and the injection of Jett and Jack saw the momentum swing in Scotch’s favour with a run away victory.

Congratulations to the boys for pulling off a well deserved victory!

Ag Day

We were very lucky with the weather and a wonderful performance from the Pipe Band and Indigenous dance troupe accompanied by Micheal Spratt on didgeridoo.

Check out Ben Macnamara and the Indigenous Dance video link’s below.

Indigenous Dance group

Indigenous Dance group 2

Guest speaker – Ben Macnamara

Middle School Residence

Year 7 Bibbulmun Track

The Year 7’s arrived in Kalamunda at the Discovery Centre on a very cold, wet day.  They were greeted by an Indigenous Smoking Ceremony and Didgeridoo playing my Micheal Spratt, to send them on a safe journey.

Mrs Sullivan and Mrs Guy’s group got the worst of the weather, being pelted with hail, saturated with rain or dodging ever increasing puddles. After stopping for lunch on day 1 the boys were too cold and there was no way they could start walking again towards a miserably cold first night on the track. However, after the night back at school with a hot shower and fire to warm up, we were blessed with a beautiful second day of walking and were able to knock off the remaining leg of day 1 and all of day 2 kms.

The boys were very appreciative, curious and lots of fun to hang out with for the two days! They were very grateful of all the experiences and opportunities that have been provided to them by you, and are such a supportive and kind bunch, looking out for each other. Their singing talent is also something of note!

Senior School Residence

Year 12 Retreat

On Friday 9 June, after a busy Ag Day, the Year 12’s headed off to the beautiful Amaroo Retreat and Spa in Mt Helena. A huge thank you to the Westerman family for their generosity to have they boys enjoy a wonderful dinner and evening together at the estate. It was a great night to spend together as they near the end of their journey at Scotch.

Claremont Colts

Jett and Jaezari ready to play for Claremont Football Club Colts last week.  They are also part of the Dockers Next Generation Academy – well done boys.

Music Monday

Solomon Short in Year 12, who is doing a Certificate III in Music, played keyboards for the Senior School in the Band.  It was great to see all their hard work pay off.  Well done Solomon!

End of Autumn Term – Reach entries and Transport

As the term is coming to an end, I’d like to remind families that on Friday 30 June, both Middle and Senior School finish at 12:55pm.

I would appreciate you entering you son’s leave into Reach as soon as possible, so we can organise transport where needed.

Reach – Holiday Travel Arrangements Creating a Leave Request

I wish you all a very happy school holiday period and look forward to seeing you all next term.

Boarding Photography Competition

Don’t forget to get your entries in for the 2023 Photography Competition

Competition closes on 28 July 2023.

Meet the Mentor

First and foremost, I wish you all a wonderful long weekend, hopefully with time to reconnect with your sons. We have had a good start to the term, but there is definitely a sense in both houses that the boys are ready for a break. I know that there will be a mix of chill out time and adventure, but we look forward to the boys recharging their batteries and enjoying the freedoms that come with a long weekend.

When we return, Week 7 will be Boarding Week at Scotch, which is very exciting! There is a huge array of activities for our whole school to celebrate over the week.

Boarding Week

Teachers Dinner – Teachers have been invited to share a dinner with the boarders in the dining hall throughout the week and we have had a lot of teachers RSVP, so that will be a rolling feature throughout the week.

Social Media content – There will be a feature every day next week, starting on Sunday and going until Friday on Scotch’s Instagram and Facebook accounts including a feature on what the boys do at home, what the boys do on weekends, the Yr 7 Bib Track walk, our boarders photo competition, a podcast interviewing boarders and a feature on Ag Day!

Tuesday – Yr 7 Bib Track Welcome to country and northern terminus

Tuesday lunch  – Clan Games Tug of War

Wednesday lunch – PLC boarders visiting for a game of netball

Wednesday lunch – 3 point comp and footy skills in the Middle School Quad

Thursday lunch – Senior School Sausage Sizzle lunch and whip cracking display

Thursday after school – Middle School boarders invite a mate to afternoon tea in the Boarding House!

Motor Bike/ Machinery display

Careers Tent with over 13 exhibitors

Special guest speaker

Bubble Soccer Game

Middle School sausage sizzle recess

Free Dress Day and boarders marching together as an 11^th “House”

It’s going to be amazing!

Yr 12 Retreat

Also on Friday 9^th June after Ag Day we are taking the Year 12 group on a retreat as a way to celebrate their time in boarding and give them a final push towards graduation and enjoying their time as it comes to a close. With so many boys finishing school at different times throughout Term 3 and Term 4, we wanted to have a time where we were all together in a space. We have been lucky to have been offered an amazing space by the Westerman family to take the boys to Amaroo Retreat and Spa, their property in the Helena Valley.

Bib Track

Week 7 see our Year 7s embark on their first Bib Track expedition, a two day walk, starting from the Northern Terminus. We will have a special welcome to country and smoking ceremony by local indigenous elders to mark the special occasion and recognise and respect the beauty of the land on which we walk.

Last week we celebrated the Year 10 and Year 11 walks with a special dinner to honour the boys’ achievements. Many of our Year 10s and 11s have now walked over half of the track and we recognised that at our boarding assembly this week. The boys have been given a special gift to mark the occasion.

Life Skills Programme

Our life skills programme continues to grow from strength to strength in boarding. Key elements of the programme this term have been the continuation of our workshop skills, where the boys have been making amazing things out of timber. We have also been hosting the boys to undergo surfing lessons, which has been a great success. Thirdly, we are just about to launch a set of cooking lessons for our senior boys to help them transition to their life beyond boarding! One of our House mums, Kerry, will take ownership of the programme and we have been given access to the Middle School Food Design classroom to host the cooking lessons. I am really looking forward to seeing what the boys come up with, a good opportunity to develop new skills and passions. This week we also took our Year 11 group to Royal Perth Hospital for the P.A.R.T.Y program, which take a sombre look at what might be the consequences of making some silly decisions in adolescence and early adulthood. We aim to teach the boys to be careful and to look out for each other and help each other make good decisions in that first phase of life after school.

Boarders Ball

Last weekend we hosted the Boarders’ Ball at Scotch, in conjunction with PLC. The boys and girls had the theme to “Dress as the first letter of your name” and they didn’t disappoint with the costumes. The DJ’s entertained them for a few hours where they could let their hair down and have some fun. By all accounts, a great evening.

Kununurra

I was not able to see the Boarders’ Ball in person because I was up in Kununurra visiting our current, future, past, and prospective families in the top end. Chair of Council, Mr Tim Wiese and myself were lucky enough to visit Kununurra and tour the local school with the Deputy Principal and have a number of interesting conversations about building relationships with the community. The discussions were wide ranging and it is fair to say that Kununurra is an exciting place to be at the moment, with a lot of agricultural development and opportunities. It also has a beautiful community atmosphere. Tim and I had the chance to discuss developments at Scotch, such as the new online school that Scotch has launched and how we might be able to link in with regional schools and form strong partnerships. Our online boarding transition programme, the Taigh, is something that Scotch is proud of and has formed a very strong platform from which we can launch other initiatives. More information will soon be available about Scotch Online, watch this space!

Boarding photo competition

I encourage all families to spend some time over the weekend taking some great snaps of home or holiday destinations and adventures to enter our Boarding Photo Competition. We have four categories: junior student, senior student, familities, and staff. Try and take high resolution photos and, a little tip, it needs to be a landscape orientation to be able to get into our annual boarding calendar.

I wish all of our families a wonderful long weekend and look forward to seeing you on Monday afternoon, ready for Boarding Week!

All the best

Jordan

P.A.R.T.Y Program

The Year 11s attended the P.A.R.T.Y Program at Royal Perth Hospital this week to experience the journey of an imaginary trauma patient from the hospital Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit and Trauma Wards.  The knowledge gained from injury to rehabilitation, especially  where drugs and alcohol or risk taking behaviour was a contributing factor, is invaluable and could lead to a reduction in related trauma incidences.

Yr 11 and Yr 12 Boarder’s Ball – Scotch and PLC

Lochie Elliott and the leadership group did a great job decorating McKellar Hall with PLC leaders.  Below are photos of the event – I’m going to leave it up to you to guess the first letter of their names!  Thanks to Mrs Sullivan for being On Call and our wonderful Boarding mentors for the photos.

Year 11 Bib Track Walk

On 14 May, some of the Year 11s walked from Northcliffe to Inlet Road.  The boys received their sunglasses before boarding the bus – they look pretty cool.  Ms Rochelle Gaudieri and Mr Johann Schroeder walked with the boys, with backup from Mr Rhys Edwards.

PSA Indigenous Round

1st 18 AFL vs Hale round 5

Jett Sibosado and Jaezari Wynne model the Scotch 1^st XVIII football jersey for the PSA Indigenous Round. The pitch was painted by our Facilities Team and went by the name Galbamaanup (place of black water, referring to Lake Claremont) for the round.

Mr Micheal Spratt decorated two footballs with indigenous art as prizes for the round.  Jett was chosen as Best Player on the day, as deemed by Hale’s 1st XVIII coach.  Congratulations Jett!!

Senior School Recreation

The Senior boys have enjoyed some fun recreation activities in the last week.  Golf and the driving range are always firm favourites. The boys also went Rollerblading in Morley and the Year 9s played for Subiaco Basketball at Bendat Stadium.

Surfing Lessons

More surfing fun!

Middle School Recreation

The Year 7s and Year 8s enjoyed the Dockers versus Geelong game at Optus Stadium.  Dockers won with 106 to 77 points. Go Dockers!

Meet the Mentor

Boarding Photography Competition

Closing 28 July.