Dear Boarding families

I write to you on a day that Scotch just won their 7^th consecutive Alcock Shield in the PSA Athletics, a record as the most ever consecutive wins in PSA history. I hope that some of you have been able to watch the live stream. We had a lot of boarders representing the School so it is fantastic to be able to watch them as they give their all for the School. A special congratulations to Loch Mactaggart and Hudson Hammond who are the Co-Vice Captains of this record-breaking team.

We have had a good few weeks in boarding, including our Middle School Boys heading out on the Bibbulmun Track last week. The boys did a great job and I would like to extend a special thank you to the staff that walked alongside them as well. I saw the Year 8 group down at Dwellingup getting to use the wood-fired pizza oven at our camp site in Moray and they found themselves a few water holes for a swim along the way as well. The staff that reported back made mention of the boys’ behaviour being first class, which is always nice to hear. Speaking of which, we recently had some boys in Year 8 from the Gold Coast stay with us for a couple of weeks. One of the boys spoke openly about how inclusive our students are, and waxed lyrical about being on his own at the dining hall and being invited by some Year 12s to sit with them and they were asking him all about himself and his school and how he was enjoying his stay. The Year 8 boy from the Gold Coast could not believe how kind he was treated by the older boys, and he couldn’t sing their praises highly enough. As a leader in this community, it makes me so proud to hear these stories and speak volumes about our culture in the boarding house. It is something we work hard on and, at times boys need reminding, however on the whole our students work hard and treat each other with kindness, which is the most important thing.

Our community and culture extends beyond the students, to our families. It has been very enjoyable in the last few weeks to head out to the regions and meet our families. Last week we were in Dowerin and saw a lot of our current and future parents as well as some Old Scotch Collegians who came to check in and see how the School was going and whether it is as good as it was back in the good old days. Thank you to all parents who took the time to come past and visit. It makes our day to see you and to catch up. There are times I am reminded of how long I have been here because I am seeing some young boys that I first met years ago when they might have been in Year 2 or Year 3 and now, they are on the brink of coming to Scotch in the next year or two. I am also meeting Old Boys who I went to school with, or even a few that were here as students when I started, who are now taking their children around to the school desks and booking in a tour. It is a wonderful feeling to be part of a community like Scotch Boarding. It was also lovely to take up Kristian Leeson, who is a local Goomalling boy to spend the two days with me and see how connected he is with our community in the wheatbelt and also Sophie Kelly from our Admission team who hails from the Dandaragan area. Sophie and Mr David Kyle also attended Newdegate this week and saw a lot of Scotch families there too. On Friday of next week, Mr Gill and I head to Esperance to meet up with our families in that area. We look forward to hosting you, along with PLC, at Lucky Bay Brewery on Saturday 14^th September. Please feel free to invite anyone you know who might be keen to come and hear about our community at Scotch Boarding and forward on that link.

We thoroughly enjoyed hosting our Dads at the recent Father/Son dinner in the Dining Hall last Friday. We hope that the Dads enjoyed themselves and used the opportunity to catch up with each other. I also hope that you all enjoyed a great Fathers’ day last weekend!

This week we had Year 10 examinations going on at School and next week we start two weeks worth of Year 11 and 12 examinations. We have altered our tutoring roster to ensure that the tutors are working with boys in their area of expertise in the days leading up to the relevant exams. It was great walking through the library the other night before the Year 10s had their mathematics and humanities exams and seeing so many maths teachers and humanities teachers in the library working through problems with them. The day boys don’t get that sort of treatment! Our boys are very well supported academically, and I would like to take the time to especially thank Mr Ninkov and Mr Wood for the work they have been doing with our tutoring program. We wish the boys all the very best for their upcoming exams. Some of our boys are starting to leave boarding as they finish their mocks or head off to the workforce if they don’t have exams. Today was their last marching before March Out! It is always a bittersweet time, to say goodbye to boys and parents that we have had so much to do with over many years. We look forward to seeing our boys and parents at our graduation ceremonies, the boarding graduation dinner and March Out early next term.

Finally, as we near the end of term I would like to wish the Year 10s all the best in their upcoming expeditions or off on holidays if they spent their July break in Exmouth. Mr Mecham will also be away with the Year 10s in New Zealand, so not around for his last week of being the Head of Middle School Residence. There is an afternoon tea next week to say thank you to him. On the final day of term Mrs Seaby is working in the Middle School House with myself and Mrs Finlayson to help families get ready to leave for end of term, and to see some of the Highland Games. We hope as many of you as possible can take the time to say thanks to Pam for all her years of service on that day. She is a very special person and a wonderful member of our team. We love you Pam!!

I wish all families a fantastic weekend and look forward to seeing you over the next few weeks.

All the best

Jordan

Boarding Leaders 2024/25

Congratulations to the following boys on their selection as Boarding Leaders.

Art & Design Expo 2024

The Art & Design Expo 2024 was held this week and the display is amazing.  Some wonderful artwork and ceramics on display.

Bibbulmun Track

Year 7

The Year 7 boys hit the track walking from Dale Road to the Perth Hills Discovery Centre.  The boys walked in two groups and the weather was pretty good most days.  The boys learnt new skills and enjoyed their time on the track.

Year 8

The Year 8 boys walked from Gringer Creek to Swamp Oak with Ms Higgins and Outdoor Learning and Adventure casual Zac Cominskey.  The boys had a good walk and enjoyed pizza and a warm fire.  Many thanks to Ms Guy for running backup.

West Australian Robotics Playoffs 2024

Congratulations to Mike and Jerry who were part of the Scotch engineering enthusiasts who competed against other schools and universities across WA at the West Australian Robotics Playoffs.  The competition was live streamed from August 23 to 25 and held at Curtin University.  All the boys worked extremely hard and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Well done boys!!

Around the Houses

Sad day in the Big House today with two Yr 12s leaving – Keion and Brandon.  See you at Graduation boys, all the best.

Clontarf Academy

Bailey with Nic, Mesheech, Jarra and Kazeem

End of Term Transport

In order to run our smooth operation, would you please add your son/s leave in Reach as soon as you know.

The boys last day is Friday 20 September and there is a staggered start – Year 7 & Year 8 are back on Monday 7 October and Years 9 to 12 are back on Tuesday 8 October from 3:00pm.

Meet the Mentor