Newsletter, Term 1, Week 8 - Friday 19 March

It was a great privilege and extremely humbling to be inducted as Principal of Scots last week.

I am grateful for all the kind words, congratulations and best wishes that Yvonne and I have received not only at the induction ceremony but since we arrived here in Albury. I am appreciative of the way the Scots community has opened its arms to welcome us and made us feel at home.

We have recently bought a house here in Albury and it will be our first time in 18 years that we are not living in rental accommodation. We are both a little surprised how much that means to us and how much we now truly feel connected to Albury.

The induction was a very special evening where we celebrated our past and looked with excitement and positivity toward the future. And I’m grateful I was able to share it not only with my beautiful daughters and wife, but a big contingent of the Scots family, too.

I must say a huge thank you to Scott Nicholson for his organisation; to the musicians, catering, cleaning community, alumni, students, teachers and all staff. You have made a real difference in my life.

Lockdown Drill

You probably heard from your son or daughter that students and staff took part in a lockdown and evacuation drill last week.

The drill was done in an orderly manner and carried out successfully. Around 12.30pm, we sounded the alarm which is the signal for students and staff to follow the lockdown procedure by closing windows and blinds, locking doors and moving to a safe space in their classroom such as under their desks.

When the lockdown was over, we sounded the siren continuously to signal to students and staff that they should move to a designated evacuation point where they are checked off against student and class lists. It helped us highlight key areas to address in an effort to ensure we are safe and prepared. We will hold a follow-up drill early next term.

Camps

Students in Years 8-12 will go on camp in the last week of term, Week 10. All students are expected to attend unless unable to and this is given in writing to Senior Leaders. Camps are a hugely valuable part of learning where we experience new challenges, learn about ourselves, others and what community is all about.

Year 8 will be going to Cape Otway, Year 9 to the Grampians, Year 10 will go scuba diving and bushwalking near Merimbula, Year 11 will be at Anglesea and Year 12 will head to Melbourne for university visits.

Careers opportunities

Scots has been involved in a new initiative to promote career opportunities through partnerships in our local community. We secured a $5000 grant to connect with a range of industries and to forge relationships with our local businesses and tertiary institutions and registered training organisations. As part of a Riverina hub with two other schools, we secured a further $15,000 grant to be used in a collaborative way to promote pathways and develop regional partnerships with industry leaders.

Our first initiative will be a two-day careers event for all students of Year 10 in May. Students will attend Charles Sturt University in Wagga in the morning and can choose from three focus areas in the afternoon:

Primary Industry Centre at TAFE plus two local renewable energy businesses
Rural Health career options
AgriTech career options

The other full day will be held in Albury where students will spend the morning at the National Environment Centre and select from a range of afternoon activities, that may include: horticulture, waste and water management, town planning, library/museum, logistics and traineeships/apprenticeships available through Albury City Council.

Would you like to offer assistance to our program? You can be involved by: Hosting industry site visits, supporting our work experience program, speaking to our students via Zoom or in person, hosting skill development workshops, mentoring coaching our teachers or students or hosting immersion sessions. If you believe you have something to offer, please email careers@scotsalbury.nsw.edu.au

Scholarships

We have a strong list of candidates for our Fide et Literis scholarships and all have now completed the examination and are progressing through the interview phase. We will be offering scholarships shortly and I’m very excited by the high calibre of applicants.

Scots will benefit from exceptional students in sport, performing arts and academics, as well as a number of good students who will be assets in our boarding community.

Deep Learning

A seminar to outline the exciting and powerful learning framework around the Deep Learning program will be conducted for parents in Term 2.

The parents’ information session and workshop called Design for Deep Learning (DDL) will give us an opportunity to explain the rationale behind the program. Designing for Deep Learning integrates academic skills with personal and social capabilities and gives priorities to those capabilities and dispositions that support whole-school learning and living.

The session will be on Tuesday, 27 April at 5.30pm, so put it in your diaries to save the date.

Sports champs

We have a wealth of talent among our sports people here at Scots. Yesterday, our swimmers felt the pressure of a big event meet at the CIS competition at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre. They all swam incredibly well in what can be an overwhelming environment. I will share results and photos in the next newsletter.

Two of our talented athlete program scholarship holders have been performing well in their respective sports recently.

Maeve Connell,14, played her first basketball game for the Lady Bandits Youth Team last week in Wodonga against a team from Melbourne. She is one of the youngest players in the squad and managed to get court time for most of the second half. Maeve has been training with the squad for the past three weeks, on top of her commitments to the Bushrangers, the North East Country team. She will compete for the Bushrangers tonight in Melbourne.

In athletics, Xy Beale recently won three gold medals at the Canberra State Championships and is now in the final month of preparations for the Australian Track and Field Championships in Sydney which start on April 12. Xy won gold in the Hammer, Discus and Shot Under-16 events in Canberra, setting an all-comers record in Shot. Her discus distance qualified her to represent Victoria in Open competition as well as her age group category. She is playing South Coast Rugby this weekend and then she has a much needed week off before the Australian titles.

Condolences

I send condolences on behalf of the whole school community to Bek Bosch and her children, including Lachie in our boarding house, on the passing of her husband and the boys’ father, Tony earlier this week.

Two weeks to go!

This term has rushed by and we now have only two weeks to go before Easter and the end of term. We are encouraging all our students to make sure they finish the term strongly and do not ease up before the holidays. Of course, we have our camps in the last week so that will definitely be a change of pace for many.

The Big Vegie Crunch

Our junior school students yesterday joined the Healthy Kids Association and other NSW primary school students in a record attempt for the highest number of children eating vegetables simultaneously. The record of more than 50,000 students was set in 2018. The aim was to promote healthy eating and to get kids excited about vegetables!

Our Junior School students were eager to take on the challenge and were certainly excited about their vegies yesterday. Students brought their own vegetables to crunch on or enjoyed some straight from our Kitchen Garden.

Some of the produce from the Kitchen Garden is from their own gardening work, it’s wonderful to see them testing their produce and even trying some new flavours. We had beans, carrots, capsicum, radishes, parsnips, zucchini and plenty more. We will let you know whether we helped break the record in due course.

Year 7 student experience

We had the first of three Year 7 student experience days today. Year 6 students from our Junior School and from other schools in the region had a chance to explore the many opportunities on offer at Scots through this co-curricular themed day.

We will hold another in May and a further one in September. In this way, Year 6 students enjoy a relatively seamless transition to senior school.

Kindergarten enrolments

We have recently run a number of tours in the Junior School for parents considering Scots for Kindergarten 2022. It has been good to see some of our Pre-School parents along with a good number of parents whose children are at other pre-schools on the Border.

Current families are guaranteed a place in Kindergarten 2022 if they have completed the enrolment process by the end of March. If you have a child who will start in Kindergarten next year, please be in touch with our enrolments officer, Robyn Smith, to ensure you don’t miss out.

Year 12 fundraiser

Our Year 12 colourful sock day and bake sale was popular with all students yesterday. I’ve never seen so many different colours and patterns of socks in the one place! Well done to our Year 12s, who raised $530 from the day.

Matilda sponsorship

You will soon receive an email about the opportunity to sponsor our Musical Production of Matilda. Rehearsals and preparations have been challenging with the constantly changing government restrictions, but the cast and crew are determined to deliver an amazing show.

Sponsorship packages will include tickets, an advertisement in the program, souvenir programs and recognition in our social media.

Tickets for general admission will go on sale in Term 2 and we hope many of our community will come and see the show.

It is hard to believe we are at the end of Week 8 already. The term has passed so quickly. It is a very busy time as students work towards final assessments. Learning Mentors are keeping a close eye on their charges and reminding them that if, at any point, they are struggling, to communicate with their teachers and Learning Mentors.

Upon arrival at work on both Tuesday and Thursday, I was welcomed by the sweet scent of coffee. Our hospitality students along with Mrs Nixon opened the student café this week and it has been a wonderful success. I can highly recommend the coffee that these accomplished baristas are selling! I would also like to thank them for their initiative in providing this service which really showcases their learning.

The final week of this term will see students form Years 8 to 12 away on their annual camp. Much effort has gone into the planning of these camps and we are continuing to refine and develop our approaches in this area. We will certainly feedback on your child’s experience when we return next term. Of course, some of our students have already been on a number of camps as part of their Duke of Edinburgh course and I am sure, like me, you are amazed at the breathtaking photos they take on these trips.

Last week at Assembly, we had a number of our students talk about upcoming events in which they are involved in organising. Maddie Steer spoke to us all about National Epilepsy Day coming up on Friday next week. She, and a team of volunteers, has been busy planning the day. We invite all students to wear purple on this day and make a gold coin donation, which will go towards further research and increasing the awareness of epilepsy in the community.

We also heard from Aliera Tucker our representative on the Albury Youth Council. It is wonderful to see our students engaging in their local community and really making a difference. NSW Youth Week starts on 19 April and Aliera will be promoting the activities that are occurring over the course of that week in and around Albury. Aliera has organised for some of these to be featured in our newsletter.

I always feel I simply do not have enough room in this newsletter to showcase and congratulate the achievements of our amazing students. Some of them are highlighted in the submissions that follow.

Experiential Learning in 2021

Experiential learning is, quite simply, learning by doing. We have all learned to walk or talk, not by being shown or told, but by practising and refining our technique. Consequently, as learners in an academic context, we need to provide opportunities for students to learn by doing, not just a passive process that happens to the learner. In the Junior School context, experiential learning provides the platform for teachers to carefully construct the experience, an incursion, excursion or camp, and help students analyse and reflect on their learning.

On Monday, 8 March, our Kindergarten, Year 1 and 2 students, went on their first experiential learning experience with a visit to some of our local community facilities. Inquiring into the communities that we belong to (form), the purpose of different places in our community (connection) and the organisations that keep us safe (function), our students got to see first-hand our local sports grounds, play spaces and community gardens. They also heard from community garden organiser, Frank, who explained the role of gardens such as this in helping our community have a sense of belonging and connection while also supporting healthy eating and sustainable practices.

We are also excited for our students to participate in many other experiential learning opportunities in 2021, including:

Year 3/4 Camp to Valley Homestead Camp (Monday 24-26 May)
Year 5/6 Canberra Study Tour (Wednesday 6-8 October)
Year 2 Camp to Great Aussie Resort (Term 4 Date TBC)
Year 3-6 Junior School Ski Days (Term 3).

As well as these amazing learning opportunities, we are always looking to leverage the knowledge and skills within our own school community. So please keep in contact with teachers if you feel you could deepen the learning experience for our students.

Last Minute Reminders - who to send them to

In the business of our daily lives, parents often need to send a last-minute reminder to their child regarding after school activities or pick-up details. In this situation, it is always best to email both the classroom teacher and Junior School reception (juniorschool@scotsalbury.nsw.edu.au) to ensure your message is received. With teachers busy working with students throughout the day, it is difficult for them to check their emails.

JUNIOR SCHOOL CAPTAINS' UPDATE

Mr Gearats’s Induction:

This week, Mr Mark Geraets was given the great opportunity to be inducted into the role of The Scots School Albury Principal. After only spending a year and a bit in Albury, Mr Gearats has already shown that he is a dedicated person, wanting to thrive and excel in helping our school community to be the best that it can be. We are thrilled to have Mr Geraets as our new school Principal and can't wait to see more of his exciting new ideas and share his enthusiasm for a love of learning.

RAS Swimming:

Some students were given a wonderful opportunity to compete in the RAS swimming competition at Wagga Wagga on 3 March. Congratulations to Darcy Baird in Year 3, Charlotte Packer, Annabel Cavagna, Sienna McFarlane and Izzie Barber in Year 6, who all went on to compete in Sydney as well, waving the Scots flag at CIS Swimming yesterday. We will keep you posted on their progress.

Buddies:

Every week, Year 5 and Year 6 have an amazing opportunity to play and interact with their Year 1 and Kinder buddies. They read together, go swimming, and best of all play games together. By doing this, they learn some of our Scots Learner Profile Attributes, for example, open-mindedness, how to be caring and being principled, leading by example and being great role models.

RAS Netball:

On Wednesday, 17 March, a group of Year 5 and 6 girls competed in a trial for a place in a RAS Netball team. In the trials, we focused on skills, drills and mini-matches. Congratulations to Annabel Cavagna, Tia Sirr, Ella Maguire, Liv Brooks, and Millie Wilkerson who will be heading to Wagga for the next level.

Junior School Captains: Millie Wilkerson and Alexander Fraser

JUNIOR SCHOOL PREFECTS' UPDATE

This week’s learning update comes from Year 5 and 6:

On Thursday, 11 March, Year 5 and 6 students presented their summative assessment task on their inquiry unit on How we Express Ourselves by having a big gallery walk. Their central idea ‘We communicate in a variety of ways according to personal experiences’ had helped students consider influences on society such as stereotypes, money and religion. They had to represent five different things that had influenced them by using at least two forms of expression such as photos, models or drawings and writing an artist statement about them. Abbey from Year 5 had a tree with different influences hanging on each branch, and Jenna, also from Year 5, represented her love of sport by displaying a rep t-shirt.

Prefects - Billy Paffen and Annabel Cavagna