We are excited to release tickets to our 2023 Showcase Production – Shrek the Musical. Come along to see our talented students perform in one of three fun-filled shows:
Friday 12 May @ 7pm Saturday 13 May @ 2pm Saturday 13 May @ 7pm
Call for Sponsors: We are seeking local businesses to feature in the Shrek Souvenir Program - take the opportunity to gain exposure for your business, while supporting this amazing production. There is limited availability so all packages are on a first-in, first-served basis. Purchase your feature package here
Call for Volunteers • Wednesday Community Matinee
The community matinee is a tradition at Scots for the annual Showcase Musical - bringing together local senior citizens and school groups and enabling our student cast to showcase their hard work. The Community Matinee is on Wednesday 10 May and assistance is required from 9.00am-12.00pm.
Roles on the day include: parking attendants, assistants to walk and seat senior citizens, giving directions to groups as they arrive and depart, setting up morning tea and delivering refreshments to senior citizens.
If you do come along to assist, you are more than welcome to stay and watch the show at no charge.
From Deputy Principal and Head of Junior School • Kelly McKay
Today, all of our staff were involved in professional learning, exploring formative assessments and the ongoing engagement of our students. We were very fortunate to also have Chris join us from AIS – he was able to combine professional learning with his love of horse racing and was looking forward to enjoying the Albury Gold Cup!
It was wonderful to see the whole school turn into a sea of Purple yesterday. I would like to thank Maddie Steer and her family for leading this fundraising and educative initiative once again. We enjoyed having Maddie speak to the Junior School at assembly about epilepsy. This was on the back of Harmony Week and our celebration with colourful socks for Down Syndrome Awareness. Many thanks to Annabel Martin for speaking to the entire Junior School about Down Syndrome.
Next week, our Year 4 students embark on their camp for 2023. They will depart for Melbourne at 7.30am on Wednesday 29 March and we look forward to hearing of their adventures when they return on Friday 31 March. Year 3 also head off to camp this term on Tuesday 4 April. They will share their experiences with us at assembly next term.
In the last week of term, we will be having an Easter Bonnet Parade that will tie in with World Earth Day. Classroom teachers will tell you more about this next week.
An eight-week Auskick program will begin in the Junior School in Week 3 next term. I am currently in the process of finalising dates with HQ in Wagga and will provide more details at the beginning of Term 2.
Finally, I would like to remind parents of the importance of informing the office via the app if your child is going to be absent and /or if you are collecting your child early. It is important from a child safety perspective that we are informed of planned absences.
Students can find that week 7 and 8 of any term are stressful, they do tend to be the busy weeks where assessments are due and tests are taken.
In talking to students over the last couple of weeks, they have shared with me that they have indeed been busy with assessments. Some are taking it in their stride, others are feeling the pressure and some are feeling overwhelmed.
At this time it is important to remind our young people the purpose of these assessments. A summative assessment task is an opportunity to see how far they have come. It helps the teacher work out the next steps in that individual's learning and it helps identify any areas that need to be revisited. They are a powerful tool.
But, it is also an opportunity to remind our young people that they are more than any one assessment. Assessments do not define who they are, where they will go or their possibilities; they are just to look at learning in this one moment of time.
Naplan was completed this week. A big thank you to Mr Rob Cowan and Ms Amanda Ross for all of their organisation in the Senior School; from our end it went very smoothly. Students in Year 7 and 9 are commended for taking Naplan in their stride, they appeared to approach it with an open mind and understanding of it being a tool that will help in their learning.
Year 12 students also have impressed with their open minds; with Week 10 fast approaching, they are gearing up for their flexible learning week with clear goals and a strong understanding of how it will aid in their preparation for trials and the final examinations. In conversation, they have shared with me their hopes for the week and, of course, their excitement in the final afternoon event of a whole cohort battle of lazer tag!
Week 8 also was a week of community connection. Lylah Ellao, our Social Justice Prefect, and Mackenzie Semmens, our Community Service Prefect, worked with parents in our community for an international food market to mark Harmony Day. Students and teachers were able to experience taste sensations from the Philippines, India and the Pacific. It was a wonderful day, a big thank you to all the families, staff and students involved.
Purple Day, Epilepsy Action Day, an initiative from our very own Year 12 student, Maddie Steer, was another wonderful opportunity for the cohesiveness of the Scots student community to be on display. Students arrived in an array of purple shades. Rain did not dampen the appetite for cakes, with some spectacular cupcakes on sale - it was a pity they needed to be eaten! Again, this day could not have happened without the support of families and staff- thank you to all those who donated time and goods.
As we move into the last two weeks of Term 1, I encourage all of our students to make the most of the opportunities that are presented to them. Be that the opportunity to do their best an assessment task or the opportunity to challenge themselves in camp week. I look forward to seeing what we, as a community, can do!
There is a Buddhist story I’d like to share with you.
Buddha was making his way across the land. There was a mountain to cross, and he simply took himself to climb over the mountain. Needless to say, he was very exhausted once he had climbed. He was a portly sort of person, or as we might say, he was fed from the good paddock. He took some refreshing water from the cool stream nearby and sat on a sturdy rock under a shady tree. He closed his eyes and began to meditate.
As it so happened, a trim stately young soldier walked by and seeing this rather overweight figure sitting on the rock, he scoffed. “You look like a pig,” he remarked to Buddha.
The Buddha opened his eyes, looked kindly at the soldier, and said quietly, “And you look like God.”
Caught completely off-guard, the soldier asked Buddha, “Why do you say I ‘look like God?’”
“Well,” the Buddha replied, “I just walked over the mountain, and I thought of God. I saw him in the majesty of the place. I came to the cool waters of the spring, and I thought of God, and I felt God in the cool and refreshing water I took from it. I am sitting on this comfortable rock, and I thought of God. I saw him in his care and concern for my well-being. I closed my eyes in prayer, and I thought of God. So when I opened my eyes and upon seeing you, I assumed I was seeing God. You saw a pig. I wonder what you were thinking about.”
There’s a lot of truth in this ancient and timely story. So often our view of the world, our relationships and ourselves will happen from what is happening inside of us. So often what we fill our lives with comes out in the way we think and act.
I knew a little boy once whose home-life I would not wish upon anyone. At the age of seven, he would have to get up, get his infant sister up, change her, find clothes for himself, find breakfast, somehow find food to take for school and wait for his mother to wake up before he left for school. He treated others the way he was treated. At the slightest hint of argument, he would hide. He spoke to others the way he was spoken to. What filled his life was acted out through word and deed every day.
As a result, the sight of respect and kindness had little effect. He couldn’t see past his own life. It took the efforts of the entire school and will take years of kindness from teachers, through perseverance, persistence and compassion, for this little boy’s life to be transformed and transfigured to one from despair to hope, darkness to light, failure to success.
This Lent, we are called to show compassion, mercy, love and forgiveness. Our efforts cannot be just for a finite time during Lent. And our transfiguration can only come from then inside out.
From Head of Pedagogy • Megan Dickins
What is a 6 C learning progression?
Throughout the school we are using the Deep Learning six key competencies. These are Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Character and Citizenship. These skills are what we are hoping a Scots graduate can proudly demonstrate.
One of the major benefits of the Deep Learning work is that these competencies all have their own dimensions that can be measured. We use these to direct our teaching and to develop our students. It also provides an opportunity for students to assess themselves. Their student reflection in their semester reports is based on these ideas.
The progressions are graded on a five-point scale, not dissimilar to grades of A-E. In these cases students work from Limited Evidence, Emerging, Developing, Accelerating and Proficient.
Each time a student is working on a particular dimension they are looking to move one step forward. As teachers we ask them to think about: Where am I now? What is one next step? What action do I need to take to get there?
If we look at the key competency of Character. One of its dimensions is grit, resilience and perseverance. It looks like this:
Perhaps you can identify something that has happened in your world over the past two weeks and give yourself a rating? Where am I now? What is one next step? What action do I need to take to get there?
From Head of Sport • Tim Kennedy
BISSA Swimming Highlights On Thursday 9 March, Scots had a squad of 30 students travel to Wagga for BISSA Swimming. After a great day of competition, we had 18 students earn a nomination for CIS Swimming. Here are some of the highlights for the day:
Age Champion Results 17-19 Girls Age Champion: Zara Hiscock 15 Girls Runners Up Age Champion Grace Adams 14 Girls 3rd Place Age Champion: Madeline Hill 13 Boy 3rd Place Age Champion: Thomas Mack
2nd Place Zara Hiscock (17-19 Girls): 100m Freestyle, 50m Breaststroke, 50m Freestyle Grace Adams (15 Girls): 100m Freestyle, 50m Butterfly Adelaide Hiscock (16 Girls): 50m Breaststroke 17-19 Girls Freestyle Relay 13 Boys Freestyle Relay
Congratulations to all of the students involved, the effort and behaviour on the day was exemplary. Good luck to the CIS advancers who will compete in Sydney on 1 and 2 May.
NSW Netball Riverina All Schools Competition On Monday 13 March, 76 Scots students made their way to JC King Park for the Riverina All Schools Netball Competition. Seven Scots teams participated, consisting of boys and girls from Year 3 all the way up to Year 10. Thanks to the hard working group of senior students and teachers, who coached, umpired and scored on the day. Thanks also to the parents who assisted with extra duties.
Mammoth Mountain USA An exciting opportunity awaits two of our talented Scots' students when they travel to the US on 30 March. Neve White (Year 9) and Ethan White (Year 10) were identified as bright snowboarding prospects last year by Team Hotham, earning an invitation to the prestigious Momentum Camp. This camp runs for three weeks at Mammoth Mountain in the USA. They will be receiving elite coaching for their Free Ride and Park Training Snowboarding events. We wish them all the best for their exciting journey and look forward to what they can achieve in their upcoming competitions.
There has been a lot happening in and around the Library in the last fortnight.
The Year 6 textbooks 'How to Spell Catastrophe' arrived and were perfectly covered by our Library assistant, Jane van der Vliet. Thank you, Jane for doing all 50 books in one night so that our students could get stuck into their reading.
Some informative English texts have arrived for our extension students to sink their teeth into. ‘Writing from Start to Finish’ and ‘The Cambridge Introduction to Creative Writing’ are two examples of the excellent sources available.
Harmony Day was held on Tuesday 21 March and our senior students led by Mackenzie Semmens (Community Service Prefect) and Lylah Ellao (Social Justice Prefect) set up some wonderful activities in the Library. There was also the International Market held outside the Cultural Centre. We were all wearing a touch of orange – a colour that traditionally signifies social communication, the importance of meaningful conversations, the freedom to share ideas and mutual respect.
Junior School Library lessons celebrated Harmony Week by focussing on how Australia is one of the most successful multicultural societies in the world. We learnt about respect, inclusiveness, belonging and values.
Please remember the following Library after-school information:
Junior School Homework Club (5 & 6 only) Monday – Thursday 3.30pm – 4.30pm Senior School Homework Club Monday – Thursday 3.30pm – 5.30pm Library closed Friday after school
Homework Club - students MUST have homework to complete and once they have signed in, they will not be allowed to leave and come back. Students must also not arrive at homework club later than 3.40pm.
Parents are not permitted to enter the Library to pick up students. The phone number is 60220025 which can be called for students to be sent out. Please also call if you want any information relating to after school hours in the Library.
Alley McKeon
From the Friends of Scots Snowsports • Cocktail Party
Join the Friends of Scots Snowsports Committee at a Cocktail Party to raise funds for the Snowsports program at Scots.
Enjoy a fireside chat with Winter Olympians hosted by our own Britt Cox (Class of 2012), bid on some of the great items in our Snowsports Goods & Services Auction and enjoy canapes & conversation. Drinks available at bar prices.
The Albury Club • Saturday 6 May 2023 • 7pm • Cocktail attire
Hosted by the Friends of Scots Snowsports Committee (FOSS)
History teacher selected to accompany tour
Scots history teacher Paula Gleeson has been selected as one of two Australian teachers to accompany prizewinners of a national history competition to Singapore for a week-long tour incorporating ANZAC Day.
The Simpson Prize is a national History competition focusing on the service of Australians in World War One and is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and run by the History Teachers’ Association of Australia.
Paula will chaperone the prizewinners on the 2023 Simpson Prize Commemorative Tour to Singapore where the group will attend commemoration services at the State Cemetery and Kranji War Memorial. She also will attend the Simpson Prize Ceremony in Canberra in late March where awards will be presented by the Governor General.
Other important points of interest for the group to experience will be Kranji Beach battle site (historical marker), Jahore Battery, Changi Chapel and Museum, Old Changi Military Hospital, abandoned side Commando mess hall and the barracks units, reflections at Bukit Chandu – Museum for the Malay Regiment, Fort Canning and Battle Box as well as the National Museum.
Geography • Soils Fieldwork
Emma Delbridge, Amelie Cameron, Emmy Williams and Tessa Howden.
The Year 11 Geography class recently completed some soils fieldwork in the Scots Agricultural Learning Space. The focus was on soil characteristics with a special emphasis on soil texture (size of the soil particles). Students made a bolus which they ribboned. The longer the ribbon, the higher the clay content. The group is very engaged in the physical geography topic and preparing for an excursion to the dams and rivers of the high country.
- Peter Schneider
Auslan students complete study
Congratulations to the first Stage 5 Auslan class at Scots for completing "Introduction to Auslan Levels 1 and 2". Fourteen students from Years 9 and 10 and one student from Year 5 started learning Auslan with Shirley from Expression Australia last year. Shirley was born deaf to a hearing family and taught us about a whole range of topics including the alphabet, numbers, greetings, time, emotions, colours, food and drinks.
Students played a number of games to help them learn Auslan including bingo, charades, signing whispers and a signed selfie project. Most students also chose to undertake a one-day earplug experiment to give them an insight into what it’s like to have reduced hearing. Students were invited to sign We Wish you a Merry Christmas with the massed choir at Scots Carols last year.
Additionally, students had the opportunity to chat with Shirley about the deaf community and challenges faced, especially during COVID-19 when masks were worn and it was, therefore, impossible to lip read. Some take-away points were to try to be more open-minded, to ask people to write down what they are saying if you are unsure and to always make eye contact when speaking with people from the deaf community. If you turn away when you’re talking, they can’t lip read and if someone is hard of hearing, they won’t hear you if you’re not facing them.
We had the opportunity to talk to the Senior School about this in assembly last week and all students learnt how to say ‘thank you’ in Auslan and to do an ‘Auslan cheer’ instead of clapping.
Well done to all the students who completed the study with Expression Australia. This was a wonderful experience and learning opportunity for all involved.
- Caoimhe McMillan
Duke of Edinburgh - Mount Buffalo
Students hiked at Mount Buffalo as part of the Duke of Edinburgh program on the weekend of 10 and 11 March.
They camped together for a night where they enjoyed chatting around the campfire and looking at the night sky. The next day, students hiked about 20km to various lookouts and a stunning waterfall.
It was physically challenging, but students demonstrated eagerness to explore the countryside and perseverance to keep going as their energy levels dwindled. We encourage everyone to take advantage of such opportunities and discover the joys of exploration and self-discovery.
- Brennan McCann
Mountain Bike news
Scots mountain bike riders competed at the Australian MTB Interschools 2023 at Thredbo from 5-10 March. The event attracted over 1600 students from 2020 schools across Australia. With five events on offer the schedule was busy, from official practice runs to precise individual race start times.
This year, Scots took a representative team of 20 students, competing across four events, including:
The XCO race - a test of skill, fitness and race strategy beginning with an uphill, mass start of up to 200 riders.
The Norco All-Mountain Assault - a grueling 4km undulating descent on a course for the rounded rider with technical descents, natural obstacles, smaller jump options and pinch climbs.
The Fox Flow Motion Cup course - 4.5km in length, this run descends 465 vertical metres through a mix of open berms and long undulating straights.
Finally, Thredbo’s signature trail, the famous Cannonball - this run tests riders with off-camber roots, rock drops, jumps, wall-ride and technical features that make it both an appealing and intimating race.
With ever-changing weather conditions and subsequent event schedule changes, our students exhibited incredible tenacity and adaptability. For many, particularly our junior riders, if they weren’t practicing in dusty galeforce winds, they were racing in horizontal rain and a feels-like temperature of 4C (or arguably lower!) It was an impressive effort and the team (including dedicated parents) supported each other through it all!
Fortunately, the wind dropped and the sun came out just in time for our senior students to compete on the final two days. The team didn’t waste much time taking to the chairlifts early and giving their newly serviced bikes a workout.
Congratulations to all these students who competed and represented us so well, both on and off the saddle:
Callum Cooper, Odin Cooper, Harrison Coulston, Bailey Coulston, Fergus Monaghan, Anthony Alessi, Jack Plowman, Harry Ellis, Bill Butko, Wil King, Anouk Plowman, Mitch Briggs, Alex Sockett, Archie Ross, James Thorton, Oscar Cameron, Isablle Ingram, Reuben Case, Gracie Ross and Percy Ross.
Finally, special congratulations to some very impressive results, including:
Gracie Ross 1st place in Division 5 girls XCO
Archie Ross 10th place in a Division 3 boys XCO (215 competitors)
Anouk Plowman 3rd in Division 2 girls XCO
Harrison Coulston 29th in Division 2 boys Cannonball (350 competitors)
Ultimately, we loved seeing our students engage in new experiences or improve times from previous years and, most of all, seeing everyone arrive across each finish line safe, well and smiling.
Scots browbands and saddlecloths are part of the Scots Equestrian Team uniform. These will be loaned to riders who don’t already have one for the Interschools event. Soft Shell Jackets and Riding Polos also form part of the Equestrian Team Uniform but are optional.
The polos and jackets are navy with white trim, embroidered Scots logo on the left breast and white embroidery on the back which will read: SCOTS EQUESTRIAN similar to the photo.
On Day 1 of the Scots event, you must wear your school shirt, tie, and jumper and this can also be worn on Day 2. However on Day 2, if you prefer, you can wear the riding polo for show jumping, novelties and handymount. Riders in the Lead Line classes will need to be in school shirt, tie, and jumper for the Mount & Rider class and may stay in that, or change to a polo, for the handymount.
