Newsletter, Term 2, Week 6, Friday 3 June 2022

Friday 3 June • Year 5 & 6 Production of Aladdin (booking required)
Thursday 9 June • Year 7 Boys Football Gala Day, Lavington Sports Ground (spectators welcome)
Friday 10 June • Whole School Pupil Free Day (report writing day)
Friday 10 June - Monday 13 June • Boarding Exeat Weekend
Monday 13 June • Queen's Birthday Public Holiday
Tuesday 14 June • School Readiness workshop from 7pm.
Wednesday 15 June • Todd Woodbridge Cup (Years 3 & 4), Albury Tennis Club (spectators welcome)
Saturday 18 June • 50 Years of Scots Gala Dinner (booking required)
Tuesday 21 June • Scots Giving Day & Whole School Birthday Party (all students can wear casual clothes)
Tuesday 21 June • Scots Music Festival (booking required)
Friday 24 June • Final Day of Term

I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land, the Wiradjuri people, and pay my respect to their elders past and present and I extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who may be reading this newsletter today.

I’m very pleased that Scots has initiated an indigenous scholarship program that will come into effect for the 2023 school year. Scholarships will be available to anyone with Indigenous or First Peoples heritage who is recommended by an Elder in their community and who will work within our culture here at Scots.

I’m looking forward to broadening our understanding of our indigenous population and integrating their culture into the existing Scots culture. I think we will be able to learn a lot from each other.

The Government announced an increase in funding for Indigenous schooling and boarding in the last budget. It won’t trickle down to us, but at least the Government is recognising the importance of funding this sector.

Throughout the week, Chaplain Samm Menzies has led our efforts to recognise and celebrate Reconciliation Week, which started on 27 May and concludes today.

Samm has supported students and staff in creating yarning circles and learning how to weave and make twine as many Aboriginal people have done for thousands of years. The skills learned will be something that students may be able to use for many purposes well after they leave school. In addition to skills learned, the whole school has been weaving to create a sculptural piece that will hang in the library and will be a reminder of one aspect of culture.

Chapel this week was focused on First Peoples and respect fo culture, history and tradition. We have also raised the Aboriginal flag at the front of the school and the bell music has been changed to play only artists of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander heritage.

In the past few days, students and staff have been able to visit the library and “drop their pin” into the AIATSIS Aboriginal Country map to reflect where they live. Samm encouraged those who dropped a pin to learn the name of the First Nations country and to reflect on what it is that they love and appreciate about the landscape of their “home” country.

Our involvement in Reconcilliation Week and our Indigenous Scholarships are positive steps towards becoming much more inclusive. Additionally, our Student Representative Council is looking at ways to acknowledge and support our LGBTQI community.

I am very open to gender and sexual orientation discussion and have supported students being able to choose the gender specific uniform that best reflects their identity. We also provide counselling for those students who may be struggling with their identity. Our counsellors are very experienced and supportive in gender sexual orientation and gender fluidity conversations.

Aladdin - another amazing Scots Production!

With sets reaching for the sky, colour adorning stage and students, our Junior School production of Aladdin was another amazing Scots spectacular! After months of rehearsals and the ever present danger of sick kids, this week’s performances were a testament to the hard work and dedication of all involved. Our students should be very proud of their achievements on stage and the teamwork they displayed.

We hope our community enjoyed the opportunity to share in the joy of live school musicals again after a couple of years of setbacks.

Life@Scots - Celebrating culture

The term ‘international-mindedness’ is one that is entrenched in PYP literature and philosophy. Building on the work of UNESCO and Oxfam, the International Baccalaureate defines it as:

‘Internationally minded people appreciate and value the diversity of peoples, cultures and societies in the world. They make efforts to learn more about others and to develop empathy and solidarity towards them to achieve mutual understanding and respect’
(The Learning Community, 2018)

This week, the Junior School has been putting this philosophy into practice as we acknowledge Reconciliation Week. With activities in the classroom and special sessions in the library, students have been asked to consider the theme of ‘Be brave. Make change.’ These activities ensure our students are considering their connection to the world around them, an appreciation and empathy for others and learning how they, too, can make a difference. We look forward to engaging in and learning more about other cultures and peoples throughout the year.

Work and Life Balance

As the nature of the workplace has changed and adapted in recent years, so too have the expectations on ‘front-line’ workers who have less flexibility in their professional lives. We have been very fortunate that the committed teachers at Scots continue to put the needs of our community ahead of their own, often working in challenging circumstances with sick children and accommodating those who are absent.

It is a timely reminder from Jacob Morgan at ‘The Future Organisation’ to consider the work-life balance of our teachers and educators and other essential workers. Knowing that for them, there is no option to work from home or have flexible hours can be tricky when the emails don’t stop coming or the demands of the role continue long into the weekend. At Scots, we are very conscious of this and ask that families respect the need for teachers to have 24 hours to respond to emails or phone calls and that all efforts will be made to respond to concerns within a timely manner.

We are not immune to staffing challenges either which have, at times, impacted program delivery and the high expectations we have on addressing student needs. Needless to say, our classes are thriving, our interventions and support programs continue and our students are engaged in a range of co-curricular activities too.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our staff for their continued dedication to their role, the school and the students they support. I hope that they are finding the right ‘living from work’ balance as they write reports, finalise Semester One learning goals and accommodate out-of hours activities. It is greatly appreciated!

“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.”
Henry Ford

It has been an extremely busy couple of weeks at Scots with our boarders out and about playing sport, participating in culture activities and making the most of the last few days of tepid weather. I got my first real taste of what to expect in winter when I was watching the last game of netball for the season finish around 9pm last Monday night, it was 7 degrees…..

It was great to witness the students’ success at the athletics carnival last Tuesday, along with some interesting outfits! Congratulations to the following boarders who won their respective age groups:
Lucy Bolton
Kaylee Rule
Oliver Hutchins
Oscar Clelland, and
Fraser Bennett

Boarder Parent Representative Group

As we move towards the end of Term Two, I would like to invite all boarding parents to a Boarder Parent Representative Meeting on the final day of Term, Friday 24 June at 2.15pm. This meeting will be held in the school’s dining room and will include a light afternoon tea. We will aim to conclude in time for you to collect your children at the end of the school. Please register your attendance on this Google form for catering purposes.
Register Here.

REACH Leave

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be amending the REACH leave screens and requirements for the students. It is important that we always know the whereabouts of the students and I would like to make some small changes to the way leave is managed here at Scots to help with this. As part of these alterations, I will be asking all students to have their weekend leave submitted by Thursday evening to allow enough time for you and the staff to approve the leave prior to departure.

If your child or children are leaving school early for any reason, please inform reception as well as completing a REACH request so Reception staff are aware of student movements throughout the day.

Thank you and I am looking forward to seeing you at the BPRG meeting on the 24th.

We are certainly well aware that winter has hit town this week! Scots Preschool has continued to enjoy learning in all weather conditions with rain, hail, wind and shine. Our Preschoolers have had an opportunity this week to participate in discussions and experiences that are already embedded into our everyday preschool curriculum, but we are highlighting this week with Reconciliation Week.

As a preschool we have reflected on the multiple ways that we already share a First Nations perspective in our preschool, but as we are being encouraged to “Be Brave. Make Change.” to look at ways we can ensure that policy and practice will always reflect this. Our children learn in a preschool that values First Nation art, music, stories and connection to country. One of the earliest conversations we had with children early this year was about this land that our preschool was built on, the land where the children play in parks near our rivers and mountains, was always a land where children have played for thousands of years. The book Somebody's Land by Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing perfectly demonstrates this. We have the opportunity to make change in understanding and acknowledgement; from policy to practice. Everyone is welcome at Scots Preschool.

Our Preschool also is starting to get ready for 2023. Keep an eye out in the next few days for an invitation to our School Readiness workshop, which will run on Tuesday 14 June from 7pm. This is an information session for preschool families and the community to come and listen to school readiness from the perspectives of Preschool and Kindergarten Teachers as well as the latest research from our guest speaker from Charles Sturt University. This session will provide some guidance on what we are doing to support your child to be ready for school and what you can do at home. It might be useful for those families who are a little unsure of if their child will be ‘ready’ to go to school. School transition can be an unknown time for families, even if you already have children at school. But please be assured that as Educators we have ‘transitioned to school’ for many, many years. We can support all children, of all developmental stages to transition to school in the best possible way. With the support of our school and the relationship we have with the other schools in the area please always ask us about how we can help. Tuesday 14th June @ 7PM, The Scots School Albury. (Location to be advised) Register to attend here.

Our enrolments team also will be sending out enrolment information to all existing and future families for Preschool for 2023 very soon. Please make sure you get your paperwork submitted as soon as possible as there are many children on our lists and we don’t want people missing out or needing to go on to our wait list. If you haven’t been to our preschool before and would like to visit to see our wonderful Preschool in action please give us a call to arrange a tour.

Until then stay warm, enjoy the fireside chats and the opportunities to splash in puddles!

As enrolments grow at Scots, we are very lucky to welcome some talented new staff to our team. Please welcome:

Jim Papas - Design and Technology and TAS Teacher: Jim has more than 30 years experience across the secondary and tertiary sectors. He is a specialist secondary teacher in Engineering, Technology and Applied Studies and STEM, with vast experience across Industrial Technology, Design and Technology, Materials, Metals, Timber, Design, Computing, Robotics, Engineering, and Mathematics. In addition to his secondary experience, Jim worked for six years in the Vocational Sector in Motorsports, Engineering, Pneumatics, Hydraulics and Composites.

Jim is passionate about all aspects of TAS and STEM education. He has completed additional studies in his area of interest and has a Graduate Certificate of STEM, a Graduate Diploma of Mathematics, an Advanced Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and an Advanced Diploma of Engineering Technology in addition to his teaching qualifications.

One of his greatest skills is his ability to engage secondary students in exciting TAS and STEM programs, which he believes helps inspire creativity and build capability and confidence in his young charges.

Brennan McCann - Technology and Applied Sciences. Brennan will join us in a couple of weeks to bolster our Technology and Applied Sciences team. He is passionate about education and technology and is looking forward to inspiring curiosity, design, invention and achievement at Scots.

Bernadette Hurley – Educational Psychologist: Bernadette will be working two days a week with us conducting educational assessments and providing counselling on a recommendation basis. She is a highly respected psychologist with her own practice at The Gardens.

We also welcome:

Lauren Hanna – Early Childhood Teacher in Pre-School.
Sheridan Hill – Junior School Inclusive Education Learning Assistant and Boarding House Assistant, and
Shane Laracy – Junior School Inclusive Education Learning Assistant and Boarding House assistant.