We certainly finished Term 2 in a whirlwind of activity! In the past week, alone, we celebrated the 50 Years of Scots Gala Dinner on Saturday, our first Giving Day in a very long time on Tuesday and then in the evening we capped off activities with our Music Festival.

You will see a pictorial representation of each of the events later in this newsletter, but I want to thank everyone - staff, students and parents - for their continued support at events such as these.

Parents do an amazing job of getting their children to the various practice sessions and then to performances and special events on top of their day to day commitments. I know some parents were at basketball grand finals on Tuesday moments before arriving for the Music Festival and some even helped out in the Call Centre headquarters for our Giving Day before going to basketball and then the festival. 

We are truly blessed to have such engaged parents.

The Gala Dinner on Saturday was a chance for me to meet previous Principals at Scots and celebrate all that has been achieved throughout their time at the School. It was humbling to talk with them and witness the respect they command among our alumni community. The event brought our alumni community, our current parents and past and present staff together to celebrate a special milestone. 

And finally, I wish you a very happy and safe holiday. Please take the chance to have a break, recharge and come back fresh and ready for a term full of more wonderful School activities. 

Happy holidays!

Tuesday night was a wonderful celebration of everything musical at Scots. So much talent was showcased and it really highlighted the talent we are privileged to witness develop at our school. Well done to all of the students involved and special thanks to Mr Coughlan, Mr Nicolson, Mr Mewett, Mr Torok, Ms McMillan, Mrs Byles and Mrs Bowman for bringing the night together.

This week we celebrated our 50th Birthday, with the consumption of much cake and participation in many activities. Students from Year 7 to 11 engaged in dancing competitions, trivia, tug of war, AFL handballing competitions and wheelbarrow races on Tuesday afternoon. There was a Staff versus Year 12 students wheelchair basketball game, with the student emerging the overall victors. Well done to everyone involved and for making it such a fun afternoon. 

The last nine weeks have passed quickly and congratulations to all of our students for forging on throughout a challenging term. Students and staff have battled sickness, cold weather and general fatigue. We cannot underestimate the emotional and psychological impact of emerging from a pandemic. We are so very nearly there! 

I hope everyone enjoys a very restful break and I look forward to seeing everyone again for an action-packed Term 3.

Happy Holidays! 

After a week of 50th Birthday celebrations and Music Festival, it’s nice now to head off into the winter holiday break with time to rest and recuperate. Life in the Junior School has been buzzing this semester with some amazing PYP Unit of Inquiry learning happening, as well as a plethora of co-curricular activities from sport, performing arts, service learning and technology. I would like to thank our community for their ongoing support. Yet again, we have been challenged by illness impacting staff and students, but have continued to provide amazing learning opportunities for all. Our teachers can enjoy a well-deserved break ahead of our professional development day on Friday 15 July, before welcoming students back on Monday 18 July. 

I wish everyone a safe and healthy winter break and look forward to seeing you all again in July.

Life@Scots - Assessment and Reporting Cycle

This week, parents would have received their child’s Semester 1 Student Report. This document forms an essential part of our assessment and reporting process, which includes:

• Beginning and end of year formal assessments
• Student goal setting
• Three-Way Conferences
• Ongoing pre and post-assessments
• Formal semester reports.

While teachers are required to report on progress measured against the NSW Curriculum, we hope our reports paint the picture of the whole child and their personal and social/emotional development. To this end, we have altered our Personal Development page to include both Deep Learning and PYP language. Details of this change can be found in the opening pages of the school report. 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding school reports, you can raise these during the Term 3 Three-Way Conferences to be held on Monday 1 August and Tuesday 2 August.

Term 3 Staffing Update

After two terms of very challenging conditions for all schools in providing consistent staffing arrangements amid Covid and other illnesses, we are hoping for a healthy return to school for all in our community in Term 3. While there are no major changes to staffing, we would like to update you on two new positions being filled:

This week saw the Junior School community farewell a much-loved staff member in Mrs Emma Carter, who is taking 18 months of maternity leave. Mrs Carter has worked in a variety of roles, most recently as a key member of our Inclusive Learning Team. Mrs Carter will be replaced by Mrs Lucy Turner, a teacher who is currently working in the Junior School as a Learning Assistant and casual relief teacher. She brings with her a passion for individual learning support and experience with students with additional needs. We wish Mrs Carter and partner Andy all the best for the safe delivery of their second child in the coming months. 

Mrs Yvonne Geraets is back! We are very excited to announce that Mrs Geraets will be taking over from Mrs Megan Dickins in supporting Year 2P, as both Mrs Dickins and Miss Parker receive more time to fulfil their leadership roles. Mrs Geraets will be teaching Monday/Tuesday, with Mrs Parker teaching the rest of the week in Semester 2.

Furthermore, as you will all now be aware, I will be leaving Scots to take up the position of Deputy Principal – Primary at Balcombe Grammar School in Mount Martha on the Mornington Peninsula in January 2023.

Carly and I grew up in Mount Martha and most of our family are still based there. It is important to us to be closer to them all, with the past few years only highlighting that importance.

I will, of course, continue to lead the Junior School as I have done until the end of Term 4. Although I am sad to be leaving this wonderful School and extended community, I am comfortable in the knowledge that I have made the right decision for our family and I know that the school is in a great place and very capable hands.

Interschool Primary Chess Competition

Congratulations to all students who participated in the recent interschool chess competition at Thurgoona Public School. We had students from Year 2, 5 and 6 competing in both A and B divisions. After nearly two years without an event like this, it was great to see our students having a go and challenging  themselves. Congratulations to our top scorer on the day, Henry Zhao, who won every match, only to draw against the overall winner on the day.

The Preschool was delighted last week to host our first parent information seminar about school readiness. The seminar informed attendees of current research about starting ages for children for primary school entry and what constitutes best practice in early childhood school readiness expectations. It was reassuring for families to hear that school readiness wasn't a list of skills that needed to be ticked off prior to school entry as school transition often started when discussions began about going to school and continued into the first year of schooling and sometimes beyond.

We also have been quite excited by the recent government announcements and commitment to early childhood education. We are pleased that both the Victorian and NSW governments have committed to extended opportunities and funding for children to participate in high-quality play-based education at preschool. Such a commitment from both governments will support increased access to quality early childhood education. A recent UNICEF paper reported that good quality pre-primary education sets a strong foundation for learning. This benefits not only the children but families, education systems and our greater society. Scots has been ahead of the game with its commitment to offering extended days in our preschool for our Pre-Kinder program, continued funded access as a community-based preschool and looking forward to next year offering longer preschool days for our 3-4-year-old age group. 

We are also starting our preparations for an art night later this year. Some beautiful art pieces are being created to form a quilt for each group at preschool. The five quilts will be auctioned off on the art night. More information about this event to come. Scots Preschool’s art night seems to have an amazing history and the quilt auction folklore is also something to look forward to! I have a friend who has teenage children who attended Scots Preschool that, to this day laments missing out at auction on the quilt for her children. The stakes are high and regret even higher it seems. 

We wish all families a safe school holiday. Enjoy the break wherever it may be, in the snow, away to see family, in our local parks, or even the chance to spend lazy mornings in your PJs without the preschool morning rush. Relax, recharge and we will see you in July.

We are profoundly grateful for your support on Tuesday for our Giving Day. With your generosity, and the help of our matchers, $188,330 has been raised for our Senior Study Centre. We smashed our initial target of $125,000 by 2pm and re-set for a push to $200,000. 

Gifts from our community will enable Scots to remain a leader in providing world-class learning facilities for its students today and in the future.

We have been humbled by the outpouring of support from donors big and small; for the help from our volunteers in the Giving Day headquarters and for the positive feedback from students and parents alike about our Giving Day and Birthday celebrations at school. 

In a community like Albury, we know there are many demands on peoples’ time and money, which makes everyone’s contribution so much more special and appreciated.

Thank you, we couldn’t have done it without you.

The Scots School Albury former Principals Mr Alistair Todd, Mr Warren Howlett and Mrs Heather Norton, together with current Principal Mark Geraets, headlined a showcase of all that is great about Scots as we celebrated 50 Years of Scots in the Albury community at the Albury Entertainment Centre on Saturday.

Guests turned out in droves to hear Master of Ceremonies, Ian Cover OAM, interview the former principals, hear the Pipe Band, Jazz Gang and Dynamix in action, watch performers from the School musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, perform the lead number and witness a performance from our Talented Artists Program At Scots students.

What a night we had! 

We’d Like To Teach the World To Sing!

Music at Scots is everywhere. From the short, sharp, contemporary hit songs signalling the end of lessons over the PA, to the pipes and drums echoing across the ovals. From the background music supporting a calm classroom learning environment, to the ensembles and instrumental lessons mixing together in the Cultural Centre. If there is an event, a celebration or a gathering at Scots, music is the essential ingredient. 

While the musical life of Scots in 2022 has progressed from the restrictions of COVID, the effects linger. Our talented musicians, together with their amazing music teachers have embraced the challenges of rebuilding, rekindling the spark for music performance and reconnecting with the Scots community through musical endeavours. The opportunities to flourish are becoming increasingly available, and the talents of the musicians at Scots are starting to shine again.

The musicians who have worked together so diligently to create the performances showcased in this year’s Music Festival have much to celebrate. They have shown the camaraderie that flows from working with others towards a shared goal and they can be proud of their efforts and achievements. 

Thank you to all who performed at the Festival and to the ensemble directors who so generously give their time and energy to the development of music at Scots; Catriona Byles, Caoimhe McMillan, Tom Mewett, Scott Nicolson and Chris Torok. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with you all.

Congratulations to all the award nominees who were announced during the Festival and to the award winners, listed below. 

- David Coughlan

AWARDS

THE INGRID MORGAN Music Award
Lachlan Baitch

THE GAY ST CLAIR CHORAL AWARD
Saraya Essop

BARBARA TASKER AWARD FOR MUSIC EXCELLENCE
Tarun Steele

THE LYN POTTER AWARD FOR JUNIOR MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Oliver Baitch & Jericho Ellao

INGRID MORGAN CHORAL AWARD
Tegan Forge

THE COLIN JAMES JUNIOR SCHOOL PIPE BAND AWARD
Shanaaya Chowdhry

CLAN LAMONT ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD
Noah Boundy

THE CLAN LAMONT CUP for MOST IMPROVED DRUMMER
Joshua Niuila

THE SCOTS SCHOOL ALBURY AWARD FOR COMPOSITION
Liam Nicolson

HAZELWOOD MUSIC AWARD
Bianca Blackberry & Madeleine Steer

MUSIC FACULTY AWARD FOR MUSICAL CONTRIBUTION
Zoe Coughlan & Daniel Steer

Welcome to Matt Patching

Matt will join us in the Senior School, teaching Year 8, 9 and 10 Maths and Year 9 Science from the start of Term 3. Matt has been on placement at Scots since the middle of May and has lived in Albury for four years after moving from Canberra. 

Matt has a background in the army as a Human Resources, Logistics and Training expert. He decided on a career change after 28 years with the armed forces as a Brigadier. 

Farewell to Richard Routley

Richard Routley, who has been on Long Service Leave, will leave Scots at the end of this term after 17 years of service and dedication to Scots. Richard was first and foremost a passionate teacher of English; additionally he held the position of Learning Area Leader in the Connecting with Culture Department. Richard also was a key part of our school productions, producing or directing shows from 2017 to 2021. 

Other farewells
Teacher Joshua Zhao and Receptionist Rebekah Bosch will finish up at Scots today. We thank them for their contribution and wish them well in their new endeavours.

Year 4 went to the Hume Dam on Thursday, 9 June. We went there to learn about hydroelectricity. When we got there, we were separated into three  different groups to learn about the turbines and how they produce electricity. We were amazed at how much work was put in to make it run. It was very loud; we needed to wear earplugs.

The people who worked there showed us how the huge crane worked, it looked like a big anchor. The turbines were so big that if it needed to be replaced they would have to take it out in pieces so that the crane can lift it. We learned that the turbines have magnets that spin with the water and create the electricity! The dam powers 1.4 thousand houses per day. This was a very interesting experience for all of Year 4!
By Imogen Payne and Beatrice Staughton 

John & Sheridan Hill are bringing their enthusiasm and knowledge of Rugby with them all the way from Queensland!

They have been working hard behind the scenes to put together a boys and girls Rugby 7's team. This week they hosted a 'Confidence in Contact' session for students to come and try their hand at Rugby or for those more experienced players to get back into the game. The teams are already coming together but it is hoped that more students in Years 7 & 8 will give the sport a try with further training sessions to be conducted early in Term 3.

Jock Coupland & Madeleine Hill have been selected as team captains and will lead their teams in a match against Trinity Anglican College on Tuesday 23 August with the hope for more games to come throughout Term 3.

If any students wish to come along to training, please speak with Mr Hill.

The Chess team played against Xavier this week. Oliver Baitch had a stalemate against his opponent and our other players all lost in tightly contested matches. Congratulations to Oliver, Angus Donald, Sam John, Billy Stewart and reserve, Josh O’Brien, who played a scratch match against Xavier’s reserve player and also scored a stalemate. We then all played a few friendlies, which was a nice way to finish off. It was the first time on the team for Angus, Sam and Billy, so congratulations, boys!

We have been busily finishing off our cosy “winter nooks” and displays – it has been fun to see the spaces transform into snug areas for student engagement. The library has been very busy at recess and lunch times with the wet weather. It has been nice and warm inside and there has been heaps to do.

- Alley McGhee

Xy Beale achieved an outstanding bronze medal and a personal best in the Under 20 Shot Put event while representing Australia at last week’s Oceania Championships. Xy also competed in the Under 18 Shot, Discus and Hammer events achieving two fourth places and and a fifth place in those events. A fantastic achievement.