Welcome to Term 3!

As we work towards improving and streamlining our communications I am excited to inform you that the newsletter is changing to being produced monthly. Moving forward it will focus on celebrating the achievements and activities of our students with many more photos and the inclusion of our student voice.

We have conducted a Child Safety review this week which has identified to us some necessary changes that are effective immediately:

1. We have made the decision to ban dogs from the school grounds. While we all love our furry friends, we have a number of students who are quite scared of dogs, and they are causing unnecessary worry for these children at drop-offs and pick-ups.
2. The school playground will be closed from 3.20pm onwards each day. We do not have staff supervision in that area and we urge families to collect their children and then exit the school grounds quickly. I know that a play after school can be a lovely way to catch up with other families, however, our duty of care requires that this does not happen after school hours onsite. We are exploring some after-school community catch-up options for when the weather improves and I will keep you updated.  

Thank you to the many families who attended our Junior School Assembly this morning as we handed out many awards and celebrated the Literacy learning of our Kindy students.
 
Next week Scots will be celebrating NAIDOC Week. While the official week was during our holidays we feel it is important for us to recognise and have placed it within the term. There will be a range of activities throughout the week – look out for some of the fun which will be shared on our socials.

CRU Spring Holiday/Study Camps Brochure out now!

Spring holiday camps are now released, children can choose study or leisure holidays around NSW. Brochures available in the Wellbeing Building. See me, Mr Goss, for more details, or use the QR code.

 

Chess

At the end of last term, the Chess team played in round 4 of the NSW Junior Chess league – Riverina Division. We played online against Marian Catholic College, Griffith. Our team consisted of Oliver Baitch, Ty Salter, Billy Stewart and newcomer to the chess squad, Isaac Rutherford.

Our team did really well especially as Ollie and Ty were on work experience and playing their games remotely. Even though we lost 4-0 the games were of a very high standard. Isaac and Billy played long and hard and Ty’s match was a ripper, surviving for 1hr 40mins!

We now play Moama Grammar to determine minor placings. I did receive a lovely note from the president of the Albury Chess Club congratulating us on being top school in this district.

The Matildas

We are so excited that the World Cup is finally here. Our Junior School classes are reading a book called We Are Matildas by Shelley Ware. Shelley, a friend of mine, is a TV Presenter, MC, Keynote Speaker and Educational Specialist who is passionate about embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s history and culture into classrooms. Her book We Are Matildas is a heart-warming story of friendship and teamwork, when Jazzy decides to get her own group of friends together to play in a competition.

Book Returns 

Thank you to ALL students and parents who diligently searched for and returned books recently. Because of this, it is one of the first times we have had all the Harry Potter series in the library at once which is very exciting. Please keep searching for any books you may have outstanding at home and send them in. A huge thank you also to the wonderful parents who sent replacement books or the offer of money in cases when they could not find missing books.

Book Week 

We are holding our book week earlier this year to allow our senior students a chance to participate before they start exams. The Book Week parade for our Junior School is on Wednesday 9 August in the Indoor Sports Centre at 8.45am. Parents are welcome to attend. 

This is also the dress up day for our senior students so dress up as your favourite book character and come ready to win a prize for best dressed! There will also be some quizzes and other activities run by our library prefect Emily, so watch out for notices about these.

Important Sports Dates

Tuesday 1 August - Junior RAS Athletics Day, Albury Athletics Track
Monday 7 August - Todd Woodbridge Cup (Tennis), all Year 3 and Year 4, Albury Tennis Club
Thursday 10 August - Year 3-6 Hockey Gala Day, Albury Hockey Club
September TBC - Year 7 AFL Gala Day (Boys and Girls), Jelbart Park

Victorian Under 12 AFL Football match

A great opportunity for our Year 6, 7 and 8s presented itself late last term, with the coach of the Under 12 Victorian Schoolboys team reaching out to play a practice match against Scots on the first Monday back of Term Three. Played on our home deck the Scots boys put in a spirited effort against a well drilled Victorian side. Our defensive pressure and effort were both excellent, we did find it hard to hit the scoreboard, but we are very proud of the teams effort. 

Match Report • Peter Schneider

We welcomed Victoria's best Year 6 footballers to Scots last week to play a practice match to help them prepare for the upcoming national carnival. Our team was selected from Year 6-8. The game was played in a very good spirit and was very well umpired by Mr Matt Patching. 

The Victorian team won comfortably (19-10 to 1-1), but the score was not indicative of the effort made by the boys. Our pressure and physicality were excellent. Our goal kicker was Gus Cameron, who had a good game overall. 

Stand-out players included: Harry McDonald, Tom Sheather, Jack Plowman and Cooper Glass. Seamus Bready played strongly towards the end of the game and Eden Deverell was relentless with his pressure. Round ball convert Henry Tainton was strong in the back line. Thanks to all the players for their contributions, to senior coach Tim Kennedy and the support staff. 

Basketball • Tammy Neilson 

Our U14 Girls McRoy Basketball team were Division 2 Grand final winners at the end of last term, playing against a very competitive team from Trinity. The game came right down to a nail biting final few seconds, with the score ending on 19-18. Well done to all the girls on a fantastic and consistent season!

Players: Grace Buckley, Alexia Franco, Kaitlyn Gissane, Iris Johanson, Lucy Kilgour, Charlotte Hyde, Sophia Martin, Annabel Moar, Parmis Nazari Rad, Harriett Nickols. Coaches: Tammy Neilson and Lochlan Cummings

Regional Snowsports Interschools Competition 

A big contingent of Scots students participated in the interschools competition at Falls Creek recently. A special thank you to Jeremy Ross and the Friends of Snow Sports  for the power of work that has gone into organising this fantastic opportunity for our students. 

Competition report • Jeremy Ross

The Scots Snowsports contingent performed extremely well winning many of the Divisions as well as most of the team categories at the South Australian and Regional NSW Snowsports Interschools competition at Falls Creek which ran from 19-21 July.

Scots was represented by 54 students from Year 1-Year 11 in a range of disciplines including Alpine Giant Slalom, Snowboard Giant Slalom, Ski Cross, Snowboard Cross and Moguls. 

More than 7000 school students from nearly 700 schools competed at various regional Snowsports competitions across NSW and Victorian snowfields. The regional competitions were designed to offer students, of all abilities, the chance to compete in various Snowsport events.

In preparation for the Regional competition, most of the Scots Snowsports team has been sweating in the ISC on Monday evenings conducting Dry Land physical training. Students trained using plyometrics to improve their agility, strength and power, while increasing their endurance. This seems to have worked as many of the students gained selection to compete at the ACT/NSW State Championships held at Perisher, NSW in August. From there, the top performing students will progress onto the National Championships at Mt Buller, Victoria.   

Last week, families made their way to the morning Scots Snowsports meeting point to collect race bibs, chat with team members, and have one final hot chocolate. It was then time to click into skis or strap into the snow board and move to the racecourse.

Students had the opportunity to inspect the course spending time to work out the fastest way down. Racers had two runs on each course where their fastest time was recorded. This year, a Moguls competition was included. Students needed to negotiate a Mogul run where points were awarded for technique and a final jump. The aim being to accrue the most points. There were a few bingles, lots of neat turns and loads of great jumps.

Well done to those students who represented Scots at the Regional Championships. There were many smiles as the less experienced grew with confidence and the experienced racers put together some terrific results. The school looked great in their Scots sports jumper and beanies at presentations; next year we plan to have Winter Jackets!

Best of luck to those students who plan to compete at the ACT/NSW State Championships in August.

Overall Championship Results for Scots students (*at time of publication Mogul results had not been published)
Alpine Giant Slalom Year 11/12 Male
2nd Overall - Alexander Smythe

Alpine Giant Slalom Year 9/10 Male
2nd Overall - Jimmy Shannon
1st Team: Scots A - Jimmy Shannon, Bill Butko, Jock Correll, Archie Showers
3rd Team: Scots B - Joshua O’Brien, Jack Clancy, Jack Plowman, Robbie BaileY

Alpine Giant Slalom Year 7/8 Male
2nd Overall - Archie Ross
1st Team: Scots A - Archie Ross, Edward Butko, Mischa Weisman, Jesse Henry
3rd Team: Scots B - Max Beard, James Thornton, Isaac Finalyson

Alpine Giant Slalom Year 5/6 Male
1st Team: Scots A - Thomas Showers, Will Clancy, Frederic Crapp, Jack Ross

Alpine Giant Slalom Year 3/4 Male
2nd Overall - Ardan Magaharan
3rd Overall - Samuel Martin
1st Team: Scots A - Finn Ross, Ardan Magaharan, Samuel Martin

Alpine Giant Slalom Year K-2 Male
1st Overall - Percy Ross
2nd Overall - Oscar Crapp
1st Team: Scots A - Percy Ross, Oscar Crapp, Lochan Magaharan

Alpine Giant Slalom Year 9/10 Female
1st Overall - Sara Butko
3rd Overall - Phoebe Naylor
2nd Team: Scots A - Sara Butko, Phoebe Naylor, Beccy Plowman, Phoebe Packer
3rd Team: Scots B - Claire Abbott, Ella Rose, Eila Thornton

Alpine Giant Slalom Year 7/8 Female
2nd Overall - Isabelle Ingram
3rd Overall - Isabelle Martin
1st Team: Scots A - Isabella Ingram, Isabelle Martin, Edwina Harrington, Charlotte Packer
2nd Team: Scots B - Camilla Crapp, Claire Shannon, Grace Showers

Alpine Giant Slalom Year 5/6 Female
1st Overall - Sophia Martin

Alpine Giant Slalom Year 3/4 Female
2nd Overall - Gracie Ross
2nd Team: Scots A - Gracie Ross, Anna Henry, Edwina Dunn, Olivia Hanna

Snowboard Giant Slalom Year 11/12 Male
1st Overall - Alexander Smythe
3rd Overall - Luke Pendlebury
1st Team: Scots A - Alexander Smythe, Luke Pendlebury

Snowboard Giant Slalom Year 9/10 Male
1st Overall - James Sheldrick
2nd Overall - Ethan White
1st Team: Scots A - James Sheldrick, Ethan White, Benjamin Pendlebury

Snowboard Giant Slalom Year 7/8 Male
1st Overall - Mitch Biggs 

Snowboard Giant Slalom Year 9/10 Female
1st Overall                            - Neve White

Ski Cross Year 11/12 Male
2nd Overall - Alexander Smythe
1st Team: Scots A - Alexander Smythe, Archie O’Brien

Ski Cross Year 9/10 Male
2nd Overall - Jimmy Shannon
2nd Team: Scots A - Jimmy Shannon, Bill Butko
3rd Team: Scots B - Jack Plowman, Jack Clancy, Joshua O’Brien

Ski Cross Year 7/8 Male
1st Overall - Archie Ross
1st Team: Scots A - Archie Ross, Edward Butko

Ski Cross Year 5/6 Male
1st Team: Scots B - Charlie Henry, Jack Ross
3rd Team - Scots A - Thomas Showers, Will Clancy, Frederic Crapp

Ski Cross Year 3/4 Male
2nd Overall - Samuel Martin
3rd Overall - Ardan Magaharan
1st Team: Scots A - Samuel Martin, Ardan Magaharan, Finn Ross

Ski Cross Year K-2 Male
1st Overall - Oscar Crapp
2nd Overall - Percy Ross
1st Team: Scots A - Oscar Crapp, Percy Ross, Lochan Magaharan

Ski Cross Year 9/10 Female
1st Overall - Sara Butko
2nd Team: Scots A - Sara Butko, Phoebe Naylor, Phoebe Packer
3rd Team: Scots B - Beccy Plowman, Ella Rose

Ski Cross Year 7/8 Female
1st Overall - Isabelle Ingram
2nd Overall - Isabelle Martin
1st Team: Scots A - Isabelle Ingram, Isabelle Martin, Edwina Harrington
2nd Team: Scots B - Camilla Crapp, Claire Shannon, Grace Showers

Ski Cross Year 5/6 Female
1st Overall - Sophia Martin
2nd Overall - Amelia Glover
1st Team: Scots A - Sophia Martin, Amelia Glover

Ski Cross Year 3/4 Female
2nd Overall - Gracie Ross
1st Team: Scots A - Gracie Ross, Anna Henry

Ski Cross Year K-2 Female
1st Overall - Olivia Hanna 

Snowboard Cross Year 11/12 Male
1st Overall - Alexander Smythe
3rd Overall - Luke Pendlebury
1st Team: Scots A - Alexandar Smythe, Luke Pendlebury

Snowboard Cross Year 9/10 Male
1st Overall - James Sheldrick
2nd Overall - Ethan White
1st Team: Scots A - James Sheldrick, Ethan White

Snowboard Cross Year 7/8 Male
1st Overall - Mitch Biggs

Snowboard Cross Year 9/10 Female
1st Overall - Neve White 

Oliver Baitch has no intention of letting life’s opportunities pass him by. 

Winner of the Premier’s Anzac Memorial Scholarship last month, Ollie added the prestigious State-wide accolade to an astoundingly long list of accomplishments for one so young.  At just 16 years of age, Ollie is the Member for Albury at the NSW Youth Parliament, he enjoys playing basketball and coaches an under 14s basketball team and he is an enthusiastic musician who specialises in the trumpet making him sought after for ANZAC engagements and in Scots musical ensembles. He also is in the school debating team and helps develop younger team members in the Year 7 debating team; he volunteers for Clean Up Australia and other community and charitable events - and he’s key to the Scots chess team.

If ever there was an all-rounder, Ollie is it! He has crammed so much into his 16 years, that one might be inclined to think his school marks might suffer. Not so. Last year his academic accomplishments ranked him highly in his cohort. 

Scots has long known of Ollie’s capabilities, but the Premier’s Anzac Memorial Scholarship has given him recognition on a much bigger stage. He will join 19 other students from across the State on a two-week historical study tour of Singapore and Darwin in September to develop knowledge and understanding of the history of Australians at war.

The group will be accompanied by a military historian, Professor Peter Stanley, to teach students about our nation’s military past and help them understand the importance of commemoration. In announcing the scholarship recipients, Minister for Veterans David Harris said: “This will be a deeply meaningful experience, with the students travelling overseas for the first time since 2020 to visit significant military history sites associated with the Second World War in Darwin and Singapore. As a former school principal, I am glad that our government supports students and current generations to continue to learn about the military history of New South Wales and our nation.”

Winners were selected based on a personal essay, a marked history assignment and a letter of recommendation from their school. Oliver chose the events on the Western Front in World War 1 for his marked work, and as part of the requirements of the trip to Singapore, he will give a 3 minute speech on Prisoner of War soldier ‘Roaring’ Reggie Newton.

In his preliminary research, Ollie has discovered that Reggie’s corps was from the Riverina and that he was an officer in Singapore before the Japanese invasion. He was captured and as a Prisoner of War, was put to work on the railroad where he was perceived to be a soldier of stature who was not easily pushed around or broken.

“It’s all part of learning more about the history of Australians at war. Each of the 20 scholarship recipients will give their speech to the group while we are away and the subject of our speeches was chosen by the Tour Historian, I assume to ensure a good variety of topics,” Ollie said. 

Giving a 3 minute speech might strike fear into many students, but not Ollie. Giving speeches and debating are two of his favourite activities, which served him well as the Member for Albury at the NSW Youth Parliament.

“Before the parliamentary sitting we meet via video conference once or twice a week but it was exciting to travel to Sydney on my own during the holidays to represent our region and school,” Ollie said.

“I was nervous at first, being one of the youngest students there, but I soon discovered the debating skills and knowledge of Australian politics I acquired from school were as good as that of older students from big city schools. Recently, I was invited to meet with the State MP Justin Clancy to discuss State Parliament and the representation of local issues.” He also represents the School a little closer to home as a member of the Albury Youth Council. 

“For Council, I represent Scots by providing community services at events and we have a small budget to target local youth issues. Most interesting to me is that we also get to learn about the role of Council and the local budget. They also provide leadership training. Another highlight of participation in these opportunities is the teamwork. I enjoyed working with the other councillors including Scots students Ram Kugathasan and Sid John.”

For most Scots families, Ollie is most visible for his part in our school musicals or town productions either in the pit band or up on stage. Last year he was nominated for a Georgie award for his acting, dancing and singing role in The Drowsy Chaperone and was a lead in the school’s productions of The Lion King and Matilda.

It’s a busy life but he is adept at taking on challenges and, let’s face it, there’s not much that Ollie can’t do. Keep an eye on this Year 10 student - he’s going places!

Harry, Tom and Flynn earned the right to continue to the next round of the Young Auctioneers competition when they qualified at the first round of competition against other regional schools at The Riverina Anglican College recently.

The three students were among a small group of Scots students who competed in Wagga. Over the past few months the budding Young Auctioneers have been mentored by the Livestock Agency team at Elders Albury in preparation for the first round competition. 

Out of 25 novice competitors, Harry Hiscock came third overall!

The challenge is to get to the Sydney Royal Easter Show in April next year. Well done to everyone who competed. Thank you to Brett, Kirsty and Oliver from Elders for their guidance and mentoring in the lead up to the competition. - Stephanie Clancy

Scots Debating teams continue to experience success in the Australian National Virtual Debating competition in 2023.

Of the six debates held so far across three categories, the teams have won five. Both Senior and Middle Years teams have won one each, while the Junior team, comprising Amy Hayes, Izzy Martin, Xavier Clancy and Ike Finlayson, has scored three wins from three debates against competition from government and independent schools in New South Wales and Queensland.

In Week 3, as part of the school’s NAIDOC week activities, the Debating students will undertake a Socratic debate on a topic related to the upcoming referendum. This will be held in the Library at lunchtime on Friday, Week 3. All staff and students are welcome to attend to listen to a range of informed views. 

Georgie Cardile • Polocrosse
During the holidays Georgie Cardile and her brother Ollie travelled to South Africa to play Polocrosse in an Under 14 “Barbarian” team against South Africa. Their team was made up of three UK girls, two Zambian Boys, one South African girl and two Australians (Ollie and Georgie). In a 3-match test series, and after losing the first game, the Barbarians made an unexpected comeback to win the series 2-1. 

Georgie said it was an incredible experience riding so many horses and learning from some of the best polocrosse coaches in the world. 

The team members also visited Soweto to see the many “informal settlements” first hand and spent three days on Safari seeing lots of African animals in the wild. Definitely the trip of a lifetime! 

Lyla Ferrari • Showjumping

Congratulations to Lyla Ferrari who competed at the Global Amateur (Showjumping) Tour in Mexico last month, finishing 10th overall and the highest ranked international children's rider on a borrowed horse. Lyla combined with Ratina, owned by Martha, who was with Lyla every step of the way. The international riders drew their horses in a random draw and had to use the following three days to get to know their mount as best they could so they could produce their best work in the showjumping arena.

Lyla learned so much about showjumping, travel and how to connect with her horse that returning to Albury competition will seem a breeze. Another unique Mexican competition experience was seeing that each horse that earns a place in the competition gets to eat carrots out of a basket while their rider has their photo taken - a very handy equine distraction!

Alice McIntosh • Soccer

Alice McIntosh has been playing soccer in women’s Division 1 for the Albury Hot Spurs since she was 14 and was in the team that won the local FA Cup, an additional knockout soccer competition, last month. The Albury Hot Spurs team won 2-0 against Albury United. 

Congratulations on your success, Alice!

Jack Clancy • Ready2Serve

Congratulations to Jack Clancy, Year 10, who has been accepted into the Ready2Serve program, a 20-week cadetship with the Emergency and Defence Service.

Jack went through a rigorous application process to be one of the 15 students accepted into the program, designed to provide students who have a passion to join an Emergency or Defence Service with an insight into what each service does.

At the completion of the program, Jack will travel with the group on a 5-day trip to Sydney, visiting Kapooka, the AFP and the Goulburn Police Academy along the way. While in Sydney they will spend time with the Water Police, Fixed Wing Police, the mounted unit, the Navy, NSW Fire Brigade Academy and visit Police Plaza.

Scots hosted the Young Engineers two-day camp on 10-11 July, after also hosting it in January. It was well attended with 65 students from Kindergarten to Year 7 enrolled each day, and a wait list of almost 50. Along with the Young Engineers experts who ran the sessions and came all the way from Sydney, we had two Year 12 helpers each day, Henry Gniel and Emily Murphy.

The workshops were an exciting way for students to learn engineering and robotics in a hands-on and practical environment where they had to use critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication to successfully complete their projects.

During the Engineering and Robotics Workshops students learned the theory of basic coding and mechanical engineering combined with learning applications of Mathematics and Science. They followed design processes and built working machines using Lego®, interfacing them with motors, lights and sensors which involved the coding they learnt for automation. 

Students also were exposed to Electronics components; building various electrical circuits using Sensors, LEDs, and Motors. 

There are five rounds left in the home and away phase of the Hockey Albury-Wodonga competition. At time of writing, our Under 14 Girls are top of their division, Under 16 Girls are second in theirs, while our Under 14 Boys and Under 12 Mixed teams are fourth in their respective competitions. We have also had good numbers in both Under 7s and Under 10s, with our teams travelling to Wangaratta and Corowa for carnivals as well as enjoying their regular sessions in Albury.

Well done to all Scots players who have recently represented the local association at carnivals in Canberra and Goulburn. Special congratulations to Lilly Brown and Jenna Dickins who were part of the local rep team to win the NSW U13s State Championships.

Scots Hockey Club was involved in Hockey ACT’s Mental Health Round initiative #teammatesforlife. This aimed to raise awareness of the role that sport can play in our mental wellbeing, as well as reminding us all of the role we can play in looking out for our team-mates.

Hockey Albury-Wodonga are hosting a Junior School Carnival on Thursday 10th of August. We have entered a Year 3-4 team and a Year 5-6 team. Expressions of Interest are still open. We are particularly looking for a couple more Year 3s or 4s to sign up. We will communicate to all interested players as to when we will hold some training sessions over lunchtimes.

The Scots Pipe Band gathered at the School in the fog on Wednesday prior to leaving for the adventure of a lifetime to perform in the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo which runs from August 4-26.

Just a few weeks ago, the band played to packed audiences at the Entertainment Centre in two special nights of a celebration of their music in the Sounds of Scotland concerts. The events featured the Scots Pipe Band, Inveran, Claire Barry, Dylan Forge - Vocalist and Wodonga Brass.

If you missed the concert, treat yourself to a few snippets HERE.

Xy Beale is off to the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games knowing that the whole Scots community is behind her. We raised an amazing $1283.05 with our Pie for Xy lunch day and she was presented with an oversized cheque by Deputy Principal Kelly McKay and Head of Senior School Janine Haymes on Tuesday.

Xy leaves from Sydney via LA, Houston and onto Trinidad & Tobago for the competition and is very excited that her dad will be able to travel to support her.

Thank you to the whole Scots community for supporting Xy through the special lunch day, and a special thank you to Hotbake for their generous support, too.

The Scots Class of 2013 reunited for a trip down memory lane at The Astor on Saturday, 15 June. It was a night filled with laughter and reminiscing by 30 alumni students and a handful of partners. 

A research team at the University of Newcastle has developed a text message program, targeting parents and their adolescents, to prevent youth from vaping. It is currently recruiting parents and their child (aged 12-15 years) to participate in a study to help test the effectiveness of the messages.

Parents and adolescents who participate in the study will receive a series a text messages (one per week for 12 weeks) that have been specifically developed to educate parents and youth on the harms of vaping, empower youth to say no to vaping through social support and teaching refusal skills, and facilitate healthy conversation amongst families. The text messages have been developed in collaboration with parents, adolescents, researchers and parenting experts.  

The study website contains more information about the research and a link to register. Visit: Youth Vaping Prevention Study

This is a community noticeboard of activities, courses, information sessions or events provided as a community service to our families.