Following our amazing success at the Australian Education Awards last year, where we received an excellence Award in the Boarding School of the Year category, I wanted to provide an update to the Scots community in this newsletter about some of the exciting things happening in boarding this year.

And although boarding families already will be aware, I wanted to share the information to our broader community. 

Boarding at The Scots School Albury has increased by 55% in 2021, bucking a national trend of decline in 2021 as reported in the Australian Boarding Schools Association census.

Scots also has more girls than boys, in a phenomenon contrary to the overall State and national trend. All states, except Tasmania, reported greater numbers of boys than girls in their boarding houses in 2021.

This is not by accident. The Board and Executive recognise we have a duty to ensure boarding continues to underpin all that we do at the school. We are, after all, the oldest regional boarding school in NSW with a strong, proud tradition in boarding. We significantly renovated dormitories and bathrooms over the 2020 Summer holidays which was the final step to renovating the entire residential sections of both houses. All students regardless of their year level now have a single room.

We also commissioned a Boarding Review in late 2020 to assist in the formulation of a new strategic plan for our sector which is now in draft phase. We complemented our School core values of Respect, Curiosity, Determination and Connect with three additional boarding values - Safety, Inclusion and Engagement and developed five action plan areas. 

These include growth, building strong connections with our families, increasing boarding student engagement in all areas of the school, implementing a new staffing structure and fostering an even stronger positive boarding culture.

At Scots boarding, we have been extremely fortunate to have a Director of Boarding of the calibre of Neale Poole, whose balance between care and discipline never ceases to amaze me. When Neale leaves us later this year, he will leave a positive culture that is based on inclusiveness and volunteerism. Students know where they stand because there are rules, and there are consequences for breaking them, but there is also compassion and understanding. 

What is heartening from a Scots point of view, is knowing that the culture that Neale has worked so hard to achieve will be continued by the good work of Tom Mewett, who has been appointed Head of Boys Boarding, along with our new Director of Boarding, Jeremy Holt. 

See the next sections of the newsletter for a sneak peek at an article about Neale and Tom that will feature in the mid-year edition of The Drum.

Tom Mewett has been appointed Head of Boys Boarding in a move that will bring the Boarding House structure in line with school boarding houses across the country.

He will manage the day-to-day operations of boys boarding alongside Elsa Kilgour as Head of Girls Boarding – both of whom will operate under the guidance of Jeremy Holt, who will take up the oversight role of Director of Boarding in October.

Tom Mewett is a familiar face in the boarding house, having worked as a part-time Master on Duty under Director of Boarding and Head of Boys Boarding Neale Poole.

He started at Scots as a visiting snare drum teacher for the Pipe Band students in 2009. For years he commuted from Bendigo for the part-time role which he managed in tandem with teaching the drums at other schools in Bendigo.

By necessity, Tom needed somewhere to stay for the three days he was at Scots so he fell into staying at the Boarding House and taking on casual supervisory shifts. He discovered a love for boarding and over the years he has increased the number of shifts and his involvement in the running of the boarding house.

The biggest driving force behind the decision to take on the Head of Boarding role was a passion to continue a legacy and culture that has been established by Neale Poole.

“I love working in the Boarding House,” Tom explained. “I like building the relationships with the boys, being around more and being involved more. I like being able to provide some consistency for the boys and I’m a huge fan of Neale’s so I really want to take the pressure off him for his last term and let him enjoy it a bit more.

“I love what Neale has achieved in the Boarding House since he took over three years ago and I’d like to see that culture and legacy continue beyond his departure. I think the way he goes about things is impressive. He has such an amazing balance between care and discipline and he’s really brought stability to the boarding house.”

Tom made the leap and moved to Albury in 2017 just before the Pipe Band went overseas to Edinburgh. He has built up such a following of drumming students that he is now forced to limit the number of new students he can take on with a view to maintaining quality of tuition rather than quantity. Between teaching drumming and the Boarding House, Tom works six days a week.

But Tom is practiced at navigating a life of drumming and everyday commitments.

As a schoolboy in Bendigo, he teamed with his three best mates to form a rock band called Sender. Despite their tender age, the band members performed gigs all over Victoria – probably one of the few bands that arrived at gigs with their parents because none had their driving licence. Their success grew and they were signed by Sony Music in 2003 and released an EP in 2004. They toured up and down the East Coast supporting such big names as Screaming Jets and Killing Heidi. In 2004, during the Athens Olympics they went on a whirlwind three-day, three state tour with Hoobastank, playing in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney on consecutive nights.

Their Sony record deal finished in 2006 and in 2010 they independently released an EP titled No Way Out which is still available on Spotify. Ever humble, Tom says the band’s biggest fan base is their parents and friends.

“We really couldn’t have done it without our parents – they drove us everywhere and they still listen to our music. They even say they like it!”

Tom believes the revamped leadership structure at the Boarding House will benefit everyone and is looking forward to working with Holt, who has a long career in boarding houses.

"Neale is leaving some very big shoes to fill, but Jeremy brings his own big shoes to the role with a distinguished boarding career to his name. I’m very excited to have the opportunity to work alongside and learn from him.”

Director of Boarding  Neale Poole will leave Scots at the end of Term 3 after a 14-year relationship with the School, including three years in the Boarding House.

Neale is a much loved maths teacher, footy and cricket coach, PE teacher and a long-time favourite of all the boarders for his compassion, dedication, humour, integrity, wry wit and even, dare we say it, harmonica playing skills!

While boarders thought they knew everything about “Poolie”, he proved he could still surprise with a stirring performance on harmonica in a duet with boarder Billy Brooks last year when they wooed the entire boarding population with a rendition of Piano Man.

Neale has worked hard to build an inclusive and respectful environment at the boarding house and has encouraged positive traditions. He takes a lot of satisfaction from the fact that all boarders now accept that they need to earn respect from their peers and younger boarders instead of expecting it as a right of passage.

He also has turned around the thought processes attached to excelling academically and community service – both previously not readily associated with boarding students. He introduced the Rural Fire Service Cadets program to Scots, initially to help promote a sense of community spirit and volunteerism amongst the boarders. It is now a schoolwide program, with places highly sought after within the student body.

“Boarders have not traditionally been seen as the most academic of groups or been actively involved in community service, but in the past few years we have had a much higher representation in the Academic and Flourish awards,” Neale said. “When casual boarders come in, they really like the studious vibe that exists and the fact that working hard is encouraged and fostered.” 

Neale has steered the Boarding ship through the troubled waters of bushfires and Covid, he’s navigated the calm waters of boarding enrolment growth and large capital works and he’s been there to celebrate every birthday, graduation and student achievement in the past three years. 

What is surprising is that Neale had never spent a night in a boarding house before taking on the role three years ago. He had plenty of wellbeing experience, having been a Year 9/10 level or stage coordinator for the previous  nine years. But the school was looking for a stable influence to steady the ship and Neale quite liked the idea of taking a challenging new direction in his career.

Neale’s philosophy has been to give the boarders clear boundaries, while still maintaining a fun atmosphere.

“I like to think I am considered firm but fair,” Neale explained. “I try to listen to the boarders and see things as I would if I was in their shoes. Hopefully, they know where they stand. There are rules and if you break them, there are consequences, but I try to keep things light so they don’t feel overwhelmed by rules.”

The aspect of the job that Neale will miss most when he moves to Euroa with his wife Vicki, are the people. Specifically the staff, the parents and the boarders themselves, the numbers of which have doubled since Neale started in the role. 

“We are a tight-knit community and the staff is extremely supportive. I’m going to really miss that when I leave. The boarders and their families have been resilient beyond belief with Covid. At times, some of them have started a term off thinking they were going home every weekend, but then haven’t been able to go home for weeks. But everyone has pulled together and been supportive of each other.”

Neale also will miss being a part of the school’s co-curricular sporting teams, particularly Australian Rules footy and cricket. Highlights of his coaching career have been the first XVIII win in the NSW State Football Championship in 2012 and the Under-17 cricket premiership win in the Albury Wodonga Junior Cricket Association in 2012/13.

Neale and Vicki will spend a few months touring in their new caravan and look forward to seeing more of their three children: Braden, 26, who has nearly finished medicine at Melbourne University; Damon, 25, whose love of statistics and football have melded into a career as a footy analyst; and Bree, 21, who is studying third year bio-medicine also at Melbourne Uni.

Welcome back to all parents and students. While the term began still under the Covid cloud with students arriving in masks, it was wonderful to see the joy on students faces as they entered through the office to embark on another great term at Scots. Of course, as the week progressed, the cloud became darker and we once again find ourselves navigating the challenges of home learning for our Victorian students.

On Monday all semester 1 reports were sent out to all families in the senior school. I spoke to the students at assembly about this highlighting that, for many of them, Monday night was an evening of celebration, of their achievements and tremendous effort. For all students it provided an opportunity for them to reflect and set some goals for the remainder of the year.
By next week all families will have been issued with their password to access ‘Scotty’. We also will be running parent information sessions however, these have been delayed by Covid restrictions. We will be providing detailed instructions on how to access student results and timetables.

It has been disappointing to see many events cancelled. Where possible we are exploring options on how we can run certain activities here at school. The cancellation of the Eisteddfod was certainly a huge blow. A number of sporting competitions have also been postponed or cancelled. While incredibly disappointing, our students have been remarkably resilient and are always coming up with suggestions on different ways we can approach certain activities. Perhaps one of the greatest outcomes of the past two years is that it has forced students to become very enterprising and to ‘think outside the box’.

I will finish how I finished at assembly:

Be sure to celebrate each other’s learning accomplishments. Encourage the pursuit of knowledge. Learning is a journey that does not end, we are all life-long learners. Simply because you may feel you are not good at something is not a reason to abandon hope of success.
To quote a famous fictional academic: “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities”. Professor Dumbledore said that. Be sure to make positive learning choices every day of your lives, that will ensure you truly attain your true potential.
 

Term 3 - the "premiership quarter" 

With the clouds dumping a great amount of rain and COVID spreading it’s usual amount of anxiety as to ‘what next?’, you'd think the start of term would have been a messy one for our students. But if there is one thing we know, the opportunity to learn, socialise with friends and maintain daily routines helps improve the wellbeing of all in our community.

 
At our Week 1 Junior School Assembly, I used our good friend Nemo and the challenges he faced to focus on the idea of perseverance. During challenging times, students need perseverance to overcome issues that may impact their learning and life. With many interruptions and distractions outside of school, teachers are working hard to ensure students can still focus on their learning, setting goals and working towards achieving them by showing resilience, grit, determination and especially perseverance. 

Those keen sports people among us will know that the third quarter is often called the ‘premiership’ quarter. Much like Term 3, it is the time to be brave, make the boldest moves and try your hardest in order to achieve your best. With three-way conferences planned for next week, it is a time to support our students to achieve their best, have clear goals and encourage them to show perseverance even when things seem too hard to overcome. 

I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome the 11 new students we have joining us in the Junior School this term. We wish them all the best as they begin to form new friendships and adjust to new routines and ways of learning.

Life @ Scots - House Points

Scots has had a long tradition of supporting a sense of belonging and healthy competition through the use of a House system. Sellars, Wilson, Robertson and Simpson all represent significant individuals from the school’s history and we continue to honour their legacy through co-curricular activities across the school year. Over the last 12 months, we have developed the House system in the Junior School to promote positive behaviours and reward students for their individual and collective pursuits beyond the classroom. 

Below is a list of how points are being awarded, with the winning house at the end of each term receiving a reward to acknowledge their hard work and effort. With students across the school mixing in age groups, wearing team colours and supporting each other in the playground, it is hoped that the House point system will continue to support the wellbeing of all our students. 

1 Point

Positive action in the playground e.g. picking up rubbish, helping a friend, wearing uniform correctly etc

Helping a staff member with important duties
Being a good sport
Regular instrument practice at home

5 Points

Student Council representative
Contribution to school-based action
Learner Profile attribute - showing particular strength in one or more of the attributes
Runners up in House Sport competitions
Showing positive leadership e.g. leading small music groups, using initiative to lead and do extra practice

10 Points

Learner Profile Award recipient
Significant achievement in personal pursuits outside of school e.g. state-level representation in sport, community engagement or service etc
Excelling in a particular auditioned lead role or leadership position either in school or outside of school

Welcome back, Mrs Carter

 

After taking maternity leave at the end of 2019, Mrs Carter has returned to the Junior School in a new role as our Teacher Librarian. With the Book Fair and Book Week to celebrate this term, there is a lot to look forward to in the world of books and storytelling.

 

 

Farewell to Head of Business Operations - Julie Ferrari

Scots Head of Business Operations Julie Ferrari has accepted a career-changing promotion to join Viridis Ag as its Chief Financial Officer.

Julie will be a big loss to the school, but I am so happy for her as she takes this next step in her career after 2.5 years with Scots. She has been a powerful force behind stabilising the school finances and her strategic vision has enabled us to increase enrolments beyond 530 this year. Julie won’t be leaving us until the end of August and will still be involved in the school community as a parent and volunteer. We will have a further opportunity to farewell Julie in weeks to come.

Welcome to Stephanie Bruce
Welcome to Stephanie, who has joined us to be responsible for Chapel, RAVE and Service Learning while Rev. Beth Bear is on maternity leave. 

Welcome to Molly Fitzpatrick
Welcome to Molly, who has joined our Wellbeing Team as our  school psychologist.

As usual, there has been plenty of activity in the Performing Arts program at Scots! Since our last newsletter, we have enjoyed a variety of workshops and performances across the school, and there are more exciting events planned for the future.

I invite all parents of students involved in the co-curricular program to subscribe to the relevant sections under the co-curricular tab on the Scots app. This is the quickest and easiest way to stay up-to-date with announcements and information for the many and varied activities and pursuits currently on offer. An update that went out recently was to announce that the upcoming 2021 Albury Wodonga Eisteddfod has been cancelled in all disciplines. This was due to government Covid-19 restrictions impacting significantly on the event. A huge thank-you to all students and families who have been working hard and preparing for these events; we look forward to participating in the 2022 realisation of our local eisteddfod.

For those students wishing to study private music lessons during school hours at Scots, be sure to read the information form and fill in the enrolment form at the links below (these are also available in Parent Lounge). We have a wonderful array of expert tutors across a wide variety of instruments and styles. Limited places still available – so don’t miss out:

Information form (please read first): https://docs.google.com/document/d/153v-BJ346lWpMc6vP55TBY02KkEMdonImQc5NHb-WHU/edit?usp=sharing

Enrolment form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1NzQbHpJ3r_P3vCeet19aP_pAAjBez5BWTx7RzZhXQ78/edit

Scots Dance

A detailed message to parents has recently gone out on the app under the co-curricular Dance section – I invite those of you interested to check it out. An important aspect of this is that Dance program enrolments are now available for students from Year 5 and above, with waitlists in place for students in Kinder to Year 4. For students in the Monday afternoon Year 5/6 group and the Senior School dance troupes, limited places are still available on a first-in-best-dressed basis. To apply, please click on the link below, as well as sending an email to dance coordinator, Stacey Cooper.

Application Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdFtRXPynie_UW-0yDCvyhrWPSs1VI1pfkdjIZU3GUHyAIA4Q/viewform
Email contact: scooper@scotsalbury.nsw.edu.au

Currently enrolled students do not need to fill in this form again. However, if your son/daughter is currently enrolled and is choosing to discontinue, can you please advise Stacey on the email address above as soon as possible.

Music Festival – insert pics 17/6/21

Our 2021 Music Festival ‘On Broadway’ was a fantastic success. The evening was a fitting tribute to farewell Alison Mitchell, who in her time at Scots helped deliver almost 20 Broadway Musicals. Highlights from the evening included the staff wellbeing band performance of Bohemian Rhapsody’, Jazz Gang’s performance of ‘Feelin’ Good’ and Dynamix Boys Choir crowd-pleasing rendition of ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’. Congratulations to all students involved, particularly the prize winners, and special thanks to our music staff for their stellar effort in preparing our students for another outstanding 

Get Your Act Together 

Our recent collaboration with Murray River Fine Music was a fabulous success! 24 rising stars from the region attended a weekend of performance, rehearsal, collaboration and tuition. Students from across the region revelled in the opportunity to learn from internationally acclaimed soprano Merlyn Quaife, as well as violinist Kaori Sparks and pianist Helena Kernaghan over the weekend at Scots. After being treated to a special performance from the three tutors on Friday night, the students spent the next two days learning and honing their performances ready for the student concert on Sunday afternoon. Well done to all the talented students for rising to the occasion. What a beautiful concert it was!

The Scots Equestrian Interschools Challenge will be on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 September. A dedicated team of parents is busily preparing for the event, which will incorporate dressage, showjumping, mount & rider, novelties and handy mount for riders in Years 3-12.

The event will be at the Albury-Wodonga Equestrian Centre and is a qualifier for the Victorian and NSW State Interschool Championships. The program is being finalised and entries will open on Nominate in early August. 

Scots will host an international SpaceCRAFT Exploration Challenge, designed and run by former NASA astronaut Dr Gregory Chamitoff, from 20-25 September.

This course includes some genuine and hands-on training that those looking to work in the space industry undertake. Students will work in small teams to complete challenges and gain points as part of the challenge using an online platform. They will learn from experts in the field (including actual astronauts) who work for, and with, NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

We plan to run the event at school. However, if Covid regulations prevent that, it will run fully online.

The usual cost of this event per student is $500, but Scots has secured $20,000 of Federal Government funding which means our students will pay only a nominal administration fee of $50 for the full six-day event.

Please note: The event requires a Windows 10-based laptop.

We invite you to apply for this incredible opportunity to be a part of the NASA space program. Please complete the google form survey as an expression of interest for your child. Should demand exceed the 40 places available, we will have an application process.
Google Form for EOI: https://forms.gle/9Ba7H2KmrgxP57PL8
For more information: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x3d8vN19qIjK1Bhq6n2mkReyLnl7HPp1/view?usp=sharing
Any questions please contact Mr Murphy at: bmurphy@scotsalbury.nsw.edu.au

 

 

Executive and a selection of staff are in the midst of planning our Senior Study Centre with our architects. The amazing new facility is only made possible through the generosity of our community. There will be several fundraising opportunities to support the construction of the new facility and the Car Raffle is one of our main ones. Every Scots family will have a 1-in-1000 chance to win the new car when they purchase a ticket in our fundraising car raffle, in which the grand prize is the award-winning compact SUV, the new Subaru XV 2.0i All Wheel Drive.

There are only 1000 tickets available. Each ticket is $100 and the draw for the raffle will be in October at the Country Fair. Even if you miss out on the grand prize, there are some other exciting prizes. Second prize is $1000 off your school fees or a $500 gift voucher, third prize is a 1-night luxury stay at Circa Albury and fourth prize is a full car detail at Baker Motors Albury.

The limited-ticket fundraiser is the brainchild of Scots Foundation members, in partnership with Baker Motors, and all proceeds will go towards construction of the Senior Study Centre. 

Purchase your tickets here events.humanitix.com/scots-car-raffle

The sports portfolio and SRC have combined forces to plan a Dress Like an Olympian day next Friday to help raise funds for more lunchtime sports equipment.

The opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics is today, with the best athletes from around the globe competing in 33 sports - let's see how many of them will be represented by our students next Friday.

At recess, some of the teachers will model their awesome costumes at the quadrangle runway. More info to come on how the winner is decided! And then a lunchtime basketball match between a team of senior students and the teachers will capture the imagination. All funds raised will go towards purchasing more sports equipment for people to use at lunchtimes - basketballs, footies, handballs, frisbees!

Re: Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

• year of schooling

• category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional

• level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

• formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools

• consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools

• develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.

The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.education.gov.au/privacy-policy).

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).