Congratulations on your first week of lockdown living and learning from home!

It has been a wonderfully smooth transition to online learning and I thank all the teachers, learning support, wellbeing and support staff as well as students and families for adapting so quickly and efficiently to our new, temporary, circumstances.

The School Executive has been considering our lockdown response most of the term because I think we all knew it was inevitable. So we were ready to “flip the switch”, if you like, when the news came through on Saturday. 

The extension to our lockdown announced yesterday means that we will continue to plan in parallel two courses of action: our response during a continued lockdown and a life where restrictions are eased. This dual planning means Scots will continue to provide a quality education, wellbeing support and external opportunities whether we are in lockdown or not. 

We are looking at options for our Year 12 trial exams, we are considering courses of action for our Country Fair and milestone activities like the Year 12 Final Chapel. There are some activities which can be postponed and some that will go ahead regardless.

For instance, we are pushing ahead with plans for the Country Fair because we believe it will be a beacon on the horizon for families keen to celebrate our sense of community and students who need to have some carefree fun. The way we are planning means that even if, at the very last minute, we can’t hold the fair because of COVID-19, much of the hard work from organisers and Scots families won’t be wasted. We have a back-up date set aside; we will have a drive-through stall to ensure all the food and produce already prepared can be sold; we have a 12-month credit on our amusement ride bookings and we will still draw the car raffle. 

Our contingency plans have paid off so far and, I promise, we will keep working hard to make sure that continues.

We are aware that this is a challenging and uncertain time for our Seniors especially around trial and HSC exams. We are communicating with them regularly and have various plans set in response to how the lockdown plays out. 

We encourage our Year 11 & 12 students to engage in the Meditation/Mindfulness sessions offered, and to all our community to take part in the Scots@home Online Challenge! Click here for the Scots Co-Curricular Challenge

One thing that keeps me grounded during these COVID times, is my daily walks with Fabio. I have a chance to hear the birds sing, watch his crazy antics and enjoy the fresh country air. It really makes me think how lucky we are here on the Border. Sure, the border restrictions and lockdown measures can be confusing and restrictive but I’m grateful that, even though I can’t physically see my three daughters in Victoria, they are not caught up in the terror and tragedy facing Afghani women under a Taliban regime. And that we are not in the same predicament of not only pandemic concerns, but environmental disasters like people living in Haiti or Greece at the moment. We are indeed blessed to be here in Albury and to have such an amazing community.

I recently was recommended a Dyl and Friends podcast where the host Dylan Buckley talks with Ben Crowe about keeping perspective during the pandemic. Ben is a former International Marketing Manager at Nike and famously is a mentor to Ash Barty, as well as Andre Agassi, Tiger Woods, Steph Gilmore, Trent Cotchin and Damien Hardwicke. The podcast looks at dealing with unrealistic expectations, performance mindset, controlling the controllables, vulnerability, purpose and intrinsic motivation. 

I was recommended to watch the full podcast, all 1hr 24 mins of it, but you can skip through to about 1:14.16 where they discuss the pandemic specifically. 

Another podcast worth hearing is one called Resilience and perspective: embracing your story. The Wellbeing Conversation .

As I sign off, Gladys is about to deliver another update on the current situation, the rising numbers and the lockdown status. It changes daily but we intend to keep you informed as best we can so that we can unite together for the support and success of our children. Please look after yourselves, keep communicating with us as we will with you, and stay safe.

I would like to begin by commending the students for the positive manner in which they have transitioned to remote learning.  While there can be no doubt this is a far from ideal situation, it is a testament to their resilience and the support of their families that they have transitioned so quickly. In saying that, we also appreciate that home learning is extremely challenging for some and ask that you please contact us at the school should you have any concerns around wellbeing.

As you are now aware, the lockdown in NSW has been extended. We had planned that for a one or two week extension we would see Year 11 exams and Year 12 Trial Exams postponed until students returned. Should the lockdown extend beyond this time we will be exploring other online assessment options.

The Scots Co-curricular Challenge has been launched again. Thank you to Dave Smith for leading this wonderful program. Debating has also continued this week thanks to Christie Ward who has coached the Year 7 and 8 teams. Well done to Lacey, Phoebe, Amara and Lilly who convincingly defeated Scotch Oakburn. Well done also to Mia, Poppy, Oli and Jericho who were only narrowly defeated in their debate. The students did a fantastic job preparing for the debate and then performing under lockdown conditions.

We are continuing to plan for the Country Fair and there will be an online Teams Meeting on Tuesday, 24 August at 7.30pm.

Subject selections for Stage 5 also are underway and the Information Evening has been postponed to Term 4 on a date yet to be confirmed.

Thank you to all of our families for their messages of support to our staff and to the wonderful support you are providing for our students at home. While our circumstances are unfortunate, we are all fortunate to be part of such a wonderful community.

Scots@Home 2.0

As we plunge into another lockdown situation, I want to thank our community for their amazing support and patience. I cannot thank our staff enough either, for their tireless dedication and professionalism to adjust yet again to a new teaching and learning environment. In the Junior School, we have made a few small changes to timetables to try and support families better at home and provide greater consistency across the school. 

Specialist programs have been scheduled for Period 5 each day:
Monday - Library
Tuesday - Music
Wednesday - Japanese
Thursday - Art
Friday - PE/Sport

We hope this makes life a little easier at home, so that students can enjoy these sessions together and ensure that core learning is the focus each morning. As always, wellbeing features in daily schedules, with staff using a range of quiet, mindful activities and physical activities to help students maintain good mental health. 

To ensure accurate attendance records, we also ask that students "check-in" to their classes either via morning TEAMs calls (Year 3-6) or by responding to posts on Seesaw (K-2).

We wish all our families well as they navigate the challenges that COVID lockdowns present. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your classroom teacher, Year Parent or me at any stage should you need assistance.

Life @ Scots - Student (and parent) Wellbeing

On Monday, I encouraged students to set up their new learning spaces at home and remember three key things during Scots@Home learning:

1. Try your best
2. Be kind to yourself and others
3. Have fun!

As Hugh van Cuylenburg from The Resilience Project reminds us, there are many small but important ways you can help children focus on the positive aspects of their life. These include:

• Daily acts of kindness
• Highlighting something to look forward to in the coming days
• Routine, no matter how small
• Validating emotions - it’s ok to share and acknowledge how we feel

The Resilience Project on "The Project"

So, be kind to yourselves as parents, too. We know this is hard for you to juggle your own work and life commitments, as well as your child’s wellbeing and learning. 

NSW K-2 Draft Curriculum Update

We have begun the process of implementing new systematic phonics-based programs and introducing decodable readers into our curriculum. This is in response to a comprehensive review of the NSW curriculum, in part by the statewide teacher network where we are represented by Shelley Byrt.

As research suggests, these strategies best support our most vulnerable and beginning readers, so we have trained our learning assistants and implemented the MiniLit/Multilit program for interventions, as well as invested in decodable texts for the classroom. 

Our next step is to train and resource a new research-based systematic phonics program for our K-2 students, which I am pleased to say will commence in Term 4. This includes two days of teacher training, as well as significant investment in classroom, online and take-home readers. This all takes time to get right, so along with the new NSW K-2 curriculum which is currently in draft form, we will implement and assess the success of these programs moving forward.

During the first week of the September holidays The Scots School Albury will host the  International SpaceCRAFT Exploration Challenge, designed and run by Dr Gregory Chamitoff, a former NASA Astronaut. This course includes some genuine and hands on training that those looking to work in the space industry get!

Students will work in small teams to complete tasks and gain points as part of the challenge using an online platform. They will learn from experts in the field who work for and with NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, (including actual astronauts).

We plan to run the event at school, if COVID-19 regulations permit, but if restrictions prevent that, it will be fully online.

The usual cost of this event per student is $500, but Scots, having secured $20,000 of Federal Government funding, can offer it to our students for a nominal administration fee of $50 for the full six-day event. 

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. Hurry as there are only 15 of the 40 available spots remaining and it has not even been advertised outside of Scots yet!

Expression of Interest

More Information

Promotional Video

Any questions please contact Mr Murphy at: bmurphy@scotsalbury.nsw.edu.au

Students did a fantastic job of preparing for the virtual debating competition against schools in Tasmania and Parramatta this week; performing under pressure in lockdown conditions.

Our Year 8 team debated the negative against Parramatta Marist High School on the topic: That it is legitimate for countries to spy on one another. The team comprised Mia Sheather, Poppy Millgate-Kimball, Oliver Baitch and Jericho Ellao, with their Year 11 coach Georgia Miller.

Our Year 7 team was the affirmative on the topic: That alcohol advertising should be banned. The team comprised Lilly Baranyay, Phoebe Darnley Naylor, Amara, Georgia Perkins, with Lizbeth Donald and Lacey Smith as observers.

Both debates were very close. Our Year 8 team lost by a very close margin and our Year 7 team won their debate against Scotch Oakburn College (Tasmania).

The Uniform Shop and the Scots Clothing Pool will now open on Monday mornings and Wednesday afternoons from Monday 23 August 2021 as follows:

Monday 8.15–9.15am
Wednesday 3.00–4.00pm

Year 7 vaccinations due to go ahead on Monday 30 August have been postponed.

A revised date will be communicated soon.

The Art Department is in need of newspapers for various art and craft activities once classes resume, so please horde your daily newspapers during the lockdown and bring them into school when restrictions ease. You can leave them at either the Junior School or Senior School receptions. 

To assist in the reconciliation process, please return all Car Raffle Tickets and money to the School as soon as possible.

You can make payment by the following methods: 

• Pay over the phone by calling Reception on (02) 6022 0000
• Direct deposit by calling Reception for bank account details

Return your tickets by either of the following methods:

• Post to the school at 393 Perry Street Albury NSW 2640.
• Deliver to Reception when School returns