Newsletter, Term 4, Friday 27 October 2023

The Scots Vision for Teaching and Learning is a powerful document available for regular reference by teachers, parents and students. It focuses our minds on our mission and purpose; and provides a blueprint for a Scots education.

Our commitment is to the sort of learning that nurtures the whole person, exercising the mind and body, and caring for the social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of each individual student.

View the Vision for Teaching and Learning HERE.

What on earth is a Helidrop, we hear you ask?

Well, here is the low-down on one of the most exciting fundraising adventures we have ever attempted!

One thousand numbered golf balls will be dropped onto Wilson Oval from a helicopter flying at super-low altitude and with extreme precision. Wilson Oval will be adorned with small flags denoting the many fantastic prizes to be won. When the golf balls drop, the one closest to each Prize Flag wins that prize.

Simple, really...

The Scots Helidrop will take place on Friday 1 December and the prizes are incredible. Our School community has really humbled us with their donations enabling us to assemble a fantastically diverse range of prizes. There really is, as the saying goes, something for everyone.

The impetus for this fundraiser is our new Junior School. Construction is set to start next year on a new facility that will give our youngest learners a modern, purpose-built home to expand their knowledge and meet their social and emotional needs; something that will stand the test of time in decades to come.

We are committed to construction. We have sought stakeholder input on the plans and they are being finalised now. We have secured funding through a series of grants and loans and we will put the job out for tender in the next few months, then finalise the contractor.

All funds raised by the Helidrop will go directly toward the Junior School.

So, in buying a ticket in the Helidrop you help build the Junior School and contribute to a student’s Scots experience every day.

Who wouldn’t want to win one of these fantastic prizes:

Return helicopter transfers ex Albury Airport to All Saints Estate, Rutherglen, plus a long lunch at All Saints Estate (to the value of $800) for four (4) adults - valued up to $3800, with thanks to Rotor Solutions Australia & JC Butko Engineering
One night’s accommodation at The Loft Yarrawonga - valued at $500, with thanks to the Hawley Family
One night’s accommodation at Circa Albury - valued up to $595, with thanks to the Yaxley and Wright Families
Your choice of $5000 off your school fees at The Scots School Albury, OR $2000 cash
Four (4) tickets to any day of the 2023 Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, or the 2024 New Years Test in Sydney* - valued up to $800, with thanks to Cricket Albury Wodonga
A laptop to the value of $2000 - thanks to MicroTech DPS
Full vehicle valet, with paint and interior protection treatment - valued at $1850, with thanks to Baker Motors
Tonkin Care Package (Residential) - valued at $600, with thanks to Tonkin Group
Voucher for two (2) adults to enjoy the “Pop & Fizz” Pizzini Winery Experience* - valued at $150, with thanks to Pizzini Wines
A full set of Falken car tyres, fitted and balanced - valued up to $1000, with thanks to Jappo Donks Tyres, Wheels & Batteries
$50 APCO Fuel Vouchers
*Travel and accommodation (if required) is at the winner’s expense

Tickets are $50 each. Order yours online HERE or buy in-person at the Senior and Junior School receptions.

Come fly with us - a taste of flying over Albury with Rotor Solutions

Click the image to fly over Albury with Rotor Solutions Australia

Year 1 student Theodore Acton-Adams already thinks his dad has the best job in the world!

Just imagine how proud he will be in a few years’ time when he looks back to see what an impact his parents, Hugh and Monique, had on the evolution of the new Scots Junior School through the Scots Helidrop fundraiser.

The Helidrop concept, where 1000 numbered golf balls will be dropped on Wilson Oval and the nearest ball to the prize flags wins that prize, is the most unique and exciting fundraiser the school has ever undertaken.

The generous donation of Hugh and Monique, who have a unique capacity to provide not only the helicopter and pilot to do the “drop” but were happy to provide one of the feature prizes of a helicopter flight to and from All Saints Estate in Rutherglen. At the winery, the winner will feast on a long lunch donated by JC Butko Engineering.

The event is shaping up to be loads of fun for everyone, with school carols to follow that evening. With special permission from CASA to fly below regulation height over Scots to drop the balls on Wilson Oval, this won’t be the company’s first rodeo; with Helidrop events in Holbrook and Wodonga in the past few years.

Chief Pilot, Hugh, together with his wife and company General Manager, Monique, run a successful and expansive aerial agriculture and utility business. They’ve been providing precision spraying and fertilising to the agriculture industry for 15 years and over the past five years have expanded into firefighting and heavy lifting, along with drones for mapping, spraying and fertilising.

The couple started out with a single Jet Ranger, considered a good workhorse helicopter capable of carrying up to 400 litres for spraying and fertilising. They have since added three additional Airbus Helicopters to their fleet, known as Squirrels, which have bigger load capacity and are more versatile machines. Their biggest chopper is an H125 which can carry 1000 litres for spraying and lift 1200kg on the hook.

They currently have two aircraft in the Bega and Jindabyne regions on firefighting duty and during the last big fire season in 2019/2020, one of their helicopters spent 90 days straight in firefighting mode, with pilots changing out every 7 days or so.

Rotor Solutions operates from their purpose-built hangar, airside at Albury Airport - a far cry from the company’s humble beginnings - three people and a helicopter parked in an open paddock.

Monique explained her passion for Scots and why they are committed to raising funds to help build the Junior School.

“My mum was always on the PTA and the Board when we were at school; she donated her time and whatever she could,” Monique explained. “I think I’ve inherited her desire to help out and she always showed us it doesn't take a lot sometimes to make a difference. We have the means to do this Helidrop and, really, it’s not a lot to organise but it's something that has the ability to make a big change to the school. Each child in the school should have two tickets in their pocket on the day! The school community and its families should be behind it, wanting to make it a successful fundraiser.”

The Acton-Adams family has a vested interest in seeing the new Junior School take shape next year; Theodore has another five years of Junior School while Theodore’s younger brother Winston is due to start Scots Preschool in 2025.

Tickets are $50 and available HERE.

If you think you can cross-country ski for 15km, stopping two or four times to shoot at a target 50m away, then you just might be able to challenge Year 12 boarder Brock Holder to a race. But don’t let Brock’s youth give you false hope - he has plenty of experience for a 17-year-old.

Ranked No.88 in the world in under-22 competition, Brock competed in Germany, Slovenia, Austria, Estonia and Latvia last year and has spent every Australian winter at Mt Hotham since 2016.

His specialties are cross-country skiing and biathlon; two very demanding sports that require extreme cardiovascular endurance and, in the case of biathlon, the addition of hand-eye coordination and marksmanship.

Biathlon comprises two formats - the Sprint and Individual, and cross country skiing is either in a classic or skating format.

A sprint biathlon race ranges in distance from 3km to 10km and comprises three laps of a cross-country ski circuit. After the first lap, athletes shoot at five targets slightly bigger than a 50 cent coin from a distance of 50m in a prone position. After the second lap they shoot at five targets the size of a saucer from a standing position before a final lap to cross the finish line. Any targets they miss attract a penalty loop (usually about 200m) of skiing before setting off on their next lap.

The Individual is a longer race up to 15km, comprising five laps with two prone and two standing bouts of shooting. Missed targets incur a time penalty rather than a skiing penalty.

“It’s a real rush when you hit the targets,” Brock explained. “You’ve got to learn to be steady even though you are exhausted from skiing. I like to shoot right to left because your body tightens as you move that way, which provides more stability, especially in the standing position.”

It all started in 2016, when Brock’s parents bought a house at Dinner Plain and planned to spend every winter there, educating their children at the local school for the whole of Term 3.

Every Thursday, all the students spent the day cross-country skiing and Brock’s family spent all weekend on the slopes or cross-country trails. In Year 6, he was given a laser rifle and started practising his shooting as well.

In Year 8, he was the under-15 Australian biathlon champion and last year, as a Year 11 student, he toured with the Australian development squad to Eastern Europe. The trip was an eye-opener; he experienced the absolute highs and lows of the sport, learned a lot about the vagaries of travelling and training, and had to quickly develop total independence all while trying to juggle his schoolwork.

He believes he came home a better athlete and much wiser, having hated some of the places he visited but loving the overall experience. The lessons learned were some of the reasons he has chosen to focus on his HSC studies this year instead of touring again throughout the European winter.

“It was really hard to study while I was away last year,” Brock said. “I’m very hopeful of a good ATAR so I want to concentrate on doing the best I can in my last year at school.”

Brock is tossing up between being a primary school teacher or studying psychology but he hopes either pathway can be pursued in tandem with, or after, his foray into elite snowsports.

This Australian winter, he just missed a place in the Australian team for the 2023 Youth Olympics in both biathlon and cross country. To secure a spot on the team, he needed to finish in the top three in biathlon at trials and in the top two in cross country. He finished fourth and third respectively, missing a spot on the team by one place in each discipline. But he has learned to roll with the punches and maintains that his European tour taught him to look forward, not back.

His first stop after meeting up with the cross-country team in Germany was Slovenia, where he fell ill and had to withdraw from the competition. By the time the team moved on to Austria, he was starting to improve and had two good cross-country races albeit underdone from a fitness perspective. He met up with the biathlon team in Estonia where he competed in his first international biathlon event with improving success.

Then on to Latvia where he bombed - recording his worst result of the tour shooting only six of his 20 targets. He had a chance to regroup during a training camp in Germany and went on to his best result at Kazakhstan shooting 17 of the 20 targets in the Individual. Coincidentally, he wore bib number 88, finished 88th and was ranked 88th in the world by the end of the season.

While Brock has prioritised his studies over touring this year, he hasn’t dropped off his training schedule. He completes two or three strength sessions in the gym and two plyometrics sessions each week, 15-25km of running or roller skiing every day, balance work every night and regular shooting training.

So, if you are still planning to throw out a challenge to Brock on the snow - good luck!

The Scots dance group’s Wakakirri performances in Canberra and Albury Wodonga Youth Ballet’s production of Alice in Wonderland at the weekend have rekindled a love of dance for Scots boarder Jonathon Cotter (Year 11).

Jonathon was the Knave of Hearts in sold-out performances of Alice in Wonderland at The Cube last weekend and it reignited a passion he has had since he started learning ballet in his home town of Leeton as a four-year-old.

His dance affinity is definitely genetic. His grandmother runs the dance section of the Leeton Eisteddfod; his mother was a very keen dancer in the tap and classical ballet genres and his older sister, Erin, danced from a very young age until she eventually moved into highland dancing.

But despite Jonathon’s dance background, Alice in Wonderland was his first major dance production and he has only recently ventured back into the creative arts in a serious way.

“I’ve competed in the dance sections of eisteddfods at Leeton and Albury but I haven’t really done a lot outside that,” Jonathon said. “I started as a four-year-old and continued with regular dance classes until I left Leeton to come to Scots in Year 7. Even though I joined the Scots dance group, I wasn’t training as intensively as before because I also had a lot of other things that I wanted to do.”

In his final year at Scots, Jonathon now feels reinvigorated to pursue his passion and is planning to try out for roles in Cinderella and Sound of Music when those community productions are auditioning.

“I never really lost my love of ballet; I just had other things on and now I’m keen to really get back into it. In doing Alice in Wonderland, I realised I had lost a lot of my technique, strength and flexibility in those years when I was only dancing occasionally, so I have to work hard now to get it back. But, I improved in the 10 weeks of training for Alice in Wonderland, so I will just have to keep working at it.”

His role in Alice was the first time he had danced a pas de deux - usually a male and female duo which often involves the male lifting the female dancer.

When he first attempted a fish dip - lifting the ballerina around the waist and legs and “dipping” at the same time - he realised how much strength work he still needed to do.

“I lifted her up the first time and instead of dipping and holding her, I had to put her straight back down,” Jonathon laughed. “So I had to get into the gym and use some of the weights at the Boarding House to build up my strength. Luckily, “Alice” was only 14 and quite lithe, so by the time we came to performance night, I was able to do the fish dip properly!”

Jonathon performs all dance genres - classical ballet, contemporary, jazz and tap - but if he had to pick a favourite, it would be classical ballet.

“I really enjoy classical, but I’m probably a bit better at contemporary and jazz at the moment because my technique has slipped a bit. Classical ballet is so precise. In all dance, though, I just love how you can express the whole range of emotions from tragedy to happiness without speaking; you portray it all through movement.”

Jonathon also was a member of the Scots troupe which won the hearts and minds of all involved in the Wakakirri National Story-Dance Festival over two performances in Canberra, ultimately paving the way for inclusion in the Wakakirri national online showcase.

For 11 days in the September holidays of 2023, a group of 11 French students, alongside Mr Agar and Ms Byles, travelled to New Caledonia, a French-speaking island in the Pacific, three hours from Sydney.

The aim of the trip was to improve our French whilst simultaneously experiencing a new, French-speaking culture. Our time was filled with sightseeing in Noumea, some time at the beach, encountering Kanak culture and French lessons at CREIPAC Language School. The 15 hours of French lessons allowed us to gain insight into the country and culture and widen our usage of the French language. The trip was not just about experiencing the language: French food was eaten, particularly crepes and croissants, and we visited a broad range of restaurants, cafés and bakeries.

Whilst in Noumea, we took sightseeing walks, a ride on the Tchou Tchou train to better see the city and surroundings; a visit to the Noumea aquarium for the tropical fish and turtles; an excursion to the Tjibaou Cultural Centre to learn of Kanak culture and history; an outing to a supermarché; a trip to Parc Forestier to see some native wildlife (particularly the cagou, the New Caledonian emblem), and a walk to the local markets, where coconuts were bought and drank.

We all went swimming in the shark net of Baie des Citrons, the swimming beach in the city. We also took a day trip to Amedee Island, which is a small islet, a 45-minute boat ride from Noumea Harbour. Here we all swam, snorkelled, saw sea snakes, fish, corals and turtles, witnessed some dancing and saw a sarong-tying demonstration. A highlight of that day was a glass bottom boat ride out off the shore.

- Maddie Perkins (Year 12)

Nearly 30 students from Scots and schools on either side of the Border attended the Scots-hosted Global Space Challenge during the recent school holidays. The event is run by Space Teams and led by Professor Gregory Chamitoff, a former NASA Astronaut who now teaches space science at the tertiary level.

Students worked in teams to complete their six-day challenge, designing a space mission from start to finish. This included designing a rocket and orbital trajectories to get from Earth to another planet, landing a spacecraft, designing and building a habitat capable of sustaining human life as well as exploring a planet's surface for minerals, water and resources to sustain humans.

It was the third consecutive year Scots has hosted the event, made possible by securing significant funding from the Federal Government.

It was the most competitive Space Teams event ever with almost 60 teams competing from 10 countries which included Australia, Canada, Egypt, India, Lebanon, the USA, Ukraine, Papua New Guinea, The Netherlands, and Germany. Well done to all local teams, which were very competitive in this international challenge.

A particular highlight for the teams that competed at our school was an entrant in the High School category which came third with 499.6 points out of a possible 499.9. The team, made up of Ammar Syed and Sam John (The Scots School Albury), Liam Murphy (James Fallon High School), Talal Syed (Trinity Anglican College) and Affan Syed (Thurgoona Public School), also won a prize for best team video and the high production quality was noted as a standout.

In our local competition, we had 31 students participate, three online from Sydney and Melbourne, and 28 in-person on-site. Fifteen were from Scots and other schools represented included James Fallon High School, Trinity Anglican College, St John's Jindera, Wodonga Primary School, Wodonga Middle Years (Huon), Auburn South Primary School (Melbourne), St Andrew's Cathedral School (Sydney), Border Christian College and Thurgoona Public School.

Mr Murphy
Head of Technology & Innovation (Co-curricular)

Scots Lunchtime Hoops Basketball Grand Final

The Scots Lunchtime Hoops Basketball Competition wrapped up on Tuesday 17 October with an exhilarating Grand Final! Years 7-11 students have formed mixed basketball teams to compete at lunchtime throughout Term 3 and 4 with Scots Fire taking home the title.

Final Score: Scots Fire (36) defeated Scots Bullets (29). The MVP of the grand final was Ty Salter (Year 10), who shot five three-pointers and the fierce sibling battle between Will Dickins (Year 10) and Jenna Dickins (Year 7) was another highlight.

Thanks to all the students and teachers for getting involved and making this such a fun competition. We look forward to bringing this back in 2024!

Scots Under 12s CAW Cricket

The Scots Under 12s cricket team played its first game in the CAW competition on Friday 20 October. The players have been training very hard over the past month and this hard work paid off with a great first-up win against Corowa.

Final score: Scots 125 def Corowa CC 85.

It was a great team performance, with many new players showing plenty of potential. The individual highlights included Alby Clark’s wicket with his first ball, Jobe Warner’s excellent keeping and batting, Will Boniface’s excellent all-round performance and excellent batting from Clancy Miller.

Wiburd Shield Cricket

The Scots Year 7-9 Cricket Team hosted Trinity on Monday 23 October and put on a stellar performance. The cricketers restricted Trinity to 34 runs with some accurate and skilful bowling. The pick of the bowlers was Cooper Glass who took four wickets. The batting performance was also impressive, Rylan Frazer (28 not out) and opener Fergus Monaghan (23 not out) were the pick of the batters. Archie Ross (20 not out), Hugo Howard (15 not out) and Archer Warner (12 not out) all looked good during their time at the crease.

Final Score: Scots 2/121 def Trinity 9/34

Douglas Shield Cricket

The Scots Year 10/11 Cricket Team also played Trinity on Monday 23 October. Winning the toss and batting, the innings got off to a steady start. Ethan White knocked the shine off the ball and played some great cricket shots on his way to 27 runs. Ollie Corbally Stourton batted beautifully, making 65 not out.

The bowling effort was consistent, Tilly Tainton took the new ball and bowled great line and length, while Ollie Corbally Stourton, Magnus McGregor, Fred Jackson and Harvey Correll all chipped in with one wicket.

Final Score: Scots 3/140 def Trinity 4/63

The Pipe Band continued its recent international success with another world title when Arifa Rizvi, Year 10, was named World Champion Tenor in the Juvenile B section of the Solo Drumming World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, last weekend. In the Snare drumming competition at worlds, Scots Drum Major Damon Wright, Year 11, was third in the Juvenile Section 2 and Shanaaya Chowdhry, Year 7, placed 11th in the Juvenile Section 1.

Also in Scotland competing at the prestigious Loch Nell invitational solo piping contest was Pipe Major Liam Nicolson. Only eight pipers were invited and Liam was the youngest competitor in the event for Pipers aged under 22.

The international success follows on from success during the recent school holidays at the Australian Solo Piping and Drumming Championships in Warwick, QLD and the ACT Solo Piping and Drumming Championships.

Results include:

Australian Solo Piping & Drumming Championships

Jonny Coe
U18 C Grade Australian Champion
C Grade Australian Champion
2nd March - U18
1st Strathspey & Reel - U18
3rd Piobaireachd - U18
2nd C Grade
1st C Grade Strathspey & Reel
3rd C Grade Piobaireachd

Liam Nicolson
U18 A Grade Australian Champion
1st MSR - U18
1st Piobaireachd - U18
1st Hornpipe & Jig - U18
3rd A Grade Piobaireachd

Damon Wright
U18 A Grade Australian Snare Champion
1st MSR - U18
1st Hornpipe & Jig - U18
1st 8 parts of March - U18

ACT Piping & Drumming Championships
Jonny Coe
1st C Grade March
2nd C Grade Strathspey & Reel
1st
B Grade MSR
3rd C Grade Hornpipe & Jig

Liam Nicolson
1st A Grade MSR
1st A grade Hornpipe & Jig
2nd A Grade Piobaireachd

Damon Wright
1st MSR
1st Hornpipe & Jig

Scots had a remarkable Snowsports season. Our Senior School Snowsports Team finished sixth overall in the co-ed Secondary Schools category across NSW and the ACT. Our Junior School Snowsports Team finished eighth overall in the co-ed Primary School category. Considering only the top 32 public, independent and private schools across NSW and the ACT gained selection to compete, these results were impressive. Our aim at the start of the season was to compete against the strongest Snowsports schools in Australia – we certainly achieved that. Well done Team!

The Snowsports program grew from 25 participants in 2022 to 55 this year. Many new students experienced Snowsports competition for the first time and we look forward to welcoming more students in 2024.

Scots Snowsports started the year with an enjoyable social gathering where we received many generous donations. The program would like to thank those in the Scots community who donated to make this event a success. We are already planning next year’s event.

Finally, the Snowsports Program would like to thank the tireless efforts of Snowsports Coordinator, Mr Nathan Tainton, the support provided by Head of Sport, Mr Tim Kennedy, the Business and Marketing Departments, as well as the Scots leadership group.

- Jeremy Ross

NSW/ACT State Snowsports Interschools Championships, Perisher (21-25 August)

Thirty students from Year 1 to Year 11 were selected to compete at the State Snowsports Interschools Championships at Perisher, NSW.
Our athletes competed in alpine and snowboard giant slalom, snowboard and ski cross, moguls, snowboard and ski slopestyle as well as Nordic cross country. Competing in varied conditions from blue skies to driving rain, Scots students held their own against the best Snowsport athletes from NSW and the ACT.
The students experienced a notable increase in the depth of competition. This presented a real challenge which brought out the best in them.
The Junior School racers participated early in the week, after which the Senior School students took to the slopes. Additional events are introduced at the State level, including ski and snowboard slopestyle as well as Nordic cross country.
Special mention goes to Alex Smythe and Brock Holder.

Alex Smythe. Alex is our Snowsports Captain and has led the students with distinction over the past two years. He is a natural leader and has always been very supportive of all students. Alex has competed at every Snowsports Interschools since Year 3 and has made it through Nationals every year in both the Snowboard and Alpine disciplines - an incredible effort.

Brock Holder represents Australia in Biathlon. He competed at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Junior Cups in Estonia and Slovenia as well as the Youth Junior World Cup in Kazakhstan at the start of this year. Biathlon is a very demanding sport, requiring the precision of target shooting under significant physical exertion. We look forward to watching Brock further develop and chase his dream.

NSW/ACT State Championship Results

Team Results (top 3 results included)
Snow board Giant Slalom Year 9/10 Male - 2nd Team – The Scots School Albury (James Sheldrick, Ethan White)
Alpine Giant Slalom Kinder-Year 2 Male - 3rd Overall – The Scots School Albury (Oscar Crapp, Percy Ross, Lochan Magaharan)

Individual Results (top 10 results included)

Ski Slopestyle Year 9/10 Female - 1st - Sara Butko
Snowboard Giant Slalom Year 9/10 Male - 2nd - Ethan White
Nordic Cross Country Year 11/12 Male - 3rd - Brock Holder
Snowboard Giant Slalom & Snowboard Cross Year 9/10 Female - 4th in both - Neve White
Ski Cross Year 3/4 Female - 5th - Gracie Ross
Snowboard Cross Year 11/12 Male - 6th - Alexander Smythe
Snowboard Giant Slalom Year 11/12 Male - 7th - Alexander Smythe
Alpine Giant Slalom Year 3/4 Female - 7th - Gracie Ross
Alpine Giant Slalom Year 7/8 Male - 8th - Archie Ross
Ski Slopestyle Year 9/10 Male - 10th - Jimmy Shannon

Australian National Championships Cancelled

Given the mild weather in late August Snow Australia was forced to cancel the National Snowsports Interschools Championships due to poor snow conditions at Mt Buller. As a result, those who qualified (listed below) for the Australian National Championships ended their season earlier than expected but are to be commended for their outstanding efforts.

National Team Qualifiers:
Snowboard Cross – Year 9/10 Male - (Ethan White, James Sheldrick)
Snowboard Giant Slalom – Year 9/10 Male - (Ethan White, James Sheldrick)
Alpine Giant Slalom & Ski Cross – Kindy-Year 2 Male - (Oscar Crapp, Percy Ross, Lochan Magaharan)

National Individual Qualifiers:
Alpine Giant Slalom - Archie Ross, Ardan Magaharan, Oscar Crapp, Percy Ross, Gracie Ross
Ski Cross - Ardan Magaharan, Oscar Crapp, Percy Ross, Gracie Ross
Moguls - Jimmy Shannon, Archie Ross, Gracie Ross
Snowboard Giant Slalom - Alexander Smythe, Ethan White, James Sheldrick, Neve White
Snowboard Cross - Alexander Smythe, Ethan White, James Sheldrick, Neve White
Ski Slopestyle - Sara Butko, Jimmy Shannon
Snowboard Slopestyle - James Sheldrick, Mitch Biggs
XC Classic - Brock Holder

HSC

It’s been a busy time in the Library with the HSC finally upon us! The Year 12’s have been relatively calm as they inch towards the end of their schooling. Many have been using the library space to “cram” each day. They have reached the halfway mark of their exams, with many finishing this week.

Junior School Chess

The junior school chess team travelled to Yass last Friday to represent the Riverina and compete against the Illawarra champions, Wollongong Public School. Wollongong were very strong and after the first round were leading 3 – 1 with Reggie Dyordyevic (Year 6) winning his board.

We were much more competitive in round 2, playing for longer with Tom Cavagna (Year 6) winning and Reggie tying his game. The final score was 5.5-2.5 – a great effort against the 2022 NSW Country Champions. A special thank you to Mr Cory Sutcliffe for driving the bus to and from Yass for us. It was a big day!

This team of Year 6 students - Oscar Kennedy, Smyan Hegde, Tom Cavagna and Reggie Dyordyevic - has had an exceptional season of chess. Congratulations!

Thank you to Billy Stewart who has coached and mentored this team all year. Also, to Aston Lau for coaching and to Oliver Baitch for leading this last excursion. All three senior students have been active in the chess room coaching and developing the skills of our junior players.

The Chess Room is still open daily at lunch and recess with all current and new players welcome.

Return of books

Please start thinking about returning any library books you may have at home. Books can be dropped off at either the Junior or Senior School reception desks or they can be delivered to the library (if choosing this option, please wait until the end of week 5 when the HSC is finished). Alternatively, students can drop them in the returns box during library lessons. Thank you!