Teacher Report Writing and Curriculum Day • Friday 18 November

Student Free Day (whole school) • Friday 18 November

Boarders EXEAT Weekend • Friday 18 - 20 November

Year 9 Camp • Monday 21 November to Friday 25 November

International Men's Day Breakfast • Monday 21 November @ 7.30am

Whole School Sports Assembly • Tuesday 22 November @ 1.55pm (all welcome)

Junior School Public Speaking final • Tuesday 22 November @ 7.00pm in the JET

Junior School Music Assembly • Thursday 24 November

K-2 Junior School Disco • Thursday 24 November @ 3.45pm

Years 3 and 4 Junior School Disco • Thursday 24 November @ 4.30pm

Years 5 and 6 Junior School Disco • Thursday 24 November @ 5.15pm

Year 11 Formal • Thursday 24 November @ 6.00pm (Albury Entertainment Centre)

Year 7 2023 transition day No.2 • Friday 25 November

K-2 Swimming Carnival • Friday 25 November @ 11.15pm (parents welcome)

Preschool Picnic in the Playground • Friday 25 November @ 5.00pm

Great Victorian Bike Riders depart • Saturday 26 November

Year 10 camp departs • Monday 28 November

Scots Dance Concert • Monday 28 November @ 6.30pm (all welcome)

Year 12 2023 Camp to Melbourne • Tuesday 29 November to Friday 2 December

Year 6 Graduation • Thursday 1 December @ 6.00pm

Junior School Grandparents Day and Open Classrooms • Friday 2 December @ 5.30pm

Carols @ Scots • Friday 2 December @ 7.00pm. Please RSVP Here.

Please note the following changes to the Calendar

Senior School Final Assembly • Thursday 8 December @ 11.15am all welcome

Speech Day • Friday 9 December @ 1.15pm all welcome

Scots is proud of the work Pippa Milthorpe, her sister Rose, and her family have done to promote change in the NSW justice system to better protect survivors of childhood sexual abuse. 

We invite you to read about the important work they are doing and to join us in signing the petition.

Sign the Petition here 

Social media is a topic that is viewed very differently by parents and their children. For students, it really is an extension of what goes on in their real world and a way of maintaining connections that we never had as kids.

Parents and often teachers, on the other hand, see social media in a negative way. They worry that their children might spend far too much time on it, that they are unduly influenced by their peers, that the level of anonymity it affords could put their child at risk of cyberbullying or that their reputation might be compromised in some way. As teachers, it is frustrating as to how much of their time is spent on addressing social media issues.

It is often a tricky topic for parents to broach with their children but it is important that you do. I have included a couple of excellent websites that have tips and fact sheets so that you can make yourself informed.

The aspect of social media that I want to touch on is what we at Scots expect of our students.

One of the most important behaviours we can adopt to ensure good use of social media is to be respectful. That means students should be respectful of other people and expect respect from their peers.

Students also should be mindful of protecting their reputation and privacy and observing that same behaviour when it comes to their friends, as well.

There has been a lot of media coverage over the recent few years about the impact cyberbullying has on teenagers and I think we all want to avoid this for our children.

I want to reaffirm that cyberbullying won’t be tolerated at Scots. When we are made aware that this is happening, we won’t hesitate to take action.

I encourage parents to read as much information as you can to make yourselves aware. And I hope we have your support for actions that we deem appropriate when we have to deal with the downside of social media at school.

Handy websites:

Raising Children website

Adolescents and social media

Cyber Safety fact sheets

Infants Production - Unplugged: Kicking it old school

‘I’m bored!’ ... was the catch-cry from the stage last week, but it certainly didn’t reflect the mood in the audience. We could not be prouder of all involved in the infants production and the amazingly high-quality performance they put on for us all. It was anything but boring. Scots prides itself on offering students a range of opportunities to take risks, learn in real-world environments and cooperate with their peers. This year's production highlighted the benefits of these opportunities, with the confidence of our youngest students growing as a result. To see so many faces beaming with joy, bodies moving with excitement and voices filling the Chapel Hall was an absolute privilege and credit to our teaching team. 

I want to take this opportunity to thank our learning assistants, teachers and parents for their support of the process and in their dedication to ensuring the best experience possible for everyone. A special thanks to Catriona Byles and Regan Stephenson for writing, directing and producing the show and to Mason Wise and his crew of senior students for their role in providing lights and sound. It takes a real team effort to ensure the success of a production such as this and we couldn’t do it without these dedicated professionals. 

Life@Scots - 2023 Transition and Meet the Teacher Morning

On Wednesday 7 December, students will be involved in a ‘step-up’ program, spending two hours in the classroom they will be in for 2023. They will have the opportunity to meet their teacher and learn who is in their class. All new students for 2023 also will be invited to attend the morning’s activities.

Between now and then, teachers will be creating class lists based on the academic and social/emotional needs of our students. This is a thorough process that involves conversations with the Inclusive Learning team to ensure the needs of all students are met. Class lists also will be sent home.

“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.” Karl Lagerfeld

As we approach the end of 2022 and start to look towards next year, I would like your help in decorating the boarding houses and common spaces. If you have any impressive photos from home, please share them with the marketing team at marketing@scotsalbury.nsw.edu.au and we’ll look to get these on canvases to hang around the boarding precincts. Please don’t include identifiable images of people but rather landscapes or livestock.

I am aware that the recent and ongoing rain has caused some issues for several families. If you are being adversely affected by these weather events, please let us know. The students often are concerned about what is happening at home and it helps us to have all the details to be able to provide them with the best possible care. Please see below some photos taken of Wilson Lake after one of the most recent downpours. Many of the boarders took advantage of this by running around and enjoying themselves with a few footballs and the odd boogie board.

The end of Term Three saw the boarding students say goodbye to the 2022 Year 12s. This was a wonderful celebration of the time and effort these students put into Scots. I, and the wider boarding family, wish them all the best for whatever the future has in store for them.

The beginning of Term Four was a great time for a few of our parents to get together and discuss their thoughts on boarding. These discussions saw some great points raised. Please keep an eye out for an email from me this Friday with a summation of these thoughts along with some points addressing areas of concern. I would like to thank the parents for the overwhelmingly positive feedback received as part of the MMG survey that was conducted earlier this year. 

Term Four often seems to pass very quickly and it is no different this year. Many students already are preparing for the harvest or looking forward to the approaching holidays. I say to the boarders regularly: finish well. Yes, look to the future and enjoy the thoughts of what is upcoming but not at the expense of the moment. Study for the final exam, wish your teachers well after the last class and head into a well-deserved break with a positive mindset. 

In just about every wedding at which I have officiated, I have reminded guests that relationships aren’t formed in bubbles. It takes a community to support, celebrate and nurture those relationships. And it is in times like these, where floods are a clear threat to the safety and livelihoods of so many, that we need reminding of this. Simple acts of kindness abound. Saving wildlife, helping people whose cars have broken down, even people cooking for others. 

Even simpler acts of kindness: just saying hello as you walk past someone; being genuinely grateful for the help given by a shop assistant; asking someone how they’re going with the sole purpose of listening to the response and acknowledging their story.

The past three years have had a profound impact on so many, and this year the floods are challenging us to support each other as a community. In a culture that sometimes uses “thoughts and prayers” as a means to not addressing issues, we are each called to act with justice, to love tenderly and walk humbly. Be kind.

Compassionate God, source of all comfort,
We pray for the people whose lives have devastated by rain and flood.
Bring them comfort, we pray.
Protect the vulnerable.
Strengthen the weak.
Keep at bay the spread of disease.
Have mercy on all those working to rescue the stranded and to feed the hungry.
And may our response to their suffering be generous and bring you praise.
For we ask it in Jesus name,

Amen

Citizenship

One of the key competencies we hope to instill in all Scots students is citizenship. We would like students to think like global citizens, considering individual and societal well being and global issues based on a deep understanding of diverse values and worldviews.  We wish for them to look through a lens of genuine interest, empathy, compassion and the ability to solve ambiguous and complex problems. Students demonstrating citizenship are thinking about equity and human and environmental sustainability.

The PYP in the Junior School operates daily within this competency. During their recent Who We Are unit of inquiry, the Year 5 group delved into learning about how migration has an impact on communities. The students planned a fun learning experience to share with the Junior School students where they taught them about a chosen migrant group and its impact within Australia. The groups included Vietnam, Iraq, Japan, USA, Germany, Kenya, Italy, Scotland, Poland, Britain, France and Spain. 

In the past we have called this event, I am Internationally Minded Day. This year the students voted for a name change to “We R one, We R many”. This encouraged student voice and agency. On the day, each group set up a stall with edible delights and interactives that communicated their researched information. They explained the push and pull factors that brought the immigrants to Australia and at least four impacts their groups have had on Australia. The groups planned and delivered exceptional costumes too!

Students were a grand example of the dimension of citizenship that develops their sense of individual and cultural diversity and representing how this affects the way they see the world.  Bravo Year 5!

Vaping and the use of electronic cigarettes is a new and evolving phenomenon about which most parents do not have enough information. This is a fantastic information session available on YouTube which gives current information about what we know about vaping amongst young people.  This is an area that is constantly changing and parents attempting to make sense of the information provided by both the ‘pro-vaping’ and ‘anti-vaping’ lobbies may find it extremely difficult to navigate.

Vaping Information Session

The link to the recording will be only available until 5.00pm, Sunday 20 November

Along with the moving Remembrance Day service last Friday, our 2nd/23rd Prefect, Imogen Ziebarth, provided the library with a beautiful display of poppies and books. Many of our junior school students were encouraged to read about the symbols of Remembrance Day by choosing books that Imogen had set out.

We also revamped our very popular “fireplace” this week. Lolita Jurevics has been in to transform this space into a Christmas scene. It’s still cold enough to come and feel cosy by the fire. You can also write your Christmas wish and hang it on the tree.

Library captain, Emily, and I presented at the leadership portfolio meeting this week about our proposal for a student-led and focussed newsletter/newspaper run from the library. This was well received and we are in the planning stages of creating our Christmas edition, so be prepared as you may be asked questions around the school for various columns.

- Alley McGhee

The Georgy Awards - Regional recognition of excellence in the performing arts

Although our 2022 senior production of “The Drowsy Chaperone” now lives in our archived memories of achievement, a small ensemble from the cast were invited to reprise the number “Show Off” at the regional awards for amateur theatre, The Georgy Awards.

The awards cover productions in the North-East Region and recognise the efforts and achievements of the performing arts. It was a big honour to perform exclusively for the region’s most enthusiastic members of the performing arts community. Our students were wonderful, eliciting an excitable response from the audience. 

The purpose of the awards night is exactly that, and the judges who viewed our production in July saw it fit to submit our students for a number of nominations. Congratulations to the following winners in three categories.

Award Winners:

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORT IN A JUNIOR PRODUCTION

SAM SCOTT Aldolpho in The Drowsy Chaperone

CREATIVE / TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT IN A JUNIOR PRODUCTION 

RUBY ERSVAER-GOTJE 

JUDGE’S AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE (JUNIOR SECTION) 

THE STUDENT ORCHESTRA OF THE SCOTS SCHOOL, ALBURY. - “For the cohesion and musicianship on display”

Congratulations to all the students who were nominated: 

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A JUNIOR PRODUCTION 

AMÉLIE PIMLOTT: Janet Van De Graaff in The Drowsy Chaperone
OLIVER BAITCH: Robert Martin in The Drowsy Chaperone 
SETH HOKANSON: Man in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone 

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORT IN A JUNIOR PRODUCTION 

CHARLI COOPER: The Drowsy Chaperone in The Drowsy Chaperone 
LARA DIFFEY: Feldzieg in The Drowsy Chaperone

BEST SINGING IN A JUNIOR PRODUCTION 

SAM SCOTT: Aldolpho in The Drowsy Chaperone
AMÉLIE PIMLOTT: Janet Van De Graaff in The Drowsy Chaperone
OLIVER BAITCH: Robert Martin in The Drowsy Chaperone 
CHARLI COOPER: The Drowsy Chaperone in The Drowsy Chaperone 

GMCU YOUNG ARTISTS GRANT:

AMÉLIE PIMLOTT: Janet Van De Graaff in The Drowsy Chaperone
CHARLI COOPER: The Drowsy Chaperone in The Drowsy Chaperone 

A final thought as we reflect back on a successful year of performing arts; we are so privileged and fortunate to be members of a performing arts community such as the one we have cultivated here at Scots. We have valued our music program for many years, understanding that the opportunities afforded to our students are rare and valuable. The opportunities we provide to our students to be involved in the production process help grow and prepare them for life-after-school; be it on stage, in the band, managing people backstage, applying practical skills to building sets, operating sound and lighting or creating marketing and media. We appreciate the recognition delivered to us by the wider industry. 

Our 2023 production of SHREK is currently casting. Any students wishing to have involvement in the backstage and technical areas are welcomed to make contact with me over the next few weeks. 

 

Our Stage 5 Prized Portraits students have produced some amazing work. All works are based on the conventions of the Australian Archibald Prize with each student exploring a chosen prize winning artists’ practice to inform their own.

The works include:

‘Hugh Jackman’ By Mason Walker

‘Nick Cave’ By Fred Jackson

'Jack Walker’ By Jericho Ellao

‘Cate Blanchett’ By Zoe Coughlan

A group of 29 Scots students, three teachers and 10 parents are set to conquer the five day, 305km Great Victorian Bike Ride, which starts in Koroit next Saturday and moves along the Great Ocean Road. 

The riders from Years 5-10 will ride in their new Scots cycling kit, which arrived on Wednesday, in what has been described as a rolling bike festival. It starts in Koroit and finishes in Apollo Bay. 

The students have been doing an early morning training ride every Wednesday for six weeks and added in a couple of longer rides on the weekend. Most students have added their own training sessions to ensure they can cope with the daily grind of whatever nature throws their way - head winds, rain or sunshine. After each Wednesday ride, the group has enjoyed a combined brekky at school before starting their school day.

Scots team co-ordinator Nash Clark said in addition to the weekly rides, the group had undergone sessions on basic bike maintenance, how to manage their nutrition during the ride and tips on packing efficiently to fit everything they need into the two 10kg packs each rider is permitted.

The group will ride:
Koroit → Noorat (66km)
Noorat → Timboon (74km)
Timboon → Birregurra (105km)
Birregurra → Apollo Bay (65km)

The Sellars Santa Run is an initiative by Sellars House to give back to people in need during the festive season. As the Sellars Santa Run started today, we would love you to bring in some donated goods!

All donations will go towards The Salvation Army.

Here are some examples of donations: Tea, tinsel, savoury/sweet biscuits, coffee, salt and pepper, pasta and pasta sauce, milo, sauces, cereal, long life milk/juice, muesli bars, soup, cordial, chocolate, rice, soft drink, tinned fruit, beans, tinned meals, spreads, lollies, blankets, toys, tuna, dried fruit, jelly and noodles.

As the school year finishes on Friday 9 December, the Sellars Santa Run will continue throughout November. If everyone brings in one item, we should have a great collection to donate. Thanks for supporting this cause!

- Alex and Tegan, 2023 Sellars House Captains

 

The Clothing Pool is in need of good quality summer uniform items to meet demand from families. 

If you have uniform items that are too small for your child or in excess of your needs, please drop them at Reception in the Junior School or Senior School.