Welcome Back to an exciting and busy Term 2. We have so much to look forward to this term and plenty of opportunity to celebrate our students’ achievements in many different areas. I’m looking forward to welcoming parents back to our many wonderful community events.

Matilda

One of the first opportunities for celebration is the staging of Matilda on Thursday 13 May -  Saturday 15 May. How amazing is it that we can have all the cast on stage and the Chapel Hall almost filled with parents?

More than 120 students are involved in the production, including all Year 5 and Year 6 students and most of our Year 12s. We have student musicians in the pit orchestra, as part of the backstage crew and as ushers on the night – it really is a whole community effort. Rehearsals and preparations have been sometimes challenging with the constantly changing government restrictions, but support from our families and the joy the cast and crew have found in the process have been an inspiration. 

Our director Liz Heitmeyer has been innovative on many fronts to ensure the production is as inclusive as possible for our students while maximising our audience capacity.  Some of the plans may differ from previous productions but I know you will be just as excited as I am that students will have the chance to perform when so many other events have been cancelled. Tickets are on sale and we hope many in our community will come along; the cast and crew are determined to deliver an amazing show. 

Thank you Liz

It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that Liz Heitmeyer will transition to part-time after Matilda and finish at Scots at the end of Term 3. But in the same breath, I am excited for Liz to finally have more time to focus on the next chapter of her life which includes studying for her Master in Educational Leadership.

I don’t have to tell anyone what a loss to Scots it will be when Liz finally bids us farewell.

Liz has been an amazing teacher, a well-respected and revered musical theatre director and a driving force behind Scots’ celebrated Performing Arts program. She joined Scots in 2005 as a full-time teacher and walked straight into The Wiz, her first musical production at the school.

She has been director of 14 senior showcase musicals, 14 Year 9 musicals, two Year 5 and 6 musicals and at every other musical at any year level, she has either been a mentor to a new director, technical advisor, worked on costume, make-up or set building, and often a mix of all roles. She has helped produce the K-2 musical for the past decade. 

Liz was Head of Drama and then moved to Head of Performing Arts in 2017, taking on the role of Head of Co-Curricular and Events in the same year. She has taught Drama to students from as young as Kindergarten but specialises in HSC Drama and has marked all sections of the HSC Drama course (essays, projects, performance) with HSC results regularly more than 5% above the state average. Her students have been nominated for and accepted into OnStage (NESA HSC Exhibition) in the areas of performance, set design, directing and scriptwriting.

Liz revived Scots Dance, down to three students when she arrived and now a thriving part of our program; she has been Head of Expressing Faculty (acting) since mid-last year and taught STEAM for two years. Liz has been on the school’s history tour to Europe and travelled with the Pipe Band to attend the Tattoo in Edinburgh which she says were highlights of her time at Scots.

Liz has made many friends on the Scots staff. She loves working with the creative, high energy and brave members of the Performing Arts team and will definitely miss the thrill of seeing a show like Matilda come together. She does, however, say she won’t miss some of the stresses associated with the lead-up!

Liz is looking forward to new experiences, being a learner more than a teacher and making new connections. We will have plenty of time to farewell Liz in grand style, but on behalf of the Scots community I wish Liz well on her next chapter and look forward to her final musical in Matilda. 

The school is currently recruiting for a highly-skilled leader in Performing Arts.

Parent/Teacher/Student conversations

It was great to meet a number of parents while they were here for Yr 7 - 10 parent/teacher/student conversations on Monday. I received quite a lot of positive feedback about the way it was run and the value of having it at the start of the term. And, it seems as though many of you appreciate the opportunity to select a daytime or an afternoon session.

As always, we endeavour never to present anything new to parents at these sessions. If there are areas of concern, teachers at Scots will be in touch at the time because we believe it is important to address issues quickly and nip any problems in the bud.  Know that you are always welcome to make contact with your child’s teacher or  Senior School Learning Mentor.

• Year 12 Parent/Teacher/Student Conversations • Monday 3 May
• Junior School Parent/Teacher/Student Conversations • Term 3, Monday 26 July & Tuesday 27 July

Winter Uniform

It is great to see our students return to school in full winter uniform. Sometimes the wearing of the winter uniform doesn’t always synchronise with the changing season, but I think winter has shown itself over recent days and students will have been grateful for the extra warmth, especially in the early mornings. Please remember to label your uniforms and other property, and I encourage students to leave any valuables at home.

ANZAC Day

Our Pipe Band will lead the annual Anzac Day parade down Dean Street and perform at a number of other events around the region. Unfortunately COVID restrictions prevent our students from marching in the parade this year but families can still  attend and view the March down Dean Street. We will have our own Anzac Day service at the school on Monday.

Parents who wish to attend the service in the Chapel Hall are welcome to come and be seated by 1.55pm. You don’t need to register prior to attending, but you do need to complete the QR code check-in.

Design for Deep Learning
You will no doubt be aware that we are implementing the exciting and powerful learning framework called Deep Learning into our school.

I am passionate about the benefits it will bring to our students and staff - it will underpin all that we do in our classrooms by adding clarity and purpose to our curriculum.

Next week we are holding a parents’ information session and workshop called Design for Deep Learning (DDL) where we will explain the rationale behind the program and give you much greater detail. 

The session will be on Tuesday 27 April at 5.30pm, so put it in your diaries to save the date.

Design for Deep Learning integrates academic skills with personal and social capabilities and gives priorities to those capabilities and dispositions that support whole-school learning and living. It doesn’t replace the NSW curriculum, it supports it.

The program helps school executives and senior teachers to incorporate six key learning competencies into their programs.I’m confident the program will enhance all areas of our teaching and learning; and encourage you to come along to learn more.

New bubblers

Over the holidays we completed numerous maintenance and improvements to the campus. This includes installation of 6 new  water bubblers around the school (including refrigeration). Fundraising from the Student Representative council over the past 2 years has contributed to the cost of these bubblers. These are colourful and branded in our Scots colours. Students can drink safely from the modern bubbler system or fill their drink bottles.  

Board Changes

With the Pilkington family relocation, unfortunately Matt Pilkington has decided to leave the School Board. We thank him for his service to the Board and the school over the past 2.5 years.  Matt has been on the board since 2019 and also has been an integral part of our STARR committee. Matt, his wife Emma and their two children, Sydney and Phoebe,  have had an active role in the Scots community for several years and we will miss their input on many levels. On behalf of the board and the school community, I’d like to wish Matt and his family well for the next chapter in their lives.

Fundraising Car Raffle

Our architect has been engaged and we are now in the midst of Design for our Senior Study Centre. Our amazing new facility is only made possible through the generosity of our community. There will be several fundraising opportunities in the coming months, but the first one is our Car Raffle. Every Scots family will have a 1-in-1000 chance to win a new car when they purchase a ticket in our Senior Study Centre fundraising car raffle with the grand prize of the award-winning compact SUV, the new Subaru XV 2.0i All Wheel Drive.

Scots will offer only 1000 tickets at $100 each and draw the raffle in October. Even if you miss out on the grand prize, there are some exciting prizes other 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 $2m Senior Study Centre. We will be asking our families to help with sale of the tickets. Tickets will be allocated to every family and sent home with students but also will be available at the Senior School Reception, the Clothing Pool and at major school events such as Matilda.

Calendar of Events, save the dates!

We wouldn’t be doing our job properly if we didn’t have something for everyone on our Calendar in Term 2. Whether you are academic, musical, sporting or cultural, we have something for everyone and we are excited that we can share many of these events with our parents this year. The list below is not definitive. Please keep an eye on the School app and on the Scots parents calendar on the website for updates.

Anzac Service: Monday 26 April in the Chapel Hall. Parents welcome. Please be seated by 1.55pm and complete the QR code check-in. The ANZAC service is an event that is attended by students in Kindergarten to Year 12. It is a commemorative service that will involve a number of addresses from staff, students and invited guests. Parents and other friends of the school are invited to attend. All attendees will have the opportunity to place a sprig of rosemary at the ANZAC gates near the Science Centre at Scots.

Resilience Project Parent Webinar: Monday 26 April, 6.30-7.30pm. Online event for Junior School parents. We are very lucky to be able to connect with The Resilience Project founder, Hugh van Cuylenburg, for an informative and uplifting session highlighting the benefits of practising empathy, mindfulness, and gratitude every single day in our lives. The ZOOM link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8724... will give you access to this important session.

Kindergarten Information Sessions: Tuesday 27 April 9.00am and 5.00pm. Additional campus tours and parent information sessions will be run by our Head of Junior School Matt Boundy. Register your interest on our website. 

Design for Deep Learning Parent Workshop: Tuesday 27 April at 5.30pm. Design for Deep Learning (DDL) is an initiative set up by the Australian Independent Schools NSW branch helping schools across the state respond to the latest research from around the world into how best to engage students and address both their social/emotional and academic needs. Come to this informative session to see how this is influencing teacher practice and learning design across the school.

Cross Country: Thursday 29 April. At the Albury Equestrian Centre. It is for all students from Kindergarten to Year 12. Buses will depart from school at 11.00am with events to commence around 11.30am. Presentation of certificates will be in the Indoor Sports Centre at the end of the day. Parents are invited to attend the event.

Mothers Day Afternoon Tea: Friday 7 May. Our Junior School Mothers’ Day celebrations will take on a new focus and time slot this year. Fun activities at the end of the school day. We would look forward to welcoming our Mums and the special women in our students’ lives! There will be two sessions - 2.30-3.30pm and 3.30pm-4.30pm - when booking, please choose the session of your choice.

NAPLAN: Tuesday 11 May - Friday 21 May: For students in Years 3 and 5 in the Junior School and Years 7 and 9 in the Senior school. The National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) takes place between Tuesday 11 and Friday 21 May; Years 7 and 9 will participate in NAPLAN Online on 12, 14 and 17 May 2021. 

Matilda: Thursday 13 May - Saturday 15 May in the Chapel Hall. Tickets go on sale today. We are all eagerly awaiting the performance of this years’ showcase musical, Matilda. Occurring over four performances, our students will have an opportunity to shine. 

Athletics Carnival: Junior School on Monday 17 May, Senior School on Tuesday 18 May. At Alexandra Park. These events are for all students in Years K-12. 

Lior in Concert:  Saturday 22 May in Chapel Hall. Scots is proud to support Murray River Fine Music’s 2021 concert launch with this amazing one-off concert in Chapel Hall. Lior will be accompanied by the Border Quartet, which includes two of Scots instrumental tutors, Kaori Sparks (violin) and Damien Jones (viola), as well as Scots alumni class of 2017, Caleb Murray (cello).

Year 3 and 4 Camp: Monday 24 May - Wednesday 26 May. This year, our Year 3 and 4 students will head on camp together. Visiting Valley Homestead in the Ovens Valley, students will take part in a wide range of outdoor education activities, building their confidence, teamwork, and life skills.

Reconciliation Week: Thursday 27 May - Thursday 3 June. TSSA has recently had its RAP (Reconciliation Action Plan) approved. We see the importance of recognising our indigenous heritage as an essential part of living in and being Australian. This is an important week where numerous activities will take place to acknowledge our indigenous people and the wrongs done in the past while we look to a united and connected future.

Taste of Year 7 2022: Friday 28 May. Our second Taste of Year 7 will involve our current Year 6 students, all our new enrolments for Year 7 2022, plus other interested students from other schools in a busy but fun day of Senior School activities. Register on our website.

A Whisky & Gin Affair: Saturday 5 June at the Albury Entertainment Centre. This is a fundraiser for the Senior Study Centre and will feature whisky and gin tastings, a four course meal and entertainment. Keep an eye out for tickets when they go on sale next week.

Music Festival: Thursday 17 June. The Music Festival features our Junior School and Senior School bands, group choirs and solo performances. Always a spectacular event showcasing talent from across the school, this is a must-see Scots concert.