With the installation of digital signage around the Senior School campus over the Summer term break, we were all greeted on our first day back with video footage and photos of just a small sample of the activities that occurred over the 'holiday' period. In addition to the football camp, rugby and fitness training sessions, and ATAR preparation courses held on campus, there were also four major tours: History and Visual Arts students travelled to Europe; an Indonesian languages tour to Indonesia, the Pipe Band tour to the USA and the Scotch Big Band travelled to Mt Gambier to compete in the National Stage Band Championships.
To learn of the experiences and hear the stories of the boys and staff who participated in any one of these tours, only highlighted to me the diverse and rich experiences available at Scotch. From hearing how boys lived with a family in an Indonesian village, attended the local school and planned, budgeted and led an excursion across a major Indonesian city without assistance, through to images of our boys standing at the ANZAC dawn service in Villers-Bretonneux left me reflecting on the breadth of experience available to boys at Scotch.
There is no doubt in my mind that tours greatly contribute towards the building of character and exemplify the International Baccalaureate's values related to intercultural understanding, and holistic education. The evidence is plentiful and is easily seen in the actions of our boys. To illustrate just one of these qualities, that of character, I am pleased to share with you an extract from an email sent from a tour guide from New York after spending time with the boys and staff on the Pipe Band tour.
I recently had the great pleasure of taking 26 members of your Pipes and Drum band around New York City. I have been a tour guide in New York City for eight years with thousands of tours under my belt. I have never sent out a post facto email to anyone after a tour, but your young men and their teachers were so fantastic that I felt I should let someone know what great Ambassadors the boys are for Scotch College and for Australia. My only regret is that they were with me for just a few short hours.
We are fortunate to have teachers who motivate, challenge and inspire our boys and I thank those staff members who did exactly this when they led and accompanied the boys on the activities of the Summer Term break.
Dr Rob McEwan
Head of Senior School
