Last week we held our final capital briefing seminar. Approximately nineteen evenings have been held across year levels and house groupings. The evenings provided an opportunity for us to update current and future capital planning, as well as being able to discuss and hear from parents about any broader whole of school matters. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who were able to attend one of the evenings. The information and discussions proved to be very worthwhile. In particular I would like to thank the members of our campaign committee and staff from the Development and Marketing Office who assisted to ensure these evenings were a success. Should anybody wish to find out more about our campaign, please contact Kate Quinn Director of Marketing and Development on 93836832 or on KQUINN@scotch.wa.edu.au.
This week I will be holding scholarship interviews. These particular scholarships are academic based and all applicants sat a scholarship exam a couple of weeks ago. There are also some music scholarships which are based on a recent assessment of performance ability. The process should be finalised by the end of this week and successful candidates will be notified accordingly.
One of the broader benefits of being part of our community is the opportunity to hear great speakers. This applies to the students and families. Just last Friday a number of our students had the privilege of hearing a Nobel Laureate, Professor Brian Schmidt speak. The amazing part of his address was when he told the boys about his strong connection to Scotch and his career. He came from the USA to Australia in order to pursue his career in Astronomy because two Scotch College graduates were scientists that he had followed and revered during his early career path.
On Tuesday of this week approximately 600 people have signed up to hear Maggie Dent speak at a public forum supported by the Parent Association. The opportunity to hear from these two speakers highlights yet another example of the value add we can provide for our boys and their families. Should anyone have any ideas about potential future guest speakers please do not hesitate to contact us.
One of the benchmarks for any organisation is the interest in potential applicants to join it as an employee. Last Friday applications closed for the Director of Teaching and Learning and the Head of Boarding. I am pleased to say that we have received a significant level of interest at the local, national and international level. While this makes the task of appointing more complicated and time consuming, it means that we continue to be a preferred employer in the education sector.
Next week I will be away interstate in Adelaide and Sydney with work commitments. In particular I am looking forward to sharing in the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF) annual meeting which is held in Sydney. This is fully subsidised by the foundation which facilitates us to take two of our scholarship holders as part of the AIEF programme. It is a great opportunity for our boys to be engaged with fellow scholarship holders from schools and colleges from across Australia
Have a great fortnight.
Alec J O'Connell
Headmaster
