Community and Service
'Put Up Your Hand'
On Friday 15 May, a group of Year 10 boys attended a conference run by St Stephens School and UnitingCare West. The theme was 'Put Up Your Hand' and delegates were provided with examples of organisations dedicated to alleviating social injustice and disadvantage locally and elsewhere, including Cambodia. Students attending from all the Uniting Church schools had an opportunity to discuss ideas for promoting the UnitingCare West Winter Appeal, due to start soon. This came at the end of National Volunteer Week, recognizing the work of volunteers in our society. A recent Flinders University study has found that the monetary value of volunteering nationally is in the order of $290 billion. While many Scotch boys regularly volunteer in their own time through sporting and surf lifesaving organisations, the programme run in school time is intended more to illuminate the role of volunteer groups and illustrate the worth of individuals giving back to society. Along the way boys learn about difference, privilege and the power of collective action. Hopefully, boys feel motivated to volunteer in the true spirit of the term.
To Serve and To Nurture
Each Friday afternoon, small groups of Year 10 boys head off to the Paraquad Centre and Rocky Bay - facilities for the disabled, as well as Braemar Village and Little Sisters of the Poor aged care homes. In each of these facilities our boys come into contact with dedicated staff and learn about the societal role undertaken by these institutions. While the boys may be involved in low-key activities such as teaching Wii Games, running word puzzles or simply spending a little time with residents, the impact can be profound. In the Scotch College Service Model, one of the cornerstones is Nurture. While our boys are providing nurturing to the aged and disabled residents, both the staff and the residents with whom they come into contact, in turn nurture them.
A Global Village
This week and next we will be hosting a guest from the village of Matipwili in rural Tanzania. Bori Amri Bori is the only man in his village to achieve a secondary education. He is a farmer and also works as the manager of a bush camp in a conservation area close to the village - the camp where Scotch/PLC groups stay when working in Matipwili. Bori's trip has been paid through a generous private donation. While at Scotch, Bori will work alongside our maintenance and Grounds staff and also come into classrooms to talk with students. He will give students an insight in to village life and no doubt talk about the importance of making the most of every opportunity for education. Bori has been a wonderful host to many students from both Scotch and PLC. It will be good to be able to repay the generosity he and his village has displayed over 10 years of our partnership.
Bori outside his House in the village of Matipwili
Year 10 Round Square Exchange Information Night
Following on from the success for the current Year 10 Round Square Exchanges, the next Information Night for current Year 9 parents and boys will be held on Thursday 11 June in the Bunning Resource Centre, commencing at 6.30pm. Boys and their parents who have experienced the exchange process this year, will be there to share tehir experiences.
Human Right Arts and Film Festival @ Scotch - 28 June
Scotch has partnered with the Melbourne Human Rights Arts and Film Festival organisers to bring a selection of human rights focused films to our campus. A flyer for the event can be found here. The target audience is Year 11 and 12 students from Scotch and other schools in the Perth area. A highlight of the afternoon will be a Q&A session with a panel of experts, including: Sue Ash AO CEA of UnitingCare West; Squadron Leader, Rev Dean Griffiths, ADF; Dr Lisa Hartley from the Curtin University Centre for Human Rights Education; and Akrim Azami, Young Australian of the Year 2013. Bookings cam be made through the Scotch Web Site and the 'Book an Event' page.
Mr Bill Cordner
Director of Community and Service
