Headmasters Reflections
Sometimes we are so busy with the day-to-day activities of a school that we seldom give ourselves the chance to reflect on bigger picture issues. Over the coming weeks I will be working further on compiling information and feedback regarding the College's 20:20 Vision. This task will shed further light regarding the major themes that may well shape our next five-year plan.
While there will be lots of material to review, a basic starting point for our next strategic planning phase is to reaffirm what must be a priority; to maintain our College as a leading, non-selective independent school for boys, founded under the ethos of the Uniting Church in Australia. It is also imperative that we continue to maintain and build upon our traditions. Furthermore, we must build upon the already strong sense of community and all it can offer our boys after they finish school.
At the time of writing this article, I was watching and listening in horror as reports about the Paris terrorist attacks were being played out in the background of my Albany motel room via the world media outlets. The night before I had hosted a gathering for the Scotch community of the Albany region who had either attended Scotch College, with attendees being graduates ranging from a 1947 through to a 2007 or were planning on attending our College. Reflecting on the evening's conversations about the College I couldn't help thinking that more than ever we have to prepare our boys to graduate into a more complex and global world.
The need to position our boys locally, nationally and globally is just one of the central reasons why we have positioned Scotch as an International Baccalaureate (IB) and Round Square school. As we plan for our next phase of growth and development, it will provide an ideal opportunity to ensure that the whole community understands what being an IB and Round Square school means. In particular we must ensure we all understand the Why? What? and How? of our core strategic pillars; Teaching and Learning, Community and Alliances; Spirituality and Growth and our new pillar of Finance and Governance.
The new 20:20 Vision plan will provide us with a perfect time to reaffirm the best of our traditions while ensuring we set a future path which is outward looking, creative and challenging. We must ensure we avoid becoming a victim of our own success. When you fail, the first thing you intuitively ask is, "What went wrong?" When you succeed, the first thing that comes to mind is, "I was right, and I can do it again."
In order to avoid complacency we must continue to evolve no matter how successful we may have been throughout our history.
Dr Alec O'Connell
Headmaster
