From the Head of Senior School
A feature of the first week back at school has been the stories and experiences boys have shared from their holiday break. Some of these experiences included a languages tour to Indonesia, a Rugby and Football to Melbourne and Hockey tour to New Zealand. There were also a large number of boys involved in the Round Square conference hosted by Scotch College over the first week of the holiday break. The Pipe Band marched in the city's ANZAC Parade and drew high praise from onlookers and Lewis Orr (Year 9, Ferguson) gave an inspiring speech at Camp Gallipoli.
The holiday period also saw Scotch College retain the state sailing title when our 'Maroon' team won the best of five final, three nil against Christ Church Grammar School. From the 29 teams competing in this year's State Championship, the three Scotch teams placed first, third and thirteenth - An outstanding achievement across the full squad. The Maroon team has now qualified for the National Sailing Championship to be held in Adelaide in July this year. All tours planned for next year have been included in this newsletter to assist families considering tour opportunities for 2017.
With the commencement of Autumn Term our Year 12s start their last semester of classes at Scotch College. Year 11 commence their first full two week exam period and Year 10 begin the process of selecting courses and subjects for their last two years. Year 9 boys, although only one term into the Senior School, are two terms away from starting Year 10. The year will continue to pass quickly and I urge all boys and their families to seize every opportunity.
At last week's assembly I shared a quote by Mark Twain - "I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened". I shared this quote to highlight to the boys that we can worry about things that are yet to, and may not, happen. With the upcoming Year 11 and 12 examinations, the boys will have nothing to worry about if they have done the work in preparing for the exams and get a good night's sleep before each exam.
The remaining Senior School Assemblies for Autumn Term will be held in Weeks 4, 5, 9 and 10 due to Year 11 and 12 examinations (Weeks 2 and 3), mid-term break in Week 6 and the Senior School Musical production (Weeks 7 and 8).
The commencement of a new term is an ideal time for boys to reflect on the past term, set new goals, both in and out of the classroom, and start with renewed determination. I wish all boys well for the term ahead and look forward to watching the boys continue to develop, achieve and be rewarded for their efforts.
Dr Rob McEwan
Head of Senior School
