Dear Parents,

Arts Week came to a fitting conclusion on Friday night with the Senior School's ensembles and bands presenting an hour and half of outstanding music at the Senior School Concert. It was a week full of Arts endeavour with our Inspirations Art Show in the Gallery on Wednesday night as the pivot point bringing boys and their work from across Pre-Primary - Year 12 together in one great display of talent. It was a delight to have Professor Ted Snell who is the Director of the Cultural Precinct at UWA, and also an OSC, declare the exhibition open. Professor Snell delivered a significant message about the Arts and decision making: despite all of the coaching, teaching, directing and development, the ultimate decision for what happens on stage or in a piece of work be it colour, line, pattern, shape, volume, accent, movement, is ultimately made by the artist. Decision making and the accountability for our actions - the arts develops this attribute in spades. Inspirations will remain up in the Gallery beneath the JS MS Library until the end of term.

Our Athletics season came to an end last Friday, once again with impressive results and performances. Our Years 5 and 6 team won the JPSSA Shield for the third time in four years whilst our PSA team finished 3^rd, literally a split second or 1.5 points from 2^nd place. My congratulations and thanks to the coaches, many of whom are parents, who join us and prepare our boys for a short but intensive Athletics season each year. Thank you.

Of the dozens of stories that emerge from a season such as this there was one story, recounted by a parent, which struck with me because it gets to the core of what we are trying to do as a school: develop decent young men and prepare them for life. Two boys were vying for selection for one spot in their 400m event. They were separated after trials by 0.02 of a second. The human eye would struggle to see this degree of difference at the finish line, in terms of distance it is probably the length of the human nose. The selectors had to make a call and they informed the boy who missed out. His immediate response was to say to the coaches, "I think you've made the right decision" and raced over to the selected runner to let him know, congratulated him, shook his hand, wished him the best for the race and then cheered from the sidelines. As a Year 12 he missed out on representing his school in his final year, but there was not an ounce of disappointment, just genuine pleasure that his friend had made it. Whether you call that great sportsmanship, selflessness, generosity of spirt or altruism, this was a wonderful illustration of it. For me this is one of the most admired attributes in a person: the ability and the unhesitating willingness to put others before oneself.

This year marks the College's 120^th anniversary. To coincide with this, the College's Apparel committee has been working with staff, parent groups, students and the sports clothing company Champion to develop the next generation of sporting uniforms for the College. After two and half years of consultation we are finally very close to a reveal. One of the key drivers for this process was the endeavour to align all of our sporting uniforms up behind the same set of identity criteria and styling. With most sports requiring different uniform elements, getting our identity aspect consistent was important. From Spring Term the College's 1^st teams will turn out in the new uniform with the new uniforms across all sports and year levels rolled out over the next three years.

This is the last Thistle for this term. Thank you for all of your support: from the sidelines, attending assemblies, carnivals, concerts, art shows, packing his lunch and helping him stay organized. It is a team effort. Next term commences with one of the great iconic events of the College, March Out, on October 13. I hope to see many of you there.

Mr Richard Ledger
Acting Headmaster

120^th Year Whole School Photograph

The process of returns and ordering is now complete with the mounted photographs arriving on campus last Friday. If you have ordered a mounted copy of the photograph you should have received an email notification and pick up instructions.

If you missed the opportunity but would still like to order a mounted copy of the photograph they are available by special order. However, each copy will incur an additional courier fee for delivery to the school. The mounted photograph costs $129.50 and courier fee is $15.00. No further returns of the laminated photograph will now be accepted. Please email Fern.Purio@scotch.wa.edu.au if you wish to special order a mounted copy of the photograph.

There are several boys who have yet to pick up their laminated photograph from Main Reception. One more email notification will be sent out to remind the boys or parents to pick up the photograph before the end of term. Boarders can request that the photograph (laminated or mounted) be held for them until travel time at the end of term.

Enter the Millennials

Consider the generation you were born in, the years can change depending on your source, yet here is a quick reference if you are unsure where society bands you:

The generation that is currently occupying Year 12 is the tail end of Generation Y; the millennials, they are also blurred with the start of Generation Z or aptly named iGeneration. To date most of those born at the turn of the 21^st century, hence the name millennials, have been in school, university or in the infancy of their chosen careers. Yet now, the world is starting to grapple with the generation of millennials moving deeper into their chosen careers.

As educators, we are now accustomed to hearing the well worn rhetoric of, 'we do not know what type of world we are preparing our students for', yet perhaps it is more clearly defined than we may first think.

As a generation 'Millennials' are the most entrepreneurial for some time. More than 275,000 new business start up each year, a significant proportion by those under 36 years of age.' (Ruthven, 2017).

When considering that as a College we now have a number of students in the Senior School who have engaged in e-commerce and established their own businesses through a range of mediums that were unavailable to a previous generation it does leave us pondering how best to educate a generation born into the borderless world of the internet.

In a report released by the Regional Australia Institute in November of 2016 a toolkit was provided for parents and students to consider how to set kids up for success in the 2030 job market. This toolkit can be found here: https://www.thefutureofwork.net.au/.

This resource provides some excellent reading for parents who are looking to support what we are actively working on as a College through the International Baccalaureate Approaches to Learning. By explicitly teaching skills accompanied with the content of the Australian Curriculum, we aim to support the next generation of the Australian workforce. More information about the way we do this as a College can be found here: https://home.scotch.wa.edu.au/teachingandlearning/.

Considering we have students in our Early Learning Centre who were born in 2013, we had best continue to consider how we reimage education to suit the needs of those students now and in the future.

Works Cited

Ruthven, P. (2017, August). Here come the Millennials. Company Director, 33(07), 26-237.

Mr Peter Allen
Director of Teaching and Learning

Curtin University Expands Credit Arrangements

In March of this year the College was delighted to have the International Baccalaureate Diploma programme receive credits for first year university courses as approved by the Deputy Vice Chancellor - Academic, Professor Jill Downie. This arrangement allows IB Diploma students to apply for credit on a case by case basis if they achieve a final grade of six or higher in their Diploma course.

In March, Credit for Recognised Learning was granted for the following units:

We are equally delighted that our IB Diploma students are now able to apply for credits in the following subjects:

We believe this is a testament to the rigorous nature of the IB Diploma programme and the value which universities, locally, interstate and internationally are placing on students who have completed the Diploma programme.

Information regarding IB Diploma admission can be found here; this page is soon to be updated with the new arrangements:

The arrangements for the University of Queensland can be found at this link.

The arrangements for Stanford University can be found at this link.

Giving Time

When we give our time to help another person, even in the smallest of ways, we send a very powerful message: we are saying that we value that person so much that we are willing to give them something very precious. Time is the most valuable commodity any of us has - it is a truly levelling thing. We cannot create more time in any one day - there are only 24 hours; each of us has exactly the same number of minutes - 1440 of them, and when these are gone, we never get them back. When we choose to use some of them in recognising or serving another person, we are putting their needs above our own.

In that moment, we are saying that they are at least as important as we are. It is a mark of respect, compassion, gratitude or all of these.

Studies* show that there is an important link between being grateful - taking time to say thank you - and feeling connected. When we say thank you to someone, we are recognising that they have done something to improve our lives, and this strengthens the connection we feel to them.

Being grateful is also a humbling experience. When we realise that people have done things for us, have made sacrifices, we appreciate that they must have done so because they see some worth in us. We may feel a sense of indebtedness for the faith they have shown in us. Whilst this may seem like a burden, it can also be a good thing.

These feelings can lead us to strive to do better. Through the actions of others, we too feel elevated by a greater sense of our own worth, which in turn can drive us to work harder and be more generous with our time.

Giving thanks is a simple way of giving time. As the end of the academic year approaches for students in the Senior School, now is an appropriate moment for them to pause and give thanks for the people in their lives who support them and believe in them, at school, in the wider community and at home. I would hope that all students might consider saying thank you to those people in their lives who have made a difference. Doing so by writing a card or note or letter is even more powerful.

I have written to the Year 12s, asking them to write thank-you notes to the person or people they feel have been particularly influential in their lives at Scotch - these may be teachers, or coaches, or parents, or other significant people who made a difference at one point or another in their lives. Taking time to write such notes by hand increases the power of this gesture; in doing so, not only are our young men giving time to think about what that person has done for them, but they are creating something unique.

Later in the year, we will be encouraging students in Year 5 and Year 8 in particular to write thank you notes as they complete their time in Junior and Middle Schools.

*For more on the benefits of gratitude, please visit the Greater Good Science Center.

Mr James Hindle
Director or Student and Staff Wellbeing

Reaching out to our local community

On Friday, our Year 10 students completed their final week of the regular community and service programme. This year has been another success with the entire year group spending over 20 Friday afternoons across our city working with people and partners from a variety of backgrounds. Here is a list of our partners and a description of what the student involvement entails.

This year we have started a few new activities. One of these was completely student led and has been a huge success. Callum Griffiths (Year 10, Shearer) started the traveling pipe band troupe. After being designated as 'up to scratch' by Mr Bailey, Callum led a group who spent a number of weeks practising before performing around the city. The boys played at Braemer Presbyterian Care, Little Sisters of the Poor, Swanbourne Primary School, the Scotch College Junior School and Early Learning Centre, Rocky Bay, and the Shenton Park Spine and Limb Foundation. The boys' performance in Shenton Park was so well received, they returned for a 'Christmas in July' concert that received rave reviews!

Another new partnership we have formed is with The Salvation Army. Darren Reynolds, the The Salvation Army's WA School and Community Development Officer, has developed a five week programme for our boys and it has been a huge success. Last week we were able to donate 22 Street Swags to the Salvos and the boys have learnt a lot about the huge amount of work this historical and much loved organisation does. We are looking forward to this continuing in 2018.

The Friday programme is a vital part of the boys' journey through the Senior School. As Oliver Heath put it in a video recently done for the College, "take other people into consideration, that's something school has entrenched in me". There is a link to Oliver's video below.

I would like to thank all the staff who support the programme and our partners who assist us in getting our boys out working for the betterment of our community. The programme upholds our College's values of service, stewardship, and integrity and we look forward to doing this again with 2018's Year 10 cohort.

Tanzania 2018

There are still a couple of spots remaining on the Tanzania Tour 2018. Any student who is at all interested is strongly encouraged to contact Mr Kyle as soon as possible. PLC has an excellent group of girls signed up and we are really excited to continue our strong association with the village of Matipwilli. Below is a link to a video of the hugely successful 2016 tour.

Mr David Kyle
Director of Community and Service

Residential Life

Student Leaders for 2018

The school election season has just concluded and we are very pleased to announce the successful candidates and their roles for both the Residential Community and Keys House

Residential Life

Captain: Sam Rogers
Vice Captains: Jack Ellis and Brandon Poole
The Council: Stewart Wallace, Scott Smith, Tom Klug, Falk Wiegmann and Reece Eades

Keys House

Captain: Rohan Dick
Vice Captain Service: Stewart Wallace
Vice Captain Operations: Roshan Gilbert
Student Council Representative: Brandon Poole

We congratulate all the boys above and wish them the best of luck in their future roles.

Please click here to view the latest edition of the Residential Life newsletter.

Mr Marcus Wilkinson
Director of Residential Life

Performing Arts

Events

The past fortnight has been a showcase of the Arts at Scotch College.

After months of rehearsals, the Year 8 to 10 students took to the stage to perform The Prince and the Pauper, and what a tremendous success it was. From the opening moments, thanks largely to a wonderful set and clever costumes, the audience was taken back to the time of King Henry VIII to follow the story of Prince Edward and a pauper, Tom Canty. The cast delivered their lines with confidence and portrayed a storyline with equal measures of humour and sincerity. Congratulations to all cast and crew members, and special thanks to their wonderful director, Mrs Rachel Budlimich.

On Friday 1 September, our Year 11 and 12 musicians performed at the annual Senior Recital Night. For students who study ATAR or IB Music, these performances were mandatory but for other boys, performing a solo item was voluntary. It was wonderful then, to see so many senior students take up the opportunity to perform. It demonstrates the high value placed upon music by senior students at Scotch and the desire to continue with their instrumental studies, even if they are not studying Music as a Year 11 or 12 subject. Thanks to the many parents who attended and to the students', music teachers and accompanists.

Arts Week is established as one of the highlights of the College's calendar. To commence the week, all students enjoyed a street style performer, a Year 12 rock band and a professional artist at work. Rock bands, the Year 12 Jazz Combo and string ensembles continued to perform during lunch breaks throughout the week. Lunchtime performances culminated in a stunning performance from the newly formed staff choir. The large crowd of colleagues and students were left marvelling at the staff talent on display.

Each evening during Arts week, our students have performed in more formal settings. Our Year 11 and 12 Drama students performed their repertoire in preparation for their final examinations. On Wednesday evening, the whole school Art Exhibition took place in the Middle School Gallery, our Media Awards night took place on Thursday evening and the Spring Concert on Friday.

The week was a celebration of talent and diversity, so congratulations to performers and students from all Arts disciplines. Special thanks to the staff who provide these opportunities for our students and to the parents who support their sons in their Artistic endeavours.

Winter Term

Contact Details

The Instrumental Programme is administered by the Senior School Music Department and all queries should be directed to the Music Administrators, Julia Robinson (Monday to Wednesday) and Donna Ranauro (Thursday and Friday) via phone 9383 6841 or email music@scotch.wa.edu.au.

Alternately, please contact Mr Chris McMillan, Head of Performing Arts, via email Chris.McMillan@scotch.wa.edu.au or phone 9383 6842.

If you wish to become more involved in supporting the Music Department, please contact FOSM@scotch.wa.edu.au

Mr Chris McMillan
Head of Performing Arts

Photo Packages (Late Orders)

A reminder that late orders for photo packages may be placed for the remainder of the calendar year. Please note that orders will not be delivered to the school and a late order fee will apply.

To place orders please visit the Kapture Photography website www.kapture.com.au and use the following codes:

Junior School code XVYKWC
Middle School code 39XVPD
Senior School code S9YV7K

Please direct any queries directly to the Kapture office on 9240 1714 or email enquiries@kapture.com.au.

The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) on School Students with Disability

The Australian Education Regulation 2013 (the Regulation) requires the operators of all government and non-government schools that receive Australian Government funding to provide information to the Australian Government Department of Education and Training for the purposes of the NCCD.

The information will not explicitly identify individual students.

The information that approved authorities must give to the Department includes, in relation to each student with a disability:

• the student's level of education (i.e. primary or secondary)
• the student's category of disability (i.e. physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional)
• the student's level of adjustment (i.e. support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive adjustment).

For more information on NCCD guidelines please see here.

Uniform Shop

Normal term opening hours apply until the shop closes at 11.30am on Thursday, 21 September.

The Uniform Shop will be open during the holidays on Tuesday 10 October only.

Normal opening hours will resume on Tuesday 10 October:

Opening Times

The words of the father

I am sure we can all remember some of the snippets of advice and wisdom that our fathers imparted to us over the course of our lives. Being a young boy raised in Canada, one of the first ones that I remember from my dad was 'Don't eat the yellow snow.'

The relationship between a father and his children is a very important one. A father is the most important male role model in a child's life and for many, especially son's, their father is their first hero. How a dad goes about sharing life lessons with their children will be different from one to another, however the time he spends with his children provides an opportunity to teach those little gems of advice and expectations that he hopes will take root in his children and help them to develop into the kind of people he would want them to be.

When I was growing up I had the opportunity to do things with my father. These were special moments where I learned from watching, learned from listening and learned from doing. He taught me by spending time with me. Whether it was playing catch with me in our yard, so that I could learn how to play baseball; whether it was coaching my ice-hockey team when I was a four-year old playing outside in freezing temperatures and rubbing my feet between periods telling me 'It will be okay' and getting me back on the ice; or whether it was the hours he spent making an ice rink for me in our backyard so that I could learn how to skate. It took me a while to learn and understand and appreciate the efforts he made for me when I was young.

Most fathers try not to lecture or give long diatribes to their children about how they should be, they try to model it. As a father, I would hope that the things that I say and do day-to-day with my children will help them to grow up into the kind of people I hope for them to be. I try to model to them love through the way I treat their mother and politeness in the way I treat other people. I hope that the way we talk about the things we value and most importantly demonstrate this in my day-to-day actions will help them turn into good people.

When we celebrated the Scotch Parents' JS Fathers' Day Breakfast on Thursday 31 August, it was more than an opportunity for dads to come together and have breakfast with their sons. It was an opportunity for their sons to say 'This is my dad and I am proud that he came here and joined me this morning.'

I guess, as a father of young children and the son of a father, proof of the efforts we put in as parents comes out when they become grown-ups. Do we see in them the values we try to instill? Are they good people? Are they kind? Are they good family men? Do they work hard? Do they make us proud? I guess time will tell but each little effort we put in now, each word that we say to our children at this age and each moment we spend with them will help with the construction of the man (and the woman) we hope they will become.

Mr John Stewart
Head of Junior School

Academic Support

Parents as Partners in Learning

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning, before school, the year one boys and their parents gather together for Reading Club. This is a special time for boys to be with their mum or dad to enjoy reading together. It is also a very valuable time because boys have the opportunity to practice their reading skills. Below are some tips to help you get the most from your son when reading together:

Before you Read

TALK about the book before you read it.
LOOK at the pictures, the cover, the title.
ASK "What do you think it is about?"
GO through the book page by page.
TALK about the picture and the words or ideas that might be in the book.

Do encourage your son to guess what the story is about.

Do praise your son when an idea or word is used that you know will come up in a story.

Do ask questions like:

• "What can you tell about the story from the picture?"
• "What do you think will happen in the story?"

Do read from the pictures, encouraging your son to build up a story before looking at print.

Do talk about the start of the story, what happened by the end of the story, the people in the story…etc.

Do mention things like:

• The person who wrote the story - the author.
• The person who did the illustrations - the illustrator.

While you read

Give your son time to work out words:

• 5 seconds or more is reasonable
• after 10 seconds ENCOURAGE your child to use the following strategies when they come across an unknown word:

- "What do you think the word is?"

- "Read the sentence again and see if you can work it out."

- "Have a go."

- "Look at the picture."

- "What does it start with?"

Mrs Janet Lopez
Head of Academic Support

Year 3W News

It has certainly been a whirlwind of a term with the boys being involved in a multitude of activities. With Athletics Day, Book Week and a fabulous excursion to the Art Gallery, we have had a rich and diverse term filled with wonderful learning opportunities.

Athletics Day brought out the best in our class, with everyone supporting one another and working hard to compete for their House. We had some great individual performances but the highlight was definitely watching the boys cheer for their classmates and give everything a go.

This term we have looked into 'How the World Works', researching and classifying living and non-living things. We designed our own Zoos building enclosures that reflected the natural habitat of animals whilst also learning about measurement and scale.

Then we moved on to design our own species, producing scientific reports and our own books on Book Creator to introduce our new discoveries to the world. The boys demonstrated their creativity but also remembered to base all of their work on the research and knowledge that they had acquired. The project certainly captured their imaginations and the results are impressive.

Finally, we launched our new unit of inquiry into 'How We Express Ourselves' with a visit to Northbridge to look at the growing displays of street art, followed by a workshop at the Gallery to explore the rise of the Sneaker culture. There are definitely some budding designers in our midst but please be assured that the boys have been warned not to decorate your garage walls without parental consent.

All of this would not be possible without the continual support of the parents in 3W. Thanks must go to the brave volunteers who put their hand up to assist.

We have a few more adventures up our sleeves this year so watch this space.

Mrs Alison Webster
Year 3 Teacher

Art News

The annual College Visual Arts Inspirations Exhibition opening night took place on Wednesday 6 September, showcasing and celebrating the magnificent artwork of our talented young artists. The Scotch College Gallery is displaying a wide variety of exceptional artworks created by Scotch students from Junior, Middle and Senior school in 2017.

We were delighted to welcome host guest speaker, Old Scotch Collegian, Professor Ted Snell, ('66) Chief Cultural Officer, The University of Western Australia to formally open the exhibition.

The variety of artworks on display showcased the enormous range of opportunities offered to Scotch students, and how engaging in the School's Art programme is an enriching and rewarding experience.

The Junior School displayed four selected finalists works from Shaun Tan Awards, Therapy Focus Story script finalist, the grand unveiling of the collaborative Student Led Conference Swan canvas and a magnificent Year 5 figurative sculpture which was created with our Artist in residence, Ryan Shaw (Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe 2017).

I encourage visitors to enjoy the exhibition, which will be open during college hours for the remainder of Winter Term. There is an opportunity to vote for your favourite artwork for the 'Peoples Choice Award' Junior, Middle and Senior school categories. I would like to take this opportunity congratulate all of the exhibiting artists and I am, yet again, in awe of their raw young talent.

Mrs Jane Roche
Junior Art Specialist

From the Head of Middle School

The highlight of the Year 6 and 7 Winter Term calendar was the combined Scotch/PLC Quiz Nights. MacKellar Hall was transformed into a sea of colour with bright balloons filling the air. Boys dressed in their best and spent time brushing up on their manners and small talk prior to the exciting night.

There was nervous laughter and chatter as questions were answered round by round. Our MCs Mr Campbell, Mr Turco and Mr Tresise were a hit with the crowd but it was the music round that really got everyone up and dancing. New dance moves were developed and new friendships forged… a great night had by all.

I would like to extend a very warm thank you to the Scotch Staff, Scotch Parents group, in particular Jodi Corica, the Middle School Representative and all parent helpers on both evenings. I would also like to thank the PLC staff and the Parents@PLC for their contribution towards this successful combined event.

The exciting Highland Games are fast approaching. After much organisation by Mr Felgate, the students in Middle School will be taking part in a modified recreation of the Games on the last day of term, Friday 22 September. Staff, students and parents, will gather on the playing fields for a Pipe Band display before the games commence at 11.00am. There will be the Kiltie Dash, Tug-o-War, spear throw, stone throw, skipping challenge, sack race, hay bale challenge, Highland Steps and Welly (boot) throw.

The boys will be competing in their Houses and with the help of some of the Old Scotch Collegians this should be a fun day, celebrating a past Scotch tradition. The Scotch Pipes and Drums Parents will also be selling food and drinks on the day. The festivities will conclude at end of the school day. More pertinent details will follow in the Middle School newsletter next week.

Mrs Pina Giglia
Acting Head of Middle School

Middle School Inter-House Athletics Carnival

The busy 2017 Athletics season was kicked off by the Middle School Inter-House Carnival. The carnival was host to some excellent performances from all students involved across many events. There was plenty of House pride and cheering on of all students throughout the day.

There were two records broken both in Shot Put. Oliver Gray (6.2C) threw 8.95m to break a record from 2011. Seamus Walton (7.2H) threw 10.74m to break a long standing record which was set back in 1981.

The overall standings for the day were as follows:

Gordon 1638

Robert 1419

Bruce 1389

Andrew 1279

James 1273

David 1236

Thank you to the Scotch Pipe and Drums parents who provided toasties, sweet treats and drinks throughout the day. It was great to see so many parents and family members come down to spectate; I hope you all enjoyed the carnival.

Mr Michael Brinsden
Middle School Sport

Year 8s Hit the Dancefloor!

Throughout this term, a group of Year 8 boys have been attending Ballroom Dancing lessons with the Year 8 girls from MLC. Before the first session, our emotions were a mix of nervousness and excitement, but once we saw our instructor rocking it on the dancefloor, we all relaxed and had a laugh.

Our ballroom dancing instructors Gavin and Carolyn taught us a wide variety of dances including a few Latin American dances, the Cha Cha, the Merengue, and a Progressive Jive (when we all earned our Jiving licence). We learned all of the different ballroom holds and lots of new steps. The socialising aspect of this activity was a bit nerve wracking but we soon got to know the girls better and developed friendships with them.

The best part of the activity was definitely the Social on the last night. Gavin and Carolyn led us through the dances and we also had some free dance time and ate lots of pizza. There were prizes awarded to the best dancers of the night and we all had a great time.

We highly recommend that the Year 7 boys give this a go next year. There's nothing to lose, grab a mate and just do it. The ballroom dancing sessions are a great opportunity to have a great time with your mates and learn a couple of moves.

Taye Barlow (8.1T) and Hudson Wheeler (8.4F)

Student Achievements

UNSW Writing Competition Results

Year 7

Year 8

Important Dates in Middle School Winter Term

Balance and smartphones

Please let me start by saying that I am not in the habit of vilifying technology. Quite the opposite; I am a big proponent of the benefits it can supply to learning and communication. There is, however, a growing body of evidence that we, as a community, need to be very mindful of. I recently read an article by Jean Twenge, psychology professor at San Diego University, on the effect of smartphones. The article was somewhat dramatically entitled "Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?" and was adapted from a forthcoming book she is writing. The article, based on her work in the United States, posits that post-Millennials (children born after the year 2000) are safer, physically, than adolescents have ever been. But they are some significant challenges ahead in regards to mental health and well-being.

Twenge's work on generational difference stretches over her 25 years as a psychologist. In the article, she identifies that the characteristics which come to define a generation have, historically, gradually appeared. However, this may no longer be the case with post-Millennials or the iGen as she calls them. Trend lines from her research into the factors affecting generations were described as "modest hills and valleys", until her research into post-Millennials or iGens. In 2012, she noticed "abrupt" shifts in teen behaviour and emotional states. So, what happened in 2012 to cause this shift? Twenge attributes this to the moment that the proportion of Americans who owned a smartphone passed 50 percent.

Twenge's research elucidates a reduction in; iGen teens hanging out with friends, their haste to gain their driver's license, reduced rates of dating and contrasts this against increases in feelings of loneliness and getting enough sleep. While she cannot prove causation between impacts on well-being, smartphone use and social media, there is a body of evidence accumulating.

So, what are some of the heath related issues according to Twenge?

1. Sleep deprivation linked to myriad issues, including compromised thinking and reasoning, susceptibility to illness, weight gain, and high blood pressure. It also affects mood: People who do not sleep enough are prone to depression and anxiety. Smartphones could be causing lack of sleep, which leads to depression, or the phones could be causing depression, which leads to lack of sleep. Or some other factor could be causing both depression and sleep deprivation to rise. But the smartphone, its blue light glowing in the dark, is likely playing a nefarious role.
2. Poorly used leisure and family time. In an information economy that rewards higher education more than early work history, parents may be inclined to encourage their kids to stay home and study rather than to get a part-time job. Teens, in turn, seem to be content with this homebody arrangement - not because they are so studious, but because their social life is lived on their phone. They do not need to leave home to spend time with their friends. The time that older students spend on activities such as student clubs and sports and exercise has changed little in recent years. Combined with the decline in working for pay, this means iGen teens have more leisure time than Gen X teens did, not less. Further to this, one of the ironies of iGen life is that despite spending far more time under the same roof as their parents, today's teens can hardly be said to be closer to their mothers and fathers than their predecessors were.
3. The contradiction of social media. Social-networking sites like Facebook promise to connect us to friends. But the portrait of iGen teens emerging from the data is one of a lonely, dislocated generation. Teens who visit social-networking sites every day but see their friends in person less frequently are the most likely to agree with the statements "A lot of times I feel lonely," "I often feel left out of things," and "I often wish I had more good friends." This doesn't always mean that, on an individual level, kids who spend more time online are lonelier than kids who spend less time online. Teens who spend more time on social media also spend more time with their friends in person, on average - highly social teens are more social in both venues and less social teens are less so. But at the generational level, when teens spend more time on smartphones and less time on in-person social interactions, loneliness is more common.

So, what about balance?

We in Australia cannot simply apply a study carried out in the United States to our children, however, there are certainly similarities in our cultures. Causation between smartphone use and anxiety and depression is not absolute. So, like so many things in life it is about balance. Monitoring the use of our children's smartphone use both here at school and at home is worthy of consideration. We believe that the updating of our mobile phone policy has had a beneficial effect here at school. Some other considerations may be: Does the mobile device sleep in your child's bedroom or out on the kitchen bench recharging overnight? Do you have a rule that the phones are not used in the car while travelling to school or out and about, so conversations can take place? Twenge suggests the correlations between depression and smartphone use are strong enough to suggest that more parents should be telling their kids to put down their phone. As the technology writer Nick Bilton has reported, it is a policy some Silicon Valley executives follow. Even Steve Jobs limited his kids' use of the devices he brought into the world.

Mr Dean Shadgett
Head of Senior School

Senior Leadership Team 2017/2018

House Captains:

Pipe Band:

Boys' Achievements

Conor Patton (Year 11, Ross) has been selected as the Western Australian representative to the 2017 International Lions Youth camp held this December/January season. Conor will be travelling to Rotorua, New Zealand and then on to Cairns, the hometown of National Winner Matisse.

Adam Brenz-Verca (Year 11, Stuart) will be competing in the World Championship for International 505 class sailing competition being held at Anapolis, US mid September.

Lewis Weeda (Year 12, Shearer) has been awarded the 2017 Tim Winton Award for Young Writers, Highly Commended Certificate in the Upper Secondary Category, for his short story "Remote". This can be read in Spring, 2016 edition of The Raven.

Surfing State Finals

On a perfect winters day, with offshore winds and rare sunshine, the Scotch surfing team competed at Trigg in the State Finals. This was the first time that we had teams in all four finals divisions. Thank you to Riley Walker (Year 12, Shearer) for organising the boys as Captain.

Our Junior and Senior surfers performed very well as far as the second round, and went out to Bunbury and Hale respectively. Our Senior bodyboarders, Harley Waddell (Year 12, St Andrews) and Thomas (Tom) Palmer (Year 12, St Andrews), progressed to the State semi-finals and went out to Mandurah College in a tense count-back-of-every-wave score.

Our best result came from the Junior body-boarders Nicholas (Nick) Verryn (Year 9, Alexander) and James Waddell (Year 9, St Andrews) who did brilliantly and reached the State Final, coming second to Margaret River Senior High. Well done to all - this was one of Scotch's most successful seasons to date.

Mr Jonathan Rugg

Colours & Honours Winter 2017

Please see here for recipients.

Quads Athletics Carnival Results

New Quads records set by Scotch College students:

Personal Project Showcase

The set up for the Showcase will take place on Monday 11 September in the Dickinson Centre and it will be open for viewing from Wednesday 13 September until Friday 15 September during school hours. Please note that the formal Showcase event on Friday 15 September from 5.30pm until 7.30pm is the only time visitors will be able to observe all projects as the students are unable to leave their laptops set up during the day.

Miss Kate Flowers
IB Personal Project Co-ordinator

Curtin University Handwriting Project

Investigating student's handwriting in a digital technology world.

Scotch College is partnering with Curtin University to explore young people's handwriting skills and how they may have changed since educational handwriting standard assessments were established in 1996. Given the amount of keyboarding that is undertaken in educational activities the research will also investigate student's keyboarding skills.

Further information about this study, including why this study is important?, what your child will be asked to do?, and ethics and consent procedures is contained in the following link. Please note this study will have been approved by Scotch College Acting Headmaster Richard Ledger and Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) prior to commencement.

In summary, Year 9 and 10 students will be asked to participate in three tasks; two short duration handwriting assessments and a typing task using their own device. These research activities will not take place during curriculum time. Scotch College will use this information for educational planning and all data collected for the purpose of this research will be de-identified to maintain confidentiality.

To ensure students have the opportunity for informed consent to participate in the research, the study will be explained to students and they will be given the opportunity to decide if they want to participate. If you do not want your child to participate or have any questions please contact the Chief Investigator Associate Professor Courtenay Harris at c.harris@curtin.edu.au. Furthermore you may contact the Ethics Officer on (08) 9266 9223 or the Manager, Research Integrity on (08) 9266 7093 or email hrec@curtin.edu.au.

This is a great opportunity to help understand the development of children's handwriting in a modern, technological world, and how this impacts on their educational activities.

Mrs Sue Strizek
Academic Support

Careers Information

Year 12 Information

WACE Examination - Sickness/Misadventure

If a student's performance in a WACE examination is affected by a temporary sickness, non-permanent disability or unforeseen misadventure suffered immediately before or during the examination period OR a student is prevented from attending an examination due to illness or misadventure, a SICKNESS/MISADVENTURE APPLICATION FORM can be obtained from Mr Frusher or downloaded from the SCSA website for completion and forwarding to School Curriculum & Standards Authority. There is a long list of reasons that will not be accepted by School Curriculum & Standards Authority but if a student is unsure he needs to check with Mr Frusher.

TISC Applications

All Year 12 students who are applying for university entrance in 2018 have been given the 2018 TISC Guide. This book contains important information about applying to university, enrolments and deferrals, applying to interstate universities and course codes and descriptions and much more for all courses at West Australian universities (except Notre Dame). Mr Frusher has 'walked' students through this book but if there are any queries then please contact him on 9383 6830 or by email pfrusher@scotch.wa.edu.au.

Please ensure that this book is kept in a safe place until your student is enrolled at a university for 2018. Note that all applications for Western Australian university entry in 2018 (except Notre Dame) must be made on-line by accessing the TISC website at www.tisc.edu.au and that applications are now open until Friday, September 29 2017, after such time a late fee of $155 will apply.

Notre DameUniversity applications are also now open but will require a written application. All Year 12 students have been given the 2018 Undergraduate Course Guide for Notre Dame that has the application form enclosed. If students have applied through the Early Offer Program to Notre Dame they do not have to submit another application. The Early Offer application will carry over.

Revision Courses

Year 12 Exam Boost Seminars at Churchlands Senior High School commenced on Saturday 2 September and will run through to Sunday 28 October 2017.

The courses will be held at Churchlands Senior High School but are open to all students.

The six hour ATAR Exam Boost Seminars will inspire and build students' confidence before their upcoming exams. Students will receive targeted exam advice, tips and preparation, including strategies and problem solving methods to boost exam performance. Students will gain insights from an experienced exam marker on what examiners look for in student's answers and receive feedback on their work.

The seminars offer your students excellent preparation for their Mock and final ATAR exams.

The following courses will be available: View online timetable

Scholarships

C.A.S. Hawker Scholarship

The C.A.S. Hawker Scholarship is awarded to Australian students, usually those entering their first year of university. It is awarded based on personal qualities, demonstrated leadership and academic ability.

The 2018 C.A.S. Hawker Scholarship opens on Monday 4 December 2017 and will close on Friday 5 January 2018.

Defence Civilian Undergraduate Scholarship

Open to aspiring university students who wish to pursue a degree through the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Canberra at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA).

There are no military service obligations or requirements. This is a sponsorship for civilian students.

Applications are open from 4 September and will close 28 September 2017.

Contact: student.opportunities@defence.gov.au or call (02) 6127 3103.

The degree disciplines available in 2018 are:

• Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Aeronautical and Civil) (4 years)
• Bachelor of Computing and Cyber Security (3 years)

SAE Institute Scholarship Program

Applications close 30 October

SAE Creative Media Institute offers scholarships to outstanding creative media applicants. SAE Scholarships are awarded to recognise creative talent coupled with academic excellence and outstanding leadership.

UWA Design School

The University of Western Australia's School of Design is once again running a design studio during the January 2018 vacation for school students.

The focus will be a small-scale design project and students don't need any prior knowledge or artistic skills to participate in the studio. They will get a feel for what it is like to study design at UWA and develop new skills under the guidance of university staff.

Activities on offer during the studio include:

• An introduction to the latest computer modelling and rendering programs
• Talks by architects, landscape architects and visual artists
• Model making and drawing classes
• Meet with current design students at UWA
• A site visit
• An exhibition of all the students' work at the culmination of the studio\

The studio website is: http://www.alva.uwa.edu.au/community/studio/

Curtin Enabling Course in Science, Engineering and Health

Curtin University and Canning College have partnered together to offer you a one year Enabling course. This course is HECS free and is designed for students with little background in science or mathematics. You will be enrolled as a Curtin student and will have access to the facilities at Canning College. Successful completion guarantees a place in Curtin University's School of Science. A set number of places are available on a competitive basis in Engineering, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Medical Imaging and Health Science.

Contact Mr Sheldon Smith at Curtin University on (08) 9266 3529 or email Sheldon.Smith@curtin.edu.au

The Engineering Institute of Technology

EIT is a college dedicated to world-class education in engineering and to you as a learner. Like Australian universities they offer Australian accredited Bachelor of Science degrees across four streams of engineering. In this world of rapidly changing technology their qualifications are inspired and driven by industry to prepare students for an exciting career in engineering. For more information go to: www.eit.edu.au.

Vantage Automotive 2018 Apprenticeships - Applications Open

Vantage Automotive Pty Ltd is a major provider of Government funded vocational learning and outsourced services to major vehicle manufacturers with an extensive client list across Australia. Applications are now being sought from students that are interested in a career within the automotive industry as an Automotive Technician or Parts Interpreter. Both male and female candidates from all over Australia are invited to apply for the Automotive Modern Apprenticeship Program and, if selected, will be offered full time employment at a dealer close to their home and flown to Sydney for block training.  This is a funded program with minimal cost to the student.

Trades Open Night North Metro TAFE

The Automotive and Engineering Departments at North Metropolitan TAFE are holding a Trades Open Night at their Midland campus, 6.00pm - 7.30pm, Monday 18 September.

The Open Night is targeted at;

• Students interested in exploring an Automotive or Engineering career

• Students interested in enrolling in Automotive or Engineering qualifications in 2018.

At the Open Night students can view the training facilities, meet the trainers, find out about qualifications offered and ask questions. VET Coordinators, Career Counsellors, Design & Technology Teachers and interested students and their families, are encouraged to attend.

Gap Medics International Medical Work Experience

Shadow doctors, nurses, midwives or dentists in hospital for 1 - 8 weeks.

Mr Peter Frusher
Careers Adviser

Senior School Important Dates

Scotch Parents

Year 6 and 7 Scotch PLC Social Quiz Nights

We would like to thank Jodi Corica, our Middle School Rep, for all of her hard work in organising the Year 6 and 7 quiz nights. The boys and girls had a great night by all accounts.

Scotch Parents Open Meeting 9.00am Tuesday 19 September

The next Scotch Parents meeting will be held in the Dining Room Annexe at 9.00am Tuesday, 19 September. We encourage parents across Junior, Middle and Senior School to come along and be part of the support group contributing to the wellbeing of your son.

Guest Speaker - Mike Utsler COO Woodside Petroleum - Thursday 26 October

It is with great pleasure that Scotch Parents can confirm that Mike Utsler, COO Woodside has agreed to become our first guest speaker for 2017. This will be a fantastic opportunity for boys and parents to listen to the real life experiences of a very well respected senior manager from corporate Western Australia. More details will follow shortly.

Upcoming Events

• Scotch Parents General Meeting - Tuesday 19 September 9.00am
• Guest Speaker - Mike Utsler - Thursday 26 October
• Scotch Parents AGM - Tuesday 14 November 7.00pm

Mr Ian Knobel and Ms Steph Debnam
Co-Presidents
Scotch Parents

Year 12 Parent Lunch

All Year 12 parents are warmly invited to the annual 2017 March Out Lunch on Friday 13 October. The lunch will be a cocktail party and will be held at the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, Peppermint Grove from 1.00pm to 5.00pm after the annual March Out of Year 12 students leaving Scotch.

To purchase your tickets please visit the Scotch College website www.scotch.wa.edu.au and click on the "Book a Scotch Event" icon.

For any enquiries please contact Sharon Burvill on sharonburvill@gmail.com.

The past few months have been busy ones for the Old Scotch Collegians. As our acting Headmaster, Mr Ledger, mentioned in his reflection in the 14 August issue of The Thistle, the OSC retained possession of the Festival of the Boot trophy for the third year in a row, the Old Boys' Association from Christ Church Grammar School. The most important aspect of the day, of course, was the opportunity to share both the great rivalry and great camaraderie between Scotch and Christ Church, both on and off the field. Not even torrential rain late in the afternoon deterred "the stayers" from their post-game celebrations!

The Class of 1977 Forty Year Reunion was also held in August, with Old Boys travelling in from interstate and overseas to catch up with past schoolmates. Nobody, of course, had changed a day!

The Old Scotch Collegians have also been active within the school community. We are in the midst of providing a series of leadership speakers for groups of Year 8 students, comprising of Senior Constable Ian Blow ('79) from Western Australia Police, emergency physician Dr Tom Hitchcock ('79), Brigadier David Thompson AM ('79), Aidan Read ('16) who is an international race car driver for Lamborghini, Jonathon Blaxell ('93) from Fire and Rescue and horse whisperer Heath Stewart ('93).

Last week was Arts Week, and a number of Old Boys took part in activities around the school, including giving up their time to speak with students and parents about the realities of working within creative fields. Special thanks to Professor Ted Snell AM ('66), James Giddy ('13), Eddie Atchison ('16) and Mark Zagar ('80). Special mention and our thanks to Ted Snell, who is now one of the most distinguished senior arts professionals in the state. Ted is a practicing artist and the Chief Cultural Officer of the University of Western Australia, and he spoke passionately about the incredible value boys get from artistic and visual literacy and facility, particularly in our increasingly image-laden world. Ted also fondly remembered working on his own arts projects at Scotch with the late Mrs Eileen Keys, now recognised as one of Australia's foremost mid-century potters.

We are now gearing up for the remaining events of 2017.

• NOBS - our New Old Boys - from 2016, 2015 and 2014 are invited to take time out and head down to Varsity Bar on Thursday 12^th October.
• Our annual signature event, Founders' Day Dinner, will be held on Friday 20^th October and will feature the Commanding Officer of the Special Air Service Regiment as the speaker.
• The inaugural St Andrew's Vale Service will be on Thursday 30^th November and the wider Scotch community are invited to attend to remember loved ones who have passed during the year.

To support the Re-opening and Rededication of the Memorial Hall on Founders Day, the OSC have commissioned a series of beautiful Heritage Posters, featuring various iconic Scotch College buildings and images of boys and their activities from our past. We look forward to sharing these with our community in coming weeks.

While the Scotch College tagline is "Preparing boys for life", that of the OSC is "A community for life" - within the peer years and decade cohorts, and from our connection to the school itself. And in this 120^th anniversary year for the College, the 70^th anniversary year for the Pipe Band, and the 60^th anniversary year for the Memorial Hall, this has never been more true.

Mr Michael Silbert
OSC President