11 minute read
BOARDING
IT HAS BEEN AN ACTIONPACKED year for our Scotch boarders. I have been thoroughly impressed with the way the students, staff and parents have addressed significant challenges, displaying a calm, positive and stay calm in the eye of a storm. Our Boarding community needed strong leadership, with younger boys taking the lead from their older peers during uncertain times. I am proud to say that our Year 12s led remarkably. During the Autumn and Winter Terms in particular, adaptive mindset. It has been fantastic to due to COVID-19, there were significant celebrate the achievements and growth restrictions on the number of weekend within our community, particularly recreation activities we could organise as the year has progressed and the for our boys at certain venues and with COVID-19 restrictions have eased. other schools. Our Year 12s stepped up The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on Boarding life at Scotch. The Boarding Houses were closed in Week 8 of Summer Term as the spread of the virus became a real threat. The students engaged in online learning via Microsoft Teams throughout that time. and were amazing at organising games and gatherings on weekends to help entertain the younger boys. At a time when our students were looking for role models, our leaders were able to put the interests of others above their own. Furthermore, the fact that these Year 12s were in the midst of their own this year even more extraordinary. To Upon the resumption of school in uncertainty during their final year of the leaving group of 2020, our Boarding Autumn Term, our Boarding community academic studies and co-curricular community is hugely grateful for your faced additional challenges due to inter- pursuits makes their attitude during contribution this year. regional border closures throughout Western Australia. Additionally, national guidelines for boarding schools were restrictive, with reduced capacity requirements, social distancing in common spaces, cleaning requirements within the Boarding House, and visitor access of our facilities and leave requirements for students. To be fully vigilant and compliant, we phased back boarders in year groups and boys were restricted in their movements. I am full of praise for the way staff, students and families adapted to the new conditions and the patience and good grace that was shown. It was symbolic of our wonderful and supportive Boarding community. This year, our Year 12 boarders have shown tremendous leadership. We often speak of forging a legacy here at Scotch and a significant part of the Year 12 legacy for 2020 was their ability to
MR JORDAN OWENELL
HEAD OF BOARDING
In the spirit of fond farewells, I would like to thank several key staff for their contribution to Scotch Boarding as they look to step away and take on new challenges. Firstly, our Deputy Head of Boarding, Mr Grant Bennett, decided 12 months ago that 2020 would be his final year in Boarding. Grant has served our Boarding community valiantly for over 30 years and has made a massive contribution to Scotch during that time. Grant has not only been a key mentor for many of our boarders in this generation but has taught quite a few of their fathers as well! Grant will continue to work at the College in a part-time capacity as an Economics teacher.
Mr Matt Bradley assumed the position of Head of Cameron House at the beginning of 2020 and has been working a dual role to see his Year 12 group through their time in Scotch Boarding. Matt has shown incredible commitment to Boarding at Scotch for 13 years and has made a significant difference to our Boarding community.
Mr Ashley Keatch has recently accepted the position as Head of Boarding at Launceston Grammar School and will be leaving us to take on this new and exciting opportunity with his wife, Lisa. Ashley has been a member of our Boarding community for 15 years and will be a fantastic acquisition for Launceston Grammar. We thank Grant, Matt and Ashley for their commitment to the Boarding community here at Scotch and wish them all the best in their future endeavours.
It was great to see some notable events return in Winter and Spring Term, especially our fortnightly Boarding Assemblies in the Dining Room. Boarding Assemblies allowed us to host leadership speeches for the role of Captain of Boarding in 2021 and our coveted SPIRIT Award, which were both fantastic nights. Congratulations to Digby Cleland (Year 12) who is the 2020 winner of the SPIRIT Award and Brenton Macauley, our Captain of Boarding for 2021. Congratulations also to Darcy O’Hallaran, James Holtham and George Purser, our Vice-Captains of Boarding for 2021.
Throughout the last two terms, we have been able to resume recreation activities and Bibbulmun Track walks, which are an especially important part of life in Boarding at Scotch. A huge thank you to our Outdoor Education team for the work you dedicated to planning and facilitating our Bibbulmun Track programme. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the year has been the opportunity to visit communities and boarding families in regional Western Australia. This year we visited the Wheatbelt, Mid-West, Gascoyne, Kimberley, Great Southern and South West regions and thoroughly enjoyed our time meeting past, present and future Scotch families. We plan to continue visiting the communities of our Boarding families in the coming years and forging strong relationships.
We look forward to another exciting year ahead in 2021, a chance to embed our strategic thinking, and to work closely alongside our staff, students and parents to continue to strengthen our flourishing community.
Hamish Gooch, James Rex (Head of Sport | Boarding Academic Staff Member), Daniel Messina, Mrs Fran Hannington (Boarding House Parent), Mr Richard Foster Mrs Michelle Grosse (Personal Assistant to the Head of Boarding), Design & Technology Teacher), Marika Ball (Boarding House Parent), Year 9 | Creative Arts Teacher), Mr Ashley Keatch (Boarding Head of Year 12 | Humanities Teacher), Tom Graham, Mr Sean Mecham (Boarding Head of Mr Matt Bradley (House Head, Cameron | Boarding Head of Year 12 | Mr Jordan Owenell (Head of Boarding), Patrick Eastough, (Boarding Teacher | Deputy Head of Residential Life), Zedd Garbellini, (Boarding Head of Year 10 | Humanities Teacher), Mr Grant Bennett (Boarding Head of Year 7/8 | Outdoor Ed Teacher), Mr Richard Hales (Nurse Manager), Mrs Pam Seaby (Boarding House Parent), Mr Drew Templar (Personal Assistant to the Head of Boarding), Mrs Fiona Richmond FRONT ROW: Beau Staines, Binqiao Ren, Taj Piwowarski, Mrs Jan Usher
Jaezari Wynne, Tom Anderson, Jake Mackintosh, Oscar Zheng, Kody Waters, Luke Marshall, Jeremy Tremlett, Julius Robberechts, Brenton Macauley, Loch Mactaggart, Eason Tian, Tyler Messina, Sid Cullen Falconer, Myles Ross, FOURTH ROW: Hudson Hammond, Jarrad Coppen, Mike Liu, Jayden Clarke, Digby Smith, Xavier Risinger, Samuel Doney, Nicholas Chadwick Lachlan Gooding, Lochie Elliott, Jaylan Tolentino, Lachie Willmott, Henry Dyke, Oliver Macnamara, Jack Parsons, Keion Mongoo, THIRD ROW: Nicholas Chi, Rhys Poole, Eden Bairstow, Louis Liu, Jonus Williams, Tyrelle Manado, Arad Rad Daniel O’Meara, Burke Carrington, Cooper Young, Lachlan Stephen, Reuben Westerman, William Graham, Fraser Webb, Liam Gollan, Samuel Meecham, Angus Johnston, Sam Wolf, Lachie Raffan, Toby Humphris, Kevin Laidlaw, Thomas Delroy, Hamish Brown, Daniel Wiese, SECOND ROW: Craig Souey, Digby Cleland, Jack Radford, Tim Valmadre,
Jensen Westerman, Judd Woodman, Terry Zhou ABSENT: Kalib Dempster Park, Bruce Jiang, Tom Keamy, Phillip Pitt, Jyrone White, Jack Zhang, Sean Bonney, Dardayne Russie, Jedd Simmons Finnian Beard, Darcy O'Halloran, Brodie Haywood, Oscar Rogers, Maxx Della Franca, Ashlin Hall, Maxwell Mead, Justin Sweet, Edward Graham, Eli Blackburn, Brooke Milner, Thomas Sounness, Keilan Simpson, SIXTH ROW: Jett Sibosado, Muddy Sgro, Benjamin Nixon, George Purser, Kaymus Brierly, Michael Gao, Oliver Wandel, Harvey Ellis, Raquell Bin Rashid Azhar Sgro, Nicholas Howson, Rory Purser, Haig Mactaggart, Ben Simpson, Harrison Hammond, Sam Thompson, Jamayden Chong, Jahlil Hajinoor-Fuller, George Yuan, Jimmy Gao, James Holtham, William Fairclough, FIFTH ROW: Jarrod Hoyer, Lewis Parsons, George Stoney, Rohan Bignell, Boarding
Boarders Council
FRONT ROW: Hamish Gooch, Digby Cleland, Patrick Eastough, Tom Graham, Zedd Garbellini, William Graham, Binqiao Ren BACK ROW: Mr Jordan Owenell (Head of Boarding), Sam Wolf, Reuben Westerman, Lachlan Raffan, Sam Meecham, Mr Matt Bradley (Boarding Head of Year 12)
CAPTAIN OF BOARDING
Patrick Eastough
This year, the Boarding community has proven the strong bonds and mateship the Boarding Houses encourage, with boys demonstrating their independence throughout troubling times.
ALTHOUGH THE YEAR came to a standstill for a few months, we proceeded with the fundamental activities that make our community great. These included numerous activities between the younger years, walking the Bibbulmun Track and the Boarders’ Ball. The focus of the 2020 Boarding Council was to establish a programme where all year groups felt included in the community. This led to multiple activities and competitions, such as tennis tournaments, touch rugby games, dodgeball and fire pits, to name a few. Of course, the introduction of COVID-19 put a halt to our year when we received the devastating news that we would all return home a week earlier than school finished and that the Junior House boys would not be returning until after the Autumn Term mid-term break. It was during these moments that we, the Boarding Council, realised the lifeblood of the Boarding community was not just the ‘Big House’, but every year group in Boarding. Although this did hinder our progress, we were overwhelmingly successful in uniting our community, as the sense of belonging for younger years had grown at an exponentially significant rate. Before COVID-19, 15 of the Year 12 boys experienced the final leg of the Bibbulmun Track and attained the momentous achievement of completing the whole stint. The ability to continue through such a harsh environment with your mates is symbolic of the journey through Boarding. Along with this, the Year 11 and 12 Presbyterian Ladies’ College and Scotch College Boarders’ Ball, hosted at PLC this year, was thoroughly enjoyable. Our connection with PLC highlights the social aspect of our community.
We participated in numerous events and activities, from sport to movie nights and even our bi-weekly Boarding meetings, where there were often a couple of chuckles. It is also worth mentioning the resilience and incredible camaraderie we have shown over these few months to achieve what we have.
I wish the Boarding community all the best for 2021, and I am confident the new group of leaders will continue to help develop the community within Scotch College. I would also like to wish Mr Owenell, our new Head of Boarding, the best of luck for the coming years.
BIBBULMUN TRACK
Mr Jacob Miolin Outdoor Education Teacher
SCOTCH INTRODUCED the Bibbulmun Track programme to Year 8 boarders in 2000. Over the last 20 years, the College has seen close to 200 students complete the entire 1,005km track from Kalamunda to Albany to become End to Enders, an amazing achievement.
In Summer Term, the Year 12 boarders took their final steps into Albany. The group’s dedication and commitment were clear, with 14 boarders becoming End to Enders after their final sevenday walk along the South Coast. As they walked boldly into Albany, they were met by extremely proud family and friends.
The Year 7s began their Bibbulmun Track journey with an overnight walk from the Northern Terminus to Perth Hills Discovery Centre. The group was met by Neville Collard, who provided insight into the Indigenous history of the area and spoke about the privilege of walking the Bibbulmun Track. In Spring Term, they continued their adventure with a four-day walk through the Perth Hills to Dale Road.
During Winter Term, the Year 8 students walked from Dwellingup to Gringer Creek. The night at Moray was a highlight with warm showers and a barbecue. Later in the year, they scaled Mount Cuthbert, Vincent and Cooke.
The Year 9s completed a four-day journey from Collie to Balingup. The group was accompanied by the Year 10s who in 2019 were forced to cut their walk along this section short. At the halfway point, a meal at The Mumby re-energised the group as they ticked off another significant section of the track.
The Year 10s achieved an important milestone during their Winter Term walk: passing the halfway point. Some cool evenings and rain tested the group; however, they demonstrated resilience as they walked from Balingup to Palings Road near Manjimup. During Spring Term, they continued their adventure, walking from Dwellingup to Collie, a huge effort over seven days. Seven committed Year 11s walked from Northcliffe to Broke Inlet Road. Making their way south, they often found themselves shin-deep in water as they completed the 93 kilometre stretch. They walked with the Year 12s for their final walk for 2020 – 110.7 kilometre from Broke Inlet Road to Peaceful Bay. The group managed these big days through group cohesion and teamwork. On day five, they tackled a 32 kilometres day, passing the marvellous Tingle and Karri trees east of Walpole.
The personal and interpersonal skills developed on the Bibbulmun Track stay with you for life. I would like to congratulate all boarders and staff who supported the programme in 2020. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the End to Enders of 2020, along with staff members Matthew Bradley and Kate Webster-Blythe, who walked with the group since Year 9.
Year 7 Bibbulmun Track
Clockwise: Year 8 Bibbulmun Track; Jeremy Tremlett, Myles Ross and Harrison Hammond on Year 9 Bibbulmun Track; Lochie Elliot (Year 9); Year 9 Bibbulmun Track
