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Tradition is both a necessary foundation on which to build a long-lasting institution, and also provides the invaluable tool of reflection. Founders' Day is an opportunity to look towards the future, but also appreciate and recognise all past contributions that have served to position Scotch so resolutely at the forefront of education for over a century.

Appreciation of the Schools tradition recently saw past and previous members of the Pipe Band gather together at the School's Founders' Day celebrations to give a stirring musical display that literally transcended generational divides, highlighting the strength of tradition at the School.

The Old Scotch Collegians in civvies struck a contrast with the boys in the Pipe Band kilts as they marched together in front of friends and family on the School oval. Past students proved more than capable of matching the capabilities of their younger compatriots, showing they had not lost their former skills.

Pipe Band awards were announced after the marching, with Most Improved Piper going to Jonathan Dean. Most Improved Drummer was awarded to George Gooch, whose father John Gooch was marching with the band alongside his son.

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New Zealand Water Polo Tour

Over the past school holidays, the Senior School Water Polo players travelled to New Zealand to compete in the Under 16 Division One National Championships held in Wellington.

The team, consisting of a mix of players from Years 9-11, arrived to a very cool Wellington fully prepared to take on the helm of the club teams from around the nation. A good training session the day before the Championships set the team up well for their Pool Division games against Marist Blue and North Harbour 'A' on Day One.

In both games, the team had a taste of the competition in the Championship rounds with North Harbour 'A' the favourites to win. Though Scotch lost to both these teams, the boys managed to successfully implement the team's game strategy.

Day two saw the team put on a spectacular show piece against the local side from Maranui and claimed a 7-5 victory. This allowed the team to compete in the Plate Championship round to which Scotch were eligible to win. On the back of a strong victory, confidence grew within the squad and we went on to win 7-6 in a close game against the team from North Island, Waitakere Teal.

A morning break on Day three, allowed the team to bond in a game of tenpin bowling before annihilating Harbour City, 8-4. With back to back wins team morale was at an all time high and motivation to win the Plate was within reach on Day four.

The fourth day saw Scotch play a must win game against Maranui. The game was a very low scoring game and a last minute extra man goal saw a 5-5 draw. This meant Scotch and Maranui were equal on points and both teams had to win their next match to take out the Plate.

Scotch put on another magnificent game against QE11 winning 8-5. This resulted in a special mention at the closing presentations where Scotch had drawn the Plate Championship in points but on goal difference the team was unfortunate to have a weaker one than the team we drew with so Scotch ended up with 2nd in this Championship.

All up Scotch finished with four wins, one draw and two losses. This performance exceeded the coach's expectations and has set the squad up for a very competitive 2010 PSA season.

The tour had many sight-seeing and recreational opportunities fit in around the Championships. These activities included paint balling, go-karting, the famous Ta Papa museum visit, and a day road trip to explore some of the exquisite scenery on display around the North Island. Highlights include making local television, experiencing a mild earthquake tremor in the hotel and experiencing the culinary delights of Wellington.

All in the entire trip was a fantastic opportunity for the Scotch Water polo players to experience tournament conditions that will definitely add to development of the sport within the School.

Stay tuned for the next installment.

Lawrence Felgate
1st Team Coach/Manager

Scotch College and iTunes U

Presbyterian Ladies' College (PLC) and Scotch College will be among the first in Australia to experience a new and exciting version of digital education.

Students at Scotch College and Presbyterian Ladies' College will be able to access class instruction, course materials and lectures from their own curriculum anywhere, anytime from iTunes following the introduction of the K-12 section on iTunes U.

iTunes U is already a popular technology enabling the easy distribution of digital content. Leading universities in this country and around the world have already incorporated iTunes U into their learning systems, but until now it has not been used in Australian schools.

Please click here to view a video tutorial to find out more about the benefits of iTunes U.

PLC Principal Beth Blackwood and Scotch College Headmaster Andrew Syme said the Colleges are committed to meeting the changing learning needs of their students.

"Today there are many ways for students to engage in learning. We want to provide our students with a learning environment that is flexible and delivers a variety of learning resources and experiences that take advantage of technology".

"Online and mobile learning opportunities are now a very important and valuable part of our students' learning experience. Educating for the world of today means that our students need to be confident and wise users of information and communication technologies", they said.

The Colleges created a joint committee this year to examine the exciting possibilities of digital curriculum and to harness the enthusiasm of students skilled in online collaboration and 21st century learning skills.

"Being able to access classroom lessons at home means students can revise at their own speed, as well as giving parents the opportunity to keep in touch with their children's learning".

"While we will continue to teach in a conventional school environment, this provides us with a new opportunity to engage students in learning".

Initially podcasts that include audio and video of classes for revision purposes, as well as presentations from guest speakers, documents and study aids will be available for students, with plans to continually add material.

Members of the public will also be able to share in the life of the school community with access to examples of learning material, concerts and public lectures featuring staff, students and keynote speakers.

Please click here to download the iTunes U fact sheet.

How can I get PLC and Scotch College on iTunes U?

1. First of all, download iTunes (free) on your Windows PC or Mac computer, from http://www.apple.com/itunes/

2. Using a web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc.), go to: https://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/scotchplc.edu.au

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An Ecological Afternoon

Last Friday 4 September about 280 boys in Year 8 and 9 were involved in an afternoon of activities with an environmental focus. Boys were put into 5 groups partaking in either:

- Planting seedlings with Mr Barrett to help get the Kitchen Garden going,
- Maintaining tree guards and mulching around Lake Claremont,
- Interacting and exploring the concept of Sustainability with guest facilitator Jane Genovese from Live the Solution ( www.livethesolution.com),
- Watching the Leonardo DiCaprio 11 th Hour documentary ( www.11thhouraction.com), or
- Analysing the issues raised by the Story of Stuff short clip ( www.storyofstuff.com).

A Black Cockatoo was a surprise but welcome guest to one session to highlight the impact our decisions can unwittingly have on native fauna and flora. This enjoyable afternoon spent outdoors was perhaps cosmically blessed with spectacular weather.

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Athletics Season

Over the past fortnight the boys from the Senior School took part in the PSA Inter-School Athletics, and Quadrangular Athletics Carnivals.

On Friday 4 September at Ern Athletics Complex in Cannington, Scotch proved far too strong on the track and field, blowing away its competitors in Guildford, Christ Church and Wesley to take out the Lynn Shield Quadrangular Athletic Carnival.

Unfortunately, the great heights reached by the Scotch boys could not be replicated at the PSA Inter-School Athletics Carnival held at the brand new WA Athletics Stadium in Perry Lakes on Friday 11 September. With wet and wild conditions the norm throughout the day, Scotch struggled to keep pace with the athletic prowess of Hale and Aquinas to finish in fourth position.

Final Standing for PSA Inter -School Athletics:

1 ^st Aquinas

2 ^nd Trinity

3 ^rd Hale

4 ^th Scotch

5 ^th Wesley

6 ^th Guildford

7 ^th Christ Church

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The Future and the PYP Exhibition

The Future is in our Hands was the overriding theme at this years PYP (Primary Years Programme) Exhibition. This theme was courageously undertaken by the Year 5 boys in Junior school and even more bravely mentored and facilitated by their teachers Andrea Goodison, Janet Lopez and Jo Gammage. The central idea the boys investigated this whole term was "How do the decisions we make regarding our energy consumption impact on the extent to which we can be a sustainable community?". A significant challenge with far reaching consequences!

Over the course of the term boys heard from guest speakers on sustainability, renewable energy, research and development in energy technologies, they conducted audits, researched their chosen focus question, created models, designed posters and made recommendations. The final products were impressive and insightful to say the least. The boys showed a commitment, engagement and decisiveness that belied their years. These ranged from ideas such as:

• Jacob, who suggested holding a 'PEarth' Hour (following the example of Earth Hour),
• Ben who went without meat for a week to prove a point about the Carbon intensity of meat production,
• Charlie and several others who looked at how to make homes more sustainable, and
• Lucas who wrote to the Headmaster suggesting that Scotch use solar power to heat the pool, only to find that the school was already making inroads into that very idea!

A particularly powerful reminder of how sustainability promotes interconnectedness in our community was Will Robertson's experience. Will went as far as to organise and conduct a "Green Day" in the Junior School to raise money which was then donated to local environmental not-for-profit group Millennium Kids (MK). MK has since invited Will to speak on their radio station about his experience and all the Year 5 boys to engage in their "Big Switch" program.

The entire PYP showcase this year was a wonderful demonstration and example of how the IB promotes global learning and helps educate students who are concerned and actively engaged in their communities. These leaders of tomorrow are today developing the skills they will need to meet the challenges that will inevitably confront the world in the 21st Century. Further, they are very evidently helping to counter and lower the impact of fears long held by social commentators and demographers crying out for greater active citizenship by the youth of today, such as this warning quote from Richard Louv who draws our attention to the following:

" If a geographic place rapidly changes in a way that demeans its natural integrity, then children's early attachment to land is at risk. If children do not attach to the land, they will not reap the psychological and spiritual benefits they can glean from nature, nor will they feel a long term commitment to the environment, to the place. This lack of attachment will exacerbate the very conditions that created the sense of disengagement in the first place - fuelling a tragic spiral in which our children and the natural world are increasingly detached".

Please click on the links below for more on Richard Louv's book and analysis of 'Nature Deficit Disorder' .

• Book Review
• Key Extracts

Congratulations to everyone involved on a wonderful celebration of IB learning!

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City to Surf 2009

Scotch College continues the recent trend of being well represented at Perth's biggest sporting community event.

This year's event broke record participation numbers, in addition to featuring the inaugural marathon course.

In total 71 students from the Senior School, Middle School and Junior School, as well as a contingent of staff and parents registered under the College banner to run / walk either the 42.6kms, 12km or 4kms courses. The event helped raise funds for the worthwhile cause that is Activ Foundation.

Some runners met at the College early on Sunday morning to share in the train ride to the starting line and the fun atmosphere of the day.

An additional contribution from the College community saw 13 boys from Keys House, supervised by Head of Boarding Mrs Marilyn Freitag, man one of the drink stations on the Marathon course along Crawley Drive.

With the precedent started last year, once again a well deserved hot dog 'snagger' was on offer at the finishing line, together with refreshments and chocolate treats (which didn't last long) thanks to the efforts of the School Catering staff.

The running results are indicative of some talent amongst the School community with several OSC in Neil Berry ('06), Christian Gerritsen ('08), Tom Kozak ('08), Tom Gatti ('08), all coming in the Top 100. Current Year 12 and Keys boy Tim Lefroy produced a blistering time of 43:48 to come 38th in general field and take 4th line honours for his age category, a superb performance. Tom Wallace was another Keys boy to come in the Top 100, as did Scotch student Alastair Henderson.

Brave staff to run under the Scotch banner included Mr Steve Davey, Mr Liam Sullivan and Ms Anna Simpson. Mr Aaron Gale successfully ran/walked/crawled his first marathon in a time of 4:35mins!

This was a great fun day out for all the staff and students alike.

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Inter-House Athletics Results

The Inter-House Athletics Carnival was recently held on the Scotch Playing Fields. After two days of hard fought competition, the final standings for the Inter-House Athletics 2009 were:

Place	House	Points
1st	Keys	1975
2nd	Alexander	1847
3rd	St Andrews	1604
4th	Stuart	1569
5th	Ferguson	1525
6th	Brisbane	1484
7th	Cameron	1420
8th	Anderson	1414
9th	Ross	1357
10th	Shearer	1221

New School Records

Event	Winner	Time (seconds)
U/14 400m	Will Boulden	59.47
U/16 400m	Nic Simpson	53.56
U/17 4x100m	Keys	46.52

Marching Results

1st	Ross
2nd	Keys
3rd	Stuart
4th	Brisbane
5th	Shearer
6th	Cameron
6th	St Andrews
7th	Ferguson
8th	Alexander
9th	Anderson

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Sounds of the Choir

On Wednesday 26 August the Year 1-7 boys participated in the inaugural Scotch College Choral festival in the Dickinson Centre.

The purpose of the festival is to promote singing at Scotch. Whilst encouraging all boys to participate and perform, the festival also gave the boys the opportunity to listen, and observe the strengths of other class's performances.

All the classes prepared two songs, both designed to highlight correct choral technique.

The judges were Mr David Coughlan, Head of Music at Scotch College, Mrs Chrissy Gamble, Headmistress of the Junior School and Mr Richard Ledger, Head of Middle School. The judges were assessing choirs on their ability to sing with correct pitch and intonation, maintain a pleasant tone and sing with attention to phrasing, diction, breathing and expression. The classes were also marked on their appearance and stage etiquette.

The class displaying the best musicianship was presented with the Choral Festival Shield. The winning class for 2009 was Year 4 W!

All classes received certificates of participation and adjudication reports.

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ABODA WA Schools' Music Festivals

Over two weekends in August the Scotch College/PLC Combined Chamber Orchestra and the Combined Wind Ensemble participated in their respective categories at the ABODA WA Schools' Festivals held at Perth Modern School.

The boys involved in these groups rehearsed every Friday afternoon at PLC under the professional guidance and expertise of Mr Ashley Arbuckle and Ms Amanda Johnson to prepare for these events.

While not a competition, adjudicators provide reports at the conclusion of the performances and award a grade indicative of the standard of achievement. BOTH ensembles attained top grading of OUTSTANDING.