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Term 2
Visitors to the hill
Archive
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Boarder Lines - PDF
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| 2007 | Term 2 (268 k) | |
| 2005 | Term 2 (816 k) | Term 3 (216 k) |
| 2004 | Term 2 (276k) | Term 3 (292k) |
| 2003 | Term 1 (216 k) | Term 4 (448 k) |
| 2002 | Term 2 (305 k) | |
| 2001 | Term 1 (1.1 m) | Term 2 (560 k) |
The heavens opened and one of Melbourne's fiercest storms in years welcomed all the boys back for the start of a new year. In spite of the deluge and the subsequent damage, it did little to dampen any spirits and 150 Scotch boarders, including 44 new boys, settled in to their home on the Hill for the 2004 academic year. Welcome to the new boys
The new boys started with their normal orientation tours of the School and the city over the first weekend. Many boys then took advantage of the opportunity to look at the School's archives where School Historian Dr Jim Mitchell gave an informative talk on the School's history, especially from a boarding perspective, and explained the many interesting articles on display. Charles Blanch, the son of Graham (School Captain, 1969) grandson of John (School Captain, 1938) and brother of present School Prefect Sam was especially fascinated to learn about his family's long association with the School.
After a busy week it was then off to Cowes for the New Boys Orientation Weekend.
Cowes is a great place to have some fun, make new friends and try lots of new activities. With the aid of our enthusiastic Activities Officer, Mr Tim Bence, the boys had a great time enjoying the beach, sports and games and making the most of the camp's facilities. It was a very quiet bus trip on the way back to Scotch on Sunday night.
It was our pleasure also to welcome two new staff to the Hill.
Nick Waters is joining Chris Appel's team as a tutor in School House. Nick left Scotch in 1999 and has been a familiar figure around the School over the last few years as he has helped out in the Maintenance Department and more especially with that wonderful mentor, boatman Mr Bob Lachal, at the rowing sheds. Nick is a very keen swimmer and triathlete as well as a fine academic as he is completing his honours history degree at Melbourne University. Tom Bridges has been a welcome addition to Mr Tony Glover's team in McMeckan. Tom has had some previous experience in boarding, helping out at Geelong College last year. He is now studying to be a teacher after completing his Bachelor of Business Degree at RMIT. At the end of 2003 we farewelled Sister Rosemary Cations. Rosemary had been our Sister-in-Charge of the Boarders Sick Bay for the past 15 years. Her presence there had been reassuring to us all and on a number of occasions she had to deal with some serious issues. However, after a lot of thought. The School has decided to re-structure the services offered by the Sick Bay without compromising the health care of the boys. All of us on the Hill thank Sister Cations very much for her service over the years and wish her all the very best for the future.
Sister Barbara Diack continues in her role as our weekend sister and during the week we have two shifts during the day from 8.00 am to 9.00 pm staffed by Division 2 nurses. At night, if necessary, agency nurses can be called in to assist with any care of sick boys overnight. Dr Stephen Jelbart continues on in his role as our School Doctor, conducting two regular surgeries each week, assisted by Sister Diack and being on call at other times. Mrs Lorraine Whittingham has been appointed as our regular Day Nurse.
During the term, Mr Jan Honnens undertook a four week exchange with the Raffles School in Singapore. Mr Kelvin Ng joined us from Raffles, staying on the Hill where we very much enjoyed his company for the four weeks. This is now a well established practice between the Maths Departments of the two schools and helps invigorate ideas and learning for the pupils and staff of the two institutions. While Jan was away, Mr Lachie Fairbairn, a well known and very popular figure on the Hill, filled in most capably as he has done in the past.
We thank Lachie for his extra commitment on top of his normal duties assisting with support of our IT facilities.
One of the world's top young organists, Mr Clive Driskill-Smith, was a special guest for a week prior to the end of term. Clive is the organist at Christ Church Oxford. He was a special guest of the School to help "christen" the School's magnificent new organ which has recently been set up in the Memorial Hall. We were privileged to be able to hear a number of his recitals that he performed for the Scotch family and boys of the School. He also gave some time to teaching aspiring young organists, two of whom are boys from the Hill. David Dower is a very talented young musician who is already helping out with organ playing in the Chapel along with John Au who is also a fine pianist and occasional organ player in the Chapel. Both boys benefited a great deal from Clive's expertise.
During Term 2 Mrs Jen Thomson and her husband, Stuart, are taking leave to travel in Europe. It is like a belated honeymoon for Jen and Stuart who were married at the end of last year. They have a fabulous trip planned with Jen being able to indulge in her love of Italy and the Italian language, and catch up with friends overseas including ex Hill staff member Faye Leong who is now living in Istanbul.
To replace Jen we are very pleased to be able to secure the services of Mr Chris Beechey. Chris is no stranger to boarding as he has spent some years helping at Xavier's boarding house. As well as teaching Science and Biology, he has coached rowing, cross country running, athletics and football. He has recently been appointed Master in Charge of Cross Country. He is also very much involved with the outdoors, helping out with the Year 9 Outdoor Expedition Program. Chris and his wife, Tamara, have recently returned from a year's travelling and teaching in Canada and the United Kingdom. I am sure Chris will be a great asset to the Arthur Rob team and we look forward to welcoming Chris and Tamara to the Hill.
Mr George Halls, who has assisted boys in the Boarders' Workshop on a Friday night for 25 years, has decided to retire. George has been an inspiration to countless numbers of boys looking for a practical outlet away from the mental rigours of school life. They have been able to immerse themselves in projects from making boxes to gates with the help of George's wide variety of skills and expertise. George has done many things in his life from being a fitter and turner, boat builder and photographer to inventing compressed natural gas containers. His wisdom, experience and passion for any new projects has helped inspire many a boy and he has been a wonderful mentor and confidant to many boys who have sought solace in the workshop. George will be greatly missed.
We are fortunate, however, to gain the services of Mr Graeme Boykett who has agreed to take over the workshop on a Friday night. Graham works in the craftroom at School and is a well known identity on the rowing scene where he has helped to launch many new boys' rowing careers. Only this year a number of our new Year 9s were coached by Graham for the first time and he was able to mould a crew starting from scratch that won convincingly at Nagambie. Graham is also a great SCUBA diving enthusiast and runs the SCUBA Club at the School. Mr Keith Stevenson continues in his role as our Sunday afternoon instructor in the Boarders' Workshop.
We are very fortunate to be served by some terrific Hill Leaders who not only do a great job in their respective houses assisting the staff but serve as great role models and mentors to the younger boys. Their role is crucial in developing a positive and happy atmosphere in their houses and maintaining healthy morale on the Hill. Leading this group is the highly respected and popular figure of Hill Captain from Arthur Rob, Tom Gherardin. Tom is very much involved in school life as a School Prefect, fine sportsman and a senior cadet. In fact we have four other Prefects on the Hill in Vorapong Vadhanasindhu and Khachornwut Supasiti from School House and Todd Mitchell and Sam Blanch from McMeckan. School House is led by Hamish Robertson with his deputies Huw Critchley and Khachornwut. McMeckan is led by Michael Aylett and assisted by Ricky Read while Arthur Rob is captained by Gus Svenson and assisted by Jack McIlwraith. There is great spirit and pride in each of the Houses and one of their main focuses in galvanising this spirit is the Wedderburn Cup.
There was much expectation and excitement as competition began for the first round of the Wedderburn Cup for 2004. Both School and Arthur Rob were as keen to wrest the cup from McMeckan as the McMeckan boys were to retain it. Amidst a lot of friendly rivalry, competitions were held in swimming and diving on Friday night then cricket, tennis, badminton and volleyball were played on Sunday. The level of participation and spirit was very encouraging with the final scores leaving McMeckan slightly in front from School and Arthur Robinson.
Sport forms an important part of the life of the boys at Scotch and all boarders are expected to get involved and play regular sport for the School. There is a wide variety of sports on offer and it is a great way of getting involved and feeling part of the place and soaking up that unique Scotch spirit. Boarders traditionally are great contributors in the senior sporting teams and this term was no exception. Dean Scheetz and Andrew Bubb were regular members of the 1st XI Cricket team while the Johns brothers, Daniel and Nicholas, along with James Lynch and Wil Vigors competed in the swimming team. Tom Gherardin, Hamish Robertson, Jason Goldsworthy and Alex Jackson (vice captain) all played Touch Rugby and Aaron Brown (captain) and Rob Templeton were key members of the squash team. Jamie Robertson and Geoffrey Lee also competed in the table tennis team. One of the highlights of the term was the performance of the badminton team who were joint winners of the competition. The Hill was well represented with Aseem Batra and Mun Soo. Undoubtedly though the great story was our Head of the River victory at Nagambie and the Hill was proudly represented by Sandy Machin (stroke) and Richard McDonald (7) from Arthur Robinson House. Two busloads of boarders went along to support them and cheered them on in a thrilling finish to defeat Carey. Rowing is a tremendous sport and a huge commitment with all the training and sacrifices involved but the effort was all worth it and our hearty congratulations go to Sandy and Richard. Arthur Rob was well represented in the senior crews with Gus Svenson and Charlie Speer also in the 4ths. In fact there is very good participation across all year levels in rowing and it is especially pleasing to see the keen group of budding young novice rowers in Year 8 and 9 which augurs well for the future.
At the initiative of Tom Gherardin, the boys of Scotch Boarding have organised a social gathering with the girls of Merton Hall. It was decided to split into two groups with the senior members from Years 10 to 12 visiting Merton Hall for netball followed by a barbecue. Years 7 to 9 girls venturing to Scotch for activities and games and then pizza. Is was a great success and there was general agreement to continue with such activities and contact between the two schools.
PLC conducted a social later in the term which was very well attended and much enjoyed by the boys.
Dancing classes commence this Term, as usual on a Thursday night in the annexe with Dalmaine Dance Studios conducted by Cush and Mike Phillips. All Year 10 boys are expected to be involved. They will be joined by girls from MLC, Fintona and Korowa. The classes are great fun and very well run and give our boys an opportunity not only to meet some lovely girls, but to learn a few dance steps as well.
The climax of the sessions is the Dinner Dance held at Tudor Court on Thursday August 19. This is a very special occasion and parents are most welcome to attend.
Due to the frenetic activities of Term 1, Mr Tim Bence has only had one opportunity to visit the Lodge with a group of boys. However he has been busy organising other activities on the weekends, including excursions during the closed weekend involving indoor rockclimbing, 10 pin bowling, the Motor Show, the cinema and later a trip to Farmworld, Warragul, with a group of boys. An exciting challenge lies ahead for our community in developing the property at Mansfield. A tremendous amount of work has been done over the years by boys and parents in improving the facilities at the Lodge. We now face the task of improving the surrounding property. Over 16 hectares has been cleared of pine suckers and the area is now ready for planting back to native bush. The School has been very supportive of our plans to revegetate the area back to natives after the previous owners had harvested a pine plantation. With the expertise of Boarders Parents' Association President, Mr Stuart Sizer, we have had extensive discussions with Department of NRE representatives. Building on the reports of previous committees and expert advice, we have agreed that this is the way forward for the property but there is a lot of work involved and we are looking at a 5 year plan to achieve our goals. Stuart is ready to go, having propagated seedlings at his nursery in Deniliquin, so now it is a matter of harnessing the boys and parents to get up to the property on working bees to plant up the trees.
One of the great events on the Scotch calendar is the 24 Hour Hike.
It is quite inspiring to see over 100 exhausted young lads trudging through the bush pushing their bodies to the limit for up to 24 hours in order to raise funds for charity. We were again very well represented this year and it was very fitting to see one of the boys from the Hill, Ed Nunn, winning the Michael Achurch award for the most kilometres achieved by a Year 9 (86 km). Michael was a former Head of House of Arthur Robinson who was the instigator of the 24 Hour Hike, first started nearly 40 years ago. Ben Jasper in Year 12 is also to be congratulated on his wonderful achievement in breaking the 100 kilometre barrier.
The School ensures that the boys on the Hill are given every opportunity to get help with their studies. It can be quite daunting for a new boy to not only cope with boarding and living away from home but also to keep on top of their academic work which can be quite demanding. Resident staff on the Hill are all available to give assistance where possible but we are fortunate to also be able to call on the expertise of three specialised teachers from School in Mr Bradley Wells, Head of English, Mr Ian Banks, Mathematics and Mr David Brown, Mathematics on a regular basis. Ian comes up on Monday nights for 2 hours, David on Tuesday nights and Bradley on Wednesday nights. The tutorials are aimed at boys in years 9 and 10 but older boys are most welcome to attend by prior arrangement. It is an excellent service and wonderful opportunity so boys are encouraged to attend on a regular basis.
A very successful evening was held for all parents at the start of term. The dinner was a very dignified and happy occasion held in the Cardinal Pavilion. The setting looked superb, thanks to the work of our enthusiastic committee and we all enjoyed an excellent meal. Later we were enthralled by Mr Hugh Cuthbertson from Cheviot Bridge, Murrindindi, who spoke about the wine industry. The BPA is organising another function on Mother's Day, Sunday 9 May, at the Tennis Courts by the Cardinal Pavilion, involving a barbecue followed by tennis with Mums and Dads and their sons.
Following on from the successful visit of the Tiwi Islanders last year, we are again hosting two boys; Rocky Kerinaua and Joseph Pilakui, from Bathurst Island for the Term.
They have also been joined this year by the Rioli cousins, Stephen and Cyril, from Darwin.
Scotch is reciprocating some of the hospitality shown to our boys (pictured above) during the recent Football Tour to Darwin and the Tiwi Islands. Hill Sportsmen
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Mr Chris Appel |
9810 4282 |
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Duty Room |
9810 4307 |
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Boys' Phone |
9810 4337 |
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Mobile |
0438 810 415 |
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Mr Tony Glover |
9810 4283 |
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Duty Room |
9810 4306 |
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Boys' Phone |
9810 4339 |
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Mobile |
0438 810 418 |
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Mr Chris Braithwaite |
9810 4285 |
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Duty Room |
9810 4308 |
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Boys' Phone |
9810 4335 |
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Mobile |
0438 810 4191 |
Mansfield Working Bee A Great Success ... 40 Tonnes of Back Fill Shifted Manually in 4 hours
The weekend of 18 June saw 17 enthusiastic workers put in a tremendous effort to move 40 tonnes of back fill by wheelbarrow and build a parking bay in front of the Gordon Owen Lodge. With the aid of railway sleepers, steel posts and old railwayline, a retaining wall was built into the 45( slope and the backfilling and levelling was then undertaken. Led by that tireless worker and great Mansfield stalwart, David Knight, Noel and Toby Stringer, Robert and Henry Bugge, Ian and Andrew Fuller, Larry and Sean Fitzpatrick, Barry, Jenny and Ben Batters and George Tsindos laboured tenaciously for 4 hours to complete the task.
However it was not all work and Hilton Munro spoilt us all with magnificent catering and hospitality. The meal on Saturday night was superb and was worthy of any 5 star restaurant.
There was great conviviality and much jocular story telling and speech making. I am sure everyone very much enjoyed the weekend.
The weekend also gave us an opportunity to look over the property. Two former presidents of the Boarders' Parents Association, John Jones and Ron Doherty came up for the afternoon. Unfortunately Max Jelbart had a longstanding commitment and could not be with us, otherwise the current president would have joined the former presidents in John and Ron and David Knight. Once the fog lifted it turned into a magnificent day; ideal for inspecting the full 360 acres, which the school has recently acquired.
Big challenges lie ahead as approximately 100 acres has recently been harvested from a pine forest. This has left quite a lot of destruction and a considerable scar on the landscape. To further compound the situation, pine suckers up to 2 metres high have sprouted everywhere.
A working committee consisting of Max Jelbart, David Knight, John Jones, Ron Doherty, Hilton Munro and Doug Galbraith has been formed at the instigation of our Bursar, Mr Neil Roberts. Its brief is to investigate the options of what to do with the land, carry out feasibility studies and engage expert advice. Already we are indebted to Mr Terry Murphy of Gundermain Station who has given up considerable amount of his time and expertise in assisting us with the way forward. He has considerable contacts in the area and vast experience and suggested we engage a firm of forestry consultants, BC and KE Ryan, who have already produced a preliminary report. In the short term the road needs to be graded and the fencing established. There is great support from the school and the Hill community for the whole concept and everyone is excited by the future prospects and potential of the property.
Tumanako Tinirah joined us for a term from the Wanganni Collegiate School in the North Island of New Zealand. "To" is our first visitor in what will be a yearly exchange between Scotch and Wanganni Collegiate. His counterpart, Oliver Cronin of Year 10 is enjoying his term at Collegiate. The bursary was made available by Mr John Preston, an old boy of Collegiate who was great friends with Mr Hal Manson who attended Scotch in the 1920's. In recognition of their friendship he has established a trust where a Year 10 Scotch boy would exchange with the equivalent age in New Zealand. The opportunity will be made available to any Year 10 boy, unfortunately no boarders applied this year.
"To" being a boarder, himself and living in Wellington has spent his term in School House and looked after by James Fuller and Sam Elliot in their dormitory.
He has been a tremendous ambassador for his school and country and has involved himself in all the activities with great enthusiasm. He has enjoyed his hockey with the 3rd XI and he has sung in the School choir as a tenor, the highlight being a recent second place in the Boroondara Eisteddfod. He has also relished his trips to Sovereign Hill and Point Lonsdale and watching AFL Football. His host family, the Cronins follow the mighty Bombers. We have appreciated very much having him on the Hill and sharing some of his proud Maori culture. He has been much impressed by the overall friendliness and warmth of his welcome. I would encourage any Year 10 boarder to apply next year. Wanganui Collegiate is a magnificent school and has an envied reputation as one of New Zealand's most famous schools.
Talking of famous schools, it has been our pleasure to also host for the last few weeks two boys from the Raffles School in Singapore. Over the last 4 years Scotch has set up a very productive exchange relationship with the Raffles School both with teachers and students. David Brown, a tutor in School House was there for 3 weeks in Term 1. Raffles is a top academic school in Singapore renowned for its fine students.
Goh Jicke and Huang Huanmin both Year 10, have been staying in Arthur Rob. Here they met up with a former schoolmate from last year, Nicholas Chong who is currently in Arthur Rob. Nicholas has been an excellent host and mentor to the boys along with all the other lads on the Hill, who have made the boys very welcome.
Our boys have been doing their share of traveling. Jack Mahoney, Tom Christopherson, James Bowes and John Cooper were in a party of 16 Scotch boys who trekked in Nepal over the Term 1 holidays. Led my Mr Ken Wheat and Mr Ken James the party hiked for 16 days from Lukla to Lala Patar above the Everest base camp reaching a height of 5545m. The boys loved the experience and brought back some great photos and magnificent memories.
Ed Clark and Sam Elliot have recently embarked on the Cricket and Tennis tour of England. Ed is an excellent tennis player having played No. 2 in the Scotch 1st VIII. He is also a top footballer and was rewarded with a berth in the 1st XVIII against Caulfield Grammar. Sam also excels as a fine all round sportsman. He is a single figure handicap golfer, fine footballer and very promising cricketer. Unfortunately his cricket season was interrupted this year by injury, but he will bamboozle the poms with his leggies and impress with his all round abilities. Both boys will be superb ambassadors for Scotch and the Hill.
The concept of the closed weekend was modified somewhat this term. Activities were confined to the sports on Sunday afternoon. Games of junior and senior hockey were played between the houses along with games of open hockey. The matches were keenly fought and played with good spirit. Again it was all very even with nothing separating the 3 houses in the race for the Wedderburn Cup.
The highlight of the afternoon was the Tug o War. Who said our boarders are under nourished and underfed. 30 boys from School and McMeckan took up the scrum on a rope as thick as a goal post, but it was not strong enough for the might of our lads. It promptly snapped in the middle and bodies sprawled everywhere. In spite of Mr Holding's best Sydney/Hobart knot; it again snapped. So unfortunately it had to be postponed. Mr Bain is looking for a suitable steel cable
It is not all fun and games on the Hill . We are very proud of our boys academic achievements. We like to think every lad can achieve to his full academic potential and be provided with educational opportunities he may not have attained elsewhere, thus achieving a better overall result.
Brian Loh of Arthur Rob was Dux of the Hill for 1999. Brian achieved an outstanding ENTA score of 99.7 which earned him a place in Medicine at Melbourne University and a scholarship to Ormond College. Brian was a great all rounder at Scotch having played Badminton and Soccer and being an enthusiastic contributor to all the activities on the Hill.
Three of our boys also excelled themselves by receiving Premiers Awards for outstanding achievement in individual subjects. Even more meritorious was the fact that they were achieved as Year 11 students. Jack Mahoney and Cam McPherson, Environmental Studies and Adam Braithwaite, Geography.
For the first time we have 2 brothers boarding in Arthur Rob from Bangladesh. Ferduus and Tushar Wahab from Year 11 and 10 have travelled half way across the world to be at Scotch and both have impressed us with how well they have settled in. Ferduus is to be congratulated on being asked to attend a series of lecture on genetics at Melbourne University with a group of gifted Science students from the school. Dane Reid from School House is also a member of this group
Being an Olympic year a Boarderlines publication would not be complete without a mention of our two Hill Olympians who will be representing Australia at the Sydney Olympics. Drew Ginn is already one of our most famous sportsman . Having won a Gold medal at Atlanta with the 'oarsome foursome' Drew is vying for a double in the pair with James Tompkins. Drew only commenced rowing in Year 11 at school then progressed to the 1st VIII in the following year where the crew won the Head of the River in 1992. Drew was a boarder in School House, his family living at Inverloch. He was an outstanding sportsman at Scotch gaining 1st Colours in Rowing, Basketball, Football and Athletics.
Dean Pullar has been a magnificent diver for Australia for many years having represented his country at Commonwealth Games and World Championships. In fact he won a Bronze medal at the recent world titles. This is Dean's first Olympics and a fitting reward for his years of dedicated training. Dean was a boarder in Arthur Rob from 1985-90. His mother had been an outstanding diver and she was a great inspiration not only to Dean but to a number of Scotch boys who she took under her wing and it was really through her efforts that diving came of age at Scotch. The Pullars are well known orchardists in the Cobram area.
We endeavour to provide a variety of activities on the Hill not least of which are cultural events and entertainment. During the term Evonne Bills and Hunter McWhinney took a group of boys to a Saturday afternoon performance of "Snow Business" a Russian play brought here for the Comedy Festival. The lads were joined at the theatre by some girls from MLC who also watched the performance and later they all embarked to McDonald's and while munching on a Big Mac they gave their critique of the play. It was a most enjoyable afternoon and much appreciated by the boys and girls who attended.
We are establishing very worthwhile 'liaisons' with the MLC boarders (at a cultural and sporting level). The MLC girls invited our boys over for a game of netball. Quite a few spectators also attended as trainers, coached etc. Again it was a great success and we are keen to further these types of pursuits.
Dancing Classes have very successfully got under way at the Dalmaine Dance Studios in Mangarra Road Canterbury. All our Year 10 boys attend and they are joined by girls from MLC, Korowa and Fintona. Under the watchful eye of Cush Phillips they are learning some valuable dancing lessons and most importantly having a lot of fun with it. A reminder that the Dinner Dance to which all parents are invited is on Friday 1 September at Tudor Court.
Following on from our successful doorknock for Red Cross in Term 1, 40 boys braved some freezing conditions to doorknock for the Salvation Army in the Red Shield Appeal held on Sunday, 28 May.
Bert Healey, the long time organiser of the event was very pleased with the boys' efforts and came to dinner to congratulate the lads on raising nearly $2000.
We are disappointed that there are some boys who feel they are indestructible and admit to being regular smokers. Steve Holding, Chris Appel and Tony Glover are co-ordinating a campaign in each of their houses to spread a positive message from "Quit" on how to give up smoking. A letter is attached outlining the proposal.
