Scotch College

Rugby squad heads to Perth

Over the 1st term holiday, a mix of 21 Year 11 and 12 Rugby Players, who were to form the core of the 1st XV Rugby Team, flew to Perth where they were billeted at Guildford Grammar.

This trip was an opportunity for the team to develop team cohesion and to re-learn basic ball skills. We were accompanied by 4 coaches, each giving up a week of their holiday to assist us.

We were greeted from the plane by the balmy WA weather, as well as by our surrogate parents, who helped us feel at home. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying the warmer weather and marvelling at our probable inability to play for extended periods of time in this climate.

The next day started with training at Guildford Grammar at 9 am and continued until 4 pm when we played against the current Year 12 and last year's 1st. Guildford's team dominated initially with aggression and physical play, allowing them to score 4 tries in the first quarter. After the initial shock, we held them off our try line.

We trained again the next day in preparation for the game against Wesley College, Perth that night. It was a closer game, with the strong winds and an approaching thunderstorm putting both teams off and making any set moves and passes difficult.

On the fourth day of our tour, we visited Rottnest Island, a small beach edged island with warm water, hidden and beautiful coves and delightful views. The day was relaxingly passed as we enjoyed the warmth and the friendly natives of 'Rotto'.

The fifth day started at 1 pm as we began a slow long warm-up for our final match against Guildford Grammar again. This was a tough match, punctuated by an unfortunate accident which left Adam Smith in hospital for a while. Despite valiant defence from both sides, countered by fast and fluid play, the score was level 2 minutes to go. After a ball handling error, a scrum was set with Guildford's feed. They won the ball and started an intense passage of play, culminating in a try in the literal last minute of the game.

The tour to Perth was a rewarding experience that has definitely assisted the 1st XV team to its current third placing in the ladder, with a chance to reach the finals. On behalf of the Tour Team, I would like to thank all the coaches for organising and helping to train us to reach the standard we can now play at.

Year 12 Drama class makes history

A group of 12 students are adding their own chapter of history to Scotch College, for this year they represent the first Drama class ever at Year 12.

Since the introduction of VCE to this state, Drama has grown as a subject at the senior level, and many students throughout Victoria have been drawn to the nature of its content. Some aspiring to careers in the performing arts, while others are attracted by its skills in communication and its development of the individual.

The Drama programme at Scotch involves compulsory learning at Year 7 and 8 after which time it becomes an elective in Years 9 and 10. Last year, Units 1 & and 2 were offered, which continued into Units 3 & 4 this year. These current students are both committed and passionate about what it offers at this level.

Like other Year 12 subjects, Drama has a series of three Common Assessment Tasks, two of which are performance related, while the other is an 1800 word analysis of a professional theatre production. At this stage they have already completed their Solo Cat, which is a character based monologue in front of three Board of Studies assessors. We await the results.

Many of these boys have had extensive performance experience via a number of school productions and half of the group were a successful part of the recently held fund raising launch for the James Forbes Academy. Their version of Tom Stoppard's 'Fifteen Minute Hamlet' was a real highlight. This class are at the cutting edge of Drama at Scotch College and their involvement as students of the subject and in the various school productions have helped raise the profile of this developing area of the curriculum. This augurs well for our anticipated move into the James Forbes Academy.

Mr. David Mustafa, Year 12 Teacher