Scotch College

The start of the new school yearPresident’s Column

What a pleasure it has been to attend a number of functions and witness first hand the enthusiasm with which new families have participated in many Scotch College events held so far this year, to welcome them to our School community.

There have been morning teas, the Welcome Service and the annual Year 7 Family Barbecue attended by many families of the 234 boys who have entered Year 7 and the 55 new boys in Years 8 to 11.

On behalf of the Scotch Parents' Association I extend my best wishes to all new boys and parents who join us in 2009. In addition to the regular curriculum, Scotch offers a wide range of extra-curricular activities which students make the most of. These sporting and special-interest clubs are supported by auxiliaries run by parents. It is their effort which supports the School in enabling the boys to enjoy the privilege of these activities.

I encourage all parents to participate in auxiliaries and in so doing make new friends themselves and get to know a little more about our School. New parents may learn, in fact, that Scotch never sleeps. Some of the wonderful extra-curricular activities on offer actually occur during the summer break. During December and January many boys were involved in cadet promotion courses, sporting camps, Scotch-At-Cowes and student exchange programs, many of which are reported on elsewhere in this Torch.

Congratulations to Nathan Su and Ayrton Eldridge on their appointments as School Captain and Vice-Captain and Hugh French, Hill Captain. We wish them and all Year 12 boys a happy and productive time as leaders of the School in their final year.

Our heartfelt sympathy and thoughts are with those in the Scotch and broader community so severely affected by the devastating Victorian Bushfires. The community response has been inspiring and I would encourage parents to support the School’s commitment to this effort through the recently established Scotch College Charitable Fund Bushfire Appeal. Donations can be made online following the link on the Scotch website. The energy and efforts of the Junior School community saw numerous boxes of toiletries, mobile phones and sporting equipment delivered to both Whittlesea and Bendigo within days of the fires. Senior School boys have also been very busy with their collection tins and lunchtime fundraising activities.

Barb Hurley
PRESIDENT SCOTCH PARENTS' ASSOCIATION