Scotch College

A land - and a School where opportunity knocks

Opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss. (Anon)

You often hear it said that Australia is the ‘land of opportunity’. I am in no doubt that life at Scotch also presents many chances to grasp the numerous opportunities presented each day.

It was exciting to watch the Australian Socceroos compete in the World Cup, an opportunity only experienced by one other Australian soccer team in history. What a fantastic opportunity for those players, and how proud were those of us watching their magnificent achievements! (We will not mention their unfortunate exit from the competition.)

For the boys and staff of the Junior School, similar opportunities have been presented and taken both here and abroad.

During the Term 2 vacation, three Junior School staff grasped the opportunity to present at international conferences held overseas. Mrs Margaret Sheldon (Educational Support) and Mr Ian Leith (Head of Sport/PE) presented papers at the International Coalition of Boys’ Schools conference in Johannesburg, and Ms Jocelyn Pride presented a paper at the International Federation for Information Processing conference in Alesund, Norway. It is exciting to know that our own teachers are held in such high regard, and are presenting their leading edge approach to colleagues from around the world.

In addition, Ms Pride joined six Year 7 students (who were previously Junior School boys) as they competed in the World RoboCup championships in Berlin, Germany. This competition was held at the same time as the soccer World Cup, and the team finished in the top eight of the 26 countries competing, which was a magnificent achievement on the world stage.

Meanwhile, many Junior School boys have competed with great success in a variety of sports during the first half of the year.

The following boys are to be congratulated on their achievements at state level:

Like Australia, Scotch is a land of opportunity, and it is wonderful to see so many boys and staff continuing to make the most of everything presented to them.

Guy B Mason
Head of Junior School