Scotch College

2005 - the best year we'll ever have

Given free reign to write a piece is both exciting and daunting. With the opportunity to fill a page in Great Scot magazine, I am reminded of a daily, typically Scotch, occurrence: the open-ended challenge laid before us. Every day, in every way, each member of the Scotch community will be challenged.

From a student’s perspective it begins right from the first day – the challenge to meet new boys and new friends in Year 7; the first creative task for an English student; for a quieter boy, the first audition for a school play, and for a louder boy, the first reprimand to pipe down! The trials of a Scotch boy from here on multiply as school life complicates and deeper personal growth ensues.

But endless challenges face the wider, perpetual school community as well. A Year 7 teacher stands before 20 minds who are oblivious to the workings of algebra. The middle-school play director sits in front of a script and a willing cast. In the car on the way to the oval, a father explains the finer points of opening the batting. And a reverend stands in a pulpit, hundreds of young minds looking up at him ready for sermon, guidance and prayer.

The interaction of challenged individuals – teacher and student, new boy and old boy – and the cooperative undertaking this implies removes any limits to fulfilment and achievement, and the exceptional spirit of Scotch wins through.

The continuous progress of the school itself relies on the mutual nature of these challenges and the dynamic spirit with which they are undertaken. With this in mind, the next set of challenges present themselves as a whole year’s worth of work and fulfilment. In the first address to the school, I finished with a statement which sounded corny but was meant with sincerity: ‘… think of it like this – 2005 is the best year we’ve ever had. And we’re about to have it.’ This by no means implied that success, growth or accomplishment were easily attainable. It was designed to create an awareness of the possibility of greatness and the enormous challenge that the year was already.

We, as a school community, will be continually challenged through the year, but the greatest trial of all will be to prove the above statement right. 2005 is the best year we’ll ever have. Let’s go have it.

CHRIS ANDERSON
School Captain