In this issue

Natasha Paganin | Equestrian Captain

The SCOTS PGC Equestrian Team has been preparing for one of the biggest interschool events of the year, The 2021 Hygain Queensland Interschool State Championships. The team has shown an excellent level of commitment to their lessons with our in-house instruction team as well as with David Finch and Hillary McGregor-Potter to polish their skills.

Last weekend two of our team members, Lucy Jackson and Gabby Sellick, headed to the North West Equestrian Expo in Coonabarabran to compete in the eventing category. Congratulations to you both!

Some of our campdrafters headed out to Goodwood Equine for lessons under the careful instruction of Angie Innes in areas of horsemanship, camp, course and tracking. Everyone had a great time and learned some incredible skills to get their horses ready for the first ever SCOTS PGC Highschool Campdraft.

Here are the results from last weekend:

North West Equestrian Expo in Coonabarabran: 5- 6 June

Lucy Jackson: 80cm Eventing Overall – 8^th

Gabby Sellick: 80cm  Eventing Overall – 7^th

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Mrs Christine Peterson | Head of Library Services

We all lead busy lives, and things get in the way, but finding twenty minutes each day to read to a child or yourself can make a huge difference. Children who read for just twenty minutes per day see 1.8 million words each year and have scores on standardised tests in the 90^th percentile (because they have experienced so many words!). Compare this with the child who reads for just 1 minute per day; they only see 8000 words each year and have scores in the 10^th percentile on standardised tests. A small amount of reading each day makes an incredible difference! (Nagy and Herman, 1987).

The benefits of reading just twenty minutes per day are immense; it builds empathy, creates a strong vocabulary, and has positive impacts on your mental and physical health.

Reading 20 minutes a day has benefits for the health and strength of your brain. Reading is a complicated process, and as you read, your brain changes. When you read, your mind creates new circuits and connections. As your reading skills grow, these connections in the brain get more substantial and complex (Hague, 2021). In one study, using brain scans over several days as participants read a novel, studies showed an increased level of brain activity as participants became more engaged with the story.  These effects were not short term, as after the novel was finished, scans showed that the brain continued to increase in connectivity even days later.

Reading every day for an average time of twenty minutes will increase your vocabulary.  With research extending over 20 years, studies demonstrate a common link between vocabulary and career success. An extensive vocabulary plays a part in helping our short-term memory. Once we know and understand a word, it lightens the load on our working or short-term memory.

Reading is good for our health; it reduces stress and helps us to sleep better. By reading for twenty minutes at bedtime rather than engaging with social media and technology before sleep, we will sleep better. An added bonus for those of us who are not a school student anymore – reading each day has been shown to reduce the effects and onset of dementia.

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STEM – A Night of ‘Light’ Jazz | Can you help out?

Our STEM students are putting together a fantastic light show which will be programmed to the tunes of jazz music.  The show is set to take place during the Jumpers and Jazz festival on our College tennis courts.  Visitors will be able to drive their cars to this venue and take in this amazing performance.

On the night, parent volunteers will be helping out with traffic control and selling food – sausages and soup will be available at the rear of the chapel.

If you are able to help with ‘traffic control’, please click on the link below and choose one of the 4 nights.  Just bring a torch, and we will provide the Hi-Vis vests.

volunteersignup.org/LDB8P

 

YR 10 – 12 CAREERS’ EXPO – GUEST PARENT PRESENTERS.

The College will be holding a Careers’ Expo for students in Years 10-12 on the 12 July at school in the Assembly Hall from 6:00-8:00pm. Richard Dobrenov is coordinating the evening and is looking for parents willing to talk about their career and pass on valuable experiences to the students.

The format of the evening would be:

• Brief welcome and introduction from Richard
• Each speaker would have 5-10 minutes to speak about their career, what it entails, how to get into it and other information.
• Once the speakers have finished, they would move to different areas around the hall for individual question and answer time.

This is a wonderful opportunity to expose students to various career options. If you can help, please email Richard – Richard.Dobrenov@scotspgc.com.au

 

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Miss Katelyn Woodbine | Drama Teacher

Last Friday evening, the Senior Drama class took an exciting trip to Toowoomba to watch the notorious play ‘Oedipus the King’. USQ’s third year acting students presented an engaging production which had the audience both gasping and laughing. The students enjoyed spending some quality time together at dinner and the performance and are already looking forward to their next outing.

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Please note, the Uniform Shop will be closed from Wednesday 16 June through to Friday 25 June.

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Mrs Melissa Bellingham | VET Co-ordinator

Last week, 18 of our Certificate III in Hospitality, Tourism and Business students from Years 11 & 12 attended a two-day H.O.T.E.L School at Sea World Nara Resort on the Gold Coast accompanied by Mrs Melissa Bellingham and Hospitality Teacher Kirsten Fisher (Aurora Training Institute).

During this program, students were able to experience first-hand operations and the skills required to work in an award winning four-star hotel environment. The students were split into groups to engage in interactive learning sessions and perform practical skills whilst gaining a sound knowledge and understanding of hotel operations. This was a fantastic opportunity for our Hospitality students to expand their knowledge base with applied duties in key departments such as Housekeeping, Front Office, Concierge, Food and Beverage, including both preparation and service and Hotel Maintenance department.

We were also very fortunate to be given the opportunity on the second day, along with other guests at the hotel, to attend a behind the scenes Dolphin Training demonstration before the theme park opened to the public.  I would have to say this was probably one of the highlights of the trip.

At the conclusion of the two-day program, the students were presented with a Certificate of Attendance.  Sofia Marosi was presented with the Star Performer Award; this is awarded to the student who was recognised throughout the program to exhibit some of Sea World Nara’s core values, including enthusiasm, punctuality, exceptional grooming, outgoing personality, helpfulness and engagement.

All in all, it was a fantastic opportunity for our Hospitality students to have access to this experience as part of their Certificate III studies and we look forward to participating in the program in years to come.

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Mr Mark Richards | Director of Learning and Innovation.

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is bitterest.” – Confucius

As the artic blast sweeps in from the south, the nights draw on and the frost sparkles in the morning light, it is a time of reflection at SCOTS PGC College.  Feedback and reflection are an essential part of the learning process, not just in schools, but for every lifelong learner.  Without constructive criticism, it is very difficult to identify areas for improvement.  For a learning community it is a vital cog; being able to use feedback proactively and being tenacious enough to keep going, despite setbacks, enabling us to work towards academic and personal excellence.

This reminds me of my favourite inventor and engineer, Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb.  Edison placed great importance on reflection, seeing each failure as an opportunity to learn something new about the problem and about himself.  This was the key to his success and eventual breakthrough.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas A. Edison

Self-reflection is a humbling process as often we are our greatest critic.  However, it is essential to find why you think, say and do certain things.  This informs and inspires us to better ourselves.  There would be no iPhone if Steve Jobs had not been able to reflect and improve himself after he was fired as CEO of Apple.  No moon landing for Apollo 11 if the NASA engineers had not reflected and improved on the Apollo missions 1 through 10.  Large companies like Google and Microsoft devote whole divisions tasked with asking one question, “how can we improve?”

Here at SCOTS PGC College, we see this reflection and self-improvement as a core skill and after every assessment item, there is an opportunity for students to gain feedback from their teachers and reflect on their own learning.  Students are encouraged to set goals for the future and to make improvements for next time.  It is in this self-reflection that the most powerful learning happens and resilience is developed.  This is especially important to remember when students receive their end of semester reports over the holidays and attend Parent-Teacher and SET Plan interviews at the start of next term.  Every time we receive feedback it is a learning opportunity.

 “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas A. Edison

Finally, let me take this opportunity to update you on a few things over the coming months.  Firstly, the Travel Day at the beginning of Term 3, will encompass Parent-Teacher interviews and Year 10 SET Plan interviews. This is an opportunity for the students to reflect on where they are at and plan for Year 11.

As part of our own reflective practice and drive to improve, we will also be sending out a subject review survey for Year 11 and 12 subjects.  The aim is to gain feedback about our community’s thoughts on our current suite of offerings and if there is anything we need to add.  If you have any questions about anything to do with the curriculum at SCOTS, please do not hesitate to get in contact.  I hope everyone has a restful and happy holiday.

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