In this issue

Mr David Marriott | Head of Senior Boys’ Boarding

SCOTS PGC is a College of many strengths. These are apparent to me, as a relatively new staff member, on a daily basis. A strength in particular, is the application and commitment the boys are consistently showing toward their weekly academic homework time in boarding, or as we call it ‘prep’.

Over the past couple of weeks, our Years 8 and 9 boys have really focussed on having a clear plan for the work they want to complete during prep and remaining focused until the set tasks are completed. To assist the boys to reach their goals, they also have access to excellent staff tutors three times per week during our evening prep sessions. It is great to see the boys continue to work hard and apply themselves whilst also building and developing strong relationships with other students and staff.

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Mrs Susan Everson | Head of Girls Boarding

As we close out Week 4 of the Term, I’d like to take a moment to thank our boarding families who have been directly impacted by the persistence of COVID and the most recent restrictions that have been imposed.  Thank you for your patience, support and understanding.  We’d like to extend our best wishes to the girls who are currently in lockdown – we hope you’re back with us very soon… we miss you!

The current restrictions in South East Queensland have meant that we’ve had to make some changes to our Boarding Activities calendar.  Please be assured that the three boarding houses are working collectively to lock in some alternative activities.  We are pleased that this week’s activity, “Adopt-a-Boarder” weekend is going ahead.  Boarders from all houses are encouraged to visit and develop relationships within the SCOTS PGC community.  We can’t wait to share some news of your adventures.

As the term rolls by, our seniors are busy focusing on their final year of study and external exams.

Our senior cohort are great role models for our younger boarders, who are now settling into the new prep space.   We’re excited to share that during Week 5, the prep space will be further developed to include more study areas and ensure our boarding house is conducive to the academic learning needs of all our girls.

Finally, we are encouraging the girls to bring photos of themselves from home to display here at the boarding house. Please contact me directly (email is best) with photos that we can use to adorn the PGC walls.

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Mr Tom Bradbury | Assistant Director of Co-Curricular Activities

Border District Athletics

Next Tuesday, our College Track and Field team will take on the best of the Border District Schools at Hamilton Oval. We have assembled one of the strongest teams in recent years to contest this event and the upcoming Warwick All Schools Carnival, which is to be held here at Briggs Oval on 18 August. We wish all team members the very best at these events.

 

Southern Downs Athletics

Our 9-12-year-old athletes will contest the Southern Downs Athletics Carnival over the coming two Mondays.

On Monday 9 August, the 1500m events will be held here at SCOTS PGC and we have strong representation across the six races to be contested. Action starts at 3.45pm on Briggs Oval. The following Monday 16 August, the main carnival will be conducted at Allora State School, with track events from 80m through to 800m, and the field events of Long Jump, High Jump, Shot Put and Discus to be conducted for selection to the Southern Downs Team. We wish all students the best of luck at this event which will be the first of its kind for our 9, 10 and 11-year-old students after last year’s cancellations due to COVID.

 

Netball News

Our Senior Girls had a very exciting game, in particular, the two last quarters where they staged a solid fight back. They were down two shooters but put on a good team effort with all players contributing solidly. The final score of 24 to 35 to the HUSTLERS was not a true reflection of the effort by our Senior Netball Team.  Well done girls!

Our Junior Girls had a really strong first half on Tuesday night against Bandits.  The game provided lots of turn overs from the defensive combinations of Jekeira, Makybe and Lizzie, accurate shooting from Summer and Izzie and good team work through the centre court.  However, some wayward passes and diminished accuracy in the shooting circle in the second half, saw the score blow out to 34 v 17 to Bandits.

 

Senior School Hockey Team

Our Open competition was a wash out on Tuesday evening, but the Interschool competition saw the SCOTS 1 and SCOTS 2 Teams go head to head in a very tense affair.

SCOTS 2 took an early lead, with Ewan McFarland scoring first which was followed by a solid team goal, finished off by the ever-improving Rosalie Mauch. The game then settled into a solid defensive tussle between the two teams. Deep into the second half, SCOTS 1 clawed back into contention with a goal to Jekeira and then in the dying minutes Emma Bradbury snatched the equalizer to give us a fitting 2-2 draw between our teams.

The inclusion of new players Georgia Moody, Niamh Fender and Sophia Marosi proved a boon, with all three demonstrating skills beyond their experience. Jekeira Major linked up with Emma Bradbury to prove herself cool under pressure and slotted her first goal in the competition. Sophie Poole showed good skills and is improving also.

The more games we play, the better the teams are gelling but we still have a long way to go to be ready for the Darling Downs Schools Cup in Week 8 of this term. Will Angus was a real terrier, running relentlessly both in the midfield and up front. Ewan McFarland dominated on the ball for SCOTS 2 in the first half and did a power of work in defence.

 

Upcoming Events

• QCIS Athletics 10-19yrs | Friday 6 August POSTPONED
• Border District Athletics 13-19yrs | Tuesday 10 August
• Southern Downs Athletics 9-12yrs |Thursday 12 August
• Warwick All Schools 12-19yrs | Wednesday 18 August

 

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Mr Peter Collett | Cattle Club Co-ordinator

For the second year running, our Cattle Club members have been disappointed to learn that this year’s EKKA has once again been cancelled.  As most may know, the EKKA is the pinnacle event of the year for our Cattle Club.  Our young members have worked hard to refine their judging and parading skills, and the EKKA provides the platform for our students to showcase themselves amongst the best of the best.

However, all is not lost.  The Led Steers Carcass competition will still go ahead and we are pleased to share that we have five steers and one heifer in the race for this highly esteemed prize.  We should have the results sometime next week, so please stay tuned for more updates.

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Mrs Cheryl Paganin | Equestrian Coordinator

2021 SCOTS PGC Highschool Campdraft

Congratulations and thanks to all our competitors, parents, staff, volunteers and sponsors who assisted us in the delivery of our first SCOTS PGC Campdraft. Unfortunately, due to the escalation of COVID restrictions in South East Queensland last weekend, our event was reduced to one day of competition. However, in consultation with the ACA (Australian Campdraft Association) winners and prizes were able to awarded after the successful completion of one round.

The results are as follows:

JUNIOR DRAFT

1st          Grace Radke on Cherry                                                with a score of                 78

2nd        Jayne Sommerfield on Kitty Kat                               with a score of                 74

3rd         Gabby Newing on Kamaru Moonlight                  with a score of                 73 (SCOTS PGC)

4th         Madelon Weier on Styles                                           with a score of                 54 (SCOTS PGC)

5th         Belle Meek on Pretty Girl                                           with a score of                 46 (SCOTS PGC)

6^th           Taylah Rhodes on Bucky                                             with a score of                40

6th         Ruby Todd on BD Archie                                              with a score of                40

8th         Eva Hughes on Tex                                                         with a score of                39

 

JUVENILE DRAFT

1st          Rylee Turner on Reward                                              with a score of                 88

2nd        Cooper Lewis on Charlie                                              with a score of                83

3rd         Will Turner on Lethal Lover                         with a score of                 81 (SCOTS PGC)

3rd         Kash Turner on Derringer                                            with a score of                 81

5th         Jackson Halliday on Pop Omega                               with a score of                 80

5th         Casey-Lee Shelton on Sherry                                     with a score of                 80

7^th           Jill Radke on Corella                                                      with a score of                 78

7th         Jarvis Weaver on Blue Style                                       with a score of                 78

 

ASSOCIATE DRAFT

1st          Hanna McIvor on Fletcher’s Regal Annie             with a score of                 78

3rd         Kate Stanton on Ruby Rae                                          with a score of                 19

4th         Darcy Minnikin on Sterling                                          with a score of                 17

4th         Elise McGeary on Sonny                                              with a score of                 17

6th         Elise McGeary on Joey                                                  with a score of                 16

6th         Kate Stanton on Tucker                                                with a score of                 16

8th         Riley Griffiths on Cloud Nine Covergirl                  with a score of                 14

 

We are incredibly grateful to all of our generous supporters and sponsors for the weekend:

 

Cattle Donors:

Mark LawlorThe Roche Family

Pat McMahon

Kevin & Dianne Ryan

Dave & Tanya Peters

Brian Bourke

Scott & Bronwyn Christensen

David Brown

The Worboys Family

Cattle Transport:

Judd Bros

Francis Lyons Transport

 

Cattle Feed:                 Beebo Hay & Harvest

Announcer:                  Claire Cooper

Sponsors:

Supa Floats

Circle L

Invergarry Equine Centre (Moody Family)

Thompson Longhorn

Simone & Ben Seidel

Adam & Jodie Worboys

Jason & Cheryl Paganin

 

And lastly, thank you to all our key workers – our SCOTS staff, family and friends, who worked tirelessly in the canteen, back yard, office, manning gates, working cattle and general organisation.  There are too many to mention but the weekend would not have happened without you.

Thank you!                

 

SCOTS PGC Campdraft Meeting

A wrap-up and planning meeting for campdrafting at SCOTS will be held in the Archive Room, SCOTS PGC College, on Thursday 12 August 2021 at 6pm.

 

2021 Interschool QLD State Team

In further exciting Equestrian news this week, our very own Hanaka Parker, has been announced as the Interschool QLD State Team Combined Training Vice Captain, 2021 by the Interschool QLD State Committee.  Congratulations Hanaka!

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Mrs Melissa Bellingham | VET Coordinator

Last week, six of our Year 10 Ag Science students were fortunate to have the opportunity to be part of a 3 day ‘Ag Inspirations’ tour.  Facilitated by Ag Force and the Department of Education and Training, as part of the Industry Partnership Program, the tour provides high school students an opportunity to experience a variety of occupations within the Agriculture industry.  Our students gained genuine insights to a range of agricultural career pathways and had the chance to discuss career options with employers who are embedded in the industry.

Along with students from four other local schools, we toured various agricultural organisations in and around both Warwick and Stanthorpe that included: DAF Hermitage, Davanya Grains, Nicoletti Orchards, Ashbern Farms, QCWT, John Dee and Condamine Apiaries.

Thank you to these organisations for their time in providing our students with comprehensive tours and first hand experiences in their respective agricultural operations. Our students are now equipped with additional knowledge in careers they may wish to pursue on the completion of school.

 

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Mr Mark Richards | Director of Teaching, Learning and Innovation

“We have the ability to write the blueprint for our own goals and decide how we want to pursue them. If we allow others to do it for us, we won’t achieve our full potential to be the best we can be.” ― Ellen J. Barrier

Schooling is one of the most important and crucial periods of a person’s life.  The actions and decisions students make right now may well determine which way their lives will go.  The question is whether they have a proper, solid, and sound blueprint for success, which is fundamental to each person’s future. I would like to suggest some of the things that should be in every person’s blueprint.

Number one should be a commitment to authenticity; a deep belief in your own dignity, your own worth and your own pathway. Be true to who you are.  Don’t allow anybody to make you feel that you are any less than you are. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth, and always feel that your life has the ultimate significance.  Because it does.

Secondly, you must have the basic principle of determination to achieve excellence in your various fields of endeavour. As the days and the years unfold, you’re going to be deciding what you will do in life and what your life’s work will be. Once you discover what it will be, set out to do it, and do it well.  Be the best of whatever you are and work towards excellence in whatever your endeavour may be.  It is always a great pleasure to celebrate our student’s academic excellence as we did this week at our Academic Assembly.  For some, this was the first time they were able to achieve an excellence certificate, the results of many years of determination and effort.

Finally, your life’s blueprint must contain a commitment to uphold the eternal principals of tenacity and respect. If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl, but, as the famous fish ‘Dory’ says, “you must keep on swimming.”

This last point is even more important in today’s chaotic and uncertain times.  As a College, we understand that the pressures our community face can sometimes be challenging.  However, one thing that makes this place so great is the spirt of SCOTS PGC –  that eternal feeling and comradery that we are all in this together.  So with the support of our SCOTS PGC community, I encourage you to go confidently in the direction of your dreams, fulfil your blueprint and live the life you’ve imagined.

 

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