In this issue

Jersey Day is an opportunity for students to wear their favourite sporting jersey to school.  It’s also an occasion to begin a conversation with family and friends about the importance of becoming an organ and tissue donor.  There are no monetary donations required, the day is purely about creating awareness and starting a conversation.

Jersey Day was inspired by the gift of life that Nathan Gremmo gave to six people when he became an organ donor at age 13.  Many of you may not know, that our very own Mr Bailey was the recipient of Nathan’s heart.  Mr Bailey shared his story at this morning’s Assembly and urged all to get behind this worthy cause and wear their jerseys on Monday.

Congratulations to Year 11 student, Eliana Jones, who was recently crowned with the Senior Tap Championship award at the Darling Downs Eisteddfod.  In conjunction with this, she was also awarded the Age Aggregate, and Most Promising Dancer at the Goondiwindi Eisteddfod.  Eliana also placed first or second in almost all her dances and was able to help lead her troupe to placing first in every section they performed in.  Well done Eliana!

The season is drawing to an end…

The Opens played again this year in the higher division and ended up in the Semi-Finals at Barnes Park. The girls demonstrated diligence and great team work throughout the game.

It was a very tight game, with a draw at the end of the last quarter which saw the girls play extra time to determine an outcome.  SCOTS had a narrow loss of 2 points; 25 to 27.

The Opens’ coach, Tiffany Cullen, and the supporters were very pleased with the teams’ performance and the girls, even though disappointed, felt a sense of pride, knowing they did their best and ended their season on a positive note. The girl’s ‘never give up’ attitude saw them exemplify great sportsmanship.

Our Junior girls placed 6^th place on the ladder and narrowly missed out on playing in the Semi Finals this season. This was the third time the College entered such a young team into the competition and provided a great opportunity for the girls to play at a higher level and to bond as a team.

The staff and parents have again proven to be committed and supportive to the netball teams; generously donating their time and expertise, for which we are appreciative and grateful. Congratulations to all who participated throughout the season and we thank you for taking the time to be a part of our netball teams.

Coming to a small hall near you…..

Mark Richards | Director of Innovation and Learning

The invention of the silicon chip and mobile phones has initiated a new age, no longer are teachers the gatekeepers to knowledge.  This democratisation of information has both its benefits and its challenges, especially for education.  Skills such as creativity, problem solving and resilience become much more important.  It is no longer enough to be able to answer the questions, you also need to be able to work out if the question is the right one and which answer is the most accurate.  People react to these challenges differently and I am immensely proud of how the SCOTS PGC Community have dealt with all the recent upheavals.

Fortunately, the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority has concluded that COVID-19 had no significant impact on the numeracy and literacy of Australian students.  The ACARA CEO, David de Carvalho, has said these results are a “… testament to the resilience of students, teachers, parents and carers, and school and system leaders during these challenging times.”  Personally, I think it is also to do with the comradery and mateship that Australians hold so dear.  We will need more of this as we move forward.

https://www.acara.edu.au/docs/default-source/media-releases/20210813-naplan-results-med-rel.pdf

The impact of individuality on teaching and learning is two-fold, we need to embrace a student’s individual talents and abilities, but also encourage each student to become responsible for their own learning.  Inside the classroom differentiation is used to modify tasks to suit individual learner’s learning needs and goals, where students are given different activities or different learning outcomes.  This is also expressed in the learning objectives for each subject.

At home, this should manifest itself in how and when study is completed.  The Study Guidelines are designed to encourage students to take ownership of their learning, increasing the suggested time for study in each Year level up to Year 12.  Directed study from teachers should allow the student to reflect, review and engage with the content at a deeper level.  Some students may require more time, some less.  It is the goal of the College to encourage every student to get into the habit of independent reading as part of their regular study routine and as such forms part of the suggested study time.

We also appreciate that students may have outside commitments, are involved in clubs and societies and should be involved in an active and supportive social life.  This holistic view is a core component of life at SCOTS PGC.  As a consequence we welcome parents and careers to communicate with teachers when students need additional support and when students have other commitments that may make study difficult.  Study at home, whether directed by a teacher or planned by the student, shows students have the dedication to improve themselves.  This, as well as participation in co-curricular activities and hard work, are components to a successful life of learning.

Finally, the Year 12s will have their Mock exam block at the end of this term, in week 9 and 10.  These are practice external exams and we will be running the exam block as close to the conditions of the real thing as we can.  It is vital that students take these assessments as seriously as possible, as it will give them experience and better prepare them for next Term.  These exams will also contribute towards the speech day awards, including Dux of the College.  If you have any questions about the external assessments, please do not hesitate to get in contact.

FATHER’S DAY STALL – Thursday 2 SEPTEMBER

it’s not long until Father’s Day and the P&F stall will be set up in the WALEC loaded with $5 and $10 gifts.

Junior and Middle School Movie Night – Friday 10 September

An exciting event for the Junior and Middle school.  Pizza, Popcorn and Drinks with a movie.  There will be 4 types of pizzas (including Vegetarian and Gluten Free).  Details below and please click on the link to book your ticket.

https://events.humanitix.com/p-and-f-jam-movie-night

Junior School Playground

It was such exciting news to hear work has started on the Junior school Playground.  This will be one of the biggest investments to the school from the P&F and we can’t wait to see to see the young students playing on it.

Mr Tom Bradbury | Assistant Director of Co-Curricular Activities

Super 6 Rugby Returns

After a delayed restart to the Super 6 Rugby, SCOTS travelled to Gatton for a very tough night at the office. All three teams went down in tough matches against the tenacious Faith Lutheran squads.

The U13s went down 32-5 in what was a lop-sided affair at the UQ Gatton fields. After training well over the past weeks, the 13s unfortunately had lost some of their battle hardness and although they have worked hard throughout, they just could not gain the ascendancy.

Our U15 boys lost to a very well drilled Faith Lutheran outfit 29-7 at the end of the match. Best players on the night were undoubtedly Harry Mayall, Owen Eising and Ryan Bohm who all fought hard to the death.

The Open Boys faced a solid outfit from Faith and put up a good fight but were outmuscled in the end going down 41-26. Most outstanding performers were Beau Kendall, Will Gilmore and the fleet-footed Geoff Warren.

The boys have some real work to do before their next fixture in Toowoomba against the combined TAS/ Concordia sides next Wednesday afternoon/evening.

Warwick Secondary Schools Hockey Finals

A huge congratulations goes out to our SCOTS Hockey teams that competed in this week’s Warwick Secondary Schools Finals. Across the weeks of the competition, we fielded two teams to give as much field time and player development as possible, and to ensure a 4-team competition. As such, our numbers were stretched each week and some players played across both teams to make it happen.

Both teams tried really hard and going into the finals afternoon we were ranked second and third.

In the third/fourth playoff we just couldn’t find our rhythm and nothing seemed to click. Unfortunately, Warwick SHS were on song and their bigger, stronger and more mature team were just too good. A late resurgence proved our resilience but the game was lost, although the 4-1 scoreline was not a full reflection of the contest. James Bourke was excellent as always in goal and Tanner Henley, Seb Christensen and Emma Bradbury led the team admirably inspiring the team to never give up.

In the main game, SCOTS faced Assumption in what was envisaged to be a one sided affair, but the team dug deep and played a cracker to stay in the game. Halftime came and no score could separate them. The game went from end to end until 13 minutes remained when Rory Farrell slotted one past the keeper after receiving a great through ball from Seb Christensen and some tense moments of scrambling in the ‘D’. The game continued to go from end to end, and four nerve-racking penalty corners later, the game was finally ours. Sam Bourke controlled the middle with great skill and decision making, whilst Nicholas McGahan and Lachlan Nolan dominated any attack with persistently calm and solid defence. Again, our goal keeper Krystal’s heroics saved the day on the odd occasion it penetrated the brick wall that was Nick, Lachie and Sam. Niamh Fender and Darcy Brennan continue to develop rapidly with some good touches in attack and defence.

Throughout the competition, students and staff stepped into umpire games, and I thank all our student officials in Briana Groves, Millie Groves, Sam Bourke, Tanner Henley and Krystal Petersen who have all put their hand up to take on the difficult task of umpiring. I’d particularly like to thank Sam and Tanner who stepped up for finals afternoon, where both games were tense affairs.

Thanks to all teams for a great competition, the Warwick Hockey Association and Mrs Angela Groves for providing the competition to our local schools. Also, a huge thank you to our students for their enthusiasm, commitment and willingness to learn.

Next week we transition from mixed teams to our girls and boys teams that will contest their respective Darling Downs Schools Cup competitions in Toowoomba. All players will need to bring their ‘A’ game for this prestigious tournament.

QCIS 7s Rugby

Last week our U13 Girls and Open Girls contested the inaugural QCIS 7s at Downlands College. Toowoomba Anglican College, Downlands and SCOTS were the main protagonists and a hearty competition ensued.

The U13 Girls played three cracking matches with two wins and a draw to put them in the final against Downlands. After a draw in the pool games, Downlands were keen to get the win but our girls also had their sights set on the win. The game lurched from end to end and try for try. Both teams finished up with 5 tries a piece but the separating factor were our conversions that gave the girls the win. Elliza Moore-Kirkland proved quite a find and Phoebe Sellick, Sarah Morris and Lizzy Caton led the way very well supported, by the squad of very keen and enthusiastic little champions.

The Open Girls had a similar path to the Grand Final, where they came up against a white hot Downlands College brimming with Queensland representatives and one AON Women’s player. The girls acquitted themselves exceptionally well with all contributing to the team’s success. Despite a valiant effort the girls went down to Downlands in the final minutes.

SCOTS 7s Carnival

On Saturday 4 September the Annual SCOTS 7s Carnival will be held on Briggs and Dunning Ovals, with schools from across the region descending upon the College for a massive day of Rugby 7s. Our three boy’s teams and two girl’s teams will pit themselves against the likes of Glennie and Fairholme (in the girls), Our Lady of the Southern Cross and Downlands among many others

College Tennis Championships

In 2021, we would like to reinstate the previously contested College Tennis Championships to the College Calendar in an attempt to re-establish this beautiful sport within our Community.

The proposed competition structure:

12 years and Under Girls Singles (1 Set Tiebreak)

12 years and Under Boys Singles (1 Set Tiebreak)

15 years and Under Girls Singles (1 Set Tiebreak)

15 years and Under Boys Singles (1 Set Tiebreak)

Open Student Girls Singles (1 Set Tiebreak)

Open Student Boys Singles (1 Set Tiebreak)

Open Students Mixed Doubles (All ages may form a mixed doubles pairing of their choice) (1 Set Tiebreak)

Proposed dates: October 9-10, 2021 – End of Week 1 Term 4 – (EOI’s / Nominations close on September 1, 2021)

All Nominations to Tom Bradbury via email: tom.bradbury@scotspgc.com.au

***Competition will be dependent upon nominations received***

Invitation to Queensland Schools Futsal Cup 2022

Following what has been a successful Year of Futsal in 2021, we have been invited to attend the QSF Cup (Queensland Schools Futsal) to be held on the Gold Coast as one of three Darling Downs Schools to represent the region. Harristown SHS and St Ursula’s College will also attend from our region.

Currently, our 13-14 years Girls and our 15-16 years Girls have been invited with our Boys teams on the waiting list to attend. With some players aging out of the respective groups, we will be looking for new players to join the squads in 2022.

Congratulations to all players and coaching staff on this prestigious invitation, now the hard work begins.

Upcoming Events

• Darling Downs Schools Cup Hockey – Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 September
• SCOTS 7s – Saturday 4 September – Briggs and Dunning Ovals