In this issue

Mr Richard Dobrenov | Deputy Principal and Head of Senior School

As our Year 12 students embark upon three and a half weeks of external exams, we wish them well as they complete 13 years of schooling. For those students studying Maths and Science subjects, the exams are worth 50% and for those studying English and Humanities subjects, their exams are worth 25%. What the students can take comfort from is that they have been thoroughly prepared by their teachers, and have had feedback from their mock exams.

So why does the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority impose such rigorous standards, and why is this system favoured over others? The previous OP system which ranked students according to their subject results and the cohort’s performance on the Queensland Core Skills test had some flaws which have now been addressed by the new ATAR system. Under the current system, all internal assessment items in Years 11 and 12 must be endorsed by a panel of trained teachers for their relevance, alignment to the syllabus and alignment to assessment specifications for the technique being assessed. If the item is not endorsed, then it cannot be implemented until it meets the requirements of the assessment instrument.

To ensure that marking criteria are applied consistently, assessed items are then uploaded to the QCAA for confirmation by independent markers as a means of assuring accuracy. To further ensure quality, the external exams are marked externally, allowing for greater fairness across all subjects. This all culminates with the release of ATAR scores on Friday December 15 and University offers soon afterwards. We wish our Year 12s the very best for their final push towards the finish line.

An End of Year Incursion for Year 8

Mrs Melissa Stephenson | Head of Years 7 & 8

Last Monday, our Year 8 students took part in a full day of activities down on Briggs Oval as a culmination of their final year in Middle School.  They joined in team games, group challenges and reflection tasks led by their Tutor Teachers, Class Teachers and Head of Year.  It was a fantastic day and a wonderful celebration of their time as the leaders of the Middle School.

Matilda Judd

Last week, Year 8 headed down to Briggs Oval for our Term 4 Incursion.  We were split into our Tutor groups for the following three activities: Survivor & Amazing Race challenges with Mrs Stephenson, fun games with Mr Blake, Mrs George and Mr Davis on the oval, and a reflection session with Mrs Kratzer. The Amazing Race challenges involved students pairing up to complete different challenges together. For one of the challenges, we had to construct a track with some pipe. The aim was to use 10 pieces of pipe and whatever else you could find to make your ping pong ball roll for the longest amount of time. We also had to complete different types of puzzles in under ten minutes, it was challenging but also very fun working with our partners. The second session was playing games on the oval with our Tutor teachers. We played many different games that involved all of us to help our teams. And finally, we had the reflection session with Mrs Kratzer. We had to make a vision board on what we wanted to achieve to succeed in our future life. Everyone had lots of fun using the different types of stickers and craft materials. We also had to write a letter to our Year 12 selves.  We reflected on our time at school so far and we asked ourselves lots of questions. All students had lots of great feedback about the day and wanted to do something like that again soon.

Nathanael Amos

What an awesome way to finish the year as a Year 8 cohort – thank you to all the teachers who put in a huge effort to make our day so fun.  On reflection, we all learnt so much about ourselves and each other.  Through the day we built character, teamwork, cooperation and a time to think about the future.  One of my favourite moments was getting together in the heat of the day and having a water fight.  This brought people together who wouldn’t normally hang out together and we all just had a heap of fun (as long as you didn’t spray Mrs Stephenson).  Another highlight was calming down at the end of the day with Mrs Kratzer and thinking about who we wanted to be in the future.  I found this time very fun but thought-provoking.  I also enjoyed being given the chance to cook steaks for the wonderful teachers and kids.  The incursion day was a great example of coming together, and having fun but still learning something.

Daniel Kuhn

The Year 8 Incursion Day was one of the best days of the Year 8 Calendar and was filled with lots of fun. All of the activities engaged everyone and made sure that everyone was having fun. First of all, there was a mindful reflection with Mrs Kratzer and Mr Sullivan where we had to create a mind board on what we want to be/do when we get older, and then we wrote a letter to our future Year 12 self. After morning tea, we had team building activities with all of our tutor teachers where we played Edor, kick ball, and hit, kick, throw. At lunch, a few of us got to cook up the steaks for the burgers. Then in the afternoon, we had the Amazing Race activities. Our first activity was to use 10 half pipes and create a track for a ping-pong ball but the aim was to make it reach the end the slowest. Next, we had 10 minutes to make a puzzle, although none of our tutor succeeded. Then we played Pictionary with playdough and had a water fight in our tutor groups. At the end of the day, all of the Year 8’s played bull rush and had a water fight to round the day off. It was an amazing day, and I hope that everyone enjoyed it.

Welcoming our 2024 Prep Students | Little SCOTS is back!

Ms Amanda Hall | Head of Junior School

As we step into the third week of our Little SCOTS Prep Transition Program, the excitement amongst the newest members of our community, our Prep students for 2024, continues to grow. The program, is designed to provide a sneak peek into the future, giving our new Prep students a taste of what their next school year will look like. The Little SCOTS Transition Program is all about making the leap to Prep as smooth and enjoyable as possible. It’s not just about the physical spaces and activities but also about building a sense of belonging and community. We want our Prep students to feel comfortable and excited about what’s ahead, and our program is designed to achieve just that.

We are also thrilled to see our current Prep class preparing for the big leap to Year 1 next year. One of the most exciting aspects of the transition program is the opportunity for our current Prep students to explore the big playground. This playground, typically reserved for the older students, is now open for our current Preps to explore, run, jump, and make new friends. It’s heartwarming to see their eyes light up as they embrace the opportunity to play in this exciting space. This not only fosters a sense of anticipation for the upcoming year but also helps them build friendships and familiarise themselves with the space.

We know that you, as parents, are our best ambassadors. If you have friends or family who have been considering SCOTS PGC for their child’s Prep year in 2024, now is the time to act. We have only a handful of places available. Please encourage those in our community who have been contemplating joining us to get in touch with our Admissions team at their earliest convenience. We’d love to welcome more young learners into our SCOTS PGC family.

A Barbie BBQ

Ms Amy Woodgate | Director of Girls’ Boarding and Head of Middle School 

As always, it has been a busy few weeks in the Girls’ Boarding House.  Following the excitement and farewells of our Year 12s final weeks in the house and our trip to Wet ‘n’ Wild last week, we were able to come together on Saturday night for a ‘Barbie BBQ’.  We recently purchased a blow up projector screen and speakers to allow us to hold movie nights and Saturday night was the first screening.  The Barbie movie provided the theme, with a touch of pink coming through in outfits, decorations and dessert.  Some girls helped decorate the Games Room Movie Theatre for the event, with others helping to set up the dessert bar and a group assisting with the cooking of our BBQ for dinner.  It was lovely to see the older and the younger girls enjoying the night together and know it will be the first of many Girls’ Boarding Movie Nights.

Teacher Librarian of the Year!

Mr Tom Bradbury | Assistant Director of Co-Curricular Activities

Arranmore Activities Term 4

Our Arranmore activities are in full swing with some 60 students signed up and playing Futsal on Tuesday afternoons, whilst we have close to 50 students enrolled and playing Touch. This Term we are splitting the groups into Yeasr 1-2, 3-4 and 5-6 to cater for the numbers and our upcoming senior students are assisting with the delivery of the program.

Role-playing games continue to cater for our Years 4-12 students and the returning interest in Chess is seeing numbers grow once again here.

Cricket Trial Games Term 4

Term 4 will see our upcoming players feature in several games and a Clinic with the Wanderers Cricket Club to prepare for the Term 1 Interschool competition. Please try and get down to Briggs and Dunning Ovals over the coming weeks to see our teams in action.

Week 4    Internal Trial Game on Briggs | Thursday 26 October – 3.15pm – 5.15pm

Week 5   1^st XI v Staff XI / 2^nd XI v Assumption | Wednesday 1 November 2.30pm-5.30pm  Briggs and Dunning Oval

Week 6   1^st XI v 2^nd XI / Development Squad v Assumption | Wednesday 8 November 2.30pm-5.30pm

Week 7   SCOTS PGC Wanderers Coaching Clinic and match | Wednesday 16 November all day

Currently, we have some 36 plus players keen to represent the College and we are striving to provide them all games. In 2024 the 1st and 2nd XI will play in our Darling Downs Schoolboys T20 Competition whilst we will be doing our best to create opportunities for our Development XI (U13) in local games and against Toowoomba Schools where we can.

The success and growth of the program are in no small way directly attributed to the passion and drive of Mr Callum Blake and Mr Dan Kuhn who are delivering an engaging and impassioned program for our boys and girls, and we thank them for this enthusiasm.

Queensland School Sport Track and Field Championships

During the second week of term, 3 of our Primary School students and 13 of our secondary school students attended the Queensland School Sport Track and Field Championships for their respective ages. We are very pleased to advise that the following students all performed admirably for the region and for their school.

10-12 Years: Sophie Benz, William Grayson, Tori Winters

13-19 Years: Bethany Moore-Kirkland, Oliver Miller, Henry McMillan, Elliza Moore-Kirkland, Bailey Harm, Tanner Henley, Phoebe Sellick, Adam McDonald, Darcy Noller, Benjamin Carey

 We are pleased to share that our most successful athletes for the meet were Oliver Miller – (3rd in 13 years Triple Jump and 13 years Hurdles) and Bethany Moore-Kirkland (2nd 13 years 3000m Walk).

Bailey Harm was 4th in the 15 years High jump with a personal best of 1.77m and finished in the top 8 for Discus, while Elliza Moore-Kirkland placed 5th in the 15 years 400m and 7th in the 15 years 800m – these were our next best competitor results, with Elliza making both finals for her troubles, finishing with a massive personal best in the 400m.

Phoebe Sellick made the 16 years 100m Hurdles Final where she achieved a personal best. Darcy Noller also scored a personal best in the 100m but did not progress to the semi-finals in his first outing at these championships. Ben Carey was boxed in, in the 17 years 800m and just missed out on the final. Adam, Tanner and Henry didn’t quite have the competitions they were hoping for but learnt valuable lessons in the process and will surely be back in action for the Queensland All Schools Championships on November 2-5.

Unfortunately, Mackenzie Mayall, Sienna Sparksman and Ellyse Kruger were unable to attend but we congratulate them once more on their selection to the Darling Downs Team.

Our juniors, William Grayson, Sophie Benz and Tori Winters immensely enjoyed their experience with varying levels of success. All three were keen to do their best again and attend next year with their sights set on even better results.