Mr Tom Bradbury | Assistant Director of Co-Curricular Activities

Junior Athletics Championships

Last week we conducted our annual SCOTS Junior Athletics Carnival for athletes aged 5 -12 years.

After a very frosty start to the day and a delayed start, the day turned out to be a cracking one with beautiful conditions for athletics events.

Our pre-event 1500m events were conducted last term along with our first round of field events on Wednesday afternoon. This left the 100m, 200m 800m and three rounds of field events to conduct for the completion of our Age Championships and Clan Championship.

The day was quite compressed but all thanks must go to the staff and students for their hard work and co-operation to get through the entire program minus our relays.

The results for the day were as follows…

We take this opportunity to thank all participants for their efforts during the course of all our events across the two days. Without your enthusiasm the carnival would not be as successful.

We also thank our office, kitchen and grounds staff for their tireless efforts to prepare for the day. Finally, a big thank you to our teachers who often only come out once a year to conduct these events but are thorough professionals at all times ensuring they are fair and equitable to all involved. Without the support of all these people the show certainly could not go on and our students would not have such experiences.

We now look forward to the Southern Downs Athletics for 9-12 years students coming up on the 12 August. Details of who has been successful in qualifying will be sent to students in the coming days.

Champion of Champions Futsal Results

On Tuesday 27 July and Wednesday 28 July our U14 and U16 Girls and our U12 Boys ventured to the Champion of Champions Tournament at Coomera Indoor Sports Centre.

In our first visit to the Champion of Champions Tournament, which is in effect, the State Championships for Futsal playing schools, the students found out just what it takes to be the best of the best.

Our pathway to this point has seen the Futsal program go from virtual nobodies on the SWQ scene in 2019 and 2020 to SWQ place getters in three divisions in 2021, which has qualified us for this Champion of Champions tournament.

The first teams to enter the breech were the girl’s teams.

The U16 Girls faced four opponents in their Pool matches in Lowood SHS, Mansfield SHS, Chancellor State College and Robina SHS. All four schools have long standing programs and were never going to be easy opponents.

Game 1 against Lowood SHS was direct rematch from the SWQ Titles where Lowood muscled us off the ball to get the win. This time it was a much different result with our girls lifting their game significantly to open their account with a win and some much needed confidence.

Game 2 saw the girls lose their way in the early stages to let the powerhouse of Mansfield SHS slip away to an early lead that was just too hard to peg back. Game 3 saw a similar pattern unfold with some early goals to Chancellor State College that was just too difficult to assail.

Going into Game 4 it was still possible to make the quarter finals but a massive win was required and that against the ladder leader was a tough ask. The girls certainly showed little regard for their respective positions on the table and fought hard to firstly get a lead and then to frustrate the Robina students into a state of implosion. This left the clock to tick down to a fantastic win against the one undefeated team in our pool. Defeating this Futsal powerhouse was a bittersweet victory for the U16 Girls as it was still not enough to secure a spot in the Quarter Finals.

Two wins and two losses was a very pleasing result against three teams whose student population would be double or more than that of ours here at SCOTS PGC.

The U14 Girls were given a true lesson in fluid Futsal by their three opponents in their pool. Three significant losses to Mabel Park SHS, Islamic School of Brisbane and the powerful Robina SHS highlighted the youth and inexperience of our enthusiastic players. Although under the pump, the entire time the girls never gave up and fought to the end in every match.

We congratulate the girls of both squads on their achievements and the way they conducted themselves at all times throughout the day…

U16 Girl’s Squad – Stephanie Dunnett, Gabrielle Sellick, Zara Kruger, Jekeira Major, Molly-Rose Sinclair, Erin Keogh, Kaysan Miles, Emma Bradbury, Krystal Petersen and Matilda Nowlan

U14 Girl’s Squad – Amira Duffy, Phoebe Sellick, Abbey Petersen, Briana Groves, Eleanor McFarland, Ellyse Kruger, Bonnie Petersen, Stevie Collins, Madelon Weier and Mylie Caldwell

On day two of our involvement the U12 Boys embarked on the difficult task of the three Colleges – Calvary Christian College, Kings Christian College and Hillcrest College. Again, all these schools have a significant numerical advantage in drawing from their talent pool.

The SCOTS PGC lads took the fight to Calvary and earnt themselves a valuable draw. Game 2 and 3 were not so fortunate with consecutive losses to Kings and Hillcrest our day was done early. With a huge learning experience under their belt, the boys travelled home better for the experience. The bonus for our boys is that the majority of the team remains in that age group next year and they will hope to retain their SWQ Title and venture to the Champion of Champions a year older and wiser for their experience this year.

We congratulate our lads on their success and wish them well for next year…

U12 Boy’s Squad – Colby Miller, Thomas Worboys, Lachlan Groves, Rayne Butcher, Bayden Tink, Harrison Grayson, Beau Edmed and Innes Nowlan

The success of our program is in no small part due to the passion and dedication of our two coaches Mr Derek Kane and Mr Simon Mascadri. I thank these gentlemen for their time and commitment to our students and we look forward to continued growth of the sport and our success in coming years.

I also thank Mrs Jo Sellick, Mrs Sandra Bradbury, Mrs Mel Cole, Miss Alexis Carey and Mr Cahal Davis who have supported our teams at different times throughout the year with medical and logistical support in many of our competitions. Without their assistance our successes would not have been possible.

Ewan McFarland

Darling Downs Cross Country Representatives

Six SCOTS PGC Students were selected to attend the Queensland Schools Cross Country Championships held at Limestone Park, Ipswich on the 18 and 19 July this year.

Benjamin Carey, Rory Farrell, Ewan McFarland, Shona McFarland, Eliana Jones and Hayley Wainwright all were selected but unfortunately a late training injury forced Ben out of the action just 48 hours out from the events.

All in all, our students represented themselves and the region well all making it to the finish to gain valuable points for their Region.

The student’s results were as follows…

Hayley Wainwright

Eliana Jones

Shona McFarland – 18yrs Girls 6000m – 37^th

Ewan McFarland – 18yrs Boys 8000m – 27^th

Rory Farrell – 13yrs Boys 3000m – 52^nd

Eliana Jones – 16yrs Girls 4000m – 48^th

Hayley Wainwright – 12yrs Girls 3000m – 51^st

Rory and Eliana thoroughly enjoyed their first experience in the Regional red, white and blue and were very keen to come back next year. Brother and sister duo Shona and Ewan soaked up their last chance to represent the region at a State Cross Country and although their results were not what they were hoping for, they enjoyed the experience. Hayley was very happy to finish and was looking forward to events more like the 100m and 200m in the future.

State Orienteering Success!

Last weekend Ewan McFarland and William Gilmore attended the State Orienteering Championships as members of the Darling Downs Schools Team.

The boys contested three events across the weekend – The Sprint Event, Relay and the Long Course. Ewan scored 5^th place in the Long Course event and competed well in both other events. Will’s Championship was less auspicious with a very unfortunate fall onto a rock breaking through his shoe and causing him a race ending injury.

We congratulate both lads on making the Darling Downs Team, and we are very proud to share that Ewan has been selected in the Queensland Orienteering Team.

Super Schools Rugby

The Super Schools Cup has launched with a fantastic start to our campaign in the third year of the competition.

Week 1 saw SCOTS take on Downlands College 2^nd/ 3^rd combination and their B/C teams. The U13’s scored the win as did the First XV – both were hard fought games of quality football, but the U15’s were left wondering what if, with a narrow loss.

Week 2 saw Mary Mackillop/Highfields State College venture south to take us on here at home. The home town advantage finally paid off with a clean sweep of all grades. The most excitement certainly came after the U15 team’s nail-biting finish that saw Nelson Madua slot a penalty from 37m out to break the 10-10 deadlock and finish the game. The celebrations flowed over to the sideline as the boys savoured their first win of the year after a tough club season last term.

Senior School Hockey Team

In Week 1, 2 and 3, the Senior Team have continued on their winning way with convincing wins in all of their encounters in the Senior Social Competition.

This week, we opened our Interschool campaign with a loss against WSHS for SCOTS 1 and a draw for SCOTS 2 against Assumption. With several players missing, we look forward to further improvements over the coming weeks as we prepare for the Darling Downs Schools Cup in Week 8 of Term 3.

Lots to improve but some fantastic young and raw talented players that will lead our Hockey Program over the coming years.

Cooking Club

With immense interest in the Cooking Club, we have split this into a Term 3 and Term 4 Group. Currently we have a students in Years 4-6 working in a group this Term and a Years 1-3 group working in Term 4. These groups are now full and any interest will be placed on a waiting list in the event of withdrawals.

Arranmore Commences!

The Arranmore Program for Term 3 commenced this week with Cooking on Tuesday (12 participants), Golf on Wednesday (14 participants) and Basketball on Thursday (22 participants) offering quality afterschool activities for our students. Cricket (22 participants) will commence next Monday and all will run through til Week 9 of Term.

Upcoming Events

• QCIS Athletics 10-19 years | Friday 6 August
• Southern Downs Cricket 10-12 years Boys and Girls | Friday 6 August
• Border District Athletics 13-19 years | Tuesday 10 August
• Southern Downs Athletics 9-12 years | Thursday 12 August