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

SCOTS Achieve and SCOTS Engage

At SCOTS PGC, it is important to us that we provide support and guidance for our young people beyond just the requirements of the curriculum.  We are always seeking to review our programs and implement initiatives that meet the needs of our students in terms of both their academic and social emotional development.

SCOTS Engage for Year 8 and SCOTS Achieve for Year 7, are two programs that have been designed to complement our existing pastoral care and wellbeing sessions and provide our Middle School students with opportunities to explore their strengths and develop skills and dispositions that enhance their ability to achieve success in their chosen pursuits.

SCOTS Engage has now been running for three years and is an opportunity for our Year 8 students to connect with who they are as individuals, as a group and as members of our community.  Throughout the year, we explore a range of topics and themes, ranging from ‘BIG’ concepts like trust and bravery, to more practical skills such as how to study for an exam, what subjects to select as an elective for Years 9 and 10 and even how to sew on a button.

The overview for SCOTS Engage is:

Term 1: ‘Knowing Yourself and Others’ – character strengths and leadership qualities

Term 2: ‘Learning to Learn’ – understanding how we learn, organising ourselves, study skills and strategies

Term 3: ‘Our Community’ – serving others and developing life skills

Term 4: ‘The Next Step’ – preparing for the journey to Senior School

The conversations we have in SCOTS Engage are some of my favourite conversations each week.  I never cease to be astounded at the depth of our students in these early years of adolescence and their ability to speak up and share ideas, be vulnerable and reflect on themselves and their relationships with others.

SCOTS Achieve is a new program that has been introduced in 2023 and will be developed throughout the year.  It is designed to expand upon our Year 7 Transition Program that takes place at the start of each year and lays a strong foundation for these students as they commence this next phase of their education.  In its simplest form, SCOTS Achieve is all about strategies for success in Middle School.

During SCOTS Achieve sessions this year, we will explore:

• Ways to prepare for learning
• How to use your textbook and other learning resources effectively
• Making study notes to help with revision
• The best ways we can organise ourselves and our belongings
• Time management strategies
• How to break down an assessment task into more manageable chunks

During this year, we will be seeking the feedback of the students in both Years 7 and 8 as their insights are what have led to the development of these unique programs within our Middle School.  Their ideas are what we use to tailor individual sessions to meet their needs at the time and ensure they feel connected and supported as they navigate these years of their education.