Mr Richard Dobrenov | Deputy Principal and Head of Senior School

Crossing the road to diminish the gap

With the beginning of a new year, a key focal area for the seniors has been bringing our sub schools together.  By simply crossing the road from Senior School to Junior and Middle Schools, our students are strengthening our College’s sense of community and founding positive, long-lasting relationships with their younger peers.

Our senior students play an important role in creating a welcoming and supportive environment for the younger students through the Class Prefect scheme, the ‘Drop Everything And Read’ program, greeting at the street crossings, and facilitating play time visits and games.  Through these connections, the seniors offer guidance and support, but also serve as positive role models, showing junior students what is possible with hard work and dedication.

It’s been wonderful to see a number of our little people stop by the notice boards at the main office and excitedly point out the list of College leaders and senior students who they now have established connections with.  They can easily identify the students by their photographs on the board and happily recall the time when that particular person visited their class, read to them or gave them a high five as they walked past at the end of a class change.

A common favourite memory for our Year 12s often recall at graduation time is the interactions they had with seniors when they were in Junior and Middle School – it is these positive experiences that they are looking to replicate themselves as senior students.   By fostering positive relationships between the sub schools, we can create a supportive and welcoming environment for all students here at SCOTS PGC.