Principal’s End of Term 1 Update

We are at the end of Term 1, the end of the beginning of our school year if you will.

Scotchies Out and About

Over the past weeks the blue and gold of Scotch has been wandering all over South Australia as our outdoor education programs have got underway.  From high ropes in the hills to surfing in Robe and lots in between there has been much going on outside the bounds of Torrens Park and Mitcham. It has been great to see Scotchies in the wild, (literally!) as Years 3 – 8 have all been away on camp over the past month.

And, while we read this there has been lots of rampant lions in the departures gates at Adelaide Airport. Scotch students have arrived in China on our language trip, are in New Zealand on our Agriculture trip and are heading to Borneo for two weeks on the service learning expedition. We wish them safe travels and hope that they enjoy the extraordinary experience being offered to them. I look forward to the updates coming through on ScotchLife in the coming weeks.

Courts, Pitches and Stages

In past weeks we have celebrated performances that has seen Scotch having an outstanding summer sporting season, with premierships in boys and girls cricket and girls basketball, impressive results on the water at the Head of the River and at the recent SA Athletics Championships.  Similarly we have seen teams in national finals for UN Voice competition and selected for the International Final for the Ethics Olympiad.

With winter sport approaching, debating and oratory competitions kicking off in the start of Term 2, our music students heading to perform and compete in the Generations in Jazz Festival in Mt Gambier and lots more getting underway as we move towards the middle of the year I can’t wait to see what success lies ahead for our students in coming months.

Choices and Voices

At the final assembly for the Term on Torrens Park Campus I asked our students to think not just about choices they make, but choices others make as the coming Federal election looms. In a world where news is curated by social media algorithms, where the sound bites of the six o’clock news have become the stuff of Instagram stories and attention span of a news cycle is no longer determined by the publishing deadlines of morning newspapers but by clicks and swipes the need for engagement in the affairs of states beyond headlines is more important than ever. I feel that responsibility keenly.

As we head into the final weeks of the Federal Election campaign I implored our Middle and Senior School students to sit across the table from their parents and tell them what they really think about the big issues hat confront us as a country.  What they think about the future of this country’s energy policy. What they think about the relations that they want us to have with the rest of the world. What they think about the way universities can offer places, the way that the government shapes or supports or limits job opportunities, and how governments manage the things that determine our standard of living. Elections are more than posters on Stobie poles and sausage sizzles.

I asked our assembly to remember that while it is their parents who are voting on 3 May, the decisions a newly elected (or re-elected) government makes in 2025 will impact for years ahead. It is their future, as much as ours as parents and adult voters, that is at stake and it is right that they have an opinion.

And, it is our responsibility to foster and encourage and listen to it.

Anything we do in the coming months during those kilometres of running around in the Mum-And-Dad Taxi service, across an evening dinner table, while walking a recalcitrant dog over Easter or in the downtime between quarters in a footy telecast is worth the effort. Anything that we can do so that our children recognise apathy when they see it and have a vested interest in the world around them is time well spent.

We head towards Term 2 I hope that all our families get downtime to rest and recharge over the Easter break with families and friend.  I look forward to seeing so many in our community at the ANZAC Day ceremonies at Mitcham and Unley, and everyone back on campus as the new Term starts on Tuesday 29 April.

Trent Driver
Principal

Awards & Colours: End of Term 1 Assembly