The Thistle - An E-Newsletter of Scotch College, Perth, Western Australia

From the Head of Middle School

As you will have read in the Headmaster's section of the Thistle, last Friday's rededication of the PC Anderson Chapel was a significant event in the life and history of the College.  With the ability to live stream the service to venues around the College every boy was able to participate in the event.  Remarkably, five of the College's seven Headmasters were either there or represented by family last Friday, collectively spanning 110 years of the College's 121 years of operation.  One other member of the congregation in the Chapel last Friday was Mr Norm De Grussa our Middle School Pipes Master, who also had a special link to the Chapel's rededication.  Mr De Grussa was one of the student pipers who played at the opening of the PC Anderson Chapel 50 years ago.  I am particularly pleased all of our students had the chance to be witness to a historic College event.

Over the next two weeks we have the scheduled Parent/Teacher Interviews with your son's Homeroom Teacher.  These 10 minute meetings have a pastoral focus and are an opportunity for your son's teacher to relay back to you how he has begun the year: degrees of organisation and readiness noted, whether there is an awareness and acceptance of the increased expectations of a new Year Level and what habits and routines should have commenced.  It is also a valuable opportunity for you to relay information regarding your son or ask your questions about anything that will help you keep pace with what is going on and the expectations we have of your son.

This Friday our Middle School Assembly is dedicated to presenting the Certificates of Academic Excellence Awards earned by Middle School boys at the end of 2018.  An Academic Excellence Award in the MYP is earned in Year 7 or 8 when a boy achieves a total of 30+ grade points from his top 5 subjects in his semester report.  Each subject area has a possible mark out of 7, meaning grades of 6 or better are usually required.  A valuable read for parents is on the Teaching and Learning website which can be accessed on home.scotch.wa.edu.au then go to Assessment & Reporting/Middle School.  This page, essentially of FAQ's, provides an excellent overview of the assessment and feedback processes in Middle School.

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