THE START OF A SCOTCH JOURNEY
HELPING YEAR 4 BOYS TO FEEL COMFORTABLE AS THEY GET TO KNOW OUR SCHOOL
Every year at the start of Year 4 , we have an influx of 26 new students across the year level , with approximately one-third of each class comprising new boys . It means that we expand from two to three classes . As a focus for staff , the development and expansion of friendship groups is a major focus .
We provide opportunities for the boys to work with peers in teams , develop new relationships and get to know our school . Our Activity Days in Term 1 form a major part of this , and include :
� A presentation by the Scotch Archivist ( week 1 );
� A scavenger hunt ( week 2 );
� Activate by Hardrock indoor rock climbing ( week 3 ); and
� A Funfields excursion ( week 4 ).
The Scotch Archivist , Mr Paul Mishura , provided a fascinating hour-long presentation starting from the early days of the ( then ) Melbourne Academy in 1851 , through various campuses , events and Principals to modern-day Scotch . The boys were fascinated to hear about our school ’ s various locations , the fact that girls once came to Scotch , and how we shared our grounds with Wesley College during World War II . Fox Harris ( 4G ) said : ‘ The History of Scotch is very interesting and it took a lot of people to make the school .’
The Scavenger Hunt put boys in groups of three across the grades in order to find out the answers to a range of clues , the answers to which could be found in the Senior School . Boys discovered a number of statues , buildings ( including the Observatory ) and historical facts . Of particular note was viewing the lone pine located near the Meares Oval , and hearing about its amazing beginnings as a seed from halfway across the world .
Oliver Meathrel ( 4G ) said : ‘ The Scavenger Hunt was very fun and I think it was a great team building exercise ’. Frederick Pagnin ( 4G ) said : ‘ I thought the Scavenger Hunt was really great because it gave us an idea of the layout of the Senior School .’
The indoor rock climbing and caving activities , provided at Activate by Hardrock in Moorabbin , offered a great opportunity for our boys to challenge themselves at a level they found appropriate . As much fun as the climbing and caving were , one of the real joys of the day was seeing how much the boys cheered each other on in the tackle challenges that they may have thought beyond their reach .
‘ Indoor rock climbing was very fun ,’ said Aiden Natarajan ( 4M ). ‘ My favourite part was " The Drop ". I was very happy that I had plenty of friends to play with on the excursion .’ Harvey Xu ( 4P ) said : ‘ At Activate , I really enjoyed going in the caves . Jayden , Canice and I travelled in a little trio while climbing in the caves . I really liked it .’
The final Activity Day involved a trip to the Funfields Adventure Park in Whittlesea . From hair-raising waterslides like the Typhoon , the fun water activities in Tiki Bay and the challenging holes of mini-golf , the boys all found activities that suited them . Armed with water bottles for a warm day , the boys found their own groups and moved from one activity to the next , on a highly enjoyable day where many new friendships were made or old ones consolidated .
‘ I liked Funfields ,’ said Ted Williams ( 4M ). ‘ I loved the waterslides – some of them you went on with your friends and others you went on by yourself .’ Jenson Ooi ( 4P ) said : ‘ At Funfields , I was anxious about going to the Gravity Wave ride . But , with encouragement from Ethan , Aiden and Samuel , I faced my fears . In the end , everybody was laughing after we finished the ride .’
We are so fortunate to have new groups of boys in our year level . We continue to look forward to helping all our boys feel comfortable and become an important part of our grades .
www . scotch . vic . edu . au Great Scot 19