coached the 2nd XI for 13 years . I am also the Head of Fleming House .
What generally constitutes some of the highlights of your week and keeps on motivating you ?
Highlights come in a variety of ways with many ‘ YEAH !’ moments at Scotch . As Head of House , the main highlights of my week are making sure that Fleming House runs smoothly and that all lads are on task , making the most of and enjoying their school life .
One of the constant highlights at Scotch for me is the opportunity to interact with so many different personalities ; I love the variety of back stories that the boys have . Other highlights are the staff at Scotch – such dedicated , intelligent and wonderful people .
My motivation as a Head of House is to see how proud the boys are being members of Fleming . My motivation as a sports coach is to make sure all our lads go home loving what they do on and off the sporting field , and seeing them consistently return to be ‘ part of the team ’. My motivation as a teacher is to make sure the boys learn something new every day and enjoy their classes in the process .
INTERVIEW :
MARK RIVETT
HEAD OF FLEMING HOUSE
Let ’ s start by finding out about your background prior to working at Scotch . Would you mind telling us a bit about yourself ?
Scotch College is my third school . My previous schools were in the Latrobe Valley and Footscray , so you could say I have been teaching across a broad spectrum of social and economic areas . I was late to teaching , having spent some time working in the city in finance , then after doing my Dip Ed and waiting for a teaching position ( being a country lad ) I went out shearing sheep , back home in the Western District .
Back in the day , you could just fill in a form and tick the areas where you would like to teach . For obvious reasons the schools along the West Coast didn ’ t have any vacancies , so I requested another form and ticked the ‘ teach anywhere ’ box , and the Latrobe Valley was on to me the next day .
Could you tell us about your roles at Scotch : the activities you have previously been involved in , and those in which you are currently involved ?
I have been at Scotch since 2008 working in the Politics / History department , which I love . Like all teachers at Scotch , I have a few hats on . In addition to teaching , I have coached football , am currently the Teacher-in-Charge of Sports First Aid and the Teacher-in-Charge of Open Cricket , where I have
On a personal note , would you mind sharing some of your passions and hobbies ?
My wife and I are big travellers : trying to get away as much as possible to learn and experience everything that travel has to offer . We love renovating houses : moving into the ‘ renovator ’ s delights ’ and transforming them into our own . I am a ‘ jack of all trades and expert at none ’ but have learned so much along the way . On a personal level , I am a politics / sport nut , always keeping up to date with all things pertaining to state , national and world events .
We have two adult children and since they moved out of home they have been replaced by two groodles . I say that in the nicest way – and it also means that the kids come home to visit more often ! I also barrack for the mighty PIES !
Everyone loves a good story , so are there any particular anecdotes or memories that you could share with us ?
Working in an institution where there are 1400 different personalities , there are particular anecdotes and memories every day ! However , when you take an overseas trip with 14 cricketers and two teachers who are also my good mates , in Gary Peckham and Grant Watson , there is a story every hour .
On one memorable occasion , the three of us and our bus driver , on the way to collect the boys from their host school , got lost in the centre of London . The poor driver started to get very frustrated and confused , so much so that we feared that he was about to abandon us . Having a lapsed truck licence , I thought I might end up driving . Luckily , the London police came to the rescue and stopped us after our driver thought it would be a good idea to do a U-turn in front of the London Eye .
To add to the story , we found out from the police that the bus was unregistered , so we waited two hours for the company to re-register the bus . Luckily the boys were still there when we arrived to pick them up , and thankfully events like this are far less likely to happen these days . www . scotch . vic . edu . au Great Scot 57