Great Scot December 2019 Great Scot 158_December_ONLINE | Page 57

DEVELOPMENT
DR ALAN WATKINSON
ACTING DIRECTOR OF
DEVELOPMENT,
FOUNDATION EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
ABOVE: SCHOOL
COUNCILLORS
INSPECTING WORK
ON THE KEON-COHEN
DINING HALL.
BELOW: THE DINING
HALL TAKES SHAPE
THREE
VERY BUSY
MONTHS
A huge amount of work has been completed on the
Keon-Cohen Dining Hall and the magnificent square
which will link it with the Sir Zelman Cowen Centre for
Science, while providing enviable views over the Meares
Oval to the Yarra.
Inside the Dining Hall, the seating areas and the focal
point huge TV screen are now well defined, as is the
mezzanine area. The kitchens are ready for their fit-out and
both the inside and outside spaces are starting to assume
their ultimate form and purpose. The square itself provides
an important link to the Centre for Science, while offering
various entry points to the Dining Hall itself and to the
surrounding House Home Rooms.
The flurry of activity will continue throughout the
summer holidays to ensure that everything is ready for the
formal opening of the Dining Hall next year. We extend our
gratitude to everyone who has helped this vitally important
facility and space become a reality some 80 years after its
need was first identified.
The last three months of the year have been incredibly
busy as we prepare for the major transformation over at
2-6 Morrison Street. OSCA House has really taken shape
with the new offices, meeting rooms and other facilities
all being carefully defined and most of the infrastructure
nearing completion.
The Archives Museum is also nearing its structural
completion. The Ramsay Collection has been moved to
storage in readiness for its new specially designed home.
The museum spaces are currently being carefully worked
through to provide a historic perspective of Scotch, as
well as displaying interesting and sometimes very rare
or unique memorabilia. Plans are well under way for the
significant AV display units to provide both continuous and
interactive displays, which will be a wonderful teaching and
learning facility for everyone who visits, from prospective
students and their parents through to our oldest Old Boys.
The final stage of this tripartite project is the School
Shop, incorporating the Swap Shop. Again, the
infrastructure is well developed to provide this one-stop
centre for all Scotch boys – including ‘click and collect’
facilities for all items of school uniform and equipment.
We believe that this will be yet another demonstration of
Scotch leading the way across all independent schools in
Victoria, and we know that we are being carefully observed
by many of our colleagues. The ‘Hub’ is due to open next
April, so watch out for further updates.