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

Community and Service

Round Square Klarifi Poster

The Round Square organisation has produced a Klarifi Poster to better illustrate the benefits of being a Round Square School. The work 'Klarifi' means to make an idea or concept clear, intelligible and free from ambiguity. Klarifi is a way of communicating complex ideas, propositions, messages or product portfolios by putting them into a graphical context that people can understand, relate to and interact with.

The poster produced by Round Square can be found here. By downloading the Aurasma App on to your mobile phone, and following the instructions on the poster, you can access a multi-media presentation about Round Square. The technology that created this poster is relatively new and opens up lots of possibilities for organisations needing to communicate with clients, as demonstrated by Round Square.

Senior School Service Committee

The first meeting of the Senior School Community Service Committee took place recently under the leadership of School Vice Captain, Timothy Reynolds. The committee comprises of ten members - each Vice Captains of their Houses. The first meeting discussed some of the service opportunities and campaigns that are current for this term. These include:

  • Tim's Ride on Saturday 12 November
  • Poppy sales for Remembrance Day in the days prior to Friday 11 November.
  • The John Hughes Big Walk Sunday 13 November
  • The UnitingCare West Christmas Appeal
  • Rolling Street Swags for Homeless Connect Day, 9 November.

Each member of the committee will encourage boys to take part in these events and also help to develop distinct service projects with in their Houses. Most Houses in the Senior School have long-term partnerships with agencies and projects will be on-going.

Homelessness in Perth

I attended a function recently hosted by St Partick's, a major community service provider in Fremantle. The function, held at the Swan Yacht Club was to thank the many volunteers that have contributed to various programmes run at the Community Support Centre in Queen Victoria Street. Scotch College contributed to their service for the homeless by providing 70 Street Swags and donations of clothing, food and personal hygiene items, during the Round Square conference, hosted by Scotch in April.

Homelessness in Fremantle and Perth continues to be a major concern with the economic downturn creating more individuals and families in financial difficulty. The two agencies with homeless services that we deal with regularly - St Patricks and also Tranby Centre in East Perth, are seeing increased numbers of clients needing emergency housing. Many are turned away and have no alternative but to sleep rough. Last week I delivered 42 Street Swags, rolled by Scotch boys to Tranby. These provide a modicum of comfort to people sleeping on the streets and alleyways of the city.

Scotch boys will deliver more Street Swags to agencies involved with Homeless Connect Day on 9 November. This event, held in Russell Square in Northbridge for the homeless of Perth, presents in one place a multitude of professional services free of charge, as well as access to donated clothing and food. Scotch IB Diploma students will be involved in setting up marques and stalls on the day before and will assist to pack up at the conclusion of the event

A highlight of the St Patrick's function was a performance by the Starlight Hotel Choir, St Patrick's version of the 'Choir of Hard Knocks'.

starlight choir

Quiz Night for Neuroblastoma

The fundraiser is part of the boys' participation in the IB Diploma Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) programme. The CAS programme seeks to develop the boys' understanding of themselves, the world around them and their place in it. This event represents the major service project in their 18-month CAS journey, combining advocacy and fundraising to improve awareness and understanding around neuroblastoma.

Neuroblastoma is a life-threatening childhood cancer most commonly occurring between the ages of just zero to five years. In order to aid the support and research for those affected by this significant condition, a group of Year 12 IB students have organised a family quiz night to raise awareness of Neuroblastoma. All proceeds of this fundraiser will be going to Neuroblastoma Australia and the Bright Blue Foundation. Hosted in the Scotch College Dickinson Centre on Saturday 3 December, this event will feature catering for dinner with non-alcoholic drinks, a quiz night with advocating guest speakers between rounds and prizes for winning tables, as well as a silent auction with a wide variety of items.

Tables can be chosen during booking online, with tickets priced at $35 individually or at a 10% discount at $315 for full table of 10 tickets.

We hope to see you and your families there on the Saturday, the 3rd of December (Week 8) from 6.00pm onwards to help support the cause.

To book tickets, please visit www.scotch.wa.edu.au and click on Book a Scotch College Event

Mr Bill Cordner

Director of Community and Service