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

From the Head of Middle School

The second of our large Inter-House events, the Cross Country Carnival, is being held this Wednesday afternoon. The Cross Country is one of the more colourful events on our calendar with the massed start and the race to the finish line all in front of the Gooch Pavilion. Year 6 & 7 students run 2.5km around Lake Claremont, across Cresswell Oval and then through our playing fields to the finish. Year 8 students run a 3km course over a similar route. Every student who completes the course earns points for their House. Given equal runners, it is the House with the lowest number of points that wins. James House is our reigning Cross Country House Champion. The top 10 runners in each division are invited to try out for the Inter-School Cross County event in Week 9. The Year 6 event starts at 1:30pm, Year 7 at 2pm, Year 8 at 2:30pm. If you are able to join us I am sure your son would love to see you as he heads down the final 150m.

Tomorrow evening Maggie Dent presents her parenting seminar, 'From Sandpit to Adulthood'. A central theme to this session is that challenge, adversity and failure can actually help our children grow stronger and smarter. Maggie Dent suggests 10 Keys to support your children, (and ourselves) to reach their potential on this great journey. The evening commences at 6:30pm in the Dickinson Centre, tickets are $10 and available by booking online at "Book a Scotch College Event" via www.scotch.wa.edu.au

In the Middle School corridor near the archives display are three new display boards. These displays will change each term, outlining a significant MYP Unit of Inquiry for each year group. The Units on display for this term are:

  • Year 6: Energized Government
  • Year 7: Liveability
  • Year 8: Medieval Europe

Each Unit display starts with a statement that provides the focus or debatable point of the inquiry. Key and related concepts are listed, along with a range of focusing questions that open up the unit for discussion. The culminating task or assessment of the unit is described with identified assessment criterion and the Approaches to Learning skills this unit targets. I invite you to look at these either in the hallway or on the Middle School Portal. They are a neat overview of an important unit of work your son is involved with this term.

Mr Richard Ledger
 Head of Middle School