I have had the great pleasure to be part of the Year 9 Term 1 Community Service Week. Seventy-one students participated with their focus for the week to develop and understand how they can contribute to the community in which they study, live and play. To be of service to others.

The program began with a day on campus hostin The Salvation Army and JCP Youth. Staff from both organisations focused on the theme of Creating and Sustaining Change. Student activities were thought provoking and challenged our students to inspire to be the […]

Can you help host a young student for two nights in the first week of Term 2?

During our first week Term 2, the College is hosting 12 students and two teachers from St Stithians Girl’s College in Johannesburg, South Africa. St Stithians College is one of South Africa’s finest schools and has long been a Round Square exchange partner for many Scotch Oakburn students – boys and girls. The school has separate boy’s and girl’s Colleges on the same estate north of Johannesburg.

We are seeking Penquite families that would be able to host the students for the two nights (Wednesday […]

The Elphin Campus continues to explore learning in all ways, environments and communities.  Students and staff continue to engage with the environment as a positive cultural influence, and this was seen in action at our Early Learning Education Outdoors learning days at Scotch Oakburn Park and the Wetlands Precinct.  Within this environment, our students and families enjoyed the chance to explore questions in natural habitats and also learn from our expert Education Outdoors staff.

A major highlight this Term has been the continued dedication of our Student Executive members, who actively (weekly) engage with […]

Outdoor learning provides rich opportunities for curiosity, exploration, and connection, and our Early Learning students recently embraced these experiences with enthusiasm.

Early Learning Erina had their Education Outdoors Experience on Tuesday 25 March at the Wetlands, offering a wonderful introduction to the space ahead of Bush Learning in Term 2. Through activities such as a ropes course, bug hunting, a tree walk, and sound mapping, children engaged their senses and deepened their appreciation for the natural world.

Early Learning Elphin explored Scotch Oakburn Park on Thursday 27 March, where they took part in imaginative […]

A famous quote by Walt Whitman, an American poet, essayist, journalist and influential writer, that lived in the 1800s. Whitman is often called the father of free verse, a writing style that broke all the rules at the time.

The quote was more recently made famous all over again when used by Ted Lasso in the hit TV series of the same name. Be curious, not judgmental – four simple words that hold a lot of power. Curiosity is about wondering before assuming, asking, before deciding and listening before dismissing.

Judgement – it’s everywhere […]

Scotch Oakburn College has a long-standing sister school relationship with Osaka International Junior and Senior High School, both hosting students and visiting the school in Japan.

We were pleased to host two senior boys in the last week of February for three weeks, hosted by Year 10 students Alex Musk and Seton Brock and I thank the two families for their generosity and kindness when hosting.  The visitors enjoyed an engaging experience, including attending Year 7 camp as Year 10 leaders and visiting Lake Barrington for rowing Regattas, including experiencing this year’s Head […]

This week our Year 3-6 Swimming Team represented the College and themselves with great pride at the NIJSSA Swimming Carnival.  Our team was rewarded for their fantastic training commitment to excel in the competition, winning the event with some great results obtaining 48 first place ribbons, 15 second place ribbons and 4 third place ribbons!

There were three long standing records broken – all by Scotch Oakburn students.

Jasmine Liu – 66m Freestyle Year 5 girls
Old record: 45.44 (2003) New record: 44.90

Jasmine Lui – 33m Freestyle Year 5 girls
Old record: 21.34 (2006) New record: 20.88

Year 3 Boys […]

FROM BELFAST TO LAUNCESTON

I used to live in a place where walls were built to keep people apart. In Belfast, communities of different religious and political beliefs are divided by six-metre-high walls – this is accepted as ‘normal’. Catholics on one side – who believe in a United Ireland, and Protestants on the other – who believe in Northern Ireland’s place in the UK. There are dozens of these walls all across Northern Ireland, constructed to try to reduce sectarian violence. 98% of social housing in Northern Ireland is split along religious lines. But it isn’t just physical barricades that […]

In one of the most rigorous public speaking events in our College calendar, five of our senior students were brilliant school ambassadors in the recent Lions Youth of the Year competition held recently.  Shiv Kataria (Year 9), Calan Young (Year 11), Elizabeth Moore (Year 10), Gomanth Anand Lokesh (Year 10) and Meg Kilby (Year 11) each participated in three separate events and were up against stiff competition from much older students.

Both Shiv and Meg won ‘Best Public Speaker’ in their individual heats to the admiration of all.  As first-time speakers, Gomanth and […]

On Monday 24 March the Penquite Campus had the privilege of hosting an important and engaging presentation by Snr Constable Annabel Shegog from the ThinkUKnow program, aimed at raising awareness about online safety for students. The session was both informative and thought-provoking, focusing on the growing importance of staying safe in the digital age.

Snr Constable Shegog expertly guided students through a range of topics, from understanding the risks associated with social media to learning how to recognise and report potential online dangers. The presentation was well-structured, incorporating real-life examples and interactive discussions […]