Our students continue to impress me with their willingness to support others and raise awareness of important matters and initiatives. Recently, our student led SPEAK UP! Stay ChatTY initiative which included a Saturday community carwash highlighted that life can be full of challenges, both big and small and that it is okay not to be okay. What matters most is knowing that you are not alone and that there is always someone ready to listen and support you. As highlighted through our student Assembly presentations, reaching out for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.

We know that bottling up emotions can often lead to stress, anxiety, and feelings of isolation. However, by sharing what you are going through with a trusted person, whether it be a teacher, mentor, counsellor, friend, family member or an external support organisation such as Kids Helpline, you open the door to support, understanding and practical strategies to help you manage and overcome the situation.

At Scotch Oakburn College, we are fortunate to have a caring and compassionate community of staff who are committed to student wellbeing. They are always willing to listen without judgement and to help guide you towards the right support networks. We encourage all members of our community, students and staff alike to prioritise their mental health, speak up when things are tough, and to check in on others. It is through these small but powerful actions that we continue to build a safe, supportive and inclusive environment for all.

Thank you to our Year 12 student executive who have been extremely proactive all year and continue to raise awareness on many important matters and issues. I hope they and all of our community have an opportunity to have some downtime and prioritise wellbeing over the upcoming break.

Ross Patterson
Principal

Join us for a special overview of our recent Board retreat — a weekend of meaningful reflection, big-picture planning, and deep commitment to the future of Scotch Oakburn College. With a focus on governance, community, and student wellbeing, this video highlights the powerful impact of giving time.

Building Leadership and Resilience in Years 5–10

On Monday 16 June we were delighted to welcome award-winning youth speaker and wellbeing specialist Daniel Merza to work with our Year 5–10 students across two engaging sessions designed to inspire, empower, and equip them with practical tools for personal growth and resilience.

Daniel’s unique and relatable style resonated strongly with our students, blending storytelling and humour with a mental health focus in a way that captured attention and sparked reflection.

Years 8–10: “Leader of Your Life”

In this powerful session, students explored what it truly means to take ownership of their choices, habits, and future direction. Daniel challenged our Years 8–10 students to step into leadership — not of others, but of themselves. He explored the habits and mindsets that drive success and wellbeing, and provided practical strategies for overcoming procrastination, negative self-talk, and peer pressure.

A highlight of the session was Daniel’s entertaining and insightful use of the “monkey metaphor”. He reminded the students that we all have different “monkeys” in our minds — each representing different thoughts, distractions or emotions:

• Enzo, the emotional monkey: Full of self-doubt with a negative mindset.
• Dizzy, the distracted monkey: Always looking for comfort, avoiding effort and seeking quick rewards like screen time and/or gaming.
• Scooter, the social monkey: Looking to improve social status, giving in to peer pressure and afraid of missing out.
• Moi, the moody monkey with an “I don’t care” attitude.
• Tyson, the tough monkey who fears judgement, feels isolated and lonely but won’t ever seek help.

Daniel encouraged students to train their monkeys, rather than letting them take control. By learning to recognise these inner voices and challenge them, students can develop stronger self-regulation, motivation, and confidence.

Years 5–7: “Beat Bullying”

For our younger students in Years 5–7, Daniel delivered an empowering session on building resilience and confidence in the face of bullying. With warmth and energy, he discussed how bullying often stems from deeper insecurities in others, and why it’s so important not to personalise unkind behaviour.

Students learned about the importance of standing tall, using confident body language, seeking support from trusted adults, and developing emotional resilience. Once again, the “monkey metaphor” was a powerful tool — helping students to identify unhelpful thinking patterns that can amplify the effects of bullying or lead them to believe negative things about themselves.

A Lasting Message

Daniel’s visit left a strong impression on our students. His key message — that every young person has the power to lead their own life and shape their mindset — aligns beautifully with the College’s commitment to our Values and student wellbeing.

We encourage you to continue the conversation at home. Ask your child about the “monkeys” and how they can be trained — you might even discover a few monkeys of your own!

For more about Daniel’s work, visit www.danielmerza.com.

Kylie Wolstencroft
Director of Wellbeing- Penquite

This week 58 Year 10 students have been out in the “real world” of work. Organised by the students, they have experienced a wide variety of occupations in over 80 workplaces, with most students trying two different workplaces throughout the week.

Students have been placed in businesses around Launceston and beyond. From aviation to finance, and teaching to personal training. The huge variety of career options being investigated during our work experience week has given students the opportunity to “test drive” future career ideas, as well as providing valuable learning about their potential education and training pathways. This experience inevitably results in students returning to school with a renewed appreciation of the value and relevance of their learning, in preparation for their TCE years and beyond.

We want to thank to the students for their dedication to this week and the businesses for welcoming and supporting our students.

The Futures Team

To round out the semester, our Year 9 Pastry Chef students brought their learning to life through a special event, the Gratitude High Tea. This meaningful occasion gave students the opportunity to not only showcase their culinary skills but also express their appreciation for the staff who have supported them throughout their school journey.

In preparation for the event, students selected a staff member who had made a positive impact on their time at College and extended a personal invitation.

As part of their assessment, the class designed a varied menu including a range of sweet and savoury dishes. Each student was responsible for planning, preparing, and presenting one item on the menu, demonstrating their understanding of key pastry techniques such as laminating dough, balancing flavours, and attention to presentation. The final result was an impressive spread of dishes that reflected both their creativity and the skills they have developed throughout the semester.

On the day of the event, the students welcomed their guests, taking time to explain the dishes they had created and share the inspiration behind their choices.

The Gratitude High Tea was more than just a culinary showcase, it was a celebration of learning, collaboration, and community. It provided a platform for students to demonstrate responsibility, time management, and hospitality skills, while also acknowledging the invaluable contributions of staff. The event was thoroughly enjoyed by all in attendance and was a true testament to the dedication and enthusiasm of the Year 9 Pastry Chef class.

Bec Rockliff
Teacher – Penquite

Felipe Madero Restrepo from Colegio Anglo Colombiano has finished his time with us at Scotch Oakburn and returned to Bogota. It was a pleasure to have Felipe as part of our community for most of this term. His host, Samuel Fischer, will visit Felipe in Colombia in Term 4 of this year. Here are some thoughts on the recent experience from the two Year 10 students.

“Being part of an exchange is a unique experience.
When you go on an exchange you will make lifetime memories.
The best part of the exchange is to make unique bonds and relationships with many friends.” – Felipe Madero

“Hosting an exchange has given me a new perspective of life at home.
Hosting and exchange is a great way to build confidence and communication skills.
Hosting an exchange has taught me about culture, friendship, and myself, just as much as travelling would have.”- Samuel Fischer

Congratulations to both students on a very successful Round Square exchange experience.

Stuart Walls
Director of Round Square

School culture is a term you may often hear when discussing a school’s perceived success. It can be strong and positive, or fractured and negative. Culture determines not just the environment of an organisation or a school, but it also shapes the people within it.

Whether you realise it or not, your classmates, teachers and opportunities available to you here at the College play a big role in determining your character and your behaviours. Various types of culture are evident in the world of work. In one workplace, it may be considered normal to take regular breaks, whilst in another it may be expected that you stay behind late if you have not finished a job. From strong and positive culture emerges cohesion, a sense of unity and identity, and greater success.

The importance of positive culture within groups and teams was highlighted a few years ago when journalist Sam Walker researched what it took to be a truly great sports team. This research took him 11 years, and he used many different metrics to determine the greatest teams in history.

He came up with a list of 17 that were head and shoulders above the rest. These included the All-Blacks rugby union team of 2011 to 2015, the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL from 1974 to 1980 and the Australian women’s hockey team from 1993 to 2000.

Through his research, Walker determined that there was a single factor that was common in all of these teams. This one catalyst that allowed these teams to be so successful was not what Walker expected. It wasn’t the sheer talent of the team or the masterful tactics, nor was it bottomless financial resources available to use. It was the culture within the side that drove success, a culture prioritising input (what you give), rather than output (the destination you hope to get to). Without input, the output cannot become reality. A strong culture meant that these sides could achieve long-term dominance in their respective sports even though they perhaps did not have the best players or tactics or had the most money.

Just like these sporting teams, we, as a College community, should continue to strive to improve our culture as it leads to personal and school-wide growth, and a settled and safe environment for all. Improvement does not require wholesale changes, nor does it happen overnight, instead it’s the little things we can all do that can have the biggest impact.

Whether it is turning up and watching your mates or siblings play sport or perform in a production or doing small acts of kindness to brighten someone’s day, regardless of whether you’re friends with them or not, these actions all play a part.

We must celebrate our successes, not with arrogance, but with pride, and our failings should galvanise us to try harder and not to complain louder. Our culture should allow everyone to find a reason to enjoy school.

I want us to be proud to wear our uniform and represent our badge and to achieve this, we, as the student body, must make the effort to continue to always contribute to a positive school climate and culture, because great school culture is not an accident, everyone must buy into it.

Harry Newman
College Co-Captain

Our Year 10 Fashion Design students recently had the unique opportunity to participate in a Fashion Illustration Workshop led by Prue Rainey, a renowned Australian designer with over 20 years of success in the fashion industry.

Prue is best known for her tenure as Head of Design at Cue, where she steered the label through a period of remarkable growth — expanding the brand from 80 to over 200 stores and helping Cue become the top-selling brand at Myer. A major career milestone included Cue’s first-ever solo runway show at Australian Fashion Week 2023 (AAFW).

After completing a Master’s in Fashion Design and Styling at Accademia Italiana in Florence, Prue went on to develop ILLYSTRATE — a fashion illustration tool designed to support creatives in translating their ideas onto paper. The innovative tool allows users to trace around a moveable figure to create accurate and proportioned fashion silhouettes.

Workshop Highlights
Students engaged in:

• A comprehensive introduction to the ‘9 Heads Theory’ for fashion figure drawing
• A live demonstration of the IllyStrate tool
• Advanced rendering techniques used in professional fashion illustration
• Direct interaction and feedback from Prue Rainey
• Application of workshop skills to current class projects and portfolio development

The session was both inspiring and practical, equipping students with tools, techniques, and insights that bridge industry practice with classroom learning. We thank Prue for generously sharing her experience and elevating the creative journey of our emerging fashion designers.

Julie Heggarty
Teacher – Textiles

SNUG NOT STRUGGLING

Following the term holidays, community members can donate to my EY8 Project by leaving items at the Middle School reception.

Thomas Harris
Year 8 Student

JUMPING TRAINING DAY

Date: Sunday 13 July, entries close Wednesday 8 July

Gates open 7:30 am for a 9 am start.

Address: Springfield Recreation Ground; 798, 10 Mile Track Springfield, TAS 7260.

Jumping for New Jumps is an inaugural event to support fundraising for new and improved jumping equipment at North Eastern Pony Club. Entries via nominate, for more info, contact Zoe via zoe.nichols.29@my.soc.tas.edu.au.

No ribbons, simply a chocolate and a carrot for a clear round.

Jumping heights: Poles on the ground, 30cm, 40cm, 50cm, 60cm, 70cm, 80cm, 80-90cm, 90cm, 90-100cm, 100cm

The event is run as a training day with coaching allowed, lead reins welcome and will be a fun, supportive day for green horses and riders or those wishing to build confidence at new heights. Riders are welcome to wear casual or fancy dress, no plaiting required. Pony Club & EA members $10 a round, for non-members a $10 day-insurance fee will apply. Maximum 3 rounds for the day.

All families please bring a plate of food to share.

Zoe Nichols
Year 8 Student

SOC2City is all about connecting with our community and environment. During Week 7 all Year 7 students learned how central the Tamar River is to Launceston, historically and today.

We discovered that the water’s colour comes largely from the tea trees lining its banks, as well as the Dolerite rocks found throughout the Gorge. We also learnt that the estuary is a thriving ecosystem, home to trout, mullet, eels, seals, and even old, sunken boats! In addition, we heard about the large vessels that still enter the area for servicing.

Building on our classroom studies about the importance of water in both English and Humanities and Social Science, these ‘outside classrooms’ are not only bringing our learning to life but making it more meaningful and engaging.

Katie Lester
Head of Year 7

On Wednesday 18 June, Earth Club held a bake sale to raise money for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. This organisation helps protect the reef from things like coral bleaching and pollution, and we wanted to do something to support that.

Earth Club is a group of students who care about the environment and want to take real action. We meet every Wednesday at lunchtime to talk about the changes we want to see and how we can help. Sometimes we even write letters to members of parliament to make our voices heard. We always welcome new members, anyone who wants to help the environment is welcome.

I’ve always been passionate about the environment. I’ve loved being outside, around animals and the water, ever since I was little. To me, the environment means life. Without it, there would be no Earth.

If there’s one message I could share with everyone, it’s this: stand up for what you believe in and try to make a difference, even in small ways. Something as simple as planting a tree can make a big impact — that tree might become a home for animals or help clean the air. Every action counts.

We’d also like to say a big thank you to Mrs Oates Pryor for supporting Earth Club and helping us with the setup of the bake sale. We were so excited to raise $445.65! I’m proud of what we achieved, and I hope it inspires others to get involved too.

Sophie Anthony
Earth Club

Our Elphin students have come together to celebrate friendship, aligning with a core goal of our College Wellbeing priorities and supporting our sense of belonging.
This week also helped to:

• reinforce concepts learnt through the Friendology program
• build a positive school culture through whole school participation
• create joyful shared experiences with Buddies and peers

Buddy classes posed for fun photos, reflected on how an obstacle course can be like navigating our friendships, created chalk art designs together and contributed their ideas about ‘trust and respect’ for an Art Mural through drawing.

We look forward to continuing to strengthen positive relationships to support students’ sense of belonging and connectedness.

Renee Hodgetts
Director of Wellbeing Elphin

During Term 2, 17 Year 5 students committed to taking part in Readers’ Cup. In teams of five or six, they studied five books in preparation for an extensive quiz. Students also selected one of these books as the focus for a short creative presentation. Collaborating during recess and lunch, students were supported in this process by Laura Beaumont, Marissa Saville and me.

At our intra-school event, students began by sharing their creative presentations. We thank our judges — Andy Prideaux, Ben Green and Andrew Sulzberger — for their time and expertise. With only half a point separating the creative performances, the pressure was on for the quiz round. It remained extremely close, with the winning team made up of Sophie Lim, Estelle van der Aa, Mia d’Emden, Audrey Tso, and Suvani Somarathna.

The team continued to study and polish their presentation, ready to represent the College at the Readers’ Cup Regional Final, held on the evening of Thursday 29 May at Hagley Farm School. In addition, the team was required to study an extra book in just 10 days, as the regional final included an additional creative challenge based on this book. When one of the original team members became too unwell to attend, Percy Calvert stepped up from another team at the last minute to take their place.

After a long evening of watching 18 competing school teams perform their presentations and answering an entirely new set of even harder quiz questions, our Scotch Oakburn College team was thrilled to learn they had placed second overall.

Congratulations to all students who embraced this opportunity and challenged themselves!

Naomi O’Loughlin
Head of Extension & Enrichment Elphin

Over the Term 2 holidays please note changes to our Senior School reception hours:

CLOSED
Monday 30 June – Friday 11 July

OPEN
Monday 14 – Monday 21 July 9:00 am – 4:00 pm

Regular hours of 8:30 am – 4:00 pm will return from Tuesday 22 July.

Both the Middle and Junior School receptions will be closed for the entire holiday period. If you need assistance during this time, please call the Business Office on 6336 3300.

Former Scotch Oakburn College student Stephanie Wilks (’23) competed for Bond University, in the winning team, at the 2025 Sports Arbitration Mooting competition in Madrid. Hosted by the Swiss Arbitrarion Academy, this annual competition affords participants the opportunity to develop advocacy skills in sports arbitration. It attracts law students from around the world. There is a lengthy qualification process and a week’s training camp for the 16 international teams which make finals.

Stephanie was introduced to mooting by Helen Dosser who trained three Senior students and took them to the National High School Debating Competition at Bond University. From this, Stephanie received a scholarship to study law at Bond, joined their mooting program and is now an international gold medallist. Mooting is not a College sport but the students were super keen at the time to give it a go and Helen was qualified (background in law), so the stars aligned.

Congratulations Steph.

Sharon Beattie
Person-in-Charge Debating

NIJSSA CROSS COUNTRY
Held under beautiful blue skies at Windsor Park, the NIJSSA Cross Country provided an excellent setting for some outstanding performances.

Our students gave it their all, with many achieving personal bests and showing fantastic effort and determination throughout the races. The supportive team spirit and positive attitude displayed by all made it a memorable day of competition.  Scotch Oakburn College finished 2^nd overall in a close finish with Sacred Heart.

Top 10 finishers:

PRIMARY SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS

In stark contrast, the All Schools Championships at Symmons Plains tested our students in cold, rainy, and muddy conditions. With over 250 competitors in each race, the event posed a significant challenge. Despite the tough weather and slippery terrain, our runners demonstrated incredible resilience and perseverance, pushing through to complete their races with grit and pride.

We congratulate all participants for their exceptional efforts and thank families and staff who supported our students on the day. These events highlight not just athletic ability, but the strength of character within our College community.

Top 50 finishers:

SECONDARY ALL SCHOOLS CROSS COUNTRYThis year saw another huge team of 82 students taking part in the Tasmanian All Schools Cross Country Championships at Symmons Plains.Continuing the trend from last year, Scotch Oakburn had the largest team competing out of the 60 secondary schools from around Tasmania. Congratulations to all our students that competed on the day and gave your all for the  College.With our strong participation across all age groups, created some excellent team event results along with the many sensational individual performances. The highlights being Zahli Wescombe (Year 10) placing first in the U17 Womens event and Sophie Marshall (Year 12) finishing first in the U20 Womens event. Other top 10 places were:

Individual Results:

Team results

In the team results, Scotch Oakburn won five out of 12 events; U20 Boys first, U20 Women first, U18 Women first, U17 Women first, U15 Boys first and also placed third in the U18 Boys competition. NSATIS results are still being calculated, with signs that Scotch Oakburn is going to feature strongly in the Shields competitions. A presentation for both All Schools and NSATIS will happen early in Term 3 where medallions and certificates will be presented to the students in assembly.Congratulations to all students on showing excellent sportsmanship, effort, and support throughout the day, upholding the College’s Values. I would like to extend my thanks to Ms Kim Badcock, Mr Andrew Nichols, Mr Brendan Long and Mr Tim Reese for their words of encouragement and support to the students as they ran the course.A full list of results for the event can be found HERE.

This week concludes the Year 5 and 6 Winter Sport roster. Students have participated in a range of sports including AFL 9’s, hockey, badminton, netball, table tennis and soccer.

The competition promotes cross campus connections, as students from Elphin and Penquite combine to form teams and enjoy an afternoon of physical activity, sportsmanship and fun, whilst competing against other independent schools from across Launceston. This opportunity encourages students to embrace the Learner Attributes of Collaboration, Effective Communication and Courage.

A huge thank you to Mr Clyde Goosen for co-ordinating the rosters, equipment and venues for this competition, it is greatly appreciated, especially by our students.

Esther Croft-Elliot
Head of Year 6

Scotch Oakburn had a record number of players involved in the U14 Inter-Regional Tournament that was played over the June long weekend.

Students Alice Hyde (Year 7), Gwyneth McLoughlin (Year 7), Charlotte Moore (Year 7), Tori Gillespie (Year 8), Daniel Brumby (Year 8), Will Cole (Year 6) and Robert Mackinnon (Year 7) represented the North of the state and competed against teams from the Northwest and the South. The weather made the conditions somewhat difficult, but all worked hard and represented their region and the College proudly.

The four Southern teams (two for each tournament) were noticeably stronger, but the North Girls beat the Northwest team to finish 3rd.

Our players will have learnt a lot and will come back stronger after facing strong oppositions.

Fabrice Dauchez
Person-in-Charge Hockey

Our community connections are important. We encourage our community to get behind Old Scotch Collegian Football Club this season and support our extended community.

On Saturday teams are playing are play at their home, NTCA Ground.

All fixtures can be found here:

Mens Fixtures |  Womens Fixtures | Under 18s

We look forward to following the teams this season.

Information from our community for these school holidays.