Scotch College

Around the School

Year Twelve Art Students attend Design Conference.

During the Easter Vacation, from April 11 to 13, twelve boys currently completing their final year in either Art or Studio Art, attended the Tenth Annual AG Ideas' Conference, held at the Dallas Brooks Centre, in East Melbourne.

The Conference ran for three days, with a very full programme, which stretched well into the evening. Each boy was able to attend a Designer night, selected on the basis of career aspirations. Held during the evening prior to the start of conference, the boys were invited to attend a commercial design studio, as part of a small group of secondary and tertiary students.

Graphic Design Studios, Photography Studios, and Multimedia firms all over Melbourne, gave their time free of charge, to assist with career advice for the students. This 'coal face' experience was invaluable, as it allowed the boys to speak directly with professionals, in their anticipated field of study.

The next three days were spent in the company of sixteen hundred art and design students, all taking part in this very special event. The conference was organised by Ken Cato, of Cato Design, and is the largest student design conference held in the world. Such is its reputation, that several students travelled from international destinations to attend.

Speakers at the cutting edge of design in their field were drawn together to present their ideas and experiences to the young audience. Speakers such as John Denton, architect, of Denton Corker Marshall, Alan Chan, advertising/corporate identity designer, Hong Kong, Nathan Thompson, event/performance/lighting designer, David Carson, graphic designer New York, a legend in the design industry, George Gittoes, painter/ photojournalist, who works in war zones recording the horror and carnage, Robyn Schremmer, digital effects Designer, Dick Powell, industrial designer, with clients such as BMW, Minolta and Cathay Pacific. This is not an exhaustive list, yet it readily illustrates the power and calibre of presenter, that these year twelve art students were able to experience.

Twelve boys were able to attend, and were assisted through the patronage of the Ken Field Memorial Fund. Some of the group are shown grouped together during a lunch break outside the conference centre.

Careers Night

Careers Night 2000 was held on Wednesday 3 May. Reflecting the trends of the new millenium and particularly the impact of information technology, the Careers Department staff Dr Robert Smith and Mr Mark Zannoni (with the assistance of the OSCA Careers committee) made a conscious effort to introduce a real global context to the evening. Thus new careers in the spotlight this year were E-commerce, Web Design, Development and Management Consulting.

Continuing the global theme, a session on tertiary study in the UK and USA was also held to enable students and parents to discover more about the growing trend to complete part or all of a degree overseas. This session was incredibly popular and has illustrated how today's young people are looking at the world in a much broader perspective than previous generations.

The traditional careers attracted excellent audiences as well, perhaps partially due to the invitations sent to all Year 9 students.

Hopefully many students will now take the opportunity to follow up their experiences at Careers Night by participating in the Mock Interview program in Term 3 and/or attending tertiary Open Days in August.

Two Make It Three in a Row

Year 10 students Ben Tolson (Captain Victoria. U15) and Tom McColl (Vice Captain Victoria U 14) have been selected for the third year in a row to represent Victoria in the State U16 Rugby Union Team. This year Ben (hooker) and Tom (five eighth) will be playing in the all important National Championships, which will take place on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland over the first week of July.

Ruaridh Atkins, Year 11 (prop) has also been selected in the 23 man squad and we take this opportunity to wish the boys the best of luck and continued success in what are already great rugby careers.

Pacific School Games - Sydney

Heath Janes competed in the multi-disabled section of the Pacific School Games in Sydney. Heath has been training with the Surrey Park Swimming Club, seeking qualification for the Pacific School Games, where he gained a finals berth for the 100 metres Butterfly. Finishing sixth out of all the Pacific School students present in his category, Heath moved on to swim the 100 Breaststroke, 50 Butterfly, 100 Freestyle, and the 50 Backstroke. His Butterfly time is competitive amongst able bodied school students who are pressed for speed because of Heath's dedication to his training.