Yalari Partner Schools
WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH...
SCOTCHIES GET ONTO IT!
By Dale Bennett (Deputy Principal) and Kara Cleary (Head of Girls Boarding) - Scotch College, Adelaide
T
he last few months have been unsettling, presented unknowns and at times left us all feeling vulnerable. From adversity comes great things and the great thing we have seen at Scotch is that it is the everyday people in our lives who come together and can achieve extraordinary things. When we heard SA schools would likely open for Term 2 we knew we needed to get our boarders back from their homes to our Rosevear boarding family. Importantly our interstate boarders needed to have every opportunity to join their classmates at Scotch…even if it meant we would need to overcome some perplexing circumstances. Most boarders had been learning remotely for about five weeks in Term 1 and whilst most were able to adapt, for some the challenges were huge. We had one student who was living on a boat near his grandparent’s apartment unable to live with them due to the risk, numerous students who had inadequate internet and there were those who found the online environment not that easy to learn in. We also had a huge incentive. If we could get our boarders home and through quarantine requirements, we could also reinstate our classroom program full time. Naturally there was a huge desire from students and staff for that to happen.
ACTION STATIONS… Kara Cleary, our Head of Girls Boarding, set things in motion. Having heard about NT parents who were keen to get their kids back to their Adelaide schools, Kara approached the amazing Tracey Haye, NT politician and mother of a boy at Saint Peters College, who had organised a flight back from Alice to Adelaide for station kids. Kara and Meredith Ridgway, our boarding administrator, reached out to the NT Cattlemens Association, the Royal Flying Doctors Association and Abstudy to pull together a plan to get our students back. You can only imagine the numerous phone calls to families and organisations that were required. The effort was phenomenal and individuals we came across in the planning were amazing. Ashley Manicaros from the Cattlemens Association, having no connection with the school or the families, selflessly liaised with RFDS to get our charter flight from Alice Springs to Adelaide. Meredith worked with the Abstudy team in Darwin to coordinate transport and flights for 7 Yalari students to meet up and make a flight from Darwin to Alice within 48 hours of departure. They were joined by three more boarders in Alice for the flight back to Adelaide. In the meantime, we had two families opt to drive their four boarders to the NT/
SA border where they were met by the Boys Head of Boarding, David Scholz, who travelled the epic 13 hours to collect them to turn around and travel 13 hours back with four very excited boys in the SUV. The vehicle was actually owned by one of the Darwin families who had left it in Adelaide for their use when visiting. The highlight for those students was not only breakfast at Coober Pedy but running out of petrol as they coasted into Glendambo having underestimated just how far you can get on an empty tank. At this time, another boarder had grabbed the opportunity to fly from NSW to ensure that all our interstate students could isolate together. To get all these boarders to Scotch, we needed to work with the NT Police, the SA Police and Health Authorities and other government officials finalising paperwork for travel and isolation plans once the students had reached Adelaide.
LIFE IN ISOLATION Back in Adelaide we knew we had to have 13 students in isolation that needed to be cared for the best we could in these unique circumstances. The decision was made to use a wing of Rosevear to house the boys and Jackie Newbegin, the College Nurse, kindly offered for the
Jacob Nichaloff
Class of 2015 | Scotch College, Adelaide
“Since I have left Scotch College, I made the decision to stay in Adelaide to pursue my music career. I have been making music for the past 2 years and since then I have launched singles including ‘My People’ recently passing 110,000 views on YouTube & more. I have recently signed a management deal with a company based in Melbourne which has opened up many opportunities for me in the music industry - including Triple J recently playing my tracks on radio and I have been Spotlight Artist on their home pages twice. When I am not working on music, I work for an Indigenous company called Palya which was formed in 2019 to focus on supporting Indigenous communities across Australia. Palya contributes each year to the Mai Wiru Foundation and provides support to communities and distributing products up through the APY Lands.”
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Yalari - Celebrating 15 Years