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

Henry Wanyoike - a man of grit

henry-photo-1.jpg

 A prominent voice on the concept of Grit in recent years is Angela Duckworth, the author of  Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.  Duckworth says that one way to think about Grit is to think about what it isn't.  

"Grit isn't talent. Grit isn't luck. Grit isn't how intensely, for the moment, you want something. Instead, grit is about what some researchers call an 'ultimate concern' – a goal you care about so much that it organizes and gives meaning to almost everything you do. And grit is holding steadfast to that goal. Even when you  fall down . Even when you  screw up . Even when the progress toward that goal is halting or slow." www.angeladuckworth.com/qa/        

Henry  Wanyoike  is a Kenyan distance runner who has shown immense grit in his life. Henry's talent was recognised as a young boy who dreamt of representing Kenya one day. At the age of 21 Henry suffered a stroke and woke up blind, losing 95% of his vision. "I went to bed a normal person, the following day I found myself in darkness," Henry said. With the guidance of sighted runners, he started jogging again. Henry won gold at the Sydney Paralympics in 2000 and then broke the marathon world records for blind athletes at the London Marathon and Hamburg Marathon.  

In 2019 Henry is in Perth to run the City to Surf and will be spending  Wednesday 28 August  at Scotch. Henry will speak to various Year groups, but the wider College community is welcome to attend too.   

Please contact  Pru.adams@scotch.wa.edu.au  if you would like more information.    

60th Celebration

Tomorrow night Tuesday 20 August there will be a very special celebration in honour of the 60th anniversary of The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award in Australia. This event will be of  particular significance  to Scotch College because one of our own will be there to receive his Gold Award, one of only six (one for each decade) that evening.  

Aydin Hutchison (Year 11 Anderson House) , has managed to achieve his Gold Award at the age of 17 after already achieving his Bronze and Silver Awards. Aydin was honoured to be invited to receive his Award at the national celebrations in Sydney but due to them clashing with exams, has decided to stick with the major celebration on the Western Australian calendar. He will receive his Award from the Governor, The Honourable Kim Beazley AC.    

I have written about the benefits of completing the award many times, but do we underestimate the value of the Award to our boys' future?   

  • Imagine if there was a method by which we could celebrate our students' achievements across a broad range of activities outside of the classroom. Imagine if we could promote a healthy, balanced and fulfilling lifestyle that builds interesting and interested young adults.  
  •  Imagine if there was a recognition of well-rounded and committed young people that crossed borders, and that it had a common criterion that was recognised, all around the world.   

All of  these things do exist, and they are under the banner of  The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award .            

As noted earlier this year, Australian Geographic have  a great article outlining the history of the Award and Scotch has a proud history too. As well as some of the earliest Gold Awards in Western Australia in 1964, our Headmaster, Dr Keys, was an inaugural member and Chairman of the W.A. Division. More recently we had boys complete the Kokoda Track with the generosity of the Award Office and have had a significant number of Awardees in recent years.  

wa-division.jpg

Final reminder for 2020 Exchanges

A final reminder to Year 9 students - Applications for Round Square Exchanges are due on  Thursday 22  August  2019.