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Well! What an unexpected turn of events! Despite the fact that before the day Alex was a one man team, and on the day he turned up AFTER his surrogate team had answered his round of questions…the Silverthorn team won the final by a narrow margin! Last minute ring-in, James, was fast, accurate and unflappable! Elliott was his usual loquacious self (without actually answering any questions), and Alex arrived in time to contribute to his teams’ points during extra time and the Quirky Questions. Well done team – your names will shine on the Scotch Factor Trophy.

The Macbeth experts (James, Daniel and Jamin )answered some pretty tough questions with aplomb, impressing myself and others with their detailed knowledge of the play, and ‘Eats, Shoots and Leaves’ members – Sam, Stuart and Ed, competed valiantly considering only 2 out of 3 team members had read their book- Two Pearls of Wisdom!

Mrs Sweeney

   

Term 3’s round of The Scotch Factor was tightly contested by Maa’s homebaked Cookies (Stormbreaker), Pending Due to Court Order (Watership Down) and The Unseelie Court (Tithe – Holly Black). Alex, Stuart and Sam, of the latter team,  were just too good on the day, and narrowly beat Nick, Chris and Andrew by half a point.

Thanks to Ms Morris who ran the show with panache whilst I was in Alice Springs.

We can now look forward to the Grand Final for 2008.  The Scotch Factor Trophy awaits new names, to sit proudly below those of Ed, James and Sam, winners of the 2007 Grand Final…or will some of the names be the same?

Mrs Sweeney

Outside the sun was shining and Scotch was in a flurry of preparation for the next day’s Family Day activities. Inside, the Senior Library was abuzz with talk of ‘rendition’, ‘erroneous rendition’ investigative journalists, CIA operatives, terrorist attacks and government overthrows. Just another busy lunchtime you might say? Well yes, but with the added excitement of local author James Phelan at Scotch’s launch of his latest blockbuster, Blood Oil.
Around 60 students and staff gathered in the reading area as Year 12 student Rob Marsh eloquently introduced James to his eager audience. James then read a passage from Blood Oil, his third book to feature investigative journalist Lachlan Fox working for GSR, Global Syndicate of Reporters. In this instalment, Fox is assigned to cover a terrorist attack on an oil refinery, which then leads to him uncovering a plot to overthrow the Nigerian government! Just another day at the office for Lachlan Fox!!
Year 8 student Michael Holloway scored a copy of Patriot Act and Staff member Ms. Joanne Fisher was most excited to win a copy of Blood Oil by answering James’s trivia questions. A Q & A session followed, with people keen to find out when a movie version of Lachlan Fox’s adventures would be made, as well as how Phelan chose the names for all his characters.
Book sales and signings followed with most of the audience taking up the opportunity to purchase one of James’ novels from the bookstall and have the author personally dedicate it. All too soon the bell rang and the launch was officially over, with sales of Blood Oil sure to soar as a result of a most successful Scotch launch.

Ms Morris

    

They said they were unprepared…they hadn’t read the book (1984  ) for months…they didn’t even like it…but, they’ve done it again. Despite a valiant attempt to oust these literary stalwarts by two courageous and competitive year 7 teams, Sam, Stuart and Ed have managed to secure their place in the 2008 Scotch Factor Grand Final.

‘The Chinese Princes’ – Sean, Matthew and Cormac, impressed us with their detailed knowledge of Chinese Cinderella.

‘Awesome’ - Jeffrey, Neil and Lachlan, also provided the year 10s with a credible challenge, proving themselves attentive readers of I Am David. However, the erudite team known as ‘Eats, Shoots and Leaves’, won by a small margin in the end.

Congratulations to all participants, including the audience who successfully tackled some abstruse questions such as ‘Which English Prime Minister won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953?’.

Teams wishing to compete in The Scotch Factor at the end of term 3 may see me for an application form at the start of term 3.

Mrs Sweeney

Images : http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cheesebikini.com/art/1984.jpg&imgrefurl

http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/pics/1984/1984-signet1981.jpg 29/06/08

http://www.ecommsec.com/images/1984.jpg 29/06/08

 

 

I have to start by saying that I found this book very compelling. Each of the characters represented a different frame of mind and personality. They were all distinctly different and all of them were believable. They were brought to life so well in the book that it felt like the happenings in the book were not out of the ordinary. I especially loved how the plot was unique and cleverly thought out. Each twist and turn was countered by a historical moment related to the main character’s ancestor. The author created suspense by gradually unraveling the story so that there was a harmonious balance of drama and portrayal. He left you turning the page until the end until which then everything made sense. I really enjoyed this book and it left me desiring more. I think that because this is a detailed but simple book, it should be the foundation stone for excellent story writing in many.

Review by Albert

 

With a hero who’s practically my namesake how could I resist reading this book? I’m glad I did, because it’s very funny and hugely enjoyable.

Michael Sweeney attends a boys’ school somewhere in Australia. To outsiders he’s an unremarkable Mr Nobody until he decides to befriend Tom, the American newcomer at school. Life suddenly becomes complicated as Michael discovers the secret identity of Tom’s dad, fights for a cause, falls for a gorgeous girl with a lightning fast tongue and tries hard to GROW UP!

There’s a poignant sub-plot involving a Vietnamese Australian teenager who’s on death row in Bangkok for trafficking heroin, plenty of gently ironic discussion of sex (for the first time), teachers (especially the attractive female ones), parents (never the kind you’d choose) and hearing impaired people(the girlfriend). Michael’s self-deprecating humour will leave you chuckling with self recognition whether you’re male/female, young/not so young, nerdy/cool.

Read this book before the 30th May so you can be part of an appreciative, informed audience when Sean Condon visits Scotch Lit. Club!

Mrs Sweeney

  

On the 16th November our 3 term winners courageously contested the Grand Final of this famous event! The victors were The Rangers (previously known as The Sonnets), James D, Sam M, and Ed C. Their special subject was The Ruins of Gorlan.

Competing against them were  The Scrutators - Andrew B, Alex S and Jeremy G (experts on  The Belgariad Series) and  The Topazians – Nathan T, Ronald Z and Jason H (specialists on The Forests of Silence). The distinguished Brains Trust consisted of Hamish M, Rob M and Tom M.

The Rangers were rewarded by being the first to have their names engraved on the new Scotch Factor Trophy. Of course they also recieved the traditional delectable consumerables.  I can’t wait to see what books you erudite boys choose to hone up on for the 2008 season!

Mrs Sweeney

In Lit. Club on the 29th June we celebrated the end of term with another exciting round of The Scotch Factor. The Riders (Allan Q, Andrew K & James N- Alex Rider series), Ma’s Homebaked Cookies ( Sam , Nick B & Nick M – Artemis Fowl) and The Hogwarts People (Jason H, Nathan T & Ronald Z – Harry Potter of course) vied for points, enlisting the invaluable help of the illustrious Brains Trust (Ms Morris, Rob M & Andrew B).

The Riders fought courageously(they were filling in for original team members Jamie P, Liang Q & Xiyang Z, who were unavoidablly detained at a less scintillating school activity – sorry you missed it boys), and made up for their piddling score in the special subject session by forging ahead when the Quirky Questions were asked. Ma’s Homebaked Cookies put in another stirling effort (they were competing for the second time this year) but were unable to match the almost perfect score notched up by The Hogwarts People. Congratulations boys – you certainly know your Harry Potter facts!
Thanks (again) to Nick for timing (come and see me for your non-chocolate reward Nick), and James for scoring.

If you’d like to test yourself on the Quirky Questions, read on. I’ll post the answers on August the 8th.
Those of you who haven’t yet pitted your wits against Lit. Club’s greatest minds, start thinking of a special subject for the next round of The Scotch Factor at the end of term 3.

Scotch Factor Quirky Questions, Term 2 2007

Lupus is the Latin word for which animal?

A: Linx

B: Rabbit

C: Wolf

What is the colour of magic, the eighth colour in the Discworld spectrum?

A: Octarine

B: Huitoise

C: Achtarine

The colours of which Hogwarts house are black and yellow?

A: Hufflepuff

B: Griffindor

C: Ravenclaw

Boy reporter Tintin’s best friend is a cursing seafarer known as Captain ___?

A: Haddock

B: Halibut

C: Herring

Which great British writer is buried in Westminster Abbey?

A: Charles Dickens

B: William Shakespeare

C: William Wordsworth

What is a group of rhinoceroses called?

A: a Clash

B: a Crash

C: a Smash

Which Sci-Fi novelist gave the world the Three Laws of Robotics?

A: Isaac Asimov

B: Ray Bradbury

C: Arthur C Clarke

As its German name literally suggests, what kind of a ghost is a poltergeist?

A: Clumsy

B: Friendly

C: Noisy

The name for which type of pasta is Italian for ‘little worms’?

A: linguine

B: spaghetti

C: vermicelli

Mrs Sweeney