Boarding

Welcome Back!

This year we warmly welcome 77 boarders to our Macdonald and Speirs Boarding Houses. We especially welcome our new families who are both new to the boarding journey and to College. We are fortunate enough to have boarders from the Western District of Victoria, South Australia, Melbourne and overseas. We also welcome current College families who are beginning their boarding journey for the first time.

Our new boarders are:

Arabella Dunstan (Yr 7)
William Mackeller (Yr 7)
Harry Dorahy (Yr 7)
Abigail Treloar (Yr 8)
Luca Wagner (Yr 8)
Alice Whitehead (Yr 9)
Tessa Ingham (Yr 9)
Jorja Edwards (Yr 9)
Hayden Parker (Yr 9)
Tom Hutchings (Yr 9)
Grace Cowland (Yr 10)
Chloe Brinkman (Yr 9)
Macy Cameron (Yr 10)
Henry Haynes(Yr 10)
Justin Lee (Yr 11)
John Charnley (Yr 11)
And Millie Austin (Yr 12)

I hope everybody has enjoyed a summer break with family and friends. Unfortunately, there are family’s who we understand have had to experience the ravages of the fires from East Victoria to South Australia, including Kangaroo Island. Our thoughts are with you and your family and the Boarding House is committed in contributing to the Colleges’ response in assisting those areas in their recovery.

A quick update on our staffing for 2020. Gail McGregor, who has an extensive career in pastoral care at the Boarding House, will be farewelling us after semester one of this year and in replacement of her time and effort we have employed two House Mothers. I would like to welcome Lise Lowe who will be working with our Head of Speirs, Nick Palmer, in providing excellence in the care of our younger ones. Our Head of Macdonald House, Gabbi Bensch will be supported by Liz Anagnostou as the House Mother for our younger girls. We also welcome Abbie Cameron and Tim Cameron who will be overseeing an extra level of support for our International Boarders both here in the Boarding House and at our Senior School. It is this level of excellence in pastoral care that sets ourselves above all comparative schools.

On the topic of staff, can I please introduce all of our staff. In the Speirs House we have our Head of House, Nick Palmer supported by :

Lise Lowe
Justin Cordbidge
Jim Whitehead
Brian Parfrey
Gavan O’Donnell

In the Macdonald House, we have our Head of House, Gabbi Bensch supported by:

Liz Anagnostou
Patty See
Abbie Cameron
Julie Burger

Our staff extend beyond our MOD’s and I thank our chef, Alfonso Cano, maintenance staff, cleaning staff, medical staff and of course our teaching staff who all play a part in the boarding community.

There are also two very important young leaders that I would like to acknowledge - Boarding Captains, Lizzie Duver and Ben McCure, who have taken charge of their roles with the energy and enthusiasm that we expect from our College leaders. Their vision to improve the Boarding House is exciting and I look forward to watching their ideas come to fruition.

This year we have a very strong motto. Work hard and Be kind. We believe this simple but firm message is one that we can all adhere to and will be beneficial not only our academic rigour but also the care and attention for each other. I encourage all families to support us in our endeavour to promote the ethic of working hard in everything that we aspire to achieve this year, and to instil the value of being kind to one another, and to ourselves. I believe these traditional but strong values set a strong foundation for success, not just in the years at College, but for life. Our boarders will surely be reminded of these values not only from our MOD’s, but also from our Captains.

New Speirs House boarders (Harry Dorahy, Will McKellar, Henry Haynes, Luca Wagner, Tom Hutchings and Hayden Parker)

Casual Boarding

Have you ever considered casual boarding? With our after-school programs in full-swing and our day school students taking these opportunities with determination, our Boarding Houses’ offer a comfortable place option mid week. When a casual boarder finishes their after-school commitment they are picked up by our driver and brought back to the Boarding House. Here they enjoy dinner, academic assistance, super supper (on a Wednesday), a warm and comfortable bed for the night with breakfast and lunch the following day. Casual boarding is becoming a popular choice for families and their children of all ages, and I encourage any family to consider this option for their son or daughter to alleviate after school pressure.

If you would like to trial boarding, experience the benefits of casual boarding or simply enquire about boarding in general please do not hesitate in contacting Susie Holcombe via holcombes@hamiltoncollege.vic.edu.au or myself at amonk@hamiltoncollege.vic.edu.au or 0407 052 214.

Mr Andrew Monk

Director of Boarding