Breaksea House News

It is with pride and sadness that I write my final piece for the Breaksea section of the Buzz. Over the last three years, I’ve fallen in love with the students of Breaksea and the amazing house and community. Term Four has quickly come to completion and the young people of Breaksea have been involved in so many exciting adventures and times of learning. 

After the long weekend, the Year Nine students came and joined us in Breaksea. Each student has seamlessly transitioned with great bonds being quickly forged, through shared experiences and lovely moments of shared learning. 

Congratulations to Chelsea Evans, Dannielle Frost and Lily Quick who were all involved in six performances over two weeks in The Real Inspector Hound. It was an enormous commitment and so much fun to watch. 

As we have moved towards Christmas, the house has been decorated and Christmas baking began. Last Friday, we enjoyed creating chocolate cupcakes decorated as reindeers, Christmas designs or just a lot of chocolate! Amy Medway led the way with Charlie Ritchie baking the cakes and many others joining in for the decorating. Saturday afternoon began with a trip to Woolworths where a team of girls chose what they needed to decorate a gingerbread house. After dinner, there was a competition to create the most amazing gingerbread house or gingerbread people. There was a 'pink delight' and an Aussie Christmas cabin. Some helpful students from Eclipse came over to judge and the Aussie cabin won!! There may be some consternation over the result, but it was a fun evening. 

Christmas is a time of year when we all look forward to sharing food with family and friends. However, not everybody finds this an easy festive period. Consequently, the students of Breaksea have been collecting food to donate to Foodbank. On Thursday, some of the Year Eleven students joined me in delivering the food to Foodbank in Albany. They were very appreciative, and the students enjoyed blessing others for Christmas. 

We have come to the end of examinations and assessments and each of the students has risen to the challenges of studying, preparing and revising. 

The Year Eleven students have had a variety of experiences during the exam period, with students on a full ATAR pathway spending time studying in Breaksea and those on a General Pathway having the amazing opportunity to gain credentials in a variety of courses. To celebrate the end of exams, the Year Eleven students set off for camp earlier this week to Bluff Knoll. We wished them all well and hope that it was a great time for forging connections for their final year of school next year. 

Birthdays

Happy birthday to all those who have shared a recent birthday in Breaksea, Georgia Patterson, Georgia Williams, Annabelle Lydeamore and Eilidh Kershaw. 

We also send birthday wishes at home to two of our Year Twelves, Holly Blechynden and Kate Squibb.  They are no longer boarding but we wish them well for their birthdays.

There are three more birthdays to come to see the year out, all three girls will celebrate in the school holidays.  So happy birthday to Ella Main, Charlie Ritchie and Joy Blurton.

Thank you to all those parents, students and staff who have supported me in my role as Head of Breakea over the last three years. As Bailey and I move to Sydney, driving across the Nullabor, we will have a lot of time to reflect on just how blessed we have been to be immersed in the boarding community of GSG. I wish all of you a wonderful harvest, Christmas, and New Year. 

Ms Vanessa Bromhead | Head of Breaksea House