Boarding 

Fun In the Boarding House

Choosing who goes first for dinner has always been a very easy task; it is the Year 12’s! Sometimes though it is good to mix up the order a little with some friendly competition. Our House Mum, Gail McGregor loves to put the boarders through their paces before dinner and one of her favourite games is to try and move an Oreo into your mouth without using your hands. Not an easy task at all. Even our Gaoyou guests were involved in the fun.

Footballing Boarders

Last week, Tom Hindhaugh, Tyler Hately, Connor Hunter, Max Green, and Oliver Wortley all attended the Western Bulldogs Academy training in Melbourne. It was wonderful to see so many casual boarders take up the offer to stay in the House prior to an early start. Further to this, it is outstanding to recognise the hard work, fair play and high performance of Connor Hunter and Fergus Roberts over the past Under 16 Football season. For these boys to balance boarding life as well as perform at this level is outstanding.

Visiting Our Boarding Families

Over the past weekend I have had the pleasure to visit the homes of some of our farthest travelled boarders. I can only imagine the heart felt challenges of your son or daughter leaving home and attending boarding school, so I thought it would be good to begin visiting the homes of those families who have given us the opportunity to care for their sons and daughters. Thank you to the Koch household (Oakbank, South Australia), and the Andersen family (Mundulla, South Australia), who were kind enough to allow me to visit their wonderful homes. Meeting the family pets, seeing the grounds where the kids have grown up, and simply listening to family story over a cuppa or two was wonderful. I look forward to visiting more families in the near future.

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 can offer a comfortable place for an evening or two. When a casual boarder finishes their after-school commitment they are able to be 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.

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 or myself (amonk@hamiltoncollege.vic.edu.au).

Andrew Monk