Message from the

Director of Boarding

Term 4 Week 3

I had the pleasure of witnessing two special whole school assemblies this week. The first took place on Monday and centred around the induction of our newly appointed school leaders for 2018-19. Tutor House Captains, Boarding House Captains, Prefects of Mission, Charity and Service, Prefects of Boarding, Cadet SUOs and last but not least, the Head and Deputy Head Prefects themselves. I have mentioned their names in a bulletin before so I won’t dwell on it now but it did strike me as special that the majority of those appointed to the senior leadership positions are in fact, boarders. Personally, it highlights the strengths of our boarding program and the independence it fosters within our boarding community. The second special assembly which I refer to was in fact a whole school Chapel service with the focus being on NAIDOC. In an otherwise busy day, it was a delight to stand up the back of the DPA and listen to the wonderfully moving story of our guest speaker, Mrs. Mary Croker, a well-respected elder in the local indigenous community. She recounted the immeasurable sacrifice that her own mother had made in moving her young family to Orange, a strange place with no connections, and her story of determination and grit in putting the welfare and prospects of her family ahead of herself. Her story aligned, of course, quite strongly with the theme of this year’s NAIDOC week, ‘Because of her, we can’; a reference to indigenous women and the pivotal role they play within their families and wider communities. In saying all this, the highlight of the NAIDOC service was an indigenous dance routine performed by a small group of our own indigenous students. It was clear, right from the start, the level of time and effort that had gone into its’ conception and refinement. It was a fluid piece of theatre and one that our students (mostly boarders!) and community should be proud of.

The start of Term 4 has seen a renewed focus on providing a meaningful and engaging weekend program with much going on across both campuses. The yoga program at PLC has continued this term much to the delight of the PLC girls, Archery Tag has made an appearance and proved to be hugely successful, many cried at the end of the hugely emotional ‘A Star is Born’ whilst the Tower boys reveled with their new wood smoker, the customary Sunday BBQ and their new dartboard. The Trathen boys have started the term at a frenetic pace with the usual Friday night tennis and touch footy; the Wolaroi and Weymouth boys have enjoyed the chill of Mexican food and movies, Stuart-Douglas girls actually made green slime (why, I will never know!) on a Saturday night then found the time to shoot each other on the Sunday at Archery Tag. This weekend, our Year 9 and Year 10 boarders are planning a get together over at PLC with the plan involving a market garden makeover followed by bubble soccer then a BBQ to cap it all off. Hopefully, it will be a great opportunity for our boys and girls to spend some quality time together without the added social pressures that other functions bring.

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful Term 4 and that the weather is kind, wherever you might be.

Mr Matt Curran

Director of Boarding