Boarding
Boarding Captains Elizabeth Duver and Ben McCure
The new school year has been exciting for us as we commence our year as Boarding House Captains. It was a highlight for us to have the pleasure of meeting all the new boarders and their families as they arrived, and we look forward to getting to know them more as the year progresses and helping them to settle in. We are so pleased to see all of our boarders return to boarding with energy and excitement.
On the first night back we hosted the annual Orientation games which had taken place on the main oval. It was a great way for our 17 new boarders to begin their boarding journey and be involved as the reintroduction of the Houses, ‘Dundas’, ‘Napier’, ‘Eccles’ and ‘Lang’ occurred. This also provided the opportunity for all of our boarders to interact with each other. These Houses will continue to serve this purpose throughout the year, with competitions occurring regularly. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and had a lot of fun despite being drenched with water and covered in flour!
We are enthusiastic about making a positive impact on the Boarding House community and focusing upon inclusion, working hard and being kind. We can’t wait to see what we can achieve this year with the boarders.
Young boarders’ Lifeskills program
This year we have introduced our House Mothers for our younger boarders, specifically our Year 7 and 8 boarders. Our House Mothers work closely with our boarders and their family overseeing their strong connection between home and boarding house. As part of their role our House Mothers, Liz Anagnostou (Macdonald House) and Lise Lowe (Speirs House) have created the lifeskills program. With a theme for each term the lifeskills program is a unique addition to the boarding experience of younger boarders. The lifeskills program aims to graduate our boarders into boarding life and enjoy all aspects of boarding and the boarding community. Our Term 1 theme is based upon integration, routine, and celebrating boarding achievements. Below is our Term 1 outline.
Week | Term 1: Integration, routine and celebration. |
1 | Getting to know each other, basic organisation, room prep, orientation games, boarding grounds familiarisation. |
2 | School organisation, day-to-day routines, prep routines, town familiarisation and town scavenger hunt. |
3 | Formal dinner and preparation with wearing #1’s – Guest speaker. |
4 | Super supper cooking for the House. |
5 | Communication skills – postcard/letter writing. Getting to know how to understand others’ communication. |
6 | Sports celebrations – House Mother to watch sports game. |
7 | Prep and organisation for assessment tasks and exams. |
8 | Sharing our boarding thoughts and experiences. Show and tell. |
9 | Board games and card games night. |
10 | Movie night and celebration of our first term together. |
Best wishes,
Andrew
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 Holcomb (holcombes@hamiltoncollege.vic.edu.au) or myself (amonk@hamiltoncollege.vic.edu.au or 0407 052 214).
Mr Andrew Monk
Director of Boarding