Boarding 

The conclusion of another amazing term 

As we see out the conclusion of another term, I would like to extend a warm thank you to all boarding parents and supporters.

It is a significant commitment to send your child, or children, to boarding school and we truly appreciate the responsibility of allowing us to care for your son and/or daughter. We understand the time away from family can be challenging for both son/daughter and the parents, and this is why we are so heavily invested in understanding your child as best as possible, integrating them into activities, and seeing that their wellbeing is at the heart of all that we do.

As your son or daughter returns home, please ask them about their term, discover the friendships made, the activities they have been involved in, academic assistance support, the fun times, the hard times, and of course, how is the boarding food going! We have striven this term to engage our boarders into regular exercise, in particular, focusing upon the weekends. We now have a Term 4 activities calendar on the website for the boarders and I encourage your son/daughter to be involved in as many of these as they can. With the onset of spring, we can start to put the coughs, colds and sniffles behind us and look forward to warmer weather and sunny days; again, with the proposed trips and activities to the beach ahead it will be an exciting term to look forward to.

Understandably, Term 4 will bring about a serious stint of study for our Year 12 boarders, as well as those undertaking Unit 3-4 subjects. I wish our boarders all the very best in their time studying over the holidays and will also be welcoming many boarders back for the second week; where the VCE lectures will be conducted at College. I also look forward to seeing many parents attend the Year 12 Boarders’ Dinner at 6:30pm on Wednesday the 23rd of October. Invitations have been sent out and the RSVP is essential as we have one of the largest Year 12 boarding cohorts on record. Please note Year 12 parents we have canapes supplied for you and your family at 5:30pm so you are able to have photos taken prior to the dinner and spend some time with other families in the common room.

Please remember all students (including boarders) begin Term 4 on Monday the 7th of October. The parent-teacher interviews begin at 4pm on Monday the 7th and conclude in the vicinity of 8pm. The Monday is also the start of day-light savings so our boarders may be a little tired on the first day as they will lose an hour of sleep the night before!

The designated travel day is Sunday the 6th of October to the Boarding House where Justin Corbidge will meet our International Boarders at Tullamarine airport. I understand we have some International Boarders returning on Monday the 7th to Tullamarine airport and we have arranged a bus to meet our boarders on this day also.

Before the end of the term concludes, it is fitting we acknowledge the wonderful efforts of the boarders in all walks of life: the sporting field, community service, the equestrian centre, on camps, within the ELC and Junior School, on the stage, on the farm, in the band, and visiting friends in the countryside. Our boarders could be considered to “punch above their weight” with a clear example during last weekend’s hockey, netball and football finals. There are too many to mention, however, it is outstanding to hear of the sporting excellence our boarders demonstrate time and time again.

Well done to all boarders for a successful term and all boarding staff look forward to being witness to your success in Term 4.

Moon Cake Festival

To shed some light on the family away from family we have here in boarding, we celebrated the Moon Festival during this week. The Moon Festival is traditionally the harvest Mid-Autumn festival in China representing a time of coming together, family, and thanksgiving. We celebrated the festival with all boarders eating the traditional moon cake on Thursday evening. Although this was not the exact evening of the festival, our International Boarders, with others, celebrated full moon together on Saturday night, again eating the much loved and very sweet moon cake.

Thank you to Pei Chen who was a wonderful supporter in collecting the traditional moon cake from Melbourne for all to enjoy.

Celebrating wonderful staff

It is wonderful to welcome to the Boarding staff another addition to the Macdonald House team. Mrs Helen Wilken (nee Crawford) will be joining the MOD team beginning this holiday period. Helen attended The Hamilton and Alexandra College from Year 7 and was College Captain in 2003. She currently resides in Hamilton with her husband Tim where they have two wonderful young children, aged 3 and 1. Helen is a teacher of Health and Physical Education, and whilst she is not teaching at the moment, she relished the opportunity to return to the College in some capacity; boarding of an evening seemed a natural fit. We welcome Helen’s energy, positivity and compassion to the College where the girls will be thrilled to have a supportive, caring and ex-College captain caring for them.

Welcome Helen. The conclusion of this term will also see the departure of Leonie Hand, as she resigns from her position and focuses upon her day-to-day occupation. We all thank Leonie for her care and support of the boarders and wish her well in the future. Thank you, Leonie.

Drinks and Nibbles Invitation

Drinks and Nibbles on the Director of Boarding Lawn – 6th of October 4:00pm

Invitation to Stay a Night at the College Boarding House

One of the many amazing benefits of College is how closely the Junior School, Senior School and Boarding House work together to ensure we get to know the students personally and take a coordinated approach to help them achieve their best.

We are inviting students going into Year 7 in 2020 to stay a night in the Boarding House. There is a maximum of 10 spots available.

This opportunity is open to families who are considering boarding, even if it is a while down the track.

This one night stay is taking place on Wednesday 16 October. To ensure that students (and parents!) are comfortable with the Boarding House routine, we are holding a 45 minute information session and afternoon tea at 2.30pm on Wednesday 9 October.

If you are interested or would like to register your child for this exciting Boarding House experience, please contact Susie Holcombe, Registrar, or Andrew Monk, Director of Boarding:

Susie – 03 5572 1355 or holcombes@hamiltoncollege.vic.edu.au

Andrew - 0407 052 214 or amonk@hamiltoncollege.vic.edu.au

This is a FREE trial and a great way for your family to get a feel for the Boarding House and everything it has to offer.

Andrew Monk