As we come to the end of Term Three, we reflect on what a busy term it has been for our boarders, with so many events, sporting commitments and academic demands. It has been a busy time for us also, Tara has been to the ABSA Forum and to Newdegate over the past month. Vanessa has been planning the Year Twelve events that occur over the next six weeks. It is such a time of mixed emotions for all our Year Twelves.

Staffing

We welcomed Wayne Freeman to the team as our bus driver in Week Nine. Wayne is Amber Freeman’s husband and has worked in correctional services for many years. He enjoys handy work and repairing and has recently been doing small renovations for friends and family. Wayne and Amber recently enjoyed travelling to see the north of our state for a term. Wayne and Amber have two married children and are enjoying being grandparents to Indiana who is eighteen months old. Next term, Wayne will drive the bus on Mondays, Fridays and every second Sunday and we are already enjoying working with him.

Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA) Forum

The ABSA forum was an incredible opportunity for Tara to network with other Heads of Boarding from all over Australia and New Zealand. This conference has boarding staff and leaders from all over Australia and the Pacific together and provides a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas, stories and learn from each other. The highlights for her were to hear Li Cunxin to tell his life story, he is the author of the Mao’s Last Dancer and his story was incredible with the message that hard work will lead you to success. The other highlight for me was the guest speaker psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg on the topic Is That a Psychologist in your Pocket. He listed ten websites and apps (the psychologist in your pocket) to support mental health in teens. They are:

Newdegate Machinery Field Days

The Newdegate Machinery Field Days was fun as ever. Mrs Julia Bairstow, Community Relations Manager, and I enjoyed connecting with the community and staying with a lovely local family. The coffee and the doughnuts were so good and we always enjoy our time on the road. We look forward to the Kojonup and Katanning Agricultural Shows in Term Four.

Women in Farming Conference

Vanessa has been on the road recently to the Women In Farming Annual Seminar in Cranbrook. Here is her reflection of the day.

One of the highlights of my year is attending the Women in Farming Conference. This year, Julia Bairstow and I travelled to Cranbrook to set up our GSG stall and learn from the amazing women who work in the farming industry. The décor and hospitality of the Cranbrook members was superb.

Throughout the day we heard from key people within various aspects of the agricultural industry and key success stories from our region. A highlight for me was hearing from Mr Colin Ford on the panel discussing his successful pig and egg enterprise, truly a perfect breakfast combination. During the breaks, we met with many GSG parents past and present and, hopefully, some future boarding families too.

Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA) Boarding Student Leaders' Conference

Each year ABSA hold a virtual boarding student leaders' conference for all boarding students in Year Eleven seeking leadership at their school. The conference was held last Tuesday, 13 September and six of our prospective leaders were able to attend, with one prospective leader at another course on the same day.

The talks were both informative and interactive, focusing on becoming the leader you wish to be, inspirational stories from leaders, building foundations for legacy, practical leadership, servant leadership and setting a successful vision. What all the students enjoyed most were the break out sessions meeting with other boarders from around Australia and even overseas. A couple of students from India had joined the online workshops at 4.30am to be involved in the experience. There were fun activities, requiring students to show off a boarding pet, a red item of clothing or other movement games between various boarding students.

Some of the messages the students found impactful were:

Treat your relationships how you would a savings account. You get out of the account what you have put into it. Natalie Heron
We need to increase the connections between the boarding houses and spend more time together. Hamish Medway
Your values and your influence shape the community around you. As a leader, you need to respect the role modelling responsibilities you have. Ava Smith
Create more opportunities for games and fun between the houses. Bethany Robertson
Be more inclusive. Darcy Barrett
Make sure everybody’s voice is heard and is included in the activities within boarding. Brendan Quick.

We thank our prospective leaders and hope that what they have learnt through this conference can continue to positively influence our boarding community.

Year Twelve Farewell Dinner

A few years ago we began a tradition of the Years Ten and Eleven students honouring and creating a farewell meal for our Year Twelve students. In Term Four, there is the opportunity for staff to say farewell with parents and the Year Twelve students and we thought it was important for the students to have an opportunity also to say farewell and create a memorable occasion.

Over this term, the Years Ten and Eleven students have been meeting and planning last Sunday night’s spectacular. This year it was decided that we would combine the Eclipse and Breaksea function into one celebration and hold the event in the Dining Hall. The planning committee spent a long time working out how to transform the space into a wonder of greenery, black and gold. We had our resident sleuth and artist, Bethany Robertson, complete a pretend Maths survey and discover the favourite foods, colours and items of each Year Twelve student. This provided the basis of the foods for the evening and the hand-painted frame of a signed photo each student received.

The theme was Op-Shop Formal, the red carpet was rolled out, and everyone dressed to impress. There was an Instagram-worthy balloon garland for photos and a pavlova grazing table to ensure everyone loved dessert. It was a spectacular evening of great food, fun conversations and even a pinata for Year Twelve. As we couldn’t attach the pinatas to the roof, Mr Colton and Hamish Medway kindly held the numbers as each Year Twelve student bashed the pinata until all the lollies covered the floor.

An enormous thank you to all the Years Ten and Eleven students for making this occasion such a success and building memories for Year Twelve. There were many students who worked significant hours to prepare for the evening, collecting plants, designing table places, decorating the dining hall, cooking and laying out the dessert table. These occasions build and highlight the community of GSG boarding.

Transport Bookings

We are now completing all transport bookings through Reach, and whilst there have been a few teething problems, we are very happy with this system.

Boarding Photo Competition

As is tradition, we open our Boarding Photo Competition at the end of Term Three to all boarders in Years Seven to Eleven. The winner of the competition will be announced at the Boarding Christmas dinner late in Term Four.

We have two categories for the competition and boarders can enter two photographs in each category. These are:

Landscape or Iconic Place
People and Characters

Please encourage your child/ren to be involved in this fun competition, it really does bring a little something extra special to the Christmas dinner. The school holidays is the perfect time to start taking some holiday snaps.

Surveys

We are currently planning the parent and student survey, we will email it to all families in the first week of Term Four. Please look out for this survey, as we take careful note of feedback and seek to implement improvements accordingly.

Holiday Break

We wish all families a lovely break and will welcome boarders back on Monday 10 October from 4.00pm. Please contact your Head of Boarding House if you require an earlier return for your boarder.

Ms Vanessa Bromhead | Head of Senior Boarding

Mrs Tara Ball | Head of Middle Boarding

Dates to Remember

Week One, Term Four

Week Two, Term Four

Week Three, Term Four