Boarding House

How to change a tyre

Not the easiest task and one that many of us have not had to put into action – well, we probably don’t really want to be in the situation of having to change a tyre at all! But, it is a life skill and an important one at that. Our senior Mac House boarders were invited to a Monday Mechanic night with Briz (MOD) to learn how to change a tyre, check oil, and how to keep your car in good condition. With some Year 12 boarders permitted to drive their car to and from the Boarding House, and with many driving long distances, Briz’ workshop was appreciated. 

Tyra and Alice learning the art of tyre changing and engine checks.

Happy Mother’s Day

Our LifeSkills program does not only include our senior years but also has a focus upon our younger years, specifically Year 7-8. Lise Lowe worked with our younger boarders to guide them through some art and design in the evenings in preparation for Mother’s Day. The creative skills of our boarders were drawn upon to design and make personalised candles for our boarding mums. A very thoughtful gift – well done Year 7 and 8’s.

PERMA in Boarding

This week we continue our focus upon the tenets of Positive Education and living a fulfilled life. A life that encompasses:

• Positive Emotions (P)
• Engagement (E) 
• Relationships (R)
• Meaning (M)
• Accomplishments (A)

Building relationships is a key part of the success in boarding. In the past week we have focused heavily on strengthening the relationships between our boarders. One way we do this is through their common interest in sport; particularly AFL and AFLW. 

Last Wednesday evening we had our first Theme night for the Term, which brought out a range of footy teams we support. Footy is a favourite of all the boarders and their teams were well-represented from local, regional and national level. We can't go too far from recognising footy teams such as Kybie, Cobden, Penshurst, Caramut, Hamilton, Port Fairy, and the most important one of all, the mighty Bombers! Well done to our Boarding Captains, Bella and Charlie for organising and conducting a successful Theme Night. 

AFL/AFLW Theme football night

Our theme nights are always a great time for our boarders to share common interest, and AFL/AFLW is not far from the centre of all their passion. Bella and Charlie introduced the House Cup this year and making our theme night a competition was another great way for our boarders to set up some healthy competition. With a footy theme dinner to go with the theme, we all enjoyed the footy dinner and banter. 

Well done on Speirs House for taking out the Footy Colours Theme Night; I believe Charlie got the boys over the line with a technicality and House Parent, Lise’ Lowe’s theme colours!

Foozball table

This week I set the challenge for a couple of senior boys to put together a Foozball table. To be honest when it arrived and I unpacked it, I thought that it was just too difficult (much like most of the IKEA furniture I have failed to put together correctly!). Jack O and Charlie Ingham were perfect candidates to read the instructions and put a thousand bits and pieces together; and they did this very well indeed. Jack is a keen fisherman and tinker of all things motors, whilst Charlie is a motocross/enduro rider and knows his way around putting bikes back together. Thank you for putting together the foozball table for the Boarding House.

See you in Mildura! 

I would like to thank the hospitality and warm welcome of our Naracoorte families, existing, past and prospective. The Naracoorte visit was a perfect way to start our road trip for 2024, with Wimmera (Horsham), Mildura and Edenhope our next points of destination. 

After a successful journey to Horsham this week, I will be heading off for the drive north to Mildura. Not only will I be able to meet up with existing and prospective families, I will be manning a site at the Mildura Field Days to showcase the College opportunities and our boarding options.

Please pass on details to families around the area of Mildura or close vicinity, it would be great to ahve them visit the site or join me for dinner on Friday 17 May.

Dinner with out boarding community in Horsham this week.

Long weekend

A friendly reminder to be organised for the King's Birthday long weekend Exeat. 

The Boarding House will close from Friday, June 7 at 5 pm and then reopen on Monday, June 10 at midday.

If you require VLINE to Melbourne on Friday, June 7, early in the day, then this can be arranged for you to arrive in Melbourne before it is dark. We will also pick you up from VLINE here in Hamilton on Monday at any time you wish.

International Hot Pot

Last night, we hosted a heartwarming hotpot dinner for our international students. 

As the chill of the season deepens, there's been a burgeoning excitement for these gatherings, offering both the comfort of a familiar meal and the warmth of community.

This event was designed not just to bring a slice of home to our students but also to knit our college community even closer together.