Boarding News

The bright lights and awe of City Hall were certainly a fitting location for our 2021 Senior Formal. It was a wonderful occasion that saw boys in their Sunday finest walking hand in with their partner into the main ballroom. Table settings, buttonholes, corsages, photographs, music and outstanding interior design, ensured the atmosphere was befitting of such an occasion. It was great to have so many families in town to share this special occasion with their sons over the weekend. Highlights of the night included College Captain Henry Thomasson’s opening prayer, excellent dinner service, dancing and College war cries. What stood out the most was the number of boys who took the time to greet College staff members in attendance and introduce their formal partner. A real sign of the values of courtesy and respect we instil in our young men.

As we enter the busier period of the term, I encourage families to check in with their sons, particularly around academic and wellbeing tracking. Communication and feedback are vital in ensuring success. So, with this in mind, please don’t hesitate in reaching out to your sons’ teachers or boarding coordinators to check in on their progress and application to date. 

Many boys are excited about the upcoming Boarders Free Weekend. This provides much-needed family and downtime for our boys. As always, boys are expected to uphold their College commitments prior to leave. Please note that Monday is a Pupil Free Day, and boys are expected to return to residence no later 8:00 pm on Monday evening. It would be appreciated with those families intending on taking their sons out on leave that leave is lodged via Reach no later than Thursday morning this week.

In visiting residences throughout the week, they are without doubt all systems go. It is always great to see the boys interacting in common rooms over pool, table tennis, puzzles, conversations or the battle of minds over a chess game or two. Opportunities such as these are vital for our boys as they develop important social and life skills.

Social Justice

A group of Year 11 Boarders continue to lead the charge in raising awareness for cancer by joining the World's Greatest Shave for the Leukaemia Foundation. Connor Lyons has been instrumental in leading this fundraising feat. With an initial target of $3,000.00, the boys (and sponsors) have well and truly exceeded this. Most pleasing has been not only the awareness raised to date but the additional boys from Year 10 (led by Harry Thomson) who have also jumped on board this important cause. Some boys shaved their locks after Sunday night Mass, with the rest of the group hoping to be a little lighter on top by the end of the week with WGS official shave week March 10 -14. With over 25 boys involved, they are to be congratulated on putting others before themselves.

WGS Leukaemia Foundation Support Link 

Technology Use

Following on from the tips highlighted in previous newsletters around smart and appropriate use of devices and screens please see below for the final tips. I encourage all families to discuss with their sons their use of technology.

5. Encourage socialising and friendship

Even if your child uses social media to keep up with friends, it’s good for your child to socialise face to face too. Being with other people helps your child develop social skills and gives your child a social group to do new things with, especially things that are different from what your family does.

You can support your child’s face-to-face friendships by making sure your child feels comfortable inviting friends over and giving them space in your home. You can also help your child plan social activities like sport in the park or a trip to the movies.

6. Avoid screen time before bed

Teenagers need 8-10 hours of sleep a night.

Using screens before bed can affect how quickly your child falls asleep. If your child avoids mobile phones, tablets, computer screens or TV in the hour before bed, your child is likely to get to sleep more quickly.

7. Keep screens out of bedrooms at night

If you keep mobile phones and other devices out of your child’s bedroom at night, your child won’t be able to stay up late playing games or messaging friends. This can also stop your child from being disturbed in the night by notifications, messages or calls.

Uniform

As we look to Term 2, I encourage parents to touch base with their sons to ensure they have all necessary Winter uniform items. It is an expectation that boys are wearing a slimline black leather belt and appropriate College hat. These reminders are coming consistently from relevant Heads of House, Boarding Coordinators, Head of Students, Deputy Head of College, Head of College and myself. Your support with the uniform has been greatly appreciated.

Photos from Home

Last week we heard from The Masel family from Goondiwindi and their story. The images they sent from their property certainly painted a great picture. I encourage other families to please send through details and images of home.

Academic Focus

This week’s study tip focusses on a revision technique. Spaced repetition is a great strategy to adopt throughout the term in preparation for exams. Parents are encouraged to engage with their sons about their own revision techniques. Effective revision is a major key to personal academic success.

Wellbeing and Mental Health

A great reminder by lizandmollie (https://www.lizandmollie.com/) on what performance actually entails. We often hear about the importance of a balanced lifestyle, but what does that actually look like? 

The structure of boarding enables our boys to work hard, exercise, eat healthily, relax/chill/socialise and get adequate sleep. Yet, putting these components together can still require some thoughtful planning and guidance which, in essence, is one of the main aims of our wellbeing program.

Around the Grounds

La Valla

After only six weeks together, it is apparent that the young men of La Valla have become a family, and it has been so wonderful to see the way they look out for each other. Their kindness is always apparent in their interactions with members of the wider community, and on four separate occasions, we have been contacted by people who wanted to comment on the boys' exceptional manners. This week they took time and care with their 4-year-old 'La Valla sister' to sing the loudest rendition of 'Happy Birthday' and share in a unicorn cake. They are also lucky enough to have older boarding community members looking out for them through mentoring programs. This week saw the first session between the senior Indigenous students and their younger La Valla brothers. These sessions' focus is organisation and allows the younger boys to ask questions of those more experienced in boarding life. Congratulations goes to Toby Forbes, representing La Valla as the youngest member of the Student Representative Council.

Montagne

Well done to George Philp who was nominated by his peers to represent them on the Boarding Student Representative Council. Boys spent much of the week in study, working on their HPE drafts, with most completing early. In an early insight into the Term 2 sport, all boys vacated the residence on Wednesday afternoon to attend a rugby skills session to prepare for their upcoming sport. Some were willing, and others had to be pushed, but they all made it in the end. Boys have enjoyed playing the Xbox and laughing at how bad they all are – except Cooper Fleischfresser, who studies the game in his sleep. We keep in our prayers the Hughes family, who lost a close young friend last week.

Hermitage

Week 6 in Hermitage was a week that came and went in a flash! This week, the boys were challenged with submitting a tricky science report draft and a few other pieces of assessment that kept them busy in study. The end of the week was celebrated with a Zorb football, Foot-golf and Ultimate Disc. The weekend saw the mighty 9E cricket team put on another spirited performance, whilst our volleyballers and aussie-rulers also had a good day out at sport. Saturday night was spent in the company of the ladies of Stuartholme College who joined us for a friendly (competitive) evening of trivia. A great night that was enjoyed by all.

Fourviere

Another week down, and the Fourviere faithful are steadily ticking along. The arrival of new couches in residence has promoted more socialising in the common areas, not to mention front row seats to some entertaining action. A small crowd gathered on Friday morning to witness a clash of the minds in a highly anticipated chess match between Sam Miller and Isaac Gay. Unfortunately, the match failed to live up to the hype, with Miller taking control early and with Isaac’s defences exposed, he was never able to recover, handing Sam a comfortable victory.

A major highlight of the week has been the efforts of many of the Year 11 boys who have run with Connor Lyons’ initiative to take part in ‘The World’s Greatest Shave’, raising funds for the Leukemia foundation. The boys have amassed over $6,000 to date and are still welcoming more donations, so please feel free to support if you can! Click here to support the lads.

Br Terence

Formal preparations dominated the discussion in residence this week. Some last-minute tie and shoe purchases ensured that all the boys were looking their best on Saturday evening, and it was pleasing to see the boys enjoy the much-anticipated Senior Formal. Earlier in the week, we welcomed back 2020 Old Boys Francis Sevil and James Clarke to speak with our Year 12 boarders about making the most of their final year at the College and sharing with the group some tips on how to lead successfully. A busy week for our senior boarders but one that they are sure to remember.

Boarder of the Week

This La Valla man is quiet, courteous and well respected amongst his peers. His academic focus over the past six weeks has been outstanding and regularly requests extension tasks during study. The most impressive aspect of his short time here is how he has faced up to adversity. Breaking not one, but two bones this term, he has never complained or withdrawn from activities instead facing these challenges front on and always with a smile. This week’s La Valla Boarder of the Week goes to Leroy Aitken. 

This young man has made quite an impressive transition since the beginning of the term. After a turbulent beginning, his room has been a picture of consistency, he has made a greater effort to socialise with his peers and has taken feedback on board from supervisors to better himself. His study habits have been flawless in the past few weeks with glowing reports coming from supervisors. A quote from a recent duty report, “Really impressed by him today. He had an excellent attitude and was cracking everyone up down at the pool”. Loving his sport and looking forward to rugby season in Term 2. Well-deserved and congratulations - Matty Lyons

The Hermitage Boarder of the Week goes to a young man who continues to conduct himself with a genuine kindness that his fellow boarders cannot fault him. This gentleman is considered a humble person who is always caring for others and doesn’t hesitate to help in and around the dorm when needed. An example of this is when he helped his peers with their science and history homework, even when he had already finished his own. This boarder is best described as kind, gracious, hard-working, patient and persistent. For the second time this term, the Boarder of the Week from Hermitage goes to Marley Chan. 

Fourviere Boarder of the Week goes to a young man who is one of the quiet achievers of the residence. A conscientious individual who conducts himself responsibly and respectfully at all times. Friendly and reliable, he takes pride in maintaining a neat and tidy area and commits himself diligently to his studies. It has been most pleasing to see him come out of his shell a little more in recent weeks, socialising well with peers and boarding staff alike. Well done on a determined effort to date, Henry Knight.

Boarder of the Week in Br Terence goes to a young man who consistently meets all the expectations in the residence. He is cooperative and polite, maintains a neat and tidy area, and has demonstrated a consistent effort with his studies. This student is always willing to offer his assistance and does so with a good sense of humour. It has been pleasing to see the positive contributions that he has made to the residence so far this year. Congratulations, Keegan Sutcliffe.

Recreation Report

On Friday afternoon, we tried something slightly different with a few novelty sports stations set up on Hayden Oval from 3:45 pm until dinner time. The stations consisted of Football Golf, Ultimate Frisbee and the undoubted favourite, Bubble Soccer. There were plenty of big hits, and the opportunity to send their mate's bubbles flying was very exciting for the boys. Bubble Soccer was undoubtedly more suited to the stockier lads, with Ryan Johnson, Oliver Boland and Sean Green having a particularly good time. The boys loved trying something new, and we'll certainly be looking to hire the bubbles again in term two. We were also lucky enough to have our Year 12 drone enthusiast, Chadd McCoy come down and film the boys for an hour! No doubt, there will be some great footage. Later that evening, a group of the senior boys headed up to the weights room with Mr Bertram for their regular Friday night workout. It's been great to see the boys making the most of the facilities and skilled staff we have here over the last few weeks.

Saturday saw Round 6 of the AIC competition as we hosted St Peters Lutheran College. Once again, the boarders were out in force representing the College in various sporting codes. With Term 1 sports coming to an end, several teams are running to win their competitions. We hope to get a boarding contingent out to support the premier AFL and volleyball teams next weekend as they look to finish their seasons on a high. On Saturday evening, we hosted our friends from Stuartholme for the first trivia night of the year. We headed up to the Draney Theatre, a great venue and certainly a space we will look to make use of moving forward. The quiz was made up of four rounds with general knowledge, sport, music and geography, and several mini-games in-between each round. Heading into the final round, the 'Crusty Toastmakers' held a comfortable lead, and the quiz looked all but won. However, they somehow managed to lose their answer sheet in the final round, which opened the door for the second-place team 'My Name Is Jeff' to sneak in and take the win. We look forward to heading over to Stuartholme in Term 2 for Trivia, round two!

On Sunday, we headed north to the Coolum Aqua Park for a couple of hours of fun. It looked like we would get stuck in a downpour, but the clouds passed just as we arrived. The park was a hybrid of an obstacle, and wipeout course and the boys went absolutely nuts! Oscar McVey and Dom Forbes perfected their backflips while many other boys practised their Manu's off the top swing! The favourite obstacle was a large ball where the boys would pile onto the top and try to rotate the ball as quickly as possible to send their mates flying into the water below! Kalan Schnaubelt and Makenzie Bowen had a couple of, particularly dramatic falls! It's incredible how quickly the boys can work as a team when there is a wipeout at stake. After two hours, the boys were knackered, and we had a fair few asleep on the drive back home! With another busy week on the books, we headed up to Sunday mass and settled in for the evening ahead of Week 7.