From the Boarding Captains 

This term has flown by, I cannot believe we are going into Week Eight! It has been a joy to see everyone settling down into the boarding lifestyle, supporting one another and creating a positive atmosphere in all the houses. I am confident the term will end on a high note as a result. 

Our Sunday sessions have developed beautifully, with Komoberi Band joining us last Sunday night. The trio sang and played the night away in front of a gorgeous sunset. I would like to thank everyone for supporting the night and making an effort to come down and celebrate some of the musical talents of GSG. I am very grateful to such talented peers, and I hope for them to spoil us with their tunes again soon. 

Tuesday nights are also an opportunity for the senior and junior houses to mix. This week, Endeavour and Breaksea enjoyed an outdoor barbecue whilst Eclipse and Anchorage bonded over a meal in the dining hall together. Tuesday nights will continue to rotate, where the girls and boys will take turns switching between the dining hall and a barbecue and share conversations of the past week. I really enjoy the company of the Endeavour boarders and Mrs Mackenzie, as they have many stories to tell and remind us of what our junior boarding lifestyle looked like and the fun it included. 

After dinner, a group from both Breaksea and Eclipse join their respective younger houses for prep. These wellness ambassadors, help tutor the Years Seven to Nine groups and aim to create meaningful conversations and bonds between the different ages. Ms Moncur expressed the importance of wellness ambassadors and peer mediation at a recent leadership meeting, and Darcy and I were excited to take these ideas on board in our own community. I encourage everyone in the senior houses to join us in Tuesday night prep, as from what I have observed, it means the world for the "older kids" to show interest and care about the junior's lives. It can be as simple as asking how camp was or sitting down and solving a mathematics problem together. It does not take much to show kindness and support to anyone and I look forward to growing a peer support network through Tuesday nights. 

Ava Smith | Boarding Captain

As the end of term approaches quickly, everyone is well and truly settled into the boarding lifestyle and has had a strong start to the year. I am very pleased to see that all the new boarders and boarding staff have settled in very well and have gotten into the boarding routine with ease over the last eight weeks. 

Last Thursday myself and eight other leaders visited the Year Eights on camp at Camp Quaranup. We carpooled out to the camp where we spent quality time with them having dinner and reflecting on their past two days. They had split their year group into two groups with one group doing the entire Bald Head walk while the other group went to an aged care home to play boardgames and talk amongst themselves while watching a movie. This was on Tuesday and then on Wednesday, the groups roles reversed so they both did each activity.

By Thursday night when we were talking to them about their experiences, very few students and staff had a lot of energy as they were all very tired from their big couple of eventful days and they were all ready to go home. This was a great experience for the Year Twelve leaders to interact and connect with the Year Eights and see how their experience of camp was.

Darcy Barrett | Boarding Captain