Breaksea House News

The term has quickly come to an end and I’m enjoying doing some fun Easter things with the girls that we didn’t get to last year. On the final Monday of the term, all of boarding enjoyed an Easter Egg hunt around the boarding areas and had some fun consuming large numbers of chocolate eggs. We also have an Easter Egg tree and some pretty bunnies in our entry to decorate the house. 

How does your garden grow?

The girls' garden has really taken off. The three planter pots have developed into four and a large pot and yet we still have more growing in little pots waiting to be planted. It has been wonderful to witness the enthusiasm of the girls as this garden has continued to blossom under their care. We hope that during next term we should be able to eat some of this produce. 

Recreation

It has been great to see the girls becoming increasingly involved in the Recreation program on the weekends. They particularly love picnics in the park, swimming at Middleton Beach and the newly refurbished Gelato store on York Street. The constantly changing variety of gelato flavours and a walk around the foreshore enjoying the lights of Albany is a favourite Saturday evening activity.

The last few weeks have been filled with netball trial matches and training and we are looking forward to supporting all those involved in the first season of the Griffins. It is with excitement that I write that GSG is again offering rowing as a sport and we have some enthusiastic Breaksea girls taking up this opportunity. It will be great to see them trekking off to the river early the in morning for an invigorating rowing session. 

Cybersafety

I have been talking with the girls about cybersafety recently and we have been looking at the apps that are downloaded on their phones. In our chats we are focused upon keeping ourselves safe physically and virtually. One of the issues we have been focused upon is a person’s 'digital reputation' or 'online legacy'. Understanding that anything that is put online in any form, even snapchat, forms a part of your digital reputation is a message we have been discussing and then how we can also use our digital presence to form a positive online legacy. 

Yalari Conference

Two weeks ago, Mariah Lennard (Year Twelve) was fortunate enough to travel to Brisbane for the weekend for her final Yalari conference. It was a great opportunity for her to meet with other Yalari students from around Australia and focus on their post-school opportunities. Whilst it was a flying visit to the East, the photos from Yalari demonstrate what a great time she had. 

Part Time Employment

It’s been exciting to see so much initiative for finding casual work amongst the students in Breaksea. Over the last few weeks, a number of students have obtained work in various retail or hospitality positions around Albany and the pride they have shown in their employment is exciting. It is important that students still focus on their specific academic pathway. For this reason, students in Years Ten and Eleven or ATAR Year Twelve can do one weekday shift and one weekend shift. Those students on a General/VET pathway can do three shifts a week. We also ask that staff are given contact details for the workplace and a contact person. Congratulations to those young people who have obtained these great work opportunities. 

Breaksea Outdoor Area

Over this term we have been updating the area at the back of Breaksea, to ensure it can be used more easily by all of the students. We now have new outdoor furniture, a table tennis table, a vegetable and herb garden, an outdoor gym set up and lovely fairy lights along the fence. We are just waiting for some wind protection to be built and it will be finished. 

Terrariums

Early next term we are going to build terrariums for the girl’s bedrooms in Breaksea. The girls have been given the opportunity to sign up to for this activity and twenty six girls have put their name down. It has taken a while to buy enough of the glass jars around Albany, but we are booked to build these on Sunday 2 May at 2.30pm. If your daughter has signed up for this activity, we will be charging $20.00 to your school account, the rest of the cost will be covered by the Recreation budget. This Sunday afternoon activity should be a lot of fun. If you would like your daughter to be involved, or have any questions about the activity, please contact me directly. 

Finally, may all the families of the young people in Breaksea enjoy a wonderful Easter and holiday break. 

Ms Vanessa Bromhead | Head of Breaksea House