Boarding 

Nikita Cavill

This past week, we have fully embraced Wellness Week with numerous activities available for all boarders. Last Monday, we connected our body and mind with our BodyBalance instructor, Mardi Gill from HILAC, to run a class which included Pilates, yoga, meditation and stretches that made everyone see how flexible they actually are! On Tuesday, we welcomed Abbie Cameron’s dog, Nellie, to the boarding house, which brought joy to the boarders and these visits from dogs will continue throughout the weeks to come. We also held a Mocktail dinner which included canapés and mocktails as well as a Kahoot which featured interesting facts about the lives of some of the boarders.   Thanks to Eliza Jagger (Yr 11), Harry Robertson (Yr 11) and Lydia Moore (Yr 11) for all the work they did with this. The basketball competition has also been a hit this past week, with 3 on 3 games, no umpires and a serious stretch of the rules, but it has been played in the right spirit with a great deal of fun.

Aside from these activities, wellbeing is an extremely important part of daily lives and shouldn’t just be reflected in one week. It is an essential part of remaining healthy and is vital to school and work life. Simply by doing something that you enjoy for a small portion of the day, can make for a much brighter and grateful week, month or year as well as getting through life’s daily stressors. With not a long time left for our Year 12s, it has never been a more perfect time to start really thinking of our mental health and wellbeing as the pressure is beginning to build and the end is in sight. As my Dad would say, we have been running this competitive marathon all year and we have around 10kms to go, maybe even less. We are approaching the hard part of marathons; the finish line or to translate, the last exam. Our wellbeing needs to be put first in every part of this last leg of the marathon to ensure we can hold the trophy of pride at the end!

Happy Wellness Week everyone!

Nikita Cavill
Nikita Cavill

 

 

 

Sharing the gratitude

Over the course of the wellness week our boarders were kind and thoughtful to each other. Ben McCure (Yr 11) and Lizzie Duver (Yr 11) organised an envelope for each boarder and pinned this to a corkboard in the dining hall. Over the week, boarders wrote gratitude messages to each other and then placed these in the envelopes. On Friday, during our wonderful breakfast the boarders sat there reading the wonderful messages written to them from their friends. There was an amazing buzz in the air on Friday morning, to the extent some boarders were almost in tears with happiness.

Dog Therapy – meet Nellie.

During Wellness Week the Boarding House was treated to visits from three pooches. It was clear from the very first pat the benefits of the animal and human connection in raising wellbeing and happiness- the ‘ooooohs’ and ‘aaaaahs’ that followed the dogs was enough to put smiles on the faces of anyone who was near.

Many of our boarders commented on the positive feeling of having the dogs around; giving them a pat and having a quiet cuddle acted like a circuit breaker bringing a calming moment into the house.

The MODs involved in bringing the dogs into the house were surprised at the way the dogs brought the students out of their rooms and into the common room.

Nellie the border collie will be coming into the house most Monday nights- ready and willing to give the students all her attention.  

Abbie Cameron
Abbie Cameron

College HAS got Talent.

Our boarders attended The College has Talent show last Friday night and were blown away by the amazing spectacle. Although there were many acts covering an array of styles, the Boarders themselves were amazing. Jack Chen (Yr 12) was courageous to stand up and sing a Chinese ballad which raised crowd members to their feet. Not only did Jack take the stand but Alannah Sander (Yr12) sang rock songs and Irish danced whilst Trent Ng (Yr 10), Nick Palmer, Jonathan Lee (Yr 12), James Sutherland (Yr 12) and Euan Sutherland (Yr 10) played in bands, rocking out some screaming songs over the course of the evening. It was an outstanding night with hundreds in attendance and as we noticed the many nights of practice were well worth it. All boarders are congratulated on their initiative and courage to perform on the night. Well done.

 

Trial boarding and speak with a current boarding family from your local area.

If you or a family you know would like to trial boarding, experience the benefits of casual boarding or simply enquire about boarding in general please do not hesitate in contacting Susie Holcombe or myself (amonk@hamiltoncollege.vic.edu.au). We would be more than accommodating to visit a family at their home or alternatively welcome the family into the Boarding House for an afternoon tea or meal.

Our families are wonderful advocates for Boarding and many have offered to take a phone call about how they have experienced the benefits of enrolling their children into boarding life. If you would like to speak with a current boarding family in your area, please contact Susie or me so we are able to put you in touch.

Andrew Monk