Endeavour House News

The 2021 year of boarding is done and dusted and these gorgeous young people of yours have balanced it all. A year of living with other people, managing school-work, joining in co-curricular activities and general management of day to day living, has been accomplished by each young person.  It isn’t easy to juggle all these things and they do so very well. Well done to each of the parents for managing the juggling act from your side, the addition of another community, endless trips to Grammar and possibly other children to manage at another school.

Year Three Visitors

The Year Three students, having their overnight camp, visited Endeavour for breakfast in Week Four at 7.00am. Sophie Harris and I made waffles and served them, it was an absolute delight to have them visit boarding. Thanks Sophie for helping at such an early hour on a Saturday.

It's in the Bag - Share the Dignity

Thank you to everyone for allowing your boarders to contribute to our collection of female products for the It's in the Bag - Share the Dignity for people in need. I took these to the drop off point last week and felt super proud to do so. The Endeavour boarders have always been thoughtful of others and remember those in need. Without your support we can’t teach our boarders to be giving and think about people that may not be as blessed as we are, so thank you.

Endeavour Christmas

Our Endeavour Christmas celebration will be held on the last Monday of the term. We decided as a group to go to Middleton Beach and share fish and chips and pizza. This has been an activity we have enjoyed together every term and it will be lovely to finish off in this manner. On our return we will give our Secret Santa gifts. The annual Christmas light tour will be completed on this night also. 

Boarding Reflections

Our Endeavour boarders were brave and honest sharing their first year of boarding reflections:

My first year of boarding was very different to where I grew up. Nothing was the same except the nice smiling faces that greeted you into the house at the beginning of the year. As the year went on, we all found our friendship groups and the people we could go cry about homesickness to or eventually figured out who’s who and how to ask the chef for ice cream for dessert. By the end of the year, I reckon we have sorted what’s what and who’s who and next year will be easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Going into boarding was an exciting but nervous thing to do. But it has been such a fun year, and Year Seven has been a new experience that I have enjoyed, especially making new friends, and getting to know each other. Getting used to the routine was a challenge, but worth it. Boarding has a really welcoming environment, and it’s been great living here. I can’t wait for next year, and all its opportunities. After that, I am sure that I will make many more memories in boarding, and people to support me.

For me, this year has been an absolute highlight of my life. Coming to boarding was exciting and I couldn’t wait. Settling in was tough, not being able to go home to the farm after a long school day was hard and I didn’t like being away from my family, but in the end I realised that everyone was in the same boat as me. The boarding community was welcoming and helped me through this hard part of the year. Being a boarder has helped me make so many more relationships between all year groups. I have made many memories this year and I am looking forward to next year being in Year Eight but for the moment I can’t wait to go home. 

Leaders

A big thank you to Xanthe O'Neill and Brianna Cunningham for being amazing leaders for Endeavour for 2021. They were both inclusive, friendly and helpful throughout the year. I congratulate Amy Medway for becoming Endeavour leader for 2022 and look forward to guiding her through this position.  A second Endeavour leader will be selected next year to support Amy.

Supervisors

The only change to Endeavour supervisors next year at this stage is Miss Alice Nixon. She will be working shifts in Anchorage. Alice will move from living on site to being a casual supervisor and she will still be available for our boarders with her amazing tutoring skills. We will continue to have the amazing Mrs Amber Freeman on Wednesday night and weekends, super Miss Sienna Ball on Tuesday nights and weekends and friendly Ms Dee Goodgame on Friday night.

Year Nine

We say a fond farewell from all the Endeavour staff to our Year Nines:  Faith Bin Omar, Tiffany Butterworth, Tyla Climie, Brianna Cunningham, Lysbeth Cunningham, Chelsea Evans, India King, Xanthe O'Neill, Bella Patterson, Amber Pearce, Lily Quick, Charlie Ritchie, Keira Tapscott and Georgia Williams and wish them all the best for next year in Breaksea House.  I would also like to say farewell to Millie Plowman, we wish her all the best for the future. 

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Georgia Williams and Eilidh Kershaw who celebrated their birthdays in November.  To finish off the year we have Charlie Ritchie and Joy Blurton both celebrating their birthdays in the week before Christmas.  Happy birthday girls.

The Endeavour Team wish you all a safe and happy Christmas and holiday and look forward to seeing you back in 2022. 

Mrs Tara Ball | Head of Endeavour House

Leaders Report

This year has gone by so quickly! Like most people we have had many highlights, one of them was being leaders in Endeavour House. 

We had the privilege this year to organise fundraisers, events and co-operate to lead Endeavour. Together we organised events such as Secret Santa and a fundraiser that donates basic hygiene products to girls in need. We led Endeavour to victory in Boarding’s Got Talent for the first time in five years. The participation was amazing as the entire house dressed in our work clothes, enjoyed drawing moustaches on each other’s faces and had many laughs throughout the night of Olympic themed challenges. We also experienced the chaos of trying to create an edible meal on a barbecue and trying to present it in a way that is somewhat appealing to the judges of Master Chef. 

Although we are sad to have to move on from Endeavour, we are very grateful for the dinners to the beach, the laughs and the belonging we have felt and experienced during our time in this house and most of all we are grateful for the new people we met and the bonds we created throughout this role. Thank you to everyone that gave us this opportunity. 

Xanthe O'Neill and Brianna Cunningham | Year Nine