Michaelmas House News

Term Four

Hello to all our wonderful Michaelmas House boarding families.  Well, here we are at the end of what has been an active and constructive school year. Along with a busy academic and sporting schedule, there have been some great recreational activities that boarders have been involved in.

Year Seven Parent Luncheon

Mrs Tara Ball from Endeavour House and I hosted a lunch for the Year Seven boarding parents on Thursday of Week Four, prior to the Boarding Forum.  It was a fun get-together with a few mothers (and Mr Quick) with lots of information sharing.  

It is our intention to hold this occasion earlier in the year so parents can make acquaintances with each other and maybe have a few questions answered, or share tips and ideas.

Fundraising

Michaelmas House held a sausage sizzle outside Officeworks last Saturday and proceeds will go to the Albany Community Foundation, a not-for-profit local organisation which assists people in need who are experiencing financial hardship through no fault of their own.  Together with money raised from selling strawberries and ice-cream at the Boarding’s Got Talent evening held in August, we will donate nearly $500.00 from Michaelmas House to this wonderful charity.  Special mention goes to the sausage sizzle helpers; Brock Beeck , Owen Baxter-Holland, Isabel Hannig, Rhiannon Williams-Jolley, Ava Smith, Kobie Featherstone, Jasmine Kuiper and Brianna Harris who did a wonderful job and great fun participating.

Year Seven Reflections

We asked all of the Year Seven students to write a paragraph about their first year of boarding, here are the contributions from the boys.

"My first year of boarding was better than I thought. My favourite things are the sport options and the amount of space we have. I always like to get out and do something and GSG boarding make that very easy for us to do. We never run out of things to do and never really get bored. The boarding house parents have been amazing. They have done a great job of making us feel welcome in the boarding community."

"I wouldn't say I enjoyed boarding, but I did find the prep very helpful. It has helped me stay on top of my homework and studying.  However, I find that it is a bit long sometimes. Maybe if it was adjusted to suit the amount of work, it would be more enjoyable."

"The most enjoyable part about boarding is that there are fun and interesting things to do and new opportunities."

"I have enjoyed the sport and sporting opportunities in my first year at boarding. When I am bored, I can just go to the cricket nets or the oval and courts."

"I have enjoyed boarding because there are a lot of sporting opportunities.  There is always something to do and the boarding house parents have also made it enjoyable.

With Thanks

This has been a wonderful year in boarding for Mr Colgate and myself.  We have thoroughly enjoyed sharing experiences with your children and doing our best to help them get through the year happy, healthy and well-settled.  It takes a team to achieve this and we would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff who have made such a valuable contribution to the lives of all in Michaelmas House; Mrs Amber Freeman, Miss Lea Von Graberg and the wonderful Mrs Jenny Smith who will be leaving boarding supervising after many years. Mrs Smith will be missed, not only for yummy cooking and caring for your child, but also in regards to helping to keep our Michaelmas gardens looking so wonderful. 

Finally to you, the families, thank you for entrusting your children into our care.  Peter and I hope that those of you who are busy harvesting have a successful season and we wish you all a wonderful, safe and happy holiday season.

As we farewell some families and welcome back others, the Michaelmas family will continue to grow with many new families commencing for the first time next year, so we will be enriched even more.

Mrs Jenny Colgate | Head of Michaelmas House

Leaders Report

Being in Michaelmas House this year has been a lot of fun.

There has been a lot of enjoyable and some sad moments, but we all managed to pull through. One of those enjoyable moments would have to be the sausage sizzle that we held for the Albany Community Foundation last Saturday. Everyone had lots of fun taking shifts cooking and serving customers. It was very good to see that mostly everyone took part in such a worthy fundraiser.

A cheque for $484.10 was presented to Mr Jeremy Stewart, Vice Chairman of the Albany Community Foundation.

This year, we farewelled Miss Ortiz from Brazil and welcomed Miss Von Graberg  from Germany. We have also had to share the house with several Year Ten boys who couldn’t fit into Eclipse House!  

I would like to thank Mrs Smith who will be leaving as a boarding supervisor after many years with Great Southern Grammar and we wish her all the best for the future. Thank you to Mrs Freeman for washing our many hundreds of white shirts during the year and taking us to our medical appointments. Also, we thank Chef Nick and Chef Jaydan for preparing many yummy meals all year.

Most of all, I would like to thank Mr and Mrs Colgate for being our boarding house parents for the year. It has been a tough year for some of us and you have done nothing but support us through it all. Thank you! 

It has been great to be part of Michaelmas House this year. 

Brianna Harris | Year Eight