From the Boarding Captains

I would like to welcome everyone to the 2022 school year at Great Southern Grammar and a special welcome to all the new boarders and their families. I am Madi Smart, the Boarding Captain for 2022 accompanied by Pierce Newman for the beginning of this term. I am from a little community called Gairdner and I am extremely passionate about sport, music, farming and this amazing place that us boarders call our second home.  

Boarding is a place that is amazing in so many ways and the values that we as a boarding community represent are astonishing. I would like to really help it grow to be an even better place to board. Each year, our leadership team chooses a focus. Last year Karis Cristinelli and Daniel Cosh chose 'connections' between the boarding houses and subschools. This year Ms Bromhead, Mrs Ball, Pierce Newman and I have chosen 'respect'. Respect towards yourself, others and our surroundings. Respect is something that should be really valued within our community.  

I am really looking forward to getting to know everyone this year and working with all types of people in lots of different areas. I am always free for a chat or even just to listen to anything whether it be different schedules and events or just wondering how everything works, I am always willing to help in any way I can. This year offers some uncertain times and can change at any moment, so we are all going to adapt to the ever-changing environment. This means we can create new and exciting traditions as well as build onto the old ones.  

The start of this term has been ever-changing within the boarding community as COVID has become more and more relevant to us. We have been trying to think of alternative things to do in the boarding houses to lift everyone's spirits and give us things to look forward to throughout the term. In Breaksea this term we have all been very excited about our new addition to our kitchen, the AIRFRYER!!! This is something that we have all been using to make everything from hash browns and bacon to dumplings. 

The Year Tens are settling in well and it is only going to get better from here. Last Friday night for dinner we replaced our annual Masterchef evening with a barbeque within each of the Houses. It has been harder to spend more time with the Middle School girls as the COVID restrictions don’t allow me into their boarding house. What I have seen around the day school from the middle boarders is that they are all very happy and they seem to settling in and getting to know the routine quite well. 

I hope everyone has had a great start to the term and is looking forward to the year ahead. 

Madison Smart | Boarding Captain

So far this year we have seen a lot of change in boarding and the day school. In Eclipse boarding we welcomed Hamish Murphy who has settled in and made many new friends. We have also welcomed two new supervisors Mr Forward and Mr Bonnin who have enjoyed getting to know the boys and supported us in getting off to a great start. Our new Head of House, Mr Colton has helped everyone settle back into boarding and has provided us with a project boat. We will get to fix up the boat in our spare time with the assistance of Mr Colton and get it back on the water which I know everyone is excited for. Along with the boat, the boys and I have also been very happy with the addition of an Air Fryer to our arsenal of kitchen appliances. 

In the first week Mr Colton facilitated and encouraged us to complete an online character test which highlights our character strengths. Everyone found their results to be very interesting. My personal character strengths were humour, creativity, love of learning, gratitude and curiosity. Once everyone completed their questionnaire Mr Colton compiled the most reoccurring strengths within the House. They have become our House strengths, and are love, gratitude, creativity, appreciation of excellence, humour and teamwork. Mr Colton’s plan for everyone this year is to encourage the boys to focus on their top strengths and celebrate each other when those character traits are in action.

Due to COVID, the annual boarding MasterChef had to be called off. As disappointed as we all were, we settled for an in-house barbeque that all the boys enjoyed. 

Last weekend Fletcher Cugley sourced a small Aquaponics system. The boys embarked on a Bunnings adventure to get some plants to grow. The system is up and running with lettuce, chives, mint and thyme. 

This year our big goals are to create a positive and connected boarding environment, focus on our strengths that will lead us to success, and get our boat back on the water.

In Anchorage the boys have enjoyed coming back into to boarding and catching up with friends. The new boarders have settled in well and made many new friends along the way. We are looking forward to supporting them on their GSG boarding journey. 

All the boys have been enjoying their sports and Rec on the weekends. The Middle School camps have been put off for now which all the boys were disappointed about, but they are all excited for the upcoming long weekend.

To finish up the summary of the year so far, I think everyone is happy to be back at school and looking forward to the year ahead.

Pierce Newman | Boarding Vice Captain