Message from the

Director of Boarding

Student Leadership

In the next few weeks, our Year 11 boarders will go through the process of applying for leadership positions within Boarding. The roles of House Captain and Vice-Captain are vitally important in the context of a Boarding House.   

Being a leader within a Boarding House is a privileged position and comes with great expectations and responsibilities. It is a beginning rather than a culmination; an opportunity for senior students to positively affect the lives of others and leave a legacy for those who follow.  

The application process will involve the following steps:  

• Submission of a letter of application  
• Invitation for interview  
• Speech to the House  
• Student vote.

The selection of Captains and Vice-Captains is at the discretion of the Head of House and the Director of Boarding.  

Leaders will be announced on Sunday 20 September 2020.  

House allocations for 2021

In the coming weeks, the girls of Stuart-Douglas House and the boys of Tower House will be given the opportunity to nominate their choice of Boarding House for 2021. In the next few weeks, students will be given the opportunity to visit the senior Houses, meet some of the residents and talk about life in that House. It is an important decision and one which we take seriously.  

The following process will take place:  

• Girls in Stuart-Douglas House will be invited to visit and learn more about Loader, Miller and New Houses.  
• Boys in Tower House will be invited to visit and learn more about Weymouth and Wolaroi Houses.  
• Boarders will be invited to select their preference.  
• Boarding staff will meet as a team to discuss allocations for 2021.  
• Boarders will be informed of their House for 2021 in the first week of Term 4. 

I would like to make parents aware that it is not always possible to give students their first preference. However, we do place a high priority on keeping friendship groups together as much as possible. 

Laundry

We are continually exploring ways in which we can operate our Laundry more effectively and efficiently. Recently, we have seen an increase in the number of clothing items sent to the Laundry unlabelled or poorly labelled. The reality of trying to sort unlabelled laundry is challenging to say the least and consumes an unnecessary amount of time for staff. 

During the next holiday break, can I please ask you to check that all your child’s clothing is labelled properly  with sew-on name tapes. Iron-on labels do not last, and handwritten labels are difficult for Housemothers and Laundry Staff to read.   

The School recommends that you purchase an extra set of name tapes to be left with your child’s Housemother so that the Housemother can label clothes as and when required throughout the term. 

The School recommends Cash’s as the most convenient source:  https://cashs.net.au/standard-sew-in-clothing-labels.html. 

It is best to have these delivered directly to the Boarding House.  

Year 12 farewells

It has been a very difficult year for all of us, but particularly our Year 12 students who have faced disappointments as many of the usual ‘rites of passage’ have had to be cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions. They have dealt with these necessary changes with plenty of grace and understanding and I congratulate them on their resilience.  

As this term progresses, each boarding house will be acknowledging and farewelling their Year 12 students with in-house events that are currently being planned. 

End of Term arrangements

Friday 25 September is a Pupil Free Day. Boarders may be collected from their boarding houses after 3.30pm on Thursday 24 September, or before 12.00pm on Friday 25 September. The boarding houses will close for the holiday break at this time. 

Please note that the School will be farewelling our Year 12 students on Thursday 24 September, and students will not be permitted to leave before 3.30pm. 

Because of the current COVID-19 conditions, unfortunately boarders will not be able to travel on public transport to go home, or to return to school on Monday 12 October. 

Mr Matt Curran 

Director of Boarding