Boarding News

Trathen House 

Term 2 has been a very busy time in Trathen House. The boys have been settling into life as boarders and it has been very pleasing to see the sense of belonging and mateship start to flourish. Much excitement has surrounded the beginning of the winter co-curricular season and the enthusiasm shown by the boys for their rugby, football and hockey commitments has been tremendous. Participants in all sports have shown commitment and dedication to their teammates and the School, and the focused effort in these areas has made for busy and happy boys. 

Earlier in the term, Trathen and Tower went on an excursion to Federal Falls on a Sunday morning. It was great for the boys to get off campus and into the bush for a hike and some relaxation. During National Boarding Week we celebrated everything boarding, and we enjoyed guest speakers at dinner and a quiz night on the Friday evening at PLC. 

Last Sunday the boys participated in the Red Shield Door Knock Appeal. A great amount of money was raised for this charity and the school received some positive feedback from members of the Orange community about how impressed they were with the conduct and presentation of students from our school.  Most recently, the boys had a tenpin bowling evening with Stuart Douglas, as well as a school social. This was a great opportunity for the boys to socialise with the girls boarders and build a sense of community amongst their cohort of Year 7. 

Week 6 and 7 is a very busy time for the boys with assessment tasks and it has been great to see the boys focused on their studies during this time. The boys have been utilising the staff assisting during Prep times and I encourage them to continue to do so.  The Year 7 Boarding Literacy Program has been running on Monday and Wednesday evenings with Ms Proudford-Nalder and the boys have been enjoying the program. It is great to see them accessing the extra support in this area. 

I wish all families a restful long weekend with their sons and daughters and look forward to catching up with you all soon. 

Hugo Johnson

Head of Trathen House

Stuart Douglas House

All Year 7 girls in Stuart Douglas House have made a fantastic start to second term, with much chatter and laughter, and all girls very happy to be back with their friends.  Coming back to boarding with less COVID restrictions within the house has seen many developing friendships strengthen as the term has progressed. This term we welcomed our new Housemother Mrs Houston and she has settled into her new role with ease, becoming a firm favourite with the girls.

The girls have been kept well occupied on the weekends this term, with so many activities in the house from movie nights, Kahoots, baking and making keyrings.  The girls were particularly keen to try their hand at watercolour paintings and I must admit we have some budding artists in our group. We had a firepit night which was a big highlight with the girls trying and enjoying fried scones cooked on the firepit for the first time. We also shared activities with other houses including an all-boarding night at the movies and tenpin bowling with the boys from Trathen House.  During National Boarding Week we participated in a Year 7, 8 and 9 trivia night and a Chapel service followed by a bacon and egg brunch.  Most recently we were invited to enjoy a Sunday Brunch with New House and this was much appreciated by all the girls.  Despite the colder weather the girls have been on many walks, played games outside and used scooters with lots of enthusiasm.

As you can imagine there is never a dull moment in our house; it can be very busy when all the girls have loads of questions to ask, and all trying to ask at the same time, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  The girls are looking forward to their long weekend at home, but it will be lovely to see them all back in the house when they return, refreshed and ready to tackle the last weeks of Term 2.

Deb Orrock

Head of Stuart Douglas House