Boarding 

Once again, The Year 12 Boarders’ Farewell Dinner proved to be one of highlights of the year. It was fantastic to have the parents of Year 12s join us for the night to gain an insight into our wonderful boarding community. The incoming 2018 Captains, Toby Hawthorne and Georgia Hodgetts, spoke beautifully and were able to express how appreciative they are of this amazing group of Year 12s. The speech by our 2017 Captains, Hannah Biggins and Andrew Crafter, was heartfelt and sincere and one of the best I’ve heard throughout my time in boarding. Andrew also received the Anita Macdonald Trophy for Service to Boarding, which is a well-deserved honour for him personally.

I hope that all the Year 12s enjoyed the night as much as I did. It was clear how much the rest of the boarding community respect this outgoing cohort, and they will be greatly missed. Thank you to Tim Gilling for being the MC on the night, Marcus Chu for saying a lovely Grace, and Joe Williams for putting together such a great photo slideshow of the Year 12s. Also, many thanks to all the boarders who helped set up the dining hall which looked amazing.

Speech Day was another special day. As emotional and sad as it was, I couldn’t have been prouder of the number of boarders who gained recognition and awards on the day. It was also great to see the number of boarders who were appointed as Prefects, and I offer my heartfelt congratulations to all these students.

Claudia Roberts – School Captain

Alec Jagger – Vice School Captain

Jarrod Hurst – Berry Captain

Seth Fiegert – Sports Captain

Lily McCure – Middle Years

Charlotte Boyd-Walsh – Service/Welfare

Marcus Chu - International Programs

The Year 12s had their first exam on Wednesday and we are all wishing them the best of luck. I will be supervising the boarding house during the day which means that they have the option to study in their own rooms if they like. Considering that day students are able to go home during the day during their exams, we decided to trial this study option for boarders last year. So far it has worked well and I hope the Year 12s are finding it beneficial to them. 

We are all very excited for our Halloween-themed dinner on Thursday night. It was pushed back so as not to clash with sport on Tuesday and I can’t wait to see all the costumes. It should be another great night and thanks to Hannah Russell and Jonathon Lee for volunteering to organise the night.

Georgia Hetherington, Liv Hawthorne and Clare Jackson attended the Hamilton Sports Women’s Association Dinner in recognition of their rowing achievements this year.  On the night they were awarded the Team of the Year which is a wonderful acknowledgement of all their effort and dedication to their sport. Chloe Russell was also invited to attend for her hockey achievements this year.

Congratulations to Ben McCure for being named Captain of the Under 16s Cricket team this year.  He is a very talented cricketer with both the bat and the ball and I’m confident he will excel in this position of leadership.

Mr Alex Smith