The last few weeks have rushed by in a sea of activities both for parents and girls.
We have had celebrations, spreading the love with Valentines Day on February 14th , through the joy of food, enjoying each other’s successes and hoisting the Boarders vs Day Girls trophy at the swimming carnival. We are excited that, the trophy has gone straight to the Boyfriend room and sits alongside our new Mary Home House Cup on the mantle, the first time since 2022 that Boarders have won this event.
Girls have been busy with their various academic and sporting pursuits and are to be congratulated on how well they have balanced the competing demands on their time. Each Wednesday night we have Family dinner night, which is a great way for the girls to continue to feel connected across the house and to engage in some inter family rivalry through competitions such as donut eating and three legged race contests.
There have been activities in house, with eyes down on Saturday night for three closely contested rounds of Bingo. Despite being compulsory, for everyone but Year 12, almost all girls who were in house met in the green room for some good fun and some great prizes. Sunday morning saw a group of around fifteen girls wander down to Melbourne St in glorious sunshine for brunch. All these events and activities are vital in fostering friendship, camaraderie and a sense of belonging, everything one looks for in a boarding experience.
The end of Week 3 saw boarding parents, Belinda, Ben and myself head over to Port Lincoln for the Boarders Parents Weekend. This was a wonderful event and showcased the local region, through visits to Coffin Bay, Yarnbala and Peter Teakle winery.
Saturday was jam packed with a morning visit to the famed Coffin Bay region where we enjoyed a short talk about the history of the area before donning our waders and venturing out to a pontoon to learn about the farming of oysters and then the shucking and eating began in earnest!! Whilst not an oyster eater myself, I have it on very good authority, that the oysters did not disappoint!
For lunch we visited Yarnbala, an appointment only property located close to Coffin Bay. Yarnbala is one of South Australia’s last remaining vegetation communities of the ‘grassy low she-oak woodland’, supporting a diverse and dense understory of endemic species. This bushland is now regarded as ‘critically endangered’. We enjoyed amazing food and beautiful wines with lots of yarning around the open-fire pit.
Dinner was also a special event held at Peter Teakle’s, Line and Label. Once again we enjoyed fantastic food with wines from both the local region but also interstate. The entire weekend was one of camaraderie and great fun and would not have been possible without the efforts of Mandy Drummond, and her team of Leah Wiseman, Mandy Scholz and Therese Claughton planning a fantastic event for all.
The upcoming boarding exeat is well timed, with everyone looking forward to some time away from the house and a chance to rest and recharge the batteries, ready to tackle the remainder of the term.
Carolyn Matthews
Head of Boarding
