On Friday night, our Years 7, 8 and 9 girls welcomed Middle School boarders from across Adelaide to our second Interschool Social event of the year. We were pleased to welcome boarders from Scotch, Prince Alfred College, St Peter's, Loreto, Pembroke and Seymour. For our younger boarders, this event was particularly exciting, providing them with a platform for meeting peers from other schools in town. Our Year 10 and 11 girls helped out on the night as MCs and DJs.

Welcome to our New Girls

There was a buzz of energy in the Boarding House as we welcomed some of our new girls for 2023. Our buddies and big sisters did a wonderful job of welcoming the girls and supporting them in getting to know the Boarding House community. We also look forward to welcoming our new families for 2023 to the Wilderness community.

Boarders vs Day Girls Netball

Last Thursday, the SRC organised a friendly netball match between the day girls and boarders in the Gym at lunch time. It was wonderful to see our girls proudly wearing their club netball uniforms from home as they played with fierce energy. A wonderful atmosphere was generated thanks to our wonderful mascots and MCs Millie McLachlan and Myarn Alden. Unfortunately for our boarders, the day girls came out the winners in a 13 to 8 finish.

What is a 'Boarder'?

For our young friends in Reception, the concept of living at school is intriguing and with it comes many questions – which our boarders patiently answered on Friday 11 November as they spent their lunch time with their Reception buddy. Once our pairs had found one another, our younger friends were quick to settle in with questions and wonderings about the life of a boarder. Following a picnic lunch, our boarders guided the Reception girls through the Boarding House, sharing with them their home away from home. The younger girls enjoyed exploring the Boarding House, seeing the girls' bedrooms and lounge rooms and checking out the gym.

It was lovely to see how kind, caring and patient our girls were with their younger buddies, who they later walked back to the Reception classrooms following the lunch time activity. Interestingly, the Reception classrooms are directly next to the Boarding House and I am sure that now our boarders and Reception girls know one another, there will be many friendly greetings from our young buddies as they walk through the Middle and Senior Schools to their specialist classes.

Our Reception teachers, Mrs Melissa Foster and Ms Lauren Trennery, and I would like to continue to foster the connection between our youngest girls and our boarders by holding this event at the beginning of the year in Term 1, as the Reception girls learn about their place in the school and the various aspects of school life.