FROM THE BOARDING HOUSE

Glammed Up for the Boarders' River Cruise

It was a night of glitz and glam for the Year 10 to 12 boarding students at the Boarders’ River Cruise in May.

The Perth College Boarders’ Social, which is organised by the Boarding Executive and usually held in the Pavilion with invites extended to other boarding schools around Perth, looked a little different this year due to COVID-19. The Boarding House was a hive of activity after school as students got dressed up for the new and exciting occasion.

They arrived at Barrack Street Jetty to board the Crystal Swan with their partners and friends.

“It was a wonderful night spent dancing and having fun,” Head of Boarding, Jill Miller, said.

“The boarders and their partners' behaviour were exemplary, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the evening.”

Year 12 Boarding Executive student, Lily, agreed the river cruise was a “huge success”.

“Everyone looked stunning and had a great night dancing the evening away to the DJ on the bottom storey dancefloor or sitting in the area on the top storey,” she said.

“There was even a reunion with two Year 12 students who were invited along who were part of the original Year 7 boarding group but have since left.”

Rural WA on Display During Boarders’ Week

Pet lambs, a beef cattle production display and homemade goodies from boarders’ hometowns – this year’s Boarders’ Week had it all!

From 3 to 7 May, the Boarding Executive planned activities each lunchtime which culminated with a ‘district display’ at the end of the week.

As part of the experience, day students were able to get a taste of their boarding peers’ hometowns through stalls featuring souvenirs, information and even homemade goods from all around rural Western Australia.

2021 Boarding Captain, Tamsyn, said they also made a video to showcase the lives of boarders to the wider Perth College community.

“It is so important to share the diversity of cultures and backgrounds of our Boarding House so we can create a more connected school by showing off the parts of boarding that our day students don’t see to allow them to connect with us and understand our lives on a new level,” she said.

A special thank you to Nicola for providing the beef cattle production display and Sharon for bringing Damo, the pet lamb.

Life Outside the Boarding House

There are always so many fun and engaging activities on offer to keep boarding students entertained on the weekends and week nights, from themed dinners to excursions, arts and crafts, community service and events with students from other boarding schools.

Some of the highlights have included a pamper night, a Caribbean cooking lesson with Chef Courtney, a trip to AQWA, learning to rollerskate, taking part in an inter-school volleyball competition and a Scitech adventure.

Year 9 student, Kayla, said the pamper night was her favourite.

“We got to pamper ourselves and each other by putting on facemasks and indulging in some sweet treats while we chatted around the table. Even the staff couldn’t help but join in the fun,” she said.

Cooking with Courtney was a unique opportunity to spend the afternoon cooking Caribbean curry, soup and dumplings and learning tips and tricks from resident Perth College chef, Courtney.

“We got a hands-on lesson about different spices, how and when to use them, how to make two types of soup dumplings and the best way to cook food in order to keep all the nutrients. We all learnt a lot and it was a great way to spend time together,” Year 12 student, Haidee, said.

Perth College students joined other schools for an AQWA adventure in May, taking a look at some of the world’s most unique corals, jellyfish, sharks and starfish. Meanwhile, Year 9 and 10 boarders enjoyed a night of skating, music and games at a social at the Rollerdrome.

In June, some Year 7 and 8 boarders headed to Scitech for an exciting, educational activity and another group of Year 8 boarders joined those from Aquinas, Scotch, Hale, MLC and Penrhos for games of Volleyball. “My favourite part of AQWA was the underwater view of all the sea creatures,” Emily (Year 7) said. “At the Rollerdrome, it was great to see everyone smiling and laughing and, although there were a few tumbles, all the girls were willing to lend a helping hand,” Year 9 student, Leah, said.

“At Scitech, we played around with all the different experiments, including thermal imagery, generating power on a bike and seeing your shadow,” Year 8 student, Lauren, said.