2023 Bruce House Formal Dinner

As per tradition, on the first Wednesday evening of the school year our Bruce House boarders filed into the dining hall for the first Bruce House Formal Dinner of the year. They were joined by Director of Boarding (Acting)

Mrs Bridget Anitelea, Mr Anitelea, duty staff member Mr Jonathan Batchelar, and special guest College Principal Mr Damon Emtage. After a prayer of gratitude for the delicious food, a hearty roast beef dinner and meringue dessert was enjoyed by all.

Following the meal, Mr Emtage addressed the Bruce House boarders. Boarding holds a special place in his heart as he was previously a Learning in Residence Director at a college in Australia. He understands first-hand the joys and challenges of boarding and through his own experience shared some advice about the significance of relationships with fellow boarders.

Mrs Anitelea then shared a sentiment on one of the key pillars of Bruce House: gratitude. She spoke of how people all too often compare themselves with those who have more. She encouraged boarders to turn this notion on its head – if they must measure themselves against others, do it against those who have less, as this will ultimately allow for tremendous gratitude and appreciation for the life they have. Mrs Anitelea went further to suggest that this way of looking at things would also hopefully encourage them to give back, pay it forward, and offer service to others.

To conclude the dinner, the Bruce House prefect badges were presented to the prefect team for 2023. The twenty three new boarders also received their Bruce House badges to wear on their blazers with pride.