Boarding house

FRONT ROW Tida Prasert, Leena Song, Moyao (Michelle) Li, Lui (Bonnie) Suen, Mrs D Clancy, Ms C Wood, Ting (Judy) Zhao, Yujing (Jing) Luo, Tsz Kiu (Percy) Chan, Vanessa Kimpton, Jemima Hall

SECOND ROW: Xinyi (Olivia) Wu, Changyu (Cherry) Li, Qinghua (Jennifer) Tan, Eden Timbery, Li (Lily) Li, Skye McDonald, Kaleena Braddick, Summer-Sky Dann, Catherine Xu, Kei Ci (Casey) Yu, Jiyuan (Nikky) Liu

THIRD ROW: Yilin (Elaine) Xu, Hally Baker, Tanaya Williams, Suwaphat (Charlotte) Janwangprong, Han (Klarissa) Liu, Qing (Sunny) Yan, Fan (Angela) Bu, Connie Li, Madeleine Baker, Ruoyun (Yolanda) Li

FOURTH ROW: Xun (Teddy) Zuo, Jiaxuan (Stella) Dong, Wilhelmina Urquhart, Madison Lampton, Georgia Wilson, Nicolette Walker, Bella Taper, Hannah McDonald, Luyao (Lucretia) Liu, Ya (Priscilla) Gao

FIFTH ROW Felicity Hedger, Alexis Pollard, Lailah Prince, Willamina Burke, Chenxuan (Jackling) Ma, Xuanzi (Grace) Liu, Jada Crawshaw, Darcie Urquhart, Zoe Hall

The St Catherine’s boarding house experienced many positive changes this year, including renovations and new traditions.

We began the year with the welcome weekend, where girls competed on the Friday night in fun games, aimed at getting to know one another. The following day we explored different parts of Sydney, with activities ranging from ice-skating to trampolining, and a delicious lunch. We ended the weekend watching a movie in the blue room.

In Term 1, the boarders saw the musical Mamma Mia! which was a great opportunity to build new relationships. We hosted our own boarders’ dance, inviting boarding students from a range of schools for socialising and dancing. We also performed for the first time as a group in St Cath’s Got Talent, dancing to a mashup of songs in a polished performance, and ending the item singing.

The first Boarders’ Week was introduced, which highlighted the life of boarders in the senior school. The week began with a ‘Boarders’ themed assembly, showcasing a montage of videos from the girls’ hometowns, giving the day students and teachers some insight into our diverse backgrounds. Our boarding house doors were opened to curious staff and students to tour around, allowing them to see another side of the school. There was a bed-making competition between the boarders, teachers and day students. Unfortunately, the boarders crumbled under pressure and the day students took first place. To end the week, the boarders served bacon and eggs to the school community and raised $4,376 for A Fiver for a Farmer, to assist families affected by the widespread drought.

In a beautifully decorated Valedictory Dinner, our Year 12 boarders were farewelled. Boarding students delivered cards and heart-warming speeches, and boarding staff performed a personalised version of Footloose that highlighted the personalities of each Year 12 student. It was an emotional and fun night that allowed us to say our goodbyes and wish good luck to the future Year 12.

We had a dinner at Bondi Pizza in Bondi Junction in our last term, thanks to the P&F Association, and finished with our annual boarders Christmas dinner, with dancing and singing performances, which was the perfect way to end the year.

Felicity Hedger Boarding Prefect