National Boarding Week 2022

XAIRE COMBARNGO AND HUGH DOLLE Head Boarder Girl and Head Boarder Boy

National Boarding Week is an annual week where we, as a boarding community, are able to showcase the diversity and culture within both boys and girls boarding along with many other activities we enjoy taking part in on a regular basis.

Throughout the week there is usually an activity each day which gives the ‘day bugs’ and other patrons an insight into different aspects of what life is like living away from home as boarders.

On Monday, we hosted a free sausage sizzle for the day students in the Chapel Forecourt. This is probably our most popular event each year and the sausages —we cook over 300!—are snapped up in a matter of minutes. This gives the boarders and day students an opportunity to come together as a larger collective—to communicate and enjoy a meal similar to what the boarding students do on a daily basis.

On Tuesday, boarder-led tours took day students and their 'adopt-a-parent's through the respective boarding houses. In doing so, day students, as well as staff, were able to gain a true and personal insight on how boarding houses are operated. It was the busiest ever lunch in the boarding houses, with hundreds of students going through both houses doing tours. Day students were able to see the boarders’ rooms as well as common areas in which many of them spend their time bonding and watching movies etc. In doing these tours, boarding students were able to display what ‘life as a boarder’ is truly like.

On Wednesday, there were games such as corn hole, table tennis, spike ball and hand ball to emulate activities that boarders partake in almost every night after dinner. These activates initiated further interactions with boarders and day students to build excitement for what was to come later in the week.

That evening, our brother and sister houses socialised in their family groups. Groups went out and had some fun, getting together outside of the boarding houses under the supervision of staff. This has been a wonderful addition to our Pastoral Care program.

Sport is a very sentimental part of boarding’s culture as it gives us a chance to participate in friendly competition. This concept of competition was exhibited on Thursday in the form of a day bugs vs boarders dodgeball match at lunch time.

On Friday, we were meant to play the annual day bug vs boarder Touch game on Harts Road Oval. However, after the incessant rain and seasonal sickness, the game was unable to go ahead. This game of Touch is the highlight for many during boarding week and it was a shame to miss out. With usually a large number of participants from both day school and boarding across a variety of Year Levels, the strength of the communities connectivity and camaraderie has been evident throughout the game in previous years.