Week 3, Spring Term 2019
A short turn around from the last post, but so much happens each week that there appears to always be something to write about!! The ATAR exams started this week and progress through the next three weeks. We wish all our boys sitting them the very best of luck!.
Residential Community Meeting
On Wednesday night the new Residential Life Council for 2019/20 took centre stage as they hosted their first Residential Community Meeting. The Council this year have decided to trial a year without the Highlander groups and so established their own seating plan for the dinner which centre around the boys birthdate. Part of the meeting was for the boys to work out why they had been seated together and a prize was given for the table who was first to guess. Patrick Eastough discussed the council’s plans for the year and he was well supported by the return of the sport report, hosted by Tom Graham and Hamish Gooch, an interview by Flynn Le Cornu with this years Captain of Tennis, Tom Graham and finally a candid interview by Reuben Westerman (12) with his brother Jensen (8) talking about Jensen’s life at home with Mum and Dad and the number of places he has lived over the past few years while Reuben has been as Scotch. A terrific start and we look forward to our regular fortnightly meetings.
Vaping
Over the past six months it has come to our attention that the use of e-cigarettes, or vaping, is becoming an increasing trend amongst our society and in particular our youth. Currently in the US, Canada and Asia vaping use is widespread and worryingly unregulated. The myth is that vaping is a safe alternative to smoking but the research suggests that the results at this stage are inconclusive and we should be proceeding in a state of caution. We have dealt with vaping in both the day and boarding school over the past few months and felt it was important to let you know what your son’s might be spending their money on!! The following report recently aired by the ABC should hopefully provide you with some baseline information about e-cigarettes.
We would like to make it very clear that if any boy is found with a vaping device and/or implements on them, or smokes a vape while on school premises, then there will be very strong consequences for that boy.
Year 12’s, Phones and Sleep!!
Our year 11’s have moved into their Year 12 status and as in previous years this includes an increase in privileges. The most sort after one is the opportunity to keep their phones and laptops in their rooms over night and whilst we have very good understanding of what they might be used for we have always believed that at some stage the boys need to learn how to self regulate their use of their devices. As a Residential Management group we have been discussing over a long period of time about the importance of sleep for our boys and how a good nights sleep is the cornerstone t0 healthy living. With this in mind we have entered into a an agreement with the 12’s (not sure they are fully sold on this agreement though) that they can keep their phone overnight, only if they activate and use the ‘Sleep Cycle” App: https://www.sleepcycle.com. The sleep cycle app tracks how much sleep a person has per night and even attaches a quality of sleep value to it. It continually records this data over a long period of time so the boys can view their sleep patterns and gain a better understanding of how quality sleep can affect their daily performance. The boys are being asked to activate the app by 10:45pm each night and then will be randomly asked to show their data collected. It is a trial with the focus on trying to get the boys to sleep more rather than spend the large majority of their night on their phones. The results will be very interesting!!
Halloween
On Thursday the Year 7/8 House got into the Halloween Spirit by dressing up their House and inviting the St Mary’s girls over for a special Halloween dinner and treasure hunt!! Not be outdone our Catering Team also got all spooky by designing a scary menu for the day as well as dressing up the Senior and Middle School canteens and the Dining Hall. We certainly want to acknowledge our catering team as they do so much for our boys and try and make their meal experience fun and enjoyable!!
Dinninup and Albany Show
Next week we will be visiting two of the Shows in the southern region with Marcus attending the Dinninup Show on Tuesday, and Richard and Fran on the way to Albany on Thursday to be present at their show on the Friday and Saturday. If you are in and around the area and have time please drop by to say hello!!
Twenty20: Australia vs Pakistan
We are looking to book a number of tickets for our boys to go to the twenty20 match at Optus Oval next week to see Australia vs Pakistan. The tickets look like costing around $30 which will include a food voucher for the boys. The match is due to start at 4.30pm and finishes at 7.30pm. If you think this would be a great event for your son to attend then please encourage them to sign up through REACH.
REACHApp
It appears as though the REACHApp is not doing what it is supposed to be doing and we have advised REACH. Hopefully it will be fixed shortly and we thank those of you who have taken the time to let us know.
Paintballing
On Saturday 7th December we will be holding our annual Paintballing Day. This is the final activity that we do as a Residential Community for the year and it is the only activity that we request all boys to attend. As per previous years we will be leaving the College at around 7.30am and will return by 2.00pm. The boys will play 4 paintball games, receive 600 paintballs, receive a sausage sizzle for lunch and have the pleasure of trying to shoot as many staff members as possible!! The cost for the day will be $50 with this being added to each boy’s accounts. This cost covers 50% of the fee with the Residential Community covering the other half. It has been the highlight of our calendar over recent years and the banter has already begun, for what is set to be a great day!!
Claremont Leave and Junk Food
We believe it is important for the boys to have local leave to Claremont as it is a chance for them to get a break from the Boarding Houses and a change of scenery, however, of late we are very concerned about the amount of lollies, drinks, chips, Hungry Jacks etc that is being bought by the boys. On occasions, boys are going to lunch and dinner in the Dining Hall and not eating much, but then going back to their rooms and enjoying their purchases. We also obviously support moderation and think that it is important the boys enjoy a few treats along the way, but for some, it is far too excessive. We do try and stop boys when they come back in the House to check what they have purchased and remove excess if required, but as you know, boys get smarter and are now finding novel ways of “distributing the wealth” or “laundering” the goods. It leaves us with a couple of ways to manage the situation and that is 1) out Claremont leave, 2) place a ban on purchasing junk food rule (which we couldn’t supervise anyway) or 3) ask you to assist us in managing how much money the boys are being given because from our observations there are some boys who have a lot of money that are just wasting it on junk food. If you have concerns about your son in particular, then please feel free to contact your Residential Head of Year.
Holiday Travel Arrangements – End of Year Information!
Now that we are back and in full swing your attention should be (that is, if your son flies home) on the end of the year. With school having different finishing days for each Year Group it is important that you know what date your son is finishing so that you book the appropriate train or plane.
The Middle School like to have all Year 8 boys here for the Middle School Speech Night because predominantly the night is designed to say farewell to the Year 8’s. We will be keeping the Boarding House open on this night for those Year 8 boys who need to stay on and will organize transport to the airport or train station the following day. If you need any help with understanding when your son is due to leave, then please feel free to contact Michelle or Jan.
The same could also be said for any Year 9 to 12 boys who might receive an award at Speech night on the last day of the year. We will keep the Boarding Houses open that extra night and provide transport on the following day so the boys can attend if they wish.
We hope you all have a great weekend!!