Penrhos Boarding Week 2025

During Week 1 of this term the College celebrated Boarding Week. 

The boarders always come back to boarding the day before school commences. It was a particularly busy start, as families came laden with tasty treats, gifts, clothes, bedding and room decorations to help create a positive start to the second semester. The Boarding House prefect team were put to task straight away, as they organised the events that were going to roll out throughout the week. 

To start the ball rolling we held a Paddock to Plate Bake Sale on the first day of term. We had oodles of delicious plates of food that were snapped up by hungry students. The capacity of our boarding families to whip up a tasty treat is huge. The Bake Sale continued for two days and is cementing itself as an eagerly anticipated event on the school calendar. 

Lily, our Captain of Boarding, spoke to the senior school students on Wednesday about the significance of boarding week. Being a boarder is a unique experience and bonds are formed which are unbreakable. You live on campus 24/7 during term and miss the wide open spaces of home, the freedom, your family and your pets. Boarding Week is a way in which to spread this message. 

The fun continued with Mr Whippy stopping by on Wednesday night, and everyone enjoyed a tasty treat. On Thursday during lunch there was an extravaganza of an event with a Penrhos Boarders vs Student Council dodgeball annihilation. The boarders were far superior even when the Student Council recruited members of the PE staff to assist them!

Throughout the week all boarders celebrated having a Secret Friend. Rooms were decorated, notes were written, and gifts were exchanged. It is a fun week and helps to further strengthen the bonds between the boarders. On Thursday night we held a special dinner and had the big secret friend reveal. There was so much excitement, the room was abuzz and full of joy.

Friday was 'dress-up as a country icon'. The senior school students and staff let their imaginations run wild and we had some very interesting characters attending the school that day. The final event was the mighty sausage sizzle. The Year 12 boarders equipped themselves magnificently and it was a sell-out. 

I would like to sing the praises of our Prefect team. Lily, Elise, Charlotte and Mia. They were amazing. They created and displayed posters, baked and sold multiple sweet treats, managed the finances, hurled balls at the opposition, sizzled sausages, raffled and made sure that all secret friends were happy. They were ably assisted by the three Year 12 members of our Boarding Council – Grace, Chloe and Evelyn. A most formidable team.

Elise liaised beautifully with Kate from the Darcy Effect. The Darcy Effect is the group to which we are donating all monies raised. Kate donated some gorgeous fluffy toys to be raffled off and there were some very happy recipients of gorgeous dogs, turtles, bears and butterflies. We have not worked out the final amount we will be donating, but I am very confident it will be a record amount. Elise and Kate are working out further ways in which the boarding community can continue to offer support.

Boarding Week is about the joy of giving: from baking, to selling, to being a secret friend and making sure we all enjoy a positive and fun week. It did mean the first week back was busy but also a distraction from saying farewell to holidays.