Shepherd

BRIAN ROWE

Shepherd Housemaster

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE ‘GREEN’? I guess if you directed that question at a group of people anywhere in the world you would receive many and varied answers.

The scientist would tell you it is the colour between blue and yellow on the spectrum, green like the colour of grass or emeralds. The environmentalist may say it is about saving the planet’s resources through recycling or using alternate energy. The American soldier may well say it’s about him/her as they wear green and are referred to as ‘being green’. Those brought up on Sesame Street may have Kermit spring to mind and the fact that “it’s not easy being green”. And the sci-fi fanatics may even say it’s about the ‘little green men from Mars’.

But ask a young man at TSS Prep, Southport, and there is no question it’s about being in SHEPHERD HOUSE. To those in Shepherd House, green is more than a colour. It is a synonym for effort, commitment, mateship and service. To them it symbolises being in a family of sorts, and being a team player, inside the wider family and team that is TSS.

We in the Green Machine take the many facets of being a ‘Shepherdite’ very seriously. We take seriously our commitment to service, and through the extravaganza that is the annual Shepherd House Cake Stall we raised a record amount of $4,075 for this purpose. This year the boys allocated $1,145 to support Nit Marady, our Cambodian student, through until July next year, to allow him to finish his secondary education. They also allocated $1,514 to the Kids Cancer Project to support research into childhood cancer, as Australia has one of the highest incidences of childhood cancer in the world, and currently childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in Australian children. And $1,514 to Cystic Fibrosis Queensland, as they need to raise over $1 million a year to provide essential services such as counselling, free equipment hire, home physiotherapy, accommodation, advocacy, education programs and support for children during hospital stays The boys made the choices and I know are proud that in their own small and special way they have made a difference to those in need.

Effort, commitment and mateship are all wrapped up in the House activities. We won House Music, House Swimming and House Cricket; at the time of writing the results of House Debating and Chess are not yet known; and continued to be competitive (and attempted to be hard to beat!) in House Touch, Tennis, Basketball, Soccer, Athletics and Cross Country. Truly it was an all-round good year, with many all-round good results. Congratulations also to those from our House who won individual awards and to those that went on to represent at the school, district, region and State level. There has been so much attempted and achieved in 2015 of which we can be immensely proud. Every House member has made a contribution to the team at some time, at some stage, and for that I sincerely thank you. Whether being ‘Mean and Green’ or ‘S–H–E–P–H–E–R–D’ – you have done well.

To our Year 6s that now continue their remaining TSS journey over the road – a special ‘Well done!’ You have ‘greened up’ well! You have made a commitment to your House that I believe was even greater than the challenge you set yourselves way back in January. You can be well satisfied. You certainly did not let the Green of Shepherd fade under your watch.

To our Captain, Louis Chabert, and his loyal and hardworking Vice-captains, Dane Lehndorf, Jordan Yoo and Ewan Stanich – please accept my thanks and those of all other Shepherdites. You have led your House well – be well pleased.

So – what does it mean to be green?

It really is that feeling; that pride; that enthusiasm; that raucous team spirit; that ‘awhoo-whoo-whoo whoo’; which is only known to the lucky boys that wear the green stripe down the right- hand side of their sports uniform – the men who serve under the ram.

Louis Chabert – House Captain I guess you can have OK years, good years or great years. For me, 2015 as the Shepherd House Captain would definitely be one of my greatest years ever…

Having the privilege of being a Shepherdite throughout my TSS Prep life has been a true fun experience, and this year it has surely been an honour being able to lead such a great group of boys. A few of the many highlights include: Shepherd raising a recordbreaking amount of over $4,000 at the Shepherd House Cake Stall; defending the House Music competition; being so proud when so many Shepherd House boys ‘had a go’ at the swimming carnival and chipped away securing House points to contribute to an amazing victory at the House Swimming Carnival; and winning House Cricket. I am so proud of our team of boys who dig in deep to play their hardest for Shepherd House. I know it will be hard to leave Shepherd House at the end of the year, but I am excited as I move out of the Prep School and start my life as a senior student. Thank you, Shepherd, for all you have given to me over the past three years of my TSS life. I have enjoyed immensely making great friends across the year groups, the inspiration that is Shepherd, setting goals, and then working hard to achieve them. And there have been so many happy moments. As the years have gone by Shepherd has dug deeper and deeper into my heart. I will never forget Shepherd and I will always be grateful for the support from my Housemaster, House staff and the boys of the great Shepherd House. Go the mighty green machine!

Jordan Yoo – House Vice-captain It has been an absolute honour to be the Vice-captain for the Mighty Machine of Green. Way back in 2012 when we had our first House meetings I always looked up to our leaders and wanted to be a leader myself, because I thought I had what it takes, and now here I am, as the Vice-captain of this great House. How good is that! There is a list of things Shepherd has taught me. One of them is how to lead a team into doing their best in everything they do. In fact, I reckon all the Shepherdites have learnt something valuable this year that they will hold going on into their futures. I would like to thank the Shepherd staff, boys and Mr Rowe for all they do to make Shepherd, Shepherd. Let’s go Shepherd!

Ewan Stanich – House Vice-captain Being Vice-captain of the mighty Shepherd House has been one of the biggest thrills in my school life at Prep. Being in Shepherd was already awesome, but taking on a leadership position took it to a whole new level. Having a whole House believing in you is a great, yet humbling feeling that I will take through my entire school life. Coming into Year 6, I have felt a whole new responsibility in Shepherd, and having a leadership role was just the proverbial icing on the cake. It’s been one of the most memorable experiences in my life being a leader of my House and I am sad to leave it – but my time is up. However, I will always carry the ‘green spirit’ through my entire life. Thank you, Shepherd – it was a great experience – and an even greater honour.

Dane Lehndorf – Vice-captain This year Shepherd has had a great year in sporting, music, cultural and service activities – and also House points. Successes in House Swimming, Touch, Cricket and Music! As a Vice-captain I have been delighted to see all the Shepherd boys work as hard as they can in all their areas of activity here at Prep. For instance, in the House Athletics Carnival when every point counted in the 800m race and, I know it’s not everyone’s strong point, but every single Shepherd boy ran it and not many of them walked. True Shepherd spirit! This year as a Vice-captain has been great, alongside Louis, Jordan and Ewan, and I believe it has been a very successful all-round year for Shepherd. I would like to thank all the teachers and all the Shepherd staff and boys for helping me throughout my TSS Prep journey. Thank you very much – and go the might green machine!

BOARDING HOUSES