Head Boarder’s Report

HEAD BOARDER’S

Report

Despite 2020 year being highly unpredictable and disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Boarding has been filled with fun and success and is undoubtedly a year to remember! We kicked off the Boarding year with our traditional activities to help all Boarders settle in and allow new Boarders to get to know the other girls. One of our activities this year was a trip to Parakai Springs where we all had a great time in the pools, enjoying the sun and teaching each other new games such as a Boarding favourite ‘Mama Butterfly’. The following weekend, all Boarders participated in a range of team bonding activities at Totara Park, where we were split into our family group teams each with our own coloured bandana. All teams had a mix of girls from different year groups allowing them to form new friendships with not only new Boarders, but also strengthen bonds with girls outside their own year group. We engaged in activities such as archery, relay races, orienteering and other team bonding exercises. Not only were the ‘closed weekends’ an opportunity for girls to socialise, but they also allowed new Boarders to meet weekend supervisors and other Boarding staff. We then had our annual Durham Shield Competition which was a treat as always. Durham Shield is an inter-House competition where each House choreographs and creates a House performance which was judged by our Belgium interns, Eva and Jarne. Our performances were then followed by a competition of swimming activities such as clothes relays, an underwater race, and the biggest bomb. It was great to see such strong spirit from each House and see all Boarders get involved. This year’s winner was Elgin House with their green theme ‘Area 51’, allowing them to take home the shield! Something we enjoy in Boarding and have lots of fun participating in are our annual themed dinners, where we are given the opportunity to dress up in the theme for that special dinner. Despite COVID-19, we were able to have a few of our annual themed dinners. One of our special dinners was our annual International dinner where we chose a theme of a specific country, allowing us to gain knowledge of the cuisine, costumes, and traditions of different cultures. This year’s theme was USA, where two of our Year 13 Boarders, Claudia and Rosalind, attended as The President of the USA and The First Lady. We also had our annual mid-winter Christmas dinner where each year group dressed up to the theme ‘The Grinch who stole Christmas’. With 2020 being disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we sadly missed a few of the scheduled Boarding activities, such as our annual Boarding social with Auckland Grammar and Dilworth schools.

When the Epsom campus was closed during Alert Levels 3 and 4, we stayed in touch with each other over Microsoft Teams until we were able to return to Boarding. Throughout the lockdown we had several Boarding calls and House calls to check in with one another. We also continued to have our Boarding committee meetings online which allowed our environmental, health and wellbeing, social activities and events, and food committees to continue running. Microsoft Teams also provided an opportunity for Year 13s to check in with their new Boarding buddies and ensure they were doing well during these unpredictable times.

I have enjoyed being Head Boarder of 2020 immensely and I am honoured to have been given this great opportunity. It has been great working alongside the Heads of Boarding, Mrs Hogg and Mrs Hunt, to try and make 2020 as enjoyable as possible for our Boarders. I am also grateful for all our Boarding staff’s support throughout this year, including our House managers, weekend supervisors, prep tutors who truly make Boarding such an enjoyable experience. I have also enjoyed being a member of the Prefect team for 2020 and being able to represent Boarders within the Day School. My past four years here in Boarding and at St Cuthbert’s has been an experience I have greatly enjoyed, and I will forever treasure the memories I have made. A big thank you to the other Year 13 Boarding leaders Caitlin, Lily and Moana for their support and help throughout this crazy year. To all the Boarders, thank you for making Boarding the great place it is and all the best for the future!

– Tulyahna Pulotu McCarthy, Head Boarder 2020