Boarding Report

This term finished on a really high note for boys and students in Keys House. We had some fantastic events and they show the strength of our Boarding Community. It started a few weeks back, when we had the SPIRIT Award when we remember the life of one of our Keys boys Lachie Higham. The recipient this year of the prestigious award was Vincent Carter, Year 12.

A few weeks later we had another very successful Inter-House Athletics Carnival. Keys boys won both the Athletics and also the Marching after the event. The morning was topped off by a Farewell BBQ for Mrs Freitag. Digby Stretch a Boarding parent and the Chairman of Council, made a speech and the parents made a presentation to Mrs Freitag with a cake decorated in purple and a Dockers Logo! The coffee table and photo book will be well used and enjoyed in the Freitags' new home.

The boys performed very well in several House events this term, getting to the final rounds of the Senior Soccer. Their performance in the House Singing was very impressive and performing with a live band and a solo singer was a great way to finish off many weeks of practice.

There have been several Field Days (Dowerin, Newdegate) in the last month and these have been well attended by our current, future and past families. Phil Williams and Matt Bradley travelled to the Mingenew Field Day at the end of last week. It was great to see Mr Marcus Wilkinson the new Director of Residential Life at Dowerin with our Headmaster Dr O'Connell and Mr and Mrs Freitag.

Mr Wilkinson has also been part of the interviews for the new Keys House Captain. There were 16 election speeches presented to the House, all of a very high calibre and expressed the passion boys feel for their House and Boarding at Scotch. Thanks to Mr Bradley for his annual running of the election and the preparation of the very professional voting slips.

Mr Wilkinson will be attending a welcome Cocktail Party at the beginning of Spring Term. We wish him well as he moves into his new role in 2015.

Our Annual Photo competition took place in Week eight this term with some stunning photos being submitted. There were over 90 photos and the judges had a hard time deciding on the final winner. The standard and variety of photos was wonderful and thanks to Mr Menage who introduced this competition seven years ago. It has gone from strength to strength. Presentations were made in two categories Junior / Senior with Oliver Pope the final winner. He receives a canvas print of his photo to keep and one is also displayed in the Big House for everyone to enjoy.

As Winter turns into Spring, our boys move into new year groups and new responsibilities. Thank you to our current Year 12s for a job well done and good luck with their exams, soon to finish their time at Scotch.

Marilynn Freitag

Head of Boarding