Term 4 is a very busy time at the hostel. Along with all the usual things that happen at school like senior prize giving and final senior assembly etc. we have our annual Skippers Feast, Year 12 Leadership Camp and Year 8 orientation to fit into our normally busy schedule.

This year at Skippers Feast we had 208 people attend (Year 13 parents attend also) and therefore we had to erect our marquee in the pit cricket area adjacent to the dining hall to fit everyone in. For those of you that don’t know, Skippers Feast is our time to officially say goodbye to the seniors, in the form of speeches from the Year 12 boys, the Rector, Janis our Matron, myself the Hostel Manager and the Year 13 Head of Hostel. We treat it like Christmas dinner and we give all the Year 13 boys a hostel leavers tie and a leaving certificate. An award is given to the Hostel Top Scholar which this year went to James Nind and much to his surprise, for the first time this year was awarded a $500 scholarship which was kindly donated by an anonymous donor and will be awarded for the next 3 years. The generous donation of $2000 allows us to award $500 every year to encourage even more Year 13 study in the hostel!

We also give out an award for the Best All Round Year 13 boy who was a dorm monitor during the year. A dorm monitor is a Year 13 boy who looks after our younger boys and alerts management if there are any issues/sickness etc. with any boy within his assigned dorm. The Year 9 boys vote for this person and this year Isaiah McLellan was voted the best. Isaiah was extremely proud to receive this award and the prize that went with it, a framed signed Otago Rugby Jersey (as pictured).

Our sights now turn towards the Year 8 orientation weekend and making the 2017 new comers feel comfortable and happy about the transition they are soon to make into hostel life. The hostel is once again full for the coming year and the Year 12 leadership Camp will go a long way in preparing our older boys to take on the responsibility of mentoring and setting the example for these younger boys coming into the hostel.