Emma and Rachel here, your Head and Deputy of Hostel for 2023.

Term 1 in Hostel has been very busy. We started off with a family BBQ where a lot of the new families got to meet Rachel and I, meet other parents and had a tour of our hostel. Prep is up and running and it is great to see all the boarders using this time wisely to do NCEA assessments and homework.

We recently had our Compulsory Weekend on the 25-26th February. For this we went up to Christchurch and went to the Aquapark which although was cold the girls still had a blast, and of course we also went to the mall. We played games and bonded as a whole hostel. This weekend made a lot of girls get out of their comfort zone.

It is great to see the Year 9s and new girls settling in well. We are loving their fun energy around The House. Year 13 and Y9s have fortnightly bonding sessions, it is great to see Year 13 stepping up and being leaders for the younger girls. Mary and Sandra have been running sessions for Year 10.

Last week Year 9 and 10 had their first challenge night. Year 10 came away winning 4/4 challenges. We look forward to seeing Year 9 come back for the win in Term 2.

Deborah, our Director of Boarding took our hostel van the Moover down to the Wanaka show to represent our Hostel and the school.

On Friday we farewell Lana, our evening cook. We wish her all the best for maternity leave and look forward to seeing cute baby pictures!!

We have got our Hostel Representative committee up and running and have got a lot of ideas for the rest of Term 1. Our first themed dinner is going to be 'Dress up as the first letter of your name' so stay posted for some funny photos from The House.

A big shout out to Alana Berry-Rankin for her awesome effort at the South Island Rowing Comp in Twizel last weekend, Emma Campbell and Charli Mckenzie for their great results at their swimming comp in Invercargill and Isabelle England for her lead role in the South Canterbury Drama League Show 'Bring it On'. The hostel boarders and staff are proud of you all!

We are so excited to see what's in store for the rest of the year and what Rachel and I can bring to the table.

Emma Ross & Rachel Tobeck