After a holiday that, like most, seemed all too short, it was great to see everyone back here at school refreshed and ready for the final chapter of this Year 7 journey. The dorms on Monday night and Tuesday morning were quite electric as boys from all over Australia regathered together to catch up and chat about what they had been up to during the break. It is great to see the boys very happy to be in each other’s company

Although it’s now only 8 weeks until the end of year, this term will not be short of action as the boys focus themselves for their important exams at the end of the semester, as well as their many sport and musical pursuits! There is certainly no time to waste and I am sure the boys will make the most of the next few weeks in order for them to finish the year off very well!

Photo: Binban Jaffer-Williams … I think … (Hanging Rock), Kurt Lee (Wahroonga), James Der (Hunters Hill), Codey Meads-Barlow (Chatswood), Ethan Annesley (Tennyson Point), Ben Clements (Lane Cove), Jack Ridal (Mosman), Andrew Zhao (Bomaderry) and Noah Kelly (Allambie Heights).

Today we launched our buddy program for 2012 and this was an exciting time for the boys as they met up with the Year 11 buddy.

The buddy program has been running at Joeys for more than 20 years and is an opportunity on many levels. First and fore-mostly, the buddy program allows the boys in Year 7 to get to know an older boy in the school who has been through the same experiences that the Year 7 boys are currently going through. The experience of transitioning into high school is not easy and I know that the Year 7 boys greatly appreciate being able to speak with older boys who have been through the experience themselves. Every one of the buddies in Year 11, at some stage or other, was a new boy at Joeys and their own personal experiences and advice from a youthful point of view is invaluable to the Year 7 boys.

For me, I really enjoyed watching the Year 11 boys interact with the Year 7 boys as the current Year 11s were my first group of Year 7 boys that I looked after and I clearly remember this same day four years ago. It is incredible to observe how far they have come and I know from working with them that they experienced all the challenges and difficulties that the Year 7 boys have and will be experiencing throughout this year. Seeing how much the Year 11 students have matured in this time is quite incredible and it was wonderful to see them working so well with the Year 7 boys.

Throughout the year, the Year 11 Boarding Coordinator, Pat Rodgers, and I will work together to create as many opportunities as possible for the boys to catch up. The next time that we have an official get-together will be Saturday week at the Head of the River. The boys will travel to Penrith with their buddies on the bus and this will give them a wonderful opportunity to really get to know them.

Lunch leave has proved very popular so far this year and I would strongly encourage those who are regular lunch leave attendees to consider inviting your son’s buddy to one of the lunch leaves. Like their Year 7 peer relationships, lunch leaves provide a great opportunity for a short but quality time together away from the hustle and bustle of large groups.

I really hope that the boys get to know their buddies well this year and can continue this relationship into 2013 when their buddies are in Year 12.

Photo 1: Year 11 student Matt Johnson (Drummoyne) with Bailey Carrington (Balmain).

Photo 2: Year 11 student Henry Courts (Bourke) with his Year 7 buddy Harry Gosper (Corlette).

Photo 3: Adrian Ang (Artarmon) with his Year 11 buddy Joe Bokeyar (Gladesville)

Birthdays are wonderful times and a great family opportunity. One of the sacrifices that our boarders make is that often they spend their birthdays away from home. We do our best to help celebrate a birthday with the boys by organising some soft drink and special desert for them at dinner to share with their table.

For Rhys Orman (Narrabri) some sickness saw him spend his birthday in bed in the Health Centre. This, however, was not going to stop us from helping him celebrate this special day. Rhys’ parents had organised a surprise cake for the boys up in the dorm … with Rhys in bed, we took the cake to him. Seeing his face light up as the boys in Dorm 8 marched down the hallway of the Health Centre singing happy birthday was simply priceless!

So although not ideal, I suspect that with some presents and cards that arrived in the mail, a chocolate mud cake by his side and some great friends joining him at his bed-side, Rhys is likely to remember his 12th birthday for some time!

Photo: Joseph Canning (Wentworth Falls), Matthew Mackenzie (Sutton Forest), Mackinley Croft (Port Hacking), David Kidd (Connells Point), Bill Farrugia (Coonamble), Edward Fay (Castle Cove), Damian Sevil (Narrabri), Andrian Ang (Artarmon) and Andrew Rice (Oxley) help Rhys Orman celebrate his birthday.