We aim to make the transition to boarding school a little easier with our annual Boarders Taster Weekend.

When Peta V (Year 7) moved from Dubbo to board at St Cath’s, she was understandably nervous about leaving her family behind. However, her worries quickly faded once she arrived. She made friends with the other girls
and soon felt at home in her new boarding family. “Once I settled into boarding at St Cath’s, it was a bunch of fun — it’s like one big sleepover every night,” she shared.

Peta’s experience is a common one, as we know that many students may feel apprehensive about starting boarding school. To help ease their worries, we host a Boarders Taster Weekend in Term 4. It’s the perfect opportunity for our new boarders to meet the other girls, get familiar with our Boarding House and settle in at St Cath’s.

This year, the weekend started on Saturday 16 November when our new boarders arrived to meet their buddies for lunch in the Dining Room. Each new boarder is assigned a buddy to help them with the transition to boarding.
The girls often spend the holidays before school starts chatting with and meeting up with their buddies so that by the time Term 1 rolls around, they are already best friends.

At this year’s Taster Weekend, our new and current boarders headed out after lunch to enjoy a series of bonding activities across Sydney. The first stop was the Hijinx Hotel where the girls worked in teams to solve puzzles. Then they headed off for a game of putt-putt golf at Holey Moley. Finally, they returned to St Cath’s for a scavenger hunt around the campus, to help them learn their way around the school.

The day ended with everyone’s favourite event, the Boarding Family Barbecue. Although they are spread far and wide around the world, our families are an integral part of our boarding community, so we always make it a priority to include them in our celebrations. It was wonderful to see our parents, students and friends gathered for delicious dinner on the Cloisters Lawn. “I love gathering together for dinner, it feels like home sitting with the girls who are like sisters and talking about everything,” Simone H (Year 10) said.

The night ended with movies on the big screen in the Blue Room before everyone settled in for a good night’s sleep. The next morning, our new boarders joined in for a big Sunday breakfast in the dining room. “It was
such a fun weekend, I got to meet a lot of new girls. I can’t wait to see them again next year,” Lilli B (Year 7) said.