PASTORAL CARE Harper House
times that ‘business as normal’ is not guaranteed, and that having to adapt and accept change is the new normal. The year of 2021 has seen us miss more time at school, miss more opportunities, tournaments, and events that we were looking forward to, and was a year in which we have had to make changes to the things we like to do. However, it has also been a year in which we have seen lots of successes and moments to be proud of. The year started out in exceptional style for the Harper boys, with a fantastic demonstration of participation, enthusiasm and effort during the athletics sports. For the fifth year in a row, Harper House took out the overall athletics championship and in doing so, set a mammoth record of gaining 872 points, with Somes the next closest on 397 points. The previous best was 640 points set by Harper House just last year. The large number of boys who participated in heats translated into a lot of Harper boys making finals. As a result, it always seemed that there was a black and white singlet finishing in the top four or five of every event. There were several event winners within the House as well, with Lachlan McVicar (Year 11) and PJ Palamo (Year 10) winning overall individual titles for the U14 and Intermediate, respectively. Head of House Charlie Cameron (Year 13) also set a school record in the pole vault, with a large crowd watching and spurring him on in one of the highlights of the day. Both the U14 and Intermediate 4 x 100 relay teams excelled, with the U14 team breaking the school record by just under .4 of a second. Winning the overall cup, relay cup and field events cup
completed an impressive trifecta by the House. Other successes to be proud of this year were the House play and House music efforts. The great rendition of Walking on a Dream by Empire of the Sun was the result of a fantastic effort by the House and it was great to see the whole House putting its best foot forward once again. I still don’t know how we didn’t finish in the top three. The small vocal group also did an outstanding job, stunning the crowd with their silky smooth rendition of Sunday Morning by Maroon 5. Their exceptional effort was rewarded with joint first place. The House play, What’s Next? was also a triumph, with the play written, directed and performed by the boys. The great story provided by Hamish McCulloch had some memorable moments from a topsy-turvy 2020, with the irony of the audience’s cell phones beeping in unison as another nationwide lockdown was signalled as the last scene of the play was performed. The subtle comedy, along with the topics of Covid-19, Black Lives Matter and Donald Trump, made for a very entertaining production. Despite restrictions arriving at inconvenient times, the House managed to continue it’s community service and support for the Child Cancer Foundation. With our usual Wig Wednesday activities, but, more significantly, our contribution toward the foundation’s Southern Lights Gala Dinner, the Harper House community again gave generously. Having boys act as guides, waiters and hosts on the night of the dinner was a great example of Harper House boys giving their time for the benefit of others. Another success of which the House can be proud.
Housemaster: Matt Cortesi Deputy Housemaster/Mentor: Claire Nicolson Mentors: Graeme Christey, Emily Priest, Katie Southworth, Andrew Taylor, Ginny Patterson Head of House: Charlie Cameron Deputy Heads of House: Marcus Hamilton, Nant Prachuabmoh The end of the 2021 year in Harper House brought with it some uncharted territory, with the parents, friends and family of Harper House watching our annual prize-giving at home, via live-stream, instead of in-person. It was evidence of another Covid-19- affected year, in which we have had to adapt and change to work within different circumstances. Whether it has been working via remote learning, changing the weekly routine, having House assembly messages delivered through video messages from the Housemaster or missing opportunities, we have all become quite good at adapting to the circumstances and restrictions we have had to face. As I delivered my final prize-giving speech as Harper Housemaster via video message – something the House has become accustomed to in the last couple of years – I reflected on how that was just a sign of the
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Christ’s College Canterbury
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