Welcome back to everyone for what will be a significant year for the boarding community as we celebrate 100 years since the founding of Manaro Grammar-which later became Canberra Grammar.

And we all extend a particular welcome to the 22 new boys and their families to CGS Boarding.

A big thank-you to all who were able to attend the Boarder Parent Luncheon as it was great to see many old faces last week. The inclement weather may have forced us indoors but the boarding staff were still able to meet and greet many of our new and returning boys and their parents.

James Rule, House Captain Jones and new Year 7 Jones boarders, James Quiggin, Robert Campbell, Max Hood, Cadeyrn Schmidt, Calvin Dicker and Damon Taylor.

Cheryl Taylor (Damon, Year 7 Jones) Bruce Dicker (Calvin, Year 7 Jones) Diana and Bob Quiggin (James, Year 7 Jones)

Tony Pick ( Resident Tutor Blaxland) and Charles Hood (Old Boy) (Max, Year 7 Jones)

Special welcome to Mr Darren Roylett who is the new assistant Housemaster of Boarding replacing Mr Graeme Lendrum and also a big welcome to new tutors, Mr Jeremy Waterford and Ms Angela Bardwell.

Boarding is an integral part of life at CGS and we now have 86 boarders in our two Houses. The breakdown is seven Year 7s, four Year 8s, 11 Year 9s, 13 Year 10s, 28 Year 11s and 22 Year 12s.

New boys to Blaxland House for 2008 are Calvin Hayes, Edwin Leung and Jack Perren-Leveridge, Year 9, Caleb Brinton, Tim Chang, Bok-Ki Min, Sean Svarcas and Matthew Walters, Year 11, and Rohan Brettel, Year 12.

Jones House welcomes Philip Burn, Robert Campbell, Calvin Dicker, Max Hood, James Quiggin, Cadeyrn Schmidt and Damon Taylor, Year 7, Harrison Cottle, Year 9, Geraint Schmidt, Year 10, James Robertson-Malt, Julian Twyman-Heaven, Year 11, and Jack Boessler, Year12. I hope all these boys make the most of their opportunities at CGS and embrace the School's philosophy.

All boys have settled in well and have started their studies and committed themselves to sporting teams. Lots of rowing, dragon boats, swimming, water polo, badminton, tae kwon do and cricket etc on the weekend.

Supervised Prep has begun for all Year 7,8 & 9 and 10 boys. The continuing success of this program is critical to the development of the academic rigour required to work independently in the senior years.

This term our weekly boarding Chapel service will be held on Sunday evening at 7pm and all boys are required to attend this service. Dress is School uniform.

All boys and staff attended a Welcome Back Dinner in the Dining Hall - special thanks to the staff from Spotless Catering for organising this event. The Year 7 boys have also attended the Year 7 Barbecue and from all accounts it was a great way to end their first week at CGS.

House Swimming trials werre held in preparation for the Inter-House Swimming Carnival on Wednesday 20 February at Belconnen. All boys were very supportive and had a great time at the carnival. House cross country will be held later this term and the senior boys are beginning to organise regular training runs for all boys. So this year sees the seniors taking complete control of the House sports. Self-motivation at its best.

During the Inter-House competitions, Blaxland and Jones Houses combine as one and compete under the Manaro House banner as the 'Men of Manaro!'

The recent rain has provided opportunity one afternoon for some boys to have some fun in one of their favourite activities-mud sliding on the oval. Given the long dry spell this was a real treat however a good shower was certainly enjoyed and needed.

Matt Brown, Year 10 Jones, Henry Nash, Year 8 Blaxland, Archie Sampson, Year 8 Blaxland

Happy Birthday to the following boys who celebrate their birthdays: January: Lachlan Essery, Harry Sachs, Phil Tang, Angus White, Ashley Day, AJ Gibson, Lachlan White February: Jared King, Harrison Cottle, Junya Eguchi, Ken Hong, Tom Sands, Calvin Hayes, Sandy Bell, Martin Liu.

Sister Jill from the Health Clinic is recommencing introductory Yoga lessons on Wednesday mornings at 7.45am in the Common Room. All boys are welcome and encouraged to join in and experience the benefits of this class. Main focus is on stretching and flexibility.

Our Boarding Parent Representatives on the P&F Association for 2008 are Mr Angus and Mrs Ruth Gibson (AJ Gibson,Year 11 Blaxland). On that note I would like all new parents and any existing parents to send me an email so I can up-date my contact files to forward onto Angus and Ruth over the next couple of days. My email address is This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it