Howqua term 4 and Open Day

Howqua Term 4 has been filled with the girls' realisation that this is their last term there and their last chance to relish the unique lifestyle and challenges they face there. Jessye wrote one of her best letters of the year after a particularly memorable and difficult hike up some pretty steep terrain. We look forward to hearing about the famous six-day hike which finishes the year - she's probably on it right now.

There's always plenty of opportunity for being daft though, especially in the close atmosphere of shared tenting. They were still getting some pretty cool nights up high in the hills.

The surroundings and the special camaraderie will be hard for the girls to leave behind. not to mention the dear old kangaroos. Of course most of them will be going into Year 10 together next year so it's not like they're saying goodbye forever but I think they all know they're unlikely to do anything quite like this again.

Jessye turned out some interesting art during the year, despite her protestations that everything had to be about trees etc.

Each of the houses at Howqua chooses a permanent memento for the girls to take away with them, usually a rugby jersey or sweat pants. Jessye's house chose a navy and pink rugby jersey with their names on the back. I think the numbers correspond to their Howqua numbers used for various purposes like loading buses and making sure everybody's there.

While I was still in New Zealand Peter, Kasi, Rosie and Sophie drove up to Howqua for the Open Day which was subtitled Day the Parents Bring Home all the Excess Baggage. The girls put on some musical performances and Jessye was able to do her bit on the drum kit and the viola. Kasi enjoyed the opportunity to see where Jessye had been living all year and was very impressed by her fitness, tearing up hills like nobody's business. I was sorry to miss the last trip to Howqua and am starting to feel sympathetically with the girls the rapidly approaching end to a momentous year. They come back home this Friday and spend the last week of the school year at regular school learning to use their new computers and finishing the year with a special assembly at which the song with lyrics written by Jessye's house will be sung by all the Howqua girls and there will no doubt be buckets of tears all round. I'll be able to go so I'd better remember to take a few hankies. Jessye told me about last year's special assembly to welcome back the Howqua girls and she said there wasn't a dry eye in the house at the end of it all.

The day before I got home from NZ, Jessye came home for her last exeat (5-day break). We had some lovely weather while she was home and on Cup Day Kasi, the girls and I spent the afternoon in town and at St Kilda beach. Kasi and I had a punt (rather ineffectual) on the horses and we watched the race, which was very exciting, at a cafe in town before heading for St Kilda. The next day Rosie and Sophie came with me at 7:15 am to put Jessye on the bus to Howqua for the last time. A few days after that it was time to say a big thank you and goodbye to Kasi who had come over from Auckland to look after the household while I was in NZ.

Another visitor from Auckland was Jan(ice) Morris, Sandra's sister, who is only a year and a bit older than us so was around with us a lot when we were kids. Janice and Sandra and I had a lovely afternoon tea catchup at a cafe in Hawthorn then later they came home to see Rosie and Sophie. Janice had never met the girls before. Sophie had recently got an A for her first piano exam, Grade 2, so I persuaded her to play a piece for the visitors while it was still fresh. Rosie also played a piece on the horn accompanied by me. It was the first time I'd heard her play right through such a nice piece so beautifully - she isn't all that big on practising at home but seems to be making good progress anyway.
Next blog to follow shortly will include Eleanor's 21st birthday celebration.