Next week the College officially launches the four House identities, which were developed to encourage a greater sense of belonging, spirit and collegiality across all year groups and all areas of College life, from sport to academics, and service to the Arts.
Each House will soon be identified not only by their name and by colour, but will also include an animal mascot, a motto and link to one of the College’s overarching values.
“This is not the same as beginning a new school from scratch,” explained Mr Norton. “We have over twelve hundred students who want to identify with their House today.” Four animals were selected to be readily associated with the colour and also broad in their scope, allowing students of all ages to quickly affiliate with their House mascot.
Each House was named after either a Busselton Parish Priest or Sister of St Joseph who has been associated with the formation of the College, and students will be given the opportunity to identify with these real life characters as part of their House identity. “They all demonstrated courage in their life and professional choices that contributed to our College, and we recognise this in House mottos such as ‘Think Big’, ‘Lead the Way’, ‘Make it Happen’ and ‘Light the Flame’.
The first major InterHouse event for 2018 will be the Years 5-8 Swimming Carnival on Thursday, 15 February, with the Year 9-12 Swimming Carnival the following day on Friday, 16 February. “We are very excited to see these new House identities play out,” says new K-12 Sports Coordinator Mr Andrew Culnane. “Especially with the new year group format, which will allow more time for events to be run without losing the fun and spirit of ‘having a go’ that our InterHouse carnivals are known for.”