LHI welcomed St Gregory’s College to the island last week to celebrate our annual Discovery Day. Assistant Principal, Mr. Joel Weekes, and Director of Boarding, Mr. Luke Morrissey travelled to the island to represent the College.

LHI currently has 6 young men boarding at St Gregory’s in grades 8 through to 11, and a long history of young men attending the College from the island.

A full schedule of events was held for the men to meet past, present and future families of the College including a meet and greet for families at Ebbtide hosted by Emma Crombie, dinner at The Anchorage, and attending the Discovery Day celebrations at the school.

The highlight of the trip was the opportunity for Joel and Luke to talk to the Year 3 to 6 students at the LHI Central School about boarding school. The presentation was well received by all of the children with lots of questions answered about how boarding school works, the challenges of living away from home, and the opportunities available.

The College also donated prizes for the students participating in the Discovery Day Athletics events, although the students had more success than Joel in the wheelbarrow race and Luke in the tug-o-war.

Outside of the official functions there was time for exploring the beauty of LHI, including snorkelling Ned’s Beach, swimming, trying the ‘Future Burger’ at Thommo’s, and a Turtle Tour hosted by Anthony Riddle. Some amazing experiences.

Mr Morrissey said “We are extremely proud of the long history of young men that come to our College from Lord Howe Island. It was wonderful to see where the boys have grown up and live and meet all the members of their community. I would like to thank everyone from LHI for making us feel so welcome, in particular Emma Crombie and Amy Hickey, for their organisation and generosity, Steve and Janet Sia for keeping us fed at the Coral Café, and Lynne Takacs for welcoming us to the school. We can’t wait to come back to see everyone again.”

This article appeared in The Lord Howe Island Signal, 28 February 2022.