Boarding Life By Mr Separovich
Every now and then, there are people who pass through in our lives who have a lasting impact. They attract more than a passing glance, a mere recognition. They are people we talk about at reunions, around the table to our children when we are parents and whose memory we call upon when we need a laugh, or motivation or perspective. Mr Separovich is one of these people. Apart from everything that he has brought to Barry House across many spheres, he is one of the hardest workers I have ever met. Barry House is saddened to be saying goodbye to Mr Separovich at the end of Term 2. He has been an institution in the House; his warmth, care, support and friendship will be greatly missed by us all – Mr Morris.
I still remember my first ever boarding duty. It was an icy cold July evening in School House and I was shadowing Mr Hughes. I don’t think I had ever been in a boarding house before that night; we didn’t have boarding school at St Pius. In all honesty, I had no idea what I was in for.
I remember I was looking forward to catching up on some work from the previous day, maybe open up my laptop on the couch, answer some emails and maybe some lesson planning for tomorrow. How hard could it be?
School House had other plans!
I will never forget moving up and down the staircase; up and down, up and down, up and down. A Year 7 boy was crying because he lost his PE uniform, two Year 9 boys were arguing about who got the last ‘Up & Go’, Year 12’s were going crazy at the Year 8’s for making too much noise running through the dorm to see who would get to the showers first… it was 9.30pm and I was exhausted. I still remember, clear as day, thinking to myself, ‘I can’t do this… there is no way I can last another night like this!’
I think initially two things kept me in boarding after that first night:
- I was too embarrassed to be the first assistant boarding master to quit after half a day
- I wanted to see what was so ‘special’ about this boarding community everyone talked about
I am so thankful that School House did not break me that night.
I feel that, whilst watching the boys grow into young men and move through boarding and their time at Shore, I, too, have grown. There are so many amazing boys and staff that I have had the pleasure to work with throughout my journey in boarding. I would not be the man I am today without them.
As I sit here, 2 weeks left in what some would call an ‘illustrious’ boarding career, so many different, special moments come to mind; some funny, some wildly inappropriate and others that will leave a lasting impression on me.
There was the night I took 25 Year 8 and 9 boarders to Kincoppal-Rose Bay for a social. Within an hour we were politely asked to leave. To our boys’ credit, this was not because of their behaviour but that of our hosts. Regardless, I was too embarrassed to call the Director of Boarding to explain what had happened, so we walked the streets of Rose bay for 3 hours until our bus arrived. Needless to say, all of us kept quiet about that night for a while.
I have witnessed some incredible feats of human endurance over the years; funnily enough most of these coincide with Origin night. The annual donut-eating contest in Barry House where I saw Nick Halliday devour 5 in ninety seconds. A year earlier in School House I witnessed a young Louis Cathles very nonchalantly put down 8 hot dogs, doing so with a huge smile on his face and upon scoffing down the final hot dog, he asked, ‘what’s for dessert?’
During the Pokemon Go era I would routinely take the boys for long walks to the Opera House. For those who don’t know, this is where all the best Pokemon are! I never told Mr Morris this, but one quiet Saturday night Lachie Clift, Will Hobson and I went Pokemon hunting to the city. We got bored after an hour or so, so decided we would sit down for burgers at Grill’d. We had a good laugh that day at some of the people who we had met along the way! Now, you may ask yourself who was looking after the House at the time – luckily for us Mr Davis was around minding both Hodges and Barry (I am hoping Mr Morris can’t fire me for this now as I am already leaving).
I will never forget the look on Mr Morris’ face when he saw the receipt I left on his desk after one night where Tom Pearce, Will Horsburgh and I decided we would treat the House to lamb chops, steak and apple pie with ice cream. Needless to say, I was given a stern talking to about spending too much money, but it was still worth every cent in my mind!
There are the countless moments with individual boys that are too precious to share in this forum but will stay with me forever. I hope that in some way I have made a difference in some of these boys’ lives as they have mine.
There are so many people who have made my time in boarding special, but there are two in particular whom I wish to thank; Mr Blood and Mr Morris. Both of these men taught me so much about serving others, leadership, values and upholding standards. Without these men, boarding wouldn’t be what it is today and neither would I. Watching the way they interact with the boys each day, continually putting the boys’ best interest ahead of theirs is admirable.
I can hear some of the Year 8’s getting rowdy again as I try to wrap up, so I really should get back up those stairs…. I will miss my time in boarding but I am on to the next stage of my life. I will always look back on my time in boarding at Shore and remember the fun times, the sad times and the special times fondly. I will miss my boarding family but I will never be too far away!
Mr Separovich
Mr Separovich will always be a part of Barry House. He is a special person and a great role model. As we wave him farewell, we welcome Mr Laurence, who will be an outstanding asset to Barry House. He will say hi in our first edition next term.
