Add
Private Notes
The start of the new school term is marred by the aftermath of Nick's death [from a brain haemorrhage which occurred coincidentally with his appearance in the boxing ring]. Vic Morris, a teacher brought in to teach a new Media Studies course, gets everyone to participate in a special video project. A new student with a familial link to Deloraine arrives at Hartley. Nick's little sister, Effie, begins attending classes at Hartley. New arrival Matt is uncomfortable about having to interview his classmates.
After a thrashing from Rivers' team in a pick up game, the guys decide it's time to improve the school basketball team. They set out to convince a reluctant Vic to be their coach but convincing Rivers to join the team isn't quite as hard. Matt's friends have questions for him — and demands — after Southgate reveals he is Deloraine's nephew. Danielle arranges for Rose and Jack to have an evening to themselves and gets Lucy, Con, and Steve to help babysit Tess. Con is recruited into Danielle and Lucy's plan to seduce Steve.
Vic tries to teach the boys a lesson in teamwork by having them play the girls team but after an embarrassing loss, the guys decide it may be time to quit basketball altogether. Con's grandmother comes to live with the Bordino family but she soon finds a new home she likes better. Steve and Lucy consummate their relationship.
Rivers, Con and Matt are stopped by the police prompting them to create a controversial one-sided documentary that threatens the continuation of Vic's Media Studies course. Steve's discovery that Lucy is on the pill leads them both to look into their previous partners' lives. Rivers insists on babysitting Tess after Jack shows him how being seen with a baby can help attract women.
Matt and the rest of the basketball team face a tough opponent in the championship game. Vic is approached at the school by a man from his past. Danielle interviews Vic for her class project, twice. Rose discovers that Jack has a new girlfriend. Vic decides to leave Hartley.
Matt sets up his uncle on a blind date and makes plans to move out. Discouraged by her recent grades, Danielle contemplates dropping out of school when she is asked to audition as a reporter for a youth oriented current affairs tv show. Yola questions Joe's commitment to their relationship when he starts spending time with an old girlfriend and her son. Con and Rose get closer while working on a science project together while Southgate and Danielle's mother begin seeing one another.
Southgate's divorce is finalised. Nicole tries to get her parents back together not knowing that her mother is already seeing Southgate. The gang plans a surprise party for Rivers' 18th birthday but his friends' odd behaviour has him convinced they're getting ready to kick him out of the warehouse. To make matters worse, his car gets stolen. Con enters Tess in a baby photo contest without telling Rose.
Nicole reveals her mother's affair with Southgate to the school. After getting a taste of life at the warehouse, Matt makes the decision to move back in with his uncle. Suzie ends her relationship with Bill to give her marriage another chance. Con and Rose go out on a date. Rivers is busted spying on the girls. Still haunted by Nick's death, Jodie is unable to commit to Matt.
Lucy reluctantly seeks help from her friends when Jerry Shapiro, her mother's boyfriend, begins making sexual advances towards her. Yola learns that she is pregnant. Con's protective instincts emerge as Effie prepares for a school dance.
Rose's daughter is rushed to the hospital. Seeing Tess brought to the hospital causes Yola to panic about her own future as a mother. Jealousies surface when Jodie's sister is welcomed at the warehouse and makes a play for Matt. Jack proposes to Rose. Southgate must inform Yola of Joe's death after he is killed in the line of duty.
Rose agrees to marry Jack but matters are quickly complicated by a second proposal, this one from Con. Con's parents decide the best way to discourage their son is to encourage him. Jodie argues with her half-sister Karen over her involvement with Matt. Karen poses as Jodie when she goes to see a music promoter.
Rivers' father surfaces at the warehouse after escaping from prison. Jodie tells Karen it is time for her to move out of the warehouse, and after a brief but eventful stay at the Bordinos', Karen moves on. A difficult decision about Rivers' future is taken out of his hands.
When the surf boat Southgate has employed for his Surf Club recruitment efforts is vandalised and then stolen from the school yard, Matt and Rivers quickly become the prime suspects. Steve grows up in a hurry when Lucy informs him that she will going on a six-month student exchange to Japan.
Yola fears she may lose her baby. Southgate announces that he is moving on to become the new headmaster at a rural school. He then convinces Yola, who has mentioned a desire to start a new life for herself and her baby, to come with him. Deloraine takes an interest in Matt's love life. Steve and Danielle recruit their friends to help make a horror movie.
