From The Head of Boarding 

 Dear College Boarding Community, Parents/Carers, Students, and Staff,

As the first term draws to an end, I would like to thank the Mount Erin College Boarding Community, including parents, carers, students, and staff, for their support. 

Mount Erin serves as the shared Boarding House for both Kildare and Mater Dei Catholic Colleges, necessitating significant planning to align expectations, study, and events for the boarding students. 

The second half of  Term 1 focused on aspects of boarder life, including Trust, Sleep, Learning In Residence, and Reach-LEAVE.

Trust is a very important word in any Boarding School. The word Trust is one of the four words that are on the MEBS crest.  Boarding, indeed, MEBS relies heavily on trust, and we can acknowledge that our Boarders are indeed trustworthy young people. When staff go off duty at night time it is with the understanding that the students have settled down and will be asleep in their rooms for the night. 

Learning in Residence 

Supporting academic study is a central focus, especially through our "Learning In Residence" program. This initiative ensures that boarders have dedicated, supervised study time structured into their daily schedule, aligning with the high academic expectations and "study" alignment of both Kildare and Mater Dei Catholic Colleges. The program provides a quiet, distraction-free environment and resources to assist students in completing homework, preparing for assessments, and developing effective independent learning skills. We are very pleased to have Ms Bec Sadler from Mater Dei join us as our first face-to-face tutor. 

Student Voice

The Boarders have the opportunity to be a part of decision-making by attending or being a part of House or BRC meetings. This term has seen student influence at work with variations to the Activities Programme and to dinner meals. The student leadership group consists of College Boarding Captains, Nagle and Rice House Captains, and the Boarding Representative Council.

The BRC Leaders chair the meetings. Any Boarder can join the BRC, and any student can attend the BRC meetings.

MEBS Student Leadership Group

ABSA National Boarding Week

This initiative from the Australian Boarding Schools Association provides an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate Boarding in Australia. The programme has grown in a short time since its inception and now includes the following aspects:

The 7-day programme is designed for full Boarding programmes and, of course, Weekly Boarding.MEBS, like other Boarding Houses, develops its own celebration programme, which is student-driven, to include the aspects above. The MEBS Boarding Representative Council are already planning for this week. Updates coming.

REACH

REACH is an excellent Boarding Student software management programme.  An Australian-designed and developed product, it is used widely in Australia, the USA, the UK and International Schools in India, Singapore and South Korea. The integration of Compass with REACH has enabled one sign and shared data to a certain extent. Schools around the world use it in varied ways and can all expand its capabilities by purchasing additional models to handle particular tasks. MEBS has Voyager to assist with its MEBS Car transport, for example, and many boarding schools use its Medical/Medicines module. There has been, at times, frustration with the signing-in and leave process due to password issues and other causes. We will be embarking on a change to how we use REACH at MEBS by providing students with the ability to enter their leave themselves with their password. Parents will still be able to do so if they wish. Depending on the leave type, students should have a discussion with the Boarding staff, enter details of the leave and then parents can simply approve the request (or not). The final approval is done by the Boarding Coordinator or Head of Boarding as required. We are hopeful that with this minor change, the process of entering and approving leave will be easier.  More information will be shared as we get closer to the end of term, but it is hoped to be trialled early in Term 2.

Boarders’ Mass

The Boarders’ Mass is a major fixture on the College calendar. It is expected that all Boarders attend on this once-a-term celebration of our Catholic faith. We ask students and parents to keep this date free so they can join us. The invitation is extended to grandparents and families and includes dinner in the dining room following the conclusion of Mass. The next Boarders’ Mass is on Wednesday, 20 May in the Mount Erin Chapel. We would love to see as many Parents/ Carers/ Families join us as possible. RSVP:  mebs@ww.catholic.edu.au

Edmondson Street Bridge

Inland Rail Update HERE

As this is the final newsletter for the term, I would like to thank you all for a wonderful term. We now look forward to Easter, the most sacred and significant time in the life of the Church, as we reflect on the message of hope, renewal and new life that it brings. 

I also wish all our families a safe, restful and enjoyable school holiday break, and I look forward to seeing everyone refreshed and ready for Term 2.

John Bussenschutt

Head of Boarding