Wellbeing

Our Amazing Boarding Students

Next week, 10-16 May, is National Boarding Week.  It is a special week and time to recognise the unique experiences and friendships in the boarding houses and the contribution these students make to our Monivae College community.  We are very lucky to have a very supportive boarding team, led by Ms Merrin Shannon.  In speaking with many of our boarding students, they feel safe,supported and genuinely cared for by the boarding staff.

I recently read this article from Linda Stade ‘Beautiful Boarders: The huge value they add to a School” around the unique skills that boarding students develop.

Some standouts for me from the article were the following skills:

Independence:  Boarders, by necessity become very independent.  They don’t have family/carers around to schedule them.  They have to manage their money, washing, activities and so much more!  They often set the independence bar high for other students.

Participation:  Boarders are heavily involved in school life, they also LIVE at school so there are many opportunities for extracurricular involvement in the community.

Tolerance and patience:  Boarders live in close quarters with their fellow boarders and are often able to negotiate the challenges that come with living with other teenagers very well.  This develops tolerance and appreciation of difference.

Grounded:  Many boarding students display a level of maturity and resilience beyond their years through having to trouble shoot and problem solve situations beyond their years.

The link to the full article is below: 

https://lindastade.com/boarding-school-advantages/

Upcoming Wellbeing Events at Monivae

Ms Kate Couchman

Director of Wellbeing