SAINTS BOARDING 

Exeat weekend

The exeat weekend began this afternoon and, as with all exeat weekends, residences were closed at 4pm. 

Next Monday 26 May, St Augustine’s College has a student-free day. I wish to clarify with all families that this does not include St Monica’s College where it's a scheduled school day. However, St Monica’s has approved Monday as a travel day for girl boarders who are returning to Cairns after the exeat. This would primarily affect those who travel long distances home.

Girls residences will reopen at 4pm on Sunday 25 May. If boarders are flying back into Cairns earlier on Sunday because of flight availability, arrangements will be made to collect them if required. 

Please note: Boys residences will not be open on Sunday, but will reopen at 4pm on Monday.

Return flight/transport itineraries for all boarders should be forwarded to the respective heads of residence as soon as possible.

A reminder to families that exeat weekends are not designed for students to have days away from school on either side of them. Boarding and the day schools have clear expectations and priorities about school attendance, and we ask families to ensure that unnecessary leave is not requested on these weekends. If for a valid reason a student will miss school, a Leave Request form must be submitted to the day school well in advance of an exeat weekend. 

Boarders of the Week

Congratulations to our Boarders of the Week who were presented at two recent chapels. It is very pleasing to hear and see the community spirit being displayed in our residences so far this term.

• Girls – Mikayla Ahloy-Coutts, Indiana Leighton, Kaylee Sabatino and Ellen Rolfe.
• Boys – Noah Harris, Zai Laifoo, David Fujii and Naziah Manuel.

2025 National Boarding Week

Last week was National Boarding Week, a time to celebrate boarding. National Boarding Week is a special time to shine a spotlight on the many ways boarding enriches the lives of young people and strengthens our school communities. It's a celebration of connection, growth and the unique experiences that boarding provides.

It’s also an opportunity to recognise and thank the many individuals  – staff, families, students  and supporters – who contribute to creating safe, supportive and thriving boarding environments across Australia. We are very blessed to have such a strong and supportive community at Saints, where our co-educational environment creates and fosters  many meaningful and lasting friendships and bonds, that remain strong within boarding and afterwards. 

Many thanks to St Monica’s College and our Boarding Services team at Saints for the wonderful morning tea and afternoon tea that were provided to celebrate this special occasion.

It was also very affirming to hear some boarders speak in front of the community about what boarding means to them and why they enjoy boarding life. Thank you to Patrick Arnold, Thomas Simms, Jess Jackson, Hera Petrou and Mason Connolly.

Term 2 tutoring program

We have dedicated staff who are committed to assisting our boarders with their schoolwork in our daily homework and study program. Individual and group tutoring  is available during weeknights for all boarders. 

Thursday afternoon boarding activities

Our Term 2 program started last week. Years 7–10 students are involved in a variety of activities that encourage them to be active and to socialise (mostly) outdoors. Activities on offer include the following:

• Cooking
• Basketball development
• Volleyball
• Art – screen printing
• Futsal / European handball
• Gym & fitness
• Oz Tag 

Weekend outings

While there has been some unpredictable weather of late, our weekend outings remain a highlight of the boarding program. So far this term we have visited Port Douglas, Etty Bay, Nandroya Falls, the Cairns Esplanade and also participated in 10-pin bowling and a variety of activities at the College.

A reminder to boarders and host families about Saturday leave. Boarders must be picked up from the College before the boarding community leaves for the Saturday outing, and must not arrive back until all boarders and staff have returned. All Saturday staff attend the outings; therefore no one remains on campus.

Outings with parents

The boarding community encourages students to have a meal with families or to spend some time with them while in Cairns. We do ask, however, that heads of residence are given at least 24 hours’ notice for such leave. For all leave requests and to communicate with boarding, heads of residence should always be the first point of contact.