The Boarding Buzz

From the Head of Boarding

This week I am reminded of the song by Albert Hammond, "It Never Rains in Southern California".  We are having some epic sessional weather in The Great Southern Region. The weather plays a significant part for both our boarders and staff for their wellbeing. When the weather is warm and sunny your brain power is boosted by your ability to think clearly and make informed decisions according to the Healthline.

 

Other great benefits are:

The cold weather here in Albany has certainly given my body signals to settle down and “hibernate,” resulting in me having less energy during the last few months. We have posters of the Circadian clock around the houses which show our boarders when there is light it indicates to your circadian clock to stay awake, and darkness tells your brain it’s time to rest. In other words, long, bright days can energise you, impacting your energy levels. But on short or cloudy days, there’s less light to encourage you to stay awake, so you may feel more lethargic than usual. It’s worth mentioning these effects only occur if you actually go outside. Simply looking out of the window on a sunny day probably won’t have much impact.

 

High temperatures however can also increase stress levels. Healthline research from links higher temperatures to increased agitation and anxiety. Let's hope it doesn't get too warm in Albany!!

 

As the craziness of our sports term comes to a close, we will be reminding our wonderful boarders to embrace the warmer sunnier days around boarding by being active everyday. How that looks varies between houses and may include: riding their bikes, going for a walk around our beautiful grounds, throwing a frisbee, dropping a fishing line, or having a dip in the Southern Ocean. Doing any physical activity is better than doing none. 

Yalari Western Derby 57 Optus Oval

Thanks to Erin Mercer, Yalari Student Support Manager and Georgie Mullins, Yalari Student Support Officer, we were fortunate to secure 12 tickets to the Western Derby Fremantle vs Eagles. I was able to reach out to my colleagues in Perth and thanks to Jordan Owenell, Head of Boarding at Scotch College and Jodie Mellor, Head of Boarding from Methodist Ladies College for allowing us stay in their boarding houses. Our boarders were able to enjoy a bit of Claremont before heading into Optus Oval on the train. Congratulations to Fremantle Dockers for their 101-point win over the Eagles. Our highlight for the evening was sitting 20 metres across from Josh Kennedy, the kids took plenty of photos and shout outs to the great man. FYI he wasn't watching the game as it was very difficult if you were an Eagles fan.

Mr Ashley Keatch | Head of Boarding