The Boarding Buzz

Administration News

Closed Weekend & Buses

Closed Weekend

The Term One Closed Weekend is at the end of Week Five.  Boarders will leave boarding after school on Friday 1 March and return after 4.00pm on Monday 4 March.

 

Boarding Bus Service

With a number of staff being on leave, we are unfortunately unable to run the Boarding Bus Service in Term One for Closed Weekend.  We will return to this service in Term Two. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and hope this is giving you enough time to plan for the Closed Weekend.

 

TRANSWA Bookings

For families who are booking their child on TRANSWA for the Closed Weekend, please forward a copy of your child/ren's itinerary via dianne.franzinelli@gsg.wa.edu.au so that we can arrange transport to and from the TRANSWA depot.  It would also be helpful to receive itineraries for any other times of the year for both TRANSWA and flights so that we can offer your child/ren a smooth transition to and from their transport.

 

For students under the age of 16 years, TRANSWA requires parents/guardians to complete an Unaccompanied Minor Form if they are travelling without a Supervisor.  A link to this form can be found here.

Medical Appointments

We request that all medical appointments during the day for boarders be booked by our Nurses.  Our Nurses have details of when there is a driver and vehicle available to take boarders to appointments.  We have a staff member working Monday, Wednesday and Thursday each week.   This year we aim to book all medical appointments for boarders on a Monday or Thursday where possible with the staff member completing other duty requirements on Wednesdays.

 

If families wish to make their own medical appointments for their child, a parent, guardian or host will be required to transport them to and from these appointments.  Alternatively, arrange a time when students can catch the 3.30pm boarding bus into town and get to the appointment on their own.

 

Here are the factors our Nurses consider when they make an appointment for a boarder:

  • If they require a supervisor to stay with them for the appointment
  • The time and day of the appointment
  • The number of appointments on a day, if the driver can get students to the appointments on time and return to school in time for the next appointment run
  • Regular orthodontic appointments booked in each week 
  • The various destinations around Albany for appointments and the time it takes to transport between them
  • Ensuring boarders miss minimal class and learning time

The Nurses can be contacted by email via nurse@gsg.wa.edu.au, landline on 9844 0319 or mobile on 0475 964 163. 

 

Thank you for your support in ensuring our appointments run smoothly.

Flexischools

Each boarder has a school Flexischools boarder account where they can place a canteen order once per week, on a pre-set day.  There can sometimes be a few teething problems at the commencement of the year, this can occur when a boarder has a school account and a personal account and they are using the same email address for both.  

 

Boarders can have a personal account where they can order Flexischools on a day other than their pre-set boarding day, however we please ask that if you are setting up a personal account for your child you use a personal email address, not their school student email address. This would help us immensely.

 

The Flexischools roster for Term One is:

  • Monday - Eclipse
  • Tuesday - Breaksea
  • Wednesday - Anchorage
  • Thursday - Endeavour

The roster will change each term so that boarders each get an opportunity to choose a different 'special of the day'.  Wednesday is always popular with burgers on the menu.

 

For students who are at TAFE or Workplace on their Flexischools day, they can negotiate an alternate day with the Dining Hall staff.

In Dining Hall Lunch

In addition to Flexischools, boarders also visit the Dining Hall one day per week for a hot meal.  In Semester One, boarders in Years Ten to Twelve visit the Dining Hall on a Thursday and Years Seven to Nine on a Friday.

REACH 

REACH is a student life management system developed specifically for boarding schools and residential campuses. One of the many features of REACH is to manage student leave when they go off-campus.  When entering leave in REACH, students will choose a location, host and transport option.  This will generate an approval process and alert both the parent/guardian and Head of House.  It is important to review the leave requested and either 'approve' or 'deny'.

 

If a student is going off-campus with a Host other than their parents/guardians, they will need an approved Host on their list of leave hosts.  For returning students, Hosts will roll over from the previous year.  For new students, Hosts can be added by completing the REACH Hosts form here.  Please note that only staff can add Hosts into the REACH database.

 

To login to REACH, please follow the instructions below:

  • Visit https://gsg.reachboarding.com.au/
  • Click the blue button, Use School Login
  • Login using your MyGSG username and password
  • This will open REACH for you as MyGSG and REACH are now linked with the same username and password

There is also a REACH App if you prefer which can be downloaded from the App store on your phone.

 

Please don’t hesitate to contact GSG IT support on 9844 0333 if you have any issues with your MyGSG login.  

Boarding Permissions

Boarding requires families to complete several permission forms at the commencement of each school year. For returning families, we can roll over many of the permissions you have already granted your child, however some may need to be updated for students who have moved into the Senior Houses this year (Year Ten students) and for Beach Leave for students in Years Eleven or Twelve. 

 

If your family is new to Great Southern Grammar this year or your child is in Years Ten to Twelve, please click here to complete/update the forms that are relevant to your child.

Boarding Parent Information Pages

You can access all information about boarding on MyGSG, please find this information here.

Student Timetables

We received a tip from a parent on the Boarding Parent Committee about accessing student timetables in SEQTA.  The suggestion was to print out a copy of your child/ren's timetable for the fridge which helps prompt some discussions on how their day went in each subject when chatting in the evening.

 

To print your child/ren's timetable, log into MyGSG, go to SEQTA Engage, and then go to timetable.  SEQTA Engage is a wonderful tool for parents/guardians and students. This is also the place where you can see what classes are working on, see what assessments are coming up, view assessment results and access your child/ren's reports.

Boarding Parent Committee

The Boarding Parent Committee was established in 2018. The purpose of the committee is to contribute to the enhancement of the boarding community. It is a forum for the discussion of ideas and plans that work towards the betterment of Great Southern Grammar (GSG) Boarding. 

 

If you have an issue that you would like to raise at the next Boarding Parent Committee Meeting, please see a list of members that you can reach out to here.  

 

To learn more about the Boarding Parent Committee, you may also like to read the Terms of Reference here.

Boarding Parent Messenger Groups

Every year the Boarding Parent Committee sets up Parent Messenger Groups for each year group and gender.  Each group has one of the Committee members, or a parent who volunteers, who is the Administrator of this group. Groups discuss and share information such as:

  • Minor queries on the processes in boarding that another parent may easily be able to solve for you. i.e. what are the rules on aerosol deodorants again? 
  • Coordinating shared lifts between parents or delivering urgent items to boarding through a family who is making the trip to Albany. 
  • Clarification of details for school events. 
  • Arranging parent events, eg Year Twelve parent dinner on Ball night.

The role of the Administrator is to ensure all parents are invited into the group and any new parents are welcomed each year. 

 

To learn more about the Messenger Groups, you may also like to read the group Guidelines here.

 

The Administrator lists for each age group can be found here.

Boarding Administration Office

If you have any questions or queries about anything relating to Boarding, please contact me via dianne.franzinelli@gsg.wa.edu.au or phone 9844 0328.

 

My work hours for Semester One are:

  • Monday - 8.00am to 3.00pm
  • Tuesday - 8.00am - 12.00pm
  • Wednesday - 8.00am - 12.00pm
  • Thursday - 8.00am - 12.00pm
  • Friday - 8.00am to 3.00pm

Allowances 

The 2024 Student Allowances Guidelines is now available. Please click here for more information.

 

Please see information for 2024 Boarding Away from Home Allowance here.

 

Please see information for ABSTUDY Fare Allowance here.

 

Farm Household Allowance is a payment for farming families in financial hardship.

 

To get this you must:

  • be a farmer or partner of a farmer
  • meet the income and assets test limits
  • meet mutual obligation requirements

A farmer must contribute significant labour and capital to a farm.

 

Read the full conditions under who can get it here.

 

Farm Household Allowance fact sheets are also available below.

We hope this information is helpful and as always, if you have any queries, please don't hesitate to us.

 

Mrs Dianne Franzinelli | Administration Officer - Boarding