The Boarding Buzz

From the Heads of Boarding

We started Term Two with the exciting news that we could be mask free in boarding and we could let visitors back into the boarding houses. This reprieve was short-lived, as our first cases of COVID-19 appeared in boarding. Our priority is to keep boarding students well enough to attend school on campus and participate in all their extra-curricular activities. Thus, we are still taking precautions, wearing masks inside the boarding houses, conducting RAT tests regularly and keeping our Middle and Senior boarders separate for dinner and recreation. We hope to reinstall Chapel services and whole of boarding recreational activities in Term Three. We intend to hold events we have missed later in the year including moving Masterchef from Term One to Term Four, as we like this occasion outdoors with the BBQs. The Quiz Night will move to Term Three if COVID restrictions allow. 

 

Academic Support

Prep is in full swing for the term and we have slightly changed the times for Middle School students. We found that most students were not utilising the last fifteen minutes of prep so we have reduced the times by fifteen minutes. Year Sevens will now have 45 minutes, Year Eights 60 minutes and Year Nines 75 minutes. Senior School prep has not changed with Years Ten, Eleven and Twelve studying for 90 minutes. Of course our boarders are always welcome to continue on after prep finishes and we often see them do so. Many of our students are also engaging in after school academic support. The balance of prep, schoolwork, sport and social life is a puzzle and one that is important to balance.

 

The Boarding Academic Support schedule for Term Two can be found here.

After School Academic Support schedule can be found here.

Parent Committee

The Parent Committee was scheduled to meet today (Friday 13 May), however, we have postponed the meeting to the end of Week Six.  We will confirm the new date with the Parent Committee soon.

Food Survey

In Week Two of Term Two, we conducted a Food Survey with the boarders.  We were keen to know if having lunch in the Dining Hall was popular amongst the Middle and Senior school students. The results show that it has been popular, and students would like this to continue, but only once a week. We saw some common themes and food choices coming through.   The results are very interesting and can be found here.

 

We will continue the Middle and Senior School students having lunch once a week for next term. The chefs will be provided the feedback with ideas for lunches, morning and afternoon tea and we look forward to students enjoying some of their suggestions on the menu. 

Closed Weekend

The Closed Weekend this term coincides with the WA Day Public Holiday at the end of Week Six. Students will leave boarding on the afternoon of Thursday 2 June and return on the afternoon of Monday 6 June from 4.00pm. The Boarding Bus information will be sent out by Di Franzinelli soon.  For Terms Two and Three, boarding buses will depart at lunch time to increase safety by making the most of daylight hours for each service. 

National Boarding Week

Next week is National Boarding Week around Australia. It is celebrated each year in May and this year occurs from 15 May until 22 May. The Australian Boarding Schools Association has been promoting a competition for boarding houses to send in a short video highlighting life in the boarding houses to the theme song, I’ll be there for you by the Rembrandts. So far, we have one video from the Middle School houses ready to be submitted. Thank you to Fenella O’Neill for leading the creation of this video.  

 

At Great Southern Grammar our student leaders have met and planned further ways of highlighting how important our boarders are at GSG and how proud they are of the home towns they come from. After many different ideas were discussed amongst the student leaders, they decided that we would focus on three key areas: 

  • Beginning the week with a celebratory dinner on Sunday night,15 May.
  • Creation of videos on the theme I’ll be There For You.  
  • Madison Smart, Boarding Captain, will address the school in an on-line briefing about what life as a boarder is like. 
  • A pictorial representation of the hometowns and properties of our boarders shared across the school. For all of Week Five, the projections screens around the school will feature images of boarding and boarder’s homes.  
  • Invite a day student to boarding for the afternoon. On Wednesday 18 May, boarders will invite a day student back to boarding for the afternoon, from 3.30pm to 5.30pm. There will be a celebratory afternoon tea in each house and various activities organised by the boarding house leaders.  
  • Friday 20 May is the national celebration of boarding staff. So take the time to thank one of the amazing staff who help make boarding life possible. 

Recently Vanessa created a video of GSG boarding for the Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA), to share with other boarding schools. It was such a great production that we have shared it on MyGSG, feel free to have a look at a great celebration of boarding at GSG here.

 

We are excited to celebrate all the wonderful features of being a boarder at Great Southern Grammar next week. Let’s hope we can all work together to show off how good being a boarder can be.  

Staffing News

We welcome our new staff member Mr Sean Jenkinson who is working as an Education Assistant at Australian Christian College.  He is studying online through Edith Cowan University to be a teacher. Sean is of Scottish descent and has lived in Australia since January 2020. Sean has completed a shadow shift in Anchorage and completed his first shift on Tuesday. The Anchorage boarders are enjoying getting to know him.  

 

Ms Kelly Fregon has also completed a shadow shift in Breaksea and is ready to work her first shift this weekend. Kelly is an ex GSG boarder and graduated in 2013, she is from Bremer Bay and has completed some work there at the CRC. Kelly is a graduate of WAAPA with a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Design) and moved back to Albany last year. The Breaksea boarders have already shown a great interest in getting to know Kelly better and we welcome her and look forward to her working in boarding.

 

It is our pleasure to introduce Ms Georgie Mullins who has recently started in the role of Yalari Student Support Officer. Georgie is looking forward to being an integral part of the Yalari team at GSG and getting to know and assist students, their families and importantly, school staff to achieve great outcomes together.

 

“Hello, my name is Georgie Mullins, and I am delighted to join the Yalari team as the Student Support Officer at Great Southern Grammar. I am a qualified secondary teacher and have recently returned to study part-time. I have been fortunate to travel and live in many parts of Australia and enjoy living in Albany on a small farm. I look forward to meeting all the families and supporting the students on their journey through schooling at GSG.”

 

Yalari Orientation Camp - April 2022

I had the pleasure to travel with Year Seven students Mackirra Williams and Ronald Williams to the Gold Coast for a three-day orientation camp. There were another 100 Yalari students from around Australia and it was a very busy camp with many activities and excursions. Mackirra and Ronald enjoyed their time on the planes and of course loved Dreamworld and the beach. It was great to see them build in confidence as the days passed and make new friends. Mackirra and Ronald were both nominated by the Yalari staff for best start for Year Seven boy and girl which was a wonderful achievement as they both demonstrated respect, teamwork and tried their best with all activities. They are looking forward to next year’s camp to reunite with friends and share about their first year at GSG.

Ms Georgie Mullins | Yalari Student Support Officer

 

Ms Vanessa Bromhead | Head of Senior Boarding

Mrs Tara Ball | Head of Middle Boarding