SAINTS BOARDING 

Boarders of the Week

Congratulations to our Boarders of the Week for Weeks 6 and 7. These students demonstrated positive and affirming attitudes towards their peers and staff members to make their residence a vibrant and enjoyable place over the past few weeks:

Junior Girls' Boarders of the Week – Ramona Bond and Carlee Seriat-O’Cloudy

Junior Boys' Boarders of the Week – Jai Nona Fujii and Damajak Manas

Senior Girls' Boarders of the Week – Danae Condullas and Cadence McShane

Senior Boys' Boarders of the Week – Gus Rolfe and Toby Prassad-Bollen

End-of-Term Departures

The end of term is fast approaching with all students finishing the term on Friday 31 March. Thanks to families who have sent transport and travel details to the respective Heads of Residence. So we can finalise and arrange transport for our boarders I would appreciate any outstanding transport and travel requests are sent through to the College in the next week. This would also include details of the arrival status for Term 2. Students are expected to return to the College on Monday 17 April between 3pm and 8pm.

I would like to remind all boarders and their families that the boarding travel day on Friday 31 March is only for students who are travelling long distances to get home to their families. Weekly boarders have been asked to ensure that they are at school until the end of the day on Friday 31 March.

Free Weekend

It's a free weekend in boarding this weekend. It allows students to leave boarding and return on Sunday night before 8pm or alternatively communicate with the respective Head of Residence about a return time. Students who have stayed in boarding will enjoy an overnight camp at Lake Tinaroo. Camp departure will be at 9:45am on Saturday and the group will return on Sunday at approximately 3pm.

Thank you to families who approved the request for leave for the weekend. We certainly appreciate and encourage families to visit their children on weekends and are always happy for students to have time with their families. We do, however, ask that at least 24 hours' notice be given to the Head of Residence so this can be approved and planned for.

Student Illness

Weekly boarders who are feeling unwell prior to their scheduled return to boarding, should stay home until they are feeling better. Whilst this is not always possible with the nature of boarding, it does help limit the spread of illness through a residence.

Boarders Laundry

During the term, several items in the laundry have gone unclaimed. This is recreational clothing of our boarders that has no identification. We will encourage students to check these unclaimed items over the next week.  

Wishing all families an enjoyable week ahead.

Understanding & Growing Good Strong Young Men

Diversity. Imagine, 50- plus boys converging on St Augustine’s from 19 different destinations around North Queensland, the Northern Territory, Singapore and PNG and you have this very powerful, very potent ingredient. But for the 57 boys who make up the Junior Boys Residence accepting and valuing diversity is an intrinsic part of their learning, of their story. It is a life lesson that is necessary, important and an essential element in becoming a good citizen, friend, husband, father and a man of faith and integrity. 

As Head of the Junior Boys Residence, I am reminded each day of the value and strength derived from living and growing in a diverse community of learners. Seeing the simple acts of kindness such as helping each other with homework, assisting with making a bed or just sharing a joke with a brother when they're down. Do we have our moments?  Yes, like any family, we find solutions where the boys reflect on their poor choices and make amends for their wrongs, at the same time learning about themselves, about others and about living together as a community. In Junior Boys Residence, I am proud to say that we have a culture founded on tolerance and open-mindedness. A culture in which we accept and value each other’s stories. A culture of mateship and a sense of belonging in a brotherhood that is intrinsically interwoven in the fabric of our Marist spirituality.

You may sense that my residential staff and I are passionate about our boys, we are. I have just had the pleasure of watching three consecutive acts of kindness by the boys in a study session as I was preparing this article. All of them performed in the purest form with no intent to draw attention or favour to themselves. I believe that the success we enjoy in Junior Boys Residence is a combination of a structured routine, consistency in expectations, moderation with technology and always challenging the boys to lift the bar in their studies and value the education that they have been gifted. I am proud of the boy's discipline, their acceptance of routine and watching them grow with the life skills that will make them all good ambassadors in whatever vocation they may choose in the future. I am sure that you will all notice the subtle changes in your sons and grandsons when you see them at the end of this Term. God Bless.

Stephen King

Head of Junior Boys Residence