Breaksea House News

The term has been moving along, with the hype of Winter Sports keeping many motivated. Nevertheless, I think the Breaksea students are very pleased to have a long weekend. We may have been the first boarding house to have a case of COVID-19 but Breaksea students have been testing positive very slowly. Morning RATs are the new normal and students pride themselves in being “experts” with a test. Thank you to all those parents who have been so supportive in collecting their students and ensuring they are well before they return. I do understand that this has been a very onerous time for many families.

Study

With many students having time away from school with COVID-19, catching up on schoolwork has become an unwelcome reality. It was wonderful to have Ms Theresa Youngs-Lachmund volunteer to come into boarding last week to help catch up students with their HASS work. The tables were full of Year Ten students and some Year Eleven students receiving her tuition. Additionally, Ms Ciara Franklin, Ms Jasmine Butterworth and Mr Josh Carson are also working as tutors within the boarding houses to assist students. Our tutors bring an enthusiastic love of their subjects into the boarding houses and can make a significant difference in academic outcomes for those who use their assistance. Please encourage your student to work with these tutors to ensure they can achieve their best results.

Our Year Twelve students have just completed examinations. General Pathway students have completed their Externally Set Tasks (ESTs) and ATAR students had their first round of examinations. It has been impressive to witness the study and focus that the young people have applied to each of these areas. We wish them well as they receive results and encourage them to realise that there is still a lot of time for improvements before their next round of assessments.

National Boarding Week

Week Four was National Boarding Week and there were a number of ways in which the boarders celebrated being boarders. I’ve been asking the Breaksea students what they love about boarding and thought I’d share some of these reflections with you:

“I like how boarding strengthens my independence without being completely out of my depth”.
“I like having my friends around me all the time”.
“I like having access to Netflix and Disney Plus”.
“The short walk to school, instead of a long bus ride”.
“Allows me to be independent”.
“I like the coffee first thing in the morning”.

Whilst boarding means something different to each person, it is the variation and diversity that gives us strength. I find it funny that the students mentioned the coffee because one of my favourite times of day with the students is at breakfast time, as we are all having a coffee and chatting about the day and every other random idea.

Reconciliation Week

This week we are celebrating Reconciliation Week and the girls have been challenged to take up the theme for this year, “Be Brave, Make the Change”. We have taken the opportunity to consider how we can all educate ourselves and also celebrate Aboriginal culture. Madison Smart has met with our Aboriginal students in Breaksea and brainstormed some ideas. We decided to focus on learning about why we do an Acknowledgement or Welcome to Country and celebrate through painting Aboriginal designs onto biscuits. So often it is the yarning, whilst doing an activity together that can have the most meaning.