The Boarding Buzz

New Boarding Family Tips

Thank you to our supportive body of parents who have spent a lot of time working on the following list of tips and tricks for new boarders. Mrs Deb Cristinelli has been very active in gathering information for this list and we appreciate her desire to better prepare our new families for boarding. Thank you also to Deb for attending the orientation events in Week Six.

 

You will get a lot of advice as you begin your boarding journey. Listen (or read) all of the valuable advice on offer but remember your child and your family situation is unique and you need to do what is best for your child and your family, to make this a positive experience.

For Parents

  • Be kind to yourself; expect to feel a bit flat without your child at home, that is normal. Adjusting to having one less mouth to feed in the house makes the first few shopping trips without them interesting.
  • Keep communicating with the Heads of House and the Head of your child's year group if there are issues, don't let things fester.  These staff members are consummate professionals.
  • Join any group chats you can, for your year group and/or geographical area.  If you're thinking it, someone else probably is too, so don't be shy to ask.  Group chats for your region make life easier for coordinating trips to and from and also when you need items taken to boarding.
  • Even though it can be scary, take every opportunity to meet other parents. Boarding parent functions, school P&F functions, parent teacher interviews, whatever you can physically get to. It will make your time in boarding that much more enjoyable if you have your own boarding friends to catch up with and faces you recognise
  • Read the Boarding Buzz, the Buzz is the best.
  • If your child is feeling anxious about going away, avoid too much boarding chat over the holidays.
  • Try and find a balance between busyness and down time.  Being busy is good (nice distraction) but can be a bit much.  You'll work it out pretty quickly.
  • Don't bring younger siblings if at all possible on the Saturday. Save their visit for the family Welcome Lunch on Sunday. Saturday will possibly be a high level anxiety moment. It’s important for you and your child to stay calm and little brothers and sisters are excited and want to ‘help’. Your new boarder may not be impressed! If you don’t have any other options to leave younger siblings with family or friends in Albany, and two parents will be here setting your child up in boarding, then get ready to have one parent keep those children occupied outside or in the boarding lounge room. This usually also applies to the second parent who might be in the way too - there isn’t much room as you’re trying to put things away, make the bed and generally help your child get organised. Find the kitchen, make yourself a cuppa and meet the other ‘lost’ parents until you’re called upon to “get something from the car.”
  • Encourage your child to stay in boarding for the first few weekends.  This will help them develop friendships and get used to boarding routines.

What to Bring

Organise the following items ahead of time:

  • 2 x pillows
  • 2 x sets of king single sheets
  • A comforter or rug for snuggling to watch Netflix
  • A double size doona (this covers a King Single better)
  • 2 x double size doona covers (most children don’t use a top sheet so this way you can change frequently)
  • Digital alarm clock
  • Laundry basket/hamper
  • Power board
  • Collapsible cubes, great for shoes
  • Get your child a debit card and teach them how to use it
  • Buy a phone for birthday/Christmas/pre-boarding
  • Start collecting gold coins as the different school Houses have fundraising days and need gold coin donations for cake stalls, dress up days, etc
  • Give you child a permanent marker so they can label items themselves.
  • There are some amazing felt fabric storage bags from Kmart for $10.00 that are a great size to pop all of your child’s bedding in to transport to boarding and back.
  • Most, if not all items required for Middle School camps.  These are held in Week Four for Year Nine and Week Five for Year Seven and Eight.  An item list will be emailed to parents before school commences.

Before Day One

  • Teach your child ahead of time how to wash, fold, iron and put away their clothes. The more skills and initiative they acquire will help them transition into boarding life easier.  
  • Label everything, even socks, sheets, towels, etc. Permanent markers are great to write names on tags or iron on labels.
  • Put the doona cover and pillow slips on, and then pack them ready to transport - much faster (for you or your child) to make the bed when you arrive. Some boarders want to get their room just right, others will be happy to dump it on the floor and race off to join new friends.

New Boarders Tips

Don’t be scared to knock on the door of someone else's room and ask heaps of questions about anything you are unsure of, like where to go or what to do.

Boarding Parent Experiences

The best gift you can give your child to prepare them for boarding besides a phone is to teach them:

  • Initiative
  • Resilience
  • Time Management
  • Independence
  • Various Life Skills
  • To have a sense of humour

You may feel apprehensive and even a little bit teary about your child heading off to boarding but from our experience of sending our three children away to boarding it was one of the best things we’ve ever done.  It's not the end, it's just the beginning!

 

They will:

  • Learn independence
  • Grow in confidence
  • Meet friends they will have a for a lifetime
  • Become part of a wonderful boarding and school community
  • Learn initiative
  • Become self reliant
  • Have many varied opportunities to participate in many sports, rec outings, music lessons and fun activities
  • Have the use of tutors for prep
  • Learn many life skills
  • Blossom into well rounded young adults

For homesickness, the best time to speak to your child is in the morning when they are busy and off to school, they won't have time to get homesick.  Save text messages for after school and avoid chatting to your child just before bed time.

 

Be organised and ensure everyone remains calm. 

 

Have all school resources and clothing clearly labelled before drop off.

Boarding Welcome Lunch

Don’t be concerned if your child doesn’t want to hang around with you.  They are just finding their groove at boarding and will hang within a group until they find their way.

It is the beginning of finding their independence and identity.  Remember they are teenagers. You as their parents are their constant reliable place and they will always return home to you.

 

Our job as boarding parents is to help all staff do the best job they can do, so that our children have the best opportunities and care that they deserve over their boarding journey.

 

Boarding Parent Committee