Boarding News

James Perrin

As a school of the Uniting Church in Australia, we exist to provide a challenging and holistic education that equips our students to live meaningful lives and make a positive contribution to society. Boarding plays a pivotal and unique role in achieving this mission at Kinross Wolaroi School.

Helping those less fortunate than ourselves and seeing our boarding community as a part of a larger whole is an essential part of encouraging the young people in our care to live meaningful lives and to make a positive contribution to society.

With the removal of restrictions, it has been wonderful to be able to ‘stretch our wings’ this term and provide more activities for your sons and daughters to enjoy. It has been heartening that the boarding prefects have made it a priority to use this greater freedom not just to serve their own desires for rest and relaxation but to look beyond themselves and find ways to give their time, passion, and skills in the aid of others.

This term there have been several charity initiatives organised and enacted by our boarders. These have included:

• The Mother’s Day Classic – Bake Stall, Bacon and Egg rolls, Mufti Day which raised almost $1800 for Breast Cancer Research.  Our boarders also participated in the associated Fun Run/Walk on Mother’s Day at Lake Canobolas. 
• Our boarders collected for the Salvation Army Red Shield appeal – 160 boarders participated in the door knock and collected over $3000 from residents in the communities surrounding our boarding houses.
• Cowboy Hats for Kate initiative – we are currently selling Trucker Hats, we will be selling Bacon and Egg Rolls on Monday 20 July, and the charity netball game on Friday 17th July between the KWS 1st VII v KWS 2nd VII.
• As well as taking part in all the charity events organised by the day school Mentor Houses.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of the boarders and their families who have supported these initiatives. This is just one of the many ways that we as a school pursue educational excellence that is focused on the needs of our regional students in a rapidly changing world. We will continue to achieve this by creating a dynamic community implementing innovative practices to develop independent and adaptable learners.

Kate Callaghan

As another term begins, we are so looking forward to welcoming back all our Boarding students and hope that all Boarding families have had a restful and relaxing break. Boarding is such a special part of the fabric of life at Kinross Wolaroi and for many of our day students, becoming friends with boarders and their families can add a layer of richness and texture to their school experience. However, many of our day students are not able to experience life in boarding and therefore understand what it means to live like a boarder day in and day out. I wanted to share some words from a student in New House who made the transition from being a day student to a boarder as she reflects on what the experience has meant for her:

Before I was a boarder, I didn’t think I would like it at all. I’m quite introverted and not much of a people person, but boarding has actually allowed me to develop my people skills and gain confidence. When I first came to boarding I was scared and didn’t know what to expect. Once I learned to embrace the opportunities boarding offered me, I really began to enjoy it and appreciate it more. I have become friends with people that I had never really talked to before, and who weren’t necessarily in my classes or social group. Boarding has allowed me access to activities that I never would have participated in before coming to boarding. The staff at boarding are all very supportive and I feel that I can really talk to them and share my genuine feelings with them. I know if I ever have any trouble with homework or assessments, I can ask for help from the other students in the house, even older students who have experience, or the teachers always available at prep. Because of my experiences in boarding, I think I have grown as a person to be more outgoing and more organised. I have made friendships with people I never would have expected to have a conversation with. I’m grateful that I came to boarding because I have learned new skills and developed new relationships that I hope will continue long into the future.

A Boarding student in New House