Boarding News

One of the highlights of my role as Director of Boarding is the privilege of being able to visit families in their own communities. Last week Julie Atkins (Girls’ Boarding House Parent) and I were lucky enough to travel out to and stay the night in Bonya, approximately 360km North-East of Alice Springs, and just off the Plenty Highway.

We had multiple reasons to visit Bonya. 

On one level, there are two impressive students attending the Bonya School who will now – as a result of our trip – continue their educational journey at St Philip's, when they begin Year 7 in 2024.

Our visit, however, also provided Julie and I with a clearer understanding of one of the myriad communities from which the Boarding House students at St Philip’s College are drawn. Unless we have planted our boots in the dirt, we can’t begin to attempt to understand the places from which our Boarders come or indeed the students who reside with us.

It also provided us with the priceless opportunity to sit down with two impressive family members of the children in our care. Their willingness to give their time to us, to help us better understand their children, was humbling. We came out of our conversations with a stronger understanding of each other and a shared appreciation of what was required to properly support their children through these most crucial years of secondary education.

So, moving forward, I want to make it clear that the staff of St Philip’s College Boarding House are committed to visiting you in your communities, this year and beyond. We will also visit certain communities multiple times each year to visit families and to recruit the next generation of Boarders to attend St Philip’s College. If you have the time, we would really appreciate the opportunity to sit down and listen to you about your children. We want to hear from you about what you want for them and what you feel we need to understand to best support them during their time at St Philip’s College. The more of these conversations that we have, the better we can work together to the ultimate benefit of your children.

~ Mr Rob McArthur

Director of Boarding/Teacher