From the Head of Boarding

National Boarding Week

Term Two has begun well and I thank all boarders for their commitment to their studies, sport and to their community through their behaviour and participation in boarding events. 

The highlight of the term so far has been the celebration of National Boarding Week. It is becoming customary for boarders to gather together during this week to take part in the one-kilometre run. This is a symbolic gesture of boarding solidarity as boarders from across the country take part in this run, the combined distance of which is enough to complete a circuit of Australia. A reporter from local newspaper the Great Southern Weekender, was on hand to conduct interviews and wrote a nice piece about our activites, with comments from the Captains of Boarding, Isabella Cristinelli and Levi Cosh.  The article can be found here  

Thanks to Chefs Nick Harvey and Jayden Steele for providing the snack at the end of the run.

The week finished off with an Amazing Race-style challenge between the boarding houses, and our annual quiz night in the evening.  Anchorage House won the race, getting themselves through the seven checkpoints in the fastest time.  Each checkpoint saw a physical or mental challenge to be successfully completed in order to get the clue for the location of the next checkpoint. 

The quiz night saw the red team of  Robert Winyard, Angus Egerton-Warburton, Abbey Cristinelli, Livia Alvarez de Toledo, Karis Cristinelli, Toby Brown, Zavier Van Den Brand, Chloe Wisewould, Ava Smith and Blair Ball, win.  Enjoy your movie vouchers!  Prizes were also awarded to the team with the best mural, drawn on the paper tablecloth, a Mr Squiggle-style drawing challenge, and other activities.  It was great to see the boarding houses mixing in such a positive way.

Academics

As we progress further into the year, the emphasis on study will become more evident. Term One academic data has been analysed and shared in an effort to identify improvement and areas for greater effort. 

As parents know, we have tutors visiting the boarding houses on a weekly basis. Boarders have unanimously reported that they appreciate the convenience of this arrangement and appreciate the value that the tutors offer.  Feedback from tutors themselves, however, suggests that they could be utilised more. 

High achievers in Years Eleven and Twelve consistently demonstrate balance to their approach to school.  Study is important, however, it doesn’t need to be all-consuming. Many seniors are actively engaged in sport, which is a great way to clear your head and helps with getting enough quality sleep.  The challenge to our senior students is to manage their time so that assignments and test preparations are completed without the mad, last-minute rush.  Time should be allocated in their weekly schedule for a visit to the tutor, even if it’s just to touch base and make sure they are on the right track.

Middle School prep has also been a focus this term. Boarding has employed an additional two tutors to offer additional support to the academic programme. Each student in Years Eight and Nine has been allocated a tutor on a particular night of the week. These tutors sit with their small group throughout the session and develop a picture of how they are keeping up in class and offer more individualised support for upcoming assessments. The use of the diary and setting out class notes are priorities.

 Year Seven students continue to receive additional maths and writing support every Thursday in their extended prep session in the Library. This arrangement will help us identify specific weaknesses in order to offer advice for improvement. I welcome contact from parents in regards to your child's academic performance as we continue to look for ways to improve in this area.

Boarding Forum

Friday 28 June at 1.30pm is the date and time for the next Boarding Parent Forum, which follows the Boarding Parent Committee meeting.  I hope to see as many of you there as possible. If you would like something discussed, please forward your topic to Mrs Dianne Franzinelli, for it to be added to the agenda.

All the best.

Mr Brendan Goggins | Head of Boarding