Boarding Bulletin Board

by Mr Mike Silcock, Director of Boarding

Boarding Bulletin Board (T2 22/05/20) 

 You have heard so much from me of late and quite simply I would now say this – to our initial returning Boarders “welcome back”. To our Boarders following in a couple of weeks “keep going, your return is now insight”. A home is the people residing within it and this is no different to a Boarding house. Your sons are what make Boarding what it is and we look forward to their return. 

 This week has been a special week for me. To welcome Bodhi into the world, to join our little family, is just so precious. To be given the opportunity to serve our whole student body as Director of Students for the remainder of this challenging year is both humbling and most gratifying – but, to end this week with Boarders returning to our Boarding home is the icing on the cake.  

 We are not foolhardy enough to not anticipate, expect even, unknown challenges in the coming weeks, however we are resolved by the response of all in the past months to know that we will face these challenges, overcome them, learn from them and move on. That is all we can ever ask.  

 Reflection from Tamara Westwood: 

 Another week of online learning, another week of everchanging restrictions, limitations, and policies. Thankfully, we are all adaptive and capable of thinking on our feet!! 

  One of the things to have come out of this fortnight for me, is the sense of hope and a clearer light at the end of the online tunnel.  

 As of Sunday, we will begin to welcome some of our senior Boarders back into the Precinct and hopefully back into a more structured and familiar routine. Although Boarding will not be like it was before, the procedures and policies in place will ensure that we are all as safe as possible while still having the opportunity to spend time with each other. 

 So much work has been going on behind the scenes to make this first phase of reopening the Boarding Precinct as seamless as possible while still trying to maintain a fitting sense of normality. While no one is naïve enough to think that all things will return to normal as we knew it, the sense of hope mentioned earlier is one that our new normal will be accepted, beneficial and safe for all.  

 I for one am looking forward to seeing some familiar faces while participating in diverse conversations with people other than those I have become accustomed to for the past few months. In saying that, I have really enjoyed the unique opportunity online learning has afforded me. I believe that I have further strengthened my connections with Boarders and their families, whilst also learning more about our Boarders’ individual personalities, their strengths and their capabilities. 

 

Reflection from Ryan Bullock 

 I am very pleased to write this report knowing that some of our Boarders will be returning to us over the weekend. There has been an immense amount of work completed during the last few weeks to get to this stage and we are all excited in welcoming your sons back. 

 Whilst it is only Stage (1) of our return and not everyone is returning, it does give us that little bit of hope that some normality is returning to our lives. With this in mind, we have tried to ensure that the procedural changes we have made will ensure as little disruption to our Boarding routine as possible. I know from my conversations with your sons over the past few weeks it is evident that the majority are keen to return to school and get back to classroom learning. I hope that now we have had this time of remote learning your sons have a greater appreciation for classroom learning, the assistance that school provides daily to them and the opportunities that come with being a Boarder.  

 One initiative which I have thoroughly enjoyed are the “Friday Catch Ups” on Zoom that Mr Silcock has hosted. As is the nature of Boarding it is very hard for the parents to come together and get to know one another. These Zoom meetings have been a great medium for not only our Boarding parents to get to know one another but also us as Boarding staff as well.  

As always please stay safe and I look forward to seeing you soon.