Boarding Report – February 2, 2018

Wednesday, January 31- -“ a date that shall live long in the annuls of the College’s history. At 2.30pm the doors to the Residential component of our new Boarding Precinct opened to greet the 62 boarders who would call this their -‘home’, whilst on their journey through this great College. The excitement was evident and brilliantly captured by local media channels and our own College IT department. Two years of planning, construction, -blood, sweat and (many) tears- -“ worth every challenging moment to see the pleasure on the faces of our boarders and their families. Our new Boarding Precinct represents so much. Firstly, it represents the College’s commitment to Boarding and to supporting the many families, within our communities, both near and afar, to accessing the wonderful opportunities that the College has to offer. Secondly, it represents excellence. There is no finer Boarding facility in our State, if across Australia, and this complements our existing Boarding program -“ a program that is carefully designed and managed to provide the best possible boarding experience. I appreciate that I say this often, however it cannot be overstated. A boarding experience that will build lifelong friendships, develop skills to assist in later life, provide a level of care that best supports the mental and physical wellbeing of our boarders and encourage active participation in the many opportunities that are presented to our boarders through College events or those in the wider Ballarat community. That is our commitment -“ a commitment to our Boarding program. This cannot be achieved without an outstanding staff and I wish to acknowledge them and their immense efforts this past fortnight. As I said when we welcomed you all this past week, we will need to constantly be open to change and improvement, our boarding staff have worked tirelessly in preparation for our commencement this week and in the first few days of this new College year. I am truly humbled by the opportunity I have had to deliver this new Precinct to you, to work with this dedicated team of staff and to be able to support your sons on the boarding journey through our fine College.

You will shortly receive a copy of our -‘Key Boarding Dates’ for 2018 via a mail out. I apologise unreservedly for the confusion that the original document must have caused as you plot your calendars for the year ahead. I assure you that the dates on this document are accurate and I immediately direct you to our first Boarding Community event on Sunday, 18 February. An official invitation will be emailed to you shortly, however I encourage you all to attend as we take the opportunity to come together and welcome our new boarders and their families to our community. I will also use this chance to again reinforce the importance of not organising any activities/appointments that require early leave from the College. If any such occasion is unavoidable then please contact me directly to discuss.

It has been a wonderful start to this new chapter in both the College’s broader Boarding life and for the lives of our individual boarders. There will be many challenges on the road ahead, adversity will need to be overcome. Some of us will be experiencing homesickness, anxiety, etc. and, to them, I say -embrace it-. We will not look to a cure -“ we will look to find a balance between enjoying time at home and here at College -“ this, I believe, is the only -‘cure’ that has a long term, satisfactory outcome. We have loved spending time with our boarders in these first few days, living in our new space together and look forward to supporting them in any way that we can. Please continue to contact us, to allow us to continue to improve and give your sons the best possible care -“ we are also here for you -“ as I said to many of you, it is not just your sons that have joined us -“ you are all part of our Boarding Community.

Enjoy your weekend, look after yourselves.

Mike Silcock

Director of Boarding

0438095088

Boarding Office: 03 5322 4414.