Boarding, November

Dear Boarding families

Term 4

The long weekend has been and gone and I hope it lived up to everyone’s expectations! The chance to get home and connect can never be underestimated from the lens of our boarders. I am always delighted to see how quick most reset back into their environment once they return having had the chance to connect with friends from the house again.

I had a couple of mates from Perth drop in to visit and I am feeling like I need a long weekend again as mine was filled up with mates I hadn’t seen for 20 years trying to cram it all in over four days. I was able to show them some spectacular scenes around Launceston with Cataract Gorge demonstrating the recent rains as well as the dam in all its magnitude and glory.

This week sees our senior Grade 11and 12’s into their study routines during the day as we keep the boarding house open for them to be able to stay on campus and have a study plan. I have provided them with a weekly routine so they stay on task for when exams hit. We also have our Grade 7’s back from a wet week at Maria Island.

Thank you to all the parents who are providing feedback on how we are operating and in particular how this newsletter is being received. I like it when I am having a conversation with you and the reference to the newsletter is made, it tells me that you are reading it and using some of the points mentioned.

Communication is something I acknowledge to be the success of a great boarding house and I am mindful to ensure you are across what we see as important issues with your child. Great parenting stems from both spouses working in partnership to support each other when making decisions regarding their child, so I would like to continue to close this gap moving forward between both the parents and staff caring for your child in our boarding space.

Ash Keatch
Head of Boarding

Boarding environments around Australia have a very clear expectation around this topic particularly when it comes to the storage of devices overnight. It is suggested that teens only get 2 hours of screen time a day, we know this is not the case here in Tasmania as I witness on any given day our kids using their phones or being told to put it away during our mealtimes or when communicating with each other around the house.

I would be naive to think they don’t need them as I was born in a generation that didn’t have them when growing up and like many of you haven’t had to rely on them as our kids do in today’s world.

Let’s face it, how many of your own children have been frustrated when you don’t know how to do something trivial on a device. My young staff and seniors do this to me all the time, it leaves me wondering ‘How old am I’.

It would be fair of me to suggest that I can see advantages of putting down the devices and playing games and activities with each other, as this feels like a natural fit for me. A lot of our teens haven’t had that experience and they need educating around this space.

My responsibility is to ensure our boarders don’t develop poor sleeping habits, lack the energy and are less focused at school and have the symptoms of depression and anxiety.

To assist in this, I have included our section from the boarding student/parent handbook on Student Mobile Phone and laptop Availability. I am starting the conversation with you as parents so you can see the thinking around it and will have a discussion with our boarding students over the term to get their thoughts around it.

It is something that will challenge your child who has been looking forward to keeping their phones in Grade 10-12. It is however not best practice and something we need to address to improve our wellbeing of our boarders.

Below is a link to a good article on this topic

https://www.participaction.com/en-ca/blog/how-much-screen-time-is-too-much-for-teens

Launceston Grammar Boarding Handbook

I have included Student Mobile Phone and Laptop Availability as mentioned above for you to look at.

It explains Mobile phones, skype, WhatsApp/Signal, letters and postcards and the fortnightly newsletter.

Read more here.

Geronimo’s Restaurant in Charles Street held our final dinner to acknowledge our Grade 12 leavers and the support their parents have invested into Grammar Boarding over the years. It was great catching up with Carol Doonan and Carolyn Curtis, along with Boarding staff and our stars of the night, Abraham, Tom and Sarah to enjoy one of Launceston’s finest culinary meal spots.

A special thanks goes to Jeremy Kode the restaurant owner and alumni of Launceston Grammar for looking after us on the night with the use of the back room and special deal.

A professional photographer came to take some photos this week to update our Boarding webpage and the student/parent handbook which will be ready for release at the start of next year.

Kids always amaze me in terms of having a camera around them. If it was a selfie from their phone they are happy to smile or pull a face and upload it to friends. When we pay to have a professional photographer come and take a few boarding shots around the house they go all weird on me.

Take for example my Grade 10 girls, all very natural around the house singing, dancing and chatting with us, but when we ask them to walk around talking while we take some professional photos they turn to mush. In fact, they get the giggles and prolong what was originally a fairly simple task.

Nonetheless, with a bribe from TJ to do a thick shake run to Macca’s that night we managed to get some current shots of our boarders in action around the houses. I’ll share them when we get them sent to us. Watch this space!!

Being an open campus, we have had some night-time activity around the campus over the last few weeks with our security and police working together to catch offenders doing the wrong thing. I was a victim of having my car opened and gear stolen by a lady wandering through (yes I forgot to lock it). My ARB recovery kit was stolen and the door was left open, lucky it wasn’t raining all night.

Our outside CCTV footage and LED lighting upgrade around the campus from our Property manager Steve was a game-changer when it came to providing evidence to the police. We were able to provide clear footage of the offenders and police are confident they know who is on the other end of the footage.

What was clear from this is:

• where the students now park their car is the best place for lighting and CCTV coverage (footage showed that)
• lock your vehicle and don’t leave valuables in the open for offenders to be tempted

I have spoken to Tom and Sarah about this and it’s really important parents have this conversation as well with their child when thinking of bringing their vehicle on site while boarding.

Following up on this piece, I received a phone call from Tasmanian police yesterday and that the ARB recovery kit must have been too heavy for the lady who stole it as it was dumped less than 100 meters from my house and is now safely back in my vehicle (locked) and out of sight.

We are hosting the Boarding component of Orientation day on Thursday 11 November.

Our new boarders will be welcomed into each of the houses and spend a night.

The uniform shop has arranged their times to accommodate the Boarding families with the following fit-out times.

For uniform shop online orders – click here

Where did you go to school?

I did my junior years in South Africa and then attended Hamilton Boys’ High School when my family moved to New Zealand.

Were you a boarder?

No, I never experienced what life as a boarder was like.

Where did you grow up?

I was born in South Africa and still call it “home”. I moved to New Zealand with my family when I was 14 and lived in Hamilton until 2019 when I moved to Tassie.

What sports did you play at school?

I gave everything a go, but my passion was and still is rugby union. I also loved athletics (800m) and my best achievement was placing 2nd at NZ Secondary Schools Champs in my last year of school.

Favourite sporting team?

Very passionate rugby supporter and I will always support the Springboks (South African national rugby team – yes, we are the current world champions).

How long have you worked at Launceston Grammar Boarding?

Since the start of 2019.

If you are studying, what are you studying and where?

I am a PhD student at the University of Tasmania and specialise in sport and exercise science.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I’d like to think I am grown up, although we can always learn more. I do love what I am currently doing – working in the boarding house and being the Strength and Conditioning Coach at school. My dream job would be to be the Strength and Conditioning Coach of a top-level professional rugby team.

Do you have any hobbies?

I love being active so getting out for some physical activity – whether it is going for a run, playing rugby, going to the gym, playing squash – that would be what I see as hobbies for me. (Don’t get me wrong, I love to relax on the couch while watching something on Netflix).

Where is your Favourite holiday destination and why?

South Africa, Kruger National Park. South Africa is a beautiful country that offers so much variation from big cities, to mountain ranges, to beautiful beaches, to some of the most remote and poorest neighbourhoods you will ever see. But nothing beats an African sunset while you’re on a Safari and you can hear the roar of a lion and the crying of hyenas in the background.

Any medical/major issues please refer to SBHA

SBHA on call mob: (0403 799 321) (Ashley Keatch)

Friday – Zoe Van Der Velde

Saturday – Zoe Van Der Velde

Sunday – Theunis Pieters

Boys House mobile: (0400 704 413)

Friday – Tony Kang

Saturday am – Tony Kang

Saturday pm – Ting Bie

Sunday am – Ting Bie

Sunday pm – Will Robertson

Girls House mobile: (0419 154 322)

Friday – Hannah Van der velde

Saturday am – Hannah Van der velde

Saturday pm – Sarah Durkin

Sunday am – Sarah Durkin

Sunday pm – Ella Marshall

Shift Start/End Times

• Friday 3:25pm to 10:00pm
• Saturday am (continued from Friday afternoon) 7:00am-1:00pm
• Saturday pm 1:00pm-10:00pm
• Sunday am (continued from Saturday afternoon) 7:00am-3:30pm
• Sunday pm 3:30pm-10:30pm (then Monday morning wake up 7:00am-8:45am

If you have any specific concerns regarding your child, please get in contact with either TJ or Zoe depending on which house they are in to discuss. They will have the best day to day knowledge of your child and are more than happy to work alongside you.  Separately I am also happy to discuss any boarding points that you think of want to have a chat about.

Head of Boarding

Ashley Keatch
M 0403 799 321
akeatch@lcgs.tas.edu.au

Senior Boarding House Assistant (Boys House)

Theuns Pieters
tpieters@lcgs.tas.edu.au

Senior Boarding House Assistant (Girls House)

Zoe Vandervelde
zvandervelde@lcgs.tas.edu.au

Don’t forget to start planning for when your child leaves for the year to finish up with us. This is an area I think 99% of our parents have nailed, it is important you use the reach app to lock in your child’s leave, as it is your responsibility to communicate this with your child, we don’t mind helping out but would prefer you own it.

As always please use the Holiday Period Leave when you enter it. This helps staff track and plan for your child’s movements.