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Boarding, Term 3 Week 10

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September

Boarding, Term 3 Week 10

Contents

Head of Boarding Message
Ash Keatch - Head of Boarding
Community
SchoolTV and Support eSafety Commissioner A Star in the House
Around the Boarding House
Students farewell Ms Vandervelde Dates for next term
Grammar On The Road
Regional Visits Staff Contacts
Head of Boarding Message

Ash Keatch - Head of Boarding

  It is hard to believe that we are at the end of Term 3. I have been talking to some of our staff who spend the day-to-day part of our relational ...

 

It is hard to believe that we are at the end of Term 3. I have been talking to some of our staff who spend the day-to-day part of our relational and operational model within the two houses with your child and they feel like this is the best they have seen our staffing model operate. We always try and get the balance right between continuity and downtime for our staff, so that they don’t get fatigued and drained while operating in this space. 

We have been slowly building our staffing numbers so we can accommodate the times when our staff have teaching ‘pracs’ on at university or happen to be umpiring the state AFL grand final game, like Will Robertson, or, playing in the musical Jersey Boys coming to Launceston, Will Robertson again, or are sick and need to be covered. Unlike schools, we can’t just get a relief person in, they need to be adequately qualified in our boarding space and the students need to know them for safety reasons. So, every time we get a new staff member in, we need to work through a process of getting them up to speed within the duty of care role they perform. 

Next term, Ms Vandervelde will be leaving us after almost two years of service in the Boarding House.  Zoe herself would say her knowledge and understanding have significantly changed from her initial expectations of taking on the role. It is always hard to say goodbye when staff physically and emotionally put time into getting to know and support your child. I have met with our People and Culture team to reset our staffing model and although we haven’t yet entirely completed our team, we have made significant inroads this year and we are closer to achieving our goal by the start of Term 1 2023. 

The nature of boarding and particularly co-educational boarding requires a strong female presence to support me as Head of Boarding. In running the Girls’ House next term until we recruit a suitable replacement for Zoe, I have asked a friend Denise Hales to step in. I had the pleasure of working with Denise back in WA and she has significant boarding experience, in particular girls boarding, having been the Director of Boarding PLC WA with 160 boarding girls under her care. I also worked alongside her husband Richard Hales back at Scotch College Boarding in WA and we had 174 boarders. 

Denise lives locally and is the owner/operator of Tamar House. She knows our boarding space having worked as part of the boarding team with precious Heads of Boarding Craig and Nadine Slavin.

I am excited to have Denise here to support me and the rest of the team. We took time over a coffee to discuss the current climate of the Girl’s House which gave me the opportunity to be reminded of her expansive knowledge and understanding of managing a boarding environment. I look forward to welcoming her next term and introducing you all as we return to boarding on Sunday 16 October.

Enjoy your break together and I hope you get some quality family time with your children. 

Regards, 

Ash 

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Community

SchoolTV and Support

As a follow-on from Dr Michael Carr-Greg in the last newsletter, I have attached for this week, links to raising Girls and Boys.   Raising Girls | ...

As a follow-on from Dr Michael Carr-Greg in the last newsletter, I have attached for this week, links to raising Girls and Boys. 

Raising Girls | Launceston Church Grammar School (schooltv.me) 

Raising Boys | Launceston Church Grammar School (schooltv.me) 

Isolated Children’s Parents Association 

I am sharing the document below for you to stay up to date on your entitlements for support. The information is produced by the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association and describes all the Federal allowances available for our country kids. 

FEDERAL ALLOWANCES SEPTEMBER 2022

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eSafety Commissioner

Navigating the online space with regard to our young people is an ever-learning area for me. I have attached a link recommended to me that I find ...

Navigating the online space with regard to our young people is an ever-learning area for me. I have attached a link recommended to me that I find helpful when dealing with online issues around your child and the use of devices, images and videos online. The reality is, when an issue occurs, 99% of the time it is not a boarding issue but becomes one when it is brought into our boarding space through emotions, conversations and sometimes venting from boarders. This is something our boarding staff are seeing more and more of. 

This term has seen a spike in the effects this has had on our boarding community and we are not alone within the school and our community as it dominates different Grades in different ways. Our role in boarding is to support, not solve the issues around it. This can be met with challenges and frustration as we navigate the issues that we are confronted with. 

I have been looking into our professional learning space with Corrina our school counsellor to assist all boarding staff when having conversations with your child, we have locked in a session with Dr Kim Atkins from Laurel House to look at how to respond to disclosure and understanding consent and the law for Term 4. This has been an area in which the boarding team have flagged as a concern and we aim to provide students and staff with skills so that they can feel safe and can be trusted to engage in these conversations confidently.  

We all play a part in the support and guidance we can give your child, to have the confidence to make sound decisions in life ― and ask for help when they need it.  

The E-Safety Commission website has some good resources, including short videos:  

https://www.esafety.gov.au/ 

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A Star in the House

Mackenzie Grant ( Gra de 11) is currently filming a n ABC television show ‘ Bay of Fires’, which is currently in production and set to air in 2023. ...

Mackenzie Grant (Grade 11) is currently filming an ABC television show ‘Bay of Fires’, which is currently in production and set to air in 2023.

She started working on the production during the school holidays of Term 2 and has had to juggle school work and set life by making regular visits to the west coast of Tasmania to work on the show. Mackenzie’s role is a supporting character of one of the main cast in the eight-part drama series. She said, “I have had to miss some school in order to film during weekdays, however, I believe the experience in itself and the finished product will be absolutely worth it”.

She has learnt a lot being on set and looks forward to where this new experience may take her. From just reading the scripts alone, Mackenzie was totally captivated by the story and she can’t wait to see how it plays out on the screen next year. For us as a Launceston Grammar Boarding community, we are excited for Mackenzie and will join with the many others nationally and globally to watch and enjoy the show.

Mackenzie (left) during the TCE trip to Freycinet this year.

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Around the Boarding House

Students farewell Ms Vandervelde

Last night we were able to farewell Ms Vandervelde. Our Head Chef Mark and his team from Chartwells put on a pasta night that was enjoyed by all who ...

Last night we were able to farewell Ms Vandervelde. Our Head Chef Mark and his team from Chartwells put on a pasta night that was enjoyed by all who attended. It was a great celebration of just how far boarding has come in my two years as Head of Boarding. It was pleasing to hear from both the boys’ and girls’ reflections of Ms V and what she has brought to the Launceston Grammar Boarding House and in particular the Girls’ House.  

Zoe and I drove the Juniors in for the last time today and after the kids had said goodbye, Zoe said to me how she was appreciative of the personal touches from all the speeches last night from each of the boarders who spoke.   

On behalf of our boarding community, I would like to wish Zoe all the best as she heads South to Hobart to start the next phase in her journey.   

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Dates for next term

Some important dates for Term 4. ...

Some important dates for Term 4.

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Grammar On The Road

Regional Visits

During the holidays, I will be heading to the Flinders Island Show which will be held on Friday 14 th October. Head of Junior Campus Mrs Sheona ...

During the holidays, I will be heading to the Flinders Island Show which will be held on Friday 14th October. Head of Junior Campus Mrs Sheona Carter will be joining me and we welcome you to please drop by and say hello if you are on the Island. 

St Helens 

Lisa and I along with our Head of Enrolments Malcolm Dolman drove to St Helen’s on the evening of Friday 16th of September and ran a function for current Launceston Grammar families at the Panorama on the Bay. It wasn’t your typical drive out as we had warnings of rock falls around the Mt Marys pass and flooding around the Fingal Valley region and St Marys. As it turned out, none of that hindered our drive through farming country showing that spring is upon us with new lambs bounding around their mums and the new calves up and about.  

The function was well attended with a big thank you to our current families from the area which included; Andrew and Jenny Aldridge (David Grade 6), Nicole Mathers (Hannah Grade 7), Patricia and Bruce Campbell (Tom Grade 8) and Tammy Fidler (Blaze Grade 10) who are all part of our boarding family at Grammar. Thanks to the friends that they brought along to discuss boarding options at Grammar.  

The next morning after a great breakfast at the Life Buoy cafe, Lisa and I hired some e-bikes from Giant in town and rode 42 km around the bay to the point and back then after eating fish and chips we headed off in the opposite direction and found a local St Helen’s winery then rode back into town. What a great place to live!! 

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Staff Contacts

  Head of Boarding  Ashley Keatch   M 0403 799321   akeatch@lcgs.tas.edu.au    Deputy Head of Boarding – Boys   Theunis Pieters    M 0447 732 241 ...

 

Head of Boarding 

Ashley Keatch 

M 0403 799321 

akeatch@lcgs.tas.edu.au 

 

Deputy Head of Boarding – Boys  

Theunis Pieters  

M 0447 732 241 

tpieters@lcgs.tas.edu.au 

 

Acting Head of House – Girls (Starting Term 4) 

Denise Hales 

M 0498 167 579 

dhales@lcgs.tas.edu.au 

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