FEATURE ON BOARDING
BOARDING AT THE HEART OF CANBERRA GRAMMAR SCHOOL Canberra Grammar School has always been an outstanding boarding school and takes pride in its achievements while acknowledging the responsibility and commitment it takes to nurture the students who are entrusted to the School’s care. In 2019, Canberra Grammar School continued its transition to full co-education across all years by accepting its first intake of girls into boarding. In 2020, the School moved to a new model of residential and pastoral care with the appointment of two new Heads of Boarding. Last year, Ms Jenny Hunter joined CGS in the role of Head of Girls’ Boarding. In her early career, she enjoyed working as a PDHPE teacher and Head of Sport before assuming the role of Head of House and focusing on student wellbeing. Jenny has a passion for fostering strong relationships and supporting young people in becoming independent and capable citizens who are prepared for the world. She believes in encouraging all those under her care to strive for personal fulfilment and has a strong desire to lead her staff in facilitating the aspirations of all students while developing them into happy and confident people. Jenny is familiar with the parent-teacher dynamic since her two sons are CGS Alumni, and she is joined by her husband, living on campus, who helps to transport the boarders to various activities around Canberra. In 2020, to complete the appointments for the new model, Mr Kiel Brown joined CGS as the Head of Boys’ Boarding. Kiel brings a diverse and robust set of skills developed from a career as a psychologist and by working in an educational setting for the last five years.
Before this, he worked in homeless transitional support services and was a member of the Australian Men’s Hockey Team for almost a decade. Kiel is passionate about working with young people in the residential education setting. His philosophy regarding boarding focuses on creating an environment where every student feels safe, valued, and connected and is provided developmentally appropriate opportunities to explore their world and develop themselves. He is joined on campus by his wife Jessica and three young sons, Taylor, Finlay, and Lennox, who are particularly excited to get to know the students and families of the CGS Boarding community. As the CGS Boarding village continues to grow, a commitment to providing world-class facilities continues. Over Semester 1 2020, the School refreshed and renewed the Boys’ Boarding House while simultaneously continuing the development of the Girls’ Boarding House. The Boys’ Boarding House witnessed a re-wiring of both wings, the installation of full reverse cycle air-conditioning, a complete renovation of the student rooms to bring consistency across all Boarding Houses, re-carpeting, and re-painting of all areas and an upgrade of the lighting in the hallways and rooms to create more open community, learning, and living spaces.
24 | CGS OUTLOOK | Semester One 2020
