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12-PAGE FEATURE
Your child’s future is in your hands A
LL parents want the best for their children. And that includes a good education. In fact, education is perhaps the single most important decision parents will make affecting the long-term future of their child or children. It will affect the direction of their lives, while having a significant influence on the type of contributor they will become to their community. As well as providing them with a solid foundation of academic instruction, a good education can heighten their social awareness and expose them to the wider world and a sense of responsibility. Giving them every chance to not just succeed but excel in their future lives. Therefore, a child’s schooling should be in an environment where each student’s strengths and potential are recognised, nurtured, and encouraged. Where they are equipped not just with the A, B, C of basic curricula, but the all-round skills to take on tertiary study and/or careers. And the option of a scholarship is a remarkable start to some of the nation’s finest schools. A part or full scholarship is a stimulating option that, if successful, could provide your daughter or son the
choice of more than one school. A quality school doesn’t just encourage achievement; it nurtures self-confidence and the capacity of its pupils to help not just themselves but others as well. Creating that environment is not easy, but the best schools have spanned three centuries to achieve the choice of subjects, build the facilities that will enhance academic performance and underpin it with a healthy and active lifestyle and diverse extracurricular opportunities. Being able to participate on a much wider stage, from sport to drama, from debating to creating, is essential for the school to meet its responsibility in helping each student’s parents provide their child with every opportunity. By the time each student has completed their secondary schooling and is preparing for further study or to pursue different avenues they will have been given the foundation to cope with the decisions to come. Obviously, there are many good schools, but accessing the best is often as much a financial decision as an academic one. And for rural and regional families, this is compounded with boarding fees
and relinquishing their child into a new family. Today, the McPherson Group provides parents with essential reading through this important educational feature. Assumption College, Ballarat Grammar, Geelong Grammar School, Melbourne Grammar School, Melbourne Girls Grammar, Moama Anglican Grammar, Presbyterian Ladies’ College, St Catherine’s School, St Patrick’s School, The Academy, The Geelong College and Xavier College are among many of the states and country’s leading educational
institutions taking part. Representing a proud heritage and a proven commitment to the highest of standards in the academic world, these schools also operate at the cutting edge of education. They represent unparalleled pathways for their students, so when the time comes for your children to enter the workforce, they will have all the advantages and opportunities that will help them build a successful future. We encourage all parents to carefully consider the options in today’s feature.
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SCHOLARSHIPS & BOARDING OPPORTUNITIES
Life Skills an Added Bonus of Boarding Former Bright schoolgirl Flynn O’Brien has spent the past two years travelling through Europe, enduring lockdowns in France and undertaking her first year of a double degree in politics, philosophy, economics, and languages at ANU in Canberra. A former boarding and scholarship student at St Catherine’s School in Melbourne’s inner south-east, Flynn believes her four years at the school made the unpredictability and challenges of the past two years easier to manage. “St Catherine’s Boarding Program really fosters independence,” Flynn said. “My four years boarding taught me how to take care of myself and how to manage my time. “Living in the boarding house helped me immensely moving into the residential hall at ANU this year, I actually found it quite seamless. “My work ethic and motivation to learn was really fostered at St Catherine’s too, which has made the transition into the university style of learning a lot easier. There isn’t that much of a change between the boarding house and my university campus, so I haven’t been overwhelmed by university life.” The school’s co-curricular programs also provided Flynn with practical experiences and life skills, “particularly my French exchange in Year 10,” Flynn said, “it gave me a massive boost going into VCE French, as I had practical and real-life experience with the language, as well as immersion into the French culture. It provided me with problem-solving skills and helped me realise there are always going to be curve balls in life. “I learnt how to stay calm and deal with challenges, all within another language.” These experiences assisted Flynn greatly in 2020 when she found herself spending two-and-a-half months in lockdown in Paris, where she had been working as an au pair, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. “I cannot stress enough how the resilience and life skills Flynn developed at St Catherine’s helped her in France and travelling through Europe last year during COVID lockdowns,” Flynn’s mother Toni O’Brien said. “Flynn was confident managing her money, booking well in advance for travel and dealing with so much uncertainty. “Our three daughters all boarded at St Catherine’s School and they have all learnt how to be independent and resilient young women from their time there. They learnt how to navigate their way around Melbourne and gained experience living in a big city, which provided them independence prior to commencing university and full-time work.”
Applications for 2023 Boarding Scholarships close on January 28, 2022. To learn more, please contact the registrar,Ms Jeanette Boehm on (03) 9828 3917, email admissions@stcatherines.net.au or visit www.stcatherines.net.au/admissions/scholarships/
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She
who dares
2023 BOARDING SCHOLARSHIPS stcatherines.net.au/scholarships Applications close Friday 28 January 2022 ST CATHERINE’S SCHOOL www.stcatherines.net.au | Toorak VIC
ELC to Year 12 | Day & Boarding School for Girls (ELC includes boys)
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The chance of a lifetime Headline Cmd+Num 1
“The scholarship made it more accessible for my family,” Sophie Hodge
Sophie Hodge screamed with excitement when she discovered she had received a scholarship to Melbourne Girls Grammar. “I was screaming my head off at the
SUBHEAD CMD+NUM time, thinking `I’m actually2going to go
The Monash University Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Global Studies (Cultural Competence) student never regretted taking her opportunity and encourages other regional students to do the same.
to school and have four years of the best education and not feel like a burden on my family,” Sophie explained.
A partial scholarship allowed Sophie, who hails from the regional Victorian town of Numurkah, the opportunity to complete her secondary education at Body Copy Cmd+Num MGGS and add 3another chapter to her family’s legacy at the school. The 2020 school vice-captain is part of the fourth generation of her family to attend Melbourne Girls Grammar. Her sisters Amy (graduated 2015) and Laura (2017), their mother Katharine Hodge (Creswell, 1982), grandmother Rosie Creswell (Dowling, 1956), and great-grandmother Jessie Dowling (Blanch, 1919) all attended MGGS. “The scholarship allowed me to start in Year 9 and have the complete boarding experience up to Year 12, which was very good for my personal development. “It allowed me to access high-quality education at a good stage in my life. Year 9 was the best age to come in, and it was made more accessible, and socially it made it more of an easy process.
“I would say to them, if you get the opportunity to go for a scholarship or they have the opportunity to pursue an amazing education, then they have to take it,” she said. “If they think it’s an exciting idea and feel internal excitement about a boarding school and it is so cool if they have that mindset as it makes everything so amazing - then chase it.
Melbourne Girls Grammar 2020 Captains: Scarlett Elkins Priest, Helena Wong Hansen and Sophie Hodge “To know I was backed by the school and knowing they have me and my family’s back - that was an exciting time.” Sophie, who joined MGGS in 2017 and graduated in 2020, said the education she received at MGGS made her a more empowered person. “I have been made to feel more empowered and to love myself and the
people around me. The school gave me that, and I had more opportunities academically and socially,” she said. “I like to think that I was very present and took on every opportunity I could. That made me a grateful and enthusiastic person who loves to live. I was empowered Caption Cmd+Num 4 to do that at MGGS.”
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“It lives up to the expectation, and it’s an opportunity that’s accessible. To someone who wants to live life taking chances, this is one of them as the rest of your life changes in a positive way. “I never thought I would get my chance, and I did. You have to be in the running, and I did what I could, and a year later I’m running around the hallways at MGGS, and it was worth everything.” MGGS awards several scholarships including academic, boarding, music and Indigenous annually so young women can make the most of every opportunity.
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Headline Cmd+Num 1 Moama Anglican Grammar
SUBHEAD CMD+NUM 2
: Lona and fellow Ballarat Grammar help ith school students w ed ur ct pi es at classm or-Leste. trip to Ainaro, Tim teach English on a
Assump�on College: Pr incipal Kate Fogarty with stude nts.
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ar: Gramm ers. s l r i G urne r fath Melbo ins with thei capta School
Boarding at Geelong College.
St Catherine's School
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Boarding at PLC
Xavier College Students
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Big plans in store for Xavier’s tight-knit boarding community Ongoing COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and lockdowns have presented unique challenges for boarding schools in Victoria. For those at Xavier College in Kew, the past two years have also provided opportunities for support in a caring environment, strengthened bonds amongst students and staff and real excitement for the future. The college’s recent master plan outlines a broad vision for the school to coincide with its 150th anniversary in 2028. It incorporates new facilities alongside the core heritage buildings and includes a building that will accommodate Years 7 and 8. Other aspects of the plan include an underground car park to ensure greater pedestrian safety, and environmental measures including water recycling, photovoltaic cells generating energy, and maximising green space. The whole campus will be surrounded by a rich biodiversity track, further enhancing a spacious segment of Melbourne inner east.
The boarding house went to great lengths to provide extra care for the students, including arranging click-and-collect deliveries and lots of on-campus recreational activities. “We were mindful of keeping the boys healthy physically as well as mentally,” Alex said. “We had a strength and conditioning coach come in to monitor everyone’s wellbeing and we organised a lot of activities to keep everyone occupied”. The school also went the extra mile when it came to facilitating any opportunities that did exist for students to return home during the holidays. One staff member accompanied students from Darwin to support them through two weeks of quarantine at Howard Springs before the holidays and the school also arranged private bus transfers to the NSW/Victoria border so students could travel home for the longer breaks without their parents having to cross the border.
Jesuit concepts, including cura personalis (care for the whole person) underpin the Xavier experience, and this is doubtless one of the reasons most of the boarders opted to remain at the school during the extended lockdowns. Access to study supervision, consistency of routine and mutual support are among the many reasons Xavier’s head of boarding Alexander ‘Alex’ Smith nominates as the reasons the majority of boarders decided to remain on campus rather than return to their families during COVID-19.
For this year’s captain of boarding Nick Honeyman, who comes from Canberra, and his Year 12 colleague Ed Plunkett from central Victoria, the decision to remain at school was almost a no-brainer.
“Backed up by the staff, the students have supported each other through these tough times,” he says. “They were still doing online learning and even though we were maintaining distance from the majority of the teaching staff, the boarding house was a large family bubble caring for each other through the lockdown.”
“No-one escaped tough times during lockdown,” Nick said. “But the boarding community really rallied to look after each other. We call each other brothers because that’s how we feel. And it probably explains why numbers are growing and this year we have 72 boarders, our biggest cohort for a long time.”
“We have such a strong culture that the boarding house almost feels like home,” Nick explains. “The school encourages the students to be themselves and feel comfortable with who they are, and while we live in our year groups, there is lots of interaction with the younger students, so we feel like family.”
A Xavier education
can take you there. Scholarships & Bursaries for 2023 • Academic excellence scholarships • Music excellence scholarships • Boarding scholarships • Bursaries (means-based)
Applications close Friday 18 February 2022 Visit xavier.vic.edu.au/ourprograms/ourscholarships or contact Di Odgers, Head of Admissions on 03 9854 5373
Building the Possible
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The world is their oyster At The Geelong College, the liberal educational model is designed to inspire all students to learn how to learn, flourish, be innovative and aspire to futures that harness their many skills and abilities. Boarders not only experience this style of learning in the classroom, on the field, in the studio or in the theatre but also at ‘home’ in the boarding house. “When boarders come home, they have structured activities, but also time to choose their own activities with friends or family,” the Head of Boys’ Boarding, Gareth Gilby, said. “During the week there is sport training and study, but boarders still have a couple of hours after school a few nights per week to relax at the boarding house or go out with friends. Boarding staff always know where they are and when they will be back, but there is a level of independence and trust. “We also believe the boarding environment helps to develop great study habits and helps students manage their technology use. Where it can be difficult for families to keep up with what they should and shouldn’t be doing, and what they should be concerned about, we have experienced tutors and teachers, the support of two expert counsellors and outstanding medical support, as well as regular professional development in the areas of cyber safety and developing good habits in young people,” Mr Gilby said. “That’s ultimately our aim in the boarding houses at The Geelong College: ensure our students are developing good habits and life skills in all areas of their development.”
And the nice thing is that the students can see the opportunities they have and what a difference it makes for them. “Being from a family of seven who live rurally, it is hard to drive everybody to their extracurricular activities or sports,” Year 11 student Lauren McDougall, from Princetown, said. “Being here at the college has given me the opportunity to try debating and hockey. “I love that everybody here gives everything a red hot go. Currently we are doing house music; everybody is working as a team to make sure we sound good. “I just think it’s lovely that though not all of us are good at everything, we still try our best,” she said. “It’s a great environment!” Year 12 student Euriah Hollard from Albury shared his views about the family-style boarding environment. “I think families should consider visiting The Geelong College. It is very welcoming, the facilities and opportunities at the boarding house are great and I enjoy the interaction with the other year levels,” he said. “As boarders we are set many great challenges – academically and personally, and we make lifelong friendships.” Find out more about boutique boarding at The Geelong College at its 2022 open days. Register at www.geelongcollege.vic.edu.au
Twins Lauren and Jasmine McDougall are thriving as boarders at The Geelong College
Be of
COURAGE
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Ballarat Grammar student set up for success A passion for writing, politics, and a strong sense of social justice enhanced and developed at school at Ballarat Grammar has led Iona Cullenward on a path to a life in International Relations and Law. Growing up on the 31,000ha station that her family manages west of Hay, in NSW, Iona says she always loved writing and for a long time, wanted to be a foreign correspondent. All the local and international travel and service experiences on offer at Ballarat Grammar with the school’s membership of the International Round Square were part of the attraction of the school for Iona, her brothers Darcy and Finn, and their parents, Fleur and Hamish. The family were also impressed by the inclusive rural feeling in the boarding houses, academic opportunities in Agriculture, and the co-curricular opportunities such as service and sport, including footy and clay target shooting. In 2018 and 2019, Iona took up some of these extraordinary international service opportunities, including a service trip to Timor-Leste in 2018, teaching English and learning about the culture, and in 2019, being a delegate at a Round Square conference in Indore, India. Iona thoroughly enjoyed immersing herself in these cultural experiences, and while the pandemic has put a hold on many of the overseas opportunities in 2020 and 2021, Iona and fellow students were able to take part in many virtual events which opened their eyes to the experiences of other communities around the world. Iona was also able to exercise
her leadership skills becoming one of the student leaders of the school as co-Round Square captain as a Year 12 student in 2021. The International Round Square is an internationally diverse network of 200 likeminded schools in 50 countries that connect and collaborate to offer world-class programs and experiences, developing global competence, character, and confidence in their students. Round Square schools share a clear understanding of the hardwired link between character education and success in life, and work to prepare their students for positive, active, and engaged global citizenship. Iona’s love for international experiences merged with politics when she started studying Global Politics at school. “I decided I would love a future career path in either diplomacy or journalism,” she said. This goal and significant amounts of hard work during her VCE studies, resulted in early offers for International Relations at Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra and Law/Journalism in Armidale. With an excellent ATAR of 97.85, Iona is hoping to get into a double degree of Law and International relations at ANU in Canberra. For the next twelve months however, she is planning another character-building year, working as a station hand on a cattle station in the Kimberly, on the Western Australia/Northern Territory border, and then travelling (if COVID allows!) before heading to university.
I want to fi ffind ind
a place where I belong...
SCAN HERE TO REGISTER
SCHOLARSHIPS
Boarding, Academic, Music, Dance, Drama, and Art & Design scholarships - Year 7 to 11 Now open for registrations until 4 Feb for 2023 entry Scholarship testing and Open Day: 8:30am Sat 12 Feb
BALLARAT AND QUEEN’S ANGLICAN GRAMMAR SCHOOL
M o r e i n f o r m at i o n o n o u r w e b s i t e o r c o n t a c t A d m i s s i o ns o n 0 3 5 3 3 8 0 8 3 0 o r a d m i s s i o n s @b g s . v i c . e du . a u
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2023 Scholarships
Applications for 2023 Academic, Music and Boarding Scholarships are now open. Scholarships are available for boys entering Year 7 and Year 9.
To find out more and to apply, scan the QR code, visit mgs.vic.edu.au/scholarships or contact:
Two significant Access Scholarships are also available for boarders:
Melbourne Grammar School is an exceptional learning community.
• E H Flack Scholarship
Emily Sweeney, Head of Admissions enrol@mgs.vic.edu.au +61 3 9865 7570
• Winter Irving Crawford Scholarship 355 St Kilda Road Melbourne mgs.vic.edu.au
SCHOLARSHIPS 2023 Passionately engage in your education and complete Year 11 & 12 in a hands on learning environment. Find out if you are eligible and apply: theacademy.com.au/scholarships
11 & R A E Y 12 & 1 1 R YE A
&1 1 1 R A 12 Y E
1 & 1 1 R 2 YEA
12 & 1 1 R 2 YE A
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There is so much Headline to do at PLC Cmd+Num 1 As co-captain of the Boarding House, Audrey in Year 12 has been passionate about helping the girls get the most out of their Boarding experience whilst at PLC.
“It has beenCMD+NUM a fantastic year SUBHEAD 2 so far, especially after last year with all the complications with COVID-19 she said. With Ilona as my co-captain, we have been really focussed on making this year a positive and rewarding experience for everyone in the Boarding House and to help get everyone back into their sports, arts, music and other areas of interest.”
There is so much to do at PLC and we have so many wonderful opportunities to get involved in such diverse program as rowing, cooking, musicals, mentoring and social justice that we want to make help every girl really experience everything that Body Copy Cmd+Num 3 and maybe even a little bit more!” they possibly can Audrey, who comes from Wirlinga in NSW, also has a sister at PLC this year. “Having a younger sibling her in the Boarding House has been amazing and has meant that I also have a strong focus on engaging our youngest boarders to help them to adjust to their new environment and get the most out of their experience.” “With the help of the Boarding House leadership group, we have focussed on wanting everyone to feel like our Boarding House is a home away from home and that we are all one big family, even if we come from so many different places and backgrounds, she said. “I believe that one of PLC’s great strengths is the care and focus on wellbeing that the staff and the leadership team bring to the girls. Through the buddy and mentoring programs led by the staff and senior girls, new boarders as well as those of us who have been here for a while, are made to feel extremely valued, included and supported as well as motivated to try out many new experiences.” PLC offers boarding for girls from Years 7- 12 in Burwood Melbourne. Located on the one 16-hectare garden campus, Boarding has been at the heart of the College since its founding in 1875. For more information about Boarding and any Boarding Bursaries on offer for families, please contact our Director of Admissions, Ms Lyndall Dakic on (03) 9808 5811 or visit www.plc.vic.edu.au
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at home at school
A nurturing environment. Extensive facilities and grounds. Endless opportunities. Boarders at PLC Melbourne live at the heart of a caring and supportive community. For more information or to apply for a scholarship, contact 03 9808 5811 or apply at www.plc.vic.edu.au
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Ignite your love of learning Be part of our boarding community at Assumption College, set in an idyllic rural environment with outstanding facilities. At over 40 hectares, our generous school property encourages diverse skill development. Boarding has been part of Assumption College since 1901. Since this time, facilities have changed to modern and comfortable ‘family style’ centres with the capacity for 72 boarders (separate accommodation for boys and girls). “We know choice is important and our boarding students have the opportunity to join an academic five-day boarding program, or seven days. Students can take advantage of the additional tutoring as well as study support,” college principal Kate Fogarty said. “Assumption College provides boarders with a family atmosphere focused on support, wellbeing and achievement. Through this, boarders develop a unique camaraderie – navigating the challenges of high school alongside members of their boarding house and the greater Assumption boarding community. “Assumption boarding is a place of learning and growth, community and friendship. Our boarding prepares young people for a successful future by challenging them to strive for excellence in all aspects of their life and learning. “A wide range of fun and interesting activities are organised for boarders on both weekdays and weekends. All meals available to boarders are healthy and nutritious and prepared by an onsite chef with all dietary requirements catered for. Our on-site laundry takes care of all laundry needs and our own nursing team offers excellent medical care.” Assumption College has rethought the way it delivers its curriculum, too. The traditional four-year experience across Years 7 to 10 has been replaced with a ground-breaking ‘myMAP’ program. This is a program aimed to foster mastery, autonomy and purpose, to enable a culture of connection, ownership and engagement with learning. Students set learning to their pace, targets and itinerary. The Year 7 transition experience enables students to engage with learning domains across all areas of the Victorian curriculum. It provides students, parents and teachers with a year of learning to better understand their goals, interests and capacity for future learning. The Year 7 Quaere program creates opportunities for stronger connections and engagement with learning. Programs and activities have been designed to educate for the future within a fast-paced, ever-changing world. The Assumption College community, students, staff, alumni and parents makes it special and unique. Our college is welcoming and inclusive and accepting of all faith backgrounds. Our school seeks to provide a genuine, safe and rewarding experience. Students enjoy smaller class sizes and an individualised learning experience that gives them choice and an abundance of opportunities. Feel the spirit for yourself and ignite your child’s love of learning. To discuss the exciting prospect of your child enrolling into our boarding program or to book a tour, contact our college registrar.
Assumption College, Sutherland Street, Kilmore Inquiries: 03 5783 5000 Email: registrar@assumption.vic.edu.au Website: assumptioncollege.vic.edu.au Facebook: AssumptionCollegeKilmore
Join our BOARDING COMMUNITY VACANCIES AVAILABLE AVAILABLE 2023 VACANCIES 2023
Our co-educational boarding program offers contemporary, boutique living spaces complemented by a specialised personal program of development. Each of our three boarding houses accommodates 24 students. All have their own bedrooms, which are bright, warm and comfortable with king-single beds, desks, generous wardrobes and storage areas. Each house has a dedicated kitchen, dining room and recreation area, all with Wi-Fi access.
More information visit: assumption.vic.edu.au