Busy, positive start to the year Innovative isolation solution

Busy, positivestart to the year

Year 9 boarders during their Orientation Weekend.

The start of the year is always a fun time for new boarders, with highly anticipated activities such as the Orientation Weekend, and the Valentine’s Dinner, helping them to get settled in and make new friends.

Unfortunately, crowd-gathering restrictions due to the COVID-19 Protection Framework (Traffic Light System) meant neither of these larger combined events could go ahead. However, it was still a ‘busy and positive’ start to the year for boarders, says Director of Boarding, Matt Parr. “We started the year with a Year 9 Boarders’ Orientation Camp at Castle Hill, followed by the Thompson House Valentine’s Day Breakfast. The positivity of the boarders was great to see.” Fun activities organised by the boarding house tutors, also keep the boarders engaged and active, says Matt. “Around 40 boarders have been taking part in the weekly ‘BK Run’ with tutor, Jono Oxley, which is now a bit of a tradition. He takes them on a run from the College to Burger King on Papanui Road and back, and takes a ‘swim squad’ of around 20 boarders to weekly swimming lessons at Wharenui Pool.”

A group of 36 new Year 9 boarders, one Year 10, six Year 11, four Year 12s, and a Year 13 boarder joined the boarding community this year and have adapted well to the boarding way of life.

Matt says integrating new boarders, and helping them to feel welcomed and settled, starts well before they even arrive at the College. “We complete personal profiles on each new boarder and communicate with their family to ensure we are providing the best possible environment to suit their needs. Our prospective parents and caregivers tell us they appreciate how we get to know their children before they start.”

Shadow nights are also held in the latter part of each year, when students who are joining boarding the following year, spend a day and night at St Andrew’s to familiarise themselves with the environment.

Matt says the boarding houses at St Andrew’s College are far more than just a place to stay for boarders. “We constantly add value in a range of ways, such as our Prep (homework) programme, Academic Support programme, and the leadership opportunities we provide.”

Innovative isolation solution

When the Omicron variant of COVID-19 started sweeping through New Zealand, the boarding house management team came up with a novel way to manage impacted boarders, says Director of Boarding, Matt Parr. “It wasn’t always possible or practical for symptomatic boarders to go straight home. So to ensure they were isolated away from the rest of the boarding community while waiting on test results, or for their parents to collect them, we came up with the novel solution of isolating them in Tui campervans out the back of the boarding houses.”

In some cases, boarders slept in the campervans overnight, and Matt was impressed with how they adapted, both to the campervan isolation, and dealing with all of the changes presented by COVID-19. “Life in the boarding houses has been far from normal, with mask wearing inside, eating at different times, not able to do some of the usual fun stuff,

Oskar Trafford and Fergus Sidey (both Year 12) enjoying a treat put on for the boarders in early March, to recognise their great response to the challenges of COVID-19.

or mixing between floors. However the boarders’ response has been outstanding. They have been so compliant and coped well, despite all the challenges.”