B OA RDIN G F EATU RE
A HOME AWAY FROM HOME With few Senior Leadership roles available for Year 13s, the role of Head of Boarding at Rangi stands apart as one of the special few. The Boarding House at Rangi is more than a house – it is a home. A safe and special place for our girls who come from other areas across the country or even overseas. It’s not often that a Senior Leadership role runs in the family, however for Roberta and Emma Schroder – this Mother/Daughter duo have a particularly special shared experience. Roberta took on the role of Head of Boarding in 1987 and Emma this year, 2020. We caught up with both Roberta and Emma to hear a little bit more about their experience Boarding in the “same house” albeit different years…
Roberta Could you tell us about your time at Rangi and your experiences as a Boarder and Head of Boarding in your final year?
It was a privilege to be at Rangi and a massive privilege to be Head of Boarding. The most special occasion during my role as Head of Boarding was to speak at the opening of St
Andrew’s Church at Rangi Ruru. My grandmother had been married in the same church where it was previously situated at the hospital. It was a very auspicious occasion. Te Koraha was our Boarding House for the first two years with its ancient corridors and all the different shaped rooms. Some terms we would be in a room with nine other girls and sometimes only with two. I remember being very homesick. We
were only allowed home every third weekend when the boarding house closed and had limited other leave to use throughout the year. The oldest part of the current Boarding House was built during our time at Rangi and boy was it flash! We had to do duties; with the least favourite being breakfast duty, where we had to get up early, cook the toast and lay everything out.
