Dear Boarding Parents

We are now approaching the end of week 5 and I am hopeful that we are now finally starting to settle into new routines and that new Boarders are finding their place. We’re having a very busy time with a lot of very enjoyable activity occurring. Please see the following being points of note at this time.

New Boarders

This term we have welcomed 32 new Boarders to the House. I take this opportunity to extend a very warm welcome to their families and extend an invitation to join us at some point either for a meal or a cuppa when you are in Dunedin. The new Boarders are all settling in well and we are enjoying having them here with us and getting to know them. It’s really pleasing for us to see how quickly the new Boarders have immersed themselves in the extra-curricular activities available.

Prep / Tutoring

Over the next few weeks, our focus at prep time will be on making sure that each Boarder has a study planner and keeping herself organised using the planner as a guide. Mrs West is facilitating this process supported by House RA’s.

Maths tutorials are now underway at School, occurring before school on Wednesdays and after school each Thursday.

Boarders are also able to sign up for peer support tutoring by making contact with the Head of House – Ashlee Turner.

A student teacher (Ms Perese) will also be working with us to support Boarders with their homework during prep time.

Boarders are also utilising on-line tutoring effectively. Sites that you might like to consider making available to your daughter include Maths Buddy www.mathsbuddy.co.nz and Learn Coach www.learncoach.co.nz. If you do make this option available to your daughter and she is having difficulty working out how it fits with the curriculum, please let me know so I can resolve this with her.

Teachers at school are available for support also.

Access to Laptops at weekends for those in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10

I have had a question from a parent relating to access to laptops at weekends.

From the commencement of the current school year, for those in years 7, 8, 9 and 10 access to laptops at weekends, has been restricted to being available to complete study and finish/carry on with school tasks. Where this activity is occurring, we have a quiet space available in the House specifically for this task.

At no time have we indicated to Boarders a blanket ban at weekends. If laptops are required for any purpose other than study or to complete school tasks, a conversation with the Shift Supervisor is required to confirm appropriate use. There will also be times when it will be totally appropriate for some quiet timeout to watch a movie on a laptop which the Shift Supervisor will facilitate.

This stance has been taken in an effort to prevent social isolation and to support appropriate use of social media.

There are no access restrictions in place for those Boarders in years 11, 12 and 13.

House Activities

While our senior Boarders appear to be keeping themselves busy without too much involvement from staff, our junior boarders have been out and about with RA’s. The “Amazing Race” was a great way for girls to get to know others in their house group (congratulations “Braemar” on their win) while also enjoying and learning about key sights around Dunedin. 

New Boarders have had a run up Baldwin Street, a visit to the Botanical Gardens, Signal Hill, Otago University and most importantly a stop off at “Rob Roy Dairy”, home of Dunedin’s biggest ice creams. Trips to the pool have included the Moana pool and the Salt Water pool. Movie nights on weekends with plenty of popcorn have been enjoyable also.

School Sports Day provided an opportunity for a House chanting competition which also enabled new Boarders to learn the chants in preparation for the big day. Congratulations to “Girton” on their win; they were loud and proud!! 

The RA’s are up bright and early each morning letting Boarders out for their early morning activities. There is a large group attending the Elite Fitness in the school sports centre, rowing training is in full swing in the lead up to SISS and Maadi Cup regattas, plus Boarders are also participating in early morning sessions at gyms in town.

Last weekend 48 Boarders enjoyed seeing the Highlanders win their game v’s Reds. We’ll be cheering them on at the Stadium again in two weeks time when the Highlanders take on the Crusaders.

School sporting commitments take care of quite a few on Saturdays now so House activities tend to be on Sunday. This weekend we’re looking forward to a picnic lunch at the Botanical Gardens while enjoying a community concert.

GoCard for Bus Trips

New Boarders in Years 7, 8 and 9 have been shown how to safely walk into town and how to get the bus back up the hill again. We have also explained how the bus timetable works, where to get on and off buses and how to get information about bus services if they are not sure. Consequently, there is no need for Boarders to be using taxis for this purpose.

As an alternative to the girls having to carry cash for a bus fare and to obtain a discounted fare, an alternative is to purchase a GoCard. GoCards are available from the Dunedin City Council information centre in the Octagon.

Transportation of Boarders to Activities away from the House

When school vans are available for us to use; we have been working through a trial to see if this is something that we can manage while also identifying where the bottle necks are. We are now at a point where a pattern is becoming evident and we are developing a roster to keep this going.

I doubt that we will be able to meet all the transport needs to and from activities away from the House, but it will be significantly more than that occurring in the past. Where we are not able to meet all needs, priority will be with groups (rather than single transfers) and the transporting of junior boarders.

The staffing required and vehicle costs are not included in the boarding fee paid, so when a service is introduced permanently a fee will apply. Feasibility is not yet complete, but current indication suggests a fee approximately 1/3rd of the taxi cost. Given a fee will be payable, the service will not be compulsory for Boarders to use. This is purely an option to mitigate some of the cost associated with taxi use.

School priority over vans also means that transport will not always be available to the House to use.

Clothing

We are having an issue with misplaced clothing that more often than not is not named. Already we have a large basket of unclaimed, unnamed clothing. If your daughter indicates that an item is missing, please ask her to check the lost property.

We would also be very grateful if you would please ensure that all clothing that comes to the House is named.

When Boarders return home if you notice that your daughter has clothing that does not belong to her can you please ask that item(s) be returned to the rightful owner or to a member of staff. Thank you for your co-operation with this.

Board of Trustees / Board of Governors / Sports Council / PTA

Columba College has two Boards as a part of its governance structure. The Board of Trustees has primary responsibility for teaching and learning; the Board of Governors has primary responsibility for the Special Character of Columba College, Property and the Boarding House.

Trustees are elected by the school community. Governors are appointed via an application and selection process.

This year both Boards will be seeking new members.

If you would like to know more and or details relating to the application process for the Board of Governors, you are welcome to contact me.

The Sports Council and PTA are also on the lookout for new members.

Involvement in all these areas is a great way for Parents to meet others from the wider school community and to contribute to the School and House in a meaningful way.

Harry’s Hoot

On Friday 15 March we are looking forward to getting together with all the other Boarders of Dunedin’s 4 boarding schools for “Harry’s Hoot”.

“Harry’s Hoot” is a fundraising concert at Tolcarne Boarding Hostel, the home of St Hilda’s Boarders. Mako Road will be performing, and all proceeds raised will be going to the wee boy pictured below – Harry Finch. Some of our junior Boarders got to meet Harry at the beach day we enjoyed with St Hilda’s Boarders at the end of last year.

Harry Finch is the son of Bex Finch – one of the Supervisors at Tolcarne. Harry has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy since he was 6 weeks old. Ollie, his twin brother, and Harry developed twin to twin syndrome, which caused them to be born prematurely at 29 weeks. Unfortunately, Harry had two seizures when he was born due to the stress he was under from being the donor twin.

Harry has cerebral palsy spastic diplegia in the muscles of his legs, making walking and other things difficult and sometime painful. Harry has just turned 3 and is not yet able to stand or walk independently.

Harry has been accepted for surgery in USA called “Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy”, which will eliminate his spasticity in his legs and allow him the best chance to walk independently. The surgery and physio that follows is not funded in New Zealand.

“Harry’s Hoot” will be a festival style concert with the band playing on a truck looking out onto the Tolcarne driveway and lawns. There will be food stalls, Harry’s Hero Clothing, raffles and activities for the Boarders attending to enjoy. This is a “boarding schools'” only event, so only Otago Boys High School, John McGlashan College, St Hilda’s and Columba College Boarders and staff have been invited to attend.

The ticket price is $25 which will be charged to the school account of those that choose to attend. All proceeds from “Harry’s Hoot” will go towards Harry’s trip to the USA. We are hoping to raise between $9,000 - $11,000.

We hope this will be a good fun way for all of our boarding school communities to come together for a worthy cause. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Columba College Fair

One of the annual highlights of the School calendar is the Fair; this year to be held on Saturday 30 March.

Two years ago, the Smith family from Winton were kind enough to facilitate a “Petting Zoo”. The Fair committee are very keen to offer this initiative again. If you are planning to attend the school fair and would be happy to facilitate a “Petting Zoo” for this year’s fair, please let me know and I will connect you up with the Fair committee.

Upper Clutha A & P Show – Wanaka

The Wanaka Show is scheduled for Friday 8 March and Saturday 9 March. Mrs Pauline Duthie, Mrs Caroline Rowe and myself will be at the show and extend a very warm welcome to all Columba families (past and present) to come visit the Columba College site.

On the Friday afternoon, at the conclusion, we have a social event with John McGlashan College at their site that you are welcome to join us for also.

I’ll finish off now with some photos from recent events that I hope you enjoy.

Kind regards

Mrs Marianne Parks