Was hosted by Argyle House on Tuesday the 21st of November, in the Hostel Prep Room.

The New Zealand Boarding Schools’ Association is providing opportunities for boarding staff around NZ to attend workshops within their region, as a new initiative in 2023. 

14 staff from boarding schools in Auckland, Bay of Plenty and the Waikato attended the inaugural Regional Boarding Day.

Miss Jess Weller, a HBHS Guidance Counsellor, was the guest speaker, with a theme of 'Grief & Loss'.

Jess's presentation covered:

• Grief and Loss / Change we can’t control
• Traumatic Incident Processes
• Managing hysteria and mis-information when social media is involved
• Collective Grief - Friends getting tattoos / triggered by social media posts / missing their ‘bro’
• Supporting students and staff impacted
• Attending a tangi
• Supporting the whānau - their inclusion in school events and the normalisation of death in our school community - Athletics Day, House Haka Competition, Memorial Rugby Match
• Supporting the sibling of the student who passed and any other immediate whānau
• Impact on staff and how you supported each other
• The implementation of Orah and regular check in’s for students
• Staff mentoring students - creating that community of support where boys feel comfortable to talk to someone if they need to
• Grief and loss is not all about death - it can be about change that is out of your control
• Parents separating
• Friendship and relationship breakdowns / Conflict with peers
• Homesickness

Argyle House staff set the agenda, speaking to various topics under the theme of the “Wellbeing of our Boarders.”

Four well-being strategies our boys experience at Argyle were shared with the group, generating discussion.  

• Luke Katene: The effective use of Orah for monitoring the boys' wellbeing e.g. mood checks 
• Rahiti Teokotai-White: Senior Leaders' role in mentoring our young men.
• Andy Thomson: Providing the necessary academic support e.g. prep structure
• Murray McKenzie: The New Boarders' Induction Programme during Weeks 1-3 of Term 1

The day concluded at 2.00pm.