News

2022 has come to an end for all the young ladies at boarding. It has been an experience in watching them change throughout this semester. Friendships is always a tricky path to travel along especially when they are still trying to work out who they are and living with each other 24/7. However, in saying this it wonderful to see how they young ladies have matured and are starting to use some of the skills they have learned during their PCP sessions at school. We celebrated Christmas as a boarding family and all the young ladies received a small gift from Mrs Clause. The dining room was decorated all things Christmas and the meal prepared by Chief Clare was a traditional Christmas dinner with ham, turkey, pavlova, trifle, jelly ice-cream and of course lollies. The evening was full of laughter and yes, I am sorry to say sugar. Some of the young ladies took a little longer to settle that evening. It reminded me of when my two daughters were growing up and how they would be so hyped up after a good Christmas meal (mainly lollies). [easy-image-collage id=20022] The Boarding mums have been doing a fantastic job in helping the ladies pack up their rooms. It is amazing how much one can gather over the year. Some parents I am sure may have needed a trailer to take everything home. We did open Teresa House where the girls were able to store some of their items. The young ladies had their final Recreational activities for 2022. These included a drive and walk through the city looking at the Christmas lights, the Sand castle building workshop as well as a movie night on the greens (sloped grass between the houses). Another eventful experience for all who participated. [easy-image-collage id=20023]    

We ended Term 3 with the first of many celebrations for our Graduating Year 12 Girls of 2022. We had a lovely High Tea at “Lavender Bistro and Boutique”. The girls were thrilled to have Father McMahon, Principal Mrs Parker, Year 12 Team Leader Mrs Cumpsty, Ms Hepi, Mrs Byrne and Housemother Mrs Gill and Mrs O’Grady. Year 12 girls then returned to a fun-filled night, the year 11 girls were hosting a “Farewell to Year 12’s” evening, and all the Boarding Girls attended in their PJs and take their doonas. The girls are presented with a slideshow of photos of the graduating class, and each girl receives a gift presented by a Year 11 girl with some kind words about a fun time or a memorable moment in their Boarding journey. Well done, Year 11 girls, for a great night Mercy Dinner was celebrated in our Dining Room, with special guests and our young ladies looking lovely. Thank you to our Principal for being our special guest speaker. Also, we must thank our Year 10 girls for waitressing on the tables, they were kept very busy serving the food and drinks all evening. Well done girls. Thank you to Chef Peter and his very capable kitchen staff for a beautifully presented 3 course meal that was delicious and truly appreciated by our guest’s and Boarding Community. Just when we thought we had it all planned for the end of term our Prime Minister thought he would spice things up for us by announcing a Public Holiday on the last day of term! A mad scramble was then done by staff and parents to change travel plans… Year 9 girls have had a Social at the Kalamunda Bowling Club, so they got to test their lawn bowling skills out, a fun night enjoyed by all that attended. The annual Sportsperson Awards night has been held and is was very pleasing to see our Boarding girls do very well in the awards presented in the various sports offered her at SBC. Well Done girls. We have also had a varied amount of Weekend Rec Activities on offer to the girls, that has included Scarborough Beach Markets, San Churros, AFLW games, Taco Bell, Lesmurdie Falls, Christmas Decoration making and the list goes on. Whilst I am on the subject of Weekend Rec, it would be pleasing to see more girls putting their names down for Rec, many events are cancelled purely because of lack of numbers. So, if your daughter is saying its boring on weekends, this is purely because they are choosing to be bored, so please encourage them to put their names down so we can take girls to all the events that we plan on a weekend. Some of our Year Eleven girls, attended the Out-Door Recreation Camp and from what we have heard they had a good time even though it was cold some mornings. We still have plenty to cover this term, with many more exciting events in the next few weeks, so until next time.   Kind Regards Donna, Lynn and Fiona  

As another term comes to a close, the girls are excited about going home to some much warmer weather than we have been having in Perth. In Term Three, the boarders enjoy many activities in and outside Boarding. From friendship bracelets, feathered keyrings, making gift boxes trying out their culinary skills in making scones with jam and cream and brownies in a cup. The young ladies love going to Alfred’s Kitchen for burgers, visiting Krispy Crème for some yummy doughnuts, and San Churros. Exploring the scientific world at Scitech, watching the AFLW game, and a trip to Araluen enjoying the smells of the flowers. On top of all this, some of the young ladies went Roller Skating and a leisurely walk to Lesmurdie Falls. There will be more exciting things in Term Four when the weather warms up, and the sun comes out for a while. Our hockey team did not make it into the finals, but they tried valiantly. In many games, they were soaked to the skin whilst playing. Well done, ladies, for continuing to play and always having a smile on your faces. At the end of Week 7, the Year 10/11/12 Boarders Ball, in conjunction with our brother school, Mazenod, was held in our SBC Gym. Approximately 80 students had a lovely time. All dressed up beautifully for their special night. Special thanks to our Head Boarders, Bridie D’Alton and Selena Thompson, plus Kyra Clayton and Madison Hall for their organizational skills and setting up on the night. Also, the volunteers their time to help out. It’s hard to believe that our Year 12’s have started their final days and are getting ready to graduate. The Boarding community said farewell to the Year Twelves with a High Tea at Lavender Bistro and Boutique in Caversham. Following tradition, the Year eleven’s put together a night to “Farewell to Year 12’s”, where they proudly displayed some information that the Year Twelve parents/guardians shared with the Boarding Mums. Let’s say there was a lot of laughing and happy tears. Congratulations to our 2023 Head Boarders Alisha Sadler and Kiera Watts and the councillors Cameron Loton and Juliet Nixon. We look forward to seeing all the Boarders back for Term Four on Monday 10th October from 3 pm, ready to start school on Tuesday the 11th.   Kind regards, Fiona Hepi, Donna Gill and Lynn-Maree Byrne

Welcome back for Semester 2! We hope you all had a lovely time with your girls at home. It was great to see them as they returned to Boarding, catching up with their boarding friends and talking about all the things they did while they were home.  We welcomed a new member to Catherine House, Oscar the fish.   This semester sees three news Roles in Boarding. Mrs Judith Cumpsty has been in the role of Acting Head of Boarding throughout Semester 1. She has ensured that our students have had a smooth transition and has provided excellent care for your daughters. She has now decided to relinquish this role and take up other duties at the College. We thank Mrs Cumpsty for her dedication to the role and for all she has done in Boarding this year. For the rest of this year, Ms Fiona Hepi will be the Director of Boarding, and we congratulate Mrs Lynn-Maree-Maree Byrne and Ms Donna Gill on their new roles as the Co-Assistants to the Director of Boarding. They are both highly experienced and knowledgeable and will provide a continuity of the high standard of care we deliver in our Boarding House. This means that Mrs Byrne and Ms Gill will assume the responsibilities of the day-to-day running of the Boarding House, as they did during Mrs Cumpsty’s absence in Term 2. Donna and Lynn-Maree-Maree will continue to be the house mother in their current houses and fill their current role as Co-Assistants to the Director of Boarding. If you would like to speak to Donna or Lynn-Maree-Maree please call 0457 518 349. The Co-Assistants will ensure that your daughter/s’s needs are met, and Fiona, Donna and Lynn-Maree-Maree will monitor the new email address of DirectorofBoarding@stbrigids.wa.edu.au. About our Boarding Mothers Donna Gill started at SBC in 2011 as the SBC “A” Grade hockey coach, where she would pick the Boarders up for training each week and went on to win the Grand Final! The Head of Boarding approached Donna at the time about working as a House Mum. She had just completed her studies and successfully become a Professional Counsellor—what better way to use these skills than working with teenage girls in a Boarding environment. Donna started her journey as a Casual Housemother as she still had children at school. Donna’s eldest daughter did two years as a Boarder at SBC, and her son did one year at Mazenod college before they moved to Perth. Donna then became Full time and was appointed Team Leader in 2014. Due to her children attending Boarding, Donna can relate to all the challenges of having a child in Boarding, away from the family home, that may arise. Lynn-Maree-Maree Byrne started as a House Mother at St Brigid’s Boarding in 2008. She has been a Team Leader since 2014 and is delighted and excited to be able to take on this added responsibility in the care of our Boarders. Lynn-Maree has worked in all our boarding houses and with all-year groups. She has been in Mercy House for the past three years. Lynn-Maree loves to do craft activities with the girls and take them on adventures. As she was born and lived in the country till 1992, she has spent the last 30 years in the city but counts herself as a “country girl, who just happens to live in the city”. Her favourite thing about being a House Mother is seeing the girls arrive as young girls and blossom into lovely, mature, respectful and well-educated young ladies. Lynn-Maree loves to see the “old girls” come back for reunions and provide tours of Boarding. They are always excited to see the changes made over the years. Donna and Lynn-Maree are “Country Girls” born and bred in small country towns. They look forward to their new role and will endeavour to keep your girls happy and healthy and provide your daughter with an enjoyable Boarding experience at SBC. We would also like to introduce you to our newest house mother, Sarskia Hawkins who started last term, not long after making the big move from QLD to WA. She grew up on the Gold Coast and has absolutely loved the change of scenery here in Perth. Sarskia started her journey working with young people in 2018 as a Cabin Leader at an American summer camp in Minnesota! Were she had so much fun throughout her time there (although not much sleep) and it solidified that she wanted to continue working with young people. After coming back and settling into normal life again she worked as an Educator at Robina State Primary and while there she decided to start studying a Bachelor of Community Welfare at Southern Cross University and is about half way through the course. Each of these experiences have led her here to boarding and she feels so privileged to be a part of the girls lives and to be able help them. She has loved her short time here at boarding and is looking forward to the rest of the year.   A recent trip to the Kalamunda Vinnies Op Shop and Aldi was lots of fun. The girls were so excited to be able to purchase some clothing and give them another life. The winter jackets were trendy.   Upcoming House Mothers Recreation for August are: Each weekend we try to offer something specifically for each year group. Manicures and Pedicures, Makeup/Music & Meditation, Games night, Father’s Day & Male cards, making scones, Bingo Night, walk to Lesmurdie Falls, bookmarks, and Friendship bracelets. This will be offered along with other Recreation outside of Boarding. We have recently provided all the boarding houses with Netflix on the house television. We hope this will bring the girls together to watch shows in the common areas. It will also lessen the data downloads that the girls use on their laptops. Boarders Long Weekend Boarders Long Weekend is fast approaching, though it seems we have just returned from the end of the semester holidays. Boarding will be closed from 5 pm on Thursday 18th August at the end of Week 5. The deadline for getting leave-in is Monday 8th August. This allows staff to collate all the leave and arrange for transport to East Perth Train Station and the Airports. We would appreciate it if you put your leave form in on REACH as soon as possible, even if you pick your daughter/s up and do not require boarding transport. REACH leave – If you are putting in leave for your daughter/s, please pop in as much information as possible. If going on City/Midland/Carousel leave with another girl/s, we require the name of the girl that will be going with your daughter/s. That way, we can match up the two or more leave forms and approve them much quicker. Just a reminder that leave forms should be no later than 9 am on Thursday mornings. Thank you in advance for your consideration of this.   Kind regards Fiona, Donna and Lynn-Maree

It has been a great start to Term Two, with the students pleased that many of the restrictions that were in place in Term One were lifted. It is so nice to see everyone’s face properly, and for the whole Boarding House to be able to have dinner together. However, a reminder to everyone to keep sanitising, social distancing and letting people know when you are not feeling well. The easing of restrictions also means that we are looking to offer a wider variety of Rec activities on the weekends over the coming months. A reminder that students need to sign up for these on Monday and Tuesday, pay for any expenses on Wednesday, and stick to the commitment made. It has been so pleasing to see so many students taking part in the wide variety of sporting and exercise options available to them. Three-quarters of the Boarding House is participating in Netball, Hockey or Football over the weekend – with several girls doing two of these sports. We still have basketball running on a Monday night too. There is also a range of activities being offered at school – with Run Club, Athletics training, Floorball and Dance amongst many different opportunities.  And of course, there is always the gym and the pool, both of which are still being used regularly by the Boarders. Doing some sort of movement and exercise is so important for the girl’s mental health, as well as keeping them physically healthy.  This then helps with their concentration in class and with their studies. Well done everyone! We are also finding that several girls are feeling homesick as we commence the beginning of Term. Please reassure them that there is nothing wrong or unusual in feeling like that. I remember seeing a quote once that said; ‘if you are feeling homesick, it simply means you came from a happy home’. Some tips on helping the girls can include: Encourage them to get involved – whether it through sport, friends or activities Remind them why they are at boarding school, and the opportunities it can offer Try not to ring them just before bedtime. We find after school or earlier in the evening works well if possible, as then the girls have time to settle down and sort themselves out prior to going to sleep And remember, quite often after they have been crying to you, we see them running around and laughing with their friends. So do keep the House Mother in the loop, just so she can keep an extra eye on your daughter. The older girls are now really settling into their studies for the term.  Some of the Year 12 students have just finished their Externally Set Tasks (ESTs), whilst many others have exams looming in the next few weeks. We wish them all luck with their studies, remembering that the earlier you start, the less stressful it will be. If you need help, you can access your House Mum, your Year Team Leader, the Career Counsellor, or any of your teachers of individual subjects. There are plenty of people happy to assist. Here is hoping that everyone has a fantastic Term Two! Judith Cumpsty Head of Boarding

Whilst Term One has offered many challenges for our Boarders and staff, it has also been a term with many highlights! One of the biggest things I have noticed this year is that the Boarding community truly is a second family for our students. The girls look after each other as they would a sibling, with occasional arguments, but they eventually always make up and become friends again in no time. It is so lovely to watch the girls care for each, tell staff when they are worried about someone and generally be there for each other.  This has been so important in what has been an interrupted and sometimes stressful term. [easy-image-collage id=18165] We have managed to do some activities out and around Perth, and though, at times, these have been limited, the girls have still had fun.  We went to the beach, had ice-creams, visited the Kalamunda night markets, been shopping and visited the sculptures by the sea.  There has also been plenty of weekend activities at boarding – including all things craft, making a Brownie in a mug, a movie night and finishing off the term with Karaoke.  Thanks to all the regulars who participate, I encourage students to stay in occasionally on the weekend and join in on what is on offer.  Hopefully, the variety of what we can do will open up more in Term Two. It has also been imposing watching the exercise and sports that many students are doing.  When I get to boarding early in the morning, I am passed by students going for their morning run or going to the gym.  Many in the afternoon visit the gym or the swimming pool.  We also have girls participating in Basketball, horse riding, gymnastics, callisthenics, kickboxing and more.  And once we get into Term Two, it feels like most of the Boarding House will be playing Netball, Hockey or Football. “In your brain, exercise stimulates chemicals that improve your mood and the parts of the brain responsible for memory and learning” (healthdirect.gov.au). If your daughter would benefit from more exercise or sport – please speak to a House Mum about what to get involved with. I hope you all have a lovely holiday together, and here’s hoping to lessen restrictions and more fun for the girls in Term Two! Judith Cumpsty Head of Boarding