This week’s Star Boarder comes without any contest – Daisy D (Year 7) has had a wonderful first few weeks in the Boarding House and has settled in very quickly. She has become a strong member of our community and is becoming more confident by the day. Daisy works diligently on her prep every evening and takes part in all the activities on offer. As her French teacher, I was most impressed by her ability to play Guess Who in the Boarding House with one of our few French speakers. We even played together and the whole game went in French. It was an extremely rewarding moment for me and a moment of realisation for Daisy that she was actually capable of communicating in a foreign language with native speakers. Daisy was also made a member of the Boarding Council this week after brilliantly and creatively presenting her ideas to the boarding team. Well done Daisy!
The Boarding Council is composed of 4 pupils. Alice HM (Year 8), our wonderful Senior Boarder, automatically gets a seat in the council. Along with Daisy, the two other pupils who have most impressed us with their speeches and ideas were Toby C (Year 7) and Bea W (Year 8). I would like to thank all the boarders who have showed an interest in being members of the Boarding Council. It shows how happy they are and a willingness to get involved in the life of the Boarding House and its boarders. Well done all! Please remember that not being selected does not mean that your voice will not be heard. You are still more than welcome to talk to any members of the boarding team or boarding council to share your ideas and points of view.
Members of council’s Roles:
Boarders are actively encouraged to contribute views to the operation of boarding provision. They are able to raise concerns and make complaints, and their views are given appropriate weight in decisions about the running of the school. Boarders share their ideas with the council members who will then share them with Mr Baurance during Boarding Council Meetings.
Senior Boarders’ Roles:
On top of their role as members of the boarding council, Senior Boarders are allocated specific duties and responsibilities that are appropriate for them, with adequate staff supervision, training and measures to counter possible abuses of the role. One of their duties is to supervise boarders when using the Games Room.
This week I have decided to introduce new evening and morning routines in the Boarding House to better fit the needs of our boarders. The new timings will start on Monday 7th October. The changes are minor but will give children more time to get ready in the morning and more time to enjoy activities together in the evening. Bed times have not changed so please do not worry, your child(ren) will not lose any sleep. New routines will be available shortly in the boarders and parents handbooks which can be downloaded from the school website.
It is now too late to book for the Big Superheroes Boarding Sleepover taking place on Friday 11th October. Parents will receive a confirmation email telling them if their child(ren)’s names have come out of the hat and giving some extra information about the evening.
As you know already, on Wednesday 11th December, the boarding house is organising a trip to the pantomime Beauty and the Beast at the Northcott Theatre in Exeter. Bookings for this event are still available on the Portal and appear in Week 15.
Please do not hesitate to contact the boarding team at [email protected] if you have any questions about boarding or if you would like to make a booking.
Yours sincerely,
Mr Baurance
Head of Boarding and Head of Languages
