A home away from home
Deanne Gath – Director of Boarding and International Deanne Gath is acutely aware how hard it can be for parents when their daughters head to boarding school.
“We know that girls are usually more emotional than
As the newly-appointed Director of Boarding at St
males so we need to be able to ride the emotions with
Margaret’s College, Deanne wants parents to feel
them. Being able to understand and respect how
secure in the knowledge that their girls are being
they’re feeling is crucial. There are a lot of changes
truly cared for.
happening for young people and we need to ensure
“Every girl is different, and brings her own gifts and
we have the right team to support them through
talents, which is just one of the delights of a boarding
those times.”
family! The most important thing to me is the
“Girls are communicators, they like to talk about things
happiness, wellbeing, safety and success of the girls.
so they can resolve issues.”
I want our boarding school to be somewhere that the girls don’t want to leave.”
Deanne receives great support in her new role from her boarding managers – Mary Quinn in Senior School,
“This is a home away from home that is positive,
Jean Thomson in Middle School and Ange Davidson
vibrant and fun.”
who is the day supervisor.
Having worked with teenagers for 20 years, Deanne
SMC has capacity for more than 170 boarders spread
has a unique understanding of the complexities young people face when living away from home whether domestic boarders or international students.
10
understands that young people have specific needs.
across its three houses; Julius for Years 7-10, Kilburn for Years 11-12, and the Cranmer Flats for the Year 13s. Domestic boarders are largely from the South Island
She has previously been International Director/
while current international students are from Vietnam,
Manager across three Christchurch schools – Kaiapoi
Japan, China, Korea and Papua New Guinea. There is
High School, Christ’s College and, most recently, SMC.
also the opportunity for temporary boarding, where
Before the Canterbury earthquakes, she was Homestay
day girls are able to board at key points in the year, for
Manager for a large local language school and earlier
example in the run up to performing arts productions
taught English in Japan for seven years, in the high
or sports tournaments, where they benefit from the
school and university sectors.
boarding houses’ location on campus.
With a son and two daughters of her own, aged 21, 19
Deanne encourages parents to visit their daughters
and 16 years (the first two were born in Japan), she
at any stage.
