Boarding

The start of 2022 was an opportunity to reconsider our weekend opportunities for our boarders and look at what they are wanting to do, what will spark an interest in them, what is appropriate for their age bracket, what will provide the girls with balance to their busy school week and what will bring them new experiences and opportunity to connect with each other.

We created a term weekend activity programme; one for our Middle School girls and one for our Senior School girls allowing for age-appropriate activities. We maintained the firm favourite activities such as ice skating, Rollickin Gelato, cooking, trips to the beach and movies, but we also introduced new activities such as local markets, jewellery making, the Court Theatre and the new aqua park.

It was an opportunity to consider ‘what’s on’ in Christchurch and enjoy the local activities and entertainment provided by Christchurch City Council (CCC) where Covid-19 protocols allowed.

While we are conscious that the weekend is a time for all young people to catch up on sleep, connect with friends and stay up-to-date with homework, we are also aware that we want our boarders to have options during the weekend that provide them with fun and new opportunities. Our aim is to give boarders the balance of the outdoors and physical activity, along with rest and recuperation after a busy week at school.

We also plan to offer service opportunities and short courses, such as a barista course in our up-and-coming weekend programmes.

Students say:

“I really appreciate the weekend activities because even if we may not know it, it benefits us, we get to know each other and get comfortable with one another. It also gets us out of the house and away from our screens, which really benefits our well-being.” Qiana Selan “I really enjoy the weekend activities when we can spend time in the great weather outside going for a walk in the Botanic Gardens for a picnic, having an amazing time cruising through the Farmers Market with everyone buying delicious dumplings. Then I enjoy finishing our Saturday nights with movies and Dance Mums, a popular TV series in Julius House.” Lily Beaven Deanne Gath, Director of Boarding