Vol 07 | Quarterly Magazine Issue 03 | September 2014 CONFERENCE EDITION 2014 Gold Coast Conference is Here! CONTENTS Taking the Plunge 02 Taking the Plunge 04 Three New Boarding Houses From Boarding School to Uni 06 Mandatory Notification of Abuse 09 Royle Appeal 12 The Level of Distraction 12 21st Century Spirituality AUTHOR From the locker rooms at boarding school to Nikki Todd the locker room of the Wallabies as the guest 13 Kindness and Togetherness Bond University of Australian great John Eales, Bond Univer- 14 New Principals & Heads of sity scholar Benjamin Hunt has come a long way in the last few months. Boarding 16 The Power and Art of Rapport A Year 12 student at St Ignatius’ College, Riv- erview in 2013 where he captained the 1st XV Building Rugby side, Ben was one of two outstanding students awarded the inaugural John Eales 18 “Andragogy” or “A Sharde Vision” rugby Excellence Scholarship at Bond Uni- 20 Naming Your Schools’ Social Media versity this year. Channels The scholarship, which includes one-on-one 22 Using Creativity to Teach mentoring from arguably Australia’s best ever Wallaby captain John Eales, was introduced Sustainability to celebrate the University’s 25th Anniversary 24 REACHing the Endpoint in 2014 and comes as a result of the institu- tion’s status as the official Education Partner 26 Happy Holidays of the Australian Rugby Union. 28 Habitual “The scholarship is fantastic, I couldn’t ask for 29 Providing Practical Wisdom for our anything more. It is everyone’s dream to be mentored by John Eales,” Ben said. Boarders 32 Boarders Set the Tone “I can ring him up whenever I need his advice – it is just invaluable to have his knowledge 35 A Word from the Chairman and experience as a support.” Ben and fellow John Eales scholarship recipi- ON THE COVER ent Douglas MacMillan, were lucky enough Gold Coast, Queensland to be the guest of John Eales in Brisbane re- cently when the Wallabies took on France at CONTACT US Suncorp Stadium. Australian Boarding Schools The two Bond students received a private Association Ltd. tour of the stadium before the game, includ- Postal: PO Box 5569, Brendale DC, ing of the players’ hall and their locker room Qld, 4500 before the Test. Office: Unit 6, 3 Hinkler Court, Brendale, Qld, 4500 “A few years ago I couldn’t have imagined I’d P + 61 7 3205 4940 be standing in the Wallabies locker room with F + 61 7 3205 6567 one of the most influential international rugby E [email protected] captains to have ever played the game,” said www.boarding.org.au Ben, whose grandfather was a Wallaby in the 1950s. EDITOR Richard Stokes, Executive Director, “The experience was surreal, especially when Australian Boarding Schools Association John asked us to share some of our experi- ences as a rugby player, such as the impor- tance of representing your Schools, State or GRAPHIC DESIGN nation. Infusion Promotions www.infusionpromotions.com.au “We then moved from the locker room out onto the field, where the grass was like car- PRINTING pet. I just kept thinking how much I would Print Works love to be out there and how amazing it must www.printworks.net.au feel to be a Wallaby.” 2 Taking the Plunge From Boarding School to Uni Growing up in Bathurst in country NSW, Ben, 19, credits much of his success on the field and in the classroom to his years as a boarder at Riverview where he completed Years 11 and 12. “Boarding for me was fantastic,” Ben said. “I found it a great way to develop a close re- lationship with my fellow students in a short period of time. The boarders stick together and look after each other a lot more.” “It has put me in good stead for coming up here to Bond because I’m a lot more inde- pendent and productive in working by myself. Boarding school helps you to grow up that much quicker, you have to rely on yourself more than on Mum and Dad.” “Bond is very personal with its smaller class- “It was a rooms – it is very similar to a school environ- “It was a huge step-up with academics and ment where the lecturers actually care about huge sports but I think that step-up pushed me to you and know you by name. It is a lot more work harder and develop my character and comforting and they genuinely care, it defi- determine the benchmark of where I need to nitely helps me stay focussed.” step-up be.” Bond University will once again offer its pres- with academics Ben’s achievements on the field, which in- tigious John Eales Rugby Excellence Scholar- clude selection in the NSW Greater Public ship to two outstanding young rugby union and sports Schools (GPS) team before injury cut short stars in 2015. ” his chances of Australian schoolboys’ selec- tion, are matched in the classroom where he The goal of the scholarship is to prepare is studying Sports and Exercise Science at the individual for life beyond rugby with an Bond University. internationally-recognised degree in the dis- cipline of the student’s choice, enhanced by “I’m really enjoying my studies here, Sports the global networks, industry connections and Exercise Science is really suited to my and work experience opportunities for which personality,” Ben said. Bond University is renowned. Bond’s commitment to personalised learning, coupled with a low student-to-staff ratio, al- low its elite athletes to continue training and competing at the highest level while gaining tertiary qualifications in preparation for their post-sport careers. The successful awardees will commence study at Bond in January 2015 and spend their rugby season with the Bond University Rugby Club playing at the highest level in Queensland throughout the duration of their degree. Applications for next year’s Bond University John Eales Rugby Excellence Scholarship close on September 30, 2014. Visit: bond.edu.au/study-at-bond/scholar- ships/australian-applicants 3 Three New Boarding Houses for Assumption College, Kilmore AUTHOR Stephen Calvert Publications Officer Assumption College The sun broke through an overcast sky as ter of Br Sylvester Mannes, an Assumption Br Michael Green, National Director of Marist principal of the 1950s; and O’Connor, after Schools Australia, officially opened Assump- Eamonn O’Connor, a boarder from the class tion College, Kilmore’s three new boarding of 2011 and captain of the First XVIII, who houses on Sunday, March 30. Beforehand, died last year. they were blessed by former boarder Fr Mi- chael Kelly CSsR assisted by Director of Members of the O’Connor family attended Boarding Jeremy Holt and the Boarding Cap- the ceremony along with Paul Herrick, Re- tains, Jesse Soulsby and Rochelle Shannon. gional Director of Marist Schools Australia; various Marist Brothers; staff and students; The houses are named Redden, after Br parents and many alumni including Damian Austin Redden, the previous registrar and Drum, Victorian Minister for Sport and Recre- a learning enhancement teacher at the Col- ation and Veterans’ Affairs. lege; Mannes after Gertrude Mannes, the first female teacher at ACK who taught here for During his address, Br Michael spoke about more than 30 years and who was the sis- the importance of “family” in Marist educa- 4 Three New Boarding Houses for Assumption College, Kilmore tion. He said the term comes straight from St Marcellin who believed schools should have a family spirit. He conceded, however, that over the years, because of a lack of money and the large numbers of students, sometimes boarding schools became “hard places, tough places”. But he said, “In recent years we’ve rediscov- ered family spirit and Assumption is, by build- ing these wonderful facilities, leading the way in that. “This is the style of boarding program that Marcellin would have wonderfully applauded because it’s human in its scale… it creates family.” Each house accommodates supervisors and their families and 24 boarders with a mixture of single, double and quad spaces. Each stu- dent has a wardrobe, storage space and a personal desk with Wi-Fi access. Principal Michael Kenny said that it was “with genuine excitement” that he stood in front of Registrar Bernie Jephson was MC and the magnificent new boarding houses “which closed proceedings thanking all those who will provide outstanding accommodation for had helped make the opening a success. rural students for many years to come”. At the start of the ceremony he’d quipped, “Welcome to sunny Kilmore”. Luckily the rain stayed away and the sun shone through as Br Michael began unveiling the boarding house “This is the plaques. style of boarding program that Marcellin would have wonderfully applauded because it’s human in its scale” 5 Mandatory Notification of Abuse - Increase in Obligations on Boarding School Staff AUTHOR Andrew Knott Special Counsel TressCox Lawyers keeping children safe MANDATORY NOTIFICATION OF ABUSE - indication of the sources of such obligations INCREASE IN OBLIGATIONS ON BOARD- and emphasise the importance to boarding ING SCHOOL STAFF school staff of ensuring that they are sensitive to the issue and know how to act and where to obtain assistance. The purpose of this article is to raise aware- ness among boarding school staff of the The general duty of care important, indeed critical, issue of ensuring The general duty of care in relation to students that staff members are aware of and comply in respect of whom boarding house staff have with their obligations in relation to mandatory responsibilities itself always raises the issue notification of abuse (sexual or otherwise) of as, when a person becomes of know or sus- students.