Director of Boarding

Megan Christie

Term Two has been a challenging time for our boarding community. In Week 6 we were so excited to see many of our day students return for face-to-face classes back on campus. Unfortunately, many of our boarding students were not able to return to school. Our Papua New Guinea girls could not enter Australia and our girls from remote locations in Queensland had restrictions in place to protect the safety of their communities.

St Patrick’s College boarders continued to learn from home for the second half of Term Two. I am immensely proud of these students, especially those who worked independently and diligently to complete their school work online or their paper-based learning packs. I also want to acknowledge the mentoring work done by our wonderful boarding supervisors, Miss Amanda, Miss Alex, Miss Amos, Miss Susan and Miss Erin during this term. Our girls are so lucky to have such caring and compassionate women in the their lives. To our girls still at home, we want to let you know that school has not been the same without you and we have missed you greatly.

Since welcoming some of our boarders back, we have had to be creative with our weekend activities to adhere to the Queensland Health social distancing restrictions. Outdoor activities were permitted, so for the last few weeks of term our boarders have gotten a lot of fresh air! New day trip locations have included Balgal Beach and Alligator Creek. Fishing at the Strand has also been popular. We hosted our first Paint Party. The boarders displayed their creative talents painting one of the world’s most beautiful sea creatures, the marine turtle, a timely theme with World Ocean Day on Monday 8 June, 2020.

With three of our staff about to head off on maternity leave the girls held a baby shower in the Boarding House, enjoying cupcakes and games. Ms Woods, Ms Towers and Ms Zagami were also presented with tie-dyed baby clothes made by students at the Boarding House.

I am pleased to inform our families that the College will reopen for all boarding students to return for the start of Term 3. As previously advised, there are very specific requirements for boarding facilities set down by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) about risk management for boarding schools that we must adhere to. The College has carried out a detailed risk assessment and planning to manage the transmission and risk posed by COVID-19 using good hygiene and physical distancing practices.

As per the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) Statement Risk Management for Re-opening Boarding Schools, the decision for a Boarder to return to the Boarding House should be a shared decision that involves the parents/guardians of the boarder, with a clear understanding of the current situation and the College’s proposed Risk & Outbreak Management Plan.

An email is being sent to boarding families with the Boarding COVID-19 Risk & Outbreak Management Plan attached and St Patrick’s College Townsville Boarding House COVID-19 Operations & Parent Agreement attached.Families will be required to please sign and acknowledge these documents to enable the return of your daughter to our facility, under these conditions from Term 3.

We have also been asked by the Townsville Public Health Unit to strongly recommend to our families that they vaccinate their daughters against Influenza prior to returning to the Boarding House.Please don’t hesitate to contact the College if you have any questions about this time of COVID-19.

Take care and be well.