BY RYAN TAYLOR, FINANCIAL LITERACY FOR YOUNG AUSTRALIANS* Children learn so much from parents. Unfortunately, managing money is a topic you will also need to teach your children about. However, it can be very easy to put them on the right track early on. Some of the best ways to teach your children about money include: 1. Pay an allowance for chores completed This is … [Read more...]
Stephanie Day: boarding is far from an easy option
Stephanie Day from Wagga Wagga is a mother of three children - Harry (finished 2014), Lachie (finished 2016), and Sophie (who will finish this year). In the transition to becoming a boarding parent, she opened her gallery, Paper Pear, clocking up an undisclosed number of kilometres as a boarding mum and 'Art Gypsy'. Loving it all, life got hectic. As our guest blogger this … [Read more...]
Amanda Ferrari: breaking the binds of tradition
Amanda Ferrari hails from Trangie, on the Central Western Plains of NSW. She’s still starry-eyed over the fact that she managed to snag a farmer, and has been married to Ross for 22 years. They have three children, twins Amy and Annabel, who are completing their university studies in Sydney. Both girls attended Abbotsleigh, and their youngest son, Oliver (Year 10) is at The … [Read more...]
Meeting the needs of contemporary boarders: Part 2
Continuing from our last blog post on the changing face of contemporary boarding, now we look specifically at the needs of boarders, and the expectations of their parents. In her research into the Australian boarding industry, Ascham School’s Head of Boarding Sue Newton has noted the needs of adolescents and their parents, along with parental expectations, are more complex … [Read more...]
The changing face of contemporary boarding: Part 1
The days of ice-cold showers in open area bathrooms, unidentifiable food, military-style dormitories with regulation bedspreads (hospital corners, please) and white sheets stiff as boards with starch, are long gone in Australian boarding schools. Along with banishing the austere living conditions of decades past, went the idea that boarding was just a place to live while you … [Read more...]
Handling exam stress
Exam stress is something most of us have suffered at some point in our lives, whether we remember our own experiences or are living through those of our children. As Term 1 winds down for a much-needed break after the whirlwind start to the year, it’s timely to think about how to start the new term on the right foot – a term when many of children have half-yearly exams or … [Read more...]
Mel Scolari: happy schools mean happy children
Mel and Ado Scolari of Narromine are parents of three children aged between 12 and 19, who have been or are currently at boarding schools in Sydney. They went into the process of choosing schools with a very clear idea of what they were looking for. Kim V. Goldsmith caught up with Mel to talk about how they went about narrowing the field. How much of your own … [Read more...]
Taking the fear out of finding a school
It sounds daunting and expensive, and while that may be so, think of the prospects it offers our children. I was a boarding school child and yes, I was miserable and homesick at times, but there was so much I learned...not that I thought so at the time. Largely, I learned to be resilient by accepting this path in my education, as did my children. There are many factors as … [Read more...]
The Ultimate Packing List for Boarding School (updated)
Our ultimate packing list for boarding school was one of our most popular blog posts from 2017. We know it’s a winner because it’s based on the real-life experiences of boarding school parents and their children. Boarding schools do their best to make the boarding house feel like home away from home but it’s often the little things that only your child can bring that make … [Read more...]
Under the Bridge
There is a high likelihood your teen will be exposed to drugs and alcohol in their high school years. There is a good chance that they will try these. Why? It’s available, they’re risk-takers, they feel alienated, their friends, or those they idolise are doing it. Confronting?!? As a mum, who formerly worked in the advertising industry, it was always something I knew was … [Read more...]
