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Blog – Parenting

Amanda Ferrari: breaking the binds of tradition

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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…

Meeting the needs of contemporary boarders: Part 2

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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…

The changing face of contemporary boarding: Part 1

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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…

Handling exam stress

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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…

Mel Scolari: happy schools mean happy children

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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…

Taking the fear out of finding a school

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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…

Under the Bridge

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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…

Building confidence, takes baby steps

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The seriously impressive Megan Dalla-Carmina, a strategist, coach, writer, speaker and researcher, penned a timeless article titled “The truth about becoming more confident”. In her words, building confidence takes babysteps. Like purpose, confidence does not strike us all at once and from that moment on we conquer the world. No, confidence and for that matter…

When your teen turns into the silent type

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Teenage years means an appropriation of space – emotional, intellectual and physically – from an adult. Whilst parents of boarders have accepted (but may not have overcome) the physical separation, it is often the emotional and intellectual separation that can be the hardest to manage. As a sister of a younger brother, with a very…

Keeping your children cyber safe

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Protecting our children comes naturally as a parent, what doesn’t come as naturally is protecting them online. Knowing about potential risks and how to deal with them is the best protection to managing online risks and consequences. Bullying is a timeless issue that continues to morph into new forms. Today, we talk about it; communities…