SIBFORD BOARDING The Newsletter from the Boarding Community April 27th 2020
TOGETHER THROUGH PHOTO TRICKERY: The staff remain on campus in support of our boarders. Not as close as this photo suggests though...
HELLO FROM THE HOUSES News as boarding goes temporarily online These are strange times in all sorts of ways but as we would have been preparing to welcome our boarders back at the start of last week for the Summer Term, we really miss having our vibrant and supportive community within the houses. Yet, whilst we are apart, it has been heartening to see how the community supports each other at a distance. It is testament to the strength of feeling here amongst our boarding family that we have been able to maintain close contact from afar - whether that is with students down the road in Oxford or on the other side of the world in Beijing. We have held 'Virtual Boarding House' meetings every week since the buildings closed, including through the holidays. The turnout has been excellent and it has been a really valuable tool to keep the boarders and their houseparents connected and in support of each other, wherever we are in the world. The students have seemed in good spirits and we have shared many tales of our 'lockdown' lives and the various ways we have been entertaining ourselves: whether that be raising sea monkeys, sharing recipes, making jewellery, looking after a new kitten, or just relaxing with games and exercise, it has been wonderful to hear from our students and make sure they are well. The online forums that accompany these areas are lively places of support, as well, which people have been using to share stories or even just saying hello at the start of the online school day.
Singing 'Happy Birthday' to Ben had its challenges - I would say we were mostly in tune but not necessarily in time...
COMMUNITY SPIRIT The campus has remained busy over Easter All boarding staff continue to be on
On campus, we were creative in
campus in support of our boarding
thinking of ways to continue Easter
family and have been working hard to
traditions at this time and the children
support the community in many
had hours of entertainment trying to
different ways.
spot the decorative Easter Eggs hidden on boarding house windows... there
Penn Houseparent and Head of Design
were even some real chocolate eggs
Technology, Greg Symes has made use
hidden around the gardens for their
of the school's 3D printing capability to
treat.
make all-important PPE to send to the NHS in the UK. Penn House itself has
We feel lucky to be amongst such wide
become the centre for the production
open space up here on campus and
of face masks and visors.
look forward to sharing this space with our boarders again in the future.
On a related-note, we were delighted to receive a donation of 1000 face masks from our boarder Yve in China. These masks will be used by Katherine House Hospice and they were
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
delighted with Yve's generous and kind
Our international community is one of our real strengths. Our boarding captain this year described being amongst people from all over the world as one of the true joys of boarding. A beautiful gesture from Yve noted by the Head, Toby Spence on twitter. Below our Head of Boarding is on screen with students in Europe, Scotland and China
donation. This is another example of how our community is staying strong and together whilst temporarily separated.
We wish our whole boarding community the very best in these times and reiterate that we are always here for you. Please make sure you register on Microsoft Teams in the mornings to keep up-to-date with your studies. To see what we are up to, please visit our Twitter page for regular updates: @SibfordBoarding