Main Photo: Cooper Bischoff (Year 7), pictures with Mr Bailey was awarded Junior Boy Boarder for 2020

Mr Stewart Bailey | Head of Junior Boys Boarding

Unlike any other year, 2020, has been a time when our boys have been challenged to produce an academic result, a sporting achievement, and a cultural performance whilst their everyday lives have been impacted by extenuating circumstances.  Their ability to achieve one or all of these challenges has provided focus on the lives of all our students.  Our academic students have excelled through a disciplined application. Our students, with God’s gift of abilities, performed with great distinction and our athletic heroes held centre stage during some epic battles on the sporting field. I would extend a heartfelt congratulations firstly, to our Year 12’s who are shortly embarking on their next chapter and I wish them all the success they deserve. Second, to our Boys’ Boarding “Band of Brothers”, especially our recent award winners, congratulations on your well-deserved accolades. Leading the way was our very own “Junior Boy Boarder of the Year” Cooper Bischoff. Well done gentlemen.

Regardless of any noteworthy performance, the overriding quest in our boarding environment is to do whatever is in our power to assist our students in their bid to find happiness. Dr Tim Sharp, wrote a particularly good article named “Finding Yourself”.  I quote the following passages from that article.

“To begin with, I’d like to address one of the biggest mistakes made by those wanting to live a better life and experience more happiness: some people simply try too hard! Further, if what you’re trying is not working then trying even harder is not likely to lead to a successful outcome either! ………….

I am encouraging you to think about the notion that happiness does not necessarily come to those who work the hardest but rather to those who work the smartest; and in the context of happiness, working smart often involves just being. ….. So rather than asking if you’re trying hard enough, try asking if you’re trying the right approach…….

And finally, happiness is not something you will ‘find’; ‘you’ cannot ever really be ‘lost’. If you’re not clear about what to do to achieve more happiness it’s more likely to do with you not acknowledging or not honestly facing up to that which you probably ‘know’. Happiness is inside you and happiness can only ever be experienced in the ‘here and now’; so instead of asking where can you find happiness ask instead, how can you create more of it”.

The relationships we have, as a boarding staff, with our residential students is very special. This relationship must be built on mutual trust and evolves over time. The link between a student’s happiness and their relationship with staff is a vital part of every individual feeling safe and secure in the boarding house. The bond between staff and students should also extend to our parents. When the link between student, staff and parents is complete we can be assured that the individual student will thrive and prosper in the boarding environment. This is one of our ongoing goals at SCOTS PGC.