STAFF AND STUDENTS AT ST MICHAEL’S COLLEGIATE SCHOOL IN HOBART WORK TOGETHER TO DEVELOP A BROAD RANGE OF ACADEMIC AND LIFE SKILLS.
It may only be early in the year, but 12-year-old Chloe Ellis from Bothwell in Tasmania’s Central Highlands has “jumped in hard” to her new life at Hobart’s St Michael’s Collegiate School. Chloe has just started as a Year 7 student at the all-girls’ Anglican school in the heart of Hobart and is keen to embrace all the opportunities her new school will present. Chloe’s parents run Merino sheep on Humbie, their family farm, which is just over an hour’s drive north of Hobart. Her mother, Fiona Palfreyman, is an alumna of Collegiate, while her dad, Guy Ellis, attended its brother school, Hutchins.
As the distance from the farm to the city made commuting impossible for Chloe, they’ve opted for a hybrid model as she enters high school. Chloe stays with her grandmother, who lives in the suburb of Sandy Bay, for two days each week, spends the other two days as a casual boarder on the Collegiate campus and goes home for weekends. As Collegiate’s marketing manager Zoe Geard explains, casual boarding is also a popular option for students with parents who work shifts, travel frequently or need to spend time overseas. “Our casual boarders can have their own, or a shared dedicated bedroom that they can decorate as they choose and always return to whenever they’re staying,” she says. “On weekends, we offer boarders experiences around Hobart and beyond to engage them in their surroundings and provide opportunities for them to learn new skills. Examples are indoor rock climbing, bushwalking, bike riding, surfing, cooking and visiting local attractions.”
Chloe enthuses about the posters and photos she’s arranged in her “home away from home”, and particularly the big picture windows with views across the gardens to Kunanyi/Mount Wellington in the distance. “I’m excited to have so many new opportunities,” she says. “There are many more sports options than I had at my local high school and lots more subjects to choose from.” She adds that’s she’s keen for AFL and potential training camps, as well as the chance to pursue her passion for surfing, just two of many sports options on the school’s list.
Collegiate has a total of 635 students including about 200 children from early learning to Year 4 in a South Hobart campus, and the middle and senior schools in adjacent buildings in the CBD. As well as the regular academic, arts, sports and extracurricular classes, the school has a diverse program of experiential learning and outdoor education off erings. “Many schools focus on Year 9 as the year to develop skills such as resilience, passion, positive attitudes, values and communication skills,” Zoe says. “While acknowledging that Year 9 can be a challenging time, we start early with our Explore program in Year 8, Aspire in Year 9 and Connect in Year 10.”
Year 9s also spend one week a term on learning experiences outside of the classroom, which might range from hiking or camping to coasteering and white-water rafting. Community service is also a priority and students may fi nd themselves visiting aged-care facilities, serving in a soup kitchen or helping out at wildlife reserves or on charity days. Year 9s also join a two-day cultural camp with Indigenous leaders. “Year 12 has a big emphasis on leadership,” Zoe adds. “Each year’s cohort chooses a particular charity and fundraises throughout the year for that organisation. This year’s group has chosen the SHE foundation for women with gynaecological cancers, and they’ll hold events such as bake sales and a Mother’s Day breakfast to raise funds.”
In the classroom, Collegiate is proud that it off ers one of the largest ranges of elective subjects in the state and works in collaboration with The Hutchins School and Fahan School to maximise those offerings. “Fahan, for example, has a very good French program, so we are working with them to expand our classes,” Zoe says. “Alongside the TCE [Tasmanian Certificate of Education], Year 11 and 12 students can engage with university courses in areas including human anatomy and physiology, as well as object design, which is a fine arts course. There are also vocational education and training options through TAFE in areas such as hospitality, maritime operations, fitness and and education support.”
Collegiate’s boarding house aims to replicate family life, albeit a large family, with boarders encouraged to make suggestions about menus, weekend outings and other excursions, and staff keen to accommodate them. “We celebrate events with special meals whenever we can,” explains head of boarding, Casey Norton. “Boarders also get to choose the menu for their birthday dinners.” Friendships between day students and boarders are encouraged, and with the appropriate permissions, boarders can have sleepovers at day students’ homes and vice versa. Day students are also welcome for meals in the dining room. During the shorter holidays, the school offers trips with Hutchins’ students, so students can experience some of Tasmania’s many attractions.
“The Collegiate community is a very welcoming and caring one,” Zoe says. “While we may not have the profile of some of the bigger mainland schools, we do off er a world of opportunities.”
