Located on the Eyre Peninsula coast and surrounded by nature and a supportive local community, boarders at St Joseph’s Port Lincoln are learning valuable skills for life beyond education.
For more than 130 years, St Joseph’s Port Lincoln has been providing its boarding students with a home from home, filled with light, love and laughter.
The co-educational boarding school is an ingrained part of the Eyre Peninsula community, offering a place where children in Years 7 to 12 – many from local families who value the long-standing traditions St Joseph’s embodies – can learn, grow and develop in a nurturing environment that encourages each child to fulfil their individual potential.
“Our priorities are focused on the emotional, spiritual and physical wellbeing of our students,” says Kate Benjamin, director of boarding at St Joseph’s Port Lincoln. “We take the time to get to know the students, help them set goals for the year and then work with them to achieve them.
“We also work closely with our school wellbeing leaders who provide different programs for our students; for example, we do yoga one night a week to help the students deal with stress and learn mindfulness techniques. We have Morning Prayer and the boarders on campus at the weekend go to mass with the local parish.”
Supporting strong ties with the local community offers students further opportunities to integrate, establish a sense of wellbeing and even create employment opportunities for the future. “The majority of our students play sport and either train or play with a local club,” Benjamin says. “In the past few years we have introduced our senior students to having casual or part-time jobs outside of school, which helps give them life skills beneficial for their development. One student worked part-time at a vet clinic and ended up getting full-time employment as a vet assistant after she graduated.”
For Benjamin, watching her students thrive during their years at St Joseph’s is one of the most fulfilling parts of her job. “It really is valuable life skills they get through boarding, mainly independence but also resilience and tolerance,” she says. “Communal living obviously comes with challenges, living with a mix of other people of different age groups, backgrounds and personalities, so acceptance and tolerance is important. And it’s really wonderful to see students developing their independence and confidence within themselves as they progress through the years while boarding.”
The school’s location on the Eyre Peninsula coast is the perfect spot for students to enjoy a spot of down time while engaging with nature. “We are located right on the coast with the town jetty just a five-minute walk away, so some of the boarders go fishing after school and come back to cook it up in our kitchen,” Benjamin says. “They’re always excited about that.”
And, for a bit of home comfort, the school’s boarder security dog is also always on hand for a pat and a cuddle. “Jatz, my Maltese Shih Tzu, comes to work with me every shift and absolutely loves the students,” Benjamin says. “She’s only little and very excited to see the students when they get home from school. It gives them a sense of comfort and reminds them of their pets they have at home. She’s definitely a very spoiled dog.”
Source: News Ltd.
Written by Lynn Cameron
Photos by Maree Easton
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