What started as a trial is now deeply embedded in the culture of Christ’s College, and a turning point for many Year 10 boys. Immerse & Inspire, the programme designed to sow the seeds of change, involves all Year 10 boys boarding for three weeks in Jacobs House on the College campus, and spending one week at the Boyle River camp. On a pick and mix system, each group is selected from across the school, with every boy having the advantage of meeting new mates and making good friends. “We’re conscious some boys have been anxious about the thought of living at College for a month and participating in the Immerse & Inspire programme, but it has been a huge success,” says Director of Boarding and Centre for Character & Leadership Darrell Thatcher. “It has been overwhelmingly positively received by the parents and boys who have given us feedback.”
“On two of the Sundays while they are on the Immerse & Inspire programme the boys go to the Mission and do whatever work they can to help out.” Parents are also part of Immerse & Inspire. On the day each new intake arrives, Executive Principal Garth Wynne and Director of Wellbeing and Positive Education John Quinn conduct a session specifically for them. While the boys are engaged in a separate activity, the parents consider the teenage brain – looking at
As well as attending school classes as per usual, the boys on the programme are provided with a special session on study skills, another on gratitude by Director of Wellbeing and Positive Education John Quinn, and a session on community service. New to the programme this year is a session on empathy with College Counsellor Wiremu Gray, a session on career options with Careers Advisor Chris Sellars and a session by the City Mission on its work and College’s strengthening relationship with this important social service agency.
Christ’s College Canterbury
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