PASTORAL CARE Richards House
true spirit of community. We looked forward to our next meeting, but unfortunately the universe had other ideas and our best efforts to live a normal life were plunged into the isolation of lockdown Covid-style. The interruptions to routine and continuously changing landscape made it difficult for the boys to get any rhythm going – but each and every boy should feel proud of the way in which they have conducted themselves during uncertain times. It is as a community, either physical or online, that Richards House boys are at their best. It was an absolute pleasure to connect and check in on a daily basis with the boys. The valuable conversations that took place via Google Meet were testament to the boys and their will to carry on supporting each other. The boys of Richards House took the opportunity to reflect on their studies and what is meaningful to them. They continued to build on their strengths, respecting each other and the difficulties they all shared throughout the year. The intense process of accepting accountability has seeded thoughts of empathy towards self and others. It was at this time that we had another young man join us in Year 10. Locked down but not out, James Kelly's first glimpse of House life was tuning into the morning Google Meet session and finding the teddy bear. James proved to be champion at this. Our international students have been working hard to support each other with their own unique challenges and, with the support of the rest of the House, they have been able to maintain a semblance of normality while facing the prospect of not being able to return home and
see their families for an indefinite period of time. Thank you to those families who have hosted these boys during holidays and on weekends. It would be great if we could come together as a community and support these young men in the future, to provide some respite and true Kiwi hospitality during the term breaks and over long weekends. Once the lockdown lifted life returned to some sort of normality, but unfortunately not everything could go ahead as planned, so our social calendar was noticeably left a little bare, and our line dancing boots collected dust in the corner. This did not deter the boys who, in a very short period of time, prepared for House Music and the House Plays Festival. The last task this year was to farewell our Year 13 cohort. Richards House has certainly had some characters grace the dorms, and this year’s group was no exception. Tom Cotter, Archie Hayman, Mathew Paterson, Fiti Sa, George Simpson, Charles Smith, Sione Tupou, Eric Yao, Ricky Yau and Futian Zhou are all fine young individuals who will leave a lasting memory in House history. MENTOR GROUPS The boys interacted with their mentors throughout the year, working through goal planning, organisation and study preparation.
Housemaster: Kevin Harris Deputy Housemaster: Scott Franklin Assistant Housemasters:
Lesley Anderson-McKenna, Melissa Campbell, David Newton, Victor Sue- Tang House Matron: Jan Kelleher Residential Tutors: Andrew Black, Kevin Guttmann Non-residential Tutors: Giselle Pasten, Maria Riveros Head of House: George Simpson Deputy Head of House: Charles Smith There is no doubt that 2020 has been an extraordinary year. We started the year by welcoming our new Year 9 boys – Jonnie Bennetto, Charlie Blackburn, Edward Bodie-Healy, Gibson Burt, Robert Kidd, Gordon Liu, Jack Penter, Thornton Reid, Albie Roberts and Jack Slater – and their families to Richards House at our new entrants' barbecue on Sunday 26 January. The next day we welcomed Eric Liu to Year 10, and Piet van Asch and Joe Veronese to Year 11. As the year got underway, we came together as a House for the Athletics Day lunch and, despite our lack of prowess on the track and field, everyone enjoyed the day in the
I would like to thank Melissa Campbell, Lesley Anderson-
McKenna, David Newton, Victor Sue- Tang, and Scott Franklin for leading these young men and, at times, having those difficult conversations around their academic plans.
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Christ’s College Canterbury
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