Co-curricular Activities
Students who call the Ravenswood Residential College (RRC) home can participate in a vast range of activities. Our close proximity to the School also means that Boarders need not make travel arrangements to take part in co-curricular activities.
The RRC boasts a bespoke wellbeing garden where students can enjoy outdoor chess, basketball, table tennis and yoga classes. Boarders can also enjoy the School’s pool and Strength and Conditioning Centre.
Boarders are encouraged to prioritise their physical, emotional and mental health by participating in sports and a plethora of co-curricular activities.
Weekend Excite Program
The RRC orchestrates a vibrant weekend program known as ‘The Excite Program’, where friendships flourish, minds expand, and lifelong memories are created.
The program explores Sydney while catering to Boarders’ diverse interests – from delving into museums and galleries to embarking on outdoor adventures or taking part in community-building exercises. Each activity is thoughtfully designed with Positive Education principles to cultivate a strong sense of belonging, independence, resilience, curiosity and teamwork.
Student-initiated gatherings, such as the new ‘mini socials’, are smaller, casual
co-educational events with friends from nearby boarding schools
eg. Knox Grammar School.
On ‘Bring Your Own Day Girl and Teacher’, the RRC welcomes Day Girls and teachers to attend an afternoon tea, make friendship bracelets and play games. There are also termly Chapel services led by our School Chaplain in conjunction with Boarders, as well as special themed dinners.
Boarders enjoy two ‘Community Weekends’, past activities have included themed barbecues, visits to Taronga Zoo and Raging Waters Waterpark, and a wellbeing session focusing on meditation and mindfulness. Food trucks have also attended the RRC to create a special feast under fairy lights in the boarding wellbeing gardens.
Holidays and Weekends: Visiting the College and Leave
The RRC allows Boarders to apply for leave for activities such as shopping or going for dinner with a friend, or for being away from the RRC for a weekend. Weekly Boarders do not need to apply for leave on weekends; they may also stay on at the RRC if they wish. Boarders are also given a travel day at the beginning and end of each term.
Parents are always welcome to visit the RRC, dine with the Boarders or take their daughter out for the evening. Ravenswood maintains a flexible approach to leave for our Boarders, provided it is arranged around sporting and co-curricular commitments. Leave must be arranged in advance, in consultation with the Director of Boarding, Bri Cormio.
Boarding Communications and Support
Our aim is to provide flexible and open communication between the School, parents and students. We want our Boarders to have as much of a ‘home experience’ as possible, and we want parents to be able to share their daughters’ academic, sporting, co-curricular and personal experiences.
Partnering with parents in supporting their daughter’s learning is pivotal in fostering academic success among Boarders. Boarding families are provided with academic calendars and support resources such as ‘Success in the Senior Years’ information evenings, delivered via recorded videos. Alumni Academic Tutors’ notes are also shared with parents and teachers, offering real-time updates on progress, which reinforces the cohesive approach of the RRC and broader school community.
Ravenswood’s Boarding Community Welcome Event is an excellent opportunity for parents to meet the academic and support staff who will be assisting their daughters. Held at the start of the academic year, the event is a catalyst for ongoing rapport-building. Boarding families meet key academic and wellbeing staff, including Year Coordinators, subject teachers, Heads of Curriculum, and members of the Wellbeing Team.
Throughout the year, boarding families engage with the School community through Parent-Teacher meetings via Zoom, catch-ups with the Director of Boarding, and weekly email updates from the Director of Boarding and Year Coordinator, informing them about their daughters’ learning progress and upcoming academic events.
Boarding parenting information evenings are also held each term, giving boarding families an overview of the term and an opportunity to connect with families within their daughter’s year group, as well as with boarding families across year groups.
Ravenswood also offers boarding families a range of community forums and seminars, which can be attended in person and via zoom.
Contact
Our Director (Bri Cormio) and Assistant Director of Boarding (Natasha Wilkins), are always available for parents to contact.
Boarders RAVO Connect Portal
The Boarders’ Portal on the current parent RAVO Connect portal provides boarding families with a range of news, photos and updates of recent events and activities held in the RRC.
Newsletter
The School Newsletter is emailed fortnightly during term time and is also available on RAVO Connect. The newsletter provides boarding families with updates from across the School, with additional boarding-specific news.