CHARACTER BUILDING

Developing identity through an active lifestyle

We expect our boarders to seek out new experiences as opportunities to grow and build character. This means participating together in organized activities and outings. We fully expect each student to become an active community member and through experience to grow as a resilient human being.

Every week, there are activities and outings arranged for boarders to gradually push their boundaries and expose themselves to unfamiliar places and interests. These include such drop-in events as cooking lessons, sporting competitions and musical performances, usually held on campus. Also included are more formal clubs with such diverse offerings as martial arts and photography. Our supervised outings bring groups all over the local region to join cultural celebrations and sporting events. More adventurous students may even take advantage of carefully-planned wilderness trips offered several times each term.

DEVELOPING LIFE SKILLS

Learning extended beyond the classroom.

While students learn academic skills and content in their school classes, during the evenings and weekends boarders receive close support from professional youth workers to develop their life skills. Life skills are essential for students to be able to take care of themselves, maintain healthy relationships with others, and make positive contributions to their community. Students reflect on their progress and are given frequent feedback by advisors both on areas of strength and skills needing improvement.

In order to support students’ development of life skills, we offer a number of ongoing opportunities for focused learning. These include workshops on relevant topics from visiting experts, individual guidance from our specialized staff, group discussions at weekly meetings, and access to information and resources on a broad spectrum of issues important to young people.

Students are given periodic feedback by advisors on these four areas.  Twice each school term, progress reports measuring these areas are sent to students and their families to summarize observations and highlight strengths and weaknesses.

We support students in these areas by offering ongoing opportunities such as topical workshops from experts, individualized guidance, weekly group discussions, and resource materials on key issues important to young people.

TWO PATHS TO MATURITY

An ongoing system of skill advancement

We support our youth in moving toward greater self-sufficiency while helping them connect with one another in a vibrant community. For students in the Boarding Program, there are two potential paths for their time at Bodwell.

GUIDANCE & LEADERSHIP

Providing support for future leaders

There are more than 25 professional youth workers who function together to provide supervision and support to our boarders throughout the week and late into each evening. Advisors are responsible adults who possess university degrees and diverse professional backgrounds such as teaching, social work, and counselling. Most advisors have experience living abroad and can more easily empathize with our boarders’ feelings and perspectives.

In order to provide guidance in a boarding setting, advisors are used to taking on multiple roles: sometimes a warm-hearted companion to a lonely student or an authority to handle student behaviour, and other times a facilitator of roommate conflict, or a role model of ethical conduct and healthy, active living.

Through the example of our youth advisors, our students will be able to take what they've learned and experienced and apply it to opportunities for leadership. One of the best ways for students to strengthen life skills, build character, gain experience and contribute to the boarding community is to take on a formal leadership role. Student leaders who assume these roles play a major part in keeping our community fun, healthy and inclusive. There are three forms of student leadership for boarders:

LIVING ENVIRONMENT

Uniting the world through communal living

Joining the Boarding Program allows young people from across the globe to contribute to a genuine community of diversity. Boarders often have friends from a wide number of cultures and backgrounds. To facilitate cross-cultural friendships, we make every effort to arrange for students of different languages to share a bedroom. While the boarding community cannot replace a students’ own family, we seek to serve as a warm and caring home to students while they are living here.

Safety is paramount. Parents can feel assured that so long as their child closely follows our expectations, they will be kept as safe and secure as possible while living far away from the comfort of home. Staff carefully monitor students’ health, emotional state and behaviour and are ready to assist with emergency situations.