Page 9 - Davies House 2014-2015

9
Davies’ House staff
Living with you in Davies House will
be several members of staff. Mr
Edward Davies, his wife Mrs Natasha
Davies and their children, Tom and
Matilda, live in one section of the
house. At the top of the house Mrs
Maris Pygott and her husband Richard,
has a flat. Mrs Pygott is also a maths
teacher in school. In the coach house
(a small building next to the house)
Mr Raj Ghosh, a Geography teacher,
lives in another flat. Miss Rena
Papadopoulos, who teaches English,
and Miss Amy Atkinson, who teaches
Geography, also live on the school site
and do evening duty in Davies’ House.
Davies’ Prefects and pupils
Davies’ has a great community of
pupils who are all here to develop
their academic understanding but
also their broader social skills and to
educate themselves in the broadest
sense. They all have their own
interests and work hard to pursue
them and make the most of the
opportunities offered by the school.
Davies’ boarders come from all over
the world and they get to know
each other really well very quickly.
Although there are times when they
disagree they learn to compromise
and work out their differences. A
key element in the relationships
between the pupils is that they are all
thoughtful about each other and kind
and considerate when dealing with
other pupils and also other people’s
possessions. The house prefects are
some of the leaders in the house and
they have learnt to get the best from
life as a boarder. In addition there
are dayboys who spend time in the
house between 8.30 am and 5.15 pm
during the week. Like the boarders
they are friendly and work hard to
be respectful of everyone else in the
house. Boarders and dayboys share
classes and tutor groups so they are
quick to get to know each other and
to make friends.
Boarders and dayboys
Most boys at Abingdon School are
dayboys. This means that they arrive
at school in time for 8.35am and leave
Who will I be
living with?
at 5.00pm every day. There are nine
houses in the school but only three
of them are boarding houses where
boarders live. All three of the boarding
houses have dayboys as well as
boarders in them.
There are parts of Davies’ House that
dayboys can access and other parts
that they can’t. You will also find that
in your tutor group there will be a mix
of dayboys and boarders. This means
that you get lots of opportunity to get
to know and befriend the dayboys.
Housemaster
Your housemaster isMr Davies he runs
the boarding house. He is responsible
for making sure that you are happy
and successful while at Abingdon. He
is also also responsible for discipline
in the house. He will work with you
to sort out your evening and weekend
activities. He is in charge of all of the
house staff. If you have any problems
Mr Davies is there to help you sort
them out.
Tutors
Davies House has a number of tutors.
These are teachers who help the
housemaster run the house. They
help supervise the house in the
evening and at weekends. You will be
in a tutor group that will be made up
of some dayboys and some boarders.
Your tutor is responsible for making
sure you and the other boys in your
tutor group are happy and successful
at school. Your tutor will work with
Mr Davies to look after you. Your tutor
will be there to help you sort out
any difficulties you have. You should
make sure you work hard to develop
a positive relationship with your
tutor. You will also meet your tutor
for registration every morning. On a
Wednesday you will have a lesson
with your tutor and tutor group, which
will be aimed at giving you support,
making you think about things outside
school, and helping you establish
friendships with the other pupils.
House Matron
One of the most important people
in your life in the boarding house
will be the house matron who is
called Carol. She has been working
in Davies’ House for 13 years! Carol
is responsible for running the team
of cleaners and the houseman. She
also makes sure that your clothes and
bed linen are washed regularly. Most
importantly she is some one you can
go to for help if you need help. She
will be happy to talk with you, to help
sort out any medical problems you
have, mend your clothes and many
other things. It is really important that
you are friendly and polite to Carol so
make sure you always say hello and
ask how her day has been and say
please and thank you when you ask
for help.
Support Staff
Running a school and a boarding
house is a difficult job. As a result
there are lots of support staff who
are not teachers at the school but
who help us. You will quickly meet
the cleaners, Eve, Michelle and Tracy,
who look after Davies’ House. You will
also meet the houseman. His name is
Ratko. Ratko’s job is to fix things that
get broken, for example if your room
needs a new light bulb the houseman
will fit it. There are many other people
who you will meet occasionally and
who help keep your boarding house
and the school running smoothly.