Attending IBSC 2018

I just want to get this up before boarding the plane for home. More pictures will follow!

Our tour of The Southport School

Since arriving on the Gold Coast, specifically the town of Surfer's Paradise, on Saturday evening, there has not been a minute of down time. I literally arrived at the hotel, checked in and dropped off my bags before heading back downstairs to meet my Delbarton colleagues for a pre-conference dinner. The advance team had made reservations for us at a restaurant  called the Seascape. It turned out to be an excellent seafood place with a view of the ocean. We were seated in the upstairs dining room, which was more formal. We took our places and then the fun began. When our young waiter approached the table, I could tell that he had an accent. It was only when he got closer to me that I could tell for certain that he was French. After passing out the menus he darted off and my first comment was, "Did someone send down to central casting for a French waiter?" In reality, he was an excellent waiter, but his speech patterns and mannerisms were so stereo-typically French, that I would start laughing after every interaction. After asking for a recommendation for a bottle of white he gave it and then added " I luuuve ze wine". If I ever figure how to upload a video, I have one to share.

Sunday morning dawned beautiful and breezy. Whatever front had passed through during the night had swept away the clouds. The air was fresh and the sky a brilliant blue. The busses were leaving for the conference and the local Catholic church- yes, there is a Catholic Church in Surfer's Paradise - only had two Masses on Sunday – one at 8:00 and one at 10:00, so I chose the earlier one. Not knowing exactly how far the church was, I took a cab. That was a good call, because it turned out to be a lot farther than it looked on the map. It was a fairly typical suburban parish Sunday Mass and the priest gave a decent sermon. I was especially taken by the end of the sermon, where he painted a realistic but not terribly uplifting picture of the state of the Australian church. I generally find going to Mass wherever I happen to be a very interesting experience, and this was no exception. Since I had time, I did walk back to the hotel along the beach and it was a pleasant walk.

Once we boarded the buses for the conference, it was pretty much non-stop for the next three days, which is why there have been no postings to the blog. We arrived at our host school, the Southport School and I was immediately struck by its beauty. The school is perched on the banks of the Nerang River with a view to the skyline of the cities on the coast. After registration, I took a tour of the campus given by two of the boys, attired in their school uniform, which included a very handsome wide-brimmed hat. The opening ceremonies of the conference were quite impressive. We had the boys’ drum group lead, followed by the flags of our host country and all the countries who had schools in attendance – 13 in all.

Fully half of the 600 attendees were from Australia, so it’s no surprise that the singing of the national anthem by a youth choir was joined by a rousing chorus of Aussies! The introduction by the various officials of the IBSC and the Head of School were on point and gracious. The combined boys’ choruses of the junior and senior schools sang the school song “A Band of Brothers” and I will admit to being seriously moved. Following the formalities, a wonderful cocktail reception followed on the banks of the river. It was quite splendid. By 5:30, it was getting dark and chilly and left for the hotel. Only later did I find out that there were fireworks shot from a boat in the middle of the river. I am sorry to have missed that, but was glad to have an early evening with one of my favorite BBC crime dramas, DCI Banks, on the telly.

Monday was a very full day. I was lucky enough to get a spot the ferry that was making the crossing directly from the hotel to the campus. It will be tough for any other host school to top that! The day’s work program went from 8:30 to 4:30 and included a general session, workshops –including one by Delbarton’s very own Michael Carr and Dan Szelingowski, panel discussions, and more workshops.

There was a snafu with the buses that were supposed to take us back to the hotel and we didn’t get back until almost 5:30, not much time before a 6:30 re-departure for Sea World.

The school had arranged for us to have night at Sea World, which included the obligatory dolphin show – fantastic! - drinks, dinner, entertainment and even dancing. It was quite a night; and, by the time the buses left at 9:00, I was ready for bed! Apparently, the party continued in the hotel lobby for quite a while longer. I left that to the younger folk.

Tuesday was pretty much a replica of Monday without the Sea World extravaganza in the evening. To take its place, I had organized a dinner for the Delbarton contingent at a restaurant in a nearby town. We gathered in the hotel lobby and ubered to our destination – Harry’s Steak Bistro and Bar. It turned out to be a great place, delicious steaks and interesting appetizers and sides. The wine was also quite nice and all had a good time. When we returned to the hotel, our colleagues were enjoying themselves at the Marriott’s bar, so a nightcap seemed in order, but just one. I needed to get up early to finish packing, since I would be leaving directly from the conference to go to the airport for my return to Sydney.

Wednesday morning was a pleasant surprise. Rain was predicted, but the sun was still shining. I finished my last minute packing, grabbed a showered and dressed for the last day of the conference. When I arrived at my first session, it was already jam packed, so I decided to give it a miss. I found a nice spot outside and said Morning Prayer, which I hadn’t had time to do I the hotel. At least here in Australia it was already July 11^th and the feast of St. Benedict  It is also my 41^st anniversary of monastic profession. Being 8,000 miles away and in a non-monastic setting, these few minutes of quiet were quite welcome.

Jack and Jess prepare to present

In the workshop session that followed, my other two Delbarton colleagues, Jack Diffley and Jess McKeever gave their presentation and once again did Delbarton proud. It has been a privilege to watch these intelligent and committed educators share their knowledge and experience with the wider educational community. After the conference drew to a close, we boarded busses once again, some to return to their hotels, others like me and the Delbarton crew to head to the airport before going our separate ways. I am spending the night at an airport hotel in Sydney before boarding my flight for the long return trip home to the States.