Letters From Home – Détails, épisodes et analyse

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Letters From Home

Amanda Ferrari

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Fréquence : 1 épisode/16j. Total Éps: 90

Welcome to Letters from Home, a podcast dedicated to Australian boarding families. Hosted by Amanda Ferrari, the show explores all aspects of boarding life - from packing for the first time to life as a boarder & beyond. Amanda interviews graduates who share how boarding shaped their lives, with families about their journey to and through boarding school, speaks with schools about their unique programs, & hosts an annual "Nailing Homesickness" miniseries to help new boarders. Our podcast is essential listening for boarding families and staff, we welcome your feedback, reviews, & ratings.

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Données mises à jour le 14/07/2026

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Heart-work, good policy, & the power of love behind Bronnie Taylor

Saison 9 · Épisode 7

jeudi 27 novembre 2025 • Durée 52:55

Special announcement: Since recording this episode, The Hon. Bronnie Taylor has been appointed Chair of the national charity Motherland. We’re thrilled for Bronnie and proud to support Motherland and their incredible work for rural and remote women across Australia. Congratulations, Bronnie!

In this warmly honest episode of Letters from Home, Amanda sits down with Bronnie Taylor - oncology nurse, farmer’s wife, mum and proud rural woman - for a conversation that feels like a cuppa at the kitchen table. This isn’t about politics; it’s about the heart-work behind good policy and the everyday grit of life in the regions.

Bronnie reflects on growing up across countries, finding her feet in a frosty little hamlet at the base of the Snowies, and discovering - like so many of us - that community lifts you when you let it. We talk boarding school from both sides: the way it shaped Bronnie’s courage as a teenager, and years later, how it shaped her mothering - homesick nights, the power of a school nurse’s timely call, and the “second families” that come from carpools, long weekends and shared netball courts.

There’s plenty of laughter (red sports bloomers, train trips and questionable IDs), but also the truth rural parents know well: that love can look like letting go, and opportunity sometimes means distance. Bronnie pays tribute to the glue of rural life - women who organise, advocate, bake, budget and keep the wheels turning - while reminding us that our kids can leave the front gate and still carry home inside them.

If you’re weighing up boarding, missing a child at boarding school, or cheering one on from hundreds of kilometres away, this episode will feel like a letter in your mailbox on a long week. Press play, take a breath, and walk a little taller with us.

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“Go Floppy: A Quandialla Mum on Boarding School, Letting Go, and Raising Resilient Kids” - Sarah Ryan

Saison 9 · Épisode 6

mercredi 19 novembre 2025 • Durée 52:08

In this heartfelt episode of Letters from Home, Amanda sits down with Sarah Ryan, farmer’s wife, artist, and creator of the iconic Quandialla Candle Co. Broadcasting from her family’s merino stud in southern NSW, Sarah shares her beautifully honest story of raising three children in a tiny village school, navigating the drought years, running a creative business from a backyard studio - and ultimately embracing the realities of boarding school life.

With one son now graduated and working as a jackaroo, another in Year 11, and her daughter freshly into Year 7 at a Sydney girls’ school, Sarah reflects on the full arc of the boarding journey. She talks about the hopes, the fears, the tough moments, and the quiet victories that have shaped each of her kids - and her as a mother.

This conversation explores:
• Choosing between regional and metropolitan boarding schools
• The emotional shock of the first drop-off
• Parenting from afar (and how communication has changed)
• When to step in - and when to “go floppy”
• How family dynamics shift when one child leaves home
• The resilience, tolerance and life skills boarding school quietly builds
• The unique grief rural parents carry - and why we must talk about it

Sarah’s warmth, wisdom and humour make this an incredibly grounding listen for any family on the boarding school path.
Her message is clear: trust the process, trust the schools, and trust that your child will grow in ways you can’t yet imagine.

A must-listen for rural, regional and remote parents preparing to let go - just a little.

Take a look at Quandialla Candle Co. here!

Part 2: From Surf Club to the Station - Tannas Godfrey’s Journey of Courage and Change

Saison 9 · Épisode 5

jeudi 13 novembre 2025 • Durée 46:57

In this two part episode of Letters from Home, we’re joined by Tannas Godfrey, whose story is one of quiet determination and incredible adaptability.

Tannas grew up on North Stradbroke Island, where life revolved around the surf club, small-town friendships and salt-sprayed independence. But when school on the island finished at Year 8, her parents made a brave decision that would change everything — boarding school. What began as a practical solution to a long barge commute turned into the first step of a remarkable journey.

From Ipswich Girls’ Grammar to a career in the Australian Army — serving in logistics, deployment operations and even United Nations work — Tannas’ path took her far beyond the surf breaks of Straddie. Yet, like so many of us, love drew her back to the bush. She swapped military bases for life on a remote property near Cunnamulla, then further west again into the Northern Territory.

Now a mother and former School of the Air teacher, Tannas shares her lived experience of raising children in isolation, choosing boarding school, and the emotional mix of pride and ache that comes with it. Her reflections on transition, confidence, and finding the right school fit are full of wisdom for any family standing on that edge of change.

This is a story about resilience, belonging, and the power of saying yes to the unknown.
Enjoy my conversation with Tannas Godfrey.

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Part 1: From Surf Club to the Station - Tannas Godfrey’s Journey of Courage and Change

Saison 9 · Épisode 4

mercredi 12 novembre 2025 • Durée 27:03

In this two part episode of Letters from Home, we’re joined by Tannas Godfrey, whose story is one of quiet determination and incredible adaptability.

This is a story about resilience, belonging, and the power of saying yes to the unknown.

Enjoy my conversation with Tannas Godfrey.

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Finding belonging when home keeps changing: a Defence family’s story - Kate B.

Saison 9 · Épisode 3

mercredi 5 novembre 2025 • Durée 44:48

Some families spend generations in one postcode. Paddocks and fence lines become the story of a life. Today’s guest, Kate B*, has lived a very different rhythm - one defined by movement. As a Defence Force wife, Kate has packed up her family nine times in just over twenty years, moving interstate and overseas, sometimes with months to plan… and sometimes with only six weeks’ notice, like the posting to Singapore when she was 30 weeks pregnant. Canberra. Sydney. Back again. New houses, new schools, new doctors, new everything - again and again.

If you’re listening from the bush, where we often don’t move at all, this is a window into another world - and a reminder that the ache for belonging lives in all of us, whether we stay or go.

What struck me most about Kate is her quiet courage. She’ll tell you she’s an introvert, yet every move required her to become the family’s front-runner for connection: standing at the school gate to chat, volunteering in classrooms, arranging those early playdates, phoning other parents she’d never met and saying, “Let’s grab dinner so our girls can feel at home.” She built village after village so her kids didn’t have to do it alone.

And then there’s the way she makes “home” travel with them: the same furniture, the same candle scent lit on day one, the same beloved plants that the kids ask for when the boxes arrive. For Kate’s family, home isn’t a street; it’s the people and the rituals that move with you.

When the constant relocating began to pinch most sharply - especially for high school - Kate and her husband offered their daughter something different: boarding. Not because home didn’t hold, but because friendships and learning needed a steady place to land. Their daughter chose it, after a try-out night in the boarding house and plenty of honest conversation. And while the first goodbye stung, what followed surprised Kate: deeper daily connection. Morning check-ins, an afternoon debrief, and then a sacred daily phone call, uninterrupted minutes that many families living under one roof never get.

Lessons on Life & Loss from the Outback Schoolroom Part 2 - Kimberley Wilson

Saison 9 · Épisode 2

vendredi 31 octobre 2025 • Durée 35:10

In the second half of our conversation with Kimberley Wilson from Rutchillo Station near Julia Creek, we pick up where we left off - talking about her daughter Cadence, a bush kid turned medical student whose journey began in a tiny schoolroom on the family’s outback station.

After almost two decades as a home educator, Kimberley has seen education evolve across the airwaves and through the seasons. In this episode, she shares how that dedication - and her own teaching background - helped shape Cadence’s path from the station classroom to Fairholme College in Toowoomba, and now to studying medicine at James Cook University.

We also talk about the realities of remote life: farewelling children for boarding school, the challenges of distance, and the quiet strength it takes to keep children on track from hundreds of kilometres away. Kimberley opens up about her ongoing advocacy with the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association and her hopes for fair, accessible education for every rural and remote child.

It’s a heartfelt continuation of a story about family, endurance and the opportunities that grow from even the most isolated corners of Australia.

Read:

It’s The Ultimate Collaboration: Rural Boarders x Agricultural Advocacy

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. If, like Kimberley, you’re a family based in remote north-west Queensland then keep an eye on our Mount Isa Boarding Schools Expo

Lessons on Life & Loss from the Outback Schoolroom Part 1 - Kimberley Wilson

Saison 9 · Épisode 1

mercredi 29 octobre 2025 • Durée 30:22

In this two part episode of Letters from Home, we travel to Rutchillo Station near Julia Creek to meet Kimberley Wilson - a woman of the outback whose story will both humble and inspire you.

Kimberley has spent nearly two decades teaching her children through School of the Air, balancing lessons with station life and community commitments. In this heartfelt two-part conversation, she opens up about the joys and challenges of being both mum and teacher in one of the most remote parts of Queensland - and the heartbreak of losing her daughter Peyton just before she was due to begin boarding school.

We talk about the resilience that shaped her family, her deep involvement with ICPA Queensland, and her hopes for true educational equity for remote children. Kimberley also shares the remarkable story of her daughter Cadence, who studied at Fairholme College in Toowoomba and is now pursuing medicine at James Cook University, driven by a passion for rural health.

It’s a story about love, loss, education, and advocacy - and a reminder that the future of rural Australia often begins in a tiny schoolroom on a far-flung station.

For families who’d like to meet schools face-to-face, visit our Mount Isa Expo Directory and register to attend. Schools are still registering for this event at the end of 2026. Our events are a place where connection and opportunity come together for regional and remote families.

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Catch Up with the Experts: Certification of Boarding School Staff with Richard Stokes

Saison 8 · Épisode 12

jeudi 8 mai 2025 • Durée 19:56

Today I’m with Richard Stokes. Richard is the CEO of the Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA).

ABSA, as the leading authority in Australia on boarding for school-aged children, promotes the interests and well-being of boarders, boarding staff, boarding parents and boarding institutions in Australia. It is an organisation that fosters collegiality and professionalism at a regional and federal level and across many parts of the world. ABSA continues to advance the profile of boarding and best practice in boarding and facilitates communication on boarding matters between schools, hostels, educational bodies and governments both in Australia and overseas.

Now that’s the brochure spiel… Richard brings decades of boarding school experience to his role. In fact without him ABSA wouldn’t exist as it does today and serve to educate thousands of boarding staff each year.

4000 boarding staff across Australia with a turnover rate of 25% ensures that Richard is never going to be able to retire! Did you know that ABSA offers Certificate level training right through to Masters of Residential Education and boarding school staff can pursue a career wholey and soley devoted to managing boarding houses within a school.
It begins with Base Level 1 Duty of Care training and goes on to Active Duty, in between there’s a vast array of Certificates staff can undertake, leading to a Masters and then there’s the Emerging Boarder Leaders program. Staff do not have to be teachers to have a career in boarding. In fact Richard tells me 60% of staff in boarding houses across Australia are not teachers.
Anyway this is the core practice of ABSA, to train the people that look after our kids when they’re living away from home. I don’t know about you, but that really inspires me and how good is it to know that our boarding house staff aren’t just going through the motions. There’s a clear path to career progression and as you’ll hear from Richard, a definite enthusiasm for what they do.

Follow our podcast today.

Inside a Small Boarding Community at a Big School: with Danniella at Assumption College

Saison 8 · Épisode 11

jeudi 1 mai 2025 • Durée 27:32

Here we are another episode of Destination Boarding - The Podcast, and this one is part of our Summit Series where we expand on the panel discussions we had for our Australian Boarding Schools Summit.

One of those topics was 'Big or Small, does size really matter when it comes to boarding cohorts?'

We speak to families often about this very topic, and there’s obviously pro’s and con’s for both. Ultimately, it comes down to you and your child. Understanding what’s best for their personality.

In this episode, we’re speaking with Director of Boarding at Assumption College, Danniella Yarman-Lalda about their boarding community. Assumption is a large school with a small boarding cohort and you’ll hear in this chat the opportunities that affords the students that are part of that boarding family.

I have a confession to make here. This is one of the first recordings I’ve done on a new platform and I got a bit cocky thinking I didn’t have to sit in my studio to record anymore…. Well my very noisy doggy thought this was too exciting and managed to yap her way through most of it. It was distracting for me, and I lost my train of thought a couple of times, but I also didn’t want to stop and lose the valuable points that Danniella was making. Sometimes when you do that it’s just not the same the second time round.

This is a great conversation to listen to if you are wondering how smaller boarding schools ensure that their boarders are not lost in the throng of day students and it absolutely highlights the benefits of smaller boarding houses for those that are wondering.

Thank you to Courtney Dunn Productions for editing this episode.

Boarding Schools Expo

Parenting from Afar: Creating Safer Spaces for Our Kids with Dolly's Dream

Saison 9 · Épisode 3

vendredi 25 avril 2025 • Durée 27:16

Today’s episode is a particularly special one. We’re speaking with Sally Sweeney, CEO of Dolly’s Dream, an organisation that holds deep significance for so many rural and remote families across Australia. Founded in memory of Amy ‘Dolly’ Everett, who tragically took her own life at just 14 years old following relentless bullying and cyberbullying, Dolly’s Dream has become a national movement advocating for kindness, safety, and mental wellbeing—particularly in rural communities.

This episode isn’t just about raising awareness—it’s about connection. Sally and I talk about what makes Dolly’s Dream such a unique and impactful voice in the mental health space, especially for families living remotely and for young people transitioning to life at boarding school or working on isolated stations. Sally shares the heart and drive behind their programs, including their tailored workshops for schools, workplaces like AA Co stations, and their upcoming program specifically designed to support young people transitioning from remote education into secondary boarding life.

We also explore the important—and sometimes confronting—conversations about bullying. How do we spot it? How do we talk about it, both with our kids and with the adults around them? How do we educate not just the victims of bullying, but the bullies themselves—many of whom don’t even realise the harm they’re causing?

As a mum who’s walked the boarding school journey myself, these conversations strike right to the core of what we’re trying to do with this podcast: create a space where parents feel heard, seen, and supported. Parenting from afar comes with its own challenges—ones that don’t always get talked about. But together with organisations like Dolly’s Dream, we can start changing that.

Whether you’re a parent, a boarding staff member, or someone passionate about the wellbeing of young Australians, this episode will give you insight, empathy, and maybe even a few tools to better support the young people in your life. And for those of you heading to the Boarding Schools Expo in Emerald, you’ll have the chance to meet the Dolly’s Dream team and hear even more about their incredible new transition program.

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Letters From Home – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Détails du podcast

Classements récents

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Liens partagés entre épisodes et podcasts

Other86

Apple Podcasts3

LinkedIn1

Qualité et score du flux RSS

Historique des publications

Derniers épisodes publiés

Podcasts et contenus similaires

Podcasts Similaires Basées sur le Contenu

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Podcasts Similaires Basées sur le Contenu

Other86

Apple Podcasts3

LinkedIn1