A DIFFERENT TYPE OF SCHOOLIES

November is just around the corner and soon an amazing group of 20 of our Year 12 students and staff (Annie McDowell, Glenn Booth, Jacinta Leed and myself) will be going on a school missions’ trip to Thailand. We depart for Chiang Mai, Thailand on 15th November, immediately after the last VCE exam.  

I've got a genuine passion for missions, and I've had the privilege of leading numerous student missions' trips to Thailand in the past. But this time, it's even more special because I'll be leading the very first BHCS team trip to Thailand! The trip is deliberately planned to happen during ‘Schoolies Week’ to provide a positive end of school experience for our students. 

We will be partnering with Australian Christian Church (ACC) International Mission, and Tim and Bronwyn Perry, a dynamic Australian missionary couple with nearly two decades of experience living among and serving the wonderful community of Chiang Mai and southern Thailand. Tim and Bronwyn visited BHCS in April, 2023 to meet our students and facilitate a presentation about the work that they are involved with in Thailand.

Our students will be staying in hostel type accommodation on a site leased by ACC just north of Chiang Mai. Here, they'll get the incredible opportunity to be involved in kids' clubs and youth programs. We’ll then visit a local hill village, where we will stay for two nights while running a two-day English camp at a local school.

We will further visit ‘The Freedom Story’ (https://thefreedomstory.org/) in Chiang Rai. The Freedom Story’s human rights education, scholarships and resources empower at-risk Thai students to stay in school, pursue their dreams, and break the cycle of poverty and exploitation. Our recent fundraiser, the Pongathon, is a major sponsor of the Freedom Story, so it will be wonderful for our students to see first-hand the fruits of our fund raising at BHCS. 

There will also be plenty of opportunity for sightseeing, including a visit to an elephant rescue park, zip wiring through the rainforest, and splashing around an amazing water park! This trip is going to be extraordinary, and I have no doubt that it will provide our students with the unforgettable experience of a lifetime!

We look forward to sharing more about our adventures when we return.