BE ENCOURAGED
Our wonderful Year 6 students wanted to share words of encouragement for their teachers
God brings opportunities in the midst of lockdown!
I am always amazed by the Lord and the way in which he works through every situation. I was given the opportunity earlier this year to be involved in writing a Senior Student Leadership curriculum in conjunction with the missions arm of my church designed for Papua New Guinea (PNG) schools, both private and public. Then last month I was asked to present this curriculum that is based on Biblical principles and designed for use in all Senior classes from Year 10-12 to the senior minsters of the PNG Education department. Our prayer is that we can offer this curriculum free to all senior students and partner with the PNG schools to grow the next generation of leaders. It was an incredible honour to represent both our College and my church and showed me again how God works all things for the good of his children, Romans 8:28.
I was also involved in a wonderful leadership conference for 200 Senior Students from across PNG in July. I spoke virtually to the female students about being a woman in leadership and leading with integrity.
In this season when mission outreach is so difficult I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to speak and impact even a small group of students in PNG.
My encouragement to everyone is to keep your eyes up and focus on a God who can bring amazing opportunities even in difficult seasons.
May God Bless you
Yvonne Hughes
Head of Primary School
A Message From St Andrews' Wellbeing Captain
Hello Students, Staff and Parents,
I’m Caitlyn Smith, the Wellbeing Captain for 2021.
It’s fair to say that this year has brought many unexpected challenges. We never expected the pandemic to happen, let alone a sixth lockdown. These challenges can be extremely stressful for us. There are so many things that we don’t know or understand. Instead of focusing on what we still must overcome, we can look back, and see all the things we’ve already conquered. From new ways of learning to new hobbies we’ve tried and the time of social distancing we have created spaces for new opportunities to blossom.
This time of isolation stops us from being able to lean on others, so pressing into God is the only option. I encourage you, in this time of uncertainty, to dive deep into the only consistent thing in our lives, Jesus Christ. He knows all, in a time where there are so many unknowns. Let Him guide you with infinite wisdom, to places where our human understanding fails. Afterall, everything that is over our heads, is still under His feet.
With the school holidays approaching, it provides a perfect time to relax and reset for an amazing term 4, online or in person. I hope that you can find moments of joy and peace doing something that gives you life. It could be painting, cycling, crocheting or reading!
God bless,
Caitlyn Smith
Wellbeing Captain
Wellbeing Team member Michelle shares below some tips for wellbeing on R U OK Day.
Weekly Art Club ZOOM Challenges
Sophia, our amazing Art Captain has encouraged both Primary and Secondary students to participate in active Zooms each Thursday where we respond creatively to an Art Challenge! It has been a great way to connect, support and encourage each other during remote learning.
Keep Creating!
Marina Heading
Head of Visual Arts
Wellbeing Wednesday 'Cook Offs'
To stay connected and have fun during Remote Learning, Caitlyn and Michelle in the Wellbeing Team have hosted Wellbeing Wednesday Cook Offs!
The first week was Chocolate Chip Cookies – a Miss Easton recipe – and it was such a joy to support students to learn new skills and have a great time in the kitchen. Mrs Heading may or may not have burned a batch or two of cookies!
This week? Chocolate/Coconut Balls – surely Mrs Heading won’t burn them.
Marina Heading
Secondary Wellbeing Coordinator
LEGO Club Staying Connected Online
The LEGO Club is at it again! From sending Mr Farmer a ‘Happy Birthday’ during the Paralympics, to getting outside and reflecting on God’s wonderful creation and celebrating RUOK? Day with ‘yellow happy sculptures’, the students have had such fun! I hope that we can pick up where we left off next term – in person!
Keep Creating!
Marina Heading
Secondary Wellbeing Coordinator
Is there Hope anywhere?
Based on a video devotion prepared for our Secondary Students earlier this term
In the middle of the Covid-19 Pandemic, going in and out of lockdowns, can we find Hope anywhere? People who trust in Jesus would say "Yes, absolutely!", there is a certain Hope that anyone can have. Mr Grant explains:
Weird times!
You have to admit, we are living in weird times! Yes, these times are stressful, challenging, uncertain, restrictive and for some, anxious, lonely and depressing. They are also weird, however you look at it. So if you are feeling unsettled at the moment – that is completely understandable!
Is there hope anywhere?
So can we have any hope? From the Christian perspective, the answer is always “YES”! I don’t just mean that we will eventually somehow learn to live with this virus. I’m talking about Hope for the world with all its people and all its problems – not just the pandemic. And by “Hope”, the Christian attitude isn’t, “Gosh, I hope things might get better one day.” It’s not wishful thinking! No – the Christian Hope is a certain Hope, a real Hope, that knows that under Jesus Christ, all things WILL be made right one day. Let me explain.
Jesus comes to the earth the first time
Many of us remember that when Jesus first came to the earth he was born many years ago in a little town called Bethlehem. He grew up and showed God’s power and love and taught the people about God and his Kingdom. By dying on the cross, Jesus took the punishment for sin for everyone who trusts in him, so that they can be forgiven by God and have their sins washed away. God showed that he had accepted Jesus’ sacrifice by raising him from death. Jesus had defeated sin and death, and all who trust in him share in this victory.
Jesus will come to the earth a second time
The Bible also teaches that Jesus will come a second time to the earth. This won’t be like the first time! Everyone will know and see the return of Jesus! The Bible sometimes calls this the “Day of the Lord”. As Luke 17:24 describes Jesus in his return, “… will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.” So when will all this happen? The Bible does not tell us. Even Jesus said that he did not know but only the Father knows (Mark 13:32). It could be later today! It could be next week. It might not be for many years. We don’t know. One of Jesus’ disciples; Peter, wrote two letters which are recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible. In the second one of these, he elaborates on this (2 Peter 3). Peter explains that God is patiently waiting for people to turn back to him and accept his offer of forgiveness, because once Jesus returns, that opportunity will be gone forever. Peter says that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief – in the sense that a thief doesn’t let the house owner know when he is coming. Jesus will return suddenly and many people will not be expecting him. On this day, it seems that everything as we know it will be destroyed – God’s people of course will be protected. Peter is attempting to describe the indescribable! But the Hope I mentioned earlier can be found in 2 Peter 3:13.
It says, “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness”. “Righteousness” means “goodness”! Can you imagine that? There is nothing bad in the new heaven and the new earth! No pandemic, no disease at all, no pain, no poverty, no corruption, no hatred, no violence, no war, no greed, no sin or evil of any kind – and no death. Is this too good to be true? Well – it is good, and it is true. In the Bible God has always kept his promises. Since God keeps his Word, this promise of Jesus’ return will be kept also. We just don’t know when. But we need to be ready for it – trusting in Jesus and accepting his forgiveness.
The “in-between” times
So we live in the “in-between times” in that we live in-between Jesus’ first arrival on earth and the second one that I have described above. We know and understand God’s love, revealed through Jesus especially in his death on the cross and his resurrection, and we still see the brokenness of the world around us. But we look forward to the Day of the Lord and God establishing “…a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness”. Think of it as heaven and earth as we understand them being joined together. This will be forever – and YOU are invited to participate in this.
What is your response?
So we can have certain Hope in what God has promised! God invites each of us individually to trust in him through Jesus. So I invite you to place your trust in Jesus Christ. Accept that he died on the cross to take the punishment for your sins. Receive his forgiveness and love. Know the Hope that he gives you that you will be at home with him forever in the new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. While we wait for him to establish this, followers of Jesus are called by God to be agents of his truth, love and life in this broken world - including during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rev Warwick Grant
College Chaplain & Head of Wellbeing