St Andrews Christian College Newsletter 2023

BE ENCOURAGED


Thank You St Andrews Community

St Andrews Christian College would like to give thanks to God for our wonderful community and acknowledge the outstanding efforts of everyone during the rollercoaster of lockdowns we've had in Term 3 and 2021 so far. We've had more days at home this term than at school. 

We see:

  • the parents and guardians juggling their own work and lives while facilitating their children's school work from home
  • the resourcefulness and resilience of our students bending back and forth between on campus and online learning environments
  • the adaptability of our teaching staff members being in the classroom one day and on Zoom the next and
  • the flexibility and contribution of the admin and support staff who maintain the operational life of our College
  • and the strength and wisdom of our Principal, ELT and Board to guide and steer the College through the ever changing nature of education during a pandemic.

We thank God for each and every one of you and THANK YOU for partnering in this journey alongside us, supporting one another. Thank you for the cards and notes of encouragement. Thank you for all you do to keep St Andrews Christian College moving forward and for the Shalom community it is. 

 

We are praying for you and your families and hope that you know God's presence and sustenance in your life today. May you be encouraged to keep going and to keep leaning into God. 

 

Each morning the St Andrews Staff gather together to hear a devotion and pray for the day before us, the College happenings, the students, and community. This week our new Secondary school teacher Mr Matthew Adamek shared with the staff an encouraging message of God's working in our lives. We pray that by sharing it here you might also be blessed and encouraged.

The Widow’s Olive Oil

I'd like to share one of my favourite passages. It’s only recently become a favourite of mine. On New Years Day this year, God put this on my heart, and it’s held me in really good stead throughout this year. It’s the story of Elisha and the Oil Jars.

The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”
Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”
Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbours for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”
She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”
But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”2 Kings 4:1-7

Here we see a women who’s husband has just died and owes a large debt she cannot pay. She comes to Elisha for help and Elisha instructs her to go to her neighbours and borrow all of their empty jars, come back to her house and begin filling the empty jars with the oil that she already had. When she does this, she fills up all the jars, until every single jar was filled. 

 

I want to hopefully speak to those of you who feel like they’re struggling. I want to share a reflection of my day on Thursday last week when we went into lockdown. I woke up that morning not really knowing that there was a chance we’d be heading into lockdown. 

I went to my favourite breakfast place in the morning in preparation for a full day of parent/teacher meetings! I got to school, ready to rumble and ready to tell parents about how awesome their kids are. My jar was full! I was ready to go! 

 

However, throughout the day, the whisper between meetings got more speculative. The news articles became more certain. It’s alright Matt, it’s all good. You stay focused big guy! You got meetings to go to! And then… the P.A. system turned on. The announcement was made, and lockdown was confirmed. I finished up the meeting I was in and let the reality of another lockdown settle in. I took a moment, I let some tears drop, I gathered my thoughts as I prepared for yet again another lockdown. And it was in that exact moment that I felt like my oil jar was completely empty. How does that happen? How do you start the day with the oil jar full, and half way through be completely empty? Right now I’d say we’re all feeling that our oil jar is pretty low. 

 

Being a teacher is tough! In my young naïve-ness of being a graduate teacher, I am learning that this is a really difficult job. I can come to school each day and begin homeroom and encourage students "What’s going on? Woo let’s get excited!” but the truth is, I don’t feel like that everyday because I’m coming to school with an empty oil jar. 

The reality is that there are days that we’re going to come to school and say, God… I have nothing to give, all I have… is this tiny bit of oil. It’s in that exact moment that God says to us "That’s exactly where I need you." And He says that to us is because, it’s not about the amount of oil that we have, it’s about our God who has the ability to multiply through his amazing power.

It is not our emptiness, but our fulness which can hinder the outgoings of free grace. While there is one soul conscious of sin and eager for pardon, grace will flow; yea, while there is one heart weary of indifference and anxious to be wounded, grace will flow. – Charles Spurgeon

 

What we deem as a little amount of oil, God sees as a dam bursting at the seams. God is in the business of multiplication. All that an empty oil jar is, is simply more room to Him. The greatest thing about being a follower of Jesus is that when I have my moments like last Thursday where I say God I’m empty and I’ve got nothing to give, He’s calling us through faith to pour what we have. 

Pour it out on our students, pour it on our colleagues, on our families, on our hopes and dreams, on our anxieties, on our doubts and on our faith. Pour out what we have, that in Faith, God will multiply. 

 

So if you’re thinking, God I’ve got nothing to give, may you find hope in knowing that this is the best place to be! Because it means more room for God to fill and multiply our oil into the fruit of the kingdom of God. 

 

There’s another element that I want you to consider in this story. We see the woman leaning on 2 types of community here. She comes to Elisha for help – she leans on him. 

But where did she get her extra jars from? She got them from her neighbours. Her community. Her friends. She lent on others and they supported her. 

Who knows how much of an impact her neighbours knew they were having on her by lending her an empty oil jar that day. If one of your neighbours knocked on your door and asked you for a jar, you probably wouldn’t think twice about the effect that it could have. 

But as I mentioned we serve a God that is in the business of multiplying. My challenge for us is to consider what little thing we can do, to allow God to multiply in the form of pouring oil into someone else’s jar. Allow God to multiply the oil that you have today.

 

Matthew Adamek

Secondary School Teacher

 

Riding the 'Coronacoaster'

Wellbeing Tips from Dr Michael Carr-Gregg PHD & Sharon Witt

Last night I 'attended' the 'Riding the Coronacoaster - How Families Can Manage Lockdown 6.0', with Psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg & Sharon Witt (Christian educator). Here are some insights for families which I found so helpful and really practical. I pray that you and your family remain well as we support each other through this challenging time.

Number One Rule

Pay attention to what is going on in the house! Make time to notice how your child may be changing through this time of uncertainty, where fear and anxiety are very common. Remember, our kids need connection more than correction - they need our time. 

 

Important things that adolescents need right now but can't get:

  • rites of passage (formals, events, birthday parties)
  • social connection with peers (just hanging out) to help them establish a sense of self
  • distance from parents and growing independence
  • acquisition of skills for future economic independence

 

Look for common emotions & behaviours of young children & adolescents suffering fear & anxiety:

  • moodiness, shutdown, self-isolation, outbursts, silence, over eating, under eating, excessive social media use, lots of negative self-talk.

What can Parents do:

  • Focus on what you can control
  • Keep the lines of communication open
  • Answer all their questions as well as you can, talking things through can help you feel calmer
  • Take action - get them outside, playing games, sit and 'chill' watching a family movie. Should they go to the local park and 'meet up' with friend - absolutely! Socially distanced, mask wearing, sanitised fun!
  • Use 'Vitamin N' the word NO. Despite being more flexible and offering grace is important, the right balance needs to be struck with teenagers. If they are spending all their time alone, shut in their rooms or on devices.. YOU are their parent and need to help them stay connected to the family and others. YOU have the WIFI password. YOU need to help them establish good boundaries with kindness and love.
  • Keep as many regular routines as possible
  • Above all, parents need to manage their own state of mind
  • Tell the kids that they are not their thoughts, rather they can be the observer of their thoughts. Remember the risky, unhelpful, unrealistic 'trains of thought' that arrive at the station of your mind - you can choose to get on or let them go past (God's Word reminds us to 'take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ'!). Our minds hate uncertainty and often fill in the gaps with 'what if' stories - but focussing our minds on God's truth is essential.
  • Have scriptures around the home, write notes of encouragement to your child. Help them to identify how they are thinking.
  • Recognise the developmental side of things - the adolescent brain has not fully developed 'reasoning' skill
  • Set limits and boundaries
  • Create fun new family rituals
  • Display kindness
  • Foster empathy

Remain Optimistic:

  • 98% of people recover from Covid-19
  • Children are infected less often
  • Response to future pandemics is influenced by all we are learning now

"The single greatest predictor of wellbeing is having a rich repertoire of friends" Professor Martin Milligan's Tips for Teenagers:

  • Safe social media use is ok for connection
  • Check in regularly to see how they are doing
  • Give them space
  • Encourage them to have a routine
  • Make sure they know support lines they can use to talk to someone
  • KIDS HELP LINE 1800 55 1800

I hope this has been helpful!

Please don't hesitate in contacting your child's Homeroom or Subject teacher if you are concerned about their learning. Mr Warwick Grant (Chaplain) and myself (Secondary Wellbeing Coordinator) are a source of support to your child too!

 

God Bless, 

Marina Heading

Secondary Wellbeing Coordinator

The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength

There's no denying that the announcement of a 6th lockdown for our state of Victoria, was hard hitting news for us all. 

 

Living through this pandemic has been tough. We are tired; we are weary; we long for the things we cannot do; a break and quality time with the ones we miss. 

 

When feeling this discouraged it is hard to feel any Joy in our day. We tend focus on what we lack and allow the discontent and uncertainty to take a stronghold in our lives.

 

As Christians we know that when we put Christ first, we will find hope. This is easier said than done as we know our human nature wants to put our earthly desires first, the things we long for in lockdowns. It takes effort to bring Christ to the forefront of our lives. Effort we may be feeling is totally depleted by this 6th lockdown.

 

When you are feeling like there's nothing joyous about your day, pause and take time to cry out to God and praise Him for the hope and strength He provides when our tank is empty. 

 

The strength and hope that comes from our knowledge that God has a plan for us, that tomorrow will be better. Take your troubles to the Lord and you will find strength for tomorrow. Holding onto this Hope we can start to see the joy in things around us and our focus will shift to discover that the joy of the Lord is our strength for this season. 

Praise be to the Lord, for He has heard my cry for mercy.
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him,
and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song. - Psalm 28:6-7

I want to challenge you to begin each day with an open heart and mind to connect with God as often as you need to during the day and acknowledge God's presence in the emptiness of our lockdown days. As C.H. Spurgeon says: "you will never know the fullness of Christ until you know the emptiness of everything else". 

 

God Bless,

Susan de Kretser

Marketing and Communications Coordinator