An afternoon quickly turned to tragedy in Wujal Wujal, south of Cooktown, as a young girl was swept away in a flash flood. She was unable to be saved from the rushing water.

In the wake of the tragedy, Chaplain David Kamholtz has been helping the Wujal Wujal community heal.

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Do you love to garden? Do you believe in the ability of nature to bring peace and perspective to our busy lives and minds? Patricks Road State School recently held a grand opening event for its very own Grandad’s Garden – a space designed to give children a quiet place to process their thoughts.

A range of school community members as well as special guests, Brian Andrew and local artist Sarah from Kreative Heaven attended the opening. Brian read his book to a group of excited students who joyfully shared their dreams with him.

Patricks Road State School Chaplains Andrea Eadie and Trevor Corke based the garden on the book ‘I Grow in Grandad’s Garden’. The children’s book highlights the values of gratitude, forgiveness, courage and generosity and says “When you pass on good values to your children you are setting them up for a life of success and significance.”

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Chappy Sam paints a very eerie picture of Rockhampton on Friday, the 20th of February.

“We woke up in the morning and it was very calm, and we actually thought we’d slept through the cyclone! But then the winds started to pick up and we knew this was really happening,” she says.

Sam and her husband Kevin, who is also a chaplain, were caught in the middle of Cyclone Marcia as it rampaged through towns in Central Queensland. Flash flooding, destructive winds, and utter devastation were created by the category 5 cyclone.

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We’re very excited to introduce Peter and Christine Coates… our new mobile chaplains!

You generously answered the call, and collectively raised more than $130,000, which is amazing. Your support has made an immediate difference and allowed Peter and Christine to hit the road on April 20^th.

“We are so excited to be the new mobile chaplains!” Peter says. “We’re qualified teachers with many years of teaching experience between us. We have two adult children, two dogs and a cat, and live in Edmonton, just south of Cairns.”

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Meet the Westons – a family of five committed to helping children and young people. It’s what they’re called to do.

“We always believe in being there for the ‘one’ – there is always one child you can do something for,” says Karen Weston. “It doesn’t matter what you do in a day, but if that one child comes in down-and-out and leaves smiling – that’s why you work as a chaplain.”

Karen is the chaplain at Springwood State High School, and her husband, Scott, is a former chaplain and is currently a high school youth support coordinator.

Karen believes their passion for serving youth is in their blood.

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Can a night of dancing help young girls understand their value? Chaplain Jenny Schleusener, from Palmwoods State School, thinks so.

For the last two years, about 160 have attended the ‘Fathers and Daughters Dance’ at Palmwoods State School. The group crowds into the school hall for a night of dancing, games and quality time.

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There are key characters in all great stories. And Keith Drinkall is just one character who authored the first chapter in the story of chaplaincy.

Keith’s life was altered when a shocking event occurred that would change his life and the course of SU QLD…

“A young man from our church was killed in an accident. As a teacher, it made me think of my students and if they were to lose their lives prematurely,” says Keith.

At that moment, Keith decided he wanted to do anything he could to make a lasting difference in young people’s lives. “A week later I received a call from Jim Rawson (former CEO) offering a position in schools work.

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Children and their families are doing it tough in the bush – they are struggling to remain hopeful while facing the reality of drought, with its debilitating effects.

One of our amazing chaplains, Helen, paints a picture of life for kids in the outback:

“I’ve been a chaplain for three years now, but only started at the Charters Towers School of Distance Education in second semester last year.

“At the moment, a lot of families are struggling with the drought. They’ve got rising debt as they try to keep drought affected stock alive. There are no returns from unsaleable stock, just costs. Outback communities and families are caught up in a drought that has gone on far too long, and the impact is heartbreaking. Sometimes, that extra burden means less time in the school room. They have to restructure their school times with feeding runs and checking waters. And that puts pressure on families, which makes it tough.

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It’s never easy for Prep parents as they prepare to say goodbye to their children who are starting school. And for many parents over the past few weeks, they’ve experienced a teary farewell.

But Jamboree Heights State School chaplain, Astrid Liebermann, has made the process a little easier.

For the first time, she’s created 130 ‘Prep Parent Survival Packs’ for parents.

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For the first time ever, a cohort of Year 6s in 2014 said goodbye to their familiar primary school surroundings. And now, they’re about to finish their second week of high school.

Transitioning to high school is one of the biggest changes in a young person’s life, so to help primary students prepare, many chaplains run ‘Transition to High School’ programs.

One of those chaplains is Bev Brown. She’s been the chaplain at Petrie State School since April 2013.

“Throughout last year, I realised how nervous many of the students were about starting high school,” Bev says. “They were concerned about fitting in or feeling lost, and worried they may be bullied or not make friends.”

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