For many young boys and girls who have trouble focussing during school, tactile and hands-on activities can be very beneficial.

Terry Keen, chaplain at Alexandra Hills State School, has found an exciting way to connect with these students at his school.

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Like many chaplaincy programs, volunteers form the backbone of Chaplain Lindsay Kliendienst’s formerly named Boys and Bikes program over at Aspley State School. Their importance to the success and expansion of his program cannot be understated and Lindsay knows this.

“I’ve had to put a cap of 10 students in each group. If I get more volunteers, I could expand that but I don’t have any more consistent volunteers who can offer to be there every week,” Chaplain Lindsay explains.

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What does 20,000 cupcakes look like? 1680 eggs, 500kg of flour, 340L of milk and 67kg of sugar.

The extra special ingredient is Rosina Tucker.

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In a region well known for its local, home-grown, quality produce, Chaplain Ronnie Timperon is helping to empower young people with the knowledge of how to eat and live healthy.

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From the days of Inter School Christian Fellowships (ISCF’s) to Scripture Union in Schools groups (SUIS), SU QLD has a rich history of teachers, churches and volunteers working together to see young Christian students supported and maturing in their faith.

To continue that long legacy, SU QLD will be launching Regenerate this year. A weekly program that churches, teachers and chaplains can run in schools for Christian students wanting to go deeper in their faith. (more…)

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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I’m now 25, but I still remember this one particular afternoon when I was 8 years old. I was new to the school and I remember feeling lonely, like I didn’t fit in.

On this particular afternoon, the moment I saw my Dad after school, I burst into tears. A couple of kids had made fun of me… and I felt humiliated. They didn’t do anything major, but a bit of taunting was all it took for me to unravel.

You see, I was a fragile child. I had moved from South Africa a few years earlier and I was pretty traumatised and unsettled. I was still struggling to settle into a new country, let alone a new school. It all became a little too much.

Luckily, I had a great teacher. After that afternoon, she chatted with me and spoke to the class about friendships. Her actions really made a difference.

This week marks the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence, so to find out more about how bullying affects kids, I interviewed psychiatrist Dr James Scott a few weeks ago.

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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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Students at Mackenzie State School, in Brisbane’s south-east, had a life-changing idea.

They wanted to collect as many items as they could – food, clothes and toys – and pass it on to others. All they needed was a little bit of encouragement to get it off the ground – and that’s when their chaplain, Joe Riley, stepped in.

“It didn’t matter who was going to get the goods – they just recognised that people sometimes need help when unexpected circumstances arise and wanted to see what they could do,” Chappy Joe says. (more…)