Faith News 2023 | Term 4, Week 2

Video Transcript

“Good morning to everybody of Faith Christian School across the State of Queensland, and to our 26 students who are studying overseas, who are there for short periods of time, welcome to Term 4, Week 2!”

Student News

“We’d like to start out by telling you a couple of things that our students have been doing. One of our students is Charles Oakley, and he’s been learning how to be a pilot, and this photo is of his first solo flight! He went up and down himself, took off and landed. He’s also won a scholarship in relation to his pilot training, and he’s working very hard. The great thing about Faith Christian School is he can make his study fit around his lessons in flying and the work that he does. So, well done to young Charles and keep up the good work as you learn how to be a pilot!”

“We also have some photos of 14 students who are on a Certificate II Outdoor Recreation Intensive – mountain bikes, rock climbing, aquatic board sessions, and more. They had a great time on their Intensive, and these are our kids who are studying that course online, and they get together for these Intensives from time to time. So, they get the best of both worlds, they get the theory done, and they get the prac done!”

Yearbook Submissions

“We are putting together our Annual Yearbook over the next few weeks. If you have something you’d like to submit for that, something you’ve done, like Charles or the kids in Certificate II Outdoor Recreation, send them in to the School, and we can include them in the Yearbook. One of the things I really like about Faith Christian School is that it’s a lot more than what we do in class. We do great things in English and Maths and the other subjects that we teach, and with our Workshops, but our families do some amazing things in their own time across the State, and the Yearbook is a great place to record those, so get those stories in!”

Upcoming Dates

“There are two important dates coming up in October, and you can celebrate these things as you see fit. One – the 27th of October is the Australian World Teachers’ Day. Take a moment to say thank you to your Teacher. Now, here’s a hint: They’ll love coffee! If you can find a way to help them have a cup of coffee on your behalf, that’s not a bad way to go!”

“And the other one, which is also dear to my heart, on the 29th of October is Grandparents’ Day, and no doubt, many of our students get help from their grandparents with their study, so do say something to say thank you to your grandparents for the things that they do in your life. In my family, my four grandchildren call me ‘Grump-pa’. I don’t know if that’s something to do with the fact that their grandpa is a Principal or not, but I’m Grump-pa, but I love my grandchildren very much!” 

Upcoming Events

Prep Orientation Session | 16 November 2023

“There is another Prep Orientation Session coming up on the 16th of November. These information sessions are for both people who are already enrolled to do our Prep next year, but also, if you would like to invite other people to see how Prep is done at Faith Christian School, you’re welcome to do so. Bring your child along to that online session, and there’s a bit of a focus on a teddy bear. If you have a teddy bear, bring that to the Prep Orientation Session, and they’ll tell you what that is all about! We had a great turnout for our previous Orientation.”

Canberra Trip | 12-14 August 2024

“Next year, we’re having a Canberra Trip! Now, we had a go at having a Canberra Trip this year, but we really didn’t allow enough time for people to get ready. This one next year is in early August, so we’ve got almost a year to get ready for that, and there are some great things that the kids will be doing. They’ll be going to the Australian War Memorial, the Institute of Sport, a tour of Parliament House, a trip to Questacon, I love that, going to Questacon, they do all sorts of experiments on the day, they look at the Embassies, the Government House, they also get a chance to ride around the lake in Canberra, Lake Burley Griffin, on a bike tour. So, if you’d like to do that or find out more, click on the link below.”

Swimming Carnivals

“Swimming Carnivals are happening last week, this week and next week, and it’s been a great time to see our kids competing in the pool, and for those kids who are really serious about swimming, they could nominate to be a part of the Christian Schools Australia Carnival for next year. We had six students go in this year and they did very, very well. Out of the eight schools that were there, we ended up doing quite well with our small group because the kids who went can really swim well! So, if you’re into swimming, come to our Swimming Carnivals across the State, and also keep an eye out for registering for the competitions that you can do at a higher level.” 

Devotions

“I’ve been a Christian for a long time. I made a decision to follow Christ in my life at the age of 14 with my dad in his study. Now, that was a little while ago now (it was actually last century!), and if I told you that a life as a Christian goes perfectly all the time, you’d know that that’s not the truth. We choose to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, to allow His Holy Spirit to come into our life to guide us, and there are times where life is less than wonderful. One fellow that I was reading his prayer again over the holidays, was the prayer of Jabez.”

“Now, Jabez, his name actually meant ‘pain’, and if you want to look up the story in Chronicles, Chapter 4:10, the story is there, that Jabez wanted to do well with his life, but he kind of felt like he was cursed with his name, and he wanted to do well. And it says here, ‘Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying,  “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my border, “ which means ‘make my world bigger than it is’, that your hand might be with me, which is another way of saying, ‘Please bless me, God’, and that you would keep me from harm.’ And he wanted to make sure that his life was protected from things that would come into his life that were negative.”

“Every single one of us can quote things in our family where negativity has come in, or difficult things or pain or injury or circumstances that have caused us great distress, and even back in Jabez’ day, that was an issue. And he also said that he wanted to make sure that he didn’t bring pain himself. He didn’t want to be the cause of distress for other people. And the last part of that verse is amazing, and I want this to be true for all of us: ‘And God granted what he asked.’ Jabez asked for this, and the Scripture tells us that God granted that. So, part of living well is saying, ‘I want my life to turn out a certain way. I want my life to be successful. I want to be a blessing to other people, I don’t want to be a curse to other people. I want to be protected from harm.’ It’s alright to pray like that, and then to go out, and with the help of your Lord, make those things happen for yourself, and for people around you.”

“So, look up the prayer of Jabez, okay? Learn about that story, and there are many other stories like that in Scripture. Christian life is not perfect, but it is powerful, and we want you to have powerful, successful lives, while you are at school, but more importantly, after you graduate and make a life for yourself, under God’s instruction over the rest of your life!”

Have a great week, and we’ll see you at the next event!