It is my aim, in implementing a ‘Clubs’ program, to provide the Year 1- 4 students with added timetabled opportunities for involvement in such areas as Science & the Arts. In doing so we provide the students with additional structured opportunities to unwrap their talents and gifts in an educational and curriculum focused area.

It is my intention that this will also assist in placing value on students’ preferred learning styles whilst also giving opportunities to extend themselves and to grow in other areas that they may not have attempted before.

It is hoped that whilst students value this time of developing their own talents, it would also be my aim and focus that the students would continue to develop a servant heart through the activities undertaken in their chosen club.

Wherever and whenever possible, the activities are aimed at assisting the students to develop a heart to serve and to bless others, focusing on personal responsibility, honor, moral integrity and ethical behavior.

Providing additional hands on Science activities such as the Sunny Patch Club, is important in a number of ways. Whilst teaching students to care for the amazing world God has given us, current academic research also shows that a high percentage of girls lose interest in Science before the age of 12. This club is proving to be a positive step in both maintaining and growing their enthusiasm in this area of Science.

If you (or perhaps) a grandparent have expertise or an interest in one of the clubs and would like the opportunity to be involved, please let your child’s teacher, (or me know).

The Gifts and Talents Clubs take place Period One each Friday.

The clubs are:
Choir
Chess (and other strategy games)
Dance and
The Sunny Patch (environmental garden)

Judy Sobey, Head of Junior School

Over the years, the College’s classrooms and computer labs have been home to a range of the latest machines – the Apple IIc, the Apple IIe, the Apple Mac, the Apple iMac and arange of PCs. However, those who have been around for a while would acknowledge that Covenant, for various reasons, has not always been able to keep up with the demands set by such rapid advances in technology. In saying this, I think it would be fair to say that Covenant College has always had technology on the agenda.
It was during a Year 7 computer class back in 1995, that Mr Stok first introduced me to ‘the internet.’ At the time my interest was minimal and I brushed it aside as just another passing craze in the fast developing world of technology. For me, computers were useful for playing games and occasionally typing up school work – that was it.

Fourteen years later, having returned to Covenant as a teacher, I now realise how wrong I was. The adoption and effective use of DT has become such an integral part of education. The good news is, Covenant College is still leading the way in their implementation of DT in education.
If you have had a look around the school this year, you would have noticed that 2009 has seen a significant upgrade and improvement of technology at Covenant College. The College has acquired a larger inventory of more capable PCs, more rooms have been equipped with data projectors and the speed and reliability of the internet connection has been advanced.
Covenant’s leadership has developed the following statement, which outlines the continuing vision for DT at Covenant College.
“To be a Biblical, discerning and critically thinking College that continually seeks to improve student outcomes, empower and support teachers (and administrators) and involve parents in the learning process that includes the use of digital technologies.”

The DT committee

The DT committee has been established by the Leadership Team and is responsible for the implementation of the Covenant College Digital Technology strategic plan.

What we want to achieve in 2009

• Support DT professional learning by training and equipping teachers, students and parents to understand how DT can best be used to support and enhance Christian eduction at Covenant College.
• Connect learning beyond Covenant by providing 24 hour remote access, introducing the use of Moodle for all Senior School classes and developing a parent DT training program.

Jonathan Feldman
Chairman DT Committee

Congratulations to the Livingstone Lions on winning the Swimming Sports – again

Livingstone Lions 412 points

Ten Boom Tigers 393 points

Wilbercorce Whales 240 Points

Mueller Mammoths 234 Points

In many ways my first year as Chaplain at Covenant College has been one of learning and growing into the role as needs and opportunities have become apparent. For me this has been a transition from teaching into Chaplaincy, a process I have found to be relatively smooth, aided by the fact that I already knew many of the students and staff members.

As Chaplain, I have been able to work across the school, getting to know many students, teachers, and parents. In particular, I have worked in the area of student welfare, providing support to students struggling with a range of issues. Over the course of the year I have provided intentional support for numerous students, regarding issues including school and study, grief and loss, relationships and social problems, and faith and spirituality. This aspect of my role has been satisfying and, from my perspective at least, productive in terms of seeking out and assisting students who may be struggling.

I have also been able to support specific staff members as they in turn assist students dealing with various issues. I have had a number of opportunities to offer support to the parent community through the extension of pastoral care, and attempt to maintain an open office where parents are free to come and talk. A further aspect of my role has been in the area of parent education. During the year I ran a two session seminar for parents focusing on adolescent boys. I also offered a ‘Seasons for Growth’ information session for parents, and spoke at a gathering of Kinder parents regarding the Chaplaincy programme. I intend extending this aspect of my role in 2009 by offering a range of parent education forums and opportunities.

I have been able to access some quality professional development activities throughout the year, which have helped skill me for the role of Chaplain. I completed a two day facilitator training course for ‘Seasons for Growth’ in June, a grief and loss program I am hoping to offer to students on an annual basis. I attended a Community Chaplaincy training day providing me with an accreditation to attend crisis/trauma situations, and I recently completed two days training in the “Coaching Young People for Success” program. This program, based on a life coaching model, has great potential for motivating and supporting students, and will be partly implemented at the Year 12 retreat in 2009. I have also attended a three day ACCESS Ministries residential conference focusing on bullying, and a two day ACCESS non-residential conference, which looked at the effects of trauma on people.

Attending excursions and camps has provided me with many excellent opportunities for connecting with students and offering support and encouragement. Over the year I have attended a number of sporting events (cricket, football, cross country, basketball, and Christian school carnivals), the Middle school Canberra camp, and a range of excursions across the year levels. These events provided wonderful opportunities for in depth conversations with students.

Generally, I have spent lunchtimes outside mingling with students and talking informally, and supervising a group of boys in the school gym. This has allowed me to engage with students who I might otherwise not connect with. In this way, I have attempted to provide support to students other than those who have visited my office for support of a more formal nature. (It should be noted that student participation in the Chaplaincy program is voluntary and they have the option of not pursuing my support should they choose to do so).

In closing, it should be noted that my two day per week appointment has been made possible through the National School Chaplaincy Programme, funded by the Federal Government. This generous initiative provides funding for three years, and hopefully beyond.

My transition into Chaplaincy has been satisfying and fulfilling, and I look forward to continuing in the role in 2009 and beyond. Please contact me at school (Mondays and Wednesdays) should you have any suggestions for Chaplaincy, or with any requests for pastoral care.

Russell Stubbings
Chaplain

Some staff, notably those in Grade Prep to Grade 2, have noticed a considerable improvement in the reading levels of their students.

They have attributed this to the introduction of THRASS across Junior school in 2008.

It is still early days, but so far the feedback from parents, students and staff alike has been very encouraging.

Since the Government is encouraging a move back to a strong phonetic approach to literacy, at Covenant we are ‘ahead of the game’ so to speak.

There is talk that trainee teachers at university may be THRASS trained as a mandatory procedure because it is so effective.

Congratulations to all staff for sticking with it and adopting this great ‘program’ that is now beginning to show results.

Development. This initiative aims to promote education and training, and recognise their fundamental role as components of working towards sustainable development goals.

The Model UN Conference is a unique, constructive and interactive professional development tool that enables students to engage in global issues and the work of the United Nations. By taking part in a Model UN, students not only learn about UN bodies and UN member states, but also about the importance of dialogue, diplomacy, negotiation, and building consensus. These skills are fundamental to the development of global citizens and future leaders. Model UN Conferences are an excellent exercise in role-playing, where students are allocated a country and asked to walk in the shoes of that country’s Ambassador.

 This year, Congratulations go to Terence Bell, Emily Mikelsons, Devin Pollitt and Ezra Warren for representing Christ and Covenant College well by winning the “BEST DELEGATION” at the mock UN conference held in the Geelong Town Hall on  17th  October 2008! Emily Mikelsons and Ezra Warren also received honorary mentions as the best speakers. Our delegation competed against 14 other top schools in the Geelong region to come out as winners. Recognition  must also go to the rest of the year 10 International Studies class for being excellent research assistants to the delegates as over 5 weeks they diligently prepared for the conference.

 In attendance were representatives of the United Nations Association of Australia (UNAA), Senior lecturers from Deakin University’s Arts faculty and Local and Federal members of Parliament. It was good to accompany our students and watch them engage in the skills of diplomacy, dialogue and negotiation to pass amendments to a resolution that called for a widening of the definition of ‘Refugees’ to include Environmental Refugees. Although our delegation representing Ethiopia could not get their particular amendment passed, which reflected reality in the International System as they had to contend with more powerful countries, they handled themselves with aplomb and of the highest academic standard. This was noted by one of the UNAA representatives who said that our students showed a wide and comprehensive grasp of the strategic issues being discussed and raised relevant points in their speech and during question times. Well done!

Here is what one of our delegates has to say:

One day in an International Studies class, Mr Nair sat down with a letter in his hand. From that day, the class started preparing for the model UN Conference that was to take place.

The two weeks just before the conference were the most stressful and busy. We had research to do and speeches to write. I stayed up way too late reading useful books and articles and preparing my speech. In hindsight, all the stress was completely unnecessary. But I felt prepared on the day, so maybe some of the stress was worth it.

On the actual day I was extremely nervous about making my speech. But listening to one of the Labor MP’s speak reassured me as I realised that I couldn’t possibly be more boring than he was!

When the time arose to go and make pacts with other countries; Devin, Terence, Ezra and I played out the strategy that we had devised earlier that week. Being the only girl there from Covenant, my part in the plan was to go and speak to the countries that were represented by girls’ schools. So off I went to make some friends and form some alliances. Amazingly enough, all of the other girls (from the smaller and poorer countries) must have had roughly the same idea as we all ended up congregated in this little huddle in the corner. We all agreed that it was time that the third world countries had equal rights with the larger, wealthier nations. Together we decided to not let ourselves be bullied by the richer nations and to make changes for the better, for the whole world. The scheming of our female minds must have paid off, because ultimately the decisions made were extremely beneficial to all of the countries involved in the conference.

Just before I made my speech I was frantically trying to shorten it so that it would fit into the two-minute time span that I was allocated. As I was crossing out lots of valuable parts of my speech, the presenter rose and said, to my utmost dismay, that our speeches could go for two or three minutes, but they wouldn’t stop us until we reached five minutes. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to either cry or re-lengthen my speech, so I stood and made my way to the podium.

 I don’t think that my speech went too badly. I was very glad of the podium  blocking the view of my shaking knees from the audience. I can’t actually recall much of what I said as I was so very nervous, but it must have gone all right because most of the other countries agreed with what I said. A funny thing happened that day as all of the students became extremely patriotic towards the countries that they were representing and started berating Australia. It was a very interesting exercise to watch.

Overall, I absolutely loved it. After my poor nerves recovered, the whole day was an absolute ball! An added bonus to the end of a fantastic day was that Covenant College was announced the best delegation!

Emily Mikelsons

John 11:25

In partnership with local churches and schools, students are encouraged to be actively involved in Christian Ministry. At present these include: leading Youth groups; mentoring younger students; involvement in Church music ministries; and giving practical help and support to community groups such as the Breakfast program at Christ Church, Geelong which has been developed as an outreach to the homeless in the Geelong community.

 There are so many other practical opportunities for students to participate in ‘hands-on’ activities, allowing for the growth and development of each student’s gifts and talents. In addition to the practical outreach, students are required to have direct involvement in peer-group classes, mentoring programs with church leaders and personal daily Bible readings and journaling. Weekend Retreats are held each term and are integral to sharing and building relationships with other Christian students throughout Victoria.

Together we hope to build a strong support network between the Geelong churches and schools to nurture senior students in their walk with the Lord.

 As the ‘Vetamorphus’ students grow deeper in their relationships with the Lord within the Covenant College community, we trust that they will be equipped to live-out their Christian lives as they put back into the Geelong region. In ‘Vetamorphus’, our students are challenged to follow the teachings of the apostle Paul from Romans 12:2

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”.

 If you would like to find out more, know any students that may be interested in enrolling in ‘Vetamorphus’, or would like to be involved in supporting the program in prayer, as a mentor or Ministry leader, please feel free to contact me to discuss this further.

For more information please contact Steven Sobey at ssobey@covenant.vic.edu.au

 http://www.vetamorphus.com/