Announcements

Mara Sapon-Shevin is Professor of Inclusive Education in the Teaching and Leadership Department of the School of Education at Syracuse University. She teaches in the University’s Inclusive Elementary and Special Education Teacher Education Program that prepares teachers for inclusive, heterogeneous classrooms. She frequently consults with districts that are trying to move towards more inclusive schools, providing workshops and support for teachers and administrators. She has also served as an expert witness in several due process hearings related to students with disabilities, supporting families who want their children fully included.

Professor Mara will present two talks at Covenant:

   1. Using Differentiated Instruction to work with heterogeneous students
   2. Cooperative instructional Activities and games for inclusive classrooms

Professor Mara believes inclusion isn't about disability, inclusion isn't about schools; inclusion is about what kind of a world we want to live in together

Speaker:  Professor Mara Sapon-Shevin
Date: Monday 25th May
Time: 4.00 - 6.30 pm
Location: Covenant Christian School
Cost: CEN schools $10 per attendee / other schools $50 per attendee

Afternoon tea will be provided
RSVP: Thursday 21 May accompanied with payment to Suzanne Bennett

Mara presents frequently on inclusive education, cooperative learning, social justice education, differentiated instruction, friendship, community building, school reform and teaching for diversity.

Active as well in the community, Mara was a member of the Advisory Board and the development team for the Community Wide Dialogue’s project on ending racism in the City of Syracuse. She is co-author of a seven session anti-racism curriculum entitled , “Endracism/Endinjustice: Challenging Oppression, Building Allies” which is designed for high school and college students. She is the co-producer of a DVD entitled “and nobody said anything: Uncomfortable Conversations about Diversity” that is designed to explore critical teaching incidents on social justice for faculty in colleges and universities. She works with other educators and community members to design workshops and learning experiences to help participants build relationships across ethnic and racial groups and collaborate for friendship and peaceful co-existence. Mara also sings with the Syracuse Community Choir and is active in the People’s Music Network for Songs of Freedom and Struggle and the Children’s Music Network.

The author of over 250 books, book chapters and articles, Mara writes extensively about the fields of full inclusion, cooperative learning, social justice education and teaching for diversity. Her book Because We Can Change the World: A Practical Guide for Building Cooperative, Inclusive Classroom Communities (Allyn and Bacon) explores ways in which teachers can use cooperative games, children’s literature, music and curriculum to build classroom communities which model inclusion and acceptance and which help students learn to become active participants in working for social justice within and beyond their schools. Mara’s new book “Widening the Circle: The Power of Inclusive Classrooms” was just published by Beacon Press

At Covenant our mission clearly states we "assist parents in the nurture of their children by providing a Christ-centred, biblically grounded, culturally engaging and academically rigorous education which equips children to live for God's glory.  To help this the school has created a new position Curriculum Coordinator (Perspectives) (Coordinator 3). This role will be part of the leadership team that serves the school community. As such it requires a deep understanding of Christian Schooling.

The Coordinator will be of a reformed evangelical faith and ought to be willing and able to articulate this well in the school setting. The successful candidate will ideally have had experience in a Christian School setting and demonstrate that they are able to teach in their area of expertise from a rigorously considered Christian perspective.

They ought to have post graduate qualifications that enable them to do this task and are able to show evidence of doing so in the past. The position is open to teachers from K to 12 and will entail some face to face teaching.

As the job entails them working closely with other senior staff, they will have very strong relationship skills whilst helping them in their task to ensure that a biblical worldview permeates the school’s teaching programs.

They will also help induct new staff and be involved in the school’s teacher appraisal program as well as promoting biblically grounded thinking by the staff in the area of teaching and learning.

Job Description
The Curriculum Coordinator (Perspectives) will have the responsibility to initiate, coordinate and oversee the development of staff and curriculum K12 in accordance with the school's Vision and Mission.

Responsible to
The Curriculum Coordinator (Perspectives) will:

• directly be responsible to the Principal and will work together with the Head of Junior School and Deputy Principal in order to ensure that our curriculum is thoroughly Christ centred,biblically grounded, culturally engaging and academically rigorous.
• work closely with subject coordinators in the High School and the Curriculum Coordinator in

the Junior School. The Curriculum Coordinator (Perspectives) will generally work in the following areas:
Administrative and Pedagogical
The Curriculum Coordinator (Perspectives) will:

• meet regularly with the Principal, Head of School and Deputy Principal in order to advise them in areas of curriculum and staff development.
• initiate and lead pedagogical and curriculum review and improvement in the school.
• arrange and monitor practice teaching sessions for trainee teachers in consultation with subject coordinators, Head of Junior School and Deputy Principal.
• be involved in the appraisal process of coordinators and teaching staff.
• may have a parttime teaching role

Curriculum
The Curriculum Coordinator (Perspectives) will:

• provide leadership and guidance to staff in curriculum and staff development and in the proposal and initiation of specific curriculum projects
• keep abreast of educational developments and government requirements and ensure that relevant staff are informed of these.
• foster the development of programs K12and ensure that all programs and documents reflect the Christian worldview of the school.
• promote an integral curriculum where appropriate.

Staff Development
The Curriculum Coordinator (Perspectives) will:

• publicise & recommend staff development programs, both inschool and those run by outside agencies
• develop and recommend annual priorities in staff development and review these from time to time
• help coordinate the planning of staff conference programs and presentations by visiting speakers
• circulate material about the latest research in curriculum areas and teaching styles
• assist the Head Librarian in the development and promotion of resources in the Teacher

Reference Area

• promote reading and other media that will encourage teachers to think biblically about their task
• undertake inservice training for personal growth in leadership and pedagogy
• provide guidance and encouragement to staff as a whole regarding programming and teaching to meet the different needs of students with different abilities, interests or special needs

Other
From time to time the Curriculum Coordinator (Perspectives) will be required to undertake other
tasks by the Principal.

Covenant is a parent controlled school. This means parents who are members of our Association vote for a Board who represent them. This Board is very involved in recruiting and selecting staff who have the day to day responsibility of running the school. Here Rod Post, the Chairman of the Association thanks the staff for their amazing work.

Dear Staff

On behalf of The Board I would like to extend a word of heartfelt thanks for your individual and collective contributions to the school this year.

May I share this passage of Scripture with you? Colossians 1:3 ff
“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints [including students, parents and your colleagues] - the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing [we see evidence of this here at Covenant, and thank God for it], just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. [The Board regularly prays this for you all, at our meetings and also in our personal prayers.] For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

As you wind down for a well-earned break it is our prayer that during your holidays you will get the opportunity to spend time with your families and friends, and personal time with God. May we challenge you to continue to draw near to Him.

We pray that God will continue to bless you all in your different roles at school, or for those who are leaving us in your new roles, and wish you and your families a well earned rest and the peace and joy that comes with knowing the mercy and grace that God bestows on His people as we celebrate our Saviour’s birth.

Regards

Rod Post - Board Chair
on behalf of the Board and Association

November 8th 1954 – November 20th 2008
Covenant Christian School’s First Teacher 1978 - 1987

Memorial Thanksgiving Service was held at:

Date: Tuesday 25th November

Time: 2.30pm

Place: Frenchs Forest Baptist Church, 617-619 Warringah Rd, Frenchs Forest Sydney.

Read more about the service here.

 

Jan and Trevor requested no flowers (even though Jan LOVED them). They would prefer donations be made to Network Heaven (Anne Salvador) or Covenant Christian School's Kindy to Year 2 Building Program (Tax Deductible) - contact Andrew Lowry (02) 9450 2688
  

Jancine (Jan) Bridges (nee Goodwin), as the first teacher of Covenant Christian School at Belrose, holds a special place in the life of the School. Jan passed away on November 20th 2008 from breast cancer.

 

Earlier this year as part of Covenant’s 30th birthday celebration Jan took the opportunity to visit several senior school classes to share with them some of her memories. In 1978 as a 24 year old Jan Goodwin was interviewed as a candidate for a new Christian school starting in the Northern Beaches. The interview lasted all day! After that marathon Jan thought the job of foundation teacher would be too hard, but as the days went by she increasingly felt God's call to Covenant. Jan accepted the role and went on to serve for nine years as a teacher at the school.

Jan shared stories with the students of the early days highlighting just how far the school has come. On the first day in a rented church hall at Terrey Hills there was one class of 19 students. They ranged from Kindergarten to Year 5 but they had no desks or chairs. Along came a truck with kitchen tables on the back. When Jan informed the parent delivering them the tables and chairs were too big for some of the smaller children they found a solution. The legs of each table and chair were sawn off to a suitable height for each child.

When the school moved to its present site on Forest Way Belrose children wore gum boots and caught yabbies in the creek. Teachers were also asked to learn to drive the school bus. This bus had a top speed of 50km per hour and no power steering. When Jan was being taught to drive she managed to wipe out some fences at the school and was quite happy when she was no longer asked to drive!

Some current students also shared their memories of how the school has changed just in the time they have been here. Jan prayed for the students and encouraged them to listen for God's calling in their lives through reading the Bible and prayer.

Jan was passionate about Christian schooling and a valued member of the School Association. She was excited by the wonderful things happening at Covenant and its growth to over 750 students. In September she attended a Fundraising Dinner where the School Tour on DVD was launched. When the plans for the new Kindergarten to Year 2 Buildings were unveiled she stood and urged the 130 attendees to support the school in the complete Kindy to Year 12 vision. She was always ready to offer both encouragement and advice on how to improve the school she so loved. She encouraged staff and students to be faithful in their ”Covie Calling”.

In 1979 Jan celebrated the school’s first birthday with cupcakes for each student. Thirty years later Hospitality students used the school’s commercial quality kitchen to prepare 1,000 cupcakes in a continuation of the tradition she had started.

Jan lived in North Balgowlah. She is survived by her husband Trevor and her daughter Sonia who currently attends Covenant Christian School.

Press Release with photos

Jan Bridges (nee Goodwin) (510 KB)

 

30th Birthday Celebrations

 

Jan visiting classrooms 2008

 

Network Heaven Story