Events

This morning our Class and Year Parents enjoyed a morning tea. As a school we are very grateful for the time, energy and love parents are able to devote to the school. One of the main roles of the Class parent is to help foster community in the school. Head of Junior School Mr Morton shared this poem with the group...

Ode to all class Mums
I stand amidst a battle
Emails fly and children prattle
Many say his end is soon to come
Well for some it may be near
But I am safe I have no fear
For today I had a visit from my class Mum

At times I’m falling into pieces
When I’m stuck inside at recess
And my horrid boss asks for more and more
But your work is so reliable
Your spirit undeniable
When your face appears at my classroom door

Stay in your seat
And mind your biz
Can’t you tell I’m in a tiz
The air is putrid how will I survive?
OK, I confess that I have weakened
And its 4 days till the weekend
But (ahhh) your car pulls up - I see you have arrived

I love that mum ya know
From her blue rinse to her toe
And I guess - when all is - said and done
If the school was to burn down
Or I confused the verb and noun
I know that I am safe with my class Mum

The main purpose of the morning tea was to say thank you for all of the work class and year parents put into serving this year.

• For serving us as teachers in the myriad of ways
• For serving the parents by drawing them together in a way that builds community
• For serving our kids by helping class life to run smoothly
• For serving our Lord by imitating his heart of service.

Thank you.


The second reason for meeting was provide some hot tips about how you can be the best class mum ever. May I say the competition is fierce… chocolate, massage and power tools are just some of the methods used in the past to secure votes for Class Mum of the Year.

Significant tips included:

• Praying for the class
• Working with the other class Mum
• Organising a method of communication between yourself and other parents.
• Comments from a past class mum

Social activities enable parents (Dad’s especially) to meet, share ideas and support each other. There is something really amazing about likeminded parents coming together in this way. For new families to the school (and sometimes the Country!) this is the most effective way break into the school community. This is something really important and something that Covenant does very well” Kari Higgins

The group also heard from Anne Baker about the role of the Board and the Association, Mrs Knowles talked about Year Parents, Marwen Chapman explained how the Community Freezer works in assisting families in need, Mr Monin encouraged Class Parents to make the most of Café Covie & Carol Cole who leads the prayer team prayed for the group.

On Wednesday 12th November Covenant Christian School hosted a Centre for Public Christianity meeting with Dr John Dickson and Dr Greg Clarke. Over 240 people attended from the local community. Some churches brought along their Bible study groups. Dr Greg and Dr John explained who some of the leaders in the New Atheist movement are and gave us greater understanding of them as individuals. These include Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, and Christopher Hitchens.

Here are two comments from parents who attended...

I had the privilege along with many others of attending last week's "The New Atheism" seminar lead by Greg Clarke and John Dickson from the "Centre for Public Christianity" Organisation held at Covenant Christian School. It was an excellent seminar allowing us to gain an understanding of some of the current thinking and who are the leading authors of Atheism today. I found it helpful to understand some of the flaws in the Atheism argument and some historical inaccuracies in four of the current leading books. As a parent at CCS, it was very beneficial to be encouraged to read more widely on both Atheism and our response to Atheism so that we can be ready to hold an informed and helpful conversation with others when necessary.

I would like to thank Covenant Christian School for sponsoring and hosting this enlightening event and caring for the community.

Pastor Steve Parker
Belrose Uniting Church

I would like to thank Covie for an enlightening evening on Wednesday, 12 November. Mr Rusin and his staff did a great job of hosting a public discussion on "the New Atheist". Greg and John, from the "Centre for Public Christianity", presented us with a Christian persective on atheists and their philosophies.

John Dickson reviewed five authors who have had some publishing successs in recent years, including Richard Dawkins who wrote "The God Delusion". He also gave us a general overview of how an atheist compares to an agnostic (who hasn't worked it out yet) and an apatheist (who doesn't care).

He went on to explain four varieties of atheism; philosophical (it's logical!), sociological (it's mature!), Darwinian (it's natural!) and ethical (it's moral!).

John showed us how the new atheists' treatment of Jesus required a robust and thoughtful response from anyone wishing to dispel the atheist theory. He walked us through some major errors in their historical treatment of the life of Jesus. And he posed the question that if we can't trust their representation of historical fact then what other factors are in doubt?

After the presentation the audience, of about 200 interested parties, asked questions regarding the wisdom of reviewing such literature. The guys urged us to make our own decision to read, but advised caution against total emersion of ANY topic.

The Centre has a web site www.publicchristianity.org which is great for those looking to begin a journey to Christ.

I have a much better understanding of atheism although the only thing "new" about it seems to be the popularity of the books. Although lots of people are interested in the topic, it doesn't mean the number of atheists is growing. From a personal point of view, it certainly got my brain working. And my faith in God remains simple and strong.

Deboarah Sims
Covie Mum

There are some links to Dr John Dickson and Dr Greg Clarke's Podcasts on this subject at:

http://www.covenant.nsw.edu.au/_bpost_1162/The_New_Atheists_Public_Seminar

The Manly Daily recently contacted Mr Bill Rusin for comment on the teaching of Intelligent Design in schools. You can read this article at:

http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/aussie-schools-defiant-in-evolving-life-debate/

Meet the King relates the story of Jesus as recorded in the gospel of Mark and is accompanied by some wonderful music. The songs are fun and fast (with a few slow ones). All 344 students in Junior School at Covenant took part in this wonderful performance. Each grade performed in some way whilst a number of specially selected singers, dancers and actors had an opportunity to present.

We enjoyed witnessing our students grow in confidence as they tackled a host of challenges and displayed their God given gifts before a considerable audience.

Congratulations to everyone involved.



Photos of the Dress Rehearsals are available for purchase - a DVD of over 600 images. 

Meet the King Photo DVD (55 KB)

Plans for the future development of Covenant were recently unveiled during a fundraising dinner at Miramare Gardens at Terrey Hills. It was a nice change to be told of major rebuilding in the infants department while being musically entertained by members of the student body, and amid the lure of three courses of food.

About 130 parents, staff, and supporters of the school were reassured by MC Simon Higgins that the multi-million dollar price tag for the building work wouldn't be collected then and there.

If that was the primary aim, the Covenant crew was off to an ordinary start with cost for the evening coming in at a warm and fuzzy $20-a-head.



Testimony to the popularity of the event was that tables spilled onto the balcony. And yes, that was a tent we were sitting under.

There was a donation element to the night but it was not aligned with pressure. And we were told there were two ways to donate: financially and by word-of-mouth, telling people about enrolling in this great school.

Someone said the ticket price was kept low so anyone could come to enjoy being part of the Covie community.

The important things of which my wife and I were reminded were the sense of welcoming, the feeling of community, and that this school honours the Lord Jesus Christ.

We were there for the common reason of ensuring the best future for our children and were shown a bold road map on how we can help achieve this.

Hats off to the makers of the DVD which will give parents considering the school a taste of what is on offer.

Thanks also to the Hills Flowers people for donating flowers and to Suzanne Bennett for the organisation.

Rod Bennett
Parent

Fathers, sons & daughters gathered together to celebrate Father’s Day.  The breakfast was kindly put on by the Community Development Committee of the school.  Many muffins, croissants, pastries, cereal and fruit were consumed on the morning.  Paul Le Lievre spoke a few words of encouragement to the group.  It was a very pleasant way to start the day. 

Today we celebrated our school's 30th Birthday.  Covenant Christian School has come a long way in 30 years. It is right to stop and express thankfulness for our past, plus renew our commitment to the founders' vision of Christian education. 
Our MCs for the Assembly were our school captains Marco and Hayley. Mrs Collis and our worship band led us singing "Holy is the Lord" and "Now that you are near".

Next

Annie from Year 2 did a brilliant job interviewing Mr Jacob Strickling. Mr Strickling is a former Covenant student and science teacher. He then entertained us with Covenant's history including tales of a hot air balloon (made of 200 garbage bags and last seen heading to New Zealand) and dissecting a snake. Most importantly he explained, using cakes and a LOT of icing, about the place of Christianity in our school. Then he amazed us with explosive experiments much to everyone's delight and surprise.
A special large cupcake, without icing, was cut by Marco, Mr Strickling and Emily - representing the past, current and future of our school. The lack of icing carried a significant message. For Covenant our Christianity in the school is not to be merely an icing. Rather it is to flavour everything we do. It is cooked throughout the mixture. It may not look as pretty but we want much more than an outward good image.

Covenant's recent Cross Country had a much greater purpose this year. Students raised over $3,100 of sponsorship for Run for Bibles. This enabled over 400 Bibles to be supplied in China which will be read by over 2,000 people. We then honoured the students who won the recent "Rotary Youth Speaks" Public Speaking Competition.


Mrs Staples led our Kindy children in a beautiful singing of Amazing Grace.

Hayley closed in prayer including praying for the team of students heading off this week on the Mission Trip.

Then it was time for cupcakes for everyone!! Covenant's first birthday in 1979 was celebrated with cupcakes. This tradition has continued. For the past few weeks Covenant's Commercial Quality kitchen has been busy making and then icing 1,000 cupcakes.

Thank you to everyone for a wonderful celebration. What a great school and well worth celebrating.

What a great day! On Wednesday 25th June Covenant honoured and welcomed Grandparents and Grandfriends to join the Primary School.  Visitors admired the Junior Art Exhibition, explored the book fair, visited the classrooms and enjoyed a Devonshire tea. 

• Thank you to everyone for making it such a special day! 
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• There was a variety of performances.
  • Mr Chippolone  (Year 5 teacher) had special awards for special grandparents including the most Grandchildren, most Great Grandchildren, the most countries visited, longest lived in one house, most hats and ties!
  • Kindergarten presented the story from the picture book Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley by Aaron Blabey.
  • Year 6 highlighted the top 10 events and people who have influenced our Australian Identity.
  • Year 1 displayed artworks inspired by the Bob Graham book, The Trouble with Dogs plus recited a poem.
  • Year 2 performed an item on the book ‘Shhh Little Mouse’ by Pamella Allen.
  • Caitlyn O’callaghan and Caleb Wong (Year 2) interviewed a grandfather Mr Rory O’Donoghue. His advice to us all was "Make time for family!"
  • Year 3 brought to life two mini dramas based on the Book “Winning The World Cup” by David Metzenthen and Illustrated by Stephen Azelsen. 
  • Charlotte Aitken entertained us with a speech on her amazing - but not to be imitated - Uncle!!!
  • Year 4 will did a skit based on the book ‘Australia’s Deadly and Dangerous Animals’ by Michael Cermak.
  • Brianna Caristo in Year 3 gave a speech on her awesome grandparents.
  • Year 5 told some of their recent school news based on a newspaper style book 'The Shaggy Gully Times’
  • Junior school band, conducted by Miss Rose, play two items
  • Alex Norris (Year 6) read a speech honouring his amazing mother who died from breast cancer.
  • Transition performed 2 songs “Hello to all the children of the world” and “God Speaks” 
  • Joanna Swaddling’s grandfather Mr Joe Burrows gave us a brilliant bible talk
  • Year 2/3 choir, conducted by Mrs Staples, sang Amazing Grace

Trivia, there was plenty of it but let’s get an answer to some of the more tricky questions like………

Where was Mr Monin and why does he keep sending his never ending supply of Indian relatives to these things……..

How was it that for the Basketball Challenge that over 20 people tried to put the basketball in the hoop but only Mr Rusin was able to…….

Why was it that the table that won the Grand Prize (worth over $300!!) included Mr & Mrs Rusin and some of the Board Members……

You may be tempted to think that the circumstances may be a little suspicious but the Trivia Masters (who were always right according to The Rules) can guarantee that nothing dodgy or underhanded took place!

It was such a great night with over 250 people attending. There was a chance to show off your general knowledge, singing skills (or lack there of, in Nanpup’s case) and even your sporting prowess.

It was a wonderful opportunity for the Covie Community to gather and support a very worthwhile cause. The Mission Team worked very hard all night and we would all like to thank those who came along and generously participated or helped in any capacity.

Special thanks go to the Sound & Lighting Team, Mrs Smithies, the Bennicky’s and Judy & Bob Lloyd.

The night was a great success and we raised about $7000! Thanks again for your support and we are looking forward to next year!
 

Last Thursday the school assembly focused on the Easter event. It was a great adaptation of the “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” and involved students from all parts of the school. Mrs Pitt and Mrs Piney did a wonderful job with the students and the performance kept those who witnessed it enthralled throughout. The highlight for me was when the students from the Junior school sang the new version of “Amazing Grace” that has been adapted from the original song by John Newton for the story of William Wilberforce that was dramatised for the big screen.

The new song has a chorus
“My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Saviour, has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, amazing grace.”

The children upped their volume considerably when they came to this chorus, but I am not sure if they understood the significance of having our chains gone and being set free. This has enormous significance to those who have struggled in their life and felt the liberating power of a saviour God who has guaranteed their life in Him, a life that will one day be freed from the struggles and pain of this life. This was made plain to me when I witnessed the slow but dramatic decline in my mother’s life as she wasted away with dementia a number of years ago. As a “died for” person she was able to look forward to being set free in a very real way, and I was greatly comforted at the time knowing that she had been set free indeed.

This, however, is because of the defining moment in all of history where the Son of God finally culminated history in his life, death and resurrection. It is a different view of history that the rest of the world has, but one that at Covenant we impress on the students in our care. 

Author: Bill Rusin