Events

Six exhausted students and their two weary teachers recently returned to Australia after spending four glorious weeks in Germany.

We began our trip in the capital, Berlin, which was at the time suffering from typical autumn weather. We visited the Parliament buildings and the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie Museum (a museum established in the 1970s to tell the stories of those who had escaped communist East Germany). We discovered German shopping and German food and worked our elementary ‘shop German.’
 
After two days, we hopped on a train to Bremen where the real adventure began! We were met at the train station by our host families and went our separate ways. Students attended school on most days and had the joy of seeing all disciplines taught in German (except, of course, English, French and Latin!). Each week the Australian students and their buddies took a day off school to go on an excursion together. We went to Hamburg, Celle, and on a bike tour in Cuxhafen. Every time we fell off our bikes or crashed into something our German hosts merely informed onlookers that we were only Australians and therefore such accidents were to be expected!

On the very last weekend we had the pleasure of witnessing a true cultural event, that is, we saw Werder Bremen thrash Berlin in soccer. After that we headed off to the Freimarkt, an Octoberfest equivalent which had just opened in Bremen.

As a teacher, it is such a privilege to see students integrating into another culture through language. What a fantastic opportunity to learn how other people think and to see that behind our cultural and linguistic exteriors we are all essentially the same – created and loved by God.

Author: Mrs Rachel Collis (German Teacher)

One of the dreams as part of our Mission Trip was to have those who we have visited and ministered to in Yarrabah, come and visit and minister to us and I am delighted to tell you that this is going to happen very, very soon!

In Week 6 (19-23 November) we are hosting seven of our Aboriginal friends from Yarrabah at Covenant and they will be spending the week at our school sharing their faith, testimony, culture, dance and stories with us. They will be visiting individual classes from Transition to Year 12, spending time with staff, speaking and performing at the General Assembly and also at a Special Parent Evening on Tuesday 20. November (see above).

I am pleased to tell you that amongst our visitors we have some highly esteemed and respected aboriginal Elders, including Desmond Rumble, the current minister of the Anglican Church in Yarrabah, and Mick Connolly (with wife Val) who is the former Principal of the Wontulp Bi Buya Aboriginal Bible College which trains Indigenous leaders throughout all of North Queensland. We also have Pam Mundraby who is the sole Sunday School teacher in Yarrabah and her young nephew Barney who is quite a dancer. Merton Bulmer is a gifted teacher and David Mundraby is also a dancer.

We really look forward to their time with us and I encourage you to speak to your children during the week to find out what they have learned. I also encourage you to come along to the special Parent Evening.

On Wednesday 17 October, it was an early morning for all of Year 6. We had to wake up at 5am and get to school before 6pm for our Canberra trip. After a stop at McDonalds we arrived in Canberra. Our first stop was at the National Museum. The museum had many interesting things such as a place called K-space where you got to make a house or a car of the future and design it any way you wanted to. Our next stop was the war memorial. The war memorial had lots of interesting things like the eternal flame which never went out, not even when it got wet. There was also the huge wall of all the names of the brave people who gave their life for our country. We then stopped off at Old Parliament House. We had to wear white gloves so we wouldn’t wreck the old furniture in old parliament house. We had a look at the House of Representatives and the senate. We did a role play with Ryan B and Chloe as the King and Queen. At the we did experiments with liquids and microscopes. We then arrived at our campsite called Warrumbui.   

Authors: Josh N and Josh R

On Thursday some of us woke up early for a game of soccer. After breakfast we went to Questacon and the National Gallery. At the gallery there were some interesting artworks from all around the world.  At Questacon we wandered around looking at many exciting science experiments. The Giant Drop gave you a huge adrenalin rush as you fell down a 6m vertical slope, and an exciting virtual rollercoaster named Track Attack. Next stop was the Australian Institute of Sport. We saw the training areas for the all of the athletes. Then we went bowling, and Jim (our bus driver) thrashed everyone! We returned to the campsite for a scrumptious dinner and dessert. After dinner we enjoyed some cool singing and a demonstration of juggling flaming torches! We finished the night by toasting marshmallows. They were tasty.  

Authors: Daniel B and Caleb

Sadly it was Friday, and our last day in Canberra.  The day started off with a tour to see all the different embassies.  The American embassy was huge, and it seemed like it went on forever but the Chinese is of a similar size. After this we went to Old Parliament House, but this time to learn about how elections are held at the Australian Electoral Commission. Next stop was New Parliament House. Our guide showed us the House of Representatives, and some of the paintings of past Prime ministers of Australia. He took us onto the roof and showed us all the things you could see. We found out that the Australian flag on top of Parliament house is as big as a Double Decker bus! After that we went to the Senate and there we asked our guide questions about parliament house.  Unfortunately our Canberra trip was coming to an end. We hopped on the bus and headed for home. Two hours later we stopped at McDonalds for afternoon tea.  For some of us it was a whole day eating in one stop! Once we got to school, we thanked our bus driver Jim for a fantastic time. We grabbed our baggage and went home to our families for a well deserved sleep.  On behalf of all of Year 6 we would just like to thank Mr Eatough, Mr Groves, Mrs Eatough and Mrs Kohlhoff for a fantastic and fun 2007 trip to Canberra. 

Authors: Chloe and Hannah E 

On Saturday 31 July, 22 students, six teachers and two Bible Society staff flew to North Queensland for the annual Covenant Mission Trip. Once again we stayed at Tropicana Motel Lodge in Cairns which also houses the Wontulp Bi Buya Indigenous Bible College. Here we spent mornings praying and preparing our program which we would use later in the day when we arrived at the Aboriginal Community of Yarrabah. Yarrabah is about 30km south of Cairns and took about an hour to get to each day.

Our first experience of Yarrabah was on the Sunday night when we visited for church. It was at this stage that we were made to feel very welcome and the community really took us to heart. This was due to the wonderful work of last year's team and the relationship that had been established. In church we sang songs together, did 'action choruses' and got involved in dance and worship. It was wonderful to be so accepted by people that we had never even met before! Soon after we had a chance to play with the Aboriginal children and it didn’t take long for them to warm to us - jumping all over us and playing games, etc.

From Monday to Thursday, we travelled to Yarrabah each day where we: played games, did balloon modelling, face painting, acted out Bible stories, sang action songs, led small group discussions, taught memory verses, gave testimonies and prayed with the children in small groups. Most days we had 50-60 children and over the week we shared the gospel with them. On the last day we asked the children in small groups if they wanted to become Christians and many said yes! It was very exciting! At one point in the week we went shopping in Cairns and bought $400 worth of art and craft materials, from money which had been raised by Year 9 at Covie, which we gave to the Sunday school. Pam, the Sunday school teacher, was so moved by the gift that she hugged us and sobbed in gratitude (it was beautiful!). The people of Yarrabah overwhelmed us with their generosity, giving us lunch one day which  consisted of Barramundi that they had caught the night before and fresh fruit that they had picked themselves! On Thursday night they held a special church service for us to say goodbye, involving some aboriginal dance and followed by a traditional meal called a “cutmurray” (meat and vegetables cooked in a large pit underground for many hours). It was very hard to leave and there were many tears …very, very sad.

On Friday, our last day in Cairns, we went on a boat trip to Green Island for the morning, which was great fun, before debriefing and flying home to Sydney.

The Mission Trip was a great success once again and the team this year really solidified the partnership that has formed between our two communities. We are so proud of each of the students - their faithfulness in doing what was required of them, what they learnt and what they achieved. They are: Marco Setiadi, Emily Fraser, Rochelle Layland, Grace Sheehan, Elise Nolan, Hannah Mottram, Tim Whitehead, Ananda Damanik, Hayley Bennett, Alex Cole, Rebekah Osborne, Brittany Auckett, Toby Hutton, David Lucas, Vanessa Simmonds, Malisa Szeremeta, Brooke Hocking, Dimity Christian, Lauren Bothma, Jessica Irwin, Georgina Bell and Kim Baker.

We would like to thank everyone who supported us – in prayer, by donations and in so many other ways. A special thank you to the parents of the team members, to Mark Brown and Millie (Bible Society) and Mr Monin, Mr Smithies, Mrs Holmes, Miss Hammond and Mrs Bootes. Please keep praying for the Wontulp Bi Buya Bible College and the people of Yarrabah, especially the children … that they may grow in their faith and make a difference in their community. Praise God for another successful and memorable mission trip! Until next year.

Mr Max Monin

This year Year 9 went to the YMCA Campsite in Yarramundi. We spent the first night camping and the second night in cabins. The activities that we did were rock climbing, initiatives, alpine rescue, high ropes and heaps more! We also had a guest speaker named Grahame Fuller and he talked about Jesus’ return.

Here are some comments from the 9C Home Class:

Zoe: My fave part of camp was the bus trip because we all got to talk as loud and as much as we wanted.
Ruth: My highlight of camp was the trivia night because it was lots of fun.
Grace: The bonfire was fun because it was big. The second night in the cabins was also really fun.
Sarah: The campfire was good because we got to eat marshmallows.
Lele: My highlight of camp was the food, because I like food.
James: I went to the YMCA Camp and I liked the food because we had hot dogs and other great food.
Jack: I liked the food, especially the lasagna.
Evelyn: I had fun making up songs around the bonfire, especially Matt Walter’s song about Mrs Knowles.
Stephen: They had the best food. The gave us hot food and delicious chocolate mousse.
Chloe: I liked the food because it was home cooked. I also liked the bonfire because we had a song-making contest.
Joshua: Chillin’ with my homie mates by the fire!

Eugene Choi (Year 9)

At the end of last term, Year 6 traveled to Port Hacking to stay for three days at Telford campsite. It was great but tiring.

Our first activity was rock climbing or abseiling. Some of us had never done abseiling before and really enjoyed it. Rock climbing was difficult. You needed to rely on your friends to pull you up. On the night walk we saw some deer, massive spiders and heard a wallaby. I'm sure he heard us, too. Other activities included canoeing, orienteering, the water slide and archery. Archery was really fun because you could experience what it feels like to be bowman. Orienteering was interesting because no one had experienced it before. You had to use a compass and a topographical map to find markers in the bush. Some people capsized their canoes on purpose. It was refreshing. The water slide was very fast, but the queue was quite long.

During Christian discovery we learnt about Moses and the great escape and Noah and the great flood. We found that God helps people in trouble. 

The best thing we did at night was the Quiz. At the end the winning team had to do an act in front of the judges. Whoever could impress them most could earn points. One person from each team had to do the Macarena. It was very funny because no one knew how to dance.

We all enjoyed camp and slept very well when we returned. Year 5, you will love coming to Telford next year. It is a great place. We would like to thank all of the parents and teachers who organised camp for us. It was fantastic experience.

Daniel Blumer and Caleb Hill (Year 6)

“Camp was awesome” - Eugene Au-Yeung 
“It was the best camp I’ve been on” - Lucy Richardson
“Tackle rugby in the morning was fantastic” - Mitch Zalai 
“The talks were great! Thanks Mr. Thornton!” -  Ben Fraser

On 3 April, Year 8 left school to go to Mangrove Mountain, for a school camp. We arrived at around 10.30am, exhausted but excited. We immediately started activities, after a quick recess and a tour of the camp. We divided into four groups and started the first round of activities. Over the day we rotated between activities such as canoeing, rock climbing, swimming, and flying fox. Later, there were plenty of other excitements: theatre sports, pool time, abseiling and team building activities. Personally I (Ben) liked the rock climbing best! However, David, my friend here, liked the giant swing just as much.

Another highlight was the talks given by Mr Thornton. A dynamic speaker, Mr Thornton challenged us about what we believed and for whom we were living. Many students committed or recommitted their lives to Jesus on the camp.

It was better than I expected. There was great food, great company and plenty to keep us out of mischief. To next year’s group, be sure to go on camp. You’ll love it.

Ben Nour (and David Kossally)

‘The camp was a lot of fun from my perspective. I enjoyed it a lot. Sailing was one of the highlights because it was so much fun!  The wind blowing in your face and the water rushing by!  As for the food - roast beef was well, just roast beef, and the scrambled eggs were a bit watery, but everything else was great!’

‘The camp was located in a refreshing place and it wasn’t too hot. The games we played at night were exciting. The Monster Game was fun because it built tension. It challenged you! To improve the camp experience you could put on insect repellent every day and night to prevent mosquito bites. You should also think happy thoughts and not think about going home.’                             
 
‘The activities were nail-biting and the food was mouth-watering. Playing Monsters on the Loose was one of the highlights. The leaders dressed as monsters and they had weaknesses and codes. It was a nightmare come true!’
 
‘This camp was the BEST! The location was fresh and close to nature. There was a large range of activities. The leaders were funny and really positive – easy to talk to. The games were fun and really exciting. Sailing was great – going fast in the boat, nearly going for a nosedive, thinking you would fall out of the boat, it was all part of it!’
 
‘It was a great place because it was spacious and had everything you needed to do an activity. The camp leaders were so funny and nice! They treated you like kings and queens.’       
 
‘The leaders were really good. They sat with you when you had meals. My highlight was on the last day when we played soccer. It was the leaders and girls against the boys. Something else that was good was that I became a Christian on the last day.’