Principal Communications, 22 May 2024

Dear Parents and Carers

This week is Chaplaincy Week – a time nationally where we have opportunity to thank and honour those who support our students’ spiritual growth and wellbeing. While at Calvary this is the responsibility of all staff as we are all committed to our vision and mission to ‘grow the whole child’, I do want to thank those whose work focuses on this important support for our students.

Our chaplains, Jayden and Dan are popular mentors and leadership role models for our children. I appreciate their contribution to chapels, support of both the formal and informal elements of our formation program and the special flavour each brings to camps and other events beyond the classroom. I often see Jayden looking a bit like the pied piper with a trail of students in his wake at break times as he gets into organising informal games with the children. I enjoy seeing Dan at the Mango café deep in conversation with senior students and even with some of our recent graduates. Your children remain connected with our community even after graduation – always part of the Calvary family! Jayden and Dan give so much to our community and I appreciate their commitment.

Associate pastor of Real Life Christian Church, Clare, oversees chaplaincy and her influence stretches way beyond mentoring and leading Dan and Jayden’s College contributions. She is a key contributor to the College-wide Compassion program, where each student cohort has a Compassion sponsor child from the Philippines with whom they remain connected for the duration of their College journey. I deeply value Clare’s input in the development and execution of Formation: this includes curriculum development, chapel programming, working with our counsellors and Heads of Wellbeing and Community and our staff.

At Calvary, we want each child to have the opportunity to explore and develop an authentic personal faith.  Our Chaplaincy team is central to this objective. Thank you to this exceptional team who seek to serve our community every day.

Look out for Good News Week in term 3. This team has some great plans for us to focus on the Good News of the gospel and how we each can share in Good News and hope in a world sadly lacking vision and hope in the future.

This week, at our assemblies, our students will have the opportunity to express their appreciation to Jayden, Dan and Clare.

I would also like to say thank you to Lead pastor Adam for his commitment to our College Council, his support and the many conversations we have that give me hope when things are tough.  Most of all I am grateful to Adam for working with me to ensure we remain true to a contemporary expression of the vision and mission of our founders 40 years ago.

Yours sincerely

Cherylynne