I want to tell you a short story about a man who I’ve actually been thinking about a lot these last few weeks. Peter Van Beek was born on 10 March 1934 in the Netherlands. In 1970 Peter and his wife Margarethe settled in Australia with their three sons. Peter and Margerethe spent most of …
This headline recently appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald after a Blue Mountains Grammar school student collapsed and had a seizure in the school toilets while vaping. The occurrence happened as a result of inhaling a massive dose of nicotine. What is Vaping? For those who don’t know, Vaping is the term used when aerosol …
Student collapses while VAPING in school toilets due to massive nicotine dose Read More »
What’s the meaning of life? Why do I exist? Why does anyone exist? What difference can I really make? If you’ve heard questions like these from your teenager, it would be understandable to think that they are slipping into a state of depression. But there’s no need to stress. This is a normal process that …
Parents often approach me with the problem, “My child is addicted to gaming, how do I make it stop?” First off, what is gaming addiction? Is it a real thing? In 2018, Gaming disorder whether online or offline was included in the latest edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as a clinically significant …
Will they pick on me for my shoes? Why do I never get chosen for the “good” team? What do I have to do to get them to like me? Have you ever heard questions like these from a teenager you know? If you answered yes, then it’s likely that your teenager is struggling with …
Who am I if I don’t qualify for the basketball team? What will my friends say if I admit I’m struggling with my mental health? Climate change is such a huge issue, how can what I do make a difference? If you’ve ever had anything to do with teenagers or want to be equipped for …
I wonder how many of you have considered questions like: why am I here, is there more to life than this, who is Jesus and what evidence is there that he really existed? These are just a few of the questions that are explored throughout the Youth Alpha series. Over the past few weeks, the …
At the end of Term 1, many of the Senior students went on their camps some to Burleigh, some to Noosa and others to Moreton Island. I was fortunate enough to be included with the Year 10s to Moreton. I quickly saw why most of the kids that graduate GCC see it as their favourite …
It seems like we have had quite the year so far, haven’t we? It seems like just as we have been slowly emerging from ongoing COVID restrictions, there were the impacts of the floods on communities in Queensland and NSW, which led to more school closures. On top of all of this, we see the …
There was much excitement in Chapel this week as we celebrated both having the ability to meet together for the first time this year and Harmony week. Every student was given a glow stick before entering a darkened auditorium as the Chapel band played the song Let the light in. Some of the elements incorporated …
After a couple of tours of isolation, once for flying overseas and once for contracting the virus that I tried my best to avoid for the last two years, it is easy to see why we’re designed to do life in community. I dislike shopping for food online, everything is delivered in unfamiliar brands, sizes …
With every new year, the College chooses a different verse of scripture to focus on. The verse for 2022 comes from the Gospel of John. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. This verse is spoken while …
As a Pastor, I am always grateful for opportunities to see growth in our students. Unlimited is one of the programs the College pastors have run for the past two years with the whole of Year 8. During the course of the Unlimited program, we get the chance to see incredible growth. In fact, that’s …
In Book Week, the College Pastors wanted to raise the profile of the most important book of all in our College community. Partnering with our Student Voice body and the Bible Society, we raised money to fund Bibles going overseas. We were inspired by the story of Brother Andrew, a Polish Christian who smuggled Bibles …
Your child has an amazing opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children they have never met. Our Primary School students this year have been learning about “Love in Action” in Chapels. We have learned about different ways that they can practically show love in action to others. In order to enhance their …
Primary School shows love in action through child sponsorship Read More »
How do bush dancing, magic tricks, snorkelling and God bringing down city walls by trumpet blasts and people’s shouts go together? These are just a few of the things this year’s team got to do on our recent ministry trip to 1770. Last week, 11 of our Senior students Pastor Syd, his wife Terry, Pastor …
Isaiah Chapter 43 has been a bible passage I have been reading for some time. Sometimes you find a gem in God’s word that really seems to nail what you are thinking or experiencing, and this has been the case for me. In it God reminds us that no matter what we face in life …
Are you fed up with the amount of screen time your child engages with? Are they constantly on Netflix? Have you ever stopped to think about the power in some of this screen time as a powerful teaching tool? Children rarely appreciate being lectured in life lessons. But they are far more likely to absorb …
Life seems to be full of transitions. We change careers, houses, fitness regimes and vehicles. Some changes are easy and seamless, but others are quite challenging or difficult. At GCC it is no different, there are transitions that happen from Primary to Middle School and again to Senior School and then after school. One of …
Apart from being a whole lot of fun, ministry trips help students step out in faith as they minister to others and grow in character through serving others. Thanks to Covid our ministry trips to Fiji seem to be a thing of the past at least for now. However, this year we are really excited …
Kay-od mee-leh foyle-cha! [céad míle fáilte] Mine Croyceo y bawb! [Mae ‘na groeso i bawb] Welcome to Harmony Day! I just welcomed you here in three different languages [the first version is a phonetic version to help you pronounce it] because they all represent cultures that are part of my identity. I have an English …
Have you heard the grumbling about Christmas yet? How much it costs! Whether to invite Auntie so and so to Christmas lunch or not, because last year she upset so many people! How on earth you can fit in all the extra Christmas events into your already busy schedule! I want to revisit the first Christmas …
This past week at GCC we had a very special Chapel centering on Jesus’ birth found in the Gospel of Matthew 1:18-2:12. The Chapel will probably be forever remembered as the ‘Camel Chapel’. You see three real-live camels and their handlers (wise men) led all Middle and Senior School students into a very special outdoor …
This week in Senior Chapels we were thrilled to have GodSpeed racing rider Trevor Wilson, who shared his life journey that took him to the Dakar Rally [think the Mount Everest for bikers!]. This epic rally sees elite riders race 14 hours a day for two weeks through deserts and dunes of nearly 8000 miles! …
Have you ever wondered why October is the tenth month? I mean Octo is like Octopus which both contain the Latin word for eight. So why is the eighth month actually the tenth month? Well, in the old Romulus calendar 750 BC, it was the eighth month, but then January and February were added and …
Friday lunchtime is usually a time allocated for our Senior students to come to the Lifehouse to explore faith. However, last Friday the College Pastors opened the Lifehouse to the Senior students to come in for some fun and just hangout. Working alongside our Year 12 College Leaders we managed to turn the Pastors Lifehouse into …
“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13 Imagine standing in front of about 40 Year 11 boys. They are in a different environment to their usual classes, the Pastors’ LifeHouse. The room warms up with their body heat. The ribbing jokes flow like water from a gurney. They …
How it came about Last year was filled with many new things. One of them being the idea to provide a space for our Year 5-6 students to engage with God through singing, songwriting, dancing, and praise. In a short number of weeks, this became a passion and highlight for many of our Year 5-6 …
You might think that when you leave school your learning journey is over…but nothing could be further from the truth! Life is one big adventure of learning. Even our own Pastor’s team, Syd is completing his Masters of Theology, Isaiah is studying to be ordained, Fi is completing her Theological degree this year, Donna and …
I came across this article in a Crosswalk newsletter and thought it was worth sharing: Many of us have wonderful memories of Easter morning, which includes baskets full of chocolate, egg hunts, and new dresses for church. Those traditions are fun and can build fond memories. But what about the real event we are celebrating? …
Transitioning from Primary to Middle School can be a big deal for some students. As Pastors we are trying to help the students with this transition. So far this term we have been intentional about getting to know all the Year 7 students. We want the students to feel comfortable with us should they ever …
Upon reflecting on the College verse this year, I have examined the importance of living out this verse in our everyday life and especially in our home. Sharon and I absolutely love parenting our two boys Josh and Ben. They mean the world to us and we would give the world for them to be …
Who loves special moments? Moments when you can’t help but smile inwardly and outwardly at what is occuring before your eyes? Shut your eyes for a moment and see if you can remember the last time you saw a newborn baby, gazed on a newborn lamb wriggle, or heard a baby chick cheep. Remember the …
Have you taken a moment lately to examine the “what is coming out of your mouth” barometre? When it comes to family, I hope you can honestly say that we are using encouraging, thoughtful, kind, pure speech. As parents we want to be influencers and motivators and lead our families down this path. One way …
This semester Pastor Donna, Steph Alksne (parent volunteer) and I, have been privileged to run a parenting course for parents of High School students. We have really enjoyed sharing together and learning from each other. Although my boys are in their early 20s, we never stop learning from each other and though we did have …
Parenting involves wearing many hats: chef, psychologist, handyman, cleaner and nurse. I have worn all these hats and more as I raised my four children into adulthood. Yet there were times when I asked myself: Am I doing everything right? Am I doing enough? Will my child succeed in life? Psychologists at Harvard came up …
Do you remember the old song, “O Lord it’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way?” Hopefully you have been humble lately, but I hope you haven’t told people what you have done. Maybe you ooze humility and it comes naturally to you, but I’ve been challenged lately with this godly character …
This year has started with many of us off and running already at speeds close to Superman. Parents rushing round shops for books, pens and uniforms, Kids racing to get ready for school and staff pouring over lessons and organising meetings. And look how fast the year is going already! It’s go go go just …
Dealing with God There is a classic scene from the movie “The End”, where Burt Reynolds is trying to swim to shore from deep water. Convinced he is about to die, he starts making deals with God. As he approaches the shore, and he feels begins to feel safer, with the effect of him going …
What a whirl-wind start to the school year this has been. It has been great to see all the new faces, as well as catch up with some old ones and see what they have been up to on the holidays. My holiday break was indeed a busy one; I had to prepare for my …
In Luke 8:4-15 Jesus tells the parable (story) of the ‘Four Soils’. Essentially a farmer scatters seed, but only the seed that fell on the good soil ended up growing to maturity and producing a harvest. The danger of reading this passage is that most of us automatically assume that we are good soil. In …
I love to cook, I love the excitement of what I am going to make, the smells and the anticipation. But what I always forget is to read the recipe well. I read a little bit, skip a bit and just make it up as I go. I get bored of reading and think I’m …
I once read a quote that stated how God wouldn’t remember all the “good” things that you did but what he would remember is how much you loved others. I think that is so true. God gave us a commandment “Love your neighbor as yourself” Luke10:27. We Christians are suppose to be known by our …
“Let us love one another: for love is from God.” 1 John 4:7 God is love. The Bible says that nothing can separate us from God’s love. No matter what we do or what we have done, God still loves us regardless. What an awesome reminder this is. Even if sometimes we feel completely unloved …
Primary Disco Night What a terrific job our P and F did organising the Primary Discos on Friday night. It was a lot of fun and great to see everyone ‘get up and boogie’ the night away. The students behaved very well and were a credit to the College in their manner and dress. Teacher …
