In Matthew 28:19, Jesus implores his disciples to “…go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
This is known as The Great Commission and is speaking about taking the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus to those around us in the same way someone once did for us. It is important to take these opportunities when they arise to help others understand the lifechanging gift of love and grace that is offered through relationship with Christ Jesus.
Some of us may be called to witness in the global context. 1 Corinthians 14:10-11 states “There are many different languages in the world, and every language has meaning. But if I don’t understand a language, I will be a foreigner to someone who speaks it, and the one who speaks it will be a foreigner to me.” Although this passage is referring to speaking in tongues, it could also be said that learning a language will give the opportunity to share God’s amazing grace with more people in more contexts.
““There are many different languages in the world, and every language has meaning.”
At Calvin Christian School, students from Prep onwards are given the opportunity to learn German, with the recent addition of French in the Secondary School. In the Primary School, Mrs Joubert (or in German Frau Joubert) tutors our students in weekly German lessons. She delivers engaging activities and tasks to help students build and develop knowledge and understanding in this area, with the hope that many will be inspired to continue learning through secondary school and beyond.
Recently, a group of Year 3-10 students entered into the Goethe Poetry and Poster Competition. Students had to memorise a grade specific German poem or create a poster on a set theme. To the credit and effort of Frau Joubert, Herr Huber (Year 7-10) and the students involved, many of the awards at this competition were filled by students from Calvin, with certificates handed out in assembly this week. (Results can be found in the Newsletter.)
I pray that this weekly learning and the opportunity to challenge themselves against other schools will create passion and desire for lifelong learning in languages. If this creates an opportunity for even one of our students to witness to someone in another language it will add extra significance to this already valuable program.
Thank you to Mrs Joubert, Mr Huber, Mr Ambrose and Mrs Norman for their fantastic work teaching German and French across our school.
Andrew Nash - Head of Primary