Mana Moments

Mana is a small tropical island in Fiji. Beautiful one day and amazing the next.

Mana is every bit the picture-perfect postcard destination. It’s where our young family of myself, my husband and our 18-month-old twins went for our first ever overseas adventure.

It was a week to remember. #soblessed quickly turned to #twinswithgastro. Our poor little twins caught a very nasty tummy bug and our time in Fiji became more about sleepless nights and worry and less about hammocks and lazy days by the pool.

On the last day we were standing at the jetty, waiting to board the ferry which would take us back to mainland Fiji, to the airport, to our flight to Melbourne and, 18 hours later, to our home. I have a very clear memory of turning to Glenn, my husband, and saying with full conviction:

I cannot do this. I cannot face this journey home with such sick and unhappy kids.

Glenn’s response? It wasn’t what I was expecting.

He looked at me, at my vomit-soaked clothing, the bags under my eyes and the crying, grumpy toddlers who were both languidly hanging off me and said…

You have to. You don’t have a choice. We’re doing this together.

He was right. I didn’t have a choice. So, we boarded the ferry and commenced our long journey home, which didn’t end until midnight where one of our girls vomited in the cab at Melbourne Airport (dear cab driver, I am STILL so sorry!)

Years on, we still talk about this holiday (and we can laugh about it now!) We still talk about the Mana Moment – that time on the jetty where there was no great motivational speech, no ingenious solution to make life easier. It was just yes, this is hard. We’ve got to do it. Let’s stick together and get it done.

There are times in life where we can find a work-around, a way to make life easier, a way to avoid the tough stuff. But other times, we’ve just got to push through. It’s hard, and we’ve got to do it anyway. We’ve all got to face our Mana Moments.

I think that Joshua in the Bible had his Mana Moment. On the edge of the Jordan River, facing the Promised Land, Joshua saw enemies, trials and problems at every point. But God said to him, over and over

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9b)

In the Mana Moment, in that time or place where you just have to do the hard thing, what do we always need to remember? Take heart. God is with you, wherever you go.

I remember the trip home from Fiji pretty vividly. It was tough. But I also remember the beautiful Indian lady on the plane, who held one of the girls for half an hour and let her play with all of her bangles. I remember the other lady on the boat, who offered us an orange to let the girls eat. And years on, I surely remember the kindness and goodness of a God who brought us home and brought us through a tough time.

If you are facing a Mana Moment, please take heart. It is tough. Sometimes we have to face our challenges head on. But we never, ever face them alone.

Stelle Carmichael — Head of Students

Be Brave. Make change.

We have been celebrating National Reconciliation Week at Calvin this week.

National Reconciliation Week started nearly 30 years ago when people of faith united to pray for reconciliation during the International Year of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. It has continued since 1993, starting each year on 27 May and finishing on 3 June. These dates are significant to the cause of reconciliation. On 27 May, 1967, Australia’s most successful referendum saw more than 90 per cent of Australians vote to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the census. On 3 June, 1992, the Australian High Court delivered the Mabo decision, the culmination of Eddie Koiki Mabo’s challenge to ‘terra nullius’ (land belonging to no one) and leading to the legal recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of lands.

The actions that led to these changes took much bravery. Eddie Mabo’s bravery in challenging the Australian legal system led to recognition of the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional owners of their land. Charlie Perkins’ courage in leading a group of university students on the Freedom Rides in 1965 and Vincent Lingiari’s great bravery in leading Aboriginal workers to walk off the job at Wave Hill Station in 1966 as a protest over poor working conditions on the station played a part in changing public opinion in the lead up to the 1967 referendum.

The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2022 is “Be Brave. Make Change.” This is a challenge to all Australians— including Calvin students, staff and families — to bravely face up to the barriers preventing change toward reconciliation. We are challenged by the actions of others who, like Eddie Mabo, Charlie Perkins and Vincent Lingiari, demonstrated bravery and brought about significant change.

Being brave is something we encourage at Calvin. As our students face challenges in their academic, personal, social, physical and psychological development, bravery and courage are greatly needed!

Being brave to make a change often starts with small acts of courage. This may be challenging a racist comment or calling out a discriminatory act. It may be stepping outside of a place of comfort in order to try to understand the story and experience of others. It may be asking forgiveness from those who have been hurt by decades of injustice and marginalisation. It may be embracing new practices, such as the Acknowledgement of Country, because they are important to our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters.

Change like this takes more than bravery. It takes wisdom and understanding. It requires us to seek truthful engagement, peace and justice for all people.

Just today two of our students, Isabel Weiley and Amelia Rowe-Bennett, attended the National Reconciliation Week Breakfast, accompanied by Calvin staff members Janelle Smith and myself. Over breakfast, they heard from guest speaker and songwriter Kaytlyn Johnson, a palawa woman from the North West of Tasmania who is the 2022 Tasmanian Young Australian of the Year. The keynote address was given by Thomas Mayor, a Torres Strait Islander who is a signatory to the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Guests at the breakfast came away with greater understanding of the three messages of the Uluru Statement - Voice, Treaty and Truth-telling.

In the gospel of Luke, an expert in the law asked Jesus “who is my neighbour?” in response to the Old Testament command to “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Jesus addressed the legal expert’s question in the parable of the Good Samaritan. His audience would have been aware of the historical animosity between Jews and Samaritans at the time, and this makes the actions of the Samaritan even more striking. He acted with courage and bravery, despite the cultural expectations of the day.

As Christians, we are asked to “Be Brave. Make Change” like the Samaritan, acting with counter-cultural kindness, empathy, care, humility, justice and generosity towards those around us. This National Reconciliation Week, join us as we move toward reconciliation with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters by committing “to care for Country, for culture and for community.” (CST Acknowledgement of Country, 2021)

Bonny Moroni — Head of Secondary

The Importance of Early Learning

We all want the best for our children and from an early age we look to impart wisdom and skills that will help them be successful and good people in the future.

Proverbs 22 verse 6 teaches us to “train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

At Calvin Christian School, we understand the importance of getting students off to a good start in their learning journey. This involves academic, social, emotional, physical and spiritual growth and development. We have two great Kinder teams along with strong teaching teams from Prep to Year 2. Karalyn Bylsma has been placed in the role of leading and developing the K-2 team within our Primary School. Karalyn has extensive experience working in the early years, developing and refining strong teaching and learning practices that complement and support the practices of those around her, all underpinned by a deep faith in God. These teachers are well assisted by our learning support team who are able to provide early intervention to those with specific learning needs ensuring we have students ready to successfully enter their learning journey in Year 3 and beyond. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention states that early intervention services can change a child’s developmental path and improve outcomes for children, families and communities. Families benefit from early intervention by being able to better meet their children’s needs from an early age and throughout their lives. We believe this helps set students up for life long learning and success in the future.

“... we understand the importance of getting students off to a good start in their learning journey.”

Little Learners at Calvin

We also see the importance of what happens in a student’s learning journey before Kindergarten. Our Little Learners program caters for the period of time from a child’s birth to when they enter the Kinder classroom. Dr Jessica Alvarado, the academic program director in Early Childhood development at the National University of Singapore, states the importance of this time in a child’s life. It is when they first learn how to interact with others, including peers, teachers and parents, and also begin to develop interests and habits that will stay with them for life. Alvarado goes on to remark that it is a time when children learn critical social and emotional skills and a partnership is formed between the child, their parents and the school. When this is done successfully, it lays the groundwork for it to continue throughout a child’s education.

Little Learners is a free play-based early learning program supporting early learning and transition into Kindergarten. It alternates fortnightly between sessions in the classroom and ‘Out and About’ sessions at locations within Kingborough and Hobart. These sessions encourage nature-based play and outdoor exploration. Due to ongoing demand, we have recently added another classroom session to cater for our growing school. These classroom sessions now run fortnightly on Monday and Thursday in our Kinder classrooms. During these sessions we aim to:

• Give parents a taste of what our school has to offer while creating connections within the school community.

• Encourage parents to be actively involved with a wide range of fun activities that stimulate and promote rich learning.

• Ease the transition into Kindergarten and full-time school.

If you have children from 0-4 years of age and would like to be involved in these sessions please visit our website.

At Calvin Christian School, we take pride in offering great opportunities for learning and academic growth, whilst underpinning this with the faith and hope we gain from knowing Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. As is written in 3 John 1:4, “I have no greater joy that to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”   

Andrew Nash — Deputy Principal, Head of Primary