Rothwell GRACE GAZETTE October Edition 2020
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Rothwell GRACE GAZETTE October Edition 2020 EXO Day LIFE IS EXO-LLENT WITH JESUS Heart to heart Will Marathon for Simon a mate Going Green IN THISIssue 3 GRACE ABOUNDS 4 HEAD OF CAMPUS ADDRESS 5 FOOD, FUN & FAITH | EXO DAY 2020 7 WILDMAN & WORMHOLES | BREAKTHROUGH JUNIOR CHALLENGE 9 GRACE GRADUATES | WILL SIMON GOING GREEN 12 FILM NIGHT 2020 15 END OF AN ERA | GOODBYE GOOGA 18 HEART TO HEART | MARATHON FOR A MATE 22 THIS MONTH AT GRACE 24 GRACE APPRECIATES 32 CONTACTS & SOCIAL LINKS Grace Abounds 3 Everybody matters to God whether God matters to them or not. This certainly wasn’t a common view in ancient times. Polytheistic cultures (worshipping multiple gods) of the ancient world didn’t believe the gods cared about Grace people. So, if the gods didn’t care about the people, ABOUNDS why should people care about people?! In fact, when Jesus entered the world, the whole idea that “everybody matters” just wasn’t the case at all! Slavery wasn’t merely practised in the ancient world, slavery was assumed. Everyone was just one invaded town, one poor financial decision, one bit of bad Give to him who asks you, and from luck or one bad day away from becoming somebody else’s property. Jesus entered a world where people him who wants to borrow from you were treated like property. Compassion and humility do not turn away. You have heard to anyone outside of your own family was considered a weakness. But Jesus was famous for how he treated that it was said, ‘You shall love your and loved people, and His message was so clear. neighbour and hate your enemy.’ Everybody matters to God, whether God matters to them or not. And maybe you are left to think: “Well, But I say to you, love your enemies, this isn’t new to us. This is a simple, and obvious rally bless those who curse you, do good cry to get around!”. But this was a brand-new idea that Jesus introduced into the world. In fact, this is to those who hate you, and pray for a uniquely Christ-like, a uniquely Christian message. those who spitefully use you and The challenge of doing good, being generous and loving others is a responsibility of a follower of Jesus. persecute you, that you may be sons And it is a responsibility to say to people around us, of your Father in heaven; for He and to say to the world, “you are valuable. You are valuable to God, and you’re valuable to me because makes His sun rise on the evil and on you’re valuable to God.” the good, and sends rain on the just In Matthew 5:42-45, Jesus tells you and I to evaluate and on the unjust. our perfection in terms of how we treat other people. To do good for people who cannot or will not do good for you. That’s way more challenging than following - Matthew 5:42-45 NIV a set of rules. That’s way may more challenging than telling someone that their beliefs are wrong. Jesus was famous in His day for how He treated and loved people. And then He says, “Follow me”. What would it look like to you to be inconveniently selfless today, and serve, be generous or love someone who might not pay you back? Everybody matters to God whether God matters to them or not. w 4 Head of Campus ADDRESS Welcome to the second edition of the Grace Gazette. As we move quickly towards the end of the year, we know that very soon we will be entering that celebratory phase when we acknowledge and congratulate our students (not only the Year 12s who will be leaving us in less than three weeks) but those students in Years 7 to 11 who have also worked hard in challenging times throughout the year to achieve satisfying results and growth. We have been very grateful to have had a relatively normal Term 4, even though our plans for various events God is the one who began this good had to be modified. We are very confident, though, that the students will appreciate our efforts to give them the work in you, and I am certain that he best opportunities available under the circumstances and won’t stop before it is complete on finish strong. This was my message to students during our online Whole School Assembly during Week 1, that the day that Christ Jesus returns. finishing strong was a wonderful choice for them as they contemplate how to successfully navigate the final term - Phil 1:6 (CEV) of 2020. As you read this Gazette, you will see many ways that students have finished strong and continued to make the most of opportunities presented to them at Grace. Enjoy reading the pages ahead and know that we continue to be very grateful for your support. Blessings, Mrs Cheryl Budd 5 Faith Food FunEXO & Day 2020 , Celebrating that life is EXO-llent with Jesus! The end of Term 3 saw the College cohort mark yet another massive milestone. Grace’s own EXO Day turned ten this year, with 2020 making a decade since the launch of the now eagerly-anticipated annual event. Despite the turmoil of 2020, students and staff celebrated the largest EXO Day seen on record - with concerts, food trucks and special performances spanning across the campus and beyond. For the Grace Ministry team, the success of EXO Day 2020 was quite an achievement and not without its struggles. “We started the year with exciting plans and ideas but when COVID broke out, all of these were thrown into disarray and for many months we didn’t know if EXO Day would even be possible,“ explained Mr Kris Forman (Senior Chaplain). “Thankfully, as COVID restrictions in QLD began to ease, we were granted permission to proceed with a modified EXO Day. This however, still posed a few challenges that gave birth to creative solutions.” Those challenges including taking many EXO Day traditions, and translating them into a new COVID-Safe space. The whole-school concert was replaced with three smaller concerts, while the MPC carpark was turned into an Eat Street-style avenue for food trucks. Special guest and 2020 Dakar Rally Racer Trevor Wilson kept crowds entertained with ‘wheelie’ cool stunts, as other students battled it out in Laser Skirmish and the Inflatable Gladiator Arena. 6 Of course some EXO Day staples stayed the same, with gaming rooms, the Minecraft LAN party and Grace Pool party popular as ever. For the Year 12s, neighbouring church (Hope Centre Moreton) became a special senior- only space featuring live music and café style refreshments – an exciting initiative for their final EXO Day at Grace. After many months of challenges, EXO Day came as a welcome reprieve for all to enjoy some fun, food and faith with their peers. “EXO Day, was a great day to have fun with friends and enjoy lots of fun activities and food,” reflected Sophie Hopson (Year 9),“…but ultimately [the day] is to remember that life is excellent with Jesus.” “…I liked how the youth leaders talked with the students on the day,” said Jackson Baker (Year 9). While Grace Ministry were warmed by the success, the team is already looking to the 2021 EXO Day with abundant enthusiasm. Despite the amount of labour and planning ahead of them, Mrs Rosie Knijnenburg (Campus Chaplain) notes that the hard work is always worth it. “EXO Day is always a huge highlight for the Grace community and the Ministry Team love planning a fun filled day that has a message of hope for the students.” “We thought, due to COVID, that this year would be very stripped back and low key. Actually, it ended up being one of our best EXO Days ever! Trevor Wilson, Hope Cafe, beautiful weather, food trucks and great music all made it a wonderful day to celebrate at life with Jesus is truly is worth celebrating.” To learn more about EXO Day and the Grace Ministry team, please visit our website. 7 Wildman W ormholes& Allow me to educate you on the theory behind time travel and wormholes... Noah Wildman (Year 12), speaks to his camera with a zealous and eager attitude. While such a complicated topic may seem baffling to some, Noah is on-board to change that. This senior has fused his fascination with Science and Media to compete in the internationally renowned Breakthrough Junior Challenge – creating a video explaining the theory of time travel. “Science and Maths have always been a curiosity to me, it is something I can spend hours doing,” explained Noah. “Whenever I’ve been in a Science or Maths class and a new topic is introduced, I can’t help but want to learn every aspect of it if it grabs my attention…” “Time travel has always been an interest of mine, in a sci- Time travel has always been an fi context, but I was curious to know how plausible of a phenomenon it could be in the real world. Wormholes interest of mine, in a sci-fi context, have the potential to turn time travel into that intriguing but I was curious to know how reality, so I dedicated myself to researching as much as I could about the subject.” plausible of a phenomenon it could Aimed at high-school students, entrants in the be in the real world. Wormholes have Breakthrough Junior Challenge are tasked with creating a the potential to turn time travel into video that explains a ‘big scientific idea’ of their choosing from the fields of physics, mathematics or life sciences.