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Chaplain's Chat
Christmas Gifts
In this time of gift giving and receiving it is interesting to reflect on the gift of Jesus at Christmas. God being born as a baby, in a stable in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago is an incredible gift. The story of the nativity that we find in Luke’s Gospel is a story of God’s generosity to us; it is a story of a God who loves to give gifts. The gifts though are not always what we might want, but rather what we need. The gift of the Christ child was unexpected by us. In ages past, God came to us in diverse ways, speaking to us, urging us on, and enlisting us in God’s work. But in the incarnation, in the nativity, it was as if God had to make some stunningly unique move on our behalf. God, the creator, had to exercise an unusual amount of creativity in coming to us as a baby in Bethlehem. As we got to know the Christ child, as he grew into maturity and we grew in our knowledge of him, we realised what a demanding, unusual gift he was. Here was a gift that challenged our very notion of what a gift means. Jesus did not remain a little baby. He grew in wisdom and stature, he began to speak and, when he spoke and acted he challenged our cherished notions of God. He assaulted our prejudices and preconceptions. He was a gift to be sure, but at times a troubling, demanding gift. As Luke describes the nativity to us, the birth of Jesus was a disrupting, even frightening experience. The angels told the shepherds, those who were first to hear the story of Jesus, to fear not. Jesus is a gift full of great gladness, but also some fear. Mary, Joseph and all who first heard of the gift, had their lives disrupted by the advent of Jesus. And so do we, as we hear of and celebrate the birth of Jesus there is a sense of unrestrained joy, but also some fear if we really appreciate the demand that the gift of having God with us makes on us.
I pray that you all may have a holy and blessed Christmas in whatever way that you celebrate this year. That all those who are taking holidays at this time have safe travels, that you enjoy the rest and recreation and that you all return to St. George’s AGS in the New Year happy, healthy and ready for what 2017 brings us.
Father David Lord
Chaplain
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Uniform Shop
The Uniform Shop will be open during the Christmas holiday between 8.00 am to 1.30 pm and 2.30 pm to 4.00 pm on the following days:
- Thursday 15 December 2016
- Tuesday 24 January 2017
- Friday 27 January 2017
- Tuesday 31 January 2017
- Wednesday 1 February 2017
- Thursday 2 February 2017
The Uniform Shop is located at Level One, 56 William Street.
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Japanese Tour
Iwata-Tokyo-Kyoto-Nagasaki…17 days of amazing cultural and language immersion. Eight students – Kwinton, Syuen Jing, Amy, Will, Luke, Gabriel, Emily and Natalie, plus myself and Mr Lim, enjoyed the sights and sounds of Japan for just over two weeks during the October school holidays. Students were thrown in the deep end by going straight into homestay for six nights at our sister school in Iwata. Despite some initial homesickness and language barriers, there were many tears and shouts of 「帰りたくない！」(“I don’t want to go home!”) at the farewell party and on the morning of departure to Tokyo. It was a great start to the trip and immediately had the students switching their brains to “Japanese mode”.
Next stop was Tokyo, where food, fun and shopping were the focus for four days. This included Disneyland; maid, cat, owl and dog cafés; electric town; many hours of shopping; automated sushi restaurants; Korea town and some serious walking. The students quickly got the hang of the complicated train and subway network, which gave me a small break from constantly trying to work out where we had to go next!
From the modern metropolis of Tokyo, we caught the bullet train to the old capital of Kyoto. Three days of temples, shrines, a bamboo forest, monkey park, a six-hour introduction to the joy of Karaoke and lots more walking. We were all starting to get a bit tired but there was still more to come.
We caught an internal flight to the southern island of Kyushu, where we stayed in Nagasaki for three nights. The students voted for another marathon karaoke session (almost seven hours!), but we still managed to squeeze in more walking and sight-seeing. On previous study tours, we have visited Hiroshima to learn about the dropping of the atomic bombs, but this was the first time I had ventured this far south. The museum was extremely enlightening about the horrors of war and we were a more sombre group after leaving there.
Their spirit wasn’t dampened for long as we did more shopping to end the trip and enjoyed our final night of delicious Japanese food.
It was a fabulous trip and I feel very lucky to be able to take such wonderful students to Japan. Some may question the necessity of learning a second language, so I wish they could see our students interacting with Japanese people and becoming more understanding of cultural differences. It is a life-changing opportunity and I can’t wait for the next one in 2018!
Danielle de Witt
Japanese Tour Coordinator
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Year 8 Family Picnic
The Year 8 students and their families recently shared a wonderful evening together, having a picnic at Matilda Bay. Parents appreciated the opportunity to socialise with other St George’s families while the students had great fun with the Bubble Sport activity! What a great way to celebrate the end of the year!
Jodie Scheele
Year 8 Coordinator
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Christmas in the Quad at St George's College
There is no better way to kick off the Christmas holiday season than with a twilight picnic concert on the beautiful grounds of St George’s College in Crawley. Start the holiday mood St George’s College annual outdoor concert of musical classics. Christmas in the Quad will feature celebrated artists Soprano Sara Macliver, Mark Coughlan (pianist), Paul Wright (Violinist) and Raymond Yong, as they take centre stage along with the Chamber Orchestra of St George's College. The night will be filled with Beethoven, Vivaldi, and Handel; a traditional carol sing-a-long will conclude the evening.
Bring the family and invite your friends to enjoy a picnic on the lawn as the sun sets.
Entry is by donation at the door, with all proceeds going towards maintaining and growing the music program at St George's College in 2017.
Go to https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/christmas-in-the-quad-2016-tickets-29065498689 to register!
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Middle School Social
The Middle School students recently enjoyed an evening of fun and music at their Social. It was a fitting end to a busy year. Judging by their faces I think they had a wonderful time!
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Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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STUDENTS COMMENCE TERM ONE ON 1 FEBRUARY 2017
Orientation Day for new students will be held on 31 January 2017
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