Chaplain Chat

It has been great to see all the new friendships and connections being made in ACC DE. The discussions in ACC Connect are going really well with many conversations and comments coming through. We had over 200 comments in the Art & Craft discussion group, over 200 comments in the Animals & Food discussion group, and in the Sport discussion group we had a new discussion each week which had over 50 comments most weeks. Minecraft Club has had over 20 students most weeks. Chess Club more than 10 most weeks. 

In Term 2, the student leaders and I hope to bring more and more opportunities for students to connect through ACC Connect and our 2 Secondary Pastoral Care (PC) Courses. With AFL Club continuing to meet on Mondays in the Lunch Teleconference (TC), Music Club to start up and meet in the Lunch TC on Wednesdays, and a Baking Competition running from Week 2 - Week 4. The Baking Competition will be judged by presentation, students are encouraged to submit a picture of their baked confection through the ACC Connect Discussion; “​​Baking Photography Competition”. Also we are planning to have an ACC DE team represented at a CAWA Chess Tournament in the Perth Metro area in May. 

In the Secondary PC Courses, we had 6 student blogs in the Yr 7 - 9 PC Course & 3 in the Yr 10 - 12 PC Course. These student blogs showcased the hobbies, interests, experiences, and achievements of the students who submitted them. A big thank you to these students who shared a student blog this term; Blair on his Softball Regional Championships, Sarel on immigrating to Australia, Zavier on his trip to Japan, Nate on Minecraft, Ezekiel on his Fish, Solomon on his Lego, Eshi on his choc chip cookies, Sofia on her Netball, and Isla on her trip to Coral Bay. Thank you for sharing!!

I would like to encourage all our students to consider writing a student blog and sending it to me to be posted as an Announcement in either of our 2 Secondary PC Courses or the ACC Connect Course. Student Blogs are a great way for us to get to know each other better, it helps students develop a sense of belonging to their school community and therefore improve student engagement. Research suggests that students who feel a sense of belonging to their school community are more likely to achieve academic success and are less likely to experience anxiety and depression.

Luke Wiseman

Chaplain & Wellbeing Team Leader (DE)

lukewiseman@acc.edu.au