“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
His plans for us are good
When you think back to your schooling years and educational experiences as a child or a teenager, what comes to mind? I have a vague recollection of the first leadership camp I attended as the Head Girl of my primary school. It was in the bushland outside our town, there were cabins and in small groups, we did many activities, one of which was orienteering (I recall using a compass for the first time). As a secondary student, my first “proper” camping experience was camping close to a fast-flowing stream (not quite a river) and abseiling off a rocky wall whilst unsuccessfully avoiding eating soil on the way down and sobbing due to a fear of heights. A few years later, in a different country and on a different continent, I was selecting my Year 11 subjects. Geological Science stood out to me purely for the fact that my previous Geography teacher, Mr. Swart, who was the teacher-in-charge on that camp near the stream, not only urged us to have a go at overcoming our fears, he was immensely successful in bringing content (Geography and to a lesser degree Geology) to life.
Additionally, a list of excursions intrigued me, and Mr. Teakel did not disappoint in engaging our learning of rocks, minerals and plate tectonics. My journey into tertiary education led me to my first undergraduate degree in a Bachelor of Arts (Archaeology), this time it was the influence of Indiana Jones movies that captured my interest. However, within a year, I transferred to a Bachelor of Science (Geology) as once again, the promise of excursions, extended camps and a volcanology expert drew me in. I truly enjoyed every minute of my tertiary course as the Geology staff including my lecturer and friend, Dr. Peter Fleming, were exceptional at relating theoretical geological concepts to real-world experiences. It was where I felt that I belonged at that time. In the open spaces of our vast country exploring the landscape geometry and formulating an understanding of how and why these were created. Fast forward 31 years later, including a couple of post-graduate qualifications, and I have been truly blessed with three fulfilling careers in Mining (Geology), Travel and Education.
In each of these, I felt a calling – that undeniable pull to work where the Lord leads me.
Excursion, incursion and camp immersion
The past decade at Maranatha Christian School has enabled me to work with outstanding teachers who approach education from a Christian perspective, and then with a view to providing engaging experiences for our students so that their experience of curriculum is memorable, enjoyable and embeds their learning. What better way than incorporating immersive experiences.
My first Year 5 class developed their own Christian rap song with Pastor Peter Noble and performed it in a school assembly. Over a number of years, our Year 5 cohorts visited the Victorian Space Science Education Centre; it was not just the excitement of suiting up our brave astronauts, but the thrill of Mission Control preventing impending doom for our intrepid explorers on their mission to Mars. I lost count of the numerous times we made Oobleck in our Chemical Science lessons, leading to making Slime not just in the name of science but for the fun of it. Or the time when a Physical Science incursion included a fire-breathing facilitator to demonstrate heat energy, which in turn led to a raucous applause from Year 3 students for encores and me eyeing off the closest fire extinguisher.
Camps are next level for excitement and engagement. The first Year 3 camp at Portsea was a great success owing to our great God providing for us – perfect weather, protection on the drive there and back as well as for the in-between activities, our teachers’ meticulous planning, implementation of activities and great care of their students, our dedicated parent helpers working closely with our teachers, our support staff gently guiding students through challenging situations and our students, although young, yet courageous as they tackled obstacles and challenges on their first overnight school camp. Year 4 students cannot speak highly enough about their Forest Edge camp memories, for some it’s the longest flying fox, for others’ it’s the steepest bushwalk and yet again for others’ it may be the fun of the slippery dip water slide. Year 5 and Year 6 students have enjoyed the physical and mental challenge of The Summit Camp – who doesn’t love a mud bath! With new experiences ahead of our students in 2026, this is an ever-evolving space.
The greatest takeaway from excursions, incursions and camps is the teamwork involved from the planning stages through to implementation and finally as teachers, we also get to enjoy the experiences with our students and parent helpers as we make new memories and learning of curriculum is viewed from a different perspective.
What a privilege
Equally integral to the curriculum at Maranatha are the inclusion of Clubs and competitions. A source of joy to me personally is to see the delight on our students faces as they prepare to head off to their fortnightly afternoon Clubs. Our teachers design their specific Club to engage multi-age students in real-world applications of learning that is multi-disciplinary. For example, Cooking Club (also known as Maranatha MasterChef and Patch-to-Plate) is one of those Clubs that is ever-popular and while the goal is to eat what has been prepared, the learning that is embedded along the way is incredible; reading a recipe, discussing and negotiating organisational roles, measuring ingredients, following the order of the recipe, cooking or baking at accurate temperatures with the correct safety guards in place, and helping others by cleaning up along the way.
My hope for the Clubs curriculum is that students may be inspired to take their learning further into their lives. I recall a student who was so invested in playing chess in the Chess Club, that he attended external competitions of his own accord and achieved awards for his efforts. We have had the privilege of sending selected students, or even whole classes of students, to attend competitions including the Maranatha Interschool Junior Chess Tournament, the Year 6 Australian Mathematics Competition, the Year 5 Times Tables Rocks Tournaments, the Year 3 and Year 4 Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee and various CSEN competitions. External competitions are a wonderful way for students to challenge themselves and to apply their content knowledge in an environment whereby they also use their interpersonal skills to connect with students from other schools.
Living on purpose
As the school year continues to unfold, be encouraged that He created us to live on purpose for a purpose. When we develop opportunities for our students to participate in extra-curricular experiences, we are creating opportunities to allow God to work through us in a purposeful way.
Let us reflect on the school year thus far and be grateful for all situations He has brought and continues to bring our way, so that we can trust in and focus on Him.
Astrid Ferguson
Head of Junior School Curriculum
Maranatha Christian School
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