Chappy's Blog

Corridors

2012-02-23T17:30:00.001-08:00

Last week was a CRAZY week. Had one of the strangest days in my life.

I was in Sydney visiting my older brother for one night and then another mate of mine the night after. My older bro and his wife have been expecting, so it was going to be the last time I saw them before the new bubba. I was also using the time to clear my head before uni started for the year, and enjoying some down time on the beach by myself. All good.

Then Thursday morning rolled around - I had a good sesh at the beach and was getting ready to drive home to Canberra. Before I got in the car my older brother called to tell me the night before his wife had given birth to the baby. Exciting stuff! I was over the moon for them. I got in my car and only planned on driving down the road ten minutes, grabbing a bite to eat (I hadn't had breaky yet) and then calling my fiancee to let her know the good news....

5 minutes on the road, and I'm cruising down a street going around 50 k's an hour, when I see a car parked on the side of the road starting to pull out to do a u-turn. No indicating, no head checks - and he's about 15-20 metres in front of me. I hit the breaks as hard as I could but ended up slamming right into his driver side door.

To make things more interesting, the accident happened right outside a fire station. Almost immediately there's a fire truck behind my car, and a number of fire men helping out. It was strange being in a car accident, but I was even more disorientated because it was in Sydney - so was grateful for the fieries being there!

All this time, my head is spinning with the news of the baby, and the shock of the accident. It was an incredibly strange headspace to be in.

That was my first car, and it was old but faithful, and it felt strange to have to take everything out of it and say farewell.

But myself and the other driver were both physically fine. We are worth more than cars! YOU are worth more than anything you own, and sometimes it's good to lose something so you can remember that.

Because of the accident I got to stay in Sydney and meet my new nephew. Because I (loosely) scraped with death - I got to meet new life! Poetic.

I was walking through the hospital corridors with my older brother. We were thinking about the crazy place that a hospital is. Literally walking through corridoors where life is born and where life passes. Makes you think!

Really though, that's what life's a bit like - on any day. We are constantly walking in between all sorts of life and death and things that are beyond our control. How often do we stop and think about the gift of each day, and how fragile and precious the breath in our lungs is? Don't just walk through the corridoors - stop and take it in. Where a dream dies or a heart hurts, sit in the pain for long enough to know you are still alive. Then turn and see something born, some sort of hope or fresh idea.

When was the last time you got to hold a brand new baby? Amazing, isn't it?

Have you ever been in a car crash? Scary, hey?

Have you ever had to part with something you really cared about like your old, faithful, first car? Sad.

Are you breathing?

Don't miss it.

Peace and love.

2012-02-23T14:17:00.000-08:00

Chinos just brought me an amazing looking coffee.

How good are those guys? Seriously.

2012-02-19T19:44:00.000-08:00

What's up everyone?

Just a quick note.

Ran a bbq today and met lots of students I hadn't before. It was great!

My apologies to anyone who came after we ran out of bread...'sausage in a cup', whilst an interesting invention, probably won't be replacing the traditional sausage/bread combination anytime soon!

Welcome back for 2012!

2012-02-09T15:58:00.000-08:00

It's Friday, end of the first week back in the school for 2012.

To all students, both new and continuing, welcome!

I'm excited about the prospects of the year. I'm going to be seeking out new funding for breakfast club, there will be more poetry slams this year, and I've got a few other ideas a-brewing.
I'm excited about meeting all the newies, and welcoming you into this great community!

Will be trying to update the blog here regularly with news about what I'm doing, and some other exciting bits and pieces.

So welcome. Hope the year's off to a good start for you! Chat soon!

- Will the Chappy

2011-11-01T17:35:00.001-07:00

Movember has arrived!
Sponsor me at http://au.movember.com/mospace/1756308/

INFO for the 'VOICE' SLAM

2011-10-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

At this stage, here are some of the important things you need to know in regards to this very exciting evening:

1. Entry by Gold Coin Donation.

2. Poets and performers will have a time limit of 3 minutes.

3. The night will be FILMED for the making of a Slam DVD. If you do not wish to be filmed or in the DVD, you will need to notify us on the night. This will be explained at the beginning of the evening.

4. Poets will need to sign a set of guidelines on the night. These guidelines are essentially in place to ensure poems are not racist, sexist or otherwise discriminatory to individuals or groups. The hope of the slam is that we can use our words to build rather than break, to restore rather than destroy.

5. If you know you want to perform and wish to secure a place, or if you have any other enquiries email voice.poetryslam@gmail.com

2011-10-30T16:30:00.001-07:00

Poster number 2 for the upcoming 'Voice' Poetry Slam (featuring Omar Musa!)

Thanks to Brandon for help with this one.

Click to see a larger version of the image.

2011-10-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

One of the flyers for the very exciting, upcoming 'Voice' Poetry Slam at Hawker College. All ACT College students are welcome to come along and perform a piece if you have one!

The graff image is courtesy of my extremely talented younger brother.

Click the image to see a bigger version of it.

Breaky Club...

2011-09-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

Breakfast Club!

A place to have a free feed, chill out and build relationships.

All welcome!

Starting Friday
week 10 (30th September),
and continuing on next term!

For more details or if you’d like to help out see Will in room 92.

2011-09-15T21:41:00.001-07:00

2011-09-08T17:35:00.000-07:00

"The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is." C. S. Lewis

I love C.S. Lewis.

I think he was a brilliant philosopher, an engaging writer and a man of deep wisdom.

Similar to the quote from Corrie Ten Boom last week, I thought this one was appropriate in a college environment, within our busy culture!

It can be easy to feel overwhelmed with the amount of things we pack into our lives – and I am certainly not denying the number of responsibilities and very relevant pressures that can face you as you complete year 11 and 12. It’s busy - possibly no way around that.

But remember, as it says above – we all have the same amount of time. We all travel through hours that are the same length and we each have the same amount of hours in the day and the night.

I have been particularly challenged this year with the idea of rest. Some people I look up to have continuously presented me with the idea that maybe….we actually do a better job of things, when we take the time to rest.

I’m not encouraging you to drop all the studies and responsibilities and just veg out…not at all. There’s a very clear distinction between procrastinating, and intentionally protecting and prioritising times where you can simply…breathe. If you factor in a healthy amount of rest and take care of yourself, I believe you’ll find the things you put your hands to might just turn out that little bit better.

What do you reckon? This is a topic I’m particularly passionate about. I’m not always the perfect example…but I know I’ve got room to improve, and I’m working with that. If this is something you are struggling to do in your life, or something you are challenged by, feel free to come and have a chat about it!

Otherwise, rest up. And remember….we all have twenty-four hours in a day. How are you using yours?

2011-09-04T19:48:00.000-07:00

You can now receive updates from this blog by chucking your email address into that box on the top right corner of the page. Don't worry, no spam! You'll only get emails that contain updates from my bloggity-blog.
And I promise...they'll be good.... :-)

2011-09-04T19:37:00.001-07:00

Spring Slam at Chino’s

Come grab a coffee, bring your words and poetry and enjoy the sun

Wednesday, 28/9. Week 10(See Will in Rm.92 for more info)

Coffee University, Q&A and Corrie Ten Boom...

2011-08-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

Hi Everybody!

How's it going? I've just spent the last hour hanging out with the guys in the 'Futures Program' updating resumes. One of them is going on an excursion next week to a 'Coffee university' in Sydney! I can't even believe such a thing exists. Sounds awesome.

I really only discovered how good 'Chinos' is last week, and I'm now their biggest fan. I think it's amazingly cool that this college has a student run cafe - and guiness pies for $2.50! Too good. I'm going to be hitting it up with a few students every second Wednesday from next Wednesday onwards. So if you read this and you want to come hang and have a coffee with us, come along!

I was very excited on Monday night to watch Omar on Q&A. Some really interesting discusson about the way our generation ought to respond to the political situation in our country and around the world. In all honesty, I don't usually pay a huge amount of attention to politics - but I was very challenged by some of the things said on the show. In a country like this maybe we should all be using our voice a bit more and making sure Australia is a country shaped by the qualities we want it to be, rather than remaining apathetic about the state of things. I don't know - what do you reckon?

Last night I heard some pretty amazing stories about Corrie Ten Boom. What an inspirational woman. If you don't know much of her story, I recommend doing some reading. I found this quote from her online, which I think is perfect for a college, heading towards the end of the year again. Life is full of busyness, and I know that both staff and students in colleges have such an incredible amount of pressure and stress to carry. As a chaplain, Uni student and volunteer around the place I know what it's like to be overwhelmed by the busyness! But I'm extremely challenged by these words. Enjoy.

"Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength." — Corrie Ten Boom

Hip-Hop in Action: Aus emcees standing for multiculturalism

2011-08-28T16:56:00.000-07:00

Omar Musa on Q&A

2011-08-28T16:45:00.000-07:00

For any budding wordsmiths out there who came along to our first Hawker Slam and saw Omar Musa show us how it's done, he is going to be on tonight's episode of Q&A. It's on at 9:30 on ABC. Strongly reccomended! Read about it here if keen, or check out the video below of him doing his thing!

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/coming_up.htm

What is a chaplain??

2011-08-16T19:24:00.000-07:00

Chaplain is a funny word and at times people are confused about what it means! Here's how I understand it.

As a chaplain, I'm here to:

- Be someone you can talk to, hang out with/be mates with

- Help you if you want to explore spirituality, and ask questions about some of the bigger issues of life (I’m not here to dump my answers on you – just to support you in finding your own)

- help you develop values and figure out what kind of person you want to be when you're not at school.

- Support you in positive programs/events you may want to get up and running in your school community.

- Listen to you, without any judgment.

- Provide support and assistance, where you see needs in your school.

- Assist you when you are grieving, struggling or just not coping with the pressures of everyday school life.

- Be a 'signpost' to other people who may be able to help you like counsellors, and other services that exist for people who are going through a difficult time.

Ultimately chaplaincy is about student support - my heart is to provide a safe place in the school, where anyone can come and receive support and encouragement, regardless of how they are feeling and what they are going through.

An example of Slam

2011-08-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

What's up everybody?
Here's an example of poetry slam from when I was at Hawker College....as a student! This was the first slam I ever performed in, and it hooked me in enough to want to not only keep competing in them, but try get them up and started in the school now. Looking forward to seeing what you guys have to bring to the table on Monday! I believe in you and the power of your voices!
Peace,
Will

2011-08-16T18:52:00.001-07:00

POETRY SLAM

monday 22^nd august

IN THE SCIENCE LECTURE THEATRE

Things to look out for!

2011-08-09T16:56:00.000-07:00

Greetings Hawker!

We're getting right into the thick of the last semester for year 12 students - unbelievable! I know everyone's probably feeling as busy as ever, but here are some exciting things happening over the next couple weeks.

ENERGIZE BREAKY:A group of students who meet on Mondays at lunch ('Energize') are putting on a free breakfast for the school! How good is that? I'll be helping them cook up a storm. We'll be there from 7:30, but come anytime before school starts for a feed and a good time hanging out together.

POETRY SLAM:
After the super succesful slam from last term, there will be another one on the 22nd August at lunch time (Venue TBA). Last time we had some very special guests...but this time I've left the canvas a little more open for...YOU! The rhythm is in all of us, and your voicebox is all you need to tell your stories, and make your statement!

I am also trying to get some sponsorship to run an ongoing breakfast program before school one morning a week. If you want to help out with this in any way, come see me and have a chat sometime!

Welcome!

2011-08-07T17:09:00.000-07:00

Hi,

One of the most difficult things about my job is the fact I only have a limited amount of time, and Hawker is such a big community - it can be hard to feel like I'm keeping up to date with everyone, and visa versa.

I thought a blog would be a great way to be able to easily let you know what I'm up to, what events I'm organising around the school, and give you a space to make suggestions also.

I'm just trialling this as another method of communication - but if it works, I'll post up here upcoming events, a few thoughts every now and then, and any other interesting bits and pieces I think you might enjoy or benefit from.

Thanks for visiting and check in again soon to see what's new!

-Will