Pastoral Care
At Kempsey Adventist School (KAS), we believe that every child is a child of God and needs and deserves individual care. We endeavour to lead our students to know their God, themselves and their place in society. Pastoral care embraces a total caring for each child and influences all teacher/student relationships.
KAS is committed to the spiritual wellbeing of our entire school community. We employ three chaplains to cater for the pastoral care needs of KAS students and their families. The chaplains are available to all members of our school community by appointment. Protocols apply to students who want to visit a chaplain during class time.
KAS chaplains are active in the life of the school in areas such as: class worships, Values teaching, chapel services, The WELL, BIG HOUSE, WELL Connect, WELL Alive, school camps, mentorship, Bible studies, home visitations and so on.
In 2020, the KAS chaplains are:
Pr Jimmy Watanabe – Senior Chaplain
Mr Kieren Jackson – Chaplain
Mr Chris Walsh – Chaplain
Pr Jimmy Watanabe is the senior chaplain at KAS. Pr Jimmy has previously worked as a school chaplain at Border Christian College (Albury, NSW), Narromine Christian School (Narromine, NSW) and also as a church pastor in Wodonga, Bega, and Narromine SDA Churches. Pr Jimmy also volunteered as a Scripture teacher in the local public primary and secondary schools. Pr Jimmy’s passion is to work with young people and to share the love of God with them. “Seeing the young people make positive choices in their lives is so rewarding,” says Pr Jimmy.
Mr Kieren Jackson is the full-time primary chaplain at KAS. He completed his Bachelor of Education degree at Avondale College in 2004 and has since worked as a teacher at a Christian school in NSW. Subsequent to his teaching role, Kieren completed subjects in Theology and was pastor of a church. Known as Mr J, his office is located in the primary school and he enjoys interacting with staff, students and parents, either formally through appointment or informally around the campus. Mr J is passionate about his work and enjoys the diversity of responsibilities that chaplaincy provides. These responsibilities include the coordination of pastoral care programs for students, staff and the wider school community.
Mr Chris Walsh has been a part of KAS for 14 years and has witnessed the transformation of the school. He was born and raised in Port Macquarie with his first job being a milk boy delivering milk in glass bottles to the door. When he left school he worked in the building industry as a labourer. With many other jobs along the way he finally found myself back at school as the grounds and maintenance man. After many years of that role he was asked to join the chaplaincy team. Mr Walsh loves KAS and his greatest passion and desire is to guide students and families to know God as He brings Hope, Learning, Peace and all the answers we seek.
The particular approaches to the provision of pastoral care depend upon the age of students. In the primary school, the individual classroom teacher assumes great importance in knowing and understanding each child in his or her care. In addition, our chaplains play an important role in the pastoral care of our primary students.
In the secondary school, the pastoral care program works towards developing a sense of community and belonging. The school community provides a safe, nurturing and happy environment in which students and staff alike, demonstrate care, compassion, courtesy and respect for others. Religious Studies classes, weekly chapel periods, class devotions, school camps and excursions all play an integral role in building positive relationships and in teaching students to accept responsibility for their own behaviour and achievements.
KAS has a strong commitment to ensuring that every student feels safe, enjoys coming to school, and can achieve their best in a classroom learning environment that is enthusiastic, challenging and well-managed.
We strive to know each child in a way that means we can support them on a day to day basis, being able to identify when they need extra support.
The following Pastoral Care initiatives that have been implemented into the KAS Program:
Values Education in the Primary School (Bible Based)
Values education is a NSW Educational Standards Authority (NESA) requirement. Students are taught one value per week for each week of school in the year. Students learn the value through input from the classroom teacher and via a 30 minute lesson taught by Mr J as part of the Encounter programme (Religious Studies).
Chapel Programs
Primary and secondary school chapel programs are organised by the school chaplain. These programs take place on a weekly basis and are designed to give students the opportunity to develop spiritually through involvement with worship music and hearing from a variety of inspirational speakers.
Week of Worship (WOW)
Each semester, KAS students are involved in a special week of spiritual focus which promotes spiritual growth in students. An inspiring guest speaker encourages students in their spiritual journey. This high energy week provides further opportunities for students to lead in worship through music, drama, public speaking and other creative, community building activities. Students are given opportunities to strengthen their relationship with Jesus. Many students choose to get involved in Bible study groups with the school chaplain at the conclusion of the WOW. Chaplains are also happy to assist in arranging these with the students’ own church community.
School Camps/Excursions
A chaplain is present on almost all school camps and excursions and plays an active role in supporting staff and students.
Bible Studies
Primary and secondary students (with parental permission) participate in Bible studies led by the Pastoral Care Team.
Counselling
Students have the opportunity to access one-on-one counselling services through appointment or teacher/parent referrals with a member from the Wellbeing team.
Group Counselling
Students have been involved in group counselling based on topics such as bullying and friendship with a member from the Wellbeing team.
Teachers
Our staff are trained to nurture young people through each day, proactively using strategies to enable young people to develop skills to cope with the complex world in which they live.