Hello! We are Kirsty and Tom and we are the school chaplains here at Ferny Grove State High School. The chaplaincy service in this community has a long legacy that we hope to continue and build upon. Kirsty commenced the role at Ferny Grove in mid-2022 from a background of mental health nursing. Tom commenced the role in April 2024 and has a background of engineering and also works as a school chaplain at a local primary school on the days he is not at Ferny. We share a passion to champion and encourage young people, and to come alongside their families and the community to support them on their journey.
Support
We see the foundations of the chaplaincy role as someone supports, empowers and encourages all members of the school community in order to make their experience here at Ferny the best it can be. Our aim as chaplains is to be a safe person within the school that people can come to when they need a helping hand or would just like to have a chat. We aim to serve the individual needs of each person we come into contact with, whether that is a student, parent, community member, or staff. We have supported students and their families struggling in various situations including family concerns, confusing relationships, friendship issues, peer pressure, self-esteem issues, bullying, depression, spiritual and worldview questions, school struggles, and more. This is usually done through one-on-one appointments, more info on how you can organise an appointment is at the bottom of this page.
We are very grateful to work here at Ferny within our Student Support Service Team (SSS Team). This team is made up of one of our Deputy Principals, Guidance Officers, School-based Youth Health Nurse, Social Worker, Defence Transition Mentor, Youth Support Coordinators, Community Engagement Coordinator, support teacher aide and us. As chaplains, we engage with all staff members, but work closely with the Deputy Principals, SEP (Special Education Program) Department, Year Level Coordinators, Head of Junior and Senior Schooling and Administration staff in order to provide the best support possible.
Programs
The chaplaincy service has ran a variety of programs that take place throughout the year, each with their own unique focus and structure. Programs include potential enhancement courses, life skills and social skills development, and some groups that look at some of the bigger (sometimes more in-depth) questions in life. The programs work through values such as trust, respect, resilience, commitment, responsibility, and self-esteem, helping students explore and integrate these (and more!) into their lives and daily choices. We try to use action-based learning as much as we can, which is designed to help students not only learn, but actually experience these values too.
School Life
We love to be involved in everyday life here at Ferny Grove, including various performances, shows and events, year level camps, specialty camps, class excursions, classroom sport, sports carnivals, plus being involved in PACE lessons, and just generally walking around at lunchtimes. Our hope is that through all of this, we are able to build connections and be available to talk to and provide support for students when needed. In collaboration with some local churches, we also run regular chappy breakfasts where we provide our students with free pancakes before school, listen to music, and play some games with the aim of enhancing the sense of community within our school. Each year we celebrate Chappy Week as a school community including our “Chappy Cup" (teacher vs students touch football game), Staff Appreciation Day, MEGA Chappy Breakfast, and more.
Want to get involved?
Local Chaplaincy Committee
As part of the Chaplaincy Service here at Ferny Grove SHS, we hold regular Local Chaplaincy Committee (LCC) meetings across each term. The aim of the LCC is to engage the community in the Chaplaincy Service and to be actively involved in fundraising, direction and assistance for the chaplain, programs, and the service as a whole. The great thing about chaplaincy is that it is a community initiative, so we encourage community engagement as much as possible. If you would like to be involved in the LCC committee, or would like more information, please let us know via our contact details below.
Chappy Newsletter
We send out a supporter's newsletter each term giving an update on what is happening in the chaplaincy service here at Ferny. This is a great way to keep informed about the chaplaincy service and if ways to get involved. If you would like to be added to this mailing list, please send us an email.
Contact information
Our office is located up in the Wellbeing Hub (M Block). Students can come and visit before school, during break times and after school to make an appointment. This can be to have a chat, or to just hang out during breaks. As you can imagine this job requires us to be out of the office quite a bit, so if we're not in the office, students can send us an email or let the Wellbeing Hub teacher aide know they want to make an appointment and we'll come find them when available.
Participation in all chaplaincy activities, programs and conversations is completely voluntary and permission will be asked for when required. Please feel free to get in contact with us by calling the Administration Office (3550 5777) and asking for the Chaplain, or via our details below.
Kirsty Williams
Tuesday - Thursday
Kirsty.williams@suchaplaincy.org.au // kwill1037@eq.edu.au
Thomas Harbeck
Tuesday and Wednesday
Tom.harbeck@suchaplaincy.org.au // tharb36@eq.edu.au