For Youth

 

This section deals with the teenagers and their exciting life full of discoveries about life itself. It helps those who like to share their time with other teenagers in new and exciting ventures and activities.

Young people look into the mirror, try this hair style, worry about the pimples and may think, “What an interesting face. I wonder what’s going to become of it.” Old people never ask that question, they already know what has become of that face.

You are responsible for the face that you become, how you turn out to be. To be grown-up means to be responsible for your actions Don’t say: "I didn’t do it! It just happened!" But say: "Yes, I did it," and take the consequences. You become free, not tied up in lies – the truth sets us free.

 

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What It Feels Like to Be Bullied

(from a talk given to the Antioch Group)

This story starts when I was seven years old, in Grade One and one of the earliest memories of the times when I was bullied.

It's play lunch. I hate play lunch, actually I hate lunch too. I hate all playtimes because I am always alone. I don't have any friends. I want friends, I want lots of girl friends like the girls in the books. Most of all I want a best girl friend. But I don't have one. I don't think I ever will.

Last year I had friends but they left. Julia moved away and Catherine's daddy moved so she went with him. Catherine's daddy was strange, he used to come into school and talk to her because her

mummy didn't like him talking to her at home. The teachers told him that he wasn't allowed to but he did anyway. Now Catherine's left the school to live with him. I miss her. I don't miss Julia a lot because she got angry with me all the time.

Yesterday I asked Kathy and Lisa and Sallie if I could play with them. They said I had to ask Helen coz she was the leader. I asked Helen and she said okay but then the other girls said they didn't want me too. I was too shy so I read by myself instead. I like Helen, she says I can come over to her house next week. I don't like Lisa at all. She's always making fun of me and says that they can't be friends with me. She says nobody likes me. It's true, nobody likes me. I hate this school.

That is what school was always like for me. I got bullied a lot, mostly by the girls. Female bullying, for all you who know is a lot different to male bullying. With guys it's mostly a bit of a punch up and then it's all over, it's all physical. With girls it's crafty, it's emotional bullying and it hits right to the core. I got made fun of because I was a tom boy. I didn't know how to do girly things so I didn't fit in. I was bullied from around Grade One until the end of Year 8 rather severely and developed a mild form of school phobia when I was around 7 or 8 until I was around 9 or 10.

When I changed schools at the end of Grade 5 I thought that the bullying would stop and I could start afresh by leaving everybody else behind. At this new school I thought that I might be liked. Make some girl friends, maybe have a best girl friend like the girls in the books. But this wasn't to happen. During my time at this next school I developed School Phobia for the second time. I don't remember much of Grade 6, I think that I have successfully managed to block it out. I remember the first day of Grade 6, the last day of Grade 6 but not much in between.

This new school isn't all that I thought it would be. It's pretty scary now that the novelty of being the "new kid" has worn off. It's hard to fit in because everybodv already has their friends and I'm kind of getting in the way of that. I've only been here for a few weeks and I've already encountered the school bullv. I already hate somebodv.

Elisha is not like the bullies from my old school. She's really good at what she does. Because I’m quiet and well behaved at school my teacher sits Elisha next to me hoping that my good behaviour will rub off on her. This really just gives Elisha the chance to bully me all the time.

She threatened to cut my hair yesterday because I wouldn't give her the answers to the maths question she didn't understand. The problem was that I didn't understand the question either and I was afraid of giving her the wrong answer. Kerry told me that I should have just given her the wrong answer but I’m scared of Elisha...

Elisha ended up at secondary school with me in Year 7. She was the only girl who I didn't want in my homeroom, so what did they do? They put me straight into the same homeroom as her of course! In year 7 though, I finally stuck up to her for the first time, actually this instance was the first time I had ever stuck up for myself in my whole life.

I'm sitting in our classroom doing my homework before class starts, To the side of me there is a big cupboard that is large enough to fit a person in. This cupboard is usually locked but my teacher must have forgotten to lock it at the end of last period. Elisha has noticed it and is now making jokes about locking me in it. I don't want to look at her because I guess that if I ignore her she'll go away. No such luck. She's standing right beside me now. "Get up!" She says. "Come on get up"! I stand and I'm shaking from head to toe. I'm scared. I don't want to be locked in the cupboard. Elisha is pushing me towards the cupboard now, its open and I know she's gonna put me in there and lock it! "Leave me alone!" I scream. "Leave me alone!"

I don't know if it was all the pent up anger from so much bullying. I don't know if it was seeing the girl who made fun of me at my first school laughing at me. I don't know what I did, but I reacted and stood up for myself. Elisha ended up the cupboard that day. I was so tempted to lock her in to give her a taste of her own medicine, but I was too scared so I just walked away. That wasn't the end of her bullying, but I had finally leamt to stand up for myself.

That's just a brief summary of my bullying experiences. There is more to it all than that, the bullying was severe at times, and at other times was just simple name-calling or ignoring. I preferred getting called names than being ignored because the ignoring was a more subtle form and it hurt more. Teachers couldn't punish the bullies for ignoring me because really, they weren't doing anything to me physically. The bullying was never done in front of the teachers and so the teachers ignored the situation. When it was brought up with the principal at my first school she did nothing and gave my mother the impression that I brought it upon myself, something that I believed for a long time.

When I was younger I would pray to God to give me friends. That was all I wanted. A companion, someone to talk to. I would pray really hard having full faith that one day I would find the right combination of Hail Mary's and Our Father's to make all the troubles go away. My belief in God was very strong during those younger years, but when it didn't work I began to doubt God and even worse doubt my own self worth.

During my primary school and early secondary school years I had no self-esteem, which was why I was so easy to tease. I was an easy target so the girls used me just for that, for target practice. They used me to test the reaction they would get from me and enjoyed my discomfort.

I would always try to work out why I got bullied. I knew that there had to be something inside me that was bad, but I couldn't work out what it was. My mum told me that there was nothing wrong with me and those girls were jealous of me, but I saw nothing good in myself, not one thing for those girls to be jealous of me for.

Then in secondary school I turned into a bit of a bully myself towards one girl who made fun of me for a bit. All that pent up anger I turned onto her. I was angry with her for making fun of me so I wanted to pay her back but I did this in the wrong way, although I didn't realise it at the time. When I was approached by the co-ordinator I was really surprised and disappointed in myself. I still find it hard to face the girl who I bullied. She on the other hand hasn't really held much of a grudge. My experiences tell me that she is probably still hurting and I know I will never be able to forgive myself for it. The fact that I was bullied myself for 7 or 8 years before that is no excuse. To tell you the truth, I can't even remember what she did to me in the first place which tells me that it was probably nothing much at all.

There is always light at the end of every tunnel for me-this was some great friends who convinced me to pull up my socks and get myself together. At the end of Year 9 I finally got that friend that I had wanted for so long. The best girl friend who I had read about in the story books. I didn't want to let her get close to me though because I was afraid of being hurt. I couldn't for the life of me imagine why she would want to be friends with someone like me. There were so many more interesting girls around. But she did. I hope that one day I get the chance to thank her for all that she did to help me because without her I certainly wouldn't be like I am now.

Going back to a couple of years ago, I would have walked into a place where I didn't know anybody and freak out Now I see meeting new people as an adventure. I still get shy when I'm around people I don't know, but I find it easier to talk to people. I have social skills, it's a brilliant feeling!

I get angry whenever I see anybody upset because they are being bullied. I view bullies with contempt, especially the me who was a bully 4 years ago. I know that when I'm a teacher I'll concentrate a lot on bullying. I want to help those kids who are bullied, I want to make a difference in their lives the way teachers at my school couldn't. Bullying is terrible and it shouldn't ever be taken lightly. I hate to think what I could have been like if nobody had intervened. Even though I don't like the way the teacher did it to me (she was really harsh even though it was the first time I had done it), but I'm grateful to her that she did do something. I know that in her position I would probably do the same thing.

Sometimes I find that old me niggling at the back of my brain somewhere. If I do really bad on something like a test I find that my first reaction is to doubt my abilities, although most of the time the new me, or a good friend will help me see that really it isn't so bad.

The other day I decided to go on a walk down memory lane, or nightmare lane should I say would be a better description, and went through my first primary school. It had changed a lot, there were new buildings and equipment that hadn't been there when I was younger, but it was still, in many ways, the same place it used to be. I could sense the uncomfortableness of the place and it's strange but I could almost sense the ghosts of the 7 year old me there. Although it was in many ways a negative experience, it was also a learning experience for me. I realised that that old me was a ghost and one that was only going to haunt me if I let it. I had to leave it behind there and move on. And you know what? I did just that knowing that things would never, ever be like that again.

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Our Youth Groups

Youth have a special place in our parish. Your energy and enthusiasm give heart to others. The Pope asked youth to be heralds of a new dawn. It has been the gift of young people to exercise a seismographic function in society, giving an immediate reading to the rumblings and movements that adults may not at first register. As heralds of a new dawn we need you to help us make Christ and His message appealing to young people your age. Tell us what you would like and how you could work with us, with different age groups, to make things happen.

 

"Make of our youth, O God, a holy thing. Let it not languish, die and naught avail. Tend it, we pray You, in its blossoming. Give it a beauty that can never fail. Let us not waste Thy splendid gift, O King, Nor barter it for all the world's poor price. Make of our youth, O God, a holy thing. Make our life Thy sacrifice."

We currently have three groups operating for the youth:

Antioch
- Contact Joe and Di Greene

Youth from year 5 - year 10
- Contact Noel & Gayle Roberts

Contemporary Music
- Contact Phillip Eales

 

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Antioch Youth Group

 

Antioch takes its name from Acts 11:26... "It was in Antioch that the disciples were called Christians for the first time." It is a movement of young people, year 10 and older, who minister to one another. The   participants share their faith with one another by means of music, talks that they write which are workshopped by the parent couple, group discussion and prayer.

A key ingredient is the Antioch weekend which is an outreach to other young people or other parishes. A powerful experience, it prepares the Antiochers for the weekly Sunday night meetings from 7:30PM - 10:00PM.

Antioch is a supportive faith environment where issues important to young people, and in their language, are explored and shared. It's worth looking into.

Antioch Weekend

11-13th April 2003

This weekend was held in the parish for young people aged 16 - 20 years.

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Discovery Youth Issues

 

by Fr Tim Deeter 

(permission kindly granted to reproduce this article for our website)

 

Dear Father Tim,

The parents of quite a few of my friends allow their boyfriends or girlfriends to sleep over in the same bed, but my parents, who go to Mass every Sunday, won't allow my boyfriend to sleep over at our place. Although I respect my parents' views I don't agree with this because the reasons they give do not convince me. It has caused some arguments at home too. I think views have changed from the time when they were young and that they are being unreasonable.

I know that the Catholic Church would agree with them but isn't it time for the Church to reconsider what is now a very old-fashioned stance? - Diane

Dear Diane,

There was a survey taken this past July which showed that 89% of Australians believe there must be a return to family values if problems like drug abuse and street crime among teenagers are to be solved.

What are the family values for which people are longing? Home cooking? Neatly pressed shirts? Of course not! We know that a lot of our society's problems are due to a lack of teaching about things like honesty, respect for self-discipline, obedience, sharing with others, a spirit of sacrifice - the list goes on and on.

I think that list includes premarital chastity. The so-called 'sexual revolution' of the 1960's and 70's started by the invention of the contraceptive pill and then furthered by the legalisation of abortion, promised sexual freedom. But it also promised stronger marriages since there would be sex without fear of pregnancy. And it promised an end to unwanted (including teen) pregnancies, thus bringing an end to abortion. Plus there would be no more sexually transmitted diseases.

We got the sexual freedom, all right. But do we have stronger marriages? Do we have no more unwanted pregnancies? Do we have no more abortions? No more sexually transmitted diseases?

No - we have more of these problems than ever before!

In your letter, Diane, you say that you respect your parents' views, but you believe that views have changed from the time when they were young. I think your parents' "views" are really "values", and values are much stronger than views. Values rarely change, and they only change to allow a better value to take its place. To me, to your parents, and to the Catholic Church, the results of the "sexual revolution" have not provided a single reason to do away with the traditional value of premarital chastity.

On the contrary, the overwhelming rise in marriage problems and divorces, unwanted pregnancies, abortions and STDs simply under-lines the fact that chastity is a "family value" worth keeping. The parents who allow their teen children to sleep with their lovers, whether in their own home or elsewhere, may think they are doing their children a favour.

However, they are setting them up for a lifetime of problems with fidelity, self-sacrifice and self-control - all of which are very important in having a stable permanent marriage. You ask if it isn't time for the Church to reconsider "what is now a very old-fashioned stance". The author Alan Bennett said, "Standards are always out of date. That is what makes them standards." Our 2000-year-old Church is accustomed to being "out of date", for it proposes timeless standards of behaviour. No, our Church does not move with the times; it is meant to move the times. If our Catholic people would promote true family values, including premarital chastity, imagine how many of society's problems we could alleviate. It is the duty of parents not simply to provide their children with food, shelter, clothing and a Play Station - their higher duty is to transmit values.

Diane, don't just respect your parents' views. Discuss them rationally, try to understand them - and then see if, in the end, it wouldn't be better to live them.

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Junior Youth Group

 

This is an outline of the different youth activities conducted last year.

Youth from Years 5 - 10
Contact: Noel & Gayle Roberts

Contemporary Music
Contact: Phil Eales
View Details

As you can see from the photos and from what we did last year (below), you can see we have a pretty cool Youth Group – we've always got room for a new face, so come and make yourself known to us!

The webmaster needs to get his or her act together and post here what we're doing for the rest of 2004!! Can someone please Fr Pat Jackson??

 

Youth Program 2003

Last year, we did the following:

Sun. Feb. 23rd	Walk Against Want for Oxfam at Cape Schanck
Fri. Mar. 14th	Youth House Working Bee 7:00PM with pizza to finish
Fri. Mar. 21st	Multi-Media Vigil 7:00-11:00PM
Fri. Apr. 4th	Rock Climbing at Nunawading 7:00-9:00PM
Sun. Apr. 13th	Walk For Life from St Mary’s East St Kilda (at 1:00PM) to Federation Square by 3:00PM
Fri. May 2nd	Table Tennis Round Robin 7:00-9:00PM in the Hall
Sun Jun. 15th	Games Afternoon at St Christopher’s 3:00-5:00PM
Fri. Aug. 8th	Pizza & Rave Night in the Hall 7:30-9:30PM ($2.00 for pizza)
Sat. Sep. 13th - Sun. Sep. 14th	Youth Camp at Santa Monica, Lorne Leave 8:30AM Sat. by bus & return by 5:00PM Sun.
Fri. Nov. 7th	Trivia Night 7:00PM-9:00PM

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Youth in Sport

 

Sport and play we can lose ourselves in. It's exciting, energising, as we pit our skill and talent against another. It is not "win at any cost" or big money that should be our aim. We've seen great sportsmen lose themselves in the wrong way. It doesn't recreate, but destroys them.

At St Christopher's there's an excellent venue for tennis and netball and we've got some great teams. Four from the parish, Simon Regan, Tim Smith, Con Bourmas and Chris Baczyk have won the grand Final in the Waverley District Tennis Association (Junior Comp) for the last few years. There are graded netball teams and students from St Christopher's Primary join with Glendal Primary to form footy teams.

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St Christopher's Netball Club

 

Nature and aims of this group: Welcome: -

St. Christopher’s Netball Club is based at St. Christopher’s Primary School in Doon Ave., Syndal. To play with our club you do not need to attend St. Christopher’s School teams i.e. 15/U attend various secondary institutions.

The St. Christopher’s Netball Club is a member at Waverley City Netball Ass. and plays on Saturday’s at Waverley Netball Centre cnr Waverley & Jells Rds., Glen Waverley.

Currently we have 6 teams playing at various levels. We are a growing club and find that if we support one NETTA team per year i.e. in the Spring Season then we have enough players for a new team the following year.

All coaches have completed an orientation to coaching course, which is organised by Netball Australia.

We are a multicultural school and Club.

Our Club encourages all new players (7-10 yrs old) to complete a NETTA session at WCNA or similar prior to joining the Club and competition

President - Peter & Wendy Crellin ' 9807 0082

Treasurer - Fran Corkill ' 9803 3070

Secretary - Andrea Burns ' 9803 3304

General Committee - Marita Fyfield; Gayle Roberts and Bronwyn Cook

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Tennis Club Juniors

 

[Left] Simon Regan, Con Bourmas, Chris Baczyk, Tim Smith, with John Regan,  in their Grand Final with the Waverley District Tennis Association in 1998.

The home court for St. Christopher’s Tennis Juniors is St. Christopher’s Tennis Club.

John Regan organized the Junior Tennis Competition.

[Right] 2002. The same foursome won the Grand Final: Tim Smith, Con Bourmas, Simon Regan, Chris Baczyk and Con’s brother, Lachlan, is holding the trophy.

Noel Roberts is the present president of St. Christopher’s Junior Tennis Competition.

 

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Football Club News

Glendal Saints Junior Football Club Inc.

 

 

Glendal Saints Junior Football Club Inc. now have their own fabulous website where you can source all current information.

 

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St Christopher's Catholic Parish
Last modified: Mar 17 2007

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