By Kirra Livingstone
LANDSBOROUGH State School has a new chaplain, Anita Kelly, who is passionate about bringing the community together and providing support to students who need it.
Anita said she has been working for the school for five weeks now and has a background in community service and development which drives her passion in her new role.
“I’ve had a few years off due to little kids, but children, families and how they strengthen the community has been in my heart for a long time,” she said.
“The role was something that landed in my lap actually, a friend of a friend said there was a chaplaincy role available, and the purpose of the role got me passionate straight away. My job is to provide the social and emotional support of the children and the whole school community as well and to be supporting in whatever needs they have.”
Anita is involved with the Nambour Christian Church, which she said works well with the courses she is developing for students to take part in during chaplain visits.
“I’m just planning for next year, but I’m making different courses to help kids deal with anxiety, conflict resolution, and to support the school’s process in that as well,” she said.
“There’s a lot of things we talk about to kids who suffer from anxiety like gratitude, those values that come through, they are biblical values but they are also values worldly people appreciate.”
Anita originally comes from the Darling Downs but said she has had a love for the Sunshine Coast for as long as she can remember.
“I live in Nambour, we’ve been on the Sunshine Coast for eight years, I used to come up to the Sunshine Coast every Christmas holiday since I was two, so it has always felt like home,” she said.
“I absolutely love the beaches and the natural parks in the area. I really love getting back to basics and I think we just live in such a beautiful area.”
