vcs2018

I dream a school

Fri, 14 May 2021 01:05:49 GMT

Principal's Blog Post - I dream a school

Martin Hanscamp was a Christian school teacher, principal, and Executive Officer for the Australian Association of Christian Schools. Martin spent many evenings behind the keyboard writing about Christian education and what it means for the life of the Christian school.

Martin spent time with Christian educators thinking about what they hope for in a Christian School. His words inspire us still!

I dream of a school

· Where there's a strong sense of where it has come from and an expectation of a great future.

· Where the vision is renewed in faith, hope and love.

· Where our passion and direction are embedded in reliance of the Holy Spirit.

I dream of a school

· Where difference is applauded and richness is measured in diversity not in the typical wealth barometers of people.

· Where God is recognized as the giver of gifts and students can develop an understanding of who they are in Christ.

· Where the unusual child can enroll and their contribution is celebrated.

I dream of a school

· Where God comes first.

· Where there’s a love for the Word of God.

· Where, love, joy and peace are not just words, but explored, experienced and shared deeply.

· Where there’s unity in beliefs and values but diversity in style and expression.

· Where faith is built through example, articulation and expression from littlies to biggies.

I dream of a school

· Where each individual is seen through the eyes of Christ and everyone is valued, appreciated and celebrated.

· Where everyone in the community plays a vital role and feels they belong.

· Where parents, students and teachers can lovingly, joyfully and peacefully express to each other, who they are.

I dream of a school

· Where parents don’t say hi and bye at eight and four.

· Where their hands are up when you need a volunteer.

· Where teachers and parents, together are finding umpteen ways of partnering in the growth of their child.

I dream of a school

· Where there are opportunities to give voice to shaping the school and ways to practically serve.

· Where self-expression and creative response are encouraged.

· Where kids fall in love with the God they see living in their teachers.

I dream of a school

· Where staff are growing in their relationship with God.

· Where prayer is a regular necessity.

· Where the fruits of the spirit show.

· Where teachers can love and be loved.

I dream of a school

· Where teachers are passionate about the Christian education vision.

· Where they love their job and the kids they teach.

· Where staff are free to dream and encouraged to believe the impossible.

· Where pressing on to higher goals wins out over the immediate pressures of survival.

I dream of a school

· Where teachers embrace the new school day with zeal and hope.

· Where teachers leave a staff meeting, ‘Boy that was good’.

· Where staff team together shoulder the task, making time beyond yard duty and correction.

· Where weariness finds respite in breaks and tonic in inspired vision.

· Where teachers have good morning teas.

· And when they hear the ‘back to class bell,’ gladly spring up to embrace a new lesson.

I dream of a school

· Where vigorous learning is a celebration in the Lord.

· Where learning is a celebration and the classroom is a fun place.

· Where mistakes can be made in safety.

· Where success is measured by personal growth and development rather than academic prowess.

· Where love of learning motivates students.

· Where timetables and busyness don’t hold back other teachable moments and extra care.

Soli Deo Gloria

Ron Donkersloot

Principal's Blog - Mission of VCS

Tue, 13 Apr 2021 01:22:31 GMT

Principal's Blog Post - Mission of VCS

Our Mission and Vision statements are statements that provide guidance for us as a school. I would like to take some time to unpack our Mission Statement:

Our Mission

Working together as a family to educate students on the firm foundation of Christ

A key ingredient so valuable to our school is the notion that we work together as a family.

One of the things I often hear from our families is that they love the close-knit feel of our school. Parents often hang out by the playground as the kids play together when the weather allows, and get to know each other. This is important as we work together! One of the things that I emphasize with new parents is to encourage them to find ways to be a part of the story of Valley Christian School. We want our parents to feel like they are a part of the school in ways that go beyond simply dropping their children off in the morning and picking them up at the end of the day! It is in working together that we can be the body of Christ and represent what we are called to be.

We are also a school that seeks to educate our students on the firm foundation of Christ. Yes, we are a school that teaches the academic subjects, and we want to do an excellent job of that (more on this in a later blog post). However, we are more than a school that educates. We are a school that teaches our students within the context of what we believe as Christians. ALL of life belongs to God. We have the joy of being able to educate our students within in this context. They are made in the image of God! We live in a world that the Lord has made. So, when we study math, we are not only studying math we are also uncovering how God has created order in our world. When we study history or social studies, we are learning about how we fit into this world that God has made for us. When we study science, we see how marvellously God has created the world. Indeed, the sky and earth shout out to us about our Creator. These are the things that we have the joy to teach our students. When we understand our firm foundation in Christ then we understand how we can live in this world which has so many confusing ideologies that compete for attention.

It is always our desire that our students understand who they are in Christ and then how they can live this out in the world God has created. It is a noble and beautiful calling! We are honoured to work this out in a small way here at Valley Christian School.

Soli Deo Gloria

Ron Donkersloot

Principal's Blog Post #2

Sun, 04 Apr 2021 04:00:32 GMT

Principal's Blog Post #2: A House "Dirty Enough To Be Happy"

This house is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy.

We have a plaque I found on my travels in Holland with the above saying. The Dutch are somewhat known for being quite fastidious about cleaning and I loved how this plaque showed that one must have a balance in even this simplest of qualities.

It seems to me that in this time of COVID 19 and now with the third wave upon us we need to have some of this perspective as we move ahead with many of the new ministry guidelines. Clearly, we want to be a healthy school! We want to be a place where students can come and feel that it is a safe place for them. We want our parents to feel confident that when they are sending their children to our school we are doing everything in our power to keep our school clean and healthy.

However, one could go overboard on this and create a place that is so harsh in its measures that the emotional health of the school and our students become compromised. One could become so fastidious that both parents and students become increasingly afraid and paranoid about everything. This would compromise healthy learning at the school.

Thus, we seek to find a balance at Valley Christian School where one tries to have a healthy yet happy school. In this balance we will find a way to have a school that promotes both learning and health! Healthy students also need to be happy students in order to learn.

I would also encourage us as we celebrate Easter to remember that Christ, on his last night with the disciples, gave a new commandment. After washing their feet, he commanded them to “Love one another, as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” John 13; 34, 35

It is my fervent hope that as we navigate these next months, and hopefully get to a time where we can have school without the specter of COVID looming over us, that we will do so in love. I know that there are many different opinions about COVID in the world and in our school community. May we find a way to love one another even if we have these different opinions. May the community of Mission see the love of Christ shining out for all to see.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Ron Donkersloot

Principal's Blog Post #1

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 02:12:57 GMT

Principal's Blog Post #1

Each year Valley Christian School has a theme that we focus on throughout the year. Because this year has been such a challenging year it seems only appropriate that we focus not on the challenges facing us but rather the Love of Christ.

This theme comes from a passage of Ephesians chapter 3: 16 - 18. “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the LORD's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”

Thus the theme for this year is THE EPIC LOVE OF CHRIST!

Should we let the fears and concerns of this time of COVID control how we think or act? No! We are called to live in the knowledge that Christ’s love is there with us no matter what happens!

As we focus on this epic love it drives all that we do. We are called to be a school that reflects this love in how we deal with our students, in how we treat each other and in how we live the gospel out in the city of Mission.

We invite you to join with us in seeing how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is.

Soli Deo Gloria

Ron Donkersloot