One of my earliest childhood memories is playing at the water table in my kindergarten classroom. For myself and my classmates, the water table was our land of hopes and dreams. It was the place where anything seemed possible, and when the lid was removed from the water table, it was as if a whole other world suddenly opened. There were toys that floated in the water table, and the best ones to play with were the plastic boats. There were two of them (one red and one blue), and as kindergarten students, there were few experiences that could generate the same level of joy that playing with boats in the water table could.

Thinking back to my love of the water table in kindergarten and reflecting now on my life at home as a father, and at school as a principal, I have come to realize that one of my favourite things about children is the way they experience and express joy. It is unbridled, it is full of passion, and it can arise from almost anything. Squeals of delight from a two-year-old who is receiving a shoulder ride, or shouts of “Whoa! Look! That’s so cool!” from a grade 1 student who witnesses a worm inching across the forest floor, give me insight into a life that I desire to live, and the kind of place that I want Surrey Christian School to be.

One of my deep hopes for Surrey Christian School is that it be a place filled with love and joy. I hope it is a place where students experience unbridled joy in their learning and in their relationships. I hope they feel joy when they interact with their teachers. I hope they feel joy when they run in the gym, when they walk with friends, and when they share about their day with parents, grandparents and siblings. I hope it is a place where students feel a deep sense of love; where they know they are loved by God, loved by staff members, and loved by peers. In the end, I hope that students authentically experience the joy of the Lord as they learn about His world and all that He created. And if part of experiencing joy looks like getting excited about a worm on the forest floor, I find that delightful.

Danny Nagtegaal
Principal, Fleetwood Campus