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By Matthew Beimers
MORE than 40 years ago, a group of immigrants constructed a new school. They
envisioned a Christ-centred, biblically faithful curriculum that would
challenge their children to consider how every square inch of this world
belongs to God.
The school, which was to be called Fraser Valley Christian High School (FVCHS),
was paid for by parents who were willing to refinance their homes – a sacrifice they considered no more than a faithful response to God’s call to tell the next generation about the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord.
Many parents spent endless hours and weekends constructing the new school,
serving meals and cleaning the work site in the mid 1960s.
The story is very similar for Surrey Christian School (SCS), which was
established in 1978. This year, FVCHS and SCS will share much more than similar
stories; they will become one merged school society, offering pre-kindergarten
to grade 12, to almost 1,000 students.
As a young parent whose own children are just at the beginning stages of
Christian education, I sometimes find myself thinking about the generation that
came before me.
At our annual FVCHS Grandparents Day, I found myself next to a grandfather who
had worked on that original building.
Years ago, his own children attended FVCHS; his grandchildren are there now.
As he walked through our hallways, he stopped every few steps and glanced
around, absorbing every detail of our newly com-pleted building project – from the state of the art science lab to the fully equipped gymnasium.
He thought deeply about each physical element. I could see that I was walking with a master craftsman. More than that, I could see that I was walking with someone who still cared
deeply about Christian education.
He asked about two words he saw on a bulletin board: ‘essential questions.’
I explained that they are the guiding questions that help teachers think deeply
about how faith and curriculum are integrated and not separated.
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He was curious about our Advisory program, where students meet in cross-graded
small groups once a week to share a meal, play a game or engage in discussion.
He was ecstatic to hear that 100 different churches are represented in our
student body.
No doubt, he was looking for evidence that the school his hands helped build was
still being faithful to the original vision.
As our two schools prepare to merge, I find myself wondering about the students
sitting in kindergarten today. What will be the challenges those children face
between now and the day they graduate in 2022?
Will our schools equip these students academically, socially, emotionally and
spiritually to be active participants in God’s kingdom?
If they do that, then the legacy of this grandfather’s generation will be honoured and God will be glorified.
Matthew Beimers, a 1990 graduate of FVCHS, is currently an assistant principal
and English teacher there.
February 2010
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