Mitchell Cavens, Head of Secondary
As a Senior Leadership Team, one of our ongoing desires is to help students grow in conscious awareness of God throughout their school day. Education at Kuyper is a daily invitation to know, trust, and walk with the God who made us and redeemed us, and this conviction has led to the introduction of a new classroom practice.
This year, our Secondary classes have been beginning lessons with a short practice known as a breath prayer. This is an ancient and simple form of prayer that invites students to pause, to breathe slowly, and to direct their attention toward God with a few brief words: one phrase on the inhale, one on the exhale. For example, a student might breathe in with the words “Prince of Peace” and breathe out with “calm our hearts.”
Adolescence is a season of considerable internal and external noise. Students arrive at class carrying the weight of friendships, pressures, worries, and the relentless pace of life. Breath prayers offer a gentle and God-centred way to still the room; an act of remembrance that reorients hearts before a lesson begins. We remember that God is present and that He is interested in what happens in the lesson and within the student.
Scripture reminds us that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). To orient ourselves toward God before we open a textbook or begin a task is the foundation of all good learning. God is the God of mathematics, of language, of science, of history. Every subject taught at Kuyper belongs to Him, and breath prayers are a small but meaningful way of acknowledging that truth at the start of each lesson.
Each week, our classes work with a different theme and passage: trust, peace, wisdom, courage, focus, and more; all drawn from Scripture and woven into the rhythm of the school year. Over time, we hope that these words will graduate beyond just a routine and pierce their hearts so that they might be reminded of who they are before God.
For those students who don’t yet know the Lord, we still encourage them to participate in this practice, as even the breathing by itself has a positive impact on their readiness to learn.
We warmly invite you to join us in this practice at home. You might ask your son or daughter what the breath prayer was this week, or try one together around the dinner table. The formation of faith-filled, attentive, and hopeful young people is something we seek to do together as a community shaped by the same God and the same story.
Thank you for your continued trust and partnership with us.