Mark Ramsay, Principal
Last Wednesday night was a strange moment for me. It was my first time speaking as the Principal at the Kuyper Graduation Dinner—and it was also my last. I had just one chance to share some words of wisdom. If I messed it up, there were no do-overs. But perhaps that’s what makes moments like that all the more meaningful. In fact, isn’t that how life goes?
In a world that rarely offers us do-overs, each moment counts. We’re constantly navigating a journey filled with unexpected twists, sudden detours, and sometimes challenging lessons. Life is a series of one-time experiences, of which the Graduation Dinner was one.
One of the most significant challenges we all face is the desire for predictability. We want to know what comes next and feel certain that everything will unfold according to plan. It’s natural to seek security—to want a road map for the future. But things rarely work that way in life. Each one of us will be surprised. We need to adapt, to reimagine our plans, and to keep moving even when the path ahead is unclear.
And in the face of the unpredictability of this world, we all need to maximise our experiences. Yes, I’m a Maths teacher, but I’m not referring to finding the highest point on a graph. No, in the context of living a life that honours God, maximising means making the most of each opportunity, each experience, and each challenge that we face. It’s about showing up, even when things don’t go the way we planned, and maximising what we have. It’s about saying yes to listening to God, to growing, to being resilient, and to being courageous.
For all of our families, I hope that school is a predictable part of your lives—a foundation of stability. Here at Kuyper, we encourage your children to maximise every opportunity, to grow in knowledge, faith, and character, and to make the most of what God has given them.
What are you thankful about your child’s experience at Kuyper that will prepare them to make the most of what God has given them? I asked a similar question to the Graduates on Wednesday night as they considered the end of their journey as Kuyper students.
I truly hope that all of you can say that the Kuyper community taught your children about who God is, what he is like, and how he relates to us. That is the most important thing they can learn. More important than how to solve quadratic equations, how to write a good essay, or how to do the high jump really well. It’s important because knowing God results in being loved. And that is what all people need.
Jesus reminds us of this in His prayer in John 17:
“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
Did you pick up the link that Jesus makes in that prayer? Let me highlight it for you: “I (Jesus) have made you (God) known to them (us) … in order that the love you have for me may be in them (us) …”
Knowing God leads to experiencing his love. Knowing God means being loved by him. In a world where so many people just want to be loved, valued, and cared for, your children have been gifted with the greatest blessing imaginable. They have been introduced to the loving God who rules this world. Experiencing that love gives them a foundation of security in an unpredictable world.
In knowing God, they have received the greatest gift—the chance to be fully loved by Him. And this gift, this love, is meant to be maximised. It’s a love that not only fills us but also allows us to share it, to pour it out to others, and to make a difference in the world around us. Maximising this love means allowing it to transform us so we can love others with that same fullness.
Each member of staff at Kuyper – the admin team, maintenance staff, teachers, and teachers aides – knows God, and each one of them loves every student with God’s love.
My prayer is that every student at Kuyper knows God, that they know God’s love, and that they let that knowledge of God’s love be a constant in an unpredictable world. It is my prayer that every one of your children embraces God’s love and maximises it by letting it flow through them to others.