Executive Principal 

Remembering 

Leighland is currently in a time of remembering. 

The school was opened in February 1976, following 20 plus years of conversation, of saving and of planning. I love that about Christian education. It’s characterised by faithfulness and simplicity, drawing on God to promote and progress what may seem to be an improbable cause. 

In the foyer of the Ulverstone campus is a bench which has the words: “In memory of a few Dutch migrants who in 1953 met to start a Christian Parent Controlled School and began fundraising”.  It caught my attention immediately upon stepping into Leighland for the first time, just a few short weeks ago. It resonated because my own story mirrors that of Leighland. I felt immediately connected because of that bench and rejoiced to see it there, so that we might never forget what God worked through those who came before us. 

God’s Word holds before us that Christian education is not an improbable cause in his eyes and that remembering his works of the past is paramount. Consider these texts which speak to this. 

“These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe … so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God …” (Deuteronomy 6: 1).

“Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder … to serve as a sign among you. In the future when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever” (Joshua 4: 6, 7).

“We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done” (Psalm 78: 4).

“People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them.  When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19: 13 – 14). 

A few things to note and to learn from these Scripture passages. 

Children are precious to God, and he calls parents and communities to love, nurture, protect and teach them. God wants his works to be in focus; he wants his works to be remembered, especially by children, and he raises memorials so that they will be prompted to ask. This reflects his commitment to and concern for them, as well as his need for them in fulfilling his plan of salvation. 

That’s why it’s good to remember in thankfulness that Leighland has been in existence for 50 years and that it has grown into what it is now. That’s why it’s good to have the bench in the foyer. That’s why it’s good to go forward in faithfulness and simplicity, understanding how the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who march through the doors here in Ulverstone and in Burnie, every school day. 

Alwyn Terpstra

Executive Principal