Principal's Ponderings

Established in Love

"And I pray that you, being deeply established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” – Ephesians 3:17–18 

Welcome to Term 4, our last term for the 2025 school year. I hope the school Spring Break brought some rest and time to pause, after a wonderful and exciting Term 3 at DCS. I again applaud our students for their outstanding commitment and presentation of the Finding Nemo Jr. production in Primary, and for the continual excellence and achievement in projects, character development and increased learning in Secondary. 

Can I commence Term 4 asking each of you to think on this question: What are our lives built on?

Not just what we do, but what we are established in; our values, what holds us steady in a changing world, what shapes our parenting, our relationships, our identity, our hope.

Paul’s prayer in Ephesians in the verses above are breathtaking. He does not ask for wealth or wisdom or worldly success for the believers, as some may think about possessions or fame. He prays that they would be deeply established in love, that the foundation of their lives would be the limitless, immeasurable love of Jesus.

At Devonport Christian School, this is our deepest desire: that every child, every family, and every staff member would be established not in achievement, popularity, or performance, but in the love of Jesus.

God’s love is not shallow. It is not conditional. It is not based on how well we behave or how much we accomplish. It is wide, long, high, and deep. It is the kind of love that knows us completely and still chooses us. The kind of love that walked all the way to the cross, dying for you and me, and rose again, allowing us to be forever held by grace.

When we are established in this love, everything changes.

We become more secure in who we are and more gracious toward others. We stop striving for approval and start living in response to God’s acceptance. We parent with more patience, lead with more humility, and walk with more peace.

And our children? They flourish.

Children who know they are deeply loved become more confident, more resilient and more compassionate. That is why everything we do here, whether it is maths, music, sport, or science, is soaked in a culture of love. Because love lays the foundation for true learning and lifelong faith.

At home, we encourage you to create rhythms that establish this truth in your child’s heart:

• Speak words of affirmation over who they are, not just what they do.

• Remind them that nothing can separate them from the love of God (Romans 8:38–39).

• Pray together. Worship together. Laugh and cry together, in the knowledge that God is holding you all.

As our final school term for 2025 commences, may we look back and see how far God has brought us through this year, not because of our strength, but because His love has held us, guided us, and shaped us.

And may we go forward deeply established in that same love.

With love and blessing,

Chad Smit