A Welcome Week Reflection

During Welcome Week our community was exploring what it means to be a truly welcoming school — a place where every student, staff member, and family feels included, valued, and supported.

In our primary staff devotion, we reflected on a well-known verse spoken by John the Baptist: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” — John 3:30

John the Baptist understood that welcoming Jesus meant shifting the focus away from himself and making room for Jesus’ presence, character, and purpose to take centre stage.

This idea raises a powerful question for our whole school community:

What would it look like to welcome Jesus into our school with the mindset of John 3:30?

Not simply welcoming one another — but welcoming Jesus into the heart of our school life.

What Does It Mean to Welcome Jesus?

To welcome Jesus is to allow the qualities of His character to 'increase' among us:

· More love: noticing those who feel left out

· More compassion: responding gently to someone’s tough day

· More patience: slowing down enough to truly see one another

· More humility: putting someone else first

· More grace: giving second chances, and sometimes third

When these qualities increase, our school becomes a place where everyone can flourish.

What Does It Mean to 'Decrease'?

John’s words don’t suggest becoming smaller or less important. They invite us to make space — to put aside things that crowd out the good God wants to grow in us.

· Decreasing our need to be first

· Decreasing frustration

· Decreasing assumptions about others

· Decreasing the hurry that keeps us from noticing people

· Decreasing anything that overshadows kindness

As those things decrease, we make room for Jesus’ presence to be seen in our actions, attitudes, and interactions.

A Heart Check for Welcome Week

As we continue Welcome Week, here’s a simple reflection for students, families, and staff:

Where in our school can Jesus 'increase' — and where might we need to 'decrease' to make room for Him?

What could change in our relationships, our classrooms, our conversations, and even in our home life if we welcomed Jesus with John’s mindset?

Small choices made by many people shape the culture of a school. And when those choices reflect the way of Jesus, our community becomes a place of genuine welcome — the kind that goes deeper than words and is felt in the everyday moments.

Leesa Woods

JP Team Leader