Chapters:

00:00 Introduction
00:48 Darren & José’s SJPII Stories
06:42 What makes this school community special?
09:32 Why is parent engagement essential in a small school?
11:03 How does Catholic education support long-term faith?
12:52 The Alumni golf tournament
21:10 Why is faith-based education important today?
25:06 What are the social challenges facing teens today?
31:34 What’s one memorable experience you’ve had with SJPII?
34:35 What are your hopes for the future of the school?
36:13 How can people get involved with the golf tournament?
38:48 Conclusion

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Would you move your whole family for the right school? In this powerful conversation, host Troy Van Vliet sits down with Darren Watt and Jose Vargas—two dedicated parents and volunteers at St. John Paul II Academy—to explore why Catholic education is worthwhile. From their first impressions of the school,  to one family’s decision to relocate and get deeply involved in school leadership, they reflect on the powerful sense of community, the importance of faith-based learning, and the success of initiatives like the alumni golf tournament.

Transcript:

[00:00:00] Troy Van Vliet: Welcome to Catholic Education Matters, the podcast that celebrates the beauty of Catholic education. Join us as we share the stories of those making a lasting impact on Catholic education. Let’s begin.
[00:00:18] Hello everybody, and welcome to Catholic Education Matters. My name’s Troy Van Vliet. I’m the chair of the St. John Paul II Academy Foundation, and today we are here with Darren Watt and Jose Vargas, two parents from St. John Paul II Academy, and we’re happy to have you both here today. We’re going to be giving a totally a, a parent perspective on what’s going on in our school and, uh, um, Jose, you’ve been a part of it from, uh, day one.
[00:00:48] Well, day two, let’s just say because day one, uh, your daughter started in grade eight and there was a grade nine class ahead of her. So, and um, and I remember going back to when we first met, because that was at Sacred Heart in the gym. You, you might not remember this, but, um, you came up to me, I was watching, uh, my daughter play, uh, um, your daughter in basketball.
[00:01:15] And, uh, that was at Sacred Heart. And the, um, you came up and you were saying, so what’s, what’s St. John Paul II Academy all about? What is this? And, uh, because that was when our kids were in grade seven.
[00:01:26] Jose Vargas: Yes. No, actually I do remember
[00:01:28] Troy Van Vliet: you, you do remember it.
[00:01:29] Jose Vargas: Yes.
[00:01:30] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah. That was a long time ago now.
[00:01:32] Jose Vargas: Yeah. At that time, we were trying to, uh, figure out what school, what was good for, for our daughter.
[00:01:40] Troy Van Vliet: Yep.
[00:01:40] Jose Vargas: And, uh, there were a few options and one of the options was, uh, SJP II.
[00:01:45] Troy Van Vliet: Right.
[00:01:46] Jose Vargas: And, uh, because we knew, um, Mr. DesLauriers
[00:01:51] Troy Van Vliet: Yep.
[00:01:52] Jose Vargas: And, uh, he was, uh, such a great, uh, uh principal.
[00:01:57] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm.
[00:01:58] Jose Vargas: Uh, we were very excited of the opportunity of having Sophia attend, uh, SJP II, and, uh, so we wanted to know more about the school.
[00:02:08] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah, that’s right. That’s great. So that was your first introduction?
[00:02:12] Darren Watt: Yes.
[00:02:12] Troy Van Vliet: And Darren.
[00:02:13] Darren Watt: Hmm.
[00:02:14] Troy Van Vliet: You are the father of several. You’ve got five in your six?
[00:02:19] Darren Watt: Five.
[00:02:20] Troy Van Vliet: Five.
[00:02:20] Darren Watt: Five kids total, yeah.
[00:02:20] Troy Van Vliet: Sorry. Five total?
[00:02:21] Darren Watt: Three. Three, at JPI, at SJPII
[00:02:23] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah, and, um, how were you guys introduced? You and Sam, uh, you were in Tsawwassen, and you weren’t even living anywhere near the school.
[00:02:30] Darren Watt: Correct.
[00:02:30] Troy Van Vliet: And how did you find out about the school?
[00:02:31] Darren Watt: Yeah, so we have been, um, a homeschooling family, um, up to that point. And, um, had sort of always planned on, on homeschooling our kids, at least to the high school years, but possibly even, even further than that.
[00:02:43] Troy Van Vliet: Yep.
[00:02:43] Darren Watt: Um, and as our oldest son, Oliver Ollie, as he likes to be called, um, as he got closer to the time where high he was sort of thinking about high school, he started to express, uh, a desire to kind of be part of a, yeah, more of a bricks and mortar school, wanted a bit more sort of social interaction.
[00:02:56] So umm, you know, to be frank, we weren’t sort of super impressed with the public-school options around us, where we were, and we didn’t love the idea of having our kids have to bus somewhere.
[00:03:06] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm.
[00:03:07] Darren Watt: Um, so we started exploring, exploring options and I think, I can’t remember whether, to be honest, it was, it may have been through a, a pulpit talk that happened.
[00:03:15] We were at, we were, we were members of the, the Sacred Heart Parish at the time as well. Um, or it might have even been through the homeschooling community. It’s, you know, that we’ve belong to that sort of made mention. So, uh, yeah. My first memory was, was coming to, uh, to an open house at, at SJP II, and, and both my wife Samantha, and I were just immediately, immediately impressed and, um.
[00:03:37] And very, very curious and learning more. And so, the more we started digging into it, it was just become very clear that this was just completely what we, what we were looking for.
[00:03:47] Troy Van Vliet: Oh, that’s great. So, and Ollie came,
[00:03:50] Darren Watt: and then we, and then we ultimately moved.
[00:03:50] Troy Van Vliet: And then you moved.
[00:03:51] Darren Watt: We did, yeah.
[00:03:51] Troy Van Vliet: So, Ollie came in grade eight, first of all, and you guys commuted together, you got your car, carpooling?
[00:03:57] Darren Watt: Yeah, we carpooled.
[00:03:57] Jose Vargas: Yes.
[00:03:58] Troy Van Vliet: And then, um, and then grade nine, you, you moved from Tsawwassen out to,
[00:04:02] Darren Watt: we, we literally started the, the, the house hunting process um, from those early days once, once Ollie, you know, started in the school, even before when we, when we knew that he was going to enter the school, we immediately, you know, sought out a realtor and started looking.
[00:04:14] And it took us two years to find the place that we wanted. But it was always, that was the, that was the impetus for the for the family relocation.
[00:04:20] Troy Van Vliet: That’s a big commitment.
[00:04:21] Darren Watt: Yeah.
[00:04:21] Troy Van Vliet: Talking about commitments that we make for our, our kids and sacrifices that we make for our kids. You guys actually picked up and moved to be closer to the school, so, and,
[00:04:28] Darren Watt: and couldn’t be, couldn’t be happier. The family, it, like we, we all are a hundred percent agreed. It was like the right thing to do, and we just were, it was, I.
[00:04:35] Troy Van Vliet: That’s exciting.
[00:04:35] Darren Watt: Yep. Divine providence.
[00:04:37] Troy Van Vliet: And you’ve both been part of the school in many ways. Um, you’re not just a parent in the school. You, uh, Darren, you’re now the vice chair of the Society Board, which is actually in charge of education in the school.
[00:04:51] And, um, you’re also chairing the golf tournament, which we’ll talk about a little bit. Uh, those golf clubs are there for a reason. And Jose, you’ve been on the society board as secretary for how many years now?
[00:05:03] Jose Vargas: I think, it’s like four years.
[00:05:04] Troy Van Vliet: Four years, yeah. Since I’ve been, yeah. That’s, and thank you for your service.
[00:05:10] And, uh, also, um, you were, uh, involved with the golf tournament as, or the, uh, yeah. The golf tournament as well. Yes. Which has been a great fundraiser for us for the, um, uh, bursary program, which we’ll talk, we’ll talk more about that. So, thank you. Yeah. Both of you, for all of your commitments from day one.
[00:05:30] Now, Jose, I really gotta say thank you to you because your daughter graduated last year. You’re still here part of the school; you just can’t let it go.
[00:05:39] Jose Vargas: No, it’s so much fun.
[00:05:40] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah. It’s a great community, isn’t it?
[00:05:42] Jose Vargas: It is a great community. And, um, also the fact that, uh, you can, you can really see where we’re going.
[00:05:50] Like the vision and mission that we are building for, for this school is, is, is great. And, uh, in these troubled times we need good news.
[00:06:02] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:06:02] Jose Vargas: Like this school.
[00:06:03] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah, exactly.
[00:06:04] Jose Vargas: There is so much need in the lower mainland for, for, um, Catholic education.
[00:06:09] Troy Van Vliet: Yep.
[00:06:09] Jose Vargas: And, uh, a high school, like the one that we’re building right now is going to be a great response to that need of the community, not just our Catholic community, but the community in general. And I think that, uh, the community in Surrey and the south of the, um, uh, Fraser River.
[00:06:29] Troy Van Vliet: Fraser River, yep.
[00:06:29] Jose Vargas: Um, you know, the need is there, and we are going to be there to meet that need.
[00:06:36] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah, that’s great. And now your daughter’s is the success. Now your daughter’s the youngest, so
[00:06:42] Jose Vargas: Yes.
[00:06:42] Troy Van Vliet: You have.
[00:06:44] Jose Vargas: I have a, an older son. Yeah. Uh, he just graduated from, uh, university and, uh, and my daughter, she’s attending Dalhousie, and I have to mention, uh, another thing too.
[00:06:55] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm.
[00:06:55] Jose Vargas: Which is, uh, one of the big reasons why I’m so excited about this school. Um, she actually managed to get accepted into all of the universities she applied to and, on top of that, she got a scholarship. So right now, she’s at Dalhousie.
[00:07:12] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm.
[00:07:13] Jose Vargas: And she’s enjoying the benefits of a, a scholarship.
[00:07:17] Troy Van Vliet: That’s great. And what is she taking at Dalhousie? What does she want to do?
[00:07:22] Jose Vargas: She’s doing, uh, sciences and, uh, but her goal is to get into dental school.
[00:07:28] Troy Van Vliet: Right.
[00:07:29] Jose Vargas: And, uh, yeah, so she’s, she’s doing great. And, and actually I have to say that, uh, Mr. Wilke, our, uh, chemistry teacher, um, I told him that, uh, she has asked me to tell him that, um, you know, uh, she’s really grateful to him and, um, mm-hmm. And the other teachers. But, no, mainly to him because. Can you believe that? She had a grade of 98 in chemistry for her first term
[00:08:00] Troy Van Vliet: wow.
[00:08:01] Jose Vargas: Yes.
[00:08:01] Troy Van Vliet: Wow. That is fantastic. So, she went in there well prepared.
[00:08:05] Jose Vargas: Yes.
[00:08:06] Troy Van Vliet: So that’s a great testament too. Yeah.
[00:08:08] Jose Vargas: Yes.
[00:08:08] Troy Van Vliet: To Mr. Wilke.
[00:08:09] Jose Vargas: Yeah.
[00:08:10] Troy Van Vliet: So, we got some great teachers at St. John Paul, the second academy.
[00:08:13] Jose Vargas: We do, yes.
[00:08:14] Troy Van Vliet: That is great news. Fantastic. And we are so happy to have you that you’re sticking around. That, uh, because you’ve been a great, a great help and a huge contributor, both you and, and Brigida, um, uh, with the school because we, we have asked so much of our parents, cause we’re such a tiny school right now.
[00:08:31] We have 72 kids currently in the school. So, our parents have been there to step up, to pick up. All the, you know, the loose tying all the loose ends right now. cause there’s so much to do. There’s so much volunteer work to do and we’re trying to; to do all the things that the big schools do except with this really small group. And, uh, we’ve managed to accomplish a lot of that.
[00:08:54] Um, the, uh, the, the golf tournament, one of the big things. And then of course also the, uh, the Royals Ball. The Royals Ball, that we’re doing both of those in the name of our bursary program. Mm-hmm. And, um, last, the last two events that we did, uh, we raised, uh, almost a quarter million dollars just for our bursaries to help other families that, um, you know, that might not be able to afford to pay. So, we, we don’t want to turn anybody away for financial reasons if they want a Catholic education for their kids. So, um, we’re really, really proud of that. So, and it’s great thanks to, to people like you that have stepped up and helped fill that in.
[00:09:32] Darren Watt: Well, you know, the, the, the flip side of that though is that, um. I know for us, another big factor for why we, we chose SJPII and made the move around was, was the search for community.
[00:09:44] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm.
[00:09:45] Darren Watt: Right. And so, so while, yes, you know, the school is very dependent on that contribution from the families, it, it gives back as well because, you know that we, the community we found by being part of the school has just been second to none. I mean, it’s been unbelievable. So
[00:09:59] Troy Van Vliet: yeah.
[00:10:00] Darren Watt: This and this, the, the families that make up this school and have made it up over the past five years that we’ve been there, it’s just, you know.
[00:10:05] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:10:06] Darren Watt: And that’s some family
[00:10:06] Troy Van Vliet: and that’s what it’s supposed to do. You know, that’s what we, I’ve talked about that with, uh, Father Augustine. He was on an earlier podcast and, um, talk to him about how Catholic schools are supposed to help build the church. And building the church, is building a community. So, and our high school, because believe it or not, early on, we had a lot of pushback from people that I didn’t think we would get pushback from when we say, hey, we want to start a high school. Because it is a big financial commitment, massive financial commitment. And um, you know, parishes are always trying to raise funds as well for their own needs. But, um, one of the ways to. It is one thing to raise our kids Catholic, but to keep ’em Catholic is to, is to embed them in that Catholic education through elementary school and through high school. The more that they’re involved in our parishes, um, and the more that community is built into schools, that helps build our parishes as well.
[00:11:03] Um, even if, cause quite often our kids, even after high school, they can fall away from the faith and, um, it might not be their number one priority. They’re trying to find their way in, in life today. There’s so many things to work on with careers and what have you, and, but we hope that we’ve instilled this foundation in them so that once they leave high school and they’re off going out into the, the real world and Dalhousie on the other side of the country.
[00:11:30] Right. Um, that, um, we, hopefully we’ve instilled that faith and given that grounding so that um, when they come back, they’re helping to build the church. Or wherever they are in the, in the community that they’re helping to build that church too. When they, one day, if they get married and have their own kids, that of course what they want to do is, is become part of that same community
[00:11:51] Darren Watt: Yeah, you bet.
[00:11:53] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah, so, um, we have this golf tournament coming up in May. It’s our second annual alumni golf tournament. The first one was I, I think was a huge success. Success.
[00:12:05] Darren Watt: It was a smashing success.
[00:12:05] Troy Van Vliet: It was great. It was well attended. We sold out, and I think we had 130 golfers, something like that. Jose, was it roughly in there?
[00:12:15] Jose Vargas: One forty,
[00:12:16] Troy Van Vliet: a hundred forty. Some
[00:12:18] Jose Vargas: Yes.
[00:12:18] Troy Van Vliet: Somewhere in there. Yeah. Somewhere in there. Yeah. Yeah. And, um, we had, uh, a couple of cars that we, um, had, uh, for hole in one prizes. Um, we had great, um, um, grab bags and what have you that, um, um, that all the golfers got. We had a super dinner afterwards. And, uh, with an auction.
[00:12:41] Yeah. So where do, where do you attest the success, where do you attest all the success of that golf tournament?
[00:12:46] Jose Vargas: I think it was, um. The, the sense of community, like everybody that was involved in the, in the, um, organization of this, uh, golf tournament reached out to friends, family. Yeah. And, uh, I think somehow, they, they saw that it would be a, a good event, like a fun event, but at the same time, they would be doing good for this community as well.
[00:13:11] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:13:12] Jose Vargas: So, I think that combination was, uh, was the. What, what enabled the success of the golf tournament?
[00:13:18] Troy Van Vliet: Yep.
[00:13:18] Jose Vargas: And everybody that attended the golf tournament, like I was involved in the registration all the way to, I, I played golf, uh, that day as well. Um, everybody was so happy that you could sense the energy during the day, and it was, it was just, uh, unbelievable.
[00:13:35] The, the, the energy and the optimism and the, you know, everybody was looking forward to something good. Yeah.
[00:13:44] Darren Watt: People love golfing with people that they like and that they’re friendly with and have a connection with, right? Mm-hmm. Yeah. It’s different than just showing up at some, you know, tournament where you don’t really know anyone and you all there for different reasons.
[00:13:54] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:13:54] Darren Watt: Um, yeah. That, that’s really special.
[00:13:56] Troy Van Vliet: Exactly.
[00:13:57] Jose Vargas: Yes.
[00:13:58] Troy Van Vliet: The, um, I, the feedback that I got from the people that we invited to the go, because we, we had, once again, we got a very small community, I think with 72 kids and, um, um, that’s a small community to begin with. So, we had to reach out, you know, we’re reaching out to parishioners at our, at Star of the Sea and the, the, the respective churches that, um people belong to, um. Also, to, uh, the contractors and subcontractors that are building the school, the new campus. So, for sponsorships, things like that, we, we reached out. So, there was really quite a, uh, a diverse group that came. And, um. I think one of the best parts was that the feedback at the end was, you know, especially our sponsors.
[00:14:45] Yeah, no, this is one of the best tournaments we’ve been to, and we’ll be back next year if you guys do any again next year. I mean, what a compliment.
[00:14:52] Jose Vargas: Yeah.
[00:14:52] Troy Van Vliet: Um, and this is after they just spent a bunch of money, right? Yeah. Right.
[00:14:57] Jose Vargas: Yeah. And, and this is the, the, the funny thing that uh, when we started this, uh, golf tournament organizing it. We didn’t have a clue of how to organize a golf tournament. Like none of us have done that before. But we were very lucky that David Fanning our chair last year, he had organized a few golf tournaments, so he really knew what to do. So, we were really blessed to have him. Because he really set the tone for what exactly we needed to do, and he was so organized and uh, and we were successful mostly because of people like him that gave us, you know, all his time and the effort to, to make it happen.
[00:15:41] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah. David Fanning was a, was a huge, um, a huge part of it. Like we, you know, rather than reinvent the wheel, many of us had been to golf tournaments in the past. We, you know, it’s great to find one and just kind of emulate Exactly. You know, what was done.
[00:15:57] Darren Watt: He set a roadmap. Now it can be emulated.
[00:15:59] Jose Vargas: Yes.
[00:15:59] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah. So, this year, um, should be a lot easier than it was last year because now we kind of know, we know the venue really well. We know, um, how it’s going to, uh. Uh, how it’s going to roll out. Um, we chose May to do it, um, to try and, you know, rather than September. Mm-hmm. Because September is the end of the golf season or towards the end of the golf season.
[00:16:19] And, uh, a lot of people are golf tournament out. Mm-hmm. You know, they’ve been to five of them already that year, so we chose, it’s like, okay, the golf season is starting in BC it kind of goes all year round, but the, the tournaments sort of start in, in that time of the year, so we thought let’s do it in May.
[00:16:36] And, uh, people will be excited to say, yeah, yeah, let’s get out there and get to the golf tournament. And,
[00:16:40] Darren Watt: yeah.
[00:16:40] Troy Van Vliet: Um, so Darren, you’re a big golfer.
[00:16:43] Darren Watt: Yeah, well, I, you know, I wouldn’t say I’m a great golfer, but I love the, I love the sport. Yeah.
[00:16:46] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah. And, uh, your team did well
[00:16:49] Darren Watt: Yeah.
[00:16:49] Troy Van Vliet: Last year.
[00:16:49] Darren Watt: Yeah. So, so I, uh, I was blessed. Um, my, uh, my two, my two oldest sons are, are avid golfers as well. Yeah. And they usually are my most frequent playing partners, so we get out and play a lot, including some of my Oliver’s friends, so.
[00:17:02] Troy Van Vliet: Yep.
[00:17:02] Darren Watt: Um, so when the, when the tournament came up last year. Um, you know, we, we, we put up a foursome. Um, me and, and three of the students from the school I brought in my ringers.
[00:17:12] Troy Van Vliet: Did you Brought in the ringers.
[00:17:13] Darren Watt: Brought in the ringers to help me out. Yeah. We had a great time. Um, and so yeah, when the opportunity came up to, uh, to serve as chair for this one’s, you know, it’s, I wanted to help. It sort of combines two things that I’m passionate about.
[00:17:24] Troy Van Vliet: It’s easy
[00:17:25] Darren Watt: golf, my kids.
[00:17:25] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah, it’s easy cause it’s a passion.
[00:17:26] Darren Watt: Yeah.
[00:17:27] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah. That’s great. Um, and at the tournament we talked briefly about the dinner and then the, uh, the auction. We had a live auction and uh, an online auction that was going as well. Um, and um, we had some, some lead sponsors that chipped in and like I’d said, we’d raised about $150,000 at the golf tournament for the first golf tournament.
[00:17:47] Darren Watt: Yeah. Incredible.
[00:17:48] Troy Van Vliet: Um, and we’ve got a great, uh, uh, a fantastic, um, uh, I guess, uh, uh, topic that pulls out a lot of people’s heartstrings. Uh, not everybody can afford, um, the tuition at our school. You know, we’ve got a brand-new school that we’re building that we gotta pay for and, uh, does cost a lot of money because the money that we, um, get from the government.
[00:18:10] Is only partial tuition. That’s it for operating. So, we have to pay for the entire school. Um, there’s zero government funding for that. And um, and then we have to top up the other half of the tuition, uh, the other half of what it costs to actually get our kids educated. So, um, the tuition is a real thing.
[00:18:27] It’s not a for-profit thing. And, uh, we have lots of things to pay for, but we don’t want to exclude families. We don’t want families to say, no, I can’t go to that school because, uh. So therefore, we have to have a robust bursary program to help top that up. How, well, I’m going to ask you, how important do you both think that that is, that, especially as a Catholic school, that we’re open to all, all families to come, whether they can afford it or not. How, how important do you think that is?
[00:18:58] Darren Watt: Well, I can, I can start. I mean, I think it’s, I think it’s, um, I think it’s absolutely critical and as, as we’re trying to, to build and grow this family, this community that we’ve already started.
[00:19:09] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:19:09] Darren Watt: And we’re going to go from, you know, less than a hundred students up to 800 and more.
[00:19:14] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:19:15] Darren Watt: Um, so, you know, being able to. Make sure that we’re, we’re allowing for as many Catholic families that want to join
[00:19:23] Jose Vargas: mm-hmm. You
[00:19:24] Darren Watt: know, that community and join that family. I mean, we have to pave the way in any way we can. Um, and that’s, it’s just, it’s part of the critical building blocks of maintaining the, the culture and delivering on the vision that we’ve, that you know, you and we’ve had from, from day one and in my mind.
[00:19:39] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mich DesLauriers, our founding principal, he, that was his, one of the first things he said that, um, you know, we, this isn’t an elitist school, you know? And we don’t want to turn anybody away for financial reasons. So, it’s like, okay, note to self, we gotta raise some money for bursaries right outta the gate. So, Jose, you think it’s important?
[00:19:59] Jose Vargas: Yeah, so I think we, um, I mean we, we have been able to, to send our children to the school and, uh, we have to make sure that we, we share those blessings with the entire community. Yeah. So, I think it is, that’s why, um, that’s my big motivation for, uh, you know, the golf tournament and the other, uh, fundraising events because if we can make sure that, uh, we have the ways of, uh, supporting families that want to send their kids to our school
[00:20:29] Troy Van Vliet: mm-hmm.
[00:20:29] Jose Vargas: Then we, we, we can, we can make it happen. And they will have the benefits of, uh, Catholic education.
[00:20:36] Troy Van Vliet: Absolutely. Yeah. And how important do you think faith-based education is? Like, I mean, you know, we could go to school or There’s the public system, there’s a private system as well. There’s private faith-based, there’s private, non-faith based. Um, currently in the lower mainland, I think we have over 50 Catholic elementary and high schools combined. Um. How important do you think that is for, you know, our kids to get educated in that, in preparing them for the, for the, the real world, so to speak?
[00:21:10] Jose Vargas: I think in this, in this world and right now the way we are, uh, it is very important, uh, to to have a Catholic education, to have our children go to a Catholic school.
[00:21:22] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:21:23] Jose Vargas: Uh, because we’re, yeah, we are, we’re seeing so many threads of so many kinds, and we want to make sure that our children get, uh, values, get, um, you know, the, the sense of Catholic community and live. You know, the center of our lives should be Jesus.
[00:21:42] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm.
[00:21:43] Jose Vargas: And the only way that you can really get that is if you have that in your family. If, uh, if you’re a, a family that, uh, goes to church every Sunday and all of that. Mm-hmm. But you also compliment that with the school. If you have those two environments, then uh, you are instilling that into your children.
[00:22:03] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm.
[00:22:03] Jose Vargas: And, uh, and then they are going to have the tools and the values and everything that they need to live their lives in a, in a Catholic way.
[00:22:14] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm.
[00:22:14] Jose Vargas: You know?
[00:22:15] Troy Van Vliet: For sure.
[00:22:16] Darren Watt: Yeah. I couldn’t, couldn’t agree more. I mean, I think, I think it’s true of, of any stage of education, but I think that the high school years are, are of most critical importance. I mean, these are the years where our kids are figuring out who they are.
[00:22:31] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm.
[00:22:32] Darren Watt: You know who they are as people. Who they’re called to be and where do they fit in. Right?
[00:22:37] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:22:37] Darren Watt: And, um, I think a faith-based education, a Catholic education gives them that grounding rod, you know?
[00:22:44] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm.
[00:22:44] Darren Watt: And, and, and sense of, of, of, of understanding of who they are
[00:22:47] Troy Van Vliet: mm-hmm.
[00:22:47] Darren Watt: And who they’re meant to be. And, and, and that then, you know, empowers them to start grappling with all of these. Big questions and you know, bigger questions that they’re going to face in the rest of their life. Right.
[00:22:59] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:22:59] Darren Watt: I mean, I think in the absence of that, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s a tough world out there these days.
[00:23:03] Mm-hmm. I mean, the absence of that as your guiding rudder, what’s it going to be? I mean, TikTok videos and messenger shorts. I mean, this is, this is, this is what’s, this is what’s forming our kids’ sense of self and who they are and what they need to be. I mean, that’s a, that’s a rough world to navigate, so, yeah.
[00:23:20] Troy Van Vliet: That it
[00:23:20] is, that it is. I
[00:23:21] Jose Vargas: I also think that the legacy that we as parents can give to our children is education. Like
[00:23:27] Troy Van Vliet: mm-hmm.
[00:23:27] Jose Vargas: Material things like, you know, inheriting a house or something. Yeah, sure. That’s, that’s great. But yeah, the key thing is education and the value so that they can. Have that in their lives and make use of, of those values to make decisions.
[00:23:42] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:23:42] Jose Vargas: During their lives.
[00:23:43] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah. You’ll give a man a fish or teach him to fish, right. That, that, yeah. If you can give education, you know, we’re, we’re used to having to pay for education for university, college, what have you. Um, our technology school, you know, we’re used to paying for that and people think, well, and they’ll save for that, and it’s the most important thing that they can do.
[00:24:03] Right. What about those years, those formative years prior to that, you know, where you’re forming that whole person, which we talk about that in our school all the time.
[00:24:12] Darren Watt: Yeah.
[00:24:13] Troy Van Vliet: Um, like those are massively important.
[00:24:15] Darren Watt: Agree. I mean, the university level is more about like the, what you’re going to do.
[00:24:19] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:24:20] Darren Watt: If those high school years I think are more about like the why you’re going to do
[00:24:24] Jose Vargas: Yeah.
[00:24:25] Darren Watt: You know, um,
[00:24:26] Troy Van Vliet: what kind of person I’m going to be, you know, not, not, not be not defined by, you know, I’m a nurse or I’m a lawyer
[00:24:34] Darren Watt: That’s right.
[00:24:35] Troy Van Vliet: Or I’m a doctor, I’m an engineer. You know, not, that’s not who you are. You know, there’s the whole person that goes in there. Um, there’s, uh, well, I’ll throw this out there.
[00:24:46] Um, Silveria Roselli has talked about people putting their pronouns and stuff like that on there, and she said, well, my pronouns are Catholic. I love; I love it. I thought, well, yeah, that’s a good one if we’re going to start throwing pronouns around. Um, let’s put that one out there. Um, but, uh, Jose, you, well, both of you mentioned this.
[00:25:06] Um, it’s a tough world out there, or especially with what’s going on in today’s society. Can specifically, why don’t we go there? Let’s scratch below the surface a little bit. What, what’s going on in today’s society that really, we need to worry about? What are the things that our kids are facing today that say we didn’t have to face when we were in, uh, high school or elementary school?
[00:25:27] What are some of those things? What do you think they might be?
[00:25:30] Jose Vargas: I think it’s this, um, um, gender, um, ideas and, um, you know, there, there is a lot of misconceptions about everything.
[00:25:40] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:25:40] Jose Vargas: That has to do with the, um, the human being.
[00:25:44] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm.
[00:25:44] Jose Vargas: Um, and they need to really understand that our kids need to understand the reality of what God’s plan
[00:25:53] Troy Van Vliet: mm-hmm.
[00:25:54] Jose Vargas: Was. And I think that’s what, what is missing from all of these other, um, uh, theories or, or, or things that they’re trying to impose on us. Like unfortunately our, um, education system
[00:26:08] Troy Van Vliet: mm-hmm.
[00:26:08] Jose Vargas: Is trying to impose some things that not everybody agrees.
[00:26:13] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm.
[00:26:14] Jose Vargas: So, we need to make sure that we have a way of, um, teaching our children
[00:26:21] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:26:21] Jose Vargas: God’s plan.
[00:26:22] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm.
[00:26:24] Jose Vargas: Yeah.
[00:26:24] Troy Van Vliet: What do you think, Darren?
[00:26:24] Darren Watt: Yeah, I think where I’m going, where, where my mind goes with it is like, I think in today’s world, the prevalence and the impact of, of social media.
[00:26:33] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:26:33] Darren Watt: You know that it’s just all our kids are being not just kids, us adults as adults, while we’re being bombarded with it constantly. Um, so I think you’re, you know, when you’re on the cusp of becoming an adult and you’re trying to figure out who you are. And you’re being bombarded with these sorts of external comparators of like, what, you know, do I associate with being like that? Do I want to be seen like this? Do I want to look like that?
[00:27:00] Um, if you’re going through that without sort of a, a, an ability or a guide to kind of look within and see who’s who you really are. I mean, I can understand that being incredibly confusing and upsetting.
[00:27:11] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
[00:27:11] Darren Watt: And I think that that plays a lot into people kind of searching and thinking, well, like, I don’t, I don’t know who I am.
[00:27:17] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:27:17] Darren Watt: Maybe I’m, maybe I’m not this, maybe I, maybe I’m more suited with that.
[00:27:22] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm.
[00:27:22] Darren Watt: I think it all, it all stems from that same place, right?
[00:27:26] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:27:26] Darren Watt: But if you can know thyself from within, going through that, it gives you a bit of a, you know, a basis, a rudder to sort of steer through all of that.
[00:27:34] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:27:35] Darren Watt: Those confusing messaging, only confusing messaging that’s out there.
[00:27:37] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah. Yeah. In today’s world, uh, when we were growing up, we, our parent’s kind of just had to vet, um the other kids that were, that we were hanging around with or that we were playing with or whatever, um, and their families, you know? Before, it’s like, well, where are you going today? Who are you playing with?
[00:27:54] You know, it’s like, oh, I’m going to John’s house. And okay, well John is, yeah, they’re a cool family. I don’t have anything to worry about over there. Now I, I got these little devices that everybody walks around with, and we’re, technically, we’re cyborgs because, you know, the information that comes from, there’s a ton of great information on here. You know, if you want to look up good information, that’s going to influence you in a, in a, uh, positive way, you’ve got these tools here that are incredible. But unfortunately, all the negative stuff comes through here in this, these hedonistic world and views of, uh, accumulation and always wanting more, and then comparing ourselves to, well, that family does this, this family does that, or they have this and they,
[00:28:40] Jose Vargas: yes,
[00:28:41] Troy Van Vliet: these ones go on these trips all the time and this constant comparing, and this is what I should be. Like, wow. That’s a tough thing.
[00:28:50] Darren Watt: It’s a lot of pressure.
[00:28:51] Troy Van Vliet: Without that foundation, without that constant reassurance. That’s why I’m glad that these are out of our schools right now.
[00:28:58] You know?
[00:28:58] Jose Vargas: Yes.
[00:28:58] Troy Van Vliet: During school hours the kids aren’t using.
[00:29:00] Darren Watt: Absolutely.
[00:29:01] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah, and it’s, it is. Constant, you know?
[00:29:04] Jose Vargas: Yes.
[00:29:05] Troy Van Vliet: Um, and now you can put a, a, a, a message out to all of your friends instantly, you know, and everybody sees it, you know? Whereas the old days, you had the awkward moments where you had to go and meet them over by the lockers and have a chit chat. Or if you wanted to, to, you know, date somebody, you’d have to have a conversation rather than me sending texts or whatever. So, it’s complicated.
[00:29:27] Darren Watt: And it’s 24/7, right? It’s not, it’s not just during the waking hours or the school hours, it’s no. It’s constant, you know, like anxiety level is amongst. I think all people, but, but teenagers in particular are just off the charts.
[00:29:42] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:29:43] Jose Vargas: Yeah. And I think it’s important for, for us as, as parents also that, uh, because obviously we, we have our, you know, in our homes we talk about these, these issues. But also, if they get the opposite message at school.
[00:29:57] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:29:57] Jose Vargas: Then it’s like, okay, so there is a duality there. Yeah. So, what, what do I believe? So, in this way that, you know, if they go to a Catholic school, they will get, um, um, a more, um, uh, consistent message.
[00:30:12] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:30:13] Jose Vargas: And they will have the, the way of, uh, being able to discern about these, these, uh, decisions that they may have to, to, uh, take in, in life
[00:30:24] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:30:24] Jose Vargas: Regarding their own being.
[00:30:26] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:30:26] Jose Vargas: Because we have to respect everybody and everybody’s different.
[00:30:29] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm.
[00:30:29] Jose Vargas: But, um, uh, freedom comes with, uh, also with respect.
[00:30:35] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:30:35] Jose Vargas: And, uh, so that’s important for them to understand that the only way is, is to, to have that framework
[00:30:40] Troy Van Vliet: mm-hmm.
[00:30:41] Jose Vargas: In school and at home.
[00:30:44] Troy Van Vliet: So, our kids being taught by teachers that are also strong in their faith is important, um, for our kids being taught their faith throughout all aspects of education. Not just in religion class, but, you know, how to interact with, um, our fellow students and our fellow teachers, how we can draw, um, certain, or let’s say all subjects into our faith as well. Um, even subjects as science, you know? Mm-hmm. Um, um, there’s faith aspects to it as well. And today we argue that science proves there is God. Science pro, you know, proves that.
[00:31:28] And then, well, how does that, how does that actually work? And our teachers can actually teach that and show that.
[00:31:33] Darren Watt: Mm-hmm.
[00:31:34] Troy Van Vliet: Just a couple more questions that I wanted to ask you both. Um, this is an interesting one. First of all, can you share a memorable experience that you’ve had in the past with SJPII something that stands out, um, over the last years? Like what, what’s one of your favorite memories that you’ve had?
[00:31:51] Jose Vargas: Well, one of the favorite memories that I have is, um, uh, the volleyball tournaments that our children, um, do.
[00:32:01] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:32:01] Jose Vargas: Uh, we are a small school, so we, uh, we were kind of intimidated, um, by bigger teams that they had like 20 players and we had just like 10. And despite of all that, our kids were able to win, um, championships.
[00:32:19] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah. Came fourth in the province in
[00:32:21] Jose Vargas: Yes.
[00:32:21] Troy Van Vliet: The last year our girls played.
[00:32:23] Jose Vargas: Yes.
[00:32:24] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:32:24] Jose Vargas: So, I
[00:32:25] Troy Van Vliet: There’s eight girls.
[00:32:26] Jose Vargas: Yes.
[00:32:26] Troy Van Vliet: Jose, not 10, eight on the team.
[00:32:28] Jose Vargas: Yes, that’s right. Eight girls on the team. So that to me, uh, speaks, um, volumes of, of, uh, yeah, the motivation that our children have. And, uh, one funny, um, aspect of that is I, I believe that, uh, um, because my wife gave my daughter, um, spray with holy water.
[00:32:47] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:32:47] Jose Vargas: For the games.
[00:32:48] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:32:48] Jose Vargas: She was spraying the holy water, and I think that helped.
[00:32:52] Troy Van Vliet: I think it did. That’s day we had this little, little secret going on in the background there. God was on our side, yeah, that’s right. Darren?
[00:33:00] Darren Watt: Yeah, for me, I mean, I have many, but I think, uh, I think probably the one that most comes to mind is a fairly recent one. So, um, as our oldest, um, son kicked off their, their final grade 12 year.
[00:33:10] Troy Van Vliet: Yep.
[00:33:11] Darren Watt: Uh, you know, it’s a small class. There’s only nine, there’s only nine of them in that
[00:33:14] Troy Van Vliet: mm-hmm.
[00:33:14] Darren Watt: In that group, and so they know each other so well. And so, we, we um, we reached out to the other families and said, look, we’d really love to host you all over to our house for like a, a weekend kind of kickoff barbecue. And, um, you know, we’re looking around the room at just the, the, the, the family that we’ve formed
[00:33:34] Troy Van Vliet: mm-hmm.
[00:33:34] Darren Watt: This extended family that we formed over the past five years and everybody just expressing that, like they, you know, they can’t believe it’s kind of coming to an end for that group.
[00:33:42] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:33:42] Darren Watt: But it was very, very clear that, that those relationships and those bonds are, are not going anywhere. Yeah. Right. Yeah.
[00:33:48] And that we’re all going to continue to see each other. A lot of them, you know, have, have younger children that are still coming up through the school. But, uh, to me it just, um, it just spoke volumes. I mean, this was the community that we moved for and yeah. And just could have been so deeply rewarded with.
[00:34:02] Troy Van Vliet: It’s just awesome. I know the graduating class last year for our daughters was, was the same. It was absolutely spectacular. I. I kept telling my to, uh, my daughter, like, you realize that you guys have something incredibly special going on here that, you know, had you gone to virtually any other school, you wouldn’t have this.
[00:34:19] Jose Vargas: No.
[00:34:19] Troy Van Vliet: Um, which is huge. And, and then lastly, what, um, do you have any, what, do you have any aspirations for the school going forward? Like what do you, what do you envision or what do you, do you, do you have any hopes for the school? Um, what might that be?
[00:34:35] Darren Watt: For me, I mean, I, I, I want it to be a beacon
[00:34:38] Troy Van Vliet: mm-hmm.
[00:34:39] Darren Watt: For all that’s possible, right? To, to, to like aspire to greatness. And, and, and look at you could, you can do it like
[00:34:45] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:34:45] Darren Watt: You, the school will be a testament to that, you know, if you believe it, you can, you can build it. You can make it happen.
[00:34:50] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:34:51] Darren Watt: Um, you know, and, and, and if we can do that while still preserving this incredible culture that we’ve built so far.
[00:34:58] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm.
[00:34:58] Darren Watt: I mean, it’s phenomenal.
[00:35:01] Jose Vargas: Yeah. Like, um, similarly, I, I think if, if we can keep the same sense of, of community, even though we are going to be a bigger school because we, we, we can accommodate up to 850
[00:35:13] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:35:13] Jose Vargas: Students, if we can keep the same spirit of our community, I think this school will be just a, a, a, um, like a beacon, as you said.
[00:35:25] Troy Van Vliet: Mm-hmm.
[00:35:25] Jose Vargas: Of good things for the entire lower mainland.
[00:35:29] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:35:29] Jose Vargas: And the Catholic community.
[00:35:30] Troy Van Vliet: It just shows us something. What, what can be done.
[00:35:33] Jose Vargas: Yes.
[00:35:33] Troy Van Vliet: You know, it speaks to a testament of that.
[00:35:35] Jose Vargas: Yes.
[00:35:35] Troy Van Vliet: Um, sure. Yeah. Our, our, our, one of our challenges is keeping that culture going forward when we go from, you know, less than a hundred to plus 200 to 400 to six, 800 students is going to be tough to keep the, the culture the same
[00:35:50] Jose Vargas: mm-hmm.
[00:35:50] Troy Van Vliet: As it is now. It’ll always be evolving, but, um, that core, you know, we really, we really hope to keep that, you know, and, and with our, our, the name of our school, St. John Paul II Academy, and with him as a saint, um, helping us, guiding us along the way. Um, I think we should be able to accomplish that.
[00:36:09] Darren Watt: Yeah, it has been, it’ll continue to be a very special place.
[00:36:11] Troy Van Vliet: Yeah.
[00:36:12] Jose Vargas: Yes, absolutely.
[00:36:13] Troy Van Vliet: So lastly, once again, the golf tournament, we’ve got that coming up. That’s going to be our next big school event. And, uh, that’s on May 15th. Um, that will be up on our website so that if, um, you do want to be a sponsor or if you do want to be a, uh, a golfer. Or if you just want to come to the dinner, you can do that as well. Um, that’s going to be coming up real quick. So, um, time flies. Thank you to the sponsors. Some of the big sponsors that we had last year. Um, DGS, um, LMS, uh, Bank of Montreal, Double V Construction, um, King Lasik, they were a big sponsor as well. Uh, Rick’s Heart Foundation, they, he stepped up as well, rick, uh did an incredible job for us there as well. Um, and Audio Space. There’s many other companies that, that pitched in and donated, and it made it to what it is. So, we have those ad campaign opportunities right now too for sponsors. I. Um, hope to do that. Any other last words about the, uh, golf tournament?
[00:37:16] Darren Watt: No, look, I mean, we sold out last year.
[00:37:18] Troy Van Vliet: Yep.
[00:37:18] Darren Watt: And, um, the spots this year will go lightning fast, so if you haven’t booked your foursome, get on it and, uh, it’s going to be a great event. Look forward to seeing everybody out there.
[00:37:28] Jose Vargas: Yeah. Yeah. And, um, and, you know, everybody can, uh, go onto the website. Buy the tickets right there. And the same thing for sponsorships. They can reach out, uh, by email. We have an email there, uh, for, for sponsors.
[00:37:43] Troy Van Vliet: Yep.
[00:37:43] Jose Vargas: So, if a company or a person wants to sponsor our golf tournament, we are still receiving sponsorships.
[00:37:50] Troy Van Vliet: Yes. We won’t disappoint at all. You know, lots of food. Everybody, everybody left wealth right from when you, when you arrive, before you go out, we feed you.
[00:38:01] Um, Sal Y Limon, the, uh, the restaurant.
[00:38:04] Jose Vargas: Mm-hmm.
[00:38:04] Troy Van Vliet: I mean, they’re parents at the school as well. So, they provided all the food. They sponsored the, uh, the lunch, pre- golf and then there was snacks out there on the course. And then when you got back, then there was a dinner provided as well, cocktail reception and then a dinner.
[00:38:18] Darren Watt: Yeah. Top notch.
[00:38:19] Jose Vargas: Yes.
[00:38:19] Troy Van Vliet: With the auction it was done. Fantastic. And that’s, uh, being held at, um, the golf course.
[00:38:24] Jose Vargas: Tsawwassen Springs,
[00:38:25] Troy Van Vliet: Tsawwassen Springs
[00:38:26] Jose Vargas: it’s, it’s a wonderful venue for not only is the, the Gulf, uh, course beautiful, but also the, you know, the service, the food, everything is so well organized. That I think that’s one of the keys of our success as well.
[00:38:41] Darren Watt: Driest micro-climate in the lower mainland.
[00:38:43] Jose Vargas: Yes, it’s going to be sunny.
[00:38:44] It
[00:38:45] Troy Van Vliet: is, it is.
[00:38:45] Jose Vargas: It’s going to be sunny.
[00:38:46] Troy Van Vliet: Chances are it’ll be dry.
[00:38:47] Darren Watt: All sunny.
[00:38:48] Troy Van Vliet: That’s great. Alright. Well, Darren and Jose, thank you both for joining us today for Catholic Education Matters.
[00:38:54] Darren Watt: Thanks for having us here.
[00:38:55] Jose Vargas: Thank you.
[00:38:55] Troy Van Vliet: Appreciate it. And of course, for all that you do and all that your families do and your contributions in the past and going forward, it’s all so appreciated. This has been a parent led initiative from day one, and you two are fine examples of that. cause without our parents leading the charge and the school would’ve never happened. So, it’s a massive thing that we’ll be able to, people are going to be able to be grateful for, for, well, let’s say the next a hundred years.
[00:39:22] So, alright.
[00:39:23] Darren Watt: Happy to help.
[00:39:24] Troy Van Vliet: Thank you.
[00:39:24] Jose Vargas: Yes.
[00:39:24] Troy Van Vliet: Alright. Thank you. Alright. And, uh, be sure to like, and subscribe if you would. Um, and, um, uh, pass the, uh, pass these. These, uh, podcasts around your friend’s family, make sure you share them. That’d be much appreciated. And, uh, make sure you look up for the next one. Thank you for listening to Catholic Education Matters.
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