Message from the Chairman of the Board
Annual Report June 30, 2010
Administration planning. Other comments are being taken under consideration by the Board and/or the Senior Administration Team with a view to implementation or modification to suit our local context. The benefits of these sorts of third party accreditations cannot be overstated. By demonstrating to our current families and prospective families that we operate with best practices in all of our endeavors we reinforce our position as the destination school of choice.
Grades 6 -11 Awards & Scholarships Gryphon Pins - Bronze
Top Academic Awards
Grades 6 - 8 Brandon Jung Khushbash Dhillon Jennifer Ahn Katlyn Richardson
Grade Grade Grade Grade
Grades 9 & 10 Omar Virani Madeline Hanson
Grade 9 Grade 10
6 6 7 8
Grade 11 Alisa Walsh
Deborah Holbard Memorial Award for Excellence in Arts Audrey Zhang Samira Atthari
Grade 10 Grade 11
Headmaster’s Choice Art Award Alice Kwon “Mythical Leaves”
Grade 9
Grade 6 Emmalee Ast Claire Batty Jessica Bournival Thomas Burke Erika Dempsey Anika Gong Christine Ho Arthur Hsueh Cullen Johnston Brandon Jung Mehima Kang Jenny Kim Nickolas Ko Eugene Kwon Robert Read Ezaan Mangalji Frances Moore Lachlan Neibergall Julia Oh Madison Stoughton Sean Tsen Alexa Turner Grade 7 Jennifer Ahn Elina Blomley Benjamin Chang Danielle Chapman Zameer Devraj Yu Jin Go Connor Goudal Taya Hanson Alexander Howkins Rosie Hsueh Jessica Jacob Charaney Johal Leila Jones Kalvin Kwan Diana Oh Jarek Olah Cathy Park Elizabeth Ren Sydnie Skeeles Alia Virani Morgan Waugh Douglas Zhu Grade 8 Christopher Awram David Gouws Emma Graveson Davina Gounden Nicholas Han Isaiah Hasham Victoria Horne Mehar Kang Kelly Kim Josh Lampen Adriana Marchand Kyle Monda
24
Gryphon Pins - Gold Grade 8 - continued Genevieve Reynolds Katlyn Richardson Tianna Stewart Aidan Waugh Grade 9 Ismail Tahir Caja Blomley Tom Lee Grade 11 Kendra Davidson Micaelee Hanson Omar Hasham Celia Palmer Alisa Walsh
Gryphon Pins - Silver Grade 9 Qaisara Bogani Lauren Crawford Janine de Klerk Emily Drain Sarah Dugdale Maddison Ebner Raheem Esmail Tyler Goudal Cameron Herberts Ming Chen Hsu Danika Kotylak Katrina Kwan Alice Kwon Shermaine Lee Marlena Ornowska Kavya Shah Ashwin Singh Melody Sizer Adrian Spira Eric Tsoi Omar Virani Iris Yu Rebecca Zhang Grade 10 Abby Aguilar Shyla Badiani Somayan Chakrabarti Stephanie Cramer Emma Germain Dashen Gounden Kelly Han Madeline Hanson Alex Kwon Allan Read Lyndsey Merry Kyle Sholes Jane Shui Diba Taghvai-Arabi Audrey Zhang
Grade 11 Michael Abebe Alysha Badiani Farah Bogani Harrison Collett Celia Palmer-Boroski Gabrielle Gouws John Jacob Khalil Kassam Shaun Lampen Anne Liao Khallil Mangalji Kevin Oh Kathleen Read Heidi Ye
Duke of Edinburgh Grade 9 - Bronze Caja Blomley Quaisara Bogani Lauren Crawford Janine de Klerk Emily Drain Sarah Dugdale Maddison Ebner Raheem Esmail Tyler Goudal Nicholas Hamilton-Popp Cameron Herberts Ming-Chen Hsu Danika Kotylak Katrina Kwan Alice Kwon Tom Lee Kaylyn Livingston Marlena Ornowska Kavya Shah Ashwin Singh Melody Sizer Adrian Spira Sunny Surdhar Eric Tsoi Omar Virani Jerry Yang Iris Yu Rebecca Zhang Nazgol Zolghadri
Outstanding Contribution in Music
Cameron Herberts Grade 9
In 2009/2010 Meadowridge School continued its pursuit of excellence while respecting the challenging economic times. During the 2009/2010 school year the Board of Governors, in recognition of the global financial recession, decided to stay the course on the quality of programs and incremental improvements in all areas of school life while at the same time doing everything possible to moderate the increased costs of tuition. The bundle of goods comprising the operating costs of an independent school is simply more expensive than Statistics Canada comparisons. Most of our operating costs are tied to comparable costs in the public sector and as these costs continue to rise they need to be met if we are to maintain our respected position in the international independent school community. A recent initiative of the Board is to engage at a provincial political level to seek additional support systems for our school and other independent schools. Our membership in associations of independent schools assures us of a greater voice on these issues of common concern. The Strategic Plan has now been properly costed. Certain capital and operational improvements have had to be deferred as we maintain a fiscally conservative approach. In light of the limited response, as described in Mr. Burke’s report of the school community to the various advancement initiatives, the majority of any capital or operational improvements have to be funded directly by tuition. As a result the school is very sensitive to the operational cash flow from year to year. I am pleased to again report significant continuity at the level of the Board of Governors. As part of a succession planning initiative at the board level, various individuals have stepped up and into new positions of responsibility thereby assuring a high level of cross training and avoiding classic volunteer burnout. Mr. Burke and the Senior Leadership Team continue to work in a very close collegial fashion with the Board which augers well for the long term success and sustainability of the school. The CAIS/CESI final report has been received. I am pleased to advise that Meadowridge School received one of the highest assessments in the history of the reviewing organization. In particular, the report credited the strong leadership of Hugh Burke and his long tenure as instrumental in the success and stability the school has enjoyed this past decade. The Board echoes these sentiments and continues to extend our gratitude to our Headmaster, whose contract the Board renewed last year for another seven years. Many of the recommendations in the CAIS/CESI report already fell into existing Board and/or Administration planning. Some comments are being taken under
One of my favorite analogies is to compare the evolution of Meadowridge School to that of a journey by car. The past is reasonably clear in the rearview mirror but too much focus on the past is dangerous as it takes one’s eyes from the immediate and the future. Efforts to plan strategically by focusing on the present are impossible as things rush by far too quickly. It is only a clear view of the road ahead which offers a safe journey. Meadowridge School is now at a point in its evolution that requires longer term strategic planning than our traditional five year cycles. In recent times we have found that our five year plans have been essentially accomplished within a three or four year time frame. To engage the vision and commitment to the school community requires a longer term planning process with a grander vision. It is for that reason that the Board struck the Visioning Committee during the 2009/2010 school year. Ms. Susan Waugh chairs the committee which includes a mix of Board Members and other stakeholders. Within a broad consultative framework the Visioning Committee will be putting forward a suggested long term vision for Meadowridge School. It is our hope that this visioning process and its results will engage the hearts, the minds and the financial resources of current, past and future Meadowridge Community Members. This long term vision is critical not only to the strategic planning process but also to the long term financial stability of the school. The financial stability of this school requires that we establish revenue and capital investment streams outside of the annual “taxation” revenue from tuition. The unfortunate irony of our school’s success over this last number of years is that there is a perception that there is no need for additional financial resources given the obvious success of the institution as it is currently resourced. “The enemy of great is good” (Jim Collins - author of ”Good to Great”). Together with the visioning process and a greater Advancement focus at all levels of operations it is my hope that a cultural shift could occur within the next year or two. This new focus may be uncomfortable to some families who expect that their obligations end with their tuition payment. Tuition has never supported the full operations of the school. The many have benefited by the extraordinary contributions of the few. Not only is this grossly unfair but it is also unsustainable. Meadowridge is not a commodity to be consumed, but a community which requires support and engagement from all of our members. We ask every family to begin donating what they can today. In closing I would like to thank my fellow Board Members and particularly Vice-Chair, Danie Gouws for supporting me in my tenure as Board Chair. Past Chair Mike Orser continues to be a mentor and cannot be thanked enough by both myself and the entire Board for his continued commitment to the School. John Becker Chair, Board of Governors
Annual Report June 30, 2010
5