Advancing Education - January 2022

J A N U A R Y

ADVANCING EDUCATION

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M U LG R AVE S C H O O L’ S P H I L AN T H RO P I C N E WS L E T T E R

As parents, grandparents, alumni, and donors, your gifts have made our school truly remarkable. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without you. Thank you for partnering with us to advance Mulgrave’s educational provision. This publication is all about sharing meaningful stories that highlight how your generosity has impacted our students’ education.

R E AC H I N G N E W H E I G H T S

The new Athletics and Performing Arts Centre

Mr. Leduc’s favourite aspect of the APAC so far

(APAC), which officially opened in December 2021, has already enhanced student life in many ways. The new gyms have enabled us to offer both

has been seeing the students play in the gyms at recess and lunch. “The joy I witness brings a big smile to my face. Being able to host more

competitive and recreational teams in most of our sports offerings, as well as provide safe play spaces for our students where they can engage in unstructured free play before and after school, at lunch, and at recess.

games has also been very enjoyable - it helps us promote our teams and athletes while building school spirit and community.” Plans for the future include hosting provincial championships and other major tournaments in many of the sports offered at Mulgrave.

Director of Athletics Claude Leduc notes, “We can have all of our PHE classes inside - out of the rain - throughout the whole year. Practices can also happen right after school, giving our students more flexibility for other activities in the evenings. And now, we can host multiple games at the same time.”

“The APAC will keep our students active, which leads to stronger mental and physical wellbeing.

It will also help students, parents, and coaches build a stronger school community.”

N E W L I B R A R I E S E N R I C H ST U D E N T L E A R N I N G Thanks to Momentum, Mulgrave’s annual fund, we now have two libraries one for Junior School and one for Senior School. With easier accessibility for all and regular exposure to the many books available to them, our students are quickly becoming more avid and engaged readers.

When our Senior School was expanded and Middle School classes moved into the West Wing, we found that the additional distance to the third floor library became a bit of a barrier to usage. In some ways, its multi-age function also led some of our older students to avoid using it as a study space and they only accessed the library, our librarians, and resources sporadically. Taking this into consideration, it made sense to house our new Upper School Library in a location more central to their class locations and focussed on books more relevant to their interest and reading levels. This hub and connected study space are already getting regular usage for both school work and social activities, like card games.

Our Junior School library follows an embedded model, meaning that it isn’t restricted to a single room. Its books are distributed throughout the areas close to those who are most likely to use them. JS librarian Ms. Brooks explains: “For example, the French, Mandarin, and World Languages collections are directly outside the JS language classrooms.

The new format of an embedded library builds on the strengths of our library’s diverse collection while increasing accessibility and visibility.”

Student response to the JS library has been wonderful. “After the last year of COVID restrictions to the previous library space, it is great to have students able to freely access the books and have lessons with me in our new core library space,” says Ms. Brooks. “The students love being able to check out their own books. As for me, I love the cozy storytime space in our library hub, and the balcony, which I hope to eventually turn into an outdoor reading space.”

THE GIFT OF MUSIC It’s music to our ears! The Liu family recently donated a beautiful secondhand New York Steinway piano to the school. “The concert grand piano is a fantastic addition to the Performing Arts department and will allow students the opportunity to rehearse and perform on an instrument that allows for a high level of musical expression,” said Laura Burns, Director of Performing Arts. The piano is said to have a singing tone and is just perfect for our space.

The Liu family’s gift was inspired by the universality and inclusiveness of music: “Music is a world language with no borders and can be understood by everyone.” They were also inspired by Mulgrave’s robust music programme. “Over the years, we have seen that every music teacher at Mulgrave goes out of their way to encourage students to express themselves through music confidently. Our children have also benefited from this. Year after year, music has become their critical friend, whether it is piano, flute, ukulele, guitar, or clarinet. With our gratitude to Mulgrave, we hope that such a piano, played by many pianists, will continue its mission to pass on culture and art, allowing more and more students to enjoy music and create a better world.”

PAY I N G I T F O R WA R D HOW THE YOUNG ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND LEADERSHIP LAUNCHPAD (YELL) PROGRAMME BENEFITS OUR GREATER COMMUNITY

Our donors love paying it forward, and so do our students! Grade 11 student Ava Lillie-Lee donated over $2000 to Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) as a portion of the profits from her e-commerce business, Akonna. “Since the beginning of COVID, sales have taken off. With the transition of consumerism towards e-commerce, my small business grew immensely over the past year and a half. With over 350 orders for November and December, I’ve learnt about the importance of planning for the holiday rush ahead of time.”

VGH is a cause close to Ava’s heart. “When my grandpa had cancer, we truly felt their support and mission to help in any way they could. Once he passed, I decided to donate 10% of my profits there in memory of him for cancer research.”

Ava credits Mulgrave’s Young Entrepreneurship and Leadership Launchpad (YELL) programming for helping her learn important networking skills, as well as how to build a great business pitch and plan. Thanks to generous donors, we have been able to double our YELL programme offering and coordinate a range of guest speakers and mentorship opportunities. We can’t wait to see how the journeys unfold for all of our young entrepreneurs.

LO O K I N G A H E A D : A N E W O U T D O O R E D U C AT I O N C E N T R E Mulgrave currently offers a vibrant Outdoor Education programme that engages our students in experiences that allow them to connect with nature. We deeply value the opportunity for students to make links between the outdoors and their classroom learnings and are committed to enhancing this relationship even further.

Our school is in the process of signing a long-term lease for a new Outdoor Education Centre in the Squamish area, which will be the base for nearly all of Mulgrave’s Outdoor Education experiences from G3 to G12. In addition to using the Centre for our current programming, it will also act as an overnight centre where students can visit for extended periods of time - anywhere from a week to a month!

The lease will help drive down the cost of having to travel to different locations and also provides the flexibility of having our own dedicated space.

Features of ‘Camp Squamish’ will include dormitory housing, an industrial kitchen and dining area, a firepit, an outdoor basketball court, a series of challenge courses, an arts and crafts building, and an indoor swimming pool. This Centre is sure to inspire sustainable values and an even deeper appreciation for the environment in our students.

M O M E N T U M U P DAT E

$593,061

326

374

AMOUNT RAISED SO FAR THIS YEAR

NUMBER OF DONORS

NUMBER OF GIFTS

For more information, or to make a gift, contact Jin Ling Bai at jlbai@mulgrave.com or 778.838.6885

GIVING.MULGRAVE.COM