SMLS's Impact of Giving Report

THE IMPACT OF GIVING

Spring 2024

Our Vision

Young women empowered to challenge and transform the world.

Our Mission

To engage each girl in a personalized, real-world learning experience where she explores her unique pathways within a nurturing community.

When you support SMLS, you empower young women to challenge and transform the world.

SMLS students benefit every day from the incredible support of our community. At SMLS, we take great care in creating and nurturing an environment where girls can confidently explore their interests, find their passions and embrace their own personal style of leadership. Your support impacts every Millies’ educational experience and makes this unique learning environment designed for girls possible.

The world needs more empowered women. You make that happen with your support of SMLS.

Within this report are examples of how your generous donations to SMLS impact the work we set out to achieve every day on behalf of our Millies. Here are some recent examples of your gifts in action at SMLS.

SIGNATURE PROGRAMS

Signature Programs

Global Citizenship

The Global Citizenship program allows Millies to participate in lifechanging experiences where they form strong bonds with one another, challenge themselves, connect with nature, learn new skills and begin to understand themselves—and the world—in new ways.

This unique program aims to inspire and draw out from every student the capacity for achievement and excellence that lies within each of us, recognizing that learning is most effective when it is practical, crosscultural and collaborative. All opportunities focus on the development of key personal characteristics connected to student success in an everchanging world.

The local, national and international experiences within SMLS’ Global Citizenship Signature Program have a deep and lasting impact on our students, with the power to change their perspective in new and profound ways. They challenge students in new contexts outside of the school environment. Your donations provide resources that support our students during these experiences, with helpful equipment like dry bags and two-way radios as well as technological devices to capture and celebrate these once-in-a-lifetime memories. Your support also gives more girls the opportunity to participate through bursaries specifically for the Global Citizenship program.

Signature Programs

Global Citizenship

“It feels nearly impossible to express just how incredible the Kingdom of Bhutan was. The way of life in Bhutan is truly so beyond beautiful, and saying it inspired me to look at my life through a different lens is an understatement. From the spiritual and meditative practices to something as simple as the food, it’s a magical country. The culture is mesmerizing and I am filled with appreciation to have had the chance to explore it. A huge thank you to our parents, schools, and staff for giving us the opportunity to grow in such a unique and unforgettable way.”

— SARAH D. ‘24

“Thank you for your contribution which enabled me to participate in the Bahamas trip. I learned a lot at The Island School in the Bahamas that I would not have otherwise been exposed to. The interactive learning about aquaponics and the multiple fish was a lot of fun. It was also a lot of fun to see the different fish we learned about while snorkelling. I got closer to people I hadn’t really talked to before, and we had a lot of fun. We learned a lot about the world around us on the Down Island trip.”

Signature Programs

Active Healthy Living

Our Active Healthy Living program helps our students develop life skills and wellbeing habits that benefit them throughout their lifetime. Through physical fitness, competitive sport, creative expression and spiritual reflection, each student is empowered to take ownership of her wellbeing.

Your support of Active Healthy Living helped grow our programming to include a U19 Softball team, giving students one more opportunity to enjoy a sport they love, challenge themselves, and build camaraderie with a team. Outfitted with new team jerseys and equipment, our Spartan athletes are poised to dominate on the diamond.

Additional Spartan team jerseys for Junior, Middle and Senior School, Senior basketball and volleyball as well as equipment for our soccer, volleyball, softball and flag football teams have also been well received by our student athletes, making them feel a part of something bigger than themselves and enjoying the sports they love in new ways.

Our Spartan athletes also continue to benefit from Professional coaching thanks to you, our donors, and we see the impact of this through our athletes’ individual growth, their success at competitions and tournaments and the pride that is felt throughout the community for our teams, athletes and school. Spectators and athletes alike are enjoying the addition of a new outdoor scoreboard. SMLS thanks our Parent Association for their continued generous support of our Active Healthy Living program.

Signature Programs

Active Healthy Living

Congratulations to our athletes on their recent championships:

PSAA

PSAA U10–U14 Swimming

Girls Division

PSAA U12 Ultimate Frisbee (Co-Ed with Linbrook School)

“The SMLS athletics programs didn’t only develop our athletic ability but also taught us learning habits like resilience, commitment, and sportsmanship. In every sport we played, we got to be part of an incredible team that always came together to break through the challenges. This wouldn’t be possible without the expert coaches we got to work with who made us better versions of ourselves. We learned what it takes to win and how to get through the tough losses.”

— ARIA A. (MS7) AND ALIYA A. (MS7)

In Fall 2023, SMLS Spartans established their first-ever flag football team.

Top three finishes at the CISAA Championship Bishop’s Cup swim meet (U12, U14, and Senior Divisions)

U14 Floor Hockey

Signature Programs

STEM and Robotics

With your support, even our youngest Millies are learning to thrive in today’s rapidly and technologically advancing world.

Through the generous support of our Parent Association, our STEM & Robotics program has been continually expanding in the Junior School.

JK students love their Bee Bots! Using age-appropriate applications like Bee Bots, students gain a deeper understanding of STEM & Robotics principles. They also develop their creativity, computational thinking, collaboration, problem-solving, and logical and critical thinking skills.

Each grade program from JK to Grade 3 now features a different experience and builds on their advancing skills set. New coding and STEAM kits are coming soon in Grades 4 and 5.

JK — Bee Bots SK — Dash

Grade 3 — Kini

Grades 4 and 5

Grade 1 — Kibo

Grade 2 — Mini Sphero

Signature Programs

STEM and Robotics

“Within SWAT 771, we’ve found a community of passionate individuals from Grade 8 to 12, united by our interest in STEMR. As members of the electrical subteam, the 2023–24 year has been an enriching experience where we continued to amplify our passion for innovation and technology. We had the privilege to witness the growth and accomplishments of the team and our members.”

— EVA J. (SS12) AND MARYAM K. (SS11)

Through a generous donation this year, we were able to purchase a new drive system for our FIRST Robotics Team, SWAT 771. The addition of the new swerve drive technology will enable our students to design and build robots with far superior capabilities beginning in the upcoming 2024–25 competition season.

Donations to our STEM and Robotics Signature Program create more opportunities for students to get involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and pursue their interests in these areas.

Congratulations to SWAT 771 on receiving the 2024 Team Sustainability Award.

2023–24 saw a record number of student participants at 71.

Signature Programs

Art and Design

SMLS’s Arts and Design Signature Program creates opportunities for students to try communications technology, performing arts, visual arts, and to explore ways that the arts can integrate with STEMR. This year, our new cyclorama (screen at the back of the stage) combined with a new projection system is providing scenery that expands the possibilities of visual storytelling. These resources have reduced the need for physical sets resulting in more stage space and added an overall magic supported by vibrant colors and sophisticated animation.

Students and audiences are enjoying a new theatre sound system that was upgraded to a 30 Channel Digital Mixer recently. This upgrade allows full audio requirements for student productions and it had a great debut during the Senior School Theatre Production of Disney’s The Descendants, The Musical in January.

With these upgrades in combination with the state-of-the-art digital lighting system installed last year, performance arts at SMLS have never been better. Best of all, our students are learning new skills as they lead our productions and operate these systems.

“Being able to utilize the new lighting system in the theatre has been an incredible opportunity. As someone who wants to go into musical theatre, having access to this technology has been amazing. Both in drama class and in the senior production of “The Descendants,” the new lighting board has created so many opportunities, such as using strobe effects, that were previously not attainable.”

Signature Programs

Art

and Design

“Having used both lighting boards to run shows, it was so incredible to have the opportunity to learn and use the new lighting board this year. The technological advances that we were able to make with the new board have truly allowed us to be so much more creative and put on shows that look even more professional.”

—

In support of productions which take place in other areas of the school, such as the Dining Hall and Gymnasium, our new portable LED light trees are allowing us to add to our ambiance with various colours and effects, offering modern and high-quality touches that will enhance our divisional concerts, showcases and other community events.

Showcasing our students’ talent helps promote creativity and critical thinking and fosters engagement in art appreciation. Our newly acquired art display panels are helping to shine a light on student work and celebrate our students’ successes throughout the year. Everyone in the school can enjoy the galleries and view the work of various grades. When students view themselves as artists, the cycle of creativity expounds, student engagement is increased, and there is heightened joy from seeing the vibrancy of the work and discussing artistic achievements.

Our Millies are also drumming to a new beat on their new djembe drums. The djembe is traditionally played during joyful celebrations and gatherings. Their smaller size and light weight make the drums easy to hold, and our students are having a blast exploring its wide variety of pitches.

LAURA M. (SS11)

BUILDING CONFIDENCE

Building Confidence

A Focus on Learning

Through a balanced literacy approach to instruction, students become confident in reading, writing and overall communication skills. An important component is decoding—deciphering a new word by sounding it out. Our new decodable paperback readers enable Junior School students to practice sound/symbol combinations in the context of a narrative. With these books, students practice decoding in isolation within a structure with which they are familiar.

AROUND CAMPUS

SMLS Learning Strategies Fund

Thanks to the generosity of an SMLS family, an exciting new fund has been created in support of our students and school. The SMLS Learning Strategies Fund will help provide sustainable funding for Learning Strategies in perpetuity, and facilitate the long-term financial sustainability of the school through the endowment. We look forward to sharing how this brand-new fund is supporting our students and school.

Special Guest Speakers Bring New Perspectives

In keeping with Canada’s Black History Month theme of “Black Excellence: A Heritage to Celebrate; a Future to Build,” SMLS was pleased to welcome Idalin McKenzie. Idalin spoke about the pursuit of excellence and shared her personal journey to becoming one of Canada’s leading women in business, corporate governance and STEM. Idalin’s inspirational talk reminded us that understanding our history, learning together and supporting one another, leads to a brighter future for us all.

PAYING IT FORWARD

Student Financial Assistance

SMLS is committed to giving students from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds the opportunity to be a Millie. Your gifts give our students the greatest gift of all—an education that lays the groundwork for their development and success, and the opportunity to reach their full potential regardless of their financial background. To support students in the 2022–23 academic year, financial assistance totalling approximately $450,000 was awarded to 44 deserving students. Your support makes education at SMLS possible for these young women.

A tradition has emerged among our graduating students and their families to come together to raise funds as a Grad Class Leaving Gift to the School. These funds establish a special Class Bursary Fund in support of our Student Financial Assistance program. Since 2019–20, The Grad Class Bursary has raised over $254,000.

Student Financial Assistance

“I want to express our sincere appreciation for the support that SMLS has provided for our daughter’s education. As parents, it is important to us that my child receives the best possible education, and your fund has played a significant role in making that happen, especially during these hard times. I am proud to be a part of a community that values education and invests in the future of our girls. Thank you for your contributions to my daughter’s education and for your continued dedication to improving the educational experience for all students.”

— ANONYMOUS

“The Bursary has opened a door for my daughter that we never thought possible. The warmth and welcome we have received has been wonderful and my daughter’s transition into high school has been amazing. There has been excitement and smiles that I haven’t seen from my daughter in some time which warms my heart. We are truly grateful for all the support we have received and are so thankful to all who have made this possible. The Bursary has made a world of difference for our family. Thank you.”

— ANONYMOUS

Your support of SMLS makes all this possible.

Stay tuned for more exciting news throughout the academic year on how your donations make a difference at SMLS. Together, we will continue to inspire girls and help them grow as empowered women.

We are grateful for your partnership as we develop lifelong learners and empower young women to challenge and transform our world. Thank you for your generous support. Our 2023–24 campaign runs until June 30.

Click here to participate today.

For further information, please contact:

Marnie Helmy, CFRE Director of Development mhelmy@smls.on.ca

905-845-5830, ext. 315

Charitable Registration Number 11919 1963 RR0001

ST. MILDRED’S-LIGHTBOURN SCHOOL

1080 Linbrook Road

Oakville, ON L6J 2L1

905-845-2386

advancement@smls.on.ca smls.on.ca

INSPIRED GIRLS. EMPOWERED WOMEN.