Principal's Message

As I stood on stage this year at our graduation ceremony, I was struck by the role Little Flower plays in opening doors for these fine young women. No door seemed closed to our girls. Accepted at universities and colleges all over, they had plans to study engineering, biology, nursing, medicine, kinesiology, music, arts, make-up artistry, social sciences, communications and so much more. While some had summer plans to volunteer, we had others who were taking the year off to do work with profound social justice implications.

If no door was closed for these young women, then it was you—our donors—who played a central role in making that possible. When we launched our Annual Fund in September, we set a goal of $400,000. These resources slide directly into the operating budget, enriching the individual experience of every girl in our community. In vastly exceeding this goal, we have been empowered to simply invest more in our girls. We made our usual investment in classrooms, athletics, fine and performing arts, counselling, bursary, campus modernization and maintenance and extra-curricular activities. We also seamlessly introduced widespread curriculum changes from the BC Ministry of Education; brought our community together to celebrate 90 years of Little Flower with the largest community gathering we’ve ever had; brought plans for future spending forward; and, we gave away more financial aid. Having done all this, the philanthropic commitment of our community also enabled our model of accessibility by keeping tuition mostly the same with yet another year where fees saw a lower-than-inflation increase.

As we charged toward our goal of $600,000 and families embraced what we were trying to achieve, it became clear that we had an opportunity to move from an ambitious plan to an aspirational plan. What was originally a plan for a simple STEM Lab evolved into a post-secondary style STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) Lab. While other schools will surely follow, as an educator it is immensely gratifying to be in a position to be a leader—especially in so called non-traditional fields for women. In many ways, that’s a key element of what makes LFA special. I would encourage you to read the story behind this project.

Measures of success are not solely in dollars raised. We continue to see giving participation amongst parents as among the highest of any of the Vancouver independent schools—not just Catholic schools. Our Founders' Circle, which recognizes leadership giving, grew again for the ninth straight year—we now have more than 200 parents, grandparents, alumnae, staff, past parents and trustees of the LFA Foundation and the Board of Directors who are philanthropic leaders. We also continue to see community involvement in our school life that makes our school a joy. Parent Auxiliary events, alumnae events, Grandparents Day, Open House, and our 90th Anniversary celebration: together, we welcomed thousands of people to our campus to share in the Little Flower experience.

Thank you. You continue to enable the very best in Catholic, all girls' education.

Diane Little '88
Principal
Little Flower Academy