Phyllis MANNING Creighton

2013 DOGA: Phyllis MANNING Creighton ’47
A voice for global change and social justice
Leah and Gordon Pinsent on the arts
BSS Heritage Dinner April 18, 2013
The Link
the BSS magazine | vol. 2 · 2012/13
Grounded
in community
FEELSLIKEFAMILY
A look inside
BSS Boarding pg. 6
THENANDNOW
A tradition of putting
community first pg. 8
OLDGIRLSROCK
Mentoring inspires
young alum pg. 26
VoL. 2 • 2012/13
contents
Opening nOtes 3
Deryn Lavell explores the concept of community
and the impact it has on BSS.
OnLine COMMUnitY 5
BSS is plugged in. And ready to roll on all platforms.
insiDe Bss 6
Boarding: Beyond borders.
in tHe COMMUnitY 8
Building character in the service of others
is part of our history.
6
OLD giRL spOtLigHt 11
Q&A with Dr. Naida COLE ’91.
16
COMMUnitY spOtLigHt 13
Leah PINSENT ’83 and her father Gordon
on our country’s arts community.
DOgA pROFiLe 16
How Canon Phyllis MANNING Creighton ’47
has changed the world.
pHiLAntHROpY spOtLigHt 19
How the BSS financial aid program changes
our world.
8
11
spOtLigHt stRAtegiC pLAn 22
An engaged community is the backbone
of our culture.
pROgRAM spOtLigHt 24
Physical and emotional wellness is a vital
part of the BSS experience.
VOLUnteeR spOtLigHt 26
Stacey YUEN ’98 leads the way in mentorship.
MEDICAL AND TRIATHLETE
HEALTH PHYSICIST AND NORDIC SKIER
KELLY SCHAD, BSS Teacher
When a girl uses her whole mind,
8 the LINK Vol. 1 · 2011/12
she realizes her whole potential.
Letter from the edItors
our community of students, old Girls, parents, past parents,
volunteers, staff, writers and photographers helped make this
issue of The Link a vibrant reflection of the spirit of BSS. From
digging up (and re-enacting) archival photos, to soliciting the
participation of family members, to talking about the family
22
they feel they have at BSS, these generous contributors have
shared their time and the valuable stories that demonstrate
just how grounded in community we are.
With thanks, The Link Editorial Team
the LINK Vol.2 · 2012/13
1
BSS HERITAGE DINNER 2013
The
Link
The Link magazine is produced in-house bi-annually in spring and fall by The Bishop Strachan School.
Chair of the Board: Sarah Kavanagh
Head of School: Deryn lavell
T H u R S D Ay, A P R I l 1 8
Our country is bountiful. In the arts. The sciences. The humanities.
At this year’s Heritage Dinner, we celebrate our country and the passion
we share to nurture and honour homegrown talent. Great Canadians
have set the world afire with their talents, and BSS has a role to play
in contributing to this tradition.
Executive Director,
Office of Philanthropy and
Alumnae Relations: Moira Dossetor
Director of Marketing and
Communications, Editor:
Marianne Chilco Associate, Alumnae Relations and
Philanthropy: Jill BlAKEY ’02
Managing Editor: Yael Jimenez
Design: Bakersfield Visual Communications Inc.
the LINK edItorIaL Guidelines
6:00 pm Cocktails in the Student Centre
7:00 pm Dinner in the Russell Hill Gym
Tickets $100 per person
$75 for Old Girls | $700 for a table of 8
Special Guests of Honour
leah PINSENT ’83 and her father,
Gordon Pinsent
Featuring this year’s Distinguished
Old Girl Award recipient
Phyllis MANNING Creighton ’47
Register online at bss.on.ca/heritagedinner
before April 11, 2013
For more information or to register by phone contact Donna Jordan in the
Office of Philanthropy and Alumnae Relations at 416-483-4325, ext. 1874
2 the LINK Vol. 2 · 2012/13
• Submissions to Old Girl News are
encouraged. Please send your submission to [email protected]. We will accommodate as many as space will allow and ask that you try to keep content to approximately 50 words. Photographs are also invited and will be published depending on available space.
• Letters: We’d love to hear what you think about any of the articles in The Link. Please send letters to Yael Jimenez at [email protected]. We will run as many as we can and letters will not be edited, though we ask that you keep them to approximately 50 words.
• Corrections: Every effort is made to ensure accuracy but, from time to time, errors occur. Please make note of any errors you may notice to Yael Jimenez at [email protected].
• BSS Online Community: The Link
is posted on the BSS website (www.bss.on.ca), and on The Thread (thethread.bss.on.ca). Some items that are time sensitive and cannot be accommodated in The Link will appear on The Thread, the online portal for our BSS Community. opening notes
It takes a VIllage.
No, really. It does.
by deryn lavell
Y
es, it has become a clichéd phrase,
but it is no less true. When it comes
to educating a child, whether here
or halfway around the world, entire communities must play a role. We rely on
teachers, the backbone of our School, to
lead our pursuit of academic excellence.
But as we all know, BSS does not settle
for academics alone, because the distinction of being a BSS graduate is to possess superior academic mastery alongside
practical life skills, confidence, integrity
and a healthy approach to balancing life’s
many demands – in other words, to be
women who are transformational leaders.
To achieve the educational experience that
will support our girls’
ambitions throughout
their lives, we depend
on the active involvement of an engaged
community. That includes a thriving partnership with parents
and families who contribute to the life of the
School in myriad ways,
as well as the mentorship of our incredible
Old Girl community,
where BSS graduates become involved in
the lives of current students with powerful results.
But the village doesn’t end there. Creating a nurturing and safe environment
is the best way to encourage girls to take
risks and explore new frontiers, allowing them to push outside their comfort
zones and discover new strengths. That,
too, relies on community. For example,
our boarders have travelled to BSS from a
variety of places around the world. Here,
they gather together in a carefully managed environment to experience life as
independent young women sharing this
crucial phase of their growth with ‘sisters’ from a multitude of cultures. With
the active engagement and expertise of a
dedicated boarding team, these girls create a home-away-from-home, supporting each other in friendship and studies,
and contributing to the whole School
by bringing their unique perspectives to
all of us.
That sense of camaraderie among our
girls is evident throughout BSS. Whether
it’s helping new students get on their feet
and fully integrated,
or pitching in together on projects like the
yearbook or newspa-
community we all share provides enormous learning opportunities for our girls
and contributes to their sense of empathy.
That’s why BSS emphasizes the role of service to our community, both here at home
and around the world. We have a rich history of stepping up to support those in
need and have made service an integral
part of everyone’s experience. Those roots
remain strong to this day and have established a culture that prizes giving back.
Another way the BSS sense of community manifests itself is through the
financial support of the many donors who
contribute to the Annual Fund and have
supported various capital projects over the
years. We count on that support to ensure
that we can deliver the top quality education we promise, especially in a world that
never stands still. The pace of change today has demanded that educators keep up
in ways we could never have imagined just
twenty years ago. Our parents, Old Girls
and friends have consistently reached
out to keep BSS strong for all students.
Because of the vision and compassion of
donors we have been able to continue
evolving our program and facilities, as well
as inviting
deserving
students to
join BSS
when they
might otherwise not have had the means. This act of
generosity has endless impact by helping to
create a diverse learning community. Imagine how limited learning would be if there
was only one perspective at the table?
These are just some of the ways in
which the concept of ‘community’ plays
such a fundamental role at BSS. In this issue of The Link you will encounter these
stories and much more. The culture of caring that keeps everyone engaged in various ways has been the key to our strength
since our founding. Whether that support
comes in the form of volunteering, friendship, or making a financial contribution,
it is so comforting to know that the BSS
‘village’ continues to grow in strength and
commitment. 
We depend on the active
involvement of an engaged
community
per, playing sports,
participating in clubs,
taking on leadership
roles and organizing
social events, our girls
interact with each
other constantly. While a diverse community of young girls will never run
entirely without a hitch, we strive to
reinforce our culture of respect, even in
disagreement. Constructively resolving
differences, effective problem-solving,
working collaboratively – these are the
hallmarks of a 21st century approach to
education and essential attributes of the
knowledge-economy worker. We need to
reinforce these traits early and often.
Needless to say, engagement in the
the LINK Vol.2 · 2012/13
3
100 years ago
online community
Building connections
The BSS community is thriving online by julia mordini
S
Turning The Sod
May 29, 1913
One hundred years ago the BSS community gathered to break
ground for the construction of our current school at 298 Lonsdale
Road. Thousands of students have walked through our doors since
then, building their lives on a strong BSS foundation. Photo and
clippings courtesy of BSS Archives.
taying connected with our community has always been a priority for
BSS and today’s online tools make
meaningul communications that much
more immediate and convenient. Here’s
a look at our expanding online landscape.
The Bishop sTrachan school
FaceBook page
facebook.com/thebishopstrachanschool
The Bishop Strachan School Facebook page has over 1300 ‘likes’ and
is a regular hotspot for recent news, events
and stories. It is also a useful broadcast
tool for school-wide celebrations of learning and event announcements.
Bss on TwiTTer
twitter.com/bss_bobcats
BSS tweets trumpet information
about community events, stories
about life at BSS and updates for prospective students and families. This account is
an open way to engage in a dialogue with
the BSS community and highlight stories
for our 400 plus followers.
Bss in acTion
bssinaction.tumblr.com
Added to the communication mix
in 2012, BSS in Action showcases
up-to-the-minute activity at BSS. School
events and student news are highlighted
with photos, short captions and links to
more information.
4 the LINK Vol. 2 · 2012/13
Bss epic
The Thread
This fun photo blog
showcases real-time
student-generated images that depict
life at BSS. Senior School students are
encouraged to tell their stories through
photos - whether it’s an event they’ve
participated in, a meaningful moment
between friends, or a celebration of academic achievement.
This password-protected site allows
us to share select content with parents, staff, students and alumnae. Watch
for improvements and a re-organization of
content this year.
bssepic.tumblr.com
The oFFicial Bss
old girl group:
A closed group on Facebook for BSS
Alumnae only. This group is used
to advertise upcoming Old Girl events,
share photos, reconnect with old friends
and broadcast status updates via the
Facebook network. Members are able to
confidently self-identify and join on a
voluntary basis.
linkedin
linkedin.com/company/the-bishopstrachan-school
BSS employees are proud of the BSS
culture of powerful learning and
continue to spread the word through
the professional network of Linkedin,
identifying themselves as staff or faculty
of BSS and sharing their professional
development updates in this secure environment.
thethread.bss.on.ca
coming soon
Bss apps and iTunesu!
Later this spring, BSS Old Girls will be
able to download a BSS Old Girl APP,
complete with Old Girl directory access
and event registration in the palm of their
hand. Soon after, a BSS parent APP will
be developed to enable parents to access
simple and accurate calendar information,
stories and news notification. iTunesU is
a free new APP that brings information
and courses from educational institutions
all around the world into the hands of
students. We have a presence on iTunesU
and are developing content to share
our learning philosophy and expertise in
girls’ education.
Julia Mordini, Associate Digital Media, BSS
Marketing and Communications team, works
closely with the student Communications council.
the LINK Vol.2 · 2012/13
5
Bonds are built to last in Boarding by kelli korducki
I
t’s telling that the word “family” is
most commonly used to describe
the experience of being part of BSS
Boarding by the girls who experience
it first-hand. More than a home-awayfrom-home for BSS students, the School’s
Boarding program follows a careful curriculum, with community, growth and
overall well-being at its core. The family
aspect plays into this scheme more than
just figuratively. Six staff members live on
campus so that means 24/7 support and
guidance. And, just like the day program,
students belong to a specific house. In
Boarding there are six families made up
of 12 to 14 girls within two houses, with
one staff member assigned to each family.
Strong, trusting relationships between
6 the LINK Vol. 2 · 2012/13
Boarding staff and students, as well as
their parents, start from day one. Eleni
Gicas, VP Boarding, Global and Civic
Engagement, emphasizes the importance
of shared goals between students, their
families and the School. “Our orientation
is structured so that parents have one-onone discussions with us about their goals
for the year,” says Ms. Gicas. “We want
them to know they play an important
role in their daughter’s education, and we
are here to listen and respond. Whether
they live in the GTA or halfway around
the world, we build a strong connection
with them on behalf of their daughters.”
The program is deliberate in supporting students in every way, and is expressed
in a few different acronyms. “Our Board-
ing curriculum centres around WELD,
which stands for wellness, exploration,
leadership and diversity,” says Ms. Gicas. “To ensure that we are incorporating
this curriculum within the community,
we also work under what we call FIGS,
which stands for family, the individual,
groups and social.”
The FIGS model offers a framework
for social and emotional support within
the WELD approach. Ms. Gicas explains
that in addition to the formal family
structures established within each house,
attention is paid to the girls as individuals, an important aspect of support. Focus
is also on the social grouping that happens organically within the community.
Student leaders are involved in shaping
PHotoGrAPH By StEPHAnIE WEInEr
PHotoGrAPH By EmmA mcIntyrE
At Home At BSS
Eleni Gicas with Boarding’s favourite
four-legged friend, Adelaide.
“And also, I didn’t have any friends
in Canada before that time,” she recalls.
Because of this, she found the Boarding
community’s built-in activities especially
helpful. “Every Monday we have a formal
dinner with different themes,” she says.
“On the weekends, the staff organizes lots
of different activities for us. Around the
holidays we decorate a tree together. And
we celebrate Halloween and Chinese festivals and things like that.”
“It’s really fun,” says Jessica Levy, Head
Girl, of her experience as an on-again, offagain boarder through the School’s Temporary Boarding program. “I never really
went to camp as a kid, but that’s what I
imagine it would be like.” Jessica’s parents
live in Toronto and travel frequently, so
PHotoGrAPH By EmmA mcIntyrE
and assessing these elements, from orientation onwards. “All our students participate in leadership roles in one way or
another and really create the family,” says
Ms. Gicas. “Activities within our WELD
approach are very student-driven.”
Kristina Shearson, a Grade 10 student
from Whitby, Ontario, in her second year
of Boarding, appreciates the community
leadership opportunities. “There are different Boarding positions,” she explains.
“You can be your Grade Representative.
You can also be the Boarder Captain, or
one of the House Heads.” All of these positions are elected and there are diverse
opportunities to mentor others. “You
play an older sister role in Boarding,” says
Kristina.
“It’s like a warm family,” is how He
Liang, a Grade 11 boarder, puts it. She
is in her second year at BSS and also her
second year of Boarding. She moved to
Toronto from China specifically to attend
the School, and her first year at BSS was
not without its challenges. For one, English is He’s second language.
Kristina Shearson, He Liang and Jessica Levy.
the option of Temporary Boarding works
for the family. Between Grades 9 and
10, she estimates that she spent a total of
four weeks in Boarding. “My first time in
Boarding, I was a little intimidated,” she
admits. “But it didn’t take long to get the
gist of things and feel like a member of
the community.”
Jessica recalls grappling with a heavy
homework load on one of her first nights
of Boarding. Unexpectedly, she found
herself in a supportive learning environment where homework help was par for
the course. “You’re used to going home
and sort of figuring it out by yourself, but
in Boarding there are so many girls who
are in the same position as you,” she says.
“Some of them are in your grade so they
can help you out with your homework,
and some of them are older than you so
they probably know what’s going on too.
And some of them are younger than you,
so you can lend a helping hand.”
He’s experience of that community
support has been similar. “If I have a
problem with a friend or with one of my
classes, I can talk to my Family’s Adviser.
She really connects with us and communicates with us.”
it’s really fun.
i never really went
to camp as a kid, but
that’s what i imagine
it would be like.
“There is actually a structured curriculum...something we do really well,”
says Suzanne Ranson, Student Recruiting Associate. Ms. Ranson and colleagues
in the department reach out to Canada
and many parts of the world to attract
the brightest students to BSS. Of the 75
boarders currently enrolled in the program, students come from as far-flung
parts of the world as Africa, Canada, Asia,
South Asia, Europe and the Caribbean islands. “We have a girl from South Africa.
We have two girls from Spain. We have a
girl from Bangladesh,” says Ms. Ranson.
“So it’s quite diverse, which is something
we really value.”
The experience of living among a
multicultural, supportive group of peers
within a nurturing environment has
proven positive for Boarding alums. “We
get emails and drop-ins when they’re in
town,” says Ms. Gicas of the young women who have passed through the Boarding program, now in university and beyond. “And the first thing they say is that
Boarding helped them develop autonomy
– self-awareness and self-care – way ahead
of the other kids in university.”
The sense of family that characterizes
BSS Boarding and the learning that occurs within its halls is strong and lasting,
and crosses borders to embrace and enrich
the full BSS community. 
Kelli KorducKi is a culture and lifestyle
writer for The Globe and Mail, the National Post,
Best Health magazine and other publications on
and offline.
the LINK Vol.2 · 2012/13 7
Pulling TogeTher
For CommuniTies
PhotograPh by StePhanie Weiner
BSS Staff Room, 1890
then & NOW
Throughout our history, BSS girls have found ways
to help in communities near and far by nora underwood
S
ince the beginning of The Bishop
Strachan School’s history, service
to the community—both by Old
Girls and current students—has been of
exceptional importance, far beyond government-mandated community service
hours in both scope and soul. From knitting socks for soldiers in the early 20th
century to learning to become real agents
of change in the early 21st, BSS girls have
been offered, and have taken advantage
8 the LINK Vol. 2 · 2012/13
of, unparalleled opportunities to help in
communities near and far.
“Instead of going into an experience as
a means to an end, it actually builds in
an understanding,” says Canadian Business and World Studies teacher and Head
of Service Learning Charlotte Fleming of
the School’s approach. “Students become
more self-aware, more aware of the needs
that exist in our community, and it builds
empathy and compassion, as well, that we
hope our girls will take with them when
they leave BSS.”
BSS students had always helped out in
the community, but it was during the two
world wars, according to Archivist Susan
ALLEN Dutton ’79, that the girls really
mobilized. BSS publications were filled
with various activities of students and
Old Girls: knitting socks (298 pairs in
1915 alone) and other garments for the
Red Cross, making field pillows, rolling
bandages, working at soup kitchens, collecting money for prisoners of war or various relief funds, and so on. “There were
special lectures on how to cook without
meat,” says Ms. Dutton. “We had a Victory Garden here on the property. Everything was for the effort. Even the little
girls were doing things.” One year, the
girls decided that any money they would
have received during prize-giving ceremonies was to be donated instead to the Red
Cross.
The effort at BSS continued during
the Second World War, with the girls
hosting bake sales, clothing drives, collecting metal (including more than 5,000
wire hangers) and old pots to be melted
down and turned into war material.
Stories of how BSS girls helped during
the two world wars are passed on to current girls in Grade 10 History class, where
the focus is on Canada during the last
century. Though today’s students have an
appreciation of Canada at war, with our
soldiers serving in Afghanistan these past
few years, the experience for BSS girls
BSS staff: Tom Marcaccini, Julia Mordini, Charlotte Fleming, Susan Dutton, Claudia Metelsky, Andrea Mozarowski
was quite personal during the world wars.
“Many of their dads and brothers and
cousins and sweethearts were in the war,”
says Ms. Dutton.
Despite the absence of such an overwhelmingly unifying cause, BSS girls today are as busy at service as ever, helping
others in ways big and small and, in the
process, enriching their own lives. Once a
week this past fall, the girls in Tom Marcaccini’s Grade 12 Music class headed out
of School to meet up with another set of
classmates 20 minutes away—students
in Grade 5 at Sprucecourt Public School
in Toronto’s Regent Park community.
There, in preparation for a concert at the
beautiful new Daniels Spectrum (formerly known as Regent Park Arts & Cultural
Centre), students from both schools met
on an equal footing to learn steel pan
drums, thanks to instructors from the
Regent Park School of Music.
It’s the first time the School has tried
something like this, but, based on its success for all the students, Mr. Marcaccini
hopes it’s just the first of many collabo-
rations. “It’s the same old song of music
being the universal language,” he says.
“To see the joy in each other’s faces—total strangers coming together, a huge age
gap...yet there’s this common thread that
pulls us together. It’s been extremely successful in terms of student appreciation
and the growth I’m seeing from the kids.”
That is precisely what staff at BSS
was aiming for when they refined the
School’s approach to Service Learning.
“We wanted to make sure there’s a strong
reciprocity that exists between us and our
community partners and people we work
with,” explains Ms. Fleming. The point is
not simply to provide students with a way
of knocking off their mandated community service hours but instead to enhance
their understanding of the issue, the people or the organization with whom they’re
working. “It’s important that our students
are going into things with an understanding rather than a judgment,” she adds.
“They approach things with a more compassionate or more informed lens.”
There are myriad opportunities so that
the LINK Vol.2 · 2012/13 9
Old Girl Spotlight
in the community
girls can be part of an experience that interests them or complements their strengths
or challenges them to take a risk—everything from mentoring children from other
schools and working with seniors to tree
planting and shoreline clean-ups, collecting clothes for the homeless, food drives
and the annual school-wide Holiday
Love campaign.
For the past 10 years, 650 girls have
come together in November to learn about
families that have a different experience of
life in Toronto from their own. “We try to
imagine what the holidays might be like
for them,” says Ms. Fleming, “and about
the importance of not passing judgment
when we haven’t walked in their shoes.”
To that end, each Teacher Advisory Group
(TAG) comes together to support a particular family. By Christmas, every member
of as many as 14 local families has been
provided with items they had identified as
wishes and needs. “It’s about giving without expectation but because we want to,”
says Ms. Fleming. “And about parents,
TAG teachers and students coming together as a community too.”
Over the years, group efforts at BSS
have made many wonderful things happen. Between 2003 and 2011, for example, the Philanthropic Council—a
group made up of students and staff advisers—has, through various fundraising
initiatives, raised almost $97,000 for an
orphanage project in Swaziland. In addition, each year the Council decides on
a particular theme; last year, the group
focused its efforts on charitable organizations that were doing something to better
the lives of girls and women.
The group also fundraises for local initiatives. The latest was called Camper on
10 the LINK Vol. 2 · 2012/13
Irshad Manji, here with Deryn Lavell, spent
the day at BSS speaking with students
about moral courage, April 2012.
Canadian author series, during which girls
read a work—in this case, Ms. Manji’s Allah, Liberty and Love—and engage in conversation with the author. “The reason I
thought of her,” says Andrea Mozarowski,
Head of the English Department, “is that
The School really
haS a miSSion
To parTicipaTe
in wider global
converSaTionS.
the School really has a mission to participate in wider global conversations.”
Ms. Manji, Director of the Moral
Courage Project at New York University,
has strong views on what she feels people
living in an open, pluralistic society need
to do to ensure all voices are heard. “Her
impact was huge on the student body,”
says Ms. Mozarowski. “She challenged
the girls, she engaged them, she conversed
with them, she egged them on. But what’s
important is her message: she believes that
in our increasingly multicultural society,
we need to be asking questions without
fear.”
Thanks to the generosity of a BSS donor, Ms. Manji is now working with a
small group of girls on a moral courage
task force this year and through next. The
girls’ task: start a conversation, one that
needs to take place, timely and relevant,
that will have impact on the broader community.
Ms. Mozarowski notes that some girls
have said they have been socialized to be
polite, and aren’t necessarily prepared to
stand up for themselves or others in conversation when the situation demands. It’s
a challenge that many adults face as well.
The School’s culture of powerful learning develops the skills to be both confident and compassionate - a combination
that results in transformative leaders. “If
change is going to happen,” says Ms. Mozarowski, “if we are going to advocate for
others and ourselves in a complex world,
then girls need to learn how to stay in that
conversation, how to lean in, how to risk
offending with the aim of shared understanding. This is the next phase for preparing girls to achieve and have meaningful
lives in the world that exists today. And to
help others do the same.” 
Nora UNderwood is a freelance writer,
editor and a BSS parent.
QA
&
with Naida COLE ’91
Concert pianist and
medical doctor Naida
COLE ’91 was invited
to be a part of this year’s
BSS advertising campaign
as her career has unfolded
to reflect the ad’s exact
message: When girls use
their whole mind, they realize their whole potential.
Ms. Cole spoke with The
Link recently.
by yael jimenez
What was your favourite subject at
BSS? And at what point did you know
you had a passion for music?
I enjoyed my Physics classes but my favourite subjects at BSS were Calculus and
French. I remember excelling at Music
and finding piano easy from a young age.
It was fun, but I didn't quite think of it
as a passion until I was more mature, a
teenager, and started thinking about what
really made me tick.
Do you still keep in touch with friends
from BSS?
Yes (thank you Facebook!), though not as
much as I would like. There is so little free
time these days, but I'm amazed at how
strong friendships really endure the test
of time. After moving to Boston last year,
PhotograPh by NormaNd robert
WWI knitting bee of BSS girls
the Bus. Each house at the School was
challenged to raise enough money by
changing its behaviour a bit and donating
money they saved to get one camper from
a partner school on the bus to a BSS-run
summer camp. The group raised more
than $3,300 in four days with no events.
For the past five years, the two-week
summer program between BSS and the
young children from George Webster Elementary School has been designed and
run almost entirely by volunteer BSS girls
(with the help of Ms. Fleming, who heads
the camp, and a couple of paid older students). The program is a huge learning and
leadership experience for the students, but
the main purpose is relationship-building
and community development. “For most
of the kids who come to this camp, it is
the one thing they do for the summer,” explains Ms. Fleming. “A lot of them don’t
have any structured programs.”
Making positive change happen can
take many forms. And a new collaboration
is underway between Canadian author
and journalist Irshad Manji and several of
the girls in Grades 10 to 12 that is meant
to encourage girls to become real agents
of change in society. Ms. Manji came to
BSS in the spring of 2012 as part of the
one of my oldest BSS friends contacted
me since she had been living in Boston
for several years. When we met up, it was
just like old times, as if the past 20 years
of our lives didn't really make a difference.
In addition, I keep in close contact
with Debbie Piotrowski. She was my first
piano teacher and, as a vocal teacher at
BSS, she is still shaping girls’ futures. She
was certainly one of the most important
influences in my life. An incredibly generous, smart and beautiful person, she continues to be my role model and is also my
son’s godmother.
What was your favourite hang out spot
at the School?
I don't know if it's changed, but there
used to be two corridors lined with prac-
tice rooms containing upright pianos.
The floors in the corridor creaked in a
familiar way whenever you entered the
hallway, and usually there was no one
practicing there, so it was pretty quiet.
There was also a special smell of old seasoned wood in the rooms and on sunny
days, the small rooms would become
very warm from the direct afternoon
sun pouring in the windows. I used to
love going there - not necessarily to play
the piano, but when I needed a place
to reflect and be alone. It was one place
where no one was likely to find or interrupt you. My very first piano lessons had
taken place in those rooms with Debbie
Piotrowski when I was four years old,
and I guess it just felt like a completely
safe and good place.
the LINK Vol.2 · 2012/13
11
Old Girl Spotlight
The BSS ‘whole potential’ ad campaign
was developed to raise awareness about
the importance of using our whole brain
and to highlight the BSS approach to
learning. What does the BSS approach
mean to you and what role did BSS
have in encouraging you to become a
medical doctor and a concert pianist?
The principles of an education at BSS
allowed me to imagine that anything
was possible, that I could be a doctor or
a pianist or an astronaut or pilot or engineer… BSS provides a very solid and
broad education. It produces well-rounded, mature girls who have had the opportunities at school to build on their personal
strengths, regardless of what those may be.
This was certainly my experience of the
School. Practically speaking, I remember
numerous times when there were conflicts
between my school schedule and my musical schedule, times when I might have
had an exam and a concert or piano competition on the same day, for example. My
BSS teachers allowed me to miss an occasional class as necessary (in order to go
directly to an important musical event),
but beyond this, no exceptions were made
in terms of my academic responsibilities.
Exams were never rescheduled; assignments and other deadlines were firm. I
think this was really important for two
reasons: First of all, there was never the
message that I was 'special' or could get
a free pass because of being talented. Second, my education never suffered due to
music. School always came first. When
the time came several years ago to switch
careers to medicine, I did not doubt that
it would be possible academically. Even
12 the LINK Vol. 2 · 2012/13
after 15 years away from high school and
studying purely musical subjects in college, the switch was relatively easy, thanks
to a strong foundation from BSS.
What are your thoughts on the ad
campaign? Do you think the ads were
effective in getting this message out,
encouraging girls to seek a school that
inspires them to thrive in all areas?
I think it's a brilliant idea for a campaign!
I hope it will attract students ready to
study at a school that can support them
in pursuing their dreams.
You’ve performed with symphonies and
orchestras worldwide, including Toronto,
London, Munich, Tokyo, and Copenhagen etc. Where was your favourite place
to perform?
I think my favourite hall was the Musikverein in Vienna, where I performed Mendelssohn’s Concerto for Violin, Piano and
Strings with Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica. The acoustics in that hall were
unimaginably perfect. The instrument
on stage was sublime and the audience
was not merely quiet, they were actually
part of the performance. You could feel
their understanding and appreciation of
every nuance in the music, both because
of the hall's superior acoustics, as well as
the intense audience involvement.
Tell us about the two CDs you released.
The first CD, titled Naida Cole, was
released in 1999 in Canada on the
Deutsche Grammophon label. It was
released internationally in 2001 on the
Decca label. The music on that CD, is
all late 19th-early 20th century French
music with the masterpiece, Gaspard de
la Nuit, as the final work on the album.
That CD received many favourable reviews and was nominated for a Juno
Award in 2000. The second CD, titled
Reflections, was released internationally in 2003. Its title is derived from the
name of one piece on the album, Ravel’s
Miroirs. Reflections is intended to convey
a reflection on how diverse the sources of
inspiration can be for musical composition from abstract concepts to poetry to
visual imagery.
In 2007 you decided to pursue medicine at Brown University. What led
you to leave a successful career as a
recording artist and musician to pursue
medicine?
It was a complicated decision, one that is
very hard to explain, actually. I think ultimately it was multifactorial but I knew
it was the right decision because I could
feel in my gut that it had to happen. I had
contemplated medicine in high school,
and since my dad is a doctor, and my
mom was a nurse, medicine was already
in my DNA. I love music and cannot live
without it, but I think many aspects of the
profession wore me down, I was not well
suited to it, and philosophically, I no longer saw an imperative for me to be a musician. As a teenager I had always wondered
about the purpose of my life, and felt that
if we have the chance to live on this planet, there must be a purpose for that life.
I thought I knew what my purpose as a
musician was, then began to realize that
I no longer believed in it. Pursuing music seemed more of a selfish endeavour at
that point; the world did not particularly
need my music. However, as a doctor even
if I am not the greatest genius on earth,
as long as I am diligent, truly competent,
and ethical, I know that at the end of every day my work has mattered and has
benefited someone in a meaningful way.
Home is WHere
tHe Heart is
Gordon and Leah Pinsent
advocate a strong homegrown
arts industry by marianne chilco
You have achieved so much at such a
young age; what do you consider your
greatest achievement to date?
That’s easy - my son makes me more happy and proud than anything else.
See back cover of this issue of The Link
for the BSS ad featuring Ms. Cole. 
Yael Jimenez is Managing Editor of The Link magazine
PhotograPh by Dave Starrett
I value so many aspects of the academically
rigorous yet nurturing educational environment at BSS; it is hard to pinpoint a single
most important thing that I learned at BSS.
Perhaps one of the most fundamental principles that I took away from BSS was that
girls could do and be anything, that being
a girl would never define ambitions nor
my limitations. Being at an all-girls school
made it impossible to compare ourselves
based on gender. The playing field was level
and we could only compare ourselves based
on what mattered - our potential and our
achievements.
PhotograPhy by Natasha NicholsoN
What was the most important thing the
School taught you?
W
ithout quite intending it, Leah PINSENT ’83 followed the path of her
mother, the late Charmion KING Pinsent ’43, from BSS to Toronto’s
University College, right into a celebrated career in the arts. On meeting
Leah, it’s clear that she has what it takes to lead, as well as follow. This actor/writer/
producer has inherited her mother’s beauty, her father’s sense of humour and the
combined talent and passion of both her parents.
the LINK Vol.2 · 2012/13
13
COVER SToRY
Charmion. This year, despite their grueling schedules, they plan to get together on
stage at BSS as guests of honour at Heritage Dinner on Thursday, April 18. The
theme, Home is Where the Heart Is, celebrates our country’s arts community – so
who better to lead the celebration than the
beloved patriarch of Canadian arts, and
the talented woman who took what her
parents started, and ran with it.
Father and daughter sat down recently
with The Link to talk about the state of the
arts in Canada. Leah and her husband, actor Peter Keleghan, live in a quaint, quiet
neighbourhood in Toronto’s east end.
There, their photogenic cocker spaniel
named Higgins settles in by Gordon’s feet
while Peter lights a fire and leaves us to it.
“Culture is the heartbeat of all countries,” says Leah. “And our arts industry
is struggling at the moment. We need to
become more conscious; to grasp the importance of arts in this country.”
Leah’s commitment to enriching and
protecting the arts in Canada is shared by
her family, and artists and organizations
that refuse to let current challenges erode
an industry she sees as the heart of this
country. In an open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Leah writes, “Canada
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is joined by ACTRA President Ferne Downey (right) and
National Executive Director Stephen Waddell (far left) and Canadian stars (l-r) Alison Pill,
Jay Baruchel, Leah Pinsent and Peter Keleghan on Parliament Hill in November 2011.
14 the LINK Vol. 2 · 2012/13
is visited and respected not for oil fields,
pipelines, and fighter jets but for our culture and public spaces. Please remember:
art delivers meaning. Help artists by income tax averaging.”
Income tax averaging refers to a tax
system that accommodates the fluctuating
income of self-employed performers, who
may alternate between lean and lucrative
years.
According to the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), the union of more than
22,000 professional performers working
in Canada’s TV, film, radio and digital
media industries, income averaging is not
a new concept in Canada. For decades,
federal tax laws recognized the volatile nature of artists’ incomes and contained provisions for income averaging. These provisions were abolished in 1988 and ACTRA
is fighting to bring them back.
Recently, Leah and Peter joined other
Canadian performers and ACTRA staff
on Parliament Hill in a private meeting
with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to
urge him to make Canada’s content-creation industry a central part of his government’s digital strategy.
Whatever factors impact the quality and
quantity of creative opportunities in Canada - fluctuating funding, politics, business,
competition - it’s clear that those steeped
in the arts feel these changes deeply and
are committed to improving the situation.
It’s a movement borne of a heartfelt quest
to nurture homegrown talent and give it a
place to flourish for generations to come.
Gordon has the benefit of knowing
first-hand just how many opportunities
a talented actor/writer can have in this
country. Though it was a lesson learned
first in Hollywood. Leah was just a baby
when Gordon and Charmion moved from
Canada to further his career stateside. This
emotional time, described in compelling
detail in Next, Gordon’s memoir released
this past year, offered up memorable moments, such as the time he went mountaineering with Marlon Brando and Wally
Cox, but the experience was ultimately
dissatisfying. After six years of waiting for
the phone to ring, he says, he decided to
take his career into his own hands, and do
so back in Canada.
Audiences cAn mAke
certAin choices – be
more mindful of the
choices they mAke
to support cAnAdiAn
industries.
PHoTogRAPH By JASoN RANSoM
Leah’s father, Gordon Pinsent, is probably this country’s most beloved performer. In a career that has spanned six
decades, Gordon brought to life unforgettable characters on stage and in film, television and radio. He is an actor, author,
poet, painter and model of creativity, hard
work and goodwill to young Canadians
taking the path he forged in the arts.
Gordon met his beloved wife Charmion
in Toronto when he played opposite her in
a 1962 Crest Theatre production of The
Madwoman of Chaillot. After diving into
BSS productions – often playing male
characters - Charmion graduated to the
title role in Saint Joan at Toronto’s Hart
House Theatre and never looked back.
Often referred to as the grand doyenne
of Canadian theatre, Charmion enjoyed
a long and successful career at The Stratford Festival. She was known on television
for her role as Aunt Josephine in Anne of
Green Gables and as Mrs. Gruenwald in
CBC Radio’s Rumours & Boarders. Gordon and Charmion were married for 44
years until her death in 2007.
Leah and Gordon collaborated recently
on a CBC-TV special, Love Letters, a Valentine’s Day adaptation of the celebrated
play that also served as a loving tribute to
It was on home ground that Gordon’s
career took off, and hasn’t stopped since.
As novelist, playwright, film and television star, he has worked hard to great
acclaim in this country. And along the
way, he has seen his industry rise and fall
like the East coast tides he grew up with.
“It seems we got lost in the size of it all,”
says Gordon. “In the 50s and 60s there
was so much work being produced. Nobody cared if anyone else would like it,
or wanted to buy it. They just told our
stories. Canadian stories.”
Leah agrees that the strength, and
unifying force, of the arts in Canada has
changed. “CBC was the vein that connected us in this country,” she says. “Actors became celebrities because they were
in people’s homes every night. There
were shows that would make us proud,
that we could look up to as a country.
But there’s been a shift. We have to question, what do we stand for?”
It’s a question being asked by artists
and audiences alike, since performing
arts appears to matter a great deal - not
just to those making a living from it, but
to Canadians looking to improve their
lives through it. The Value of Presenting,
a study by the Canadian Arts Presenting
Association (CAPACOA) and Strategic
Moves, reports that Canadians donated
$108 million to arts and culture organizations in 2010 and those Canadians
who volunteer in the arts and culture
sector gave on average more time (127
hours per year) than those in any other
sector that year - an increase of 21 per
cent since 2007, the largest increase of
any sector examined.
This kind of support suggests that
more than a good night’s entertainment
is behind this country’s passion for the
arts. The Arts and the Quality of Life:
The Attitudes of Ontarians, a study conducted by Environics Research, shows
that Ontarians believe the benefits go
well beyond the personal:
•95%ofOntarianssaidthatthearts
enrich the quality of our lives;
•89%believethatiftheircommunity lost its arts activities, people living
there would lose something of value;
•81%ofOntariansthinkthatthearts
are important to their own quality of
life
•95% of Ontarians believe that the
success of Canadian artists like singers, writers, actors and painters, gives
people a sense of pride in Canadian
achievement;
•81% of Ontarians agree that the
government should spend public dollars to support the arts.
Leah understands how important personal choice is when it comes to ensuring a strong, successful and unified arts
community in Canada. “Audiences can
make certain choices – be more mindful
of the choices they make to support Canadian industries, including the arts,” she
says. “We have so much coming at us, so
much to choose from, and much of it is
not the best. So we’ve got to focus on the
kind of work we want to see.”
Gordon shares the belief that, though
the sheer volume of entertainment options available to Canadian audiences
has never been greater, it is not a reflection of the opportunities available for
Canadian performers, nor a guarantee
our stories are being told. “Integrating
efforts is something members of the arts
community must do to strengthen their
voice,” he says.
The value and importance of a strong
voice is something BSS knows well.
Our very mission is to develop students’
unique voice, confidence and sense of
purpose - characteristics that are vital to
success in today’s world. And particularly
helpful in an industry where rejection
and critical review is a regular part of
the process.
Both Gordon and Leah say they have
Charmion and gordon Pinsent at
the 2003 ACTRA Awards
Charm By Gordon Pinsent
I hear her through the morning
riding waves of music’s ocean
breakfasting with my emotion
mindful of the tune she plays
upon my heart, into my day
to swell my world, to cool my way
to teach love’s majesty again
make distant all existing harm
I praise the miracle of Charm.
Gordon recorded this poem, written
about his wife Charmion KING
Pinsent ’43, with musicians Greg
Keelor and Travis Good on the 2012
album Down and Out in Upalong.
learned to dig deep into themselves to
handle rejection, to believe in their ability to rise to the challenges of their chosen profession. Leah points out a pin of
her mother’s she is wearing. It says ‘Never
give up’. It’s something this talented family has no intention of doing, and our
country’s arts industry is far better for it.
On Leah’s living room wall is a simple
pen drawing of a mother and baby. The
mother’s eyes are gently closed, her cheek
caressing the tiny infant sleeping on her
shoulder. It’s an exquisite moment of his
wife and daughter captured by Gordon
all those years ago. It’s a touching work
of art that says so much about home, and
everything about the heart. 
the LINK Vol.2 · 2012/13 15
“I don’t expect
I’ll give up questioning
until my voice is silenced.”
Phyllis MANNING Creighton, ’47
Activist, Raging Granny
and this year’s Distinguished Old Girl.
by sharon gregg
A
mong the many accolades for a
lifetime of community engagement, Phyllis Creighton would
likely claim that her greatest achievement
(so far) has been her family. Having four
children, raising them well and providing a loving home, have been central to
her and her husband, Philip’s, life’s work.
Perhaps it’s not surprising then, that Ms.
Creighton became a passionate voice for
the rights of the child as complex ethical
questions arose with burgeoning reproductive technologies.
Valuing human life, claims Ms.
Creighton, includes the sanctity of our
planet and securing a healthy, peaceful
future for humankind. To this end, she
has challenged the status quo, raised questions, tackled thorny issues, written and
lectured extensively, and even penned a
song or two.
In addition to her selection as this year’s
Distinguished Old Girl, Ms. Creighton
was recently awarded the Order of Ontario, this province’s most prestigious honour, for her role in advocating on behalf
of mental and reproductive health care,
social justice, peace and the environment.
In a wide-ranging conversation, (one
could have nothing else with this engaging
and peripatetic thinker), The Link tried to
capture the essence of this very distinguished BSS alumna, in her own words.
PhotograPh by Caitlin Cronenberg
The Link: What would you say are the
16 the LINK Vol. 2 · 2012/13
roots of the activist spirit in you?
Phyllis Creighton: It’s in the genes. My
father was a barrister, so we were accustomed to questioning things and reading
a lot. That’s the kind of home I grew up in.
There was a strong emphasis on Jesus the
man, and what he tried to teach. Anyone
who takes seriously what we know of Je-
sus’s teaching, you know he was a radical;
he was revolutionary. He was about making people fair to one another and supportive, and throwing over the rules and
authorities that were destructive. So fundamentally, a faith that’s focused on Jesus
is radical and revolutionary.
TL: You were a straight A student throughout your academic career. Were you ever
tempted to join the academic community
as a professor?
PC: History was my major at the Univer-
sity of Toronto, and I had first-class honours all the way through. But they didn’t
want women in academics. The first thing
they told me at the UofT was, ‘you women don’t come back for your PhD.’ They
only hired men!
TL: Is that how you wound up teaching
history at BSS?
PC: My interest in history was inspired
by my teacher at BSS, Miss Lamont. She
made history fascinating because we were
taught to be as interested in the social and
economic as in the political. She is why I
went into history. I welcomed the opportunity to teach there, as Miss Lamont had
taught me.
TL: You wrote a book in 1977 on artificial
insemination, a fairly new technology at
the time. It was groundbreaking in terms
of bringing to the fore ethical issues arising from things like surrogacy and sperm
‘donation’. How did a history teacher get
involved in this issue?
PC: I had given a speech on abortion at a
Diocese Senate (of the Anglican Church
of Canada), and the head of the Church
put me on a task force examining repro-
ductive issues as a result of it. Because
I am a historian, I wanted to know the
facts, as well as the feelings and the moral
issues. I’m known for having an intuitive
bias towards the child. The child comes
into existence because of decisions adults
make. I became a passionate believer that
the insistence on anonymity of the man,
who should be called sperm vendor not
donor, was wrong from the point of view
of the child. Every child has the right to
know where they come from and that
includes the identity of the people that
brought them into the world, whether
it’s from donor insemination, egg donors, surrogacy or adoption. That’s what
motivated me and I became the first person in Canada to write a book on donor
insemination.
TL: You were also a lead author of an
Anglican Church of Canada report on
abortion and you’ve described yourself as
having ‘helped shape the Church’s views’
on many issues with respect to human
reproduction. The Church established in
1989 that: “both the rights and needs of
women, and the rights and needs of the
unborn, require protection.” Given your
inclination to put the child’s needs first,
how do you reconcile this position?
PC: It is in the best interest of the children
that they are not brought into a world
where the parents do not have the capacity
to support and raise them, or the mother’s
health is at risk. That is common sense.
However we do not take as an automatic
reason for abortion, the prospect of a child
being born with a defect either. That is dehumanizing. It depends on the capacity
of the parents to support and raise such a
child. To do otherwise is to fall far short of
the mark of what humanity means.
the LINK Vol.2 · 2012/13 17
philanthropy spotlight
DISTINGUISHED OLD GIRL SPoTlIGHT
ocean is a more critical aspect than even
the weather aspect of climate change. It
may make impossible the formation of the
primary little creatures on whose existence
every breath we take depends. Humans
need plankton to survive.
We are part of the web of life - as it
thrives, so will we. Once you accept interconnectedness as the basic paradigm of
our lives, the more we face climate change
and resource limits, the more we understand that we are dependent on Earth.
It’s late for us to turn around. But we
have the ability to understand and take
action. What scares me is that we have
leaders who have set patterns that won’t fit
with these realities. I think the emphasis
on global trade is a real problem for example. If we want to rebuild a safer world,
being ‘local’ in how we consume will be of
high significance.
We’re not talking pie in the sky. It
would be doable. We have to get off our
fossil fuel kick. We have to not take all the
tar sands, destroy our boreal forest. We
have to face realities. We need to change
our trends.
TL: I came across a YouTube video of a
Raging Granny singing a protest song
against the proposed Toronto casino. That
Raging Granny was you!
PC: The song is called, The Casino Rack-
et. There has always been a need for finding the means to wake people up. The
Raging Grannies began in 1986 in Victoria, British Columbia, to protest nuclear
arms. We’re now all over Canada and the
U.S. We use songs because they go from
your mind to your heart and create energy. It’s an optimistic method of protest
that gets people talking and engaged in
solutions.
TL: Going back to your family for a minute, your parents divorced when you
18 the LINK Vol. 2 · 2012/13
PC: You asked about the roots of radical-
ism in my life and that would have been
part of it. Over-achievement often comes
out of fractured situations. I had to become very independent as a child and
deal with people’s rejection of us. Those
who hadn’t cut us off when they divorced,
cut us off when my father remarried! You
couldn’t win.
So I was very independent and ambitious, either by nature or nurture, or some
combination.
TL: You’ve had a very successful marriage
with your college sweetheart and provided
your children with the home life you never
had. What was special about him to you?
tory of working within the mental health
sector. Was her illness part of the motivation?
PEC: It will be 59 years next summer. I
PC: I served as a trustee of the Ontario
married a man who was altogether different from other men. He was a fully engaged parent long before it was fashionable. I can still see in my mind’s eye, him
holding our first beautiful baby and he
was just natural. He loved being a father.
After my youngest started school, my
husband called his sister to find me a job.
He feared I’d be bored. That was in 1967
and none of the women in our neighbourhood had jobs. I still work as a translator
for the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, the longest serving employee there!
TL: So what’s next for this Raging Granny?
PC: This past October I lost my daughter
Jane, who suffered from serious mental
health issues. My intention is to publish
her 200-page manuscript of her personal
experiences of the inadequacies of physicians, hospitals and the social assistance
system. I may end up doing more work in
the mental health field. It is still too soon
after her death…
I also plan to continue with my environmental advocacy and will organize, in
the Global Issues Project, an expert, online roundtable on plastic in the ocean.
Mental Health Foundation, and as a trustee of the Addiction Research Foundation,
before my daughter became ill.
I took the work because one of my
father’s sisters suffered from dementia
praecox (the precursor of schizophrenia),
and my parent’s marriage had floundered
partly because my mother suffered from
bipolar disorder for which there was little understanding or effective treatment.
There was stigma attached to mental illness at that time: many people thought it
was a personal moral failure, as some still
do. The fact that I knew there had been,
and still was, serious mental illness in my
family, strengthened my concern and motivated me to take on these responsibilities.
TL: In addition to your personal connection with the mental health field, what
would you want to be the legacy you leave
your grandchildren?
PC: Getting rid of nuclear weapons and all
war. Saving Earth for human and animal
life. I won’t stop working on those causes
for Earth and humanity. 
Sharon GreGG is a Toronto- based Marketing
TL: You’ve had quite a distinguished his-
Consultant who has worked with BSS since 2003.
PhotograPh by tiM Moon
PC: The warming and acidification of the
were three and your mother moved to
the United States leaving you to be raised
by your father. Divorce would have been
sensational in those days. How might that
have shaped you as a woman growing up
in the 1950s?
PhotograPh by Caitlin Cronenberg
TL: You made an impassioned case for
redefining our notions of ‘progress’ at a
roundtable hosted by the Global Issues
Project, arguing that unfettered growth
threatens to imperil lives and the planet.
It can feel at times like we’re spiraling towards apocalypse given the magnitude of
these issues. Are we facing extinction?
OPENING DOORS
Moira Dossetor and Cathy Spoel
Enriching our community one student at a time
by megan griffith-greene
“W
ell, four fast but amazing
years have gone by here at
BSS and I cannot believe
that I will be graduating in a short six
months,” the letter begins. It’s a sentiment
that could belong to any of dozens of girls,
spurred into a sudden nostalgia by the
encroaching awareness that her time as a
high school student nears its end.
What sets the letter apart is what follows. Dear Donor, she writes: “I would
not have been able to come to this school
and become as successful as I have been if
it weren’t for you.”
At BSS, part of what makes a community is making sure that the doors are
open to talented girls and their families,
even if tuition is out of reach. Last year,
forty-four girls – six per cent of the Senior
School – received some kind of assistance
to help bring their dreams within reach.
Today, the program is double what it was
five years ago. The re-energized needsbased scholarship program is characterized by important BSS tenets: excellence,
diversity, giving back.
MAKING IT POSSIBLE
Donating to the financial aid program is
something Board member Cathy Spoel is
passionate about.
“The School benefits in a lot of ways
from having a range of girls attend who
might not otherwise be able to. There’s already lots of variety at BSS in terms of interests, talents, worldviews; it’s important
to extend that variety to include socioeconomic diversity,” Ms. Spoel says. “BSS
should attract the very best students. Financial means can be a barrier to that.”
Ms. Spoel’s three daughters all attended BSS. While her youngest daughter
graduated last year, Ms. Spoel’s commitment to the School – and to the financial aid program specifically – continues.
“I think that I still have a contribution to
make,” she says.
Thanks to Ms. Spoel and her husband,
the LINK Vol.2 · 2012/13
19
philanthropy spotlight
EDUCATION IS A
PROFOUND GIFT
TO BE ABLE TO
GIVE SOMEONE.
along with other donors, more girls can
follow their path than would have otherwise been able. “I’d like to see more girls at
the School who can benefit from the education that BSS can provide.”
FINDING A WAY
Moira Dossetor, Executive Director of the
Office of Philanthropy and Alumnae Relations, and her team work hard to make
sure that the means are there to make this
vision a reality. And it’s a vision that Ms.
Dossetor pursues with passion.
“Raising money for financial aid at BSS
took a leap forward in 2007; it was a priority of the last Strategic Plan,” she explains.
“Many donors stepped forward at that time
to support long-term financial aid goals
through endowed gifts, and then 2008
happened. This took a bit of the wind out
of our sails, for sure. But in the last couple
of years, we’ve been building momentum
again and many donors are offering financial aid support through the endowment,
or gifts for immediate use, and still others
choose to blend the two,” she notes. “It’s
about diversity; it’s about academic excellence. It’s a key pillar of where the School
is headed. Delivering an outstanding program also means having an amazing mix of
girls in the classrooms, gyms and hallways.”
“What drew me to BSS was the strong
emphasis on girls’ education and excellence in academics. It’s empowering,” she
says. “At BSS, the calibre of people who
come together for these girls is beyond
impressive.”
“We really want to demystify and
de-stigmatize what getting financial aid
means. We used to talk about bursaries,
now we have changed our language and
we talk about needs-based scholarships.
We want the girls to understand that we
think they’re so great that we want them
in our community.”
Financial aid goes primarily to tuition, although an effort is often made
to ensure that girls can participate in
events and trips as well. “For some girls,”
Ms. Dossetor notes, “going to the Father
Daughter Dance is a struggle financially.”
Applications for financial aid go to
a third party for assessment who makes
a determination about the level of need
that’s required. The School then uses this
to guide decisions on how to allocate
available resources. “It’s a good process to
ensure that people who are qualified to
attend and need it most are getting it,”
Ms. Dossetor says.
BECAUSE OF yOUR
GENEROSITy, I wAS
ABLE TO ExPERIENCE
A LOT OF ThE GREAT
ThINGS BSS hAS
TO OFFER.
In RecognItIon of ouR DonoRs In the 2011/12 AnnuAl RepoRt
Every donation to The Bishop Strachan School makes a lasting and positive difference
for girls who benefit from our Culture of Powerful Learning. BSS appreciates the generosity of all our donors, who are represented in our 2011/12 Annual Report Energy.
In addition to acknowledging the efforts of our entire, generous community, we would
like to recognize the following donors, whose representation in our Annual Report did not
accurately reflect their total support to the School in 2011/12:
1867 Circle:
$250,000 - $499,999
The Grundleger Family
The Langtry Society:
Patrons $5,000 - $9,999
Gilda SMART 1989*
The Class of 2012 Scholarship Fund
Dianne and Grant Roebuck
Grandparents
Helen A. and Basil Stevenson**
20 the LINK Vol. 2 · 2012/13
Parents of Alumnae
Christine Abbott and Jean Dumas
Luba Andrews *
Susan and Doug Annand
Tony and Anne Arrell *
Ann MCMASTER Bacque 1953 *
Andrew Barnicke
Faith and William Berghuis **
Robert Boeckner *
Helen PEPALL Bradfield 1956 *
Derek Brown *
Managing the vision of the program
and the expectations of donors is part of
Ms. Dossetor’s approach. “Part of what I
do is make sure that donor intent is honoured. One donor might say ‘I want to
bring a great girl into Boarding.’ Another
might say ‘I’d like to make sure my gift
goes to a local girl.’”
Donors receive annual updates on the
student they’re supporting, which allows
supporters to feel connected to the difference that their gift is making, on a personal level.
“We’re really trying to raise the bar,
philanthropically, at the School right now.
And, we’re really seeing the community
rise to the occasion,” Ms. Dossetor says.
“Education is a profound gift to be able
to give someone. And I feel lucky to be a
part of that exchange. Seeing how much
our donors care, and how deeply lives are
transformed, is tremendously gratifying.”
DEFINING A VISION
“The endowment has grown, and it’s
like the engine that allows us to keep moving forward,” says Ms. Lavell. “The Boards
are very committed, and even in the economic downturn, they never wavered.
The conversation became ‘how can we
ensure that we can continue our support.”
For Ms. Lavell, the benefits of being able to support students through
their time at BSS doesn’t just enrich
the School, but the broader community
as well.
“For me, what’s most rewarding is that
this is like throwing a rock into a pond
and the ripples reverberate outward. We
open the doors for one girl, and her family, her whole community benefits. It’s
very rewarding.”
“We want to reflect the Toronto that
we’re in, and allow all of our students the
opportunity to broaden their perspective, whether or not their parents can afford full tuition,” she says.
Head of School Deryn Lavell credits the
Boards of Governors and Trustees for the
success and growth of financial aid.
A LASTING IMPRESSION
Barbara Burton-Williams and
Desmond Williams
Don and Jane Cameron
Sandra and Roland Cardy
Colleen Carmichael
The Cheuk Family
Toni and Kevin Clark
Ken Hugessen and Jennifer Connolly *
Cora and Louie Coppa
Ellen KOLBERT-Cornelissen 1984 ***
Dorothy Cottrelle
Koji Ono and Mei Bo Dai
Patricia JONES Dalton 1951
and Peter Dalton **
Lynn and Paul Damp *
Margaret DEROCHE Derry 1964
and Douglas Derry **
Ursula and Mohsen Djelweh
Ebie SNIVELY Dunbar 1940 ***
Caroline MARTIN Duncanson 1975
and Robert Duncanson *
Nicky MARTIN Eaton 1959 **
Nancy and Robert Evans
Susan DALTON Farrow 1980
and Craig Farrow **
Damien Frost and Susan Ficek
Shelagh and Peter Godsoe *
Josefa Grassl
Kathy ADAMS Gray 1974 *
Connie and Bruce Green
Eduardo and Ana Laura Guemez
Alverna and Harry Hill
Megan HILL 1978 and Donald Cranston
Danielle GARVER 2006 and
The Garver-Hinchman Family *
Susan Hislop
Susan and David Howard **
Heather Howe and Greg Reed **
Mildred STROTHER Howson 1946 **
Patti HULL 1977
Connie and Bryce Hunter **
Patricia Hutahajan-Franch and Larry
Franch
Adele and David Imrie **
cherish,” the letter concludes.
The young student writes about how
she loves Biology and Chemistry and
Calculus; how she was on the soccer
team and part of dance shows and how
she wants to be a doctor. “Because of
your generosity, I was able to experience
a lot of the great things BSS has to offer.
For this, I am forever grateful.” 
wE OPEN ThE DOORS
FOR ONE GIRL, BUT hER
FAMILy, hER whOLE
COMMUNITy BENEFITS.
IT’S VERy REwARDING.
“Being at BSS has allowed me to be a
part of an experience that I will forever
BSS extends our gratitude to these
donors, and to all of our supporters, who
continue to generously donate to the
Annual Fund and other School initiatives.
For a complete listing of School supporters, please visit the Giving section of our
website for an online copy of the BSS
Annual Report. If you have any questions
about the 2011/12 Annual Report, or
if you would like to make a donation to
the School, please contact the Office
of Philanthropy and Alumnae Relations
at 416-483-4325 ext. 1876 or
[email protected]. Thank you.
Those who have supported BSS in
consecutive years are highlighted as
follows:
* 5-9 years of giving
** 10-19 years of giving
*** 20+ years of giving
the LINK Vol.2 · 2012/13 21
at the st. lawrence Market in downtown toronto, Marianne guizzetti, catherine grant, pat gouinlock, anne gallagher and gabrielle crisante
Strategic priority:
an engaged community
Community is the heart of BSS – and it’s never
been stronger. Here’s why. by matthew hague
T
he strong sense of kinship that
characterizes the BSS community
was developed over decades of
dedication from parents, students, faculty,
staff and alumnae. And, going forward, it
remains an important and strategic priority of the BSS Board of Governors and
Deryn Lavell, Head of School.
Fortunately, building solidarity is a
passion of everyone involved with BSS.
Just ask Anne SMALLMAN Gallagher
’81 and Gabrielle CRISTANTE ’84, cochairs of the Old Girls’ Executive Committee (OGEC). Their mandate — along
with the 13 other members of the OGEC
— is to make sure Old Girls have every
opportunity to stay connected to the
22 the LINK Vol. 2 · 2012/13
School, whether they were in the Class of
2001, or the Class of 1941. The OGEC
does this is in a great many ways, including reunion planning, friend-raising and
through their parent liaison committee.
It’s hard work — the OGEC meets
formally five or six times per year, and
the various subcommittees, including
Fundraising and Communications, get
together more frequently— but both Ms.
Gallagher and Ms. Crisante agree it’s both
necessary and intensely rewarding.
“It provides me with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when I give
back to the School that gave me so much
when I was a student at BSS,” notes Ms.
Gallagher. Ms. Crisante “agrees 100 per
cent,” adding that “in today’s increasingly
competitive environment, it’s especially
important for girls to come together, to
support each other whenever possible.
We owe this to our young alumnae, our
daughters and our granddaughters.”
One community-building idea they
are particularly excited to grow is the new
BSS Mentorship Program, launching this
spring. Young graduates (from the last 15
years) will be formally paired with established professionals in relevant fields to
help guide their higher education or the
Having tHe parents
work so closely witH
tHe scHool sets
sucH a great example
for tHe girls.
early years of their career.
Of course, this type of community
building is also hugely important for
current students and their families. And
parents play an especially vital role in
supporting the objectives of the School
and enriching their daughters’ educations
(both with academics and co-curriculars).
They do it mainly through the tireless efforts of the Parent Association (PA).
Catherine SMALLMAN Grant ’84
and Marianne Guizzetti co-chair the
30-person executive. Their core responsibilities include reaching out to new
families, nurturing communications with
the School, and facilitating student-led
learning initiatives like the Junior School
Thanksgiving Food Drive. They also assist in the organization of five much loved
events every year: the Harvest Games/
Run for a Cure, the Middle and Senior
School Father Daughter Dinner Dance,
the Junior School Tie Swap Breakfast, the
Junior School Valentine’s Day Bash and
Deck the Hall.
Although these events are great fun,
they also have a deeper purpose. “They
strengthen the relationship between
parents and the School in many ways,”
notes Ms. Grant, who has three daughters at BSS, in Grades 4, 6 and 8. “They
bring the parent and School community
together and in turn help to boost spirit
and friend-raising and help parents find a
sense of connection and belonging.”
Ms. Guizzetti, whose eldest daughter
graduated in 2011 and whose youngest is currently in Grade 10, agrees that
there are many, often unintended, benefits to being actively engaged with the
BSS community. “I first got involved
in the Parent Association to learn more
about the School, to meet parents, and
become more familiar with the School,”
she says. “However, I quickly started to
realize how much I was gaining personally by learning so much from volunteering at the School. I feel very fortunate to
have the opportunity to meet, work with
and learn from so many talented and generous parents who come and share their
diverse professional and cultural backgrounds with our community.”
For everything the PA does, it needs to
work closely with faculty and staff — to
make sure that everyone’s goals are aligned.
To accomplish this, several years ago, Patti
CARMICHAEL Pilon
’74, the first Director of
Parent Relations, and then
Head, Natalie Little realized that all parents would
greatly benefit if there was
a permanent, parent-school
liaison — someone to answer questions, represent
the School at PA meetings
and help co-ordinate the
School’s resources with the
parents’ ambitions.
For the last two years,
Patricia Gouinlock — a
Queen’s Commerce grad
with extensive not-forprofit and private sector
experience — has filled the
role as Director of Community Relations. Part of
her job is to help guide parents to the right person as specific issues
arise (who to speak with to replace a lost
blazer, perhaps). She also works closely
with Ms. Guizzetti and Ms. Grant on the
PA initiatives. For example, she helps facilitate the new Buddy Family Program,
which matches up incoming, questionfilled parents with those who have been
there, done that and have the BSS bumper
sticker to prove it.
“Community is the foundation of
BSS,” she notes, adding that having the
parents work so closely with the School
sets “such a great example for the girls.”
It is a powerful demonstration of how
teamwork, co-operation, communication and dedication result in high levels
of achievement (in the last three years, for
example, Deck the Hall — a School-wide,
PA-organized event that involves many
staff, faculty, volunteers and community
businesses — has raised over $100,000 for
BSS, all of which comes back to the girls
in the form of scholarships, awards and
other programs).
Barbara McLean, Assistant Head, Human Resources and Professional Growth,
agrees that creating a strong sense of community sets a powerful example for the
girls. “By the time our students graduate,
we don’t know what type of world they
will be going into,” she says. “But we have
to make sure they are equipped for the ever-changing, global, diverse environment
out there.”
PhotograPh by tim moon
PhotograPh by Emma mcintyrE
spotlight on strategic plan
we’re on tHe
leading edge
of tHis, but
we want to stay
tHere, so we Have
to keep working.
Barb Mclean and Deryn lavell
To Ms. McLean, one of the smartest
ways of ensuring this happens is by giving all 175 staff and faculty members the
tools they need to work closely together,
stay firmly engaged in the School, and
remain informed about and open to new
ideas — basically, to have the staff set a
strong example of what it means to be
a transformational leader and perpetual
learner.
Ms. McLean has worked closely with
Ms. Lavell, Principals, Vice Principals
and mentors of the Junior and Senior
School to help implement programs to
this effect. These include the National
School Reform Faculty program (a structured approach to work-related conversations that encourage open dialogue
and problem solving), a strong Faculty
Growth and Evaluation system and the
New Staff Orientation system and mentoring program.
Although Ms. McLean proudly admits
that she has only seen the sense of community “get better and better and better”
over the 15 years she has been at BSS, she
adds that there is still much to be done.
“We’re on the leading edge of this,” she
says. “But we want to stay there, so we
have to keep working.” 
Matthew hague is a freelance writer,
published in Toronto Life magazine, The Globe
and Mail and Reader’s Digest Canada.
the LINK Vol.2 · 2012/13 23
Girls who are involved in sports
have better self-esteem, tend to
Jan Sullivan, Sharon Jameson and Sarah Myton
PhotogRAPh by EmmA mcIntyRE
stay away from druGs and alcohol,
and perform better in school.
A HeAltHy WHole
W
hile BSS serves as an incubator
for our country’s next generation of female leaders, it can’t
keep them completely immune to society’s often mixed and confusing health
messages. So, though providing a quality
education is paramount for BSS staff, ensuring the students are adopting a healthy
perspective is also top of mind - in fact
the two endeavours intersect at BSS. Faculty and staff strive to ensure that good
health—physical, emotional, mental and
otherwise—is instilled from the Junior
School all the way through Senior School,
graduation and beyond.
Essential in this ongoing endeavour are
Athletic Director and Health and Physical Education teacher and Old Girl Sharon JAMESON ’90, and Fitness Instructor Sarah Myton. They are sitting in Ms.
Myton’s office—which opens into the fitness centre (one can hear the whir of gym
equipment in the background)—chatting
about the School’s approach to health and
the challenges of supporting a healthy girl
or teen in 2013. Both Ms. Jameson and
Ms. Myton are charged with ensuring the
girls are healthy in body. On top of teach-
24 the LINK Vol. 2 · 2012/13
ing physical education and rhythm fit
courses, as Athletic Director, Ms. Jameson
runs the inter-school athletic programs, as
well as any sport-related event on campus.
Ms. Myton teaches rhythm fit classes, coordinates the fitness program and runs the
fitness centre—which is mandatory for
use in some courses, but also open to students working out on their own accord.
One of the challenges, says Ms. Myton, is conveying that health cannot be
judged by body type. “The biggest thing is
explaining [that] everybody comes in different shapes and sizes,” she says. Ms. Myton teaches the girls the great benefits of
physical activity: being more energized for
school, feeling better, preventing disease,
increasing focus while studying. Losing
weight, she says, might be a byproduct,
but certainly isn’t the goal. Ms. Jameson
agrees: “The girls that come into the fitness centre are better at accepting their
bodies after a certain point in time.”
And just as Ms. Myton's goal is not for
every girl to attain her “perceived perfection,” Ms. Jameson is not trying to turn
every girl into an athletic powerhouse.
Rather, Ms. Jameson strives to support a
well-rounded person who carries the values, camaraderie and community spirit
she gains from athletics into all areas of
life. “In my rhythm fit class, I have the
whole gamut. I have someone who went
to the World Championships for volleyball and someone who can’t run for five
minutes. But it’s setting personal goals and
making them feel successful,” she says. “If
you're feeling good about yourself it’s half
the battle.” Half the battle, and one of
three main principles Ms. Jameson tries
to get across: “Get them to eat enough
healthy food, get in and work out, and
try and feel good about themselves are the
basic things.”
While they strive to instill basic health
principles in the classroom and at the
gym, BSS faculty studies complicated
brain science outside of teaching hours.
Over the past five years, staff members
have been researching how brain science
affects teaching and learning. As it happens, the New York Times bestseller Brain
Rules is sitting on Ms. Myton’s desk. Of
particular interest to Ms. Jameson and
Ms. Myton are studies showing that exercise not only makes students more alert
PhotogRAPhs by EmmA mcIntyRE
Improved wellness can increase academic achievement by julia leconte
for their next class (something we can
all deduce from our own lives), but that
post-workout they're actually better able
to understand complex concepts and take
in dense information. One study showed
that students who walked on a treadmill
during math class performed better. The
way Ms. Jameson and Ms. Myton work
with the girls will evolve with the research,
but for now, it’s another motivating factor
to convey to their students, who know the
rigorous academic expectations at BSS:
Sports might just make you smarter.
It’s a fitting strategy for BSS, where girls
strive for success in multiple disciplines.
“They're very high achievers…They want
to be on a team, in band, in choir, and
they do this amazing volunteer work,”
says Ms. Jameson. “Plus, academics has
become more rigorous, so add all that
together and they’re running around all
the time.” Senior years at BSS can be the
girls’ first real encounter with stress management, and it’s something Ms. Jameson
tackles in the classroom, targeting mental
In the Fitness Centre, Sarah with BSS student Tasha lin
wellness as well as physical.
As Vice Principal of Student Life at
BSS, Janice Sullivan is also tasked with the
girls' wellness as a whole. She focuses on
co-curricular programming, code of conduct and discipline. A very effective piece
of the School’s whole-health puzzle, she
says, is its Teacher Advisory Group (TAG)
program. Every teacher has a group of
between six and 10 students in a particular grade; the students remain with that
teacher advisor from Grade 7 until they
graduate. In TAG, they work on respecting one another, as well as themselves.
“They meet weekly, and there are prescribed lessons,” says Ms. Sullivan. “But a
lot of time, what it is in Grade 7 and 8,
is building healthy relationships, and that
carries through all the way.” It can also be
a forum for the girls to discuss any issues
they may be having with an adult they
trust. “It’s another nurturing adult that
they can connect with,” says Ms. Sullivan. “And it helps them to have that small
home base within the School, so hopefully they can feel a little more
connected. And that’s a big
thing.”
Feeling connected is
something Ms. Jameson’s
Senior School soccer team
has mastered, and the
coach is visibly proud when
she talks about them. She
admires the bonds she sees
forming amongst the girls
on her squad. It’s just one
of a multitude of benefits.
“Girls who are involved
in sports have better selfesteem, tend to stay away
from drugs and alcohol,
and perform better in
school,” says Ms. Jameson. “Then there's
that whole social component of being
on a team, which I think helps girls feel
like they belong, have a spot. It’s a good
support network and it lets them connect
with another adult at the School.” Naturally, it's also a guard against bullying or
school-ground animosity, because the
girls get to know and socialize with different people. “They travel on a bus with
each other for an hour and a half and they
goof around…So I think that's a great
equalizer,”says Ms. Jameson.
Ultimately, Ms. Jameson, Ms, Myton
and Ms. Sullivan are trying to lead the
girls into healthy lifestyles by example.
“One of the things that we try and do is
role modelling,” says Ms. Jameson. “In
my TAG, I encourage the girls to walk
to school or ride their bike. So if they see
their teachers riding to school, or see them
in the fitness centre working out, or going
for a run in the running club—they see
that we’re active people.”
Eventually, the staff hopes, the girls
will pass that same role modelling along,
becoming leaders themselves. The way the
BSS classroom is structured — a studentcentred, inquiry/application program
where girls are active participants and responsible for leading discussion — is an
ideal scenario for students to imitate their
teachers’ healthy habits and influence
one another, as well. “They're seeing each
other as learners,” says Ms. Sullivan. “Students actually know a lot and can teach
each other. And our deliberate approach
to incorporating healthy living into the
school day goes a long way to supporting
their efforts.” 
Julia leConte is an editor at FLARE
magazine.
the LINK Vol.2 · 2012/13 25
vOlUNTEER SPoTlIGHT
Better
together
Distinguished Service Employees unveiling new commemorative boards are: (Back, l-r) Mary
Jane MacDonald, Daniel Huntley,
Lourdes Macedo, Tony Browning, Pat Helcl, Kathy Bell, Jane
Audet, Steve Zeifman, Susannah
Ketchum, Connie Green (Middle,
l-r) Debbie Piotrowski, Darlene
Huntley, Maria Radford, Kally
Georgadonis, Lynda Robinson,
Norma Costa, Pinkie McAllister,
Dimitra Costa, Jan Sullivan, Linda
Leckie, Susan Barter (Front, l-r)
Wendy Beck, Anna Bevacqua,
Anna Schinas, Barbara Priscus,
Gill Wallace, Cathie Pfaff,
Liz Woolley
Connecting Old Girls
through Mentorship
W
e have a vibrant network of over 6,000 BSS Old Girls making important
contributions to a vast range of industries around the world – a natural
place for BSS students and recent graduates to turn for help in furthering
their own career aspirations. But how do they connect with each other? Enter the
new BSS Mentorship Program, generously supported by our founding partners
and supporters.
Stacey YUEN ’98 (right) has been an active volunteer in the BSS community since
graduation. She has co-chaired the Old Girls’ Executive Committee (OGEC) and was
involved in getting our new Mentorship Program off the ground. Now she’s thrilled
to be involved as a mentor for young alumnae. “I’m still young and I have so much to
learn,” she says. “But I look forward to contributing and being able to offer advice.”
Ms. Yuen hopes that her eclectic career path can help show students that they don’t
have to narrow themselves to only one field. After graduating from the University of
Guelph in Biological Sciences, Ms. Yuen pursued an MBA in Barcelona. She then
worked in public health in West and Central Africa working for the Clinton Foundation before moving to London for her current job in asset management.
“While I’ve only been working now for about 10 years, I hope that I can help girls
understand that they don’t have to choose only one career path. You can do anything,”
Ms. Yuen says.
The BSS Mentorship Program will have three major components: an online database that Old Girls can use to search for mentors (with BSS staff facilitating the initial
Mentor/Mentee meeting); an opportunity to leverage our Old Girl network and other
members of the BSS community to bring varied expertise to networking events and
BSS panel discussions; and a student mentorship element where current students will
connect with recent graduates still in university, helping them get a sense not just of
the end goal but also of the next steps.
Stay tuned for the official launch of the BSS Mentorship Program
this spring. To learn more or to get involved, please contact Donna Jordan, Manager,
Alumnae Events and Mentorship, [email protected] or 416-483-4325, ext. 1874.
FOUNDING SUPPORTERS
$5,000 - $24,999
The Clark and Shaw Families:
Toni and Kevin Clark, Pixie Shaw
and Sir Neil Shaw
The Lovas Family
Heather CLYDE Stewart ’81
Jalynn ROGERS Bennett ’62
Jasmine DAYA ’99 Deborah MORRIS Morrison ’71
Old Girls’ Executive Committee 2011/12
Valerie WHITTINGHAM Pringle ’71
Gilda SMART ’89
Diana DUNBAR Tremain ’59
26 the LINK Vol. 2 · 2012/13
PhotograPh by Dave Starrett
FOUNDING PARTNERS
$25,000+
lolanda, Darlene Huntley, Dimitra Costa, Anna Bevacqua, 1993
Gill Wallace, 1973
Emilio Russo, Dino DeAraujo, 1995
Tony Browning, 2002
Stephen Zeifmanm, 1987
DistinguisheD
service employees:
the spirit
of DeDication
Twenty-eight current and former BSS employees
gathered in the Great Hall recently to celebrate giving
20 or more years of service to BSS and to unveil new
commemorative boards listing those who have done
so from our founding to today. We honour and thank
all those whose expertise and dedication have made
BSS the strong school it is today.
Wendy Beck, 1997
Sian Jones, 2002
the LINK Vol.2 · 2012/13
27
Publications Mail Agreement
#40063526
Publications Account
#01873075
MAY 1-4, 2013
Wednesday, May 1
6:00 to 8:00 pm – Mentorship Networking Event
Student Centre
All Old Girls, mentors, and BSS staff past and present are
invited to come out and celebrate the launch of our new
Mentorship Program. An evening of cocktails, networking and
the official launch of this exciting new Alumnae program.
Thursday, May 2
Noon to 2:00 pm – Annual Old Girls’ Luncheon
Russell Hill Road Gym
A yearly tradition at BSS when we gather together and
celebrate with our Old Girls who graduated in 1963 or
earlier. All Old Girls invited to this event will receive
further information via Canada Post.
5:00 to 6:00 pm – Past Boarders’ Dinner
Boarders’ Dining Hall
Your Old Girl Boarder Captains for Reunion weekend:
Jennifer COOPER ’88 and Diana LUXTON ’88
All past Boarders are invited to dine alongside current
boarders. Dinner will be followed by a tour of the newly renovated
Boarding Residence.
Friday, May 3
Noon to 1:30 pm – Registration and Welcome Back
Student Centre
Hosted by the Old Girls’ Executive Committee. Come meet
the 2012/13 Old Girls’ Executive Committee, pick up your
name tag and Reunion materials, and enjoy a light lunch. Late
registration for afternoon events can be accommodated at this time.
Register for one of two 2:00 pm events* for Friday
afternoon.
*2:00 to 3:00 pm – BSS: Looking Back and Moving
Forward (meet in BSS Museum and Archives)
A fun and informative guided look through the archives
detailing some of our interesting, exciting and sometimes odd
history. The history lesson will be followed by a tour of the
School, visiting the Junior School and dropping in on some of the
Middle School and Senior School classrooms in action.
OR
*2:00 to 3:00 pm – Guided Art Tour
(Please meet at the Lonsdale Road doors. This tour will include
climbing stairs)
Join Paul Toth, Head of Visual Arts, and Senior School
students as they take you through the halls of BSS on an exciting
journey that will explore not only the wonderful artwork by current students but also the many fascinating historical pieces that
reside at the School.
4:00 to 6:00 pm – Welcome Home Reception
Head’s Quad
Join Deryn Lavell, Head of School, and BSS staff for a
casual drink. Deryn will speak about the School’s philosophy of
learning and how the facilities impact our girls’ education.
Saturday, May 4
Old Girls’ Golf Day in King City
Hosted at the private golf course of current BSS
parents Ray and Karen Arbesman and organized by Kathleen
TREBILCOCK ’98. The day begins at 10:00 am on the
9-hole, walking course (push carts only) and includes a lovely catered lunch. $50 per person. Contact Kathleen to get
involved: [email protected].
MEDICAL CONCERT
DOCTOR PIANIST
6:00 pm – Chapel Service and presentation of 50th Year
Reunion pins to the Class of 1962 and Class of 1963
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm Reunion Cocktail Party – Russell Hill Road Gym
Dinner, cocktails and Class Photos! $25 per person.
NAIDA COLE, BSS Alumna
To register for Reunion events please visit www.bss.on.ca/girls/reunion
For assistance or questions call Donna Jordan,
Manager, Alumnae Events and Mentorship at 416-483-4325 ext. 1874
When a girl uses her whole mind,
8 the LINK Vol. 1 · 2011/12
she realizes her whole potential.