Annual Report 2014-15
362 Mariposa Ave. Ottawa, Canada ashbury.ca
124 staff members supported our students
The year began with the opening of our new Creative Learning Centre. From left to right, ribbon cutters: Chris Teron ’76, Chair of the Property and Building Committee, Jane Watson, National Arts Centre Foundation Chair, Meena Roberts, Chair of the Board of Governors and Ottawa Mayor, Jim Watson.
Ashbury’s Significant Digits
17
students per class (average)
55/45 split of boys and gi rls in student population
690 students
40 years of IB
CTV’s Ottawa Morning Live visited Ashbury’s new Creative Learning Centre last October to see first hand our students’ creative learning.
Message from the Head
T
his is Ashbury’s first Annual Report, where I am pleased to provide updates on our first year of the 2014-19 Strategic Plan, school news and the many markers of a thriving schol. Ashbury College is a community that brims with enthusiasm and a passion for our school and learning that runs deep. Our direction remains rooted in our strategic plan—embracing the notion of excellence and innovation in teaching and learning, leveraging the resources of the National Capital Region, developing enriched and experiential opportunities for students, and globalizing perspectives—with our core values being lived each and every day. The class of 2015 continued Ashbury’s record of strong university placement and the ever important connect between student and teacher, and student and coach, which remain central to developing each student’s potential. Discussions around pedagogy, assessment and evaluation, the place of IT and our now 40-year-old IB program were an important part of our program developments this past year. Allowing students to find space to explore many of their own interests remains a large part of the Ashbury experience. Participation in athletics is high in a range of intramural and interscholastic offerings, and non-sports teams thrive in robotics, debate and
Model United Nations. I am not sure if our new Creative Learning Centre has sparked a renaissance, but the artwork around the school is terrific and our musicians in both the Junior and Senior Schools won honours in the city and province! Our students lived this year in safe and respectful learning environment and the sense for global citizenship remains high. The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon noted that “education is much more than entry to the job market, it has the power to shape a sustainable future and better world and should promote peace, mutual respect and environmental care”. At Ashbury, one of our strengths is our diversity, and this year we engaged with each other and the world around us and embraced inclusive dialogue. The list of events and activities at Ashbury may seem exhaustive, as we continually find the balance between offering all, and developing key centres of excellence. Alumni young and old remain interested in what we are doing, and where we are heading. The message that the critical ingredient to the Ashbury experience is the teachers in the students’ charge resonates, as do those special experiences outside the classroom. Our plan to increase access through a more meaningful financial
aid program for students also resonates. Community interest for Ashbury was witnessed equally at alumni receptions held on campus in Ottawa, Kingston, Montreal, Toronto, Lagos and London. I look forward to keeping that passion ignited for future Ashbury alumni. Your support as parents and alumni, staff and governors, has been vital in bringing Ashbury College to where we stand today. Thank you for the commitment you have shown to ensuring programs of excellence for our students. Je vous invite à lire notre rapport annuel—ceci vous donne un aperçu d’une année scolaire remplie de succès et un avenir prometteur! Sincerely,
Norman Southward Head of School
Academic Excellence
C
hallenging curriculum and inspiring teachers are hallmarks of an Ashbury education. We continued to develop our teaching and learning excellence this year, bringing innovation and creativity to our classrooms and preparing students for life outside our campus.
133 graduates
43
Nicholas Sullivan, Grade 9, was presented with the gold medal in the Pascal competition in April. He was one of handful of students from across Canada to score 100% on the test, organized by the University of Waterloo’s Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing.
different universities
2015 Graduates’ Program of Study 36% arts
33% science & engineering
28% business
8 3% of
graduates were awarded university merit scholarships
3% fine arts
$1.1
million in scholarships accepted by graduating students
Head of Senior School, Gary Godkin, presented Sarah Peters ’15 with the Edwards Cup for the Greatest Contribution to Interhouse. Sarah is now studying at Cornell University.
48 %
of graduates completed a t least one IB certificate
106
academic awards distributed at Closi ng
31
full IB diplomas awarded at Closing
115
Ontario Scholars
English teacher John M. Richardson recently received his Doctorate in Education from the University of Calgary’s Werklund School of Education. His research examined the ways in which teenagers raised in the Internet era experience live theatre. CBC Radio’s “Q”, and the National Post, covered his work in the spring.
Community
A
shbury’s committed and connected community remains its most valuable resource. A dedicated faculty, devoted volunteers, and supportive donors all work in unison to provide an exceptional experience for our students. Thank you to everyone to gave their time, their expertise, or their dollars to help Ashbury this year.
In May, over 400 Ashbury students joined together to form the largest ever team to participate in the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, raising over $23,000 for the Ottawa Hospital’s cancer programs.
4
partners
20
177 volunteers
sponsors
357 annual gifts
Ashbury resurrected its Springfest celebration in 2015, bringing parents, students and alumni back to campus for a day of fun, and Mayor Watson dropped by to congratulate participants of the Colour Run.
$11+ million school endowment
Ashbury’s Class of 1984 returned to campus to celebrate their 30-year reunion.
$43,145 raised at the golf tournament
Alumni Participation Rates
Homecoming 180+ London, UK 65 50 Springfest Toronto 40 Kingston 25 Boston & Montreal 15
$206,976 raised at the Ashbury Ba ll
133 new alumni pinned
Several Ashbury parents shared their academic and career journeys at a speaker event in February.
Character Development
F
rom our active debate club to thought-provoking presentations courtesy of our World Affairs Club, Ashbury students were challenged to think critically this year. Exposure to, and the opportunity to reflect on, issues that matter is a foundation that Ashbury has continued to develop for the last 124 years.
42
d speakers addresse the school
3,728 books checked out from the Ashbury School Library
“The academic experience I have had at Ashbury has been remarkable. My ambitions are high and the level of difficulty of the work I am doing is finally allowing me to take these goals further. The people, the academics and the support are all motivating me to achieve academic excellence. My favourite part of Ashbury is the inspiring group of people that attend it. This group of people will be the world leaders, inventors and revolutionists of tomorrow and I am so pleased to be working side by side with them. I am now closer to pursuing my dreams of helping to build the base of society of the people from my family’s home country. I hope to make real changes for those who have suffered lacking healthcare and inadequate means for living in Sudan. Ashbury is helping me reach this ambition of mine. So, I thank you again for your generosity. You have not only provided me with the opportunity to come to Ashbury College, an amazing school, but the chance to make my dreams come true.” Khatra Ibrahim, Grade 11 Recipient of the Baxter Family International Baccalaureate Bursary
25
hot topics tackled by debate club
From Afghanistan to Ashbury: Roya Shams received her diploma in June 2014, three years after fleeing her home city of Kandahar under Taliban threat. Ashbury was the only school in Canada to offer Roya a chance to continue her education. Roya received a $20,000 scholarship to the University of Ottawa, awarded for overcoming significant and long-term life challenges. She is studying political science and social science.
41
scholarsh ips & bursaries awarded
worth
$376,000
71
students put in
258
hours of rehearsal for Ashbury musical productions Nearly 900 ticket holders enjoyed Ashbury Musicals’ spring performance of The Wizard of Oz.
Personal Growth
A
shbury challenges its students to take risks and to strive for excellence—whether on the field or in the community. This year our students collected snowsuits for the Snowsuit Fund, filled backpacks full of hygiene products and snacks to distribute to our city’s street youth, travelled abroad to provide service to others, and celebrated athletic success. The connections forged through theses experiences develop leadership, build compassion and foster collaboration in our students.
80+
backpacks filled for Ottawa street youth as part of the Angels With Backpacks initiative
Julia Malone, Grade 11, captured the OFSAA gold medal in golf in October.
Ashbury College Athletics Teams represented NCSSAA at OFSAA
OFSAA Gold Medals
OFSAA Bronze Medals
City Semi-Finalists
10 2 4 3
2014-15
City Finalists
City Championships
5
8
885 tweets sent
It was a busy year for Mitch Kurylowicz ’15 who received the Education First Global Citizen Scholarship and the City of Ottawa’s Mayor’s City Builder Award for his work raising more than $500,000 for Project Jenga, his charity to help build schools for boys in rural Kenya.
4,000
hours of community service completed by senior students Junior students travelled to the Dominican Republic in June for a service trip that included building a park at an orphanage for children with disabilities.
Over 80% of senior students participated in at least one interscholastic sport last year.
International Engagement
F
rom its location in the heart of Canada’s bilingual national capital, Ashbury has the ability to connect with the world. With students from 48 different countries on our campus, our diverse community allows us to foster students to the perspectives, values and traditions of all cultures. At Ashbury, one of our strengths is our diversity, and our challenge is to engage with each other and the world around us while embracing inclusive dialogue. Engaging students with choice and opportunity— whether at home or abroad—remains an essential ingredient to the full Ashbury experience.
International Day provides an opportunity for students to celebrate cultural food, music and dance.
7
international trips and school exchanges
50 nationalities represented
12
grads from the class of 2015 heading to US and UK Universities
Grade 4s participated in a Mystery Skype exercise in April to connect with another Grade 4 class somewhere in the world. Through a series of engaging questions over several sessions, the students were able to figure out the other class’s location: Ethiopia!
6
ls lived Round Square idea
democracy international
leadership
environmentalism adventure
service
Exchange students from the Discovery School in Mexico visited the Junior School in the spring and hosted a colourful fiesta to promote cultural sharing.
30
countries represented in our boarding population
Ashbury Guild
T
he Ashbury College Guild has been a pillar of fundraising and friend-raising at our school for many years. Each fall this dedicated group of parents hosts the Ashbury Ball—our single largest community fundraising event of the year. The Guild is very much involved in the fund allocation process and this year approved the following expenses: Donation to the CLC $100,000 Guild Endowment Bursary
$10,000
Donation to the Fitness Centre
$40,000
Guild donations purchased a number of puppets for the Junior School drama classes allowing for expression in creative learning.
$8,000 of-year raised at the ende Used Uniform Sal
15,000 Ashbury cookies baked
Ashbury hosted the Interguild event in May and featured a talk by CBC journalist and author, Mellissa Fung, front centre, who spoke about her experience covering the war in Afghanistan.
Foundation Board $454,000 raised through fundraising events
Results by Program:
Total Gifts: $1,020,000
SPARK - $666,000 Endowment - $210,000
T
his has been another great year for Ashbury College and the Ashbury College Foundation. Our community is dedicated to supporting our students—both now and in the future—and we all benefit from that generosity. Last year, Ashbury’s Leadership Team developed a comprehensive strategic plan to see the school through the next five years. Part of that plan is to expand access to students of merit and potential by means of financial assistance. The Ashbury College Foundation is proud to steward a growth plan for our endowment that will support an enriched aid program. When we embarked on the strategic plan, we at the Foundation took this as a call to action for the areas of support. We are proud to announce investments to school infrastructure for athletics and science, with major renovations currently nearing completion in the new fitness centre and revitalized science wing. None of these accomplishments would have been possible without the hard work of many volunteers and staff—but most importantly, your support of the school. Thank you.
Annual appeal - $144,000
David C. Pigott ’79, Chairman Ashbury College Foundation Results by Constituency: 58% 33% 6% 2% Current and Past Parents
The Ashbury College Foundation invested improvements to the school’s athletics programs this year, by providing financial support to the new fitness centre.
Organizations
Other
Alumni
Staff
1%
Board of Governors
T
he Board is happy to report that, under the strong leadership of our Head of School, Ashbury continues to enjoy full enrollment; we have seen growing waitlists in many grades; our boarding program is the envy of the independent school community and our financial performance is very healthy. Our Creative Learning Centre project is done and we are glad to report that the school has outperformed on every metric—project planning, completion, financial management and fundraising. We are in year two of implementing our 2014-2019 Strategic Plan, focusing full tilt on our program excellence, teaching and learning excellence, and the organizational capacity we need to achieve it. The work of the Board has focused on ensuring that our strategic priorities are implemented, as per plan, and that our priorities are well resourced so we can achieve the desired results. Implementation oversight and resourcing, of course, are not enough. It is important to know what goals we are seeking to achieve. To this end, the Board has also approved key performance goals and milestones to track, on your behalf.
To date, we’ve invested in defining and supporting teaching and learning excellence; we’ve invested in technology; in faculty PD; in augmenting personalized student supports. We’ve also set higher targets for our financial aid program allowing more students with merit and potential to benefit from it each year. Our work in 2015-2016 will build on last year’s by initiating strategic partnerships with other organizations so we can be efficient in how we innovate and adapt. We have heard a great deal about resilience and character development from you. This year, we will focus on this key strategic priority. I wanted to say a huge thank you to Norman Southward, our leadership team, our faculty, my Board colleagues and the army of parent and alumni volunteers—all of you share credit for delivering another successful year. Thank you. It’s a team effort! Respectfully, Meena Roberts Board Chair
Board Representation
Total: 45
Parents Alumni/ Parents Alumni Other
Strategic Plan 2014-19 Report Card Year 1
Develop our culture of excellence and innovation in teaching and learning Successful Ministry of Education Inspection with a focus on “Growing Success–Assessment and Evaluation, as of and for learning” Developed IT Strategy, for Integration in Teaching and Learning–Ashbury Connects 1-1, learning in a multi-device world
Enrich each student’s unique personal growth and character development within our coeducational environment Focus on character development themes Began “Making Caring Common” initiative as part of Harvard University project Explored and updated student leadership opportunities, Grades 4-12
Expand access to an Ashbury education for students with merit and potential through a meaningful financial assistance program Focused planning for increased Financial Aid opportunities for aspiring Ashbury students Increased the number of students to receive Financial Aid for future years
Leverage our stakeholder and community connections to enrich the student experience Introduced a variety of cross-curricular speakers to students and the community Launched our 125th Planning Committee to celebrate this important milestone in 2016
Manage our resources for long-term sustainability Completed our new Creative Learning Centre (CLC) and re-purposed new teaching spaces Developed Key Performance Indicators for our Board for ongoing oversight and tracking
Ashbury Donors
We thank our donors and partners for their ongoing support of our programs over the past year. Founders Circle $10,000+ Anonymous Ashbury College Guild Rob Ashe and Sandra Herrick Cynthia Baxter Peter Becke and Deborah Bradley Brown’s Fine Food Services Inc. Gilles Desjardins and Céline Bériault Doherty & Associates Co. Ltd. Philip and Beata Garel-Jones Antonio Guimaraes and Kathryn Tremblay John and Crickett Lindgren W. Allan MacEwen ’72 Duncan MacTavish ’66 Grant McDonald and Carol Devenny Anil and Monica Mital The Molson Foundation Sean Murray ’82 and Jamilah Taib-Murray Anthony and Rosemary Nichols Martin Parizeau and Sheryl Green-Parizeau Ned ’55 and Liz Rhodes John, Jennifer, Nikola ’09, and Sonya ’11 Ruddy Richard and Michelle Sachs Scott ’88 & Tracey Parkes and Mike ’90 & Angela Taggart Teron Family Foundation
Drs. Raman Tuli and Caroline Bigué Debbie and David Weinstein Michael and Jacqui Wilson Governors Circle $5,000+ Bryan Altshuller and Sheryl Blumenthal Stephen ’81 and Sandra Assaly James Carere and Nathalie Teboul Dr. Chris and Donna Carruthers Dr. John and Gloria Connelly David and Jill Dickinson Richard and Michelle Dixon Dan and Penny Dodge Dr. Margaret Ann Fraser Drs. Michael and Karen Fung Kee Fung Ward and Jill Griffin Lisa Hunt Albert Lightstone and Kirsten Torgersrud Sir Michael ’51 and Sibyl Marshall Adam W. Matthews ’89 John G. Mierins ’77 David ’79 and Janet Pigott Emile and Cheryl Rodrigues Jim Smellie ’67 and Cathy Fulton Elizabeth Vered Mr. and Mrs. M. Waters
Headmasters Circle $1,000+ Anonymous Dogan and Elizabeth Akman T. Christie, Louise, John ’75, Daniel ’78 and David ’85 Arnold Lynn Beckett and Douglas Kennedy Estate of John L. Beedell C. Winston Bennett ’99 William ’57 and Joan Birbeck Kevin Bon ’92 Phil Charron Stanley and Estrella Cheer Dr. Omer and Fedwa Choudhri Stephen and Kerry deBlois Lee Goodwin Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP David Graham and E. Ann Moran
Ken and Jacqueline Guarisco David Henley and Nadine Sandercock Bruce Hillary ’57 Dr. Michael and Catherine Hodgins Rick and Catherine Hunter R.T. Kenny ’48 Greg Kozlowski and Leslie Miles Dr. Minh Leha and Anh Tuyet Nguyen Charles Maclaren ’71 Karen McAndrew Benjamin Merkley ’95 and Véronique French Merkley Mussani Christopher Nowakowski ’55 Timothy Orr and Lori O’Neill Stephen Perry Les and Meredithe Rechan Sarah Reid
Michael Robinson and M.L. Walsh Scotiabank Dr. Maneesh and Menisha Sharma Hugh and Hally Siddons Wendy Smith - In Memory of Gordo Randy Stringer ’88 Rob Tamblyn ’82 Dr. Fabiano and Donna Taucer Louisa and Chris Teron Top Marks Drs. Dang-Toan Truong and Mai-Huong Leha Ross and Mary Ann Varley Steven Williams and Dr. Melissa Forgie Yihao Yang and Fang Fang Chen Noriko Yoshizawa and Jose Urena Mr. Guoqing Zhao Min Zhu
Ashbury Partners
Mark of Excellence !
Paul St. Louis
Gary Zed
The Mrak Family
OTTAWA LUXURY PROPERTIES
The Sezlik Family
Housemasters Circle $500+ Anonymous Beverley Armitage and Ian Rhodes Mary and Leslie Barnes Family Fund Patrick Bartlett ’91 Guy and Elspeth Blondin Douglas Boeckh and Joseline Beaulieu Spankie Boitumelo Bryce Conrad and Isabelle Ryder Neil Charbonneau ’94 Dan and Liz Craigen The Earl B. Connell Foundation Robert D. and Alexandra Evershed David Fair ’48 Steven and Jennifer Garland John H. Gill ’52 Alan Gill ’62 John Greenough and Dr. Ingrid Tiessen John Henderson ’65 Andrew ’84 and Lisa ’84 Inderwick Guy Jammes and Cynthia Cusinato Paul Kadziora ’80 Wesly Kowalski and Richard Turpin Paul Lepsoe and Dr. Jane Prud’homme Dr. Yu Li and Dongyan Zhao Lyne and Kevin Lloyd Rob Marland and Jane Forsyth Tam and Jan Matthews Alexandra Milroy Dr. Ron and Frances Monaghan Malcom Mousseau and Judi Shum-Mousseau Bruce and Kelly Mutch Myers Automotive Group Duong Nguyen and Sarah Connelly ’95 Andrew Nichols ’91 Noel Perera and
Diane Bamford Tony ’86 and Pia Rhodes Victor and Rena Saikaley Ray Satterthwaite and Louise Gervais Brian J. Scott ’67 Col. A.H. Carington Smith Dr. Daniel Smith and Beverley Kirshenblatt Arthur and Adrienne Smith-Windsor Norman Southward and Dr. Anna Rumin Dr. Firouzeh Tabatabaei and
Stella Billy-Ashogbon Michael Barnes ’73 Aline and John Bethune Alexander Bleeker Ole Böök ’54 Carol and John Boone ’56 Pierre Boulet and Rosemary Thompson Ingrid Boyd Henry Brandeis ’15 W. Ross Brown ’79 and Toni Tothill-Brown James E. Burke ’52 Martin Connell ’70 Kent G. Cook ’50-’61
Brad Hampson ’82 Sarah-Jane Harriz Stephany Hernandez ’15 Jeffrey Hill ’91 Sarah Hill ’15 Susan and Todd Hixson Ross Holman Col. Richard Humbert ’52 Sascha Jammes ’15 Craig Kamcke ’55 James A. Kenny ’02 Bob Kenny ’72 Michael King and Family Mitchell Kurylowicz ’15 Jon and Monica Landon
Mehdi Shamsi Ardekani Huasheng Teng and Xiaoyu Lu Gavan Power and Camille Therriault-Power Philip ’89 and Vanessa von Finckenstein The Yau Family
Frederique Delapree ’97 Qiao Di and Yanhong Xu Brian and Catherine Dickson Brendan Duffley ’15 Michael Evans ’76 Gabriela Foresti ’15 Dr. Martin and Janice Friedlich Drs. Alain and Stephanie Gauthier Alex Graham ’82 Ross Graham ’15 Cathy, Joshua ’99 and Stuart ’03 Gray Richard Grogan David and Jacqueline Halton
Sophie Lemieux ’15 Marc and Nina Anna LePage Dr. Jamie Levitz ’62 Yichang Liu ’15 Alana Lobb Jamie and Julie (Amos) Lockington Bryan MacKinnon Rev. Arthur MacRae ’49 Michael and Heidi McSweeney Shauna Monaghan Brian Morrison ’82 Sean and Tracy Murphy Roy, Dorothy, Jillian ’90 and Julie ’92 Napier Jonathan David Nelson
Donors Anonymous Dr. Samuel and Liliane Adjaye-Kwofie Julia Aimers Astra Ambrister Paul and Nancy Amos Armen Ashekian ’97 Daniel Ashogbon and
Tui Noonan and Alex ’02 Noonan Frances Outerbridge Anthony Paish ’50 Sarah Peters ’15 Robin Porter Jeremy Pottinger Tate Rechan ’15 John and Megan Richardson Kaveh ’82 and Caroline ’83 Rikhtegar Victor Rivers ’58 Andrew Robertson ’03 Conor Robertson ’09 Alyssa Satterthwaite ’15 Dave and Barbara Saville Hugh ’88 and Sally Scott Robert Short Marilynne Sinclair Gordon Smith ’82 Jacqui Squires Dejan and Danijela Stojanovic Brian Storosko Stephen Suh ’79 Tony and Sharleen Tattersfield and Family Ian Tattersfield ’06 Matthew Tattersfield ’96 Greg Taylor ’96 Rick and Christine Tordon Chapman, Victorine and Illesha ’10 Uko Guy and Elizabeth Valentine Jan H. Van Roijen ’55 Darcy Walsh ’95 Kyler Wang ’15 Matt Wearring William Weeks ’51 Bruce Weiner ’71 Patrick Welsh ’02 Gerry Wharton ’52 Vicky Wilgress and Tyler Wilgress ’03 John Woods ’48 Stephen Woollcombe ’57 Jennifer Wright and Neale Gillespie Christine Yan ’15
Join us in 2016 as we celebrate 125 years as Canada’s proudest independent school.
Canadian Accredited Independent Schools
12 1891 2016