Message from the Head of School & Chair of the Board of Governors

We would like to offer our personal thanks and appreciation to the entire LCC community for rallying together so effectively in what will always be remembered as the “Pandemic Year” of 2020–2021.

Our journey began in late August after months of quarantine and social isolation. Amidst the health and safety protocols and new routines, our LCC community did an extraordinary job of adapting to shifting circumstances throughout the school year. We were able to consistently focus on student and community well-being with intentionality, and we should be proud that we preserved in-person teaching and learning across all grades while so many other schools and colleges across Canada were limited to virtual education.

While the vast majority of Canadians remained at home and worked remotely, our in-person experiences made all the difference. That direct human contact, engagement, guidance, and care enabled us to deliver the LCC difference for all of our students.

Whether they worked on campus or from home, we are deeply grateful for our teachers and staff. All personnel helped to keep a human face on learning and enhanced student welfare despite the pandemic that swirled around us.

Thank you to all our Board members for their commitment to supporting LCC as we pledged to offer a safe and inclusive school environment. Their work this year was a testament to what can be achieved through virtual collaboration.

Our enrolment was at its highest level in the school’s history at the beginning of 2020–2021. We completed the fifth year of our strategic plan, Vision 20/20: Global Pathways. Its three pillars, Diversity and Accessibility, Sustainable Future, and Teaching and Learning in a New Paradigm, continued to keep us focused on strengthening our school and adapting to forces of change in ways that will sustain us well into the future.

For years, we have spoken with pride about LCC’s CORE: a strong focus on Community, unique learning Opportunities for students, first-rate Resources and a commitment to Excellence in all our programs. Despite COVID, our LCC CORE helped us strengthen our foundations in the face of significant challenge. We have many reasons to be proud.

HERE ARE A FEW KEY ACHIEVEMENTS, BOTH IN AND BEYOND THE CLASSROOM, OF THIS PAST YEAR.

+ 2020–2021 was the first full year of integration of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP), a new curricular framework for students in grades 7–10. After years of preparation, our teachers brought it to life, enriching learning for our high school students.

+ The theme of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) became fully embedded in our functioning as a school. We hosted special guest speakers, presentations on the topic were made during assemblies, and there were many classroom activities and conversations. Special thanks to our student leaders for their thoughtful initiatives and, in particular, to members of student activity groups such as CORE (Coalition of Racial Equity) and SAGA (Sexuality & Gender Acceptance) who promoted many initiatives around racial equity and gender acceptance. Our faculty, staff and parents also contributed a great deal to our community conversation. In addition, the LCC Board did a deep dive into DEI over several months, considering benchmarks and targets to make LCC a more diverse and inclusive school. We look forward to keeping the dialogue fresh and relevant on these important topics next year and beyond.

+ A focus on broadening diversity and accessibility to LCC has been one of our school’s strategic priorities for the past five years. During this time, we have conducted the Power of Possibilities Bursary Campaign to raise funds for student financial assistance. We have experienced great success and met our goal of growing our endowment to $20M in cash and pledges by the end of 2020. A few years ago, only four students were receiving bursaries of 80+ percent of tuition. As a result of the campaign, approximately 30 students now receive significant bursary assistance. This is entirely due to the generous philanthropy of people in our extended school community. We hope to see even greater financial aid resources available in the future so we can continue to further diversify our student body and be a better mirror of our community.

+ Wellness took on new meaning in the challenging days of COVID, as many activities were limited to campus-only. Our teachers, advisors, counsellors and administrators always had an eye on student mental health. Concurrently, our PE staff ran endless hours of fitness activities, skills, drills and active movement when no LCC athletic teams were allowed to compete in leagues or tournaments. Yet, our students signed up during all seasons. We were also very pleased that families could book ice time free of charge on weekends. That is when the LCC arena was one of the only facilities available in the community during the winter.

+ Virtual tools allowed students to remain focused on their studies, regardless of the shifting public health restrictions across Montreal, and we used Zoom technology frequently to connect with parents. Although most of us prefer in-person learning, we have retained the virtual option for some parentschool meetings. Also, our virtual Ask an Alum Speakers Series was a real hit and connected alumni spread across the globe for interesting seminars. It will continue post-COVID.

Special thanks to our students at all grade levels for maintaining such positive attitudes in cohorts, virtual co-curriculars, and adapted athletics options. A heartfelt congratulations to our graduating students in grade 11 and Pre-U. We are very proud of the leadership they demonstrated and of their achievements.

As the school year ended, we said farewell to two longserving faculty members, both of whom had a significant impact on a vast number of students at LCC. Special thanks and good wishes to Kim Tulloch-Wynn, our Pre-University coordinator and director of university advising, who provided 17 years of excellent service to the LCC community. Kim and her family moved to the West Coast in the summer. We also bid a fond farewell to John Vlahogiannis, social science teacher and director of faculty development, who retired after an impressive 30-year career at LCC. Our heartfelt thanks to these two influential educators for their dedication and commitment to student welfare and growth over so many years!

Although it was a challenging year, we should take pride in our community’s resilience and ability to adapt and flourish. Despite the hardships, we had a successful and productive year, and we will build on all that we have developed and learned to create an even stronger foundation across our school community.

CHRISTOPHER SHANNON (Pre-U ’76) Head of School

DAVID SCHWARTZ ’87 Chair, Board of Governors

THE LCC BOARD OF GOVERNORS 2020–2021

Chair

David Schwartz ’87

Members

John Antoniou ’84 Andrea Arthurs Kristina Ashqar ’02 (Pre-U ’03) Tom Assimes ’84 Geneviève Biron Suzanne Costom Louis Gendron Harley Greenspoon ’90 Mark Pascal ’92 Isabelle Poirier Costa Ragas ’01 (Pre-U ’02) Adam Ray Caitlin Rose ’99 Tina Serrao Michael Shatilla ’88 Lisa Steinberg Priscilla Whitehead