St. Anne’s School Next Steps

SAS

another year of progression

st. anne’s takes next steps to open school for girls

By Nicolette Fleming

The Cygnets Centre is ready to welcome the First Cygnets in September 2022.

Clockwise from bottom centre:

Sabrina D’Angelo, Samantha Scheepers, JJ Patterson, and Rebecca Williams

The launching of St. Anne’s School can only be described as full steam ahead. The gas pedal is floored, and we are speeding toward opening day.

This September, two classes of Grade 9 students will be welcomed. Girls in this exclusive founding year, the graduating class of 2026, will set the tone for years to come.

“The foundation of St. Anne’s is based on opportunity, exploration, and discovery,” says Sabrina D’Angelo, Head of School. “We want these incredible students to be central to the development of the school’s mission, principles, and values. They are going to make history.”

Sabrina has personally interviewed all incoming Grade 9 students and intends to keep that momentum going as long as it’s sustainable. She is incredibly invested in the lives of the girls who will make up the inaugural class and cannot wait to introduce them to a world of possibilities.

While the main campus is still under construction, the 2022-2023 school year will be spent in a facility dubbed the Cygnets Centre on the St. Andrew’s College campus, with a goal to relocate it to the nearby SAS campus in early 2023. In December, the eight-room Cygnets Centre was revealed, complete with herringbone floors, comfortable and fashionable furnishings, modern lighting, warm paint hues, and delightful wallpaper. It is a welcoming space with classrooms, an art and wellness studio, a changeroom, and lounge areas for teachers, students, and parents.

This unique space isn’t just for Year 1. Once the students move into the main campus, the building will be carefully transported to the main site to be used as additional classroom space as admissions continue to grow with the introduction of Grades 5 through 9 for September 2023. Interest in these grades is already remarkably high, with more than 100 families attending both the March and April open houses.

“The experience has been humbling,” says Sabrina. “Founding a school has certainly come with its many challenges, but interest in enrolling has not been one of them.”

There have also been no difficulties finding the right people to join the leadership team. Sabrina has been joined by JJ Patterson from Havergal College as Assistant Head of School, Director of Upper School, SAC’s Samantha Scheepers as Associate Director, Academics, and SAC’s Rebecca Williams as Executive Assistant to the Head of School. Additional

faculty applications are rolling in as programming is developed for September 2022 and 2023.

“Not just anyone can take on this amazing adventure. It takes significant perseverance and passion to begin a project as big as this one. Along with my many SAC colleagues, I am grateful we have found an excellent SAS team to take us across the finish line,” says Sabrina.

Starting a new school doesn’t just demand brainpower and planning; it requires the financial commitment of many people to bring the physical buildings to life. The Dream it Forward Campaign initiated last year supports the development of physical spaces and programs to ensure exceptional facilities and diverse programming is offered to spark curiosity, creativity, and innovation.

Because of the proximity of the two campuses, students from SAS and SAC will share some facilities in the early days as building on the main campus continues. But most importantly, students from both schools can look forward to coming together for community service initiatives and co-curricular events, such as Arts/Co-curricular Plus, the fall play, and the Focus Festival of the Arts. These authentic social and working opportunities will allow students at both institutions to develop comfort in mixedgender settings, destabilize gender stereotypes, and engage in conversations and learning and teaching from a different lens.

A comparison of the campus pre-construction to now doesn’t indicate the amount of behindthe-scenes work that has happened. Most of the important details are hidden behind the walls, ceilings, and floors to include structural supports, fireproofing, and sprinklers to bring the house to code for institutional use.

Spacious classrooms with an abundance of natural light are beginning to take shape. The two-storey Fab Lab makerspace is sure to encourage and engage students in specialized programming focused on STEM/STEAM. A glass vestibule is being added outside the main student entrance, where the girls will be greeted daily by dedicated staff.

All of the work is being completed with sustainability top of mind. Many materials are being repurposed from the house, and great care has gone into protecting the architectural features that make St. Anne’s School unique.

Applications are now open for Grades 5 through 9 for September 2023. Visit www.stannes.ca to learn more about all St. Anne’s can offer girls in our local community. You can also follow the SAS journey on social media or sign up to receive the monthly Trumpeter’s Note.

To date, donors to the Dream it Forward Campaign have been most interested in establishing the school’s endowment fund to allow students from all socio-economic backgrounds to benefit from a St. Anne’s education. After one year of fundraising, the Advancement team at St. Andrew’s has secured cash and pledges of $9.6M, of which $7.25M is earmarked for endowment.

Every dollar matters and there is an opportunity for everyone to partner with SAS in support of the capital development of the St. Anne’s campus. If you are interested in learning more about naming opportunities or other ways to support the Dream it Forward Campaign, contact St. Andrew’s Executive Director of Advancement, Greg Reid, at greg.reid@sac.on.ca.