Dear Mulgrave students, parents, faculty and staff,

As we launch ourselves into the new school year, I’d like to reflect on some notable achievements for Mulgrave over the past twelve months.

1. Finances

Once again the administrative team with the assistance of Mark Beddis, our Treasurer, and the Finance Committee have guided Mulgrave to another year of solid financial performance. In addition, the remarkable generosity of our community during the Annual Giving Campaign and the Spring Gala allowed us to extend the Financial Aid programme to more than double its previous level and also to enhance educational and athletic offerings to all students.

During the year, the Finance Committee undertook a review of our overall financing structure in the light of the lower interest rate environment and an updated property appraisal which showed that our land and facilities have more than doubled in value since the original loan was taken out. Despite initial enthusiasm from our bank in exploring refinancing options, they were not able to present us with a proposal which offered significant benefits over our current arrangement and we were not able to persuade them to relax the arbitrary limits they have imposed on lending to non-profits despite our increased collateral. Mark will continue to assess financing options going forward.

2. Enrollment

Despite the market recession and the impact I know it has had on many of our families, once again we are fully enrolled. This is both a reflection on the value our parents place on the educational experience Mulgrave is providing for their children and the tireless effort since the beginning of the year by Tony Macoun and the Admissions staff. The reputation of our school continues to grow and each year we meet more and more new families who are actively seeking an IB education and are attracted by Mulgrave’s values and ethos. We are also very much aware that we have to provide a clearly differentiated offering in what is one of the strongest public school districts in Canada and one in which the IB is gaining increasing status. As a board, our focus remains on creating the conditions in which our amazing faculty and staff can continue to enhance and extend Mulgrave’s ability to “inspire excellence in education and life”.

3. The Graduating Class

Each year we have seen an encouraging improvement in the results and achievements of our Diploma Programme graduating classes. I would like to congratulate the class of 2009 in their accomplishments, both in terms of strong scores in their Diploma exams and also in securing admission to top universities around the world. As a board, we recognize that the success of our graduating class is one of the most important, and most visible, measures of the progress of the school as a whole and we strongly believe that the IB Diploma Programme represents the best preparation for university and life. We will therefore be applying particular attention to the senior school and supporting Tony and Mike Moore in their efforts to maintain the rate of progress.

4. Early Learning Centre

I am delighted to welcome Sara Sarantopolous and her colleagues from West Vancouver Montessori as our new Early Learning Centre team. Mulgrave is very fortunate to be able to take on such an amazing group of educators who made WVM the strongest preschool on the North Shore. As you will have seen, construction of the new facility on our campus is underway, although it was somewhat delayed by frustrations over the development permit leading to the traffic issues we have been experiencing in the last few days. We are still hopeful that the facility will be completed in time for January.

Whilst we are delighted with the achievements of last year, the board is already focused on the challenges and opportunities for the future.

1. Land

Each time I write a letter to the community, I hope to be able to provide you with news of significant progress in our objective to ensure that the impending development of the lands around Mulgrave does not enclose us from all sides. Our prime target has been the five acre lot immediately behind the school but after a lengthy and frustrating series of negotiations, we have been forced to withdraw as the owner continually increased his target price. We are not giving up on this piece of land but it would not have benefitted the school to persist with the process at this time. The owner will now submit a subdivision plan for consideration by council and, assuming he does not wish to reopen negotiations for the entire lot, we will consider bidding for the subdivided lots in due course. Unfortunately, this may mean that the owner will choose to clear the land in preparation for subdivision and there is little we can do to stop this process.

In the meantime, I have been pursuing the opportunity to acquire the other lots surrounding the school which are largely owned by British Pacific Properties. They have signalled their willingness to sell and have already shown that any discussions and negotiations will be rapid and professional. Once again, I hope to give you some positive news with some real progress in the near future.

2. Traffic flow

Based on the detailed traffic and parking study carried out last year, the Buildings and Grounds Committee developed a plan for improvement of traffic flow in and out of the campus. The key issue which emerged from the study was the bottleneck at the junction of Cypress Lane and Cypress Bowl Road. It was determined that a number of changes to the geometry of the intersection, including an extended turning lane and a larger corner radius, would improve the flow of traffic into the campus. We are in the process of obtaining permits for these amendments but, unfortunately, will probably not be able to carry out the work until next summer as the engineers estimate a four week construction period. These changes will have some beneficial effect on outbound traffic as the sight line to the left will be improved for vehicles exiting Cypress Lane. However, the only way to significantly improve this outbound flow, and the safety of this junction, would be to install a peak-hour traffic light. We have been able to establish preliminary support for this proposal from the Ministry of Highways but we do not yet have full approval or the necessary permit. The Committee will continue to pursue this goal.

3. New Head

As you know, this will be Tony’s last year as Head of Mulgrave and we have the unenviable task of trying to find a Head who can continue his record of achievement. I’d like to thank everyone who took time to respond to the survey or personally give their input regarding the characteristics and qualities we should be seeking. The position was advertised in May and we received a remarkable number of responses which were analysed and filtered by our search consultant, Laverne Smith. The Head Search Committee, under the leadership of Sherrin Lim, has been very active over the summer and has met with a number of exceptional candidates who are current Heads of IB schools across the globe. We have now identified our preferred candidates from this very strong pool and I hope to be able to be in a position to make an announcement within the next six weeks or so.

4. Annual Giving

As is fitting in the year when Mulgrave will serve as a Community Partner to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, the theme of this year’s Annual Giving campaign is ’Serving our Community’. In the Mulgrave Mission Statement, we undertake to teach our children how to “support others and to make a difference by serving their communities, both locally and in the world at large”. The essence of ’community’ is participation. In the Annual Giving Campaign we call on everyone in the Mulgrave community to participate by giving whatever they can toward the greater good of our students and our school. Every donation counts, no matter how small.

Regards,

Donald Kirkwood
Chairman