Classroom Enrichment

Gifts make the very fundamentals of the classroom possible. That’s part of funding a “Gap” through philanthropy at a school like ours. That’s textbooks. This year, Religion, Law, English, Social Studies and Choir all had access to new and updated textbooks for class. We were able to put new desks in several of our classrooms. Our labs were outfitted with the tools to make the lab experience most fulfilling: pigs and frogs for dissection, chemicals for experiments, as well as replacing beakers, flasks and scalpels.

There are significant costs associated with providing the Advanced Placement program, especially as we expand the pre-AP course delivery. It’s no coincidence that Advanced Placement offer for our students coincides with the introduction of our Annual Fund several years back.

There’s also those investments we make that are felt directly in the classroom. Our Library resources are funded largely through philanthropic giving. Database subscriptions, academic journals and magazines are at the fingertips of our students and accessible digitally because of increasing size of our virtual library holdings and accessible materials.

There’s, of course, people who have the biggest impact on the girls’ experience. Staff have more access to professional development than ever before because of resources made available through the Annual Fund. Whether it’s maintaining professional best practice in the delivery of the AP program, accessing workshops on teaching about faith in the classroom setting, or keeping abreast on the best practice in the delivery of new curriculum, the school is able to maintain its commitment to faculty professional development through access to resources from the Annual Fund.

When we talk about gifts enabling opportunity, there’s few better examples than the quality of electives offered to our students. More than just offering core sciences, humanities and languages—many at the AP level—we also invest resources in making our more diverse electives amazing. From Choir to Film & TV, our ICT STEM course to Studio Arts or Physical Education, there’s an opportunity to for the girls to explore passions that foster well-rounded development. This year was no exception, where the Annual Fund made critical resources available in every elective we offer.

Ultimately, there’s an immediate impact in the classroom with gifts to the Annual Fund. What, then, does that look like in an elective class? For our Athletics program this year, it meant replacing worn tents with new ones for the outdoor education camping trips for Phys Ed and new volleyball net posts for both Phys Ed and for our volleyball program. Film & TV was able to update is editing software, giving the girls better tools to go with the new cameras and sound equipment that was added last year. Our Home Economics program was the beneficiary of both new sewing machines and replacing ovens in our foods lab. The Choir is able to bring in accompanists, access copyrighted music and regularly tune and upkeep instruments.

There’s honestly too many examples to mention. What’s most important to know is that we want to say thank you for making an LFA education possible.

If you’d like to know more about a specific course or program, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Ben Fitch, Director of Advancement at fitchb@lfabc.org or 604-738-9016, ext. 104.