Author: SFA Editor

As we have all been celebrating the season of Advent and preparing for a different celebration of Christmas this year, we have also been progressing our school development plans.

We are incredibly happy to announce that we just received a further $50,000 from the Rina Biden Foundation towards the Capital Campaign. We are grateful for the support of this foundation who also contributed $50,00 last year towards the campaign. This generous donation along with the money that we raised at the family dance, plus weekly contributions from the parish and the Knights of Columbus bring our total raise in 2020 for the School Building Fund to $95,000 which is remarkable given this most unusual year. This brings our total current Building Fund to $385,000 which will allow us to continue with the Building Development process while we await the sale of the convent site and the Capital Campaign.

We have now held two workshops with SFA staff to begin to hone a new schematic design for the school.  We are awaiting initial feedback from the City of Vancouver and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver and hope to be able to share the design concept with you in the early new year which proposes that we retain and upgrade our existing school building and build a new wing to house a gymnasium, classroom, and flexible learning space.

And lastly, if you are looking for ways to connect with the Campaign or are looking for more information, we have just updated the website so please check it out here.

Wishing you a most blessed and joyful Christmas,

Father Eugenio Aloisio
Pastor

Mrs. Anne Yam
Principal

At the school Annual General Meeting in February we announced that we would be looking for new solutions to achieve the school upgrades that we desire while keeping the budget within the previously agreed range for our Parish to support.

On October 7^th we met with the Advisory Board to review the options document prepared by our development consultant and agreed to change the scope of the school redevelopment from a complete demolition and rebuild on our existing Victoria Drive site to a seismic upgrade and renovation of our existing building with the addition of a wing to hold the gymnasium, library, and some multi-use space. Our preliminary cost estimates indicate that this project would be achievable within the funding estimates that we proposed in our original Business Case to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver (RCAV). This would still include a Capital Campaign and would of course necessitate the sale and development of parish property.

We now have the architects (KMBR) of our original plan revising and simplifying their plans to meet this new design scheme. Once done we should have more clear information to share on the look and feel, costs, and timeframe for the new building. As this is a much simpler build, we should also be able to keep the children safely onsite during the construction.

While we have been progressing the redevelopment plans, we have also been preparing to jump-start our Capital Fundraising Campaign by taking the steps required once again to sell the convent site adjacent to the church. We have now received permission on behalf of the parish finance committee to sell the property, so we are in the midst of seeking the required formal permission from the RCAV. Once received we will start the listing process which we expect to commence in the new year.

The promise of a new and renewed St. Francis of Assisi elementary school will require the support of each and every one of us and we hope that we will all seek ways both large and small to support our efforts to build for the future. There are still many unanswered questions – such as – ‘When can we start!?’

We will be working with the City of Vancouver over the next couple of months to review and hopefully gain acceptance for our proposed new school plans and hope therefore to have concrete answers to your questions in early 2021. We know that for many of you the promise of a new school has been a long-awaited dream that seemed as though it would never come true. However, we always believed that prayer, patience, and planning would prevail.

And lastly, we realize that these last months have put many families under added emotional and financial strain so we will continue to pray for the health and safety of ALL within our community while we work to provide your families with a safe place of worship and education. We pray that the friendships and connection within our St. Francis of Assisi community are a source of comfort for you all.

With Blessings to you and your family,

Father Eugenio Aloisio
Pastor

Mrs. Anne Yam
Principal

It is with such joy that we have been able to welcome our children back into the classrooms. Thus far it has been a successful transition back to school and as a community, we will continue to pray for the health and safety of our staff, students, and families as we navigate these unprecedented times.

While we focus on our energy on the students and the current school year, we have still continued to forge ahead with the re-planning of the new school building project we announced this spring. Since our last update in June our building and development consultants have untaken an extensive review of our school development plans to find an alternative and more financially achievable solution to the redevelopment of our school. As with any project of such size and complexity, there are multiple options and factors to be considered such as the overall budget, City of Vancouver restrictions, and our own goals for the project to ensure a safe learning environment for our students and to provide a much-needed gymnasium. The preliminary options, timescales, and budget and are being finalized and will be presented to the Advisory Board on October 7th. Once we consider this feedback, we should be able to share our revised plan later this fall.

We feel confident and encouraged in the work that has been done thus far. If anyone has any further questions, please contact Barbara Broughton directly or via buildsfa@sfaschool.ca

With Blessings to you and your family,

Father Eugenio Aloisio
Pastor

Mrs. Anne Yam
Principal

If anyone has any questions, please contact Barbara Broughton directly or via buildsfa@sfaschool.ca

We understand that with the advent of the global pandemic our parents and parishioners are focused on supporting their children with online learning and their own financial, family and social situations at home. As a community we will continue to pray for the health and safety of our families and parishioners.

However, we know that eventually we will all return to a new normal; therefore, our school community will continue with its commitment to the rebuilding of our 70 + year-old school as it nears the end of its operational life with a new school and gymnasium to secure our legacy of Catholic education in the Commercial Drive area for the coming generations.

Therefore, we are continuing to act on the recommendations of the Fundraising Feasibility report that we undertook last fall.

The Building and Development consultants will be working for the next three months to create a new building plan that we will look forward to sharing with our community this fall.

With Blessings to you and your family,

Father Eugenio Aloisio
Pastor

Mrs. Anne Yam
Principal

If anyone has any questions, please contact Barbara Broughton directly or via buildsfa@sfaschool.ca

We wanted to share with you the findings of the Compton Fundraising Campaign Report which we received at the end of December. The findings are significant and will change the way we approach the next few months of the project. They should not result in a significant delay and will allow us to develop a solid business platform to proceed.

Before we look at our next steps, we thought it would be worthwhile to provide a quick summary of the history of our school’s new building project.

The renewed call to build a new St. Francis of Assisi Elementary school started in 2013 when a seismic and structural review of our school was undertaken by the Archdiocese. It was determined then by architects and building development experts that it would be more cost-efficient to build a new school than to undertake the required retrofits. A building committee of volunteer parents was formed in 2014 to start to engage architects and building planners while another group of committed parents held the first SFA school Gala in 2014.

Since that time the school has consistently raised over $100,000 per year through school fundraising events and through Building Fund donations at the parish. To date, we have raised $ 690,000 towards our new school and have almost $400,000 remaining in our reserves. Our fundraising includes revenues from the Gala, Carnival, Walkathon, Wine & Cheese/Family Dance, direct donations and other contributions. The table below shows a break-down of the expenditures that we have incurred through the various building consultants, surveyors and architect fees that the City of Vancouver requires to undertake such a large-scale building project.

We had gone as far as having an accurate architectural drawing and cost analysis and had gained the necessary permissions from the Archdiocese for a loan and to sell parish land to help fund the project. The project team submitted an Approval in Principle document to the Archdiocese in January 2018 and this was granted which traditionally means the project is approved to proceed. We will likely now need to update and re-submit this given that the build costs have escalated and that we are now looking to develop some of the Parish garden in conjunction with the Knights of Columbus.

The sale of the convent adjacent to the parish was delayed when the City of Vancouver changed its position on re-zoning which dropped the potential sale price of the land by almost $2M. The property will likely go back on the market this year.

Findings of the Compton Fundraising Report

We have a wonderful community-oriented school that supports the need for a new school and gymnasium, BUT while the need for a new school is accepted, the confidence and support to launch a Capital Campaign was not present before we address some key areas:

• Ensure direct support from the Archdiocese – financial and senior strategic staffing
• Build a solid and transparent governance structure of individuals qualified in finance or building development, not just parent volunteers
• Re-create the momentum that has been lost by moving forward with the sale of the Convent property
• Implement a timely and regular communications plan.

OUR RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS

1. Meet with the Archdiocese to ask for more engagement on their behalf, both financial and staffing commitment
2. Hire a professional development/building consultant to draft a solid project development plan with realistic timelines and costs to augment the current Building Committee
3. Create a more credible and experienced Governance structure
4. Enhance and continue with an open communications plan including financial transparency on moneys raised and spent to date.
5. Suspend contract with Compton Fundraising Consultants until these recommendations have been met.

We are invigorated and keen to press forward. We have been assured by the Archdiocese that they are committed to support our community to see a new school soon and they are looking forward to an ‘innovative and collaborative’ approach to working with us.

It has been a long journey to get to this stage and one in which our community has spent countless volunteer hours through the years to get this far. In naming names we run the risk of forgetting many who also were dedicated to our school, but we wish to publicly acknowledge and thank at this time in particular so many of our ‘legacy’ staff and parents, in particular, Jodie Sussex, Glenna Pollon, Bob Ambardar, Kerri Nardulli, Nicole Tan, Marielle Weisinger, Chris Weisinger, Alda Campos, Michelle Ventresca, Bernice Sabellico, Carol Audia, Michael Cunningham, Michael Gall, Cathy DiNozzi, Sonia Erickson, Laura Seracci and Maria Spitale to name just a few, for their contribution and dedication to get us this far.

We ask you to pray for our continued progress and we will continue to keep you apprised of our progress.

With Blessings to you and your family,

Father Eugenio Aloisio
Pastor

Mrs. Anne Yam
Principal

If you have any questions about this update or the building project, please direct them to buildsfa@sfaschool.ca