Author: SFA Editor

We hope that you all enjoyed a safe and happy spring break and Easter.

As you know the convent site was listed for sale at the end of February and we accepted offers in early March. We have had several offers but as this is a land development sale, not a residential sale, the subjects and timelines to completion are longer. Our realtor is continuing to negotiate on our behalf and we will let you know once the sale is finalised.

The City of Vancouver has completed an initial review of Phase 1 of our ‘New and Renew in 3 Phases’ school redevelopment plan and indicated that “it is supportable” and that “we may move forward with the formal Development Permit (DP) application and submission”. The DP submission is a 4-month design process whereby we engage the architect, civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical engineers along with a landscape consultant to further develop our drawings to a DP level. The DP will be based on these current schematic drawings. Click Here. The new 2-story wing (with basement) will double the square footage of indoor space of the school. It will contain the new gymnasium and change facilities along with the new school entranceway, administration space, library, a multi-use/music room, and the new kindergarten room. This large new addition will dramatically improve the learning environment for our children by giving them some much needed extra space for play, learning, and bathroom breaks!

Once the new wing is completed, as part of Phase 2 some of the classes will be rearranged in the current school so that the primary grades will be on the bottom floor and intermediate grades will be on the main floor. We will have a clearer understanding of the project timelines once our DP has been submitted to the City. We note that DP approval from the City could be up to 6-8 months after submission. The present target date for school opening is the 2023 school year.

If you are wondering how you can get involved and support our school, please support the 75th anniversary St. Francis of Assisi Cookbook. The finished product will be a wonderful keepsake for your family but will also be a way to show the commitment of our school to our community and future donors. The team is now compiling, formatting, and printing the book with the aim of having sales start in June.

 
With blessings,
 
Father Eugenio Aloisio
Pastor
 
Mrs. Anne Yam
Principal
 

During the season of Lent, which began this year on February 17, we make our Lenten sacrifices and sometimes it feels like a long time until we celebrate the joy of the Resurrection. We can draw a parallel with the building of our school as we make our sacrifices and wait a long time for the joy of realizing our new school – but it will come.

We have received approval from the Building Commission of the Archdiocese of Vancouver to proceed with the development of the school as proposed and as outlined in January’s update. As such, we will now begin to work in partnership with the Archdiocese to develop an achievable financial plan with a Capital Campaign.

We have heard back from our planner at the City of Vancouver who, as expected, has requested some further information, so we are in the process of complying with this request. We are planning a meeting with the Director of Planning to ask for relaxation for the need for on-site parking and for some easements with regards to set backs on our boundaries.

The convent site was listed on the MLS last week. As you know, the funds from this sale will form the cornerstone of the money that will be required to “Renew and Refresh” our school building so we ask that each and every one of you pray for its successful completion.

Like you, we are enjoying the first signs of spring, and hopefully the ability to share in-person Masses once again with our community. Be well and be safe.

With blessings,

Father Eugenio Aloisio
Pastor

Mrs. Anne Yam
Principal

We celebrate the New Year and new term and are continuing the design and approvals process for our school redevelopment project. To keep within our budget constraints our current vision for the school is to build a new wing with an added classroom and multi-use space for music and after-school club, administration space and a new standard-sized elementary gymnasium. After completion we would complete a basic seismic upgrade of the existing school block. This design concept would create many benefits for the children with more that twice our current square footage and it would allow us to retire our ‘temporary’ portable Grade 2 classroom and open the front of the school to outside play space.

We have shared this design scheme with the Directors of Construction Renewal and Finance at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver (RCAV) who were positive and approved the project to move to the next stage of review and approval within the Archdiocese which is the Building Commission. This volunteer board has been created by the RCAV to help parishes achieve success and is comprised of Parishioners from around the region who are current or former builders and trades who are experienced in infrastructure renewal and are in place to help to assure the viability of projects and the accuracy of budgets of the various school renewal projects with the Greater Vancouver area. Once we have acted on any recommendations of the Building Commission, we would then go the RCAV Finance Counsel to secure and finalise the terms of our project financing including final mortgage amounts required and the final number that would need to be raised via a St. Francis of Assisi Capital Campaign. This is an iterative process as the final budget will impact the final design and we expect it to take several months. When this has been completed to the satisfaction of the Parish and the RCAV the project receives final approval – or Approval in Principle – from Archbishop Miller to proceed.

In the interim, we have received final permission from RCAV to proceed with selling the convent site. We will be meeting with the St. Francis of Assisi Parish Leadership Team next week to review the conditions of the sale after which we expect the property will be listed. We are not planning on putting up a sign, but we will keep you informed of the progress. The sale of this land will form the cornerstone of our Capital Campaign which cannot commence until the sale is secure and the financing discussions with the Archdiocese have been agreed.

These small steps are all positive, but we still have many more to come with an expected planning and development timeline of about 2 years. We thank you and the many parents who have already graduated from our school for the continued commitment and enthusiasm to Build our School for the Future.

If you are looking for ways to connect with the Campaign or are looking for more information please check our new school building webpage.

Wishing you a most blessed and joyful Christmas,

Father Eugenio Aloisio
Pastor

Mrs. Anne Yam
Principal

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