From the 14-student class of 25 years ago to the bustling rooms of the International Baccalaureate-accredited school of today, Island Pacific School has come a long way.
Bowen’s independent middle school had grand plans to celebrate its quarter centennial, capped with a gala, but COVID-19 dashed them away.
But, as founder Ted Spear would say, they found a way to “solve the problem.”
On Nov. 28, the school is holding a cyber soiree – a 25th anniversary bash and fundraising gala rolled into one. “We had no game book or anything but a great team,” says head of school Scott Herrington.
The yearly gala is a key fundraiser for financial aid bursaries for students who couldn’t otherwise afford to attend IPS. The independent school gives more bursaries per capita than any other school in Canada, says IPS director of development and alumni engagement Julia McCaig. And yet, the pandemic has prompted the school to distribute even more financial aid than usual as families experience COVID-19’s economic effects.
When this school year started, it looked unlikely that big parties would return by June 2021, so virtual was the only way to go.
“This year, we also have a very ambitious plan about the future,” says Herrington. “We’re really at the juncture of 25 years history. We’re looking at the next 25 years.”
“I want to be invited back in 2045,” he says, “and know that this was a moment in time, we were in the middle of a pandemic, [and] the school boldly looked to the future and did things in a way that would ensure their ongoing success.”
The school is launching a Bridge to the Future program, a pool of funds to invest in educational excellence and financial aid.
“We’re not striving to be bigger,” says Herrington. “but we’re definitely striving to be better.
“And this fundraising campaign that we are doing through this virtual soiree, is really about that future.”
IPS has hired a professional production company to produce the soiree, an evening of live and pre-recorded segments with Herrington hosting from the Carter Road building. From the history of the school and its philosophical groundings to reflections from IPS alumni spread across the world to Bowen musicians and acts, to looking toward the next quarter century, this isn’t your Saturday night Zoom chat. There’s an online auction launching the week before and a special live auction over the 60-to-75-minute event. And there will be interactive IPS trivia using Kahoot!.
“We encourage people to make a donation but it’s free,” says Herrington. “Everyone’s welcome to come and enjoy a great night of entertainment.”
Then there’s the“after party,” a social event in a custom-built virtual mansion where participants can stroll around, in and out of conversations and rooms.
That’s not the end of the 25th anniversary celebrations however. McCaig and board chair Elizabeth Wooding spent the past year creating a commemorative coffee table book.
“Together we have interviewed in excess of 50 alumni students, staff and families, and see the impact this four-year program has had on every single one of them,” McCaig wrote in an email. “Many, some alumni in their late 20s now, speak about what they do today, being informed by the grounding they received while at IPS.”
Find more information about the celebrations at islandpacific.org.
