There are less than two weeks to go until the 40th Anniversary Golf tournament taking place at Bearspaw Golf Club on September 27. This event is a great opportunity to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones while out on the course engaging in some friendly competition.

After the tournament, participants will come together for a special meal and speeches from the CEO, Dr. Greg Bass, founding Board Member Jim Gray and keynote speaker Olympic Gold Medalist Kasia Gruchalla- Wesierski. The night will be spent remembering the past 40 years, sharing stories from the present and looking forward to the future of Calgary Academy. You don’t want to miss the stories, prizes and history making at this event!

Most importantly, all funds raised from this golf tournament will go towards the Calgary Academy Parents’ Association (CAPA) Bursary Fund and the purchase of a new Knights Bus. CAPA is an organization of Calgary Academy parents who raise bursary money to support families of Calgary Academy children. CAPA is volunteer-run charity. Since 1986, it has raised more than $5 million to help children who demonstrate financial need.

“The CA golf tournament is more than just a round of golf.  It’s a collective recognition for a community coming together for an amazing school that delivers incredible results to young minds looking to find their path in life! We have seen these amazing results with all three of our kids at this school,” said Aaron Lane, CAPA President. 

In addition to supporting CAPA, the funds raised from the golf tournament will also go towards the $100,000 purchase price of a new bus, which will enable students to travel to high-engagement learning opportunities like field trips, community events, and athletics opportunities.

Lastly, a 50/50 draw will be held in concert with the tournament to help raise funds for student bursaries. You can support this cause by purchasing 50/50 Cash Raffle tickets here and spread the word to your family and friends.

Take Actions: 

• Register to play
• Purchase a 50/50 ticket
• Bid on silent auction items

Calgary Academy recognizes the achievements of students with an awards program designed to celebrate, encourage, inspire, and empower. One of the awards given to an incredibly special graduate each year is the Legacy Award. This award, fundraised by the previous graduating class, acknowledges a student who has made significant achievement and who has left a legacy on our school. This year we have chosen to generate funds through the sale of a beautiful and practical tote bag featuring the commissioned 40th anniversary mural by local artist Carl White.  

To get your very own Limited Edition Legacy tote please click here: Legacy Tote  

CA recently had a chat with last year’s Legacy Award Winner, Zoe Tochor. She was honoured to be the second winner of the Legacy Award which was created in 2020.  

“I began my education at CA in Grade 10 as a shy quiet kid and by Grade 12, I was a completely changed student thanks to CA’s welcoming, encouraging, and accepting environment.”  

Zoe was very involved in the CA community, taking on the role of student ambassador and being a member of the student council. Her involvement led to lifelong friendships with peers and teachers and helped her become a leader. 

“Without CA I would never have been able to complete high school to get the degree of success I did and would not have been in university pursuing my passion – working with kids. CA demonstrated the role of a teacher, their positive impact, and the integral part they play in a child’s development. Their influence and encouragement drove me to complete further education and inspire the next generation of learners.” 

Since graduating from CA, she is now attending Mount Royal University and recently completed her first year working towards her Bachelor of Elementary Education. 

“To me, the meaning of the Legacy Award is not about who did the most within the school community but rather who leaves a legacy at CA and will take the lessons provided into their future to make a difference to others and their community.”  

Thank you, Zoe, for being such a shining example of what post graduate life can look like, we are so pleased to have you as part of our continued Legacy! 

Bob Tolsma is a legend amongst Calgary Academy staff and students alike. He carries himself with a quiet, approachable confidence, always open to crack a joke and lend a hand in any situation. If you have been to any CA event you immediately recognize his presence behind the grill, but he has given so much more to our community than just a perfectly grilled hot dog!

Bob started at CA in 1986, with a desire to focus on less theoretical and the more practical areas of education. During his time at CA, he has learned immensely from staff members—admin, colleagues, support staff… some still here, others long gone… and immensely from hundreds of students. He values the honesty and integrity of all these people, and believes they have all helped to make this school a place where we grow and learn to be ourselves together.

Bob’s best memories at the school usually involve gut-busting laughter, whether in the staff room at lunch, or in the classroom with kids. That kind of laughter dissolves barriers, clears the head and makes friends forever.

Bob has continued to be one of the first to volunteer to support any CA event. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience, and a sense of calm under pressure that really takes the stress out of running any event. No one knows when he started to acclimate to the role of the man behind the grill at our BBQs but if he had any tips to offer future grill masters, it would be to take notes from street meat artists – they are the best in their field.

When asked what makes him most proud, Bob simply and poetically stated:

“I am most proud of this being a school that provided support for students to become comfortable in their own skin and become themselves. We accepted them intrinsically, taught them some skills, and let them go.”

As proud as he is of our community and students, CA is equally as proud to call Bob one of our own, and we wish him the most well-deserved, relaxing summer enjoying simple pleasures, most of them involving the outdoors, and a trip to the coast to visit his family.

For golfers, a bad day on the golf course is better than a good day at work. Golf is a challenging but rewarding game that brings people together; it is amazing how four hours on the golf course can help you get to know someone better or make a new friend.

September 1, 2021, marks the beginning of Calgary Academy’s 40th year celebration. To kick off our year of celebration, Calgary Academy will be hosting a special anniversary golf tournament on Monday, September 27 at Bearspaw Golf Club.

Planned and coordinated by an incredible group of staff volunteers, this event builds on CA’s long history with the golf game. Past coaches, players, and a few local celebrities will tee off at Bearspaw Golf Club and duel for the top spot’s bragging rights.

If the excuse to reconnect with old friends, experience a newly-renovated course, and just surviving COVID-19isn’t enough reasons to sign up, this tournament will also support the school realize two very important fundraising goals – the purchase of a new Knights Bus and continued fundraising for the Calgary Academy Parents Association Bursary fund.

The money raised at the tournament will go towards the $100,000 purchase price of a new bus, which will be used to transport students and staff to and from sporting events, field trips and community engagement opportunities.

A 50/50 draw will be held in concert with the tournament to help raise funds for student bursaries.

Before we know it, September will be upon us, and we very much look forward to having the opportunity to celebrate with our students, staff, families, and community. We can’t wait to see you on the course!

Twice a year the Board of Directors recognizes staff and students for exemplary work, leadership, or contributions to the school community. This June, the Board was honoured to present Grade 12 student Thomas and teacher Becky Funk with this special honour!

We are excited to announce Becky Funk as the recipient of the Exemplary Practice award for her work as a Music teacher and leadership with FestivARTS. Grade 12 Student Thomas D. was honoured as the recipient of the Student Showcase award for his creativity in the drama program and collaboration in the school community.

Exemplary Practice: Becky Funk

The recipient of the Board’s Exemplary Practice Award for June 2021 is Ms. Becky Funk. Her colleagues describe Becky as an innovative thinker who strives to create unique learning experiences for her students.

Amidst the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic, and her daily responsibilities as a Music and Leadership teacher, Becky imagined and created a contemporary virtual arts festival called FestivARTS. Music students from CA and various provinces, American and Canadian music clinicians, a composer, and music teachers came together virtually for two days in May to learn, connect, create, and perform together. This fully virtual musical event was made possible by the pandemic, and a continued, borderless event is imagined for the future.

An event like FestiVARTS is not something that can be accomplished in isolation, and Becky worked hard to engage staff and students and build advocates for the concept. Mayor Naheed Nenshi provided virtual greetings to kick off the event, and a team of more than five staff volunteers facilitated the event over the May weekend. This required hours of planning, collaborative organization, and communication that Becky lead with grace and positive energy.

Ms. Funk continues to take on more than her teaching responsibilities and has also been leading concert and funk bands virtually for more than a year. She worked to establish a 4 and 8-week Composer in Residence for her students, providing virtual access to additional outside experts.

Becky is an inspiration to the CA community with her positive energy and ability to embrace the challenges that come her way.

Congratulations, Becky!

Student Showcase: Thomas Dunsmore

The recipient of the Board’s Student Showcase Award for June 2021 is Grade 12 student, leader, actor, director, and CASE Co-President, Thomas Dunsmore.

Thomas is a hardworking, self-motivated and extremely creative person. His creativity has shone in the drama program over the years, on and off the stage. Most recently he was even recognized for his work on the play “SOS” by the International Theatre Society.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Thomas was determined to ensure students had a Senior High drama department showcase. As a true leader he directed, designed, filmed, edited, and created all the promotional materials to go with the Senior High production, “Check Please,” which can be viewed on the Calgary Academy YouTube page.

His teachers and fellow students have been positively impacted by his school spirit, love for drama and overall commitment to collaboration inside and outside the classroom. He has actively participated in strategic planning sessions every year since 2017, serves as Co- President of the Calgary Academy Student Executive (CASE), and was an active member on this year’s graduation committee. Prior to restrictions put in place by the COVID-19 pandemic, Thomas has been an active CA Ambassador, volunteering at tours and other Admissions- related events.

Thomas’s team player attitude and positive energy along with his kind and honest nature is contagious. He is an excellent role model for other students and is an exemplary Calgary Academy student. The entire CA community will miss him greatly as he attends the University of British Columbia this fall.

Congratulations, Thomas!

From June 21 to June 23, Calgary Academy welcomed over 100 new families to the school community for the annual New Family Orientation. COVID-19 may have altered the event this year, but it did not take away from the fun!

CA’s school mascot Scorcher made a special appearance to take photos and play games with students and their families. To help everyone stay cool in the heat, food trucks handed out delicious frozen treats. The week was full of making memories in the sun!

“The goal of the event was to get students enthusiastic about the school year and to ease the transition to a new school. We loved seeing our new students’ smiling faces and the families taking the time to connect with one another,” said Annick Donde, Admissions Associate.

Changing schools can be intimidating but New Family Orientation helps students meet teachers and fellow classmates before stepping foot into the classroom. The Admissions team, alongside teaching staff, loved getting to know both students and their families before the school year begins.

“The weather was beautiful, parents exchanged phone numbers and many of them made plans to connect over the summer. The new students are eager and excited to join our school,” said Irina Dart, Director of Admissions.”

Thank you to those who joined the New Welcome Orientation, and we can’t wait to see you again in the fall. 

2021-2022 saw big changes in the Drama department at CA.

The students were back in business with live productions to almost-full crowds. Smiling theatre goers and rounds of applause made for a world of difference to the kids in these programs. Back is the sense of community through participation, and a tangible reward for all the hard work these young thespians have put in.

This season also saw the introduction to the CA Forever Ticket. A constant reminder of gratitude for theater alumni and community supporters who have helped to create and maintain the creativity incubator that is our drama room.

The forever ticket entitles the holder to free tickets to any CA production in perpetuity and is given to those who have given a piece of themselves to the program. Recipients this year received their token at a special ceremony at the spring production of “All Shook Up.” Each recipient boasted what a proud moment it was and that they are thrilled to be reminded of their constant influence and inspiration!

What does 2022-2023 have in store for drama? Well, as of this moment ideas and imagination of “what can be” are running wild! There is talk of a Charlotte Nixon commissioned murder-mystery piece for the Jr. crew and another (possibly 80s inspired) musical for the Senior School production. Whatever drama produces it is sure to impress. Stay tuned and be ready to be entertained with our new season next year!

There have been some changes occurring in our staffing at CA over the past few months as well. Of course, we always have new staff joining us and they are excited to be part of the CA family as they are filling in positions of maternity leaves and staff moving on to other exciting adventures in their careers. We have worked hard to find excellent teachers who understand what students need in order to surpass their potential and free them to do great things in our world.

We have made some shifts in our organizational design and staffing with a few new roles and movement between roles that I wanted to let you know about too.

• Sarah Hoag, our current Junior School Director of Learning, will be transitioning to a new role with the organization, Director of Stakeholder Engagement. She will be bringing her decades of experience at CA into this role to further develop our capacity to connect our families, alumni, and staff all for the ultimate benefit of our students.
• Cameron MacDonald, currently teaching high school sciences, will be transitioning into a new role, Assistant Principal of Staff Development. He will be working alongside our current Assistant Principals, Paula Chattha (Junior School) and Mike Ross (Senior School) to support our teachers to continue to hone their craft and build even greater consistency for the student experience across our school.
• Erin Ellis, currently our Senior School Director of Learning, will be taking on the whole Learning Team next year, K-12, focusing on a school-wide approach that will continue the great work done to support our teaching staff and students. The Learning Team includes many roles, such as our psychologists, speech and language pathologist, reading educators and clinicians, instructional design leads, literacy and numeracy leads, STEAM lead, and research lead.
• Colleen Fleming, our current head of the Reading Clinic, is going to be moving into admissions to support the growth of our senior school and Blended+ program. Christine McCoy will be moving from her teaching role into the Reading Centre to support the work being done there. Jacqueline Mercer-Livesay, one of our Educational Assistants who works one-on-one with several students across the school, will also be moving into the Reading Clinic.
• Finally, there are a few shifts within our Learning Team with the addition of Charity Helman and Charlotte Nixon moving into Instructional Design leads in Junior School and Senior School, and Sara Tkachuk moving into our Assessment Lead position

Calgary Academy is an organization that continues to build our capacity across the board for the ultimate benefit of our students. We are all learners, and we are always growing and learning – just like our students!

Thank you, again, for a great year. Enjoy what this summer will bring, and we are looking forward to reconnecting in early September.

Respect. Enthusiasm. Altruism. Commitment. Honesty. The REACH principles are the core principles that guide the way CA students interact with each other and the world. Anna Dawson (’19), has stayed connected to the school even after graduation and is actively living the principle of altruism. This spring, Anna reached out to her former Physical Education Teacher Tracy Sullivan with a generous offer: she wanted to donate her extra cross-country ski equipment to the CA program, rather than selling it.

“I have a love for cross country skiing and want to share it with others. I wanted to give back to the place that gave so much to me in terms of skills, opportunities, and friendship,” said Anna.

Now in her third year at the University of Toronto completing a Bachelor of Science majoring in Psychology, Anna knows from experience and from her studies the mental benefits of getting outdoors and moving.

As someone who had participated in CA’s Outdoor Education Cross Country Skiing program in Grade 10, Anna benefitted from exploring CA’s aspen forests, and snow-covered fields and parks around the city. She hopes the equipment will bring students together to share some laughs during the pandemic. For her, getting outside allows her to think more clearly and with the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions she believes this will be the perfect activity for students and staff alike.

“Knowing Anna, she likely thought it was ‘no big deal’ but her donation of cross-country skis to the school actually set off a plan to get more of our students trying something new this season,” said Tracy Sullivan, Head of Physical Education.

When asked what prompted her to think of the school she attended from Grades 4-12 Anna says, “I was part of the community for so long as a student that now as an adult I want to help others receive the benefits that helped me achieve my goals. I also want to stay connected and bring value to the community and be a voice for what CA did for me and what it can do for others.”

“Anna has always had a heart of gold, and her kindness has a much bigger impact than she knows. I think it is very special that she thought of her school when looking to rehome something so valuable. We appreciate her donation so much and will use it for years to come,” said Tracy.

Thank you, Anna, for living the REACH principles and supporting our students!

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic shifting learning from in-person to online numerous times throughout the school year, Calgary Academy staff and students have embraced the opportunities presented from these ever-changing realities. While indoor music programs have been limited this school year due to COVID-19 restrictions, Becky Funk, K-12 Music Teacher at CA, took a creative approach to ensure students still had the chance to participate in engaging music opportunities through the “Composer in Residence” program, which included a four-part Funk Band workshop series and an eight-week Concert Band series.

Supported by outside experts from the Music Creators’ Academy (MCA), an innovative program that composes and shares music in virtual environments, Becky has been able to shift to a fully online music environment and challenge students to create music and collaborate in new and fascinating ways.

“People assumed that we couldn’t make music together online, but we just have to shift our perspective to view the internet as a different form of instrument and venue,” said Becky.  

Two faculty members of MCA, Dr. Benjamin Taylor and Dr. Garrett Hope, have been alternating monthly workshops with the Funk Band (grades 4-6). Each workshop challenged students to explore perspectives on musical creation, with focuses on improvisation and creation. For the Concert Band series (grades 7-12), Dr. Taylor has been working with students on composition and creation. The eight-week series will culminate in a live virtual concert on June 3 where the Concert Band will perform a composition they’ve created together.

Moving to a virtual world has forced a shift from tradition for bands. In addition to not being in the same physical space, video conferencing platforms have posed new questions about how to create music together, which students have answered by adjusting sound settings, using music-making objects found at home, and incorporating the chat and video functions into their compositions. Rather than being frustrated by these new elements, students have recognized technology’s ability to create a unique musical experience.

Funk Band had a relatively seamless transition to virtual rehearsals as it is common practice for them to bring funky instruments and ideas together to create original compositions. Concert Band, on the other hand, traditionally has specific instruments, songs, and rehearsal techniques associated with the ensemble that needed to be reconsidered and adapted to find success in this new format.

“The Concert Band had to go through a really big change and reimagine every aspect of our rehearsals, but the students have shown such patience, adaptability, and enthusiasm working through this new reality together all year,” emphasized Becky.   

As we all know too well, relationships are difficult to maintain online, and trust is crucial to any musical ensemble. In order to build an online culture that enables the learners to trust one another and take risks, relationship-building must be intentional, embedded, and treated with great care. One example of this was during the first meeting of the eight-week Concert Band series; Dr. Taylor made relationships and culture his priority, opening up about his personal interests and learning about the young musicians in return.

“It’s been really inspiring seeing the kids coming every week, always willing to try something new. Every week, rehearsal looks a bit different, but the young musicians’ enthusiasm and resilience haven’t changed,” said Becky.   

After the completion of the eight-week series, a live virtual concert will be held on June 3. Doors open at 4:45 p.m. and the concert begins at 5 p.m. All parents are invited to join the virtual concert. Interested parents should check the parent newsletter for the zoom event concert information.