Shari Ulrich recently generously donated her Aldrich oak classic upright piano to our school and here is the story of that piano
This was the piano that I wrote almost all the songs for my first four albums on. In fact, it’s even pictured on the back of my first album, Long Nights, with the dulcimer I built sitting on top of it. There was something truly special about sitting at that piano, looking out at the harbour, and following the mysterious muse. At the time, I didn’t really know how to play piano very well, but that turned out to be a gift. Without any ingrained habits, everything I played was a “happy accident,” giving the songs an adventurous spirit.
In 1988, I moved to Vancouver and asked some friends on Salt Spring if they would look after the piano for me. They had two small daughters who absolutely loved it—so much that when it came back to me, every key was chipped! I decided to think of it as a sign that the piano had been well-loved, and it still sounded beautiful.
By 1993, I had moved to Bowen Island, but by then I had inherited my grandparents’ Steinway Grand, and I didn’t have room for both. It wasn’t until 1997, when I moved into a new home on Bowen, that the piano finally had a place in my living room, where it stayed for the next 27 years.
I like to think that all the songs I’ve written on that piano still live in the wood, and that anyone who sits down to play it will find the same joy in those “happy accidents” that I did—or maybe even have the skill to make a room come alive! The power of music is incomparable, and it’s brought me more joy than I can describe. That’s why I’m so happy to gift this piano to Island Pacific School. Have at ’er!
Our 2019 – 2020 Community Partners Program is in full swing and we need your help!
Do you work for, or own a business that would like to participate in this program? Many employers offer a matching fund program for charitable giving.
Most Bowen community members are aware that our IPS young people are excellent ambassadors in our community and beyond. Did you know that the first point of contact with families new to Bowen is often through a realtor or developer? These businesses are now finding out about our programming, our core values, our middle school team and of course our students.
Many businesses and organizations partnered with us last year, including Dee Elliott Personal Real Estate Corporation, Ames Family Foundation, Osborne Cane Serious Injury Lawyers, Bowen Island Properties, Bowenshire Stonework & Landscaping, Twin Island Excavating, the Cape on Bowen and more. Many have toured our school and have engaged in the work we’re doing with our pollinator garden, the honey bee hive and have a greater appreciation of how financial aid helps us be more diverse.
Building these relationships is mutually beneficial. It creates awareness of the “Why?” of IPS and helps our students and families have a better understanding of what our local businesses do.
We offer those businesses who partner with us exposure in our Giving Stories, media coverage and advertisements in the Undercurrent, on social media and our website and extend special invitations to events.
Osborne Cane is a personal injury law firm in Vancouver, serving British Columbians from all over the province. Partners David Osborne and Jacqueline Cane are also the parents of an IPS grade 7 student. This is what they had to say about the Community Partners program —
IPS has for 25 years embodied a vision of middle school education which provides the essential tools for lifelong thinking and learning; experiences which challenge and foster growth in all spheres; and importantly, opportunities which empower students to embrace their agency in the community and the world.
There are many ways that the connections to the Bowen Island community and to the Lower Mainland are maintained by students and staff of IPS. From charitable work which is embedded in the curriculum of all grades, regular volunteering with local community organizations to cleaning up the public spaces on Bowen. Too many to list here!
Osborne Cane supports local and international organizations working to improve the quality of life for communities. Our donation to IPS is consistent with that goal. We also receive the kind of exposure our business can benefit from – a trusted presence in the community – which people can rely upon if they or their families are ever in need of a lawyer.
Today more than ever, consumers are looking at the values of business owners and organizations as part of their decision-making in the marketplace.
There are many Bowen Island and Vancouver businesses which would benefit from a Community Partner relationship with IPS. The program offers generous advertising which reaches a broad market and it’s an investment in a non-profit force for good in your community.
At the 25 year mark of the “little school that could”, it’s time that businesses large and small recognize the current contributions and future promise of Island Pacific School to the local and regional communities. Attend one of the many open house events, check out the Giving Stories on their website, review their Community Partners Program or get in touch with the Director of Development & Alumni Engagement, Julia McCaig [email protected], cell (778) 989-0771.
IPS has helped equip our kids with many life skills, one of which is to be active participants in engaged discussions with the ability to appreciate different perspectives and engage in a respectful manner.
It has also instilled in them a set of strong values and enhanced their curiosity in the world around them which when combined helps them form their own views on world affairs and not just passively accept the beliefs of others that may contradict what they value and deem important.
We see both these as key skills to help them interpret and navigate the world with more empathy, openness and awareness.
Simon and Louise Clarke
Do you have an IPS story to share? Send me a note:
Julia McCaig Director of Development and Alumni Engagement [email protected] | 778.989.0771
Most Bowen community members are aware that our IPS young people are excellent ambassadors in our community and beyond.
Did you know that the first point of contact with new families to Bowen is often through a realtor or developer? These businesses are now finding out about our programming, our core values, our middle school team and of course our students!
Many businesses and organizations partnered with us last year, including Dee Elliott Personal Real Estate Corporation, Ames Family Foundation, Osborne Cane Serious Injury Lawyers, Bowen Island Properties, Bowenshire Stonework & Landscaping, Twin Island Excavating, the Cape on Bowen and more. Many have toured our school and have engaged in the work we’re doing with our pollinator garden, the honey bee hive and have an appreciation of how financial aid helps us be more diverse.
Building these relationships is mutually beneficial. It creates awareness of the “Why?” of IPS and helps our students and families have a better understanding of what our local businesses do.
We offer those businesses who partner with us exposure in our Giving Stories, media coverage and advertisements in the Undercurrent, on social media and our website and extend special invitations to events.
Ames Family Foundation
Our connection with the Ames Family is through John Olson, IPS parent and board member, and past president of Ames Tile & Stone Ltd. When John took over as President of the company in 2010, he was only the
John Ames
second non-family member to hold this position. Ames Tile & Stone Ltd. has won several business awards including Canada’s Best Managed Companies (for the ninth year in a row) and Canada’s Great Places to Work award. IPS is very fortunate to have John’s skills as he starts his first year serving on our Board of Directors.
Before recently stepping down from that position, John worked with the Ames Family to secure this generous donation, available to us in perpetuity. Thanks also to Carol Harrison, Administrator for the Ames Foundation, for facilitating this generous gift.
As a non-profit, independent school, we are committed to a strong Financial Aid Program to ensure that no child is denied entrance to IPS based solely on financial limits. The Ames Family Foundation has helped a student attend IPS and we extend our heartfelt thanks to them!
The Ames Family Foundation generously donated $10,000 our Financial Aid Fund to keep IPS diverse and accessible.
Dee and Frazer Elliott
Dee Elliott and her son Frazer Elliott have generously donated towards our new Community Partners Program initiative.Recognizing that IPS students are excellent ambassadors in our community and that the values of our school align with the best qualities of the Bowen community, they wanted to support our Community Partners Program, specifically the “Kids in Motion” initiative. This option focuses on, amongst other things, our pollinator garden and natural habitat around our school property. Teacher Pam Matthews is embarking on the pollinator garden project with her students, drawing on knowledge from local experts in addition to her own skills and expertise. Stay tuned for more news from Pam on this exciting enterprise! Thank you Dee and Frazer for supporting this important initiative! Find out more about Dee and Frazer at bowenhomes.ca.
Bowenshire Stonework and Landscaping
Andy is always ready to step in and help out our IPS Community. Shown here helping build our pollinator garden, he readily jumps into action when we need something done in the realm of moving dirt and rocks!
Bowen Iron, Bowen Island Properties, Custom Coastal Homes, Free Wheeling Enterprises and Twin Island Excavating
All of these local businesses have come together at different times to help our students. Most recently they helped install our new basketball hoops in the upper parking area.
Scott McIntosh, Fort Langley Air and the Jarvis Family
Kristin and Geoff Jarvis donated a unique and valuable gift to our Fall Bash fundraiser — a private tour of the southern BC Coast, departing from the Salish Sea, traveling over the Coastal Range (and the glaciers and volcanoes of Garibaldi Provincial Park) to the ultimate destination, Princess Louisa Provincial Marine Park, accessible only by water.
The lucky winners Brent O’Malley and Susan Swift, owners of Bowen Island Sea Kayaking, will get to experience the life of a West Coast seaplane pilot from inside one of Canada’s most iconic bush planes, the DHC-2 Beaver, before dining on a picnic assembled by alumnus and Chopped Canada Jr contestant Hudson Stiver.
This single donation raised $5,000 for our Student Financial Aid fund to keep IPS diverse and accessible.
Osborne Cane Serious Injury Lawyers
Through their law firm Jacqueline Cane and David Osborne generously donated to our Kids in the Digital Age option of the Community Partners program. This contribution will help us purchase an entire set of Chromebooks for the school in the 2019 – 2020 academic year, putting updated equipment directly into the hands of our students.
The Cape on Bowen – Candy Ho
Sincere thanks to Candy Ho for working with us in developing our Community Partners program: Kids in Motion initiative, providing funds to help us purchase new sporting equipment and support our pollinator garden and natural habitats projects.
The Cape on Bowen believes in long-term community building that facilitates residents to grow in place and age in place. Children are the creators of our future, and they are our hope.
We are so immensely proud and blessed to have the opportunity to support Island Paci c School for the amazing work that they do with all their heart and dedication. This school ensures that kids not only receive the best possible academic education, but most importantly, they experience a program that nurtures and guides them in their development of character – their compassion, and sense of citizenship and responsibility for the world immediately around them, and the world at large.
During my visit with the school, I had the honour of meeting their leadership, who are passionate and committed to the school’s vision and philosophy through not just their words, but their actions. We know that the school will continue to cultivate children who thrive in their formative years, and go on to give the best of who they are for the rest of their lives.
We want to do our part to not only support the school financially, but also through other meaningful endeavours, whether that is helping them to give access to more Bowen children, or by integrating The Cape into their outdoor and natural habitat initiatives.
Kristin and Geoff Jarvis donated a unique and valuable gift to our Fall Bash fundraiser — a private tour of the southern BC Coast, departing from the Salish Sea, traveling over the Coastal Range (and the glaciers and volcanoes of Garibaldi Provincial Park) to the ultimate destination, Princess Louisa Provincial Marine Park, accessible only by water.
The lucky winners Brent O’Malley and Susan Swift, owners of Bowen Island Sea Kayaking, will get to experience the life of a West Coast seaplane pilot from inside one of Canada’s most iconic bush planes, the DHC-2 Beaver, before dining on a picnic assembled by alumnus and Chopped Canada Jr contestant Hudson Stiver.
This single donation raised $5,000 for our Student Financial Aid fund and the Jarvis Family encouraged me to satisfy my curiosity about why Scott McIntosh, Owner of Fort Langley Air, decided to partner in this generous gift.
What is your tie to IPS?
Scott first heard about IPS from his sister, Kristin Jarvis, who worked as our Communications Director from 2014 – 2017 and whose daughter Oceana is now in Grade 6. “Kristin plays a pivotal role in our family-owned business, and guides our communications, marketing and engagement strategy. She is a promotions juggernaut. When she and Oceana told us about the fundraiser, they showed me how it was a fit. How could I say no?” he jokes.
“On top of that, our digital content and social media strategist is John Stiver (whose son Hudson graduated from IPS in 2017 and whose daughter Wiley is currently in grade 7.) John and Kristin really believe in the school and we have shared values about how important the right support is for kids at this age.”
Tell me about your views on social responsibility
“Yes, community initiatives – it’s so difficult to actually settle on which cause to support. The way we’ve done it historically is we chose a charity that is aligned with our values and beliefs. We think giving all kinds of kids a chance is a natural fit to grow our community and our economy.
“At the end of the day, what matters most to me is the safety and happiness of my family, and a big part of that for my kids is finding the right educational fit for them. Independent schools are doing important work. My wife is very connected to Brentwood where she attended high school. We have one child heading to Shawnigan Lake School for grade 8 next year, and then our oldest is in grade 10 in a public high school. We live in a community of friends and neighbours of every financial background. This year we are lucky enough to be able to afford Shawnigan, and I think every kid that is driven to be part of a community deserves the best chance. I really could have used a school like IPS or Shawnigan as a kid and we would never have been able to afford it. I am impressed with schools that commit to economic diversity and financial aid.
“And, what comes around goes around. Kids who get help to follow their passion at a school that cares about them, hopefully turn into adults with that same global consciousness.”
What makes a semi-retired entrepreneur buy a float plane company?
Scott is an entrepreneur, a self-made risk taker, who comes from a family of pilots — both his father and grandfather were bush pilots. But he didn’t necessarily think he’d end up in an aviation business when he started his career.
“I grew up surrounded by pilots, and my own career started off in a truck transport business right out of high school, and we evolved over 30 years. I had intended to be in transportation for longer – I figured it would be a going concern for the rest of my career…but conditions were right, my partners and I were approached by a buyer, their offer was compelling so we seized it and sold the business in 2016.
“So there I was at 47 years of age thinking ‘what now?’ Then I saw Fort Langley Air. I realized it could be larger, more of a going concern. We talked about the possibilities of expansion and started contemplating plans around eco tourism, there was lots going on. I knew about corporate DNA, I had learned partway through my career how an organization can contribute back to the communities that we operate in and what our obligations are.”
FLA is an iconic business which has been around since the 60’s. It originated as the training arm of Skyway Air Services, and in 1999 pilot John Ferguson bought the business and re-created it. Over the years the training arm slowed down to the point where, when Scott purchased it, they had just one plane. He has added four planes since he bought it. He says, “First and foremost we train float pilots. Float training is very specific — everyone in our training program is already a pilot, they then learn to fly floats — we don’t have any planes on wheels. In fact, I added it up the other day, and more than 2,000 floatplane pilots have been trained at “The Fort” over the years! And right now Canada has a shortage of pilots and bush pilots.”
“Our business also specializes in private clients needing to access properties with water access only, like taking clients to fishing lodges, dropping off backcountry hikers and climbers, delivering someone to their sailboat in Desolation Sound, or flying a cottager from a remote area who wants to come home for the weekend. We also have a significant focus on floatplane tours, which are an unbelievable experience on the West Coast. Additionally we work with industry such as tugboat operators, taking remote crews to worksites and so on.”
Middle school kids want to know – what were your greatest failures and what did they teach you?
“If there’s a mistake that can be made, I’ve made it at least two or three times — broken one of everything! I’ve run out of money, I’ve done OK in business and I’ve also had great successes. I’m a risk taker. I always get up, dust myself off, own my mistakes, surround myself with excellent people, show respect for them and trust that we’ll build something even better. And I gift a lot – time, money, service. It always comes back to me in ways I don’t expect.”
What are the next steps for FLA?
“We’ve purchased a hangar in PItt Meadows Airport (YPK) on the north bank of the Fraser River, and have upgraded the hangar at our Fort Langley Airport location where we do most of our training. We have a focus on float training, custom charters, sightseeing, industry, and promoting the coast and BC’s wilderness.”
“We are really excited to announce the upcoming launch of PIC Aircraft Rentals. In March, 2019 we will open our aircraft rental division, where we will make floatplanes and wheeled airplanes available for rent.
“And we often BBQ on Fridays at our hangar in Pitt Meadows, so check us out if you are in the area! “
Julia McCaig Director of Development & Alumni Relations [email protected] (778) 989-0771
We are very pleased to welcome the Cape on Bowen group to our Community Partners Program.
They have designated their generous donation towards our Kids in Motion option, providing funds to help us purchase new sporting equipment, outdoor gym equipment and support our pollinator garden and natural habitats projects.
With sincere thanks to Candy Ho for working with us in developing our Community Partners Program: Kids in Motioninitiative.
If you’re interested in participating in our Community Partners Program, and would like more information or a tour of our school, please contact me at:[email protected] or cell: 778.989.0771
Julia McCaig
Director of Development & Alumni Relations
Ian and Jill Massender and their daughters Alexis and Kylie are extremely pleased to be joining the IPS family this fall.
They have arrived with a bang, generously supporting our Community Partners Program last month which helped bring our total to just over $9,000, thank you to the Massenders!
Ian is a veteran Fire Captain in Vancouver and while on island, he operates his own real estate business (which began here in 2004). Jill assists with the business, volunteers with school activities, as well as being full time Mom to their twin daughters.
Alexis and Kylie have varied interests, from Frisco (their Giant Schnauzer) to walking, skiing, boating, playing soccer, dance, and time with Bud and Nan Massender (their grand parents) — one busy family!
We look forward to welcoming them to IPS in September 2019.
SPUD fundraising is a program for schools and community organizations.
IPS is promoting the purchase of SPUD fundraising produce boxes and/or fundraising gift cards to our families. In return SPUD will handle all orders, deliveries, and assist in promotion.
25% of the total sales (not just profit) of the fundraising produce boxes will be donated and 10% of the total sales of all fundraising gift cards will be donated back to IPS.
As long as we’ve raised at least $50, SPUD will send us a cheque for the total donation amount once per quarter.
SPUD is B-Corp certified Canadian owned and operated business. SPUD has a local-first purchasing policy with strong focus on organic status and other sustainability indicators that guide their partnerships. Their retail model significantly reduces food waste and makes grocery shopping more energy efficient.
Any SPUD box from SPUD.ca/fundraising will generate a donation to our fundraiser. While most are produce-only and will generate a 25% donation, there are several that have non-produce items and will generate a 10% donation – each box is clearly labeled. These boxes have various themes such as local-only, organic fruit only, organic greens only, office fruit, or peak season produce.
To register for fundraising, simply enter the promotional code “Fundraising” at checkout and select your group from the drop down menu – this only needs to be done once.
Most boxes have several options to swap out specific items for others and other groceries can be combined with the fundraiser boxes.
Place your order today and start fundraising for IPS!
Dee Elliott and her son Frazer Elliott have generously donated $500 towards our new Community Partners Program initiative.
Recognizing that IPS students are excellent ambassadors in our community and that the values of our school align with the best qualities of the Bowen community, they wanted to support our Community Partners Program, specifically the “Kids in Motion” initiative. This option focuses on, amongst other things, our pollinator garden and natural habitat around our school property.
Teacher Pam Matthews is embarking on the pollinator garden project with her students, drawing on knowledge from local experts in addition to her own skills and expertise. Stay tuned for more news from Pam on this exciting enterprise.
Thank you Dee and Frazer for supporting this important initiative! Find out more about Dee and Frazer at bowenhomes.ca.
If you’re interested in learning more about our Community Partners Program, contact me [email protected] or call 778.989.0771.
In 1988, I moved to Vancouver and asked some friends on Salt Spring if they would look after the piano for me. They had two small daughters who absolutely loved it—so much that when it came back to me, every key was chipped! I decided to think of it as a sign that the piano had been well-loved, and it still sounded beautiful.
SPUD fundraising is a program for schools and community organizations.
SPUD Fundraising FAQ
Thank you Dee and Frazer for supporting this important initiative! Find out more about Dee and Frazer at 