Support Us
The Colin Ruloff Community Field House
Island Pacific School is truly proud to announce that the future Community Field House will be dedicated to the memory of Colin Ruloff, Island Pacific School alumni class of 2010.
Colin was raised on Bowen Island where he lived with his parents Walt and Laura Ruloff and three younger brothers, Chad, Andrew and Charlie.
Colin loved music. He composed original songs and performed as a Country Blues singer and guitar player under the name Scottie Collins. His early work can be found on SoundCloud under Colin Ruloff Country Singer. He was gentle, kind, and able to see good and admirable qualities in everyone he met. Colin passed away in 2018 and he is greatly missed.
Our Community Field House — a shared space, a shared vision
The Colin Ruloff Community Field House will be on property shared by Island Pacific School and Cates Hill Chapel. Not only will this covered outdoor space provide much needed sheltered space for student activities and for Chapel events, the possibilities are endless in terms of broader community use — weddings, outdoor concerts, workshops and outdoor recreation. We are all very excited for the future potential.
“Cates Hill Chapel is pleased to partner with Island Pacific School in their efforts to build a Community Field House. Our two institutions have a great relationship that goes well beyond our shared use of space. We are grateful that IPS will be naming this structure in honour of Colin Ruloff. The Ruloff family is loved by both of our communities and the Chapel will be blessed by having such a wonderful person acknowledged in this lasting and meaningful gesture.” ~ Phil Adkins, Pastor, Cates Hill Chapel
“The board of governors of Island Pacific School are really thrilled by the Colin Ruloff Field House project. This is about creating more space for kids to move, to gather, to grow and get more from their unique experience at IPS. This community field house, with its beautiful design and natural elements will be a significant step forward in the amenities of the school and will provide the teachers another means to evolve and enrich the school’s programming.
IPS has always had to contend with limited indoor space as well as several months of wet and cold outdoor weather. The Colin Ruloff Community Field House, with its high ceilings, and large open space will be an indoor/outdoor hybrid alternative to both indoor spaces and being outside, especially during the fullness of a Bowen winter.
The Colin Ruloff Community Field House is not intended to benefit Island Pacific School alone, this facility is going to be open to be used and enjoyed by the entire Bowen community, year round with the expectation that it will be a worthy legacy to Colin Ruloff. ” ~ Ian MacLeod, Chair, Island Pacific School Society
A School Built on Philanthropy
Many hands have reached out since our earliest beginnings, supporting Island Pacific School in becoming a destination for self-discovery, inspiration and excellence. A small, independent school by definitiion will always rely on the generosity of its families. The philantrhopic heart of one particular Bowen family enabled the realization of Island Pacific School, Walt and Laura Ruloff and their Smooth Stones Foundation.
Following the successful sale of Walt’s software company in 1998, he and Laura felt compelled to seek out and support projects that would leave a positive and lasting impact on their community.
“Our mission was to take care of the physical, the natural, the educational – all the ways to take care of the island, and to do it in a way that is gracious and quiet,” said Walt.
The couple created the Smooth Stones Foundation, the immediate focus of which would be the building of a community church, now Cates Hill Chapel, and the building which now houses IPS.
In conversation with Ted during some regular philosophy nights at Doc Morgan’s Pub, Walt learned of Ted’s dreams for the school. “I was fascinated by Ted’s school model and the whole concept of IPS and we started dreaming about creating a building where the church and the school could share facilities,” said Walt.
He and Laura voiced concerns that while they were happy to support the construction of a church, they wanted to create something to benefit the entire Bowen community, not only a building to be used one day a week.
“We were worried that when we built this beautiful church, it wouldn’t be used to its optimum. We wanted it to be used by IPS as an auditorium, and used by the community for concerts and community events.”
Discussions gathered momentum and a permanent home for IPS, at that time housed in what is now the municipal buildings, became a reality. An undeveloped piece of land was donated to the Ruloff’s foundation by developer Wolfgang Duntz, who also brought a paved road and power to the site.
Many more hands participated in creating IPS, but at the core, it was a powerful act of philanthropy that propelled IPS from the dream stage and into reality.
Our vision for an outdoor covered space for the students and wider community has endless possibilities. Join us in making this vision a reality and support our Colin Ruloff Community Field House capital campaign by donating today.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
-Margaret Mead
Why is fundraising so important?
Fundraising is a critical annual necessity at Island Pacific as tuition solely covers operations including salaries, program development, supplies and maintenance. All independent schools rely on philanthropy to secure permanent facilities.
Every year, starting in September, we need to raise approximately $80,000, contingent upon annual enrolment, for student bursaries. Since day one this was a priority of our founder, Dr. Ted Spear, and continues to be the mandate of our current Head of School, Scott Herrington, to provide financial support to those families in need.
It is only after meeting this target that we are in a position to allocate funds to our Field House Capital Campaign, annual program enhancements, campus improvements and tech supplies.
Through generous donations from Smooth Stones Foundation and Bowen Island Properties, Island Pacific is in a position to build a dream Field House enhancing our outdoor campus – providing much needed shelter from the weather for our students’ athletics and activities. Now that we proudly own our building, we can set our sights on this project. This artist’s rendering is the vision of what’s possible for our outdoor covered Field House. The possibilities are endless for this outdoor space including including a place for outdoor learning, for sports, for celebrations and assemblies and of course, Rites of Passage!
This dream requires much fundraising, hence the importance of our Monsoon Madness Mudder events. We will host our 3rd Annual Monsoon Madness Mudder on Saturday, November 4, 2023. Get your team members and put on your craziest costumes then come out and roll in the mud to support us. Registration will start in May 2023.
What better way to show the greater community our need for a covered Field House, but to host a wet, wild, muddy 2 km obstacle team competition — this is truly getting into the mud, in order to get our kids out of the mud!
For more information or to discuss a donation towards our field house, contact Head of School, Scott Herrington or Director of Community Engagement, Julia McCaig.
As you grow older you will discover you have two hands – one for helping yourself, and one for helping others.
– Maya Angelou