Little Flower Academy (LFA) is a Canadian independent all girls Catholic secondary school located in Vancouver’s Shaughnessy neighbourhood established in 1927, by the Sisters of Saint Ann.
History
![LFA old building 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/LFA_old_building_1.JPG)
In 1858, five women of the Québec-based order of the
Sisters of St. Ann
The Sisters of St. Anne (S.S.A.) is a Roman Catholic religious institute, founded in 1850 in Vaudreuil, Quebec, Canada, by the Blessed Marie Anne Blondin, S.S.A., to promote the education of the rural children of the Province of Canada. Their vi ...
travelled by sea to the Isthmus of Panama and up the west coast to Victoria. They set down in a small log cabin in
Beacon Hill Park
Beacon Hill Park is a 75 ha (200 acre) park located along the shore of Juan de Fuca Strait in Victoria, British Columbia. The park is popular both with tourists and locals, and contains a number of amenities including woodland and shoreline trail ...
, and began the process of establishing Victoria's
St. Ann's Academy.
The Sisters' first presence in Vancouver came in 1888 (two years after the city was established) with a school on Dunsmuir, next to a cathedral and, according to an article researched by the late Sister Eileen Kelly (the last St. Ann order principal of LFA), "on the edge of a forest clearing."
The Sisters wanted to expand with a boarding school to accommodate young women who lived too remotely to access existing educational facilities. The building (now replaced) known as "The Convent" was built in Shaughnessy in 1910 for this purpose.
By 1918, the Vancouver diocese sold to the municipality of Point Grey, who desired a portion of the site to erect their own public school, Prince of Wales High School – which became today's Shaughnessy Elementary in 1961. The ownership of the remaining property at the time reverted to the
Sisters of Saint Ann
The Sisters of St. Anne (S.S.A.) is a Roman Catholic religious institute, founded in 1850 in Vaudreuil, Quebec, Canada, by the Blessed Marie Anne Blondin, S.S.A., to promote the education of the rural children of the Province of Canada. Their vi ...
, who were able to meet the payments and whose chosen school name "Little Flower Academy" began appearing in the published Vancouver Directory books.
According to tradition, Little Flower Academy was so named apparently because the prayers of one of the Sisters had been answered in acquiring the property. The prayers had been made to Saint Thérèse de Lisieux, who had the nickname "The Little Flower of Jesus."
Academics
The school offers a challenging university preparatory program for girls in grades 8 through 12. In 2016 Little Flower Academy ranked as the number one Secondary Schools in the province of British Columbia (2019), and has consistently maintained a top three standing in the
Fraser Institute
The Fraser Institute is a libertarian-conservative Canadian public policy think tank and registered charity. The institute describes itself as independent and non-partisan. It is headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Calgary, Tor ...
provincial rankings.
Athletics
There are two gymnasiums, the larger accommodates more than five hundred spectators and hosts volleyball, basketball and badminton tournaments. There is also a fitness centre, tennis courts and playing fields.
The LFA Angels (sports teams) have an angel for a mascot, although there is no official physical mascot. LFA is, simply, the "Home of the Angels."
The School's athletic teams include:
* Fall Season Sports: Cross-Country Running, Field Hockey, Swimming and Volleyball
* Winter Season Sports: Basketball
* Spring Season Sports: Badminton, Soccer, Tennis, Track & Field, and Ultimate Frisbee
* Badminton: BC Provincial ''Silver Medalist'' (2017 & 2012); ''Bronze Medalist'' (2018); 7th at BC Provincial Championships (joint team with
Vancouver College
Vancouver College (abbreviated informally to VC) is an independent university-preparatory Catholic school for boys located in the Shaughnessy neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1922, it is the only independent Catho ...
) in 2016;
* Basketball: BC Provincial AAA ''Silver Medalist'' (2015); 2nd at Grade 8 Provincial Championships in 2015
* Cross-Country Running: BC Provincial Junior ''Gold Medalist'' (2014); 8th at Senior BC Championships in 2018, including a Silver for Ceili McCabe '19; 10th (2014); 6th (2012).
* Field Hockey: 4th BC AA Championships in 2019; 5th in 2018; 4th in 2017; 5th in 2016.
* Tennis: 5th at BC Provincial Championships (joint team with
Vancouver College
Vancouver College (abbreviated informally to VC) is an independent university-preparatory Catholic school for boys located in the Shaughnessy neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1922, it is the only independent Catho ...
) in 2018; 4th in 2017; 5th in 2016.
* Track & Field: Team Provincial Champions (2013)
* Ultimate: ''Bronze Medalist'' (2013); at BC Provincial Championships (joint team with
Vancouver College
Vancouver College (abbreviated informally to VC) is an independent university-preparatory Catholic school for boys located in the Shaughnessy neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1922, it is the only independent Catho ...
)
* Volleyball: Provincial Champions (2012, 2016, 2020); 3rd at BC AAA Provincial Championships (2018, 2017, 2014);
Notable alumnae
*
Patricia (Grossmith) Cladis ’55 - physicist specializing in liquid crystals.
*
Frances Wasserlein
Frances Wasserlein (b. July 31, 1946 San Francisco – August 23, 2015 Halfmoon Bay) was an Canadian-American arts community manager and a LBTQ rights activist residing in Canada. She was executive producer of Vancouver Folk Music Festival and box ...
'64 - LBTQ activist and arts community manager.
*
Danielle Kettlewell
Danielle Merlyn Kettlewell (born 17 November 1992) is an Australian synchronised swimmer. She competed in the team event at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
She was training for the 2019 FINA World Aquatic Championships of which both her male coun ...
'10 - Synchronized Swimmer at the Rio Olympics 2016 (representing Australia).
*
Andrea Hannos
Andrea Hannos (born May 8, 1973) is a former Canadian professional road and track racing cyclist who first entered sport in track and field, specializing in the long and triple jump. She attended high school at Little Flower Academy in Vancouver, ...
'91 - professional cyclist
*
Stefanie von Pfetten
Stefanie Christina Baroness von Pfetten (born November 25, 1973) is a German-Canadian film and television actress.
Early life
Stefanie von Pfetten was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her parents are Baron Hermann von of German nobility ...
'91 - actress
Building architecture
![LFA new building 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/LFA_new_building_1.JPG)
Until 2005, when portions of the school were de-constructed to make room for new additions, the school's convent (a 1910 mansion) held a Guinness World Record for the most exterior windows arranged at different levels.
The 1931 library-cafeteria-art building, which was deconstructed during the 2005-2007 renovations, was once the original schoolhouse with boarding rooms in the attic. The schoolhouse ("Foundress Hall") was one of the few remaining examples of the architectural work of Sister Mary Osithe,
an artist and pioneering female architect in BC who also designed the Bulkley Valley Hospital in Smithers, BC. (Details may be found in Donald Luxton's ''Building the West: The Early Architects of British Columbia'' (Talon Books, 2003).)
On September 14, 2007, the school celebrated the opening of the new wing and its 80th anniversary. The new wing includes several new classrooms, a boardroom, a new chapel, a second gymnasium, reception, offices, art room and cafeteria. Many of the features of the old buildings were salvaged during the careful deconstruction and integrated into the new wing. Most of the stained glass windows can be found on display in the new building (many arranged artistically in the lobby); old posts are in the new gym as decoration; the hardwood floors throughout the new wing are from the old buildings; bricks from the chimneys have been used to in the new grotto; fireplaces, which have been reconditioned and made electric, are now in the library and board room; the telephone booth is in the staff room; an original door is in the lobby; and furniture can be found in both the chapel and library.
In 2019, the school opened a large
STEM
Stem or STEM may refer to:
Plant structures
* Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang
* Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure
* Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...
education lab, boasting a
3D printer
3D printing or additive manufacturing is the Manufacturing, construction of a three-dimensional object from a computer-aided design, CAD model or a digital 3D modeling, 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is ...
, a
laser cutter
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...
, substantial robotics and engineering materials, and several dozen
Mac computers.
References
External links
Little Flower Academy official site*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20061017180537/http://www.vancourier.com/issues04/082204/news/082204nn1.html Vancouver Courier story on the loss of LFA heritage buildings
{{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver
High schools in Vancouver
Private schools in British Columbia
Catholic secondary schools in British Columbia
Educational institutions established in 1927
Girls' schools in Canada
1927 establishments in British Columbia