Little Flower Academy (LFA) is a Canadian independent all girls Catholic secondary school located in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

’s Shaughnessy neighbourhood established in 1927, by the

Sisters of Saint Ann The Sisters of Saint Anne (SSA) is a Catholic Church, Catholic religious institute founded in 1850 in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Vaudreuil, Quebec, Canada, by Marie Anne Blondin to promote the education of the rural children of the Province of Canada. Thei ...

History

In 1858, five women of the Québec-based order of the

Sisters of St. Ann The Sisters of Saint Anne (SSA) is a Catholic religious institute founded in 1850 in Vaudreuil, Quebec, Canada, by Marie Anne Blondin to promote the education of the rural children of the Province of Canada. Their vision is rooted in and guided ...

travelled by sea to the Isthmus of Panama and up the west coast to Victoria. They set down in a small log cabin in

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, 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

, 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 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 a top three standing in the

Fraser Institute The Fraser Institute is a Canadian Conservatism in Canada, conservative public policy think tank registered as a Charitable organization, charity. It is headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal. It has ...

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 and Ice Hockey (new in 2022/2023) * Spring Season Sports: Badminton, Soccer, Tennis, Track & Field, and Ultimate Frisbee

Provincial championships

* Badminton: 2022 and 2023 * Track & Field': 2013 * Volleyball: 2012, 2016 and 2020

Notable alumnae

* Patricia (Grossmith) Cladis (1955) - physicist specializing in liquid crystals. *

Frances Wasserlein Frances Wasserlein (b. July 31, 1946 San Francisco – August 23, 2015 Halfmoon Bay) was a Canadian-American arts community manager and a LGBTQ rights activist living in Canada. She was executive producer of Vancouver Folk Music Festival and box o ...

(1964) - LGBTQ activist and arts community manager. * Andrea Hannos (1991) - 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 ...

(1991) - actress *

Danielle Kettlewell Danielle Merlyn Reedy (née 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 ...

(2010) - Synchronized Swimmer at the Rio Olympics 2016 (representing Australia). *

Ceili McCabe Ceili McCabe (born September 17, 2001) is a Canadian middle- and long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. She has represented her country at the 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships and holds the Canadian 30 ...

(2019) - distance runner

Building architecture

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. Many of the features of the old buildings were salvaged during the deconstruction and integrated into the new wing. Most of the stained glass windows can be found on display in the new building; 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.

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