Giving to Saint Ann's School Annual Giving

• Annual Appeal Letter
  
  November 2011
  
  Dear Friends of Saint Ann’s School,
  
  A year ago, I wrote to you to ask that you help us sustain and enhance the remarkable things that we do at Saint Ann's School. I am writing today to launch the 2011-12 Annual Fund and seek your support.
  
  So much that is extraordinary about Saint Ann's is intangible, ephemeral, human. What more powerful reminder could we have had of this than the passing of Stanley Bosworth—our founding headmaster and the abiding spirit of the School—on August 7th? At the celebration of Stanley's life and legacy on October 15th, we celebrated what is truly essential at Saint Ann's: the world of art and ideas we offer to children, and the confidence we place in them to grasp it and change it.
  
  There are significant, tangible needs that we must address to ensure that the legacy that has been left to us will be strengthened, and that the spirit of innovation that has characterized the school since its founding is continually nurtured. Recognizing the importance of these needs last year, our community helped us set a new record for annual giving at Saint Ann's by contributing $2.04 million, more than double the goal with which we began the year.
  
  What has your generosity enabled us to do? The list is delightfully long! Within the curriculum, we added more sections of 4th grade humanities to keep class sizes small, a new Math course called "Numeracy" for all 5th graders, a new videography course in the high school (among some twenty new course offerings), more sections of English and History in 9th grade, and a new independent study elective in History for high school students. For our faculty, we have supported professional development opportunities that enrich and invigorate their teaching. For our community, we have been able to respond more generously to families who need financial aid for their children to enroll or remain at Saint Ann's. In our buildings we accelerated classroom renovations (seven in the Bosworth Building) and technology improvements, refurbished the "A" stiars, built new cabinetry for art supplies in the Kindergarten, installed a new floor and risers in the theater (thank you parents of the Class of 2011!) carried out our annual repainting and repair of the Farber Building, and completed many other projects in the short summer months.
  
  Your generosity has also given us the confidence to establish an annual giving goal for this year of $2 million, with the hope and expectation that members of the Saint Ann's community will participate as evidence that Saint Ann's continues to be a vital and meaningful presence in all of our lives. Your participation can take many forms—the Annual Fund itself; gifts designated to support need-based scholarships; contributions to the Stanley A. Bosworth Memorial Fund; or joining fellow parents and alumni at "Shorts in Winter" on December 3rd or at the Saint Ann's Gala at Liberty Warehouse on March 8th.
  
  Every gift makes a difference in the life of the school, every gift narrows the gap between what tuition sustains and what we know is required to maintain the excellence of our programs. We greet each gift with gratitude for the aspirations it nourishes and the love it signifies.
  
  With my thanks and best wishes,
  
  Vincent Tompkins
  Head of School