Message from the Guild
Sydney Stoyan, President 2020-21
The Georgian Parents Guild is a volunteer association dedicated to supporting the academic, social, physical and spiritual environment of the students in the school, in partnership with the Headmaster and the school community. The Guild’s purpose is to foster parent connection. We believe parent involvement creates an enduring, engaged community. With dedicated volunteers—some of whom volunteer one hour a year and others who volunteer one hour a week—we strive for meaningful teamwork executed with integrity and kindness.
2020-21 Georgian Parents’ Guild Executive Sydney Stoyan
President Sarah Balzer
Vice President
Caron To
Secretary
Adair Roberts
Treasurer Amanda Ploughman
Past President
A Thriving Parent Community
How fortunate that the Georgian Parents Guild redefined its purpose in June 2020, several months into the pandemic: our refreshed commitment to parent connection through culture and conversation could not have been put to a more rigorous test, as we spent much of the 2020-21 year under pandemic lockdown restrictions. I am happy to report that despite everything, the Georgian parent community positively thrived, with a variety of new and inspired events and clubs, and impressive numbers of unflaggingly cheerful volunteers. Our monthly Guild meetings alternated between morning and evening timings, but were all conducted on Zoom. The ease of "gathering" in this way, and the very real desire to connect in anxious times, produced a record number of attendees, with between 30 and 75 screens logged on per meeting. In the early fall, when protocols permitted, we hosted breakfasts at Pauper's Pub and weekend class hikes throughout the city's parks—both new initiatives. Although the rest of the events were online, they were regular and robust in turnout (the Mistletoe Market Cocktail Party saw 131 RSGC families celebrate together!). We aimed to provide a variety of programming—cultural, educational and social. From October 2020 to June 2021, we had five Parent Connections events, ranging from themed suppers to wine and cheese tastings, with online socializing and meal kits delivered to our doorsteps. We hosted a Film Night, an Art Night and a yoga therapy series. New clubs included the Kitchen Party—a gathering of folks to chat cookery and whatever else—and a Book Club. A Social Justice Committee was struck in September; it shared online resources throughout the year and culminated in an interactive workshop on micro-aggressions.
The increased focus on community was requisite for our spirits, but of course the Guild also has a legacy of fundraising. And while the College graciously offered to be flexible regarding our regular monetary contributions because of the pandemic, thanks to the dedicated leadership of our volunteers and the generous participation of our Georgian families, we were able to transform our signature fundraisers, Mistletoe Market and the Cheese Sale, into virtual affairs. The SPARK Entrepreneur boys deserve a special mention: they built essential digital platforms to support our efforts. It is with great pride that we donated $65,000 towards our outstanding Capital Campaign pledge, as well as $15,000 toward student bursaries. We were also delighted to treat our beloved RSGC faculty and staff to deluxe cocktail kits in November 2020 and to a boxed luncheon in September 2021, as a replacement event for the Staff Appreciation Lunch traditionally held in Ketchum Hall in June. The Guild participates in the inter-school NISPA organization, and we learned that most independent schools reported a lack of parental engagement and few events, due to restrictions and the reliance on virtual interactions. Happily, wonderfully, the Georgian community was not to be constrained by our small Zoom squares: our genuine connectedness flourished and laid a fresh foundation for the better times to come! I am so appreciative of my Executive team—Sarah Balzer, Caron To, Adair Roberts and Amanda Ploughman—who pivoted and prevailed and shared many a laugh in a tough year. Thank you all. It was a true privilege to serve as Guild President. Sydney Stoyan Guild President 2020-21 (Jacob Buchan '21 and Gabriel Buchan '24)
Mistletoe Market
131 families attended the first-ever virtual Cocktail Party; 416 individual cocktails delivered; 60 cocktail kits delivered gratis to staff and faculty as a Guild gift
$27,990.07 raised, including
$16,758.55 from the silent auction and
$518.66 from raffle baskets
Used Textbook Sale
$6,935 raised
$65,000
donated towards our outstanding Capital Campaign pledge
$15,000
donated toward student bursaries
Cheese Sale:
first-ever virtual/10th annual Cheese Sale; 1,264 pieces of cheese personally delivered by 14 Guild volunteers; 62% of orders included cheddar.
$7,350.35
raised
Social Justice Committee
15
resources posted on the portal
14 parent ambassadors
did 27 Q&A's over Zoom during the Admissions period
and
6
big online wine tasting/supper events:
88
families for June (grads and non-grads enjoying cocktails and champagne)
62
families for online wine and cheese in October 2020
55
families for January Caribbean supper
56
families for online train trip in March
44
families for Earth Day farm-to-table Ontario supper
Georgian Parents Guild Volunteers
Thank you to the dedicated efforts of a team of over 150 volunteers who have committed their time, energy, enthusiasm and talents to support RSGC throughout the year. It couldn’t be done without you! We do our best to include everyone's name and apologize if you were missed. We appreciate everyone's contribution.
Mistletoe Market
Anastasia Kanellopoulos, Convenor Magda Nicola-Lalonde, Convenor Tim Costigan, Cocktail Party Leila Amirfeiz, Silent Auction Lynne McEachern, Vendor Relations Cheryl Heike, Logistics and Deliveries Erica Pecoskie, Raffle Baskets
Cheese Sale
Glenna Talbot, Convenor Duncan Coutts Molly Cox Liz Newton Heather Pearce Cheri Rorabeck Clare Samworth John Sayers Krista Sutton Sandra Waldie
Parent Connections
Tim Costigan
Used Text Book Sale
Molly Cox
Used Uniform Sale
Daphne Pressman
Community Service
Merle Armstrong Laura Strain
Parent Ambassadors
Merle Armstrong, Convenor Sarah Balzer Asha Daniere Simone Friedman Paz Galarce Anastasia Kanellopoulos Anne Masson Liz Newton Miranda Rand Clare Samworth John Sayers Sydney Stoyan Laura Strain Lynne Woollcombe Gloria Yusishen
Class Parents
Kari MacKay, Convenor
Grade 3 Class Parents
Miranda Rand Meredith Roth
Grade 4 Class Parents
Stephanie Lewis Julie Mitz
Grade 5 Class Parents
Nikki Hawke Leslie Finnigan
Grade 6 Class Parents
Natalie von Teichman Pat Quintero Meredith Roth
Grade 7 Class Parents
Alli Wolfe Neil Andrew Stephen Tan Fay Dai Ellen Levy Katie Riggs Sarah Hess Shiva Safari Nadia Sapiro
Grade 8 Class Parents
Alyssa Pei Jennifer Bizzarri Karen Atkinson
Grade 9 Class Parents
Sandra Waldie Leila Amirfeiz Lesli Logush Susanne Coutts Nicole Noxon
Grade 10 Class Parents
Andrea McReynolds Cheryl Heike Cynthia Goodchild
Grade 11 Class Parents
Johanna Skippon Kedrin Case Kimberley Garston
Grade 12 Class Parents
Alison Cook Britt Oldenburg Linda Knight
Kitchen Party
Clare Samworth
Social Justice Committee
Nitin Deckha
BYOBook Club
Sydney Stoyan
And in a year of endless pivots and workarounds... Helpers, Packers, Delivery Elves, Couriers, All-Purpose-Whatever-You-Need-Happy-to-Help Georgians:
Shelley Bartle-Reed Duncan Coutts Meena Hans Anne Hodgson Kathleen Mahaffy Scott Mahaffy Andie McGeachie Tracy McManus Suzanne Mitchell Juliet Nelson Heather Pearce Erica Pecoskie Ploughman family Cheri Rorabeck and family Dave Scott Krista Sutton Lynne Woollcombe