Supporting Limitless Opportunities for Growth

The date of this gift is significant because it was the day that all of our Junior School students returned to fulltime in-class learning in the brand new main building at the Beach Drive Campus—a building that would not have been possible without the generous support of members of the GNS Community. Meet the Bjornsons. This September marks the start of Laird Bjornsons’ fourth year at GNS, a place he loves to come to each day to learn new things and see his friends. His parents, John and Elizabeth, report that making the decision to place Laird at GNS was an easy one.  “I had the opportunity to interact with a lot of kids from the GNS community in my professional sphere,” says John. “Each time I saw these children, I was really impressed with their hearts and their minds. They seemed to have a really exceptional understanding of the world outside of themselves. I think I was always left with the idea that the future was in really good hands when I met these children and it seemed to Elizabeth and me that one day we wanted our son to be among them. It was not a difficult choice.” For Elizabeth, it was also the opportunity for Laird to experience a learning environment that could literally be limitless and to be part of a community that would support the creation of such an environment. “In giving within a community and giving within a school and a learning environment,” she says, “it is important for others to understand that to make the school like this, it takes a great amount of participation from parents.” “What we recognized with great certainty when Laird began at GNS was that not only was he entering a new school, but we as a family were entering a new community,” echos John. “And I think inherent in being a member of a community, your own expectation of yourself is that you are going to do the best that you can to grow that community and to contribute to it. Participating in the WONDER campaign is for Elizabeth and I the best way that we thought we could honour that commitment.” At this uncertain time, when many of our families have experienced financial difficulties due to the ongoing pandemic, we are grateful to the Bjornsons for making their ongoing support of GNS a priority. This gift was the third instalment of a multi-year financial commitment to the WONDER Campaign.Thank you for helping us build a space that will provide our students for many years with opportunities for limitless growth.  And thank you to all the other heroes in our community who are supporting the ongoing reinvention of our Junior School and our WONDER campaign. For more information about the WONDER Campaign contact mmarchildon@mygns.ca. Make your donation today.