VANCOUVER (CCN) — Looking at photos documenting nearly one hundred years of Little Flower Academy history, Janina Freyman was carried back to her first day at the school in the 1950s. It is a history that still provides a foundation for students’ education and for the recently started construction of the school’s newest facilities.
“It felt very family-like,” said Freyman, who graduated in 1955, in an interview as part of the school’s Flourish Campaign fundraiser. “I felt like the students were with me. They didn’t make fun or put my braids into the inkwell,” she said with a laugh.
Decades later, that same sense of belonging continues to draw families to the Vancouver all-girls school. For alumna Erin Heather, class of 1989, the tradition is now being lived by her two daughters, one in Grade 8 and one in Grade 12.
“LFA has come a long way, but the tradition is still there. The same values are still here,” she said. “I liked the small classrooms; the teachers all knew who we were. It’s very special.”
It is this legacy, woven through generations, that inspired the launch of the Flourish Campaign, an initiative calling the Catholic community to support the next chapter of LFA’s mission. The campaign is helping fuel one of the most significant development projects in the school’s history, a project aimed at ensuring the traditions Freyman and Heather experienced can continue for decades to come.
Little Flower Academy has officially broken ground on a major campus expansion, scheduled to open in 2027 just in time for its centennial celebration.
The multi-storey addition will modernize academic offerings across several disciplines. Four new science labs and a centralized STEAM hub will strengthen hands-on learning and cross-curricular collaboration. A new auditorium, convertible into a theatre, will expand the performing arts program. The Foods Lab will bring new life to the school’s long-standing tradition of home economics, with a fully updated kitchen that will also support community events.
“This project is all about delivering exceptional experiential learning to give students the skills and confidence to be values-based leaders of tomorrow,” said Head of School Diane Little.
The location of the build reflects the school’s careful attention to student life. By constructing on the north field, the project will cause minimal disruption to classes. Once the new building is complete, the aging 1950s wing will be removed and replaced with a synthetic turf field, giving student athletes year-round field access.
More than meeting practical needs, the expansion reflects LFA’s commitment to forming well-rounded young women, academically, spiritually, and socially. Larger classrooms and new breakout spaces will offer greater flexibility for modern teaching and give students more room to explore, collaborate, and grow.
With the ceremonial groundbreaking complete and construction underway, LFA is looking ahead to its centenary with gratitude and determination. As the school prepares to enter its second century, it is inviting alumnae, families, and friends to lend their prayers and support. For generations, the school has flourished because people believed in its mission of forming young women to lead, serve, and witness to their faith.
