ARTICLE COURTESY GISS
Students at Gulf Islands Secondary School (GISS) rely on more than just the classroom to learn and grow. From athletics and outdoor education to robotics and academic competitions, off-campus experiences play a critical role in shaping confident, capable young people. But the reliability of the vehicle has become an increasing challenge.
The school’s current minibus, now over 25 years old with more than 180,000 kilometres on it, no longer meets the school’s needs. Ongoing mechanical issues have made it unreliable and often unavailable, limiting access to student opportunities. Students and staff regularly travel long distances on highways and ferries, making dependable transportation essential to ensuring programs and trips can continue without disruption.
With budget limitations, replacing the aging bus has not been an option and so now the school community is turning to private support to help solve a growing transportation and accessibility challenge.
“A minibus is an integral part of not only our athletics program, but also many other school programs such as robotics, TASK, leadership activities, and class trips,” said Tom Langdon, athletic director for Gulf Islands Secondary School. “Having access to a dedicated bus significantly reduces transportation and ferry costs, allowing more students to participate in valuable extracurricular and educational opportunities. It also provides greater flexibility when organizing travel for competitions, tournaments and other educational purposes.
“Beyond the financial benefits, the bus creates an important sense of community among students. The time spent travelling together helps students bond as a team, club or class, building school spirit, friendships, leadership skills and a stronger sense of belonging. These shared experiences are often some of the most memorable and meaningful parts of a student’s school experience.”
A new multi-passenger vehicle will support a wide range of educational programs at GISS. Athletics teams rely on it to attend competitions across Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. Academic and STEAM programs, including robotics, depend on transportation to participate in events that extend beyond the island.
The Wilding Foundation has recognized the importance of student safety and access, and has contributed $75,000 toward the purchase of a new/new-to-us vehicle. While the foundation is known for supporting STEAM initiatives, it also understands that athletics and extracurricular activities help develop leadership, resilience and teamwork — qualities that shape future changemakers.
Studies show that roughly 68 per cent to over 70 per cent of C-suite executives and corporate leaders are former collegiate athletes. The correlation is even higher for women in leadership, with 94 per cent of women in C-suite positions reported as having played competitive sports.
With funding in place, the school board can now move forward in purchasing the new vehicle. Investing in this bus is not just about transportation. It’s about ensuring students can continue to explore, compete and learn beyond the classroom.