News
A Message from the Chair of the Board
After 20 years of bold and compassionate leadership at BSS, Angela Terpstra will be retiring in June 2026.
Angela will continue to lead the school with the support of Meagan Enticknap, Deputy Head of School, and the rest of the Senior Leadership Team until the end of the next school year, and she will work closely with them and our next Head of School to enable a smooth transition. The Board would like to thank Angela for her unwavering commitment and the incredible impact she’s had on BSS. We look forward to many opportunities to celebrate her legacy before June 2026.
The Board has been diligently preparing for this important transition and is excited about identifying our next world-class Head of School. A search committee has been established which includes myself, Sarah MCLACHLIN Atkins ’89 (Vice Chair Designate of the Board, Chair of our Strategy Committee and Member of our Human Resources Committee), Sarah Morgenstern (Vice Chair of the Board and Co-Chair of our Development Committee), Nilam Ganenthiran (Member of the Board and Chair of our Finance and Audit Committee), Sam Blaichman (Member of the Board of Trustees, Member of the Investment Committee and Member of the Disbursements Committee) and Janet Duga (Executive Director, Human Resources, ex-officio). Two long-term BSS employees – Heidi Miller (Enrolment Associate and former biology teacher and Science Department Head) and Charlotte Fleming (Dean of Student Leadership) – will serve as Advisors to the Search Committee, sharing their insights and perspectives. Odgers Berndtson, an executive search firm with an expertise in hiring senior leaders for independent schools, will support the Search Committee in identifying a diverse pool of highly qualified candidates.
The Board has been diligently preparing for this important transition and is excited about identifying our next world-class Head of School. A search committee has been established which includes myself, Sarah MCLACHLIN Atkins ’89 (Vice Chair Designate of the Board, Chair of our Strategy Committee and Member of our Human Resources Committee), Sarah Morgenstern (Vice Chair of the Board and Co-Chair of our Development Committee), Nilam Ganenthiran (Member of the Board and Chair of our Finance and Audit Committee), Sam Blaichman (Member of the Board of Trustees, Member of the Investment Committee and Member of the Disbursements Committee) and Janet Duga (Executive Director, Human Resources, ex-officio). Two long-term BSS employees – Heidi Miller (Enrolment Associate and former biology teacher and Science Department Head) and Charlotte Fleming (Dean of Student Leadership) – will serve as Advisors to the Search Committee, sharing their insights and perspectives. Odgers Berndtson, an executive search firm with an expertise in hiring senior leaders for independent schools, will support the Search Committee in identifying a diverse pool of highly qualified candidates.
We believe that input from our community of employees, students, parents and alumnae is vital to ensuring the success of our next Head of School. On October 28, you will be receiving an email with a link to a survey. We encourage you to share your perspective on key leadership priorities as we continue to pursue our mission (Inspire girls to be fearless. Educate girls to be leaders.) in alignment with our values (Pursue Excellence, Take Risks, Be Creative, Learn From Our Differences, Honour Our Heritage, Embrace Change, Be Curious). All responses will be anonymous. Along with the survey, we will be running focus groups of students, parents and alumnae. This input will inform the development of the position profile and candidate evaluation criteria. Thank you in advance for your participation.
We hope to be able to announce the next Head of School by September 2025 and we will provide updates on our progress in the interim. If you have any questions or recommendations with respect to the search process, please email search@bss.on.ca.
Sincerely,
Devon KIRK ’01
Chair, Board of Governors
