Welcome to the 2021-2022 School Year

Students and staff arrived at school this week to discover that the Nancy Chan Courtyard had been transformed by a mural created by Vancouver artist, Blake Wydeman. The “tree of hope” was at the centre, and colourful chalk birds, butterflies and rainbows radiated from its branches. Vines and leaves invited students to add to the mural, making it an interactive masterpiece. Despite the rain that arrived mid-week to wash away the chalk, the message of hope stayed in our hearts, and helped set the tone for our first full week of school.

In the Junior School, students received confidence-boosting messages of hope for the year ahead from members of our teaching staff. Each teacher spent time personalizing handmade postcards so that every student received a friendly note welcoming them to the new year, and to the Junior School.

And as Grade 8 parents will know, an overnight Outdoor Education excursion also took place this week—another symbol of hope. The chance to get outdoors in this way are what Grade 8 memories are made of, and we are so pleased to have been able to offer this learning and experience through the Ivy Compass program. We can imagine that hope is a unifying emotion for each Grade 8 who walks into the Senior School for the first time—hope that she will connect with others, hope that she will thrive, hope that she will belong.

The first few weeks of school are filled with many emotions. As we continue to balance the importance of keeping everyone together, safely, I am struck by how imperative it is that hope guides us. Hope is what propels us forward, drives us to find a way when barriers emerge, and it’s how we want students to see the world—where there is hope, there is possibility.

I trust you have had a chance to see the #CHSTreeofHope featured on our Instagram and Facebook channels, and hope that we stay connected as we begin the 2021-2022 school year.

COVID-19: CHS Health & Safety Guidelines

The COVID-19: CHS Health & Safety Guidelines have been updated to provide guidance on the presence of spectators at athletic competitions. Sections where we have made updates are highlighted for ease of reference. Updated topics include: Limiting Visitors to Campus (Page 8) and Whole School Athletics (Page 10). Review the updated guidelines.

Frequently Asked Questions: COVID-19 Town Halls

The School has prepared an FAQ with helpful information from the COVID-19 Town Halls. The FAQ covers topics such as factors to consider when selecting a mask, guidance on staying home when sick, and what happens when there is an exposure event at school. Thank you to the parents who provided thoughtful questions that helped form the FAQ. As the year progresses and more questions emerge, this document will be updated to clarify or provide context for the COVID-19: CHS Health & Safety Guidelines available in the My CHS Community Portal under COVID-19 Resources.

Save the Date: Whole Girl, Whole World with Carl Honoré

Crofton House School and the CHS Parents’ Auxiliary invite parents to save the date for a virtual evening with Carl Honoré on Wednesday, October 6 at 7:00 pm. Grade 4 to 12 students will also participate in a virtual presentation that week. Carl is an award-winning writer, broadcaster and TED speaker. He is the author of several books, including In Praise of Slow, that explore what he calls, “the Slow philosophy”—the idea of doing everything as well as possible, instead of as fast as possible. An invitation to the event with more information and registration details will be sent next week.

Virtual Conversation with Admissions

The Admissions Team will be hosting two Conversations with Admissions events on Tuesday, October 5 at 7:00 pm or Tuesday, November 2 at 9:00 am. Richard Cohee, Director, Admissions, and his team will lead a discussion about the admissions process and financial assistance (for new students entering Grade 8) and there will be an opportunity for questions. Many extraordinary students come to Crofton House through word-of-mouth from our community. This session will leave parents better informed about the admissions process and financial assistance. Please RSVP by Friday, October 1 to attend the first session, or Friday, October 29 for the second session.

Student Safety During Drop-Off and Pick-Up

There are three important safety notes to bring to the attention of parents/guardians related to drop-off and pick-up times:

1. Staff who are in place to assist with Junior School drop-off are witnessing students attempting to cross mid-block where moving vehicles are unable to see them or stop in time. The crosswalk at 42nd and Blenheim is where students must cross Blenheim Street.
2. Afternoon congestion on Blenheim Street is being caused by families arriving in the roundabout too early for after-school pick up or the established pick-up time for after-school programs (see pick-up schedule). Parents/guardians are respectfully asked to only arrive at school in time for pick-up.
3. Vehicles waiting on West 41st Avenue near Balaclava Street are in a no-parking zone at both drop-off and pick-up times and hinder visibility for vehicles trying to access West 41st from Balaclava.

Please review the Traffic Safety information on the My CHS Community Portal for full details.

Immunization Clinics

Public health authorities are returning to schools across the province to offer immunization clinics. There are two clinics at Crofton House School scheduled for this year: Tuesday, November 9 and Thursday, May 12. For the fall clinic, nurses will be immunizing Grades 6, 7, 9 and 10 with their routine childhood vaccines. The spring clinic will include Senior Kindergarten and Grade 1 with the same fall group. School clinics are only one way for school-age children and teens to be vaccinated, speak with your family physician or contact your local health authority for more information. More details on the school-based clinic will be available prior to November 9.

Uniform Shop Hours in September

The Uniform Shop is open to Senior School students in September, Monday to Thursday, from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. At this time, there is no drop-in time for Junior School students or parents. However, parents can make an appointment to visit the Uniform Shop by calling the store at 604 263 3255 ext. 4020. Parents are encouraged to use the online order form when possible. If you have received a notice from the Uniform Shop that your order is ready, please pick up the order from the receiving area (5711 Balaclava Street) from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm as soon as possible.

Featured Items from the Uniform Shop

The CHS Uniform Shop has some exciting new additions this year, including running tights (available for Senior School only) and running shorts (available for Grades 4 to 12).

Run for the Cure CHS Team

Since we can’t meet in person this year, the CIBC Run for the Cure has been transformed into a one-of-a-kind experience with both physical and virtual components. Run for the Cure takes place Sunday, October 3, and is an opportunity to bring together a small group of family and friends to run or walk around your neighbourhood as part of your at-home celebration. There’s still time to join the CHS team in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

Receive your "Run for the Cure" t-shirt by raising the minimum fundraising thresholds ($60+ for youth and $150+ for adults). T-shirts will be mailed out after the event. Join the Crofton House Junior School team or Senior School team. Learn more.

Working with KidSafe

Crofton House School has a proud history of working with KidSafe, helping to provide support in their goal of protecting Vancouver’s most vulnerable children. In the last year alone, the School served as one of the Food Security Hubs, donated over 400 pairs of athletic shoes, contributed to the Summer bike drive, provided volunteer delivery drivers, made workbooks for the kids over Summer Break, as well as donated money raised through the Winter Bazaar. Kidsafe wanted to share its Summer Break Snapshot to highlight the wonderful impact that all of this generosity has had.

The Nancy Chan Courtyard was bursting with colour at the start of this week. Artist Blake Wyndam returned to craft a CHS “tree of hope”, with branches holding up the word “HOPE” and ivy leaves wound through. Students enthusiastically added their own contributions to accompany Blake’s butterflies, rainbows, doves, and the four Junior School houses: Hummingbird, Robin, Swallow, and Wren. Thank you to the CHS Parents’ Auxiliary for helping to arrange this activity. View Gallery.

Grade 7 and Grade 12 students were present in Manrell Hall for the first Whole School Assembly of the year. The rest of the school watched welcoming speeches from Ms Harrop, Head of School, and Mia Tsao, Head Girl via livestream.

Senior Kindergarten students participated in their first assembly that included a reading of Circles All Around Us by Brad Montague, a book about how we make community and connections as we grow.

Staff crafted individual postcards for all students in the Junior School, welcoming them back to campus and motivating them for the exciting year ahead with messages like, “be the best you can be” and “you belong here”.

It can be daunting joining a new school, but staff and students did a wonderful job of welcoming dozens of new faces during the Grade 6 and Grade 8 orientation.

As is tradition, Grade 7 students received their sashes and took the oath of leadership in the Junior School atrium.

And in another tradition, there was plenty of wit and excitement out on West 41st Avenue as Grade 12 students cheered and welcomed students returning to school.

Grade 8 students have been at Camp Summit in Squamish this week, taking part in a mix of hiking, biking, and climbing, and learning useful camping skills during their Outdoor Education trip.

Grade 10 Social Studies students have been flexing their democratic muscles by participating in “Student Vote,” a national program that brings democracy to life in the classroom with a realistic voting experience.

It has been wonderful to see our student-athletes back in action as our fall season begins. After a year of training during which we witnessed a commitment from both student-athletes and coaches to develop skills, stay fit, and come together as a team, everyone is excited about a return to competition. Early competitions will include only student-athletes, coaches and officials and then, after October 1, 2021, spectators will be invited to cheer on our Crofton Falcons. Spectators are welcome on campus for field hockey games and senior volleyball matches. Livestreaming the volleyball matches of all teams will allow us to include more Crofton Falcon fans. See the updated COVID-19: CHS Health & Safety Guidelines for specific details for on-campus spectators.

Dear Parents & Guardians,

Welcome back everyone and special welcome to our new Crofton House families! We are excited to use the experience gained from last year to create and embrace that exuberant Crofton House School community spirit.

We opened our slate of events this year with another outdoor, distanced CHS Parents’ Auxiliary Used Uniform Sale and had a record response – this is certainly an important and appreciated tradition that both the Crofton House and KidSafe communities benefit from. Our Welcome Back event this week mirrored last year’s event – instead of a BBQ onsite, our wonderful parent volunteers once again planned a fun and safe way for students to work together to celebrate the beginning of the year with our “tree of hope” collaborative chalk art.

Our Whole Girl, Whole World speaker series will launch in October with international bestselling author and speaker, Carl Honoré, who will explain In Praise of Slow – how being present, living each moment fully, and putting quality before quantity is a game changer in parenting and all aspects of life. Given the times we live in, we predict this will be a big hit. It is a virtual event held October 6 at 7:00 pm. Stay tuned for more details.

Rest assured our amazing Winter Bazaar organizers are working hard to host another virtual bazaar that will allow us to enjoy this important school tradition, despite restrictions. We will carry on with our fall events, including gatherings organized by Class Parents, in the same fashion – apply what we learned last year, remain flexible, and adapt to evolving guidelines.

Despite challenging times, last year more than ever, we exhibited a clear desire to strengthen our bonds with one another and remain a strong, vibrant community. Let’s keep it up! Get involved where possible, stay engaged, and together we will navigate these unique times, share in our parenting journey, foster our friendships, and celebrate our wonderful community.

Kris Dattani
Chair, CHS Parents' Auxiliary

Welcome Back Chalk Art

Once again this year, the annual Welcome Back BBQ was replaced with a colourful, collaborative art project to celebrate the beginning of the school year. Event Chairs Josephine Law and Emily Ng led a team of volunteers who worked with local artist Blake Wydeman. Blake inspired a beautiful chalk mural focused on the theme of “hope”. Students then added their own individual creative talents to this very unique artwork. Thank you to everyone involved!

Great Turnout at the Used Uniform Sale

Thank you to everyone who donated gently-used uniform pieces to the PA's Used Uniform Sale. Your contributions (and a sunny fall day!) helped break the record for the busiest and most successful sale ever. Special thank you to event organizer, Ai Lin Tiah, and all of the hard-working volunteers who made the safely-distanced event happen. All proceeds go to KidSafe.

Log into the My CHS portal to access the full school calendar.

Whole School

September 24 - Run for the Cure “Think Pink” Fundraiser
September 27 - School Photo Day - #1 Uniform
September 30 - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation - No Classes
October 1 - Orange Shirt Day
October 8 - Professional Development (No Classes)
October 11 - Thanksgiving (School Closed)

Junior School

September 22 - ECE Curriculum Evening
September 23 - Grade 1 to 5 Curriculum Evening (RESCHEDULED)
September 27 - Grade 6-7 Curriculum Information Evening

Senior School

September 20-22 - Grade 10 OE
September 20 - Post-Secondary and Careers Virtual Presentation - Grade 11
September 21 - Post-Secondary and Careers Virtual Presentation - Grade 10
September 22 - Grade 8 to 12 - Early Dismissal Wednesday (EDW)
September 25 - Innovation Challenge
October 7 - Grade 8 Housewarming