CHS: Inspiring girls to discover and pursue their personal exellence.

Welcome to our second edition of 1898 for the 2017 – 2018 academic year. We hope you all enjoyed your holiday break surrounded with family and friends. As you will see from our updates and events our alumnae are as busy as ever. We hope you will all mark your calendars for upcoming alumnae events including the 120th CHS Birthday celebrations!

Rachel Koffman ’09 – Recognizing the Importance of a Diverse Community

While the words diversity and inclusion are often used to describe the ideal workplace today, it is sometimes difficult to know what they mean or how to achieve them. Rachel Koffman ‘09 is a recognized leader in creating strategies for companies to put actions behind those words to help attract and develop diverse teams, foster an inclusive workplace, and support diverse customers and communities.

When reflecting on what she gained while at Crofton House School, Rachel notes the importance of learning leadership skills and being part of a community where people came from different backgrounds and experiences. “I was the assistant Head Girl in grade 12 and that leadership opportunity – the chance to work collaboratively with other student leaders and staff and to learn from everyone’s unique experience – set me up for success. My confidence also took a big leap forward during my time at Crofton House. My involvement in music and theatre really helped me to connect with people, to step outside of my comfort zone, and to be part of a unique community.”

Continue reading »

Soup Sisters – On Thursday, February 15 the Alumnae Association will be hosting another evening at Soup Sisters. Alumnae will come together to make litres of nourishing soup at Northwest Culinary Academy which will then be delivered to local women’s shelters. Space is limited so please sign-up online!

Crofton House School’s 120th Birthday! Mark your calendars for Friday, March 2! Join us on campus for our birthday celebrations including the school birthday assembly and birthday lunch. The Alumnae Association Annual General Meeting will also be held that day. Watch your inboxes and mailboxes for more information!

Walk In Her Shoes Walk in her Shoes is a multi-city event being held on Sunday, March 4 by CARE Canada. Women and girls in developing countries walk an average of 10,000 steps each day to collect clean water. Crofton House has registered a team, which will walk 10,000 steps on March 4th to support the vital work done by CARE Canada. We are delighted that one of our own alumna, Daphne Meredith ’74, is chairing this important event. Sign-up to participate in this event.

Winter–Spring Alumnae Events - Mark Your Calendars!

February 15 Soup Sisters
March 2 Crofton House School's 120th Birthday
- Alumnae Association Annual General Meeting
- Alumnae Luncheon
March 4 Walk in Her Shoes

For more details about upcoming events, visit the alumnae events page »

Kayla Chutter ’18, Emily Chan ’18, Aava Param ’18, Kelly Kwan ‘18

Empowering Tomorrow’s Girls

Shocked and inspired. That is how Aava Param ’18 felt after watching the documentary, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, based on the book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, in her grade 9 Physical Health and Education class. She was shocked by the human stories of tragic conditions that exist for women in so many parts of the world and was inspired to take action.

Looking for ways to help promote gender equality and advocacy, she reached out to Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan (CWWA), an organization that advances education and educational opportunities for Afghan women and their families and educates Canadians about human rights in Afghanistan.

Aava then turned to her friends and classmates, Emily Chan ’18, Kayla Chutter ’18 and Kelly Kwan ’18 and asked if they wanted to help form a youth-run organization that would spread awareness and raise funds to support girls’ education and rights in developing countries, with a particular focus on Afghanistan. “My family is from Iran and this concept of the lottery of birth was so important to me – if I was born within a different set of borders, my life would have been so different”, says Aava. “Even looking at how my mother grew up, she didn’t have the right to go to university. I have all these opportunities and I wanted to be able to give back.”

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In November, Crofton House School launched the Annual Fund in support of a new bursary initiative – working to remove financial barriers to ensure that all exceptional girls applying to Grade 8 are given the opportunity to discover and pursue their personal excellence at Crofton House School.

We hope that you will be inspired to help other young women reach their own personal goals through education just as you were able to. At this time, we wanted to send a special thank you to all the alumnae who have already supported the Annual Fund, including the Class of 1967. As part of their reunion, they set up a fundraising initiative to support the Annual Fund and the new Strategic Bursary Program.

If you would like to make a donation to the new bursary program now, please donate online.

If you have any questions or would like more information please contact Lydia (McNeill) Vandenberg ’85, Assistant Director, Advancement at lvandenberg@croftonhouse.ca.

Inspiring girls to discover and pursue their personal excellence.

Inspiration through Life Stories

The Lunch and Learn Program welcomes alumnae back to campus to speak with girls in Grades 11 & 12 about their careers and education path.

Roma (Gopaul-Singh) Palmer ’87 Registered Clinical Counsellor Read interview »
Lindsey Taylor ’98 Employment Legal Counsel, lululemon athletica Read interview »

If you are interested in being a ‘Lunch and Learn’ speaker, please contact Lydia (McNeill) Vandenberg ’85, Assistant Director Advancement at lvandenberg@croftonhouse.ca.

Dear Alumnae,

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and were able to enjoy the Carol Service either in person or online. Thank you to all the alumnae who came to the Seasonal Social before the Carol Service. It was wonderful to connect over a cup of coffee and celebrate the holidays.

I wanted to report that we have had a good number of nominations for the Alumnae Achievement Award; for both the Junior Achievement Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award. We are looking forward to the potential of having both awards presented this year at the school’s birthday and celebrating the accomplishments of multiple generations of alumnae.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me should you have any questions at gillrey@telus.net. I look forward to seeing many of you at the 120th Crofton House School Birthday Celebration on Friday, March 2!

Gillian (Will) Reynolds ‘90
President, CHS Alumnae Association

SheBiz Was Back!

SheBiz, a free, day-long interactive event for female students in grade 11, was once again held at Crofton House School in early November. The day brought together over 260 students and teachers from 10 public and independent schools. The girls were exposed to numerous speakers about opportunities for women in the business world.  This year we were delighted to have four of our alumnae involved as presenters and sponsors! Thanks to Alison Sinclair Burns '83, Kirsten Kennedy '84, Nicole Bisaro '06, and Corrine Kepper '92 (not pictured).

Winter Bazaar Success

We are pleased to announce that this year’s Winter Bazaar raised $61,800! Alumnae contributed to this total by making and selling over 450 jars of jam. All proceeds are donated to KidSafe, a local organization which helps vulnerable children in inner-city schools. For more information on the terrific work being done by KidSafe, visit their website.

Hong Kong Alumnae Gathering

Alumnae working and living in Hong Kong were able to visit with Dr. Pat Dawson during her recent trip to Asia in November. Thank you to all alumnae who were able to make it – such a wonderful time was had catching up!

Class of 1997 – Going Strong!

We were delighted to welcome back members of the class of 1997 to campus for a festive reunion! Over 20 classmates came together (plus a few very new additions!) to enjoy a wine and cheese and tour of the new campus. Special thank you to Jennifer (Claydon) Close ‘97 and Katherine van der Gracht ’97 for all their help connecting with classmates.

Upcoming Reunion Planning

This coming year we will be celebrating the reunion years ending in 3 and 8 (i.e. 1983 or 1998). We are happy to help in your reunion planning and delighted to welcome all classes back to campus! For more information on our new reunion packages, please contact Lydia (McNeill) Vandenberg ’85 at lvandenberg@croftonhouse.ca.

 

   

Best of the Holiday Season

Tradition is a large part of the CHS experience, and no tradition runs deeper than the Crofton House Carol Service. On Friday, December 15, more than 85 alumnae joined together for some holiday cheer at the annual Seasonal Social held at the Sheraton Wall Centre before heading over to the Carol Service at St. Andrew’s–Wesley United Church. It was a wonderful chance for alumnae to reminisce and reconnect before starting their winter holidays.

View photo gallery »

Congratulations to Award Winners Kaileigh Chow ’17 and Mary Dong ‘17

Governor General’s Academic Medals have recognized the outstanding scholastic achievements of students in Canada since 1873. They are awarded to students graduating with the highest average from high school across Canada. This year, Kaileigh Chow ’17 was Crofton House School’s recipient. Kaileigh is now continuing her studies at UBC.

The Crofton House School Alumnae Award for Scholastic Achievement is awarded to the student with the highest academic standing over her last four years in high school. This year Mary Dong ’17 was awarded the prize. She returned to campus to receive her award during her winter break from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Congratulations to Michelle (Tam) Fung ’06.  Michelle is a proud new mom to three month old baby girl, Eleanore Fung, who is sporting a CHS onesie.

It is with great sadness that we inform our alumnae community of the passing of Doreen McKenzie-Sanders C.M. OG '38. We had the privilege of honouring Doreen last year as our 2017 Alumnae Achievement Award winner. Her words of courage, wisdom and encouragement inspired us all. Read more about Doreen's inspiring life.

Class Notes
Read about the accomplishments, marriage and birth announcements, and education or career successes of your
fellow alum.
  Alumnae E-Directory
The E-Directory is a great way to stay connected with your classmates, other alumnae, and the school. Register and update your profile, volunteer as a mentor or search for a fellow alumnae by profession, geography or class year.
  Alumnae Facebook

Alumnae Events

Class Reunions

Class Representatives


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