Welcome to the March edition of 1898, and happy 124th birthday Crofton House!
We hope that you were able to join our virtual birthday celebration, where we learned more about this year’s Achievement Award Recipients and had alumnae, friends and family joining us from across the globe. If you missed the event, you can watch the recording online.
The students remain active and engaged globally and locally. To keep you informed of CHS activities, Ena Harrop, Head of School, shares some of the February school highlights with you below, along with an invitation to connect and collaborate.
While we continue to stay socially distanced, we have found ways to connect with one another. Alumnae continue to support and volunteer to speak to current students. In this edition, you will learn more about two of those opportunities: the Work Experience Program and the Pen Pal Program. We are also currently preparing for the Capstone Project this May. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about how to get involved, please reach out to us.
This year, alumnae who graduated from a year ending with the number “2” or “7” will be celebrating their reunions. If you would like to learn more about how you can celebrate your reunion here at Crofton House School, please reach out to us at alumnae@croftonhouse.ca. If you choose to meet outside of CHS, please let us know so that we can share photos of your celebration!
Crofton House School and the CHS Alumnae Association are pleased to present this year's Alumnae Achievement Award winners
Learn about their extraordinary achievements.
Black History Month: A Message from Ena Harrop, Head of School
As in previous years, February marked Black History Month. This year, the theme for Black History Month was: “February and Forever: Celebrating Black History today and every day,” which focused on recognizing the daily contributions that Black Canadians make to Canada, and challenged the School to make ongoing, deliberate and authentic connections to this content throughout the year.
Examples of classroom experiences included AP Statistics examining how racial inequalities and the marginalization of blacks (and other minorities) can be quantified. In Physical and Health Education, the Olympic connection with Black History Month provided a powerful forum to examine the lives, barriers and accomplishments marking the journeys of female, Black Canadian Olympic athletes.
The content for Creative Arts and Applied Design, Skills and Technologies courses highlighted the work of Black artists, musicians, coders and actors who shaped and continue to influence these fields.
Learning connected to a special event like Black History Month or International Women’s Day can be memorable; however, it may also be seen to be superficial. Further, in the absence of ongoing practice of critical analysis, students may struggle to engage with the complexity of content related to certain topics woven throughout Black history.
For this reason, the School continues to enhance a unifying scope of the BC Curriculum pertaining to citizenship and social responsibility, extending from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12. Organized by grade, discipline, and co-curricular opportunity, this curricular map allows teachers to see and reference the content with which students are engaging, and build upon their learning experiences. This resource represents the importance of the School’s citizenship value and the ‘forever, today, and every day’ element of this year’s Black History Month theme. If there are alumnae who are working in the EDI space, we would love to hear from you. Please reach out to us at alumnae@croftonhouse.ca.
Pen Pal Program
Last year’s Pen Pal Program pilot project was a resounding success and has returned for a second year. Ninety percent of those alumnae who participated in 2021 returned to take part again this year, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
As part of the Grade 1 curriculum, teachers show students how to properly write a letter so that they can learn about their community and the joy of receiving mail correspondence.
The Pen Pal Program begins in March and runs through to June. Students are paired up with an alumna to write to before Spring Break, and then await their mail upon their return. Typically, pen pals can expect to exchange two letters through the process. Students love to learn about what Crofton House was like for alumnae, and to receive stickers or pressed leaves in their cards.
This program allows students to connect with alumnae, and alumnae to see life through a six-year-old’s eyes. We are grateful for the number of alumnae who have volunteered to participate in the program, shared their wonderful feedback, and returned to volunteer again this year. To learn more about this program and how you can get involved, please reach out.
Work Experience Program
As they start considering their career after CHS, Grade 11 and 12 students have the opportunity to explore different vocations through the Work Experience Program. The program is an additional opportunity for students that supplements the Career Education curriculum. It offers 20 hours of work experience as students are matched with a program supporter, including CHS alumnae, working in a field of their interest.
"Students get to explore their main areas of interest and potential career pathways that they want to explore further," Ms Purcell said. "It's a huge opportunity for them to get that firsthand experience, but also to support their understanding and expand their network."
"It's also inspiring for students to see how alumnae have moved up in different companies, or what their career path was like."
Learn more about the Work Experience Program on our website. If you would like to get involved please reach out to us at alumnae@croftonhouse.ca.
Supporting Ukraine
It used to be a tradition for the School to give a small gift to the students in celebration of Crofton House’s birthday. A few years ago, the students asked that the money be directed to a charity instead. To continue this tradition, CHS will make a contribution to the International Red Cross in support of the people of Ukraine. If you would like to make an individual donation, please go to the Red Cross Humanitarian Appeal.
For the Crofton House Alumnae Association, CHS’s 124th birthday reinforces that we have much to celebrate with over 100 years of girls and women making a difference in communities, families and careers.
Alumnae remain a vibrant part of the School’s community, even as their lives continue beyond the ivy walls. Awarded around the School birthday, Alumnae Achievement Awards are presented annually to an alumna in recognition of her outstanding dedication and accomplishments, either professional and/or volunteer. This year’s recipients represent the diversity and dedication underpinning the CHS communities: Hannah McCormack ‘99 received the Junior Alumna Achievement Award for her work in supporting youth mental health, Sheila Ross ‘49 was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her commitment to the needs of the most
vulnerable within our community, and Ambassador Aliya Mawani ‘91 received the Distinguished Alumna Achievement award for her work in the diplomatic field and her advocacy for a more peaceful world. Congratulations to each recipient! And, on behalf of the Association, I would like to thank all who nominated an alumna and engaged with celebrating Crofton House’s alumnae service and career achievements.
There are currently over 5,000 CHS alumnae around the world. For Crofton House students, graduates and old girls, this wealth of knowledge and experience can be an ongoing source of support and connection. 1898, the Alumnae Newsletter, is a way to keep alumnae connected to the CHS community and to one another. We know you are out there doing hard work and amazing things—fashion, technology, medicine, finance, charities and foundations, all things family and children —and we and the Crofton House community would love to learn more, and share your accomplishments with the next generation of Croftonians.
As we continue work to strengthen digital and virtual opportunities, we invite you to find out more about what other Crofton House alumnae are doing, spread the word, and connect with us. Learn more about the CHS Alumnae program, check out Crofton Connect or email us at alumnae@croftonhouse.ca.
Since the introduction of the Strategic Plan in December, the Association has been working hard to expand our Board and review how we do things, from our meetings to our communications, our program to event offerings. We will present more details at our AGM in May. In the meantime, we are planning a few alumnae events for the spring and hope to see you there, whether in-person or virtually!
Servabo fidem
Kelly (McCarthy) Eng ‘90
President, Alumnae Association
Save the Date: Field Hockey Match
Dust off your field hockey sticks and get ready to play! On May 13, we invite alumnae who have graduated in the last 10 years to return to Kent Field to face the current varsity team for a Crofton House match-up.
Save the Date: CHS Golf Classic
Spring is coming, which means it’s time to hit the green in the Golf Classic! Save the date for this year’s golf event on May 27, 2022.
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