Action toward sustaining or improving the wellbeing of students and staff has been a focus for the School in recent years. Academic teams and directors regularly examine the school day to identify those things that impact wellbeing. The aim is to create new or enhance existing elements that have a positive impact and modify those that need to change. Today’s message will explore a change in the pattern of the School’s annual holidays and vacations to create a longer break for students during the long stretch of learning between September to December.

In today’s ECalls, there is a link to the 2022-2023 Holiday and Vacation Calendar. I want to draw your attention to the week of November 7 to 10, a week without classes for students. By shifting the professional development day traditionally scheduled in September to a day adjacent to the professional development day in November, and combining these two days with the mid-term break, the calendar now provides students with time away from school that is long enough to re-energize as well as a catch-up or look ahead in their learning. A more substantial break is something students need to sustain their health and well-being at this time of year.

In the creation of this longer mid-term break, it is important to note, there is no change to the number of days for professional development; however, one day has been added to the mid-term break. Even with this change, the School continues to maintain the Ministry of Educations instructional hours requirement. As our planning for the year continues, we are reviewing the date for school closing and, as you will see, at this time, this date has been extended one day to conclude on Thursday, June 15, 2023; however, this will not be confirmed until we complete our review.

I believe parents will see in this new calendar pattern many positive impacts not only for students but also for families including fewer short weeks during the autumn period. These short weeks disrupt learning and the working week for parents/guardians. With the Remembrance Day holiday included in this week, a full week without classes may provide families with planned time to take a break together. One further benefit that is very exciting from a teacher professional development perspective is two back-to-back days for learning, permitting more intentional exploration into complex topics; this is a welcome change for educators.

In closing, this is one modification we can make - a change in the pace of the year. We are also looking closely at the pace of the day and, in the new year, will be sharing how it is possible to look differently at how we move through a week and, in doing so, improve student well-being and teacher collaboration opportunities.

Carol Service Update

The initial period for booking tickets for the Carol Service closed on Wednesday, December 8. Any additional tickets will be made available to the community on Monday, December 13. Watch for a message from the School on Monday with information on how to book additional tickets for your family. At this time, the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts is at approximately 85% capacity. A few notes:

1. It is recommended families print tickets in advance of arrival to ease entrance procedures and reduce congregating.
2. All audience members older than 12 years must be prepared to show proof of vaccination.
3. Audience members meeting performers must do so outside of the Chan Centre.
4. Face masks must be worn at all times once inside the Chan Centre.

Holiday & Vacation Calendar for 2022-2023

The Holiday & Vacation Calendar (click the 2022-2023 tab) has been updated for the 2022–2023 school year. The calendar can be found on My CHS Parent page on the school website, or by searching for “holiday calendar” in the website search tool. Parents/guardians should note the extended mid-term break from November 7 to 11, that combines two professional development days with the mid-term break and the Remembrance Day holiday. Comments related to the restructuring that led to this extended break are in the Message from the Head of School.

Uniform Shop Update

The Uniform Shop will not be processing online orders over Winter Break. Any orders submitted during the break will be processed after Tuesday, January 11. Families will be notified by email when their orders have been processed and are ready for pick-up.

Travel and Restriction from Attending School

Parents and guardians who are traveling are urged to monitor the federal government travel website, COVID-19: Travel, Testing and Borders. New requirements were added for all fully vaccinated travellers who have been in any country other than Canada and the United States in the 14 days prior to entry to Canada. Fully vaccinated travelers may be selected for arrival testing and quarantine until they receive a negative test result. The Government of Canada is increasing the number of fully vaccinated travellers being selected for testing to reach 100% of vaccinated travellers in the coming weeks.

The rules for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children remain unchanged. These children are restricted from attending school for 14 days upon return. This is a federal government restriction and the School will not make an exception. It is the responsibility of families to contact your respective school’s director, Wendy Macken, Director, Junior School or Michelle Douglas, Director, Senior School, in writing if your daughter is impacted by a travel restriction.

Enrolment for 2022-2023

The enrolment process for the next school year has begun. This process is outlined on the Enrolment, Tuition and Billing page of the My CHS Community Portal. Look to this page for all supporting documentation with links to additional information being added as the process continues. At this time, parents/guardians with daughters in JK to Grade 11 are required to complete step 1, the “Intent to Enrol” form, accessible through the forms tab on your daughter’s MySchool Student Information Portal. The form requires less than a minute to complete and must be completed before departing for the winter holiday, December 17, 2021. Thank you to all parents/guardians for your prompt attention to all steps of this enhanced process.

Gift Acceptance Policy

Crofton House parents and students often thank CHS employees for their contributions through gifts. To help avoid a real, potential or perceived conflict of interest for the employee and the School, CHS employees can only accept gifts as outlined in the Gift Acceptance Policy, section 3.3 of the CHS Employee Handbook. If you are giving a gift to an employee, we would ask that you ensure it is reasonable in nature and does not exceed $125 at a time or $500 from one family within an academic year. Please note that employees are not able to accept cash. Please understand that if an employee refuses or returns a gift, it is simply that they are following the School's policy. If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Robinson, Director, Human Resources.

Senior Kindergarten students have been making the most of their dynamic play area. They have continued learning about owls through role play and exploring areas like food, care and habitat.

Junior School students have been rehearsing and recording for their Winter Concert videos, excited to share plenty of festive merriment and musicality. Videos will be made available to parents on Monday, December 13.

Grade 5 and Grade 2 buddies were busy making festive greetings cards in the Junior School Atrium this week.

Thank you to everyone who contributed items to the Junior School donation drive in support of the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre this Christmas. Grade 7 students helped with the task sorting and boxing up all of the donated items before they were sent to the DEWC last week.

It only took 24 hours for the snow to come and go, but that was plenty of time for Junior School students to decorate Kent Field with a wonderful array of snow sculptures. Despite the cold fingers and soggy toes, it certainly brought an extra level of holiday buzz to campus.

Grade 9 students had their annual workshop with Hit and Run Self Defence to teach them the skills to avoid trouble, and take action if they can’t. They focused on strategies that target the vulnerable TEEN areas: Throat, Ears, Eyes, Nose.

The Senior School Fall/Winter Concert, Together, saw a much welcomed return to in-person concerts in the Beedie Fine Arts Centre. Concert Choir, Chamber Choir and Orchestra were joined by guest accompanists for a wonderful evening of music, much to the delight of the live audience.

Congratulations to all of the Senior School recipients of athletics 5-year pins, as well as recipients of the Crofton House School Values Awards.

Students from Grade 8 to Grade 12 celebrated the end of Spirit Week with a welcome return to the Winter Games. Teacher Tik-tok challenges, dance-offs and relay races were just some of the games that pitted the school houses against each other in a friendly bid for glory!

Junior School Athletics-at-a-Glance

Basketball is in full swing in the Junior School, with teams from Grade 5 to Grade 7 competing in their first matches this week. We look forward to bringing you more highlights when training and fixtures resume after the winter break.

Senior School Athletics-at-a-Glance

Crofton House School is proudly hosting the 2021-2022 AAA Varsity Girls Volleyball BC Provincial Championships in the Senior School Athletics Centre from December 9 to 11. Matches can be viewed by livestream on the BC School Sports YouTube, so make sure to cheer on the Crofton Falcons as they face-off against the best teams in the province.

#GoFalconsGo

Critical Time to Help: Afghan Refugees

It started with a talk at the Senior School about the plight of refugees who escaped from Afghanistan, only to find themselves with little more than the clothes on their backs, facing a cold Canadian winter! Alongside local group "Women Leaders of Tomorrow", the CHS Ivy Compass Program sprang into action, with students preparing care packages for the refugees. Next the group zeroed in on the critical need for warm winter coats. Now Grade 11 students and the PA's Service Together program are collecting coats for the refugees--a task in which the whole school community can take part. Warm, clean jackets for children, teens or adults can be placed in donation bins placed just inside the entrances to the Senior School from December 6 to 16. Thank you in advance for helping out!

Pilot Program: CHS Parents Book Club

We've already received a wonderful response from many of you wishing to join the PA's Book Club Pilot Project! But there's still room for more CHS parents to sign up for this initiative; be in on the formation of this social, fun club and your ideas will help create the format! Just send a note to: WGWW@croftonhouse.ca.

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

Whole School

December 17 - Carol Service
December 18 - First Day of Winter Break
January 10 - Professional Development Day - No Classes for Students
January 11 - Return to school for all students

Junior School

December 16 - ECE Kids for Kids Winter Market