June is National Indigenous History Month, a month when everyone is encouraged to take time and recognise the rich history, resilience and diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples across Canada.

Call 62 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action calls on the Government of Canada to “make an age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandatory education requirement for Kindergarten to Grade 12 students”. As stated in Gathering Strength – Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, “educational institutions have a pivotal role in transforming the relationship between Aboriginal peoples and Canadian society”. The report acknowledges modest improvements made in school curricula over the last 15 years, including more Indigenous content and scrutiny of textbooks to reduce the portrayal of Indigenous people in negative terms. However, the improvements have been far too slow and inconsistent.

The BC Ministry of Education and Child Care BC’s redesigned K-12 curriculum was fully implemented in 2019 and explored Indigenous worldviews, perspectives, cultures and histories across multiple grade levels and a range of subject areas. Since then, the publication of BC’s Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan includes Theme 3: Ending Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination. This specific action will complement BC’s educational program. Action 3.4 requires schools to implement a mandatory course or bundle of credits related to First Peoples as part of BC’s graduation requirements (Ministry of Education and Child Care).

The School is preparing for this curriculum shift and is excited about what it offers to the students. We are also pleased to be working with Carolyn Roberts, a Faculty Member and Indigenous Teaching Fellow in the Department of Education at Simon Fraser University. I encourage everyone to visit Ms Roberts’ website for resources, online and in text, and to take time to watch her TEDxLangleyED presentation, Reconciliation in Your Community.

Our school year is now book-ended by National Day of Truth and Reconciliation on September 30 and National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21. At Crofton House, we are honoured to be part of all efforts to incorporate Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into classrooms throughout the year. Teachers have embraced this element of their curricula and the resource curation support being provided by both the Ministry of Education and Child Care and the First Nations Education Steering Committee. If you are interested in learning more about the Indigenous-Focused Graduation Requirement, see the BC Ministry of Education and Child Care’s Q&A.

In June, we also take time to remember the unmarked graves uncovered at residential schools across the country. We grieve the loss of those who did not return to their homes and we renew our commitment to work towards truth, justice and reconciliation in their memory.

Host Applications In Support of Afghan Students Initiative Accepted Until June 17

Parents/guardians interested in hosting one of two Afghan students the School hopes to welcome to campus can find more information on this opportunity in a document, Welcoming Students from Afghanistan Host Family Information. A recording of an information meeting held on May 24 is also available (please note the passcode CHS@3200). Friba Rezayee from Womens Leaders of Tomorrow, and Paula Johnson from Cypress Accommodation were in attendance and provided helpful background for families considering hosting a student in their homes. All interested families are encouraged to complete a Cypress Accommodations application form.

CHS Parents’ Auxiliary Survey Results

All parents/guardians were invited to participate in a survey from the Parents’ Auxiliary to solicit feedback on past PA-organized events and guide planning for a return to in-person events. A summary of the survey results was reviewed at the PA meeting this week and is available to all parents/guardians online.

RSVP for Year-End BBQ

Join the entire CHS community on Friday, June 10 from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm at the return of our traditional year-end celebration hosted by the CHS Parents’ Auxiliary! Enjoy a classic BBQ selection of burgers, pizza, hot dogs, fruit/veggies, ice cream and more in the Nancy Chan Courtyard. There will be photo booths and games for the young, and young at heart, too! To assist in our planning, we ask that parents RSVP to the event by Friday, June 3. However, families are welcome to drop into the event.

Volunteers are also needed to help make the BBQ a success! This is a great way to get involved and get to know the CHS community. Visit the SignUp page for more details and to register.

Support Our Next Used Uniform Sale

Get ready for the next Used Uniform Sale! Boxes are now located at the entrances to the Uniform Shop, Junior and Senior Schools for families to donate their clean, gently used, official CHS gear. Throughout Summer Break, there will be a donation bin placed at the Receiving Entrance at 5711 Balaclava Street. The sale itself will take place Friday, August 26. Mark your calendars! More details to follow.

The Charity Art Show & Sale Is Back!

For the past decade, Studio 65 (the Senior School’s art club) has facilitated the annual Charity Art Show & Sale. While the show has been on hold in recent years due to the pandemic, we’re excited to announce that the 2022 Charity Art Show & Sale is back! From June 1 to 10, bid on artwork donated by current students, CHS alumnae and staff. View all available pieces. If you would like to see and bid on these art pieces, please come to the upper hallway of the Senior School, near the Senior School Office.

Successful bidders will be contacted the week of June 13 to be informed of next steps, and all donations this year will go towards the Canadian Wildlife Rescue Association.

Cleaning and Food Services Contracts

This year, the School has completed two “Request for Proposal” processes for both cleaning and food service contracts. We are pleased to report that SAGE Dining—a fixture on campus appreciated by students, staff and the larger CHS community—will continue to provide food services. Beginning in 2022-2023, BEST will be keeping our spaces clean and disinfected—a new company, with familiar faces! The SerVantage staff will continue to work at CHS; however, they will now be employed by BEST.

Junior and Senior Kindergarten students got a taste of what they can look forward to at the start of the next school year during Discovery Day. Each group of students had a chance to spend time in their new classrooms, environments (including the BIG Woods!), meet their new teachers and ask questions about what to expect when school starts in September.

Grade 4 students had a virtual visit from author Linda Bailey, author of Carson Crosses Canada!, taking the chance to ask her questions about where she gets her ideas from and how to write exciting stories.

Grade 5 students embraced the wilderness on their Outdoor Education trip to Camp Fircom on Gambier Island. From the forest to the ocean, they got the chance to connect with nature and appreciate the importance of preserving it for all to enjoy. Ms Hare, Teacher, Ivy Compass Program, Junior School, has put together some beautiful highlight videos of the Grade 5 and Grade 7 Camps for families to enjoy.

Concert season has officially wrapped here at Crofton House, with both the Grade 4-5 and Grade 6-7 musical extravaganzas entertaining audiences of proud parents and siblings. View a Vidigami gallery for each of the Junior School Spring Concerts:

ECE - “The Giant Octopus”
Grade 1-3 - “Tweet!”
Grade 4-5 - “The Moon”
Grade 6-7 - “Awakening”

Grade 7 students were exploring social media networks, but using a very low-tech approach: pen and paper! Armed with simple tools and lots of conversation, the students had to map out their network of contacts across the whole year, revealing the complex and intricate nature of how we are all linked to each other.

The Food Lab was buzzing with activity last week as Alumnae mother and daughter teams rustled up a mountain of delicious cookies for the 2022 CHS Golf Classic.

Rain showers couldn’t dampen the spirit on display at Senior School Sports Day on Kent Field. Tug of War, Chicken Ball, obstacle courses and high stakes Pictionary were just some of the challenges that awaited the students and teachers.

Senior School students made a ruthlessly efficient production line to help stuff envelopes for KidSafe. It’s always great to see a strong commitment to volunteerism amongst the student body.

Multi-day, self-supported paddling adventures in the BC wilderness…count these Grade 10 students in! These snaps are just a glimpse into the wonderful experiences these OE11 students had as they navigated the Powell Forest Canoe Circuit.

Grade 11 students didn’t just use their own trumpets…they made them too! As part of their physics class and working in the design lab, they crafted an array of string, percussion and wind instruments.

One last hurrah! Grade 12 students have just arrived back from their final Outdoor Education trip before graduation: rafting on the mighty Fraser River with Kumsheen Rafting Resort.

We are excited to announce three new CHS Research Chairs of Teaching and Learning, conducting their research from 2022-2025: Maureen Duteau, Teacher, English, Senior School, and Simon Ng and Mike Roberts, Teachers, Mathematics, Senior School. For details on their respective research projects, visit our blog.

It’s been an inspiring week for Crofton House’s literati! At a ceremony in Toronto, Grade 12 student Caitlin won the Amazon Canada Youth Short Story Award, which includes a mentorship and publication with The Walrus. CHS alumna Pik-Shuen Fung ’05 also took home the companion award, the Amazon Canada First Novel Award!

In the Senior School, teams are wrapping up competition on the track, court and water. Congratulations to the Crofton Falcons track and field team, who won the Vancouver Sea to Sky Zone Championships AA Girls and Combined titles, and to our tennis team for winning Vancouver Sea to Sky Zones and the AAA BC Championships! This past weekend also marked a milestone for rowing, as they competed in their first full-team regatta of their season—taking home first place in the U17 Women’s Novice 2x and Women’s U15 2x events.

The BC Elementary Track and Field Championships on May 27 marked the final event for Junior School athletics this school year–and what a meet it was! With strong performances from the whole team, Crofton House finished first overall for women’s events. This follows both a top girls team award at the Vancouver Olympic Club Track & Field Meet, and winning the 2022 ISEA Track & Field Girls Championships (for which a new banner is being hung in Chan Hall!). Congratulations to all those who participated in track and field this season!

Together again! This spring, it feels wonderful to see flowers bloom and smiles reappear from behind masks. It marks a beautiful change in season and our situation as we slowly open for social gatherings and, dare I say, life beyond the pandemic.

In reviewing our 2021-2022 school year, our community remained steadfast in building connections and supporting those in need, despite continued COVID restrictions. In fall 2021, we began by welcoming everyone back with Whole Girl, Whole World speaker Carl Honoré and the Winter Bazaar. Despite remaining virtual, these events allowed us to connect with the School community, share useful parenting advice and give back. Our Winter Bazaar proceeds supported KidSafe, our partner in supporting local children during school breaks.

In January our Service Together program—led jointly by Senior School student leaders, CHS and the PA—went beyond our ivy walls with menstrual product drives and coat drives for Afghan refugees and the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre. We also showered CHS staff with appreciation, including personalized tumblers and biscottis for a warm winter treat.

In April, as restrictions lifted, we welcomed parents back to campus for a series of Coffee & Conversation events. For some, it marked their very first time in Manrell Hall since their daughter started school at Crofton House. Now, as we close the year in this final stretch, we are excited to host our first in-person Year-End BBQ in two years, a Staff Appreciation Morning, and the Backpack Drive, amongst many other in-person grade events.

Through much of the year, these events were made possible with the leadership of Kris Dattani, our outgoing PA Chair. I hope you join me in thanking her for steering us through the pandemic and creating moments for us to feel that special Crofton House warmth. As your new Chair, I am hopeful for many more opportunities to bring us all together again.

Happy summer to all!

Christina Louey
Chair, CHS Parents’ Auxiliary

Thank You, Volunteers!

Crofton House and the CHS Parents’ Auxiliary want to say a heartfelt thank you to anyone who lent their time and talent to support a CHS event or initiative this year. Join us for a Volunteer Appreciation Tea in Manrell Hall on June 7 from 8:30 am to 10:00 am. Drop-in’s are welcome!

Another Successful Backpack Drive

The Crofton House School community has done it again! This week, an amazing 311 backpacks were sponsored by families, stuffed with school supplies by parent and student volunteers, and delivered to schools across Vancouver to help students in our community have a great start to the school year next September. Great work, CHS!

Thank you to Backpack Event Chair, Sarah Tellantire, for leading this important initiative and expanding it to more recipients than ever. And thank you to the volunteers, backpack sponsors and all who took part in this worthwhile cause!

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

Whole School

June 10 - Year-End BBQ

Junior School

June 13 - Grade 7 Final Assembly and Family Celebration
June 15 - Junior School Last Day (Noon Dismissal)

Senior School

June 7 - Grade 9 Class Parent Beach Picnic
June 15 - Senior School Last Day
June 15 - Graduation BBQ
June 16 - Graduation Ceremony
June 20 - Graduation Dinner & Dance