To ensure the continuous improvement of our School and educational practices, the Ministry of Education regularly inspects Crofton House School. In addition, as a member of the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS), the School is evaluated against “indicators of effective practice”. Both are thorough processes with increasing overlap in the areas assessed by the Ministry and CAIS.

This academic year, the School completed a CAIS accreditation. Initially scheduled for the previous year, it was postponed due to COVID; continued precautions resulted in a virtual accreditation visit. A committee of educators, teachers and administrators from across Canada connected with the School in November 2021.

The full CAIS accreditation report consolidates the School’s pre-visit self-assessment with the observations of the visiting committee. This report provides a detailed and current summary of the School’s operations, programs and culture. Extracts of the CAIS report are available for the community to review. It is particularly encouraging to read in the letter from Committee Chair Karen Jurjevich, Principal of Branksome Hall in Toronto, that “Crofton House School operates with mission, vision, and values that are well ingrained in school life and culture. With the continued commitment and strong working relationship between the Board and Administration, a solid plan for financial management and the completion of a new strategic plan, Crofton House will continue to thrive as a highly regarded CAIS school.”

The next steps for the School are to address all recommendations identified by the committee and provide evidence to support the actions being taken by the School. We are well underway in addressing many of the recommendations as part of the strategic planning process, including the articulation of the School’s unique value proposition (Standard 1). Further, the ‘Late Start Wednesday’ (LSW) schedule in 2022-2023 will make significant progress toward optimising opportunities for all staff to collaborate on strategic priorities (Standard 4).

In a year of community consultation related to developing a new strategic plan, having a regularly scheduled Ministry inspection and a CAIS accreditation process has made for a busy year. Still, the timing of these two evaluations has been fortunate for the School. Both provide external perspectives on the School and, in combination with the information collected from constituents related to strategic planning, give the School a clear picture of its strengths and areas for potential growth.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments regarding the CAIS accreditation report. I look forward to sharing specific details of the emerging strategic plan with the whole community soon.

CHS Welcomes Afghan Students in 2022-2023: Join an Info Session

Crofton House School is embarking on an initiative to welcome two students from Afghanistan to our community and to complete Grade 11 and 12, starting in fall 2022. In order to make this happen, we need your help! CHS families are needed to welcome these students into their homes.

The School will host a Zoom information meeting on Tuesday, May 24, at 7:00 pm. At this meeting, interested families will hear from the School, Women Leaders of Tomorrow and Cypress Accommodations about the process, and will have the opportunity to ask questions. To learn more about this initiative and potentially becoming a host family, please RSVP by Friday, May 20 at 4:00 pm.

Parent/Guardian Strategic Plan Town Hall Summary

Thank you to the approximately 100 parents/guardians who joined us at our three strategic plan town halls. The summary of the findings from these town halls are accessible from the “A New Strategic Plan” page of the “My CHS” Community Portal. Town halls with students continue and all employees are participating in a similar session as part of the May 20 professional development day program.

Parent Volunteer Appreciation Tea

Crofton House School invites all the wonderful parents who have volunteered with the School this year to attend a Volunteer Appreciation Tea on Tuesday, June 7 from 8:30 am to 10:00 am. Please RSVP online by May 31.

Staff Appreciation Morning - Sign Up to Volunteer!

This spring, the CHS Parents’ Auxiliary is excited to hold an on-campus Staff Appreciation Morning on Wednesday June 1, from 8:00 am to 11:00 am! Instead of our traditional potluck lunch prepared by families, the PA has planned a lovely morning filled with pastry treats, flowers and a professional espresso service!

We’d love your help in making this event as special as the staff at Crofton House! To show your appreciation, you may donate a flower bouquet or volunteer for one of many roles available for this event.

Nearly There for Backpack Drive - Sign Up to Help!

There are still opportunities to support the CHS Parents’ Auxiliary Backpack Drive by sponsoring a backpack or volunteering with your daughter to pack school supplies. Sign up to join the fun! About 260 backpacks are already sponsored–just 40 more to reach our goal! Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Strategic Planning - Summary of Alumnae Survey

From December 2021 to January 2022, Crofton House School’s alumnae participated in a survey that collected anonymous feedback on their experiences as students at CHS, how the School prepared them for post-secondary study and employment, and their perspectives on the School’s strengths and areas for improvement. In addition to the analysis of the free-response questions completed by Berlineaton and shared on the Strategic Planning page of the My CHS Community Portal, a summary of the quantitative data has also been prepared and shared with Alumnae.

There was something fishy going on in the theatre in the Beedie Fine Arts Centre last week. Yes, the ECE Spring Concert, The Giant Octopus, featured all sorts of underwater creatures along with plenty of songs to entertain their excited audience.

Sometimes you just need to kickstart your day with a good book and a comfy spot to read. Just ask these Grade 1 students!

Grade 4 students were flexing their business muscles, using some special computers to run their own successful pizza shops.

Despite some showery conditions, Grade 7 students had a whale of a time at Camp Fircom learning new skills, exploring the great outdoors and forging unique memories with friends.

Grade 8 students put their Drama and French skills to the test, writing and performing skits en français, with just 40 minutes to prepare. The results? Magnifique!

As part of Asian Heritage Month, Senior School students took the opportunity to hold a mini fashion show at lunchtime and showcase some traditional clothing from across Asia including Japan, Korea, India and China.

Senior School students took part in the Burnsview Robotics Cup last weekend, fielding the only all-female team in the event and pitting their creations against teams from across the Lower Mainland.

Students in the Senior School Business Club hosted a week-long sale, featuring a wide selection of items from hair accessories to jewellery and art⁠—and even some student-run businesses! All proceeds went to the Ukraine Relief Effort.

Nightmare first dates, cringeworthy interviews and a classic murder-mystery whodunnit — that’s right, House Plays are back, in-person and filled with just as many surprises as ever! Hats off to all of the performers and crew for their hard work in bringing these plays to life last week in the Senior School.

The fashion continued on campus, as Crofton House turned into an immersive runway with some incredible creations from our Textiles students. From suits to striped sweaters and everything in between, there was lots of student-made fashion on show in the Senior School. Check out the Instagram post to see more of the outfits.

What makes a portfolio eye-catching and uniquely you? For Senior School art and design students, that question was explored through the Art Portfolio Review. This is a collaboration between students and teachers in the Visual Arts program and the Career Education Department—a two-day event now in its second year here at CHS! Read more in our latest blog post.

Congratulations to the Junior School Crofton Falcons, who are the 2022 ISEA Track and Field Champions following their meet on Monday, May 16! The team has their final track meet of the year, the BC Elementary School Track and Field Championships, from May 27 to 29 in Richmond–good luck to all participating athletes!

In the Senior School, the Crofton Falcons teamed up with Saint George’s on the tennis courts, defeating Sentinel 6-5 to take the Vancouver Sea to Sky Zone banner and progress to the Provincial championships from May 27 to 28.

Track and Field athletes are busy competing in their Vancouver Sea to Sky Zone fixtures at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, with many hoping to qualify for the Provincial meet in Langley at the start of June. Meanwhile on the water, our rowers are preparing for their big Delta Deas regatta next weekend.

Welcome to the new PA Board for 2022-2023!

The 2022 Annual General Meeting of the CHS Parents’ Auxiliary took place last week. Thank you to all 2021-2022 PA Board Members for their hard work and to the entire team of fantastic volunteers who helped our community stay connected over this past year. Special thank you to outgoing Chair, Kris Dattani and a warm welcome to incoming Chair, Christina Louey and all the new board members!

Learn more about the CHS Parent Auxiliary and how to get involved.

Thank you CHS community for your feedback on the CHS PA Survey!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to share your thoughts on everything CHS Parents’ Auxiliary related! We received an overwhelming 467 responses! We are working on reviewing the data and look forward to sharing the results with the community shortly. Stay tuned!

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

Whole School

May 20 - Professional Development (no classes)
May 23 - Victoria Day (no classes)
May 30 - PA Backpack Packing Event
June 1 - Staff Appreciation from the CHS Parents’ Auxiliary
June 10 - Year End BBQ

Junior School

May 25 - Grade 4-5 Spring Concert
May 31 - Grade 6-7 Spring Concert
June 3 - Sports Day
June 13 - Grade 7 Final Assembly and Family Celebration

Senior School

May 24-27 - Grade 12 Capstone Presentations
May 24-27 - Spirit Week
May 25 - Senior School Spring Concert
May 26 - Sports Day
June 2 - Grade 12 Mother-Daughter Tea, Hycroft Manor
June 15 - Graduation BBQ
June 16 - Graduation Ceremony