Croftonian Crumbs

It was a beautiful day at the ECE Centre as the girls hosted their grandparents for a tea, tour and show.  Beginning with a heart-warming performance of Mary Poppins in the Addison Auditorium, the girls wowed the audience with their sweet voices.  Over at the ECE Centre, families were treated with tea and treats on the outdoor patios around the school.  Afterwards, the excited girls showed their grandparents the Centre and all their favourite places to play.  Smiles were on the faces of all, as families got a glimpse of their granddaughters’ daily school life at CHS.  This event reminds us just how important grandparents are to the Crofton House community.  Thanks to the parent volunteers for organizing the tea and all the staff involved in the performance.

With election fever gripping the province, students from CHS got a chance to experience the voting process through a Student Vote program.  The province-wide initiative is a parallel election program for students under the voting age. The program combines in-class learning, family dialogue, media literacy and an authentic in-school vote on the official election candidates.

After the ballots were counted, it was an overwhelming majority for the Liberal Party at 219 votes, while the NDP garnered 54.  The Green Party secured 45 votes and the Conservatives took in 34.  A big thanks to the grade 6 students from the junior school for participating in the Student Vote this year.   With a voter turnout of 66%, there is certainly promise for our voters of tomorrow.

Parents were treated to a wonderful evening of music and memories as the junior school students performed their annual spring concert.

Based on a well-loved story told to the students every year by Mrs. Hutchison, The Thankful Coat tells the story of a group of grumpy children who learn how to find thankfulness in their hearts. In the story, Mandy loses her beautiful Thankful Coat, the one her granny gave her.  It blows away in a wind one day, and she needs help finding it.  Luckily the grumpy children are willing to help her look.  They look around and around, and find a lovely tree (built by the grade 2S class), a family of bunnies (2C), a hive of bees (1C), a flock of lambs (2H), but no coat!  Along the way, the children learn lessons from the springtime animals that turn their grumpiness into a lovely feeling of thankfulness for everything they have.  And like magic, everyone ends up with their very own thankful coat.

Special thanks to Ms. Bonnycastle and Ms. Roides for writing the story and spending countless hours with the girls in preparation for this wonderful night.

Metro Vancouver recently created a documentary, which featured the CHS grade 7 art class. The girls were tasked with the challenge of considering sustainability issues facing our community and designing a waste container for the school. Groups were then assessed based on how marketable, creative and effective their containers were at managing waste.  Check out what the girls came up with in the video.

This week, the junior school hosted award-winning author, Kenneth Oppel, as part of the annual Writer-in-Residence program.  Kenneth shared his knowledge and experiences with the students through individual grade workshops.  He has won the prestigious Governor General's Award and the American Library Michael L. Printz Honor award for his novel Airborn.  His Silverwing trilogy has sold over a million copies worldwide.  Born in Port Alberni, BC, Kenneth now lives in Toronto with his wife and three children.   Visit him at www.kennethoppel.com

Chan Hall was alive with the colours, sounds and delicious food smells of India for the annual Mother-Daughter Dance.  This year’s theme was Bollywood, complete with elaborate decorations on the tables and film clips projected on the walls.  Professional Indian dancers taught the girls special Bollywood dancing techniques.  A henna tattoo booth gave the younger girls a genuine Indian design on their wrists, while photo booths captured the costumes and excitement throughout the evening.  Authentic Indian food of butter chicken and naan kept everyone happy before they busted out on the dance floor.  It was an incredible evening that flew by with so many things happening.   Huge thanks to Ronnie, Maria, Monika, Gurmeet and all parent volunteers who made this such a special evening.

Over the past several months, grade 11 students have been participating in an amazing program called the Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI). During a comprehensive set of lessons, students have investigated various local social issues and have researched a wide variety of charities that help address these issues. In groups, they have made classroom presentations in support of their charities and five groups were nominated as finalists.

During a special assembly on April 29, the five groups of students presented their charities to the school and judging panel in an effort to win $5000, which the YPI organization will donate on their behalf.  Some of the charities showcased included Westcoast Boys Club Network Foundation, Canadian Flowers for Food Society, HIPPY Canada (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters) and The Kidsafe Project.  Although every group did an exceptional job explaining the merits of their respective charities, the winning bid was the group representing the Coast Mental Health Foundation.  

The Croftonian Crumbs (CC) had a chance to speak with two members from the group, Lara M. (LM) and Sienna S. (SS).

CC:  Why did you choose this charity?

LM:  Before we even started researching a charity, our group met and came up with four values that we felt suited us as a group and as individuals. These values were: friendship, justice, equality and compassion. Doing this really helped us pick a charity as we had a better understanding of what cause we wanted to dedicate our time to.

SS:  We chose Coast because we felt that mental health is a very unrecognized issue. It’s an issue that we were not very familiar with and that can often have prejudice surrounding it even though it affects so many people.

CC:  What went into the process of creating the pitch for YPI?

SS: To get a better understanding, we visited Coast and saw first hand where the money would be going.

LM:  Once we decided on what things we wanted to include in our presentation, we wrote a script and highlighted the most important parts in our Prezi. The hardest part of this initiative was creating a video that would not only show what Coast Mental Health does, but would also illustrate how influential their work really is in society.

CC:  How do you hope this money will be used?

SS:  I hope this money goes towards the resource center. We mentioned in our presentation that it is only open six days a week due to lack of funding, which can be very problematic for someone in need of help on that closed day. So we hope this will help to open it seven days a week.

CC:  How has this whole experience changed your outlook on social responsibility?

SS:  This project has given me a much bigger understanding of the different social issues happening right here in Vancouver. I have a very open mind to helping in any way I can and I feel more responsible to make a change (even if it's small).

LM:  After completing this project, I felt very connected to Coast and the issue of mental health. I am now more passionate than ever about social responsibility and I'm keen on volunteering and raising awareness for Coast.

Girls from the grade 6 program recently spent time learning more about marine life up close as they travelled to the west coast of Vancouver Island for some sun, sand and science. Although getting to the Bamfield Marine Science Centre is not easy, it was certainly worth it.  After a long trip on some very dusty logging roads, they arrived at the centre for three days of gorgeous weather along the rocky coastline.  The girls participated in hands-on marine science labs, field studies and beach explorations.  

During an oceanography study on a boat, some of the girls watched, from a safe distance, a black bear forage its’ way down the shoreline.  Meanwhile, other students witnessed a rare Bald Eagle pair build their nest.  From playing leadership games to conducting biodiversity studies, this was certainly a trip that will have lasting memories for all the girls. 

In partnership with the Parents' Auxiliary, CHS will host highly-acclaimed guest speaker Dr. Alex Russell on May 22, 2013 at 7pm. Dr. Russell is the co-author of "Drop the Worry Ball: How to Parent in the Age of Entitlement."

He will address issues related to developing resiliency in students, how to help parents learn to approach failure as a normal part of growing up, and how teachers and parents can work together to help children take responsibility for themselves. Dr. Russell will also discuss how mastery and competence are the cornerstones of self-esteem.

Register online to secure your spot.

The junior school was alive with colour as students celebrated Earth Day with a showcase of nature-inspired artwork around the campus. Beginning with an assembly welcoming a guest speaker from Van Dusen Botanical Garden, the girls learned about the importance of protecting our environment and appreciating the great gift we’ve been given. Later, a waste-free buddy lunch on the upper lawn celebrated the concept of sustainability. 

In the afternoon, parents were invited to experience Earth Day with their daughters through classroom activities and strolling through the beautiful collection of student art lining the walls.  The garden outside the Old Residence was transformed into a small village of fairy houses created by the grade 6 students.  Natural art dotted the courtyard, lovingly created by the grade 3 girls.  With the sun shining brightly down on the campus, it was a beautiful day to celebrate our environment through art.