Thank you to those of you who joined us to celebrate Crofton House’s 122nd school birthday! It was wonderful to see many of our alumnae on campus to celebrate in this year’s festivities. 

Celine Hu '20 joined Sonya Zeitler Fletcher ’86, Vice President, Market Development at Forestry Innovation Invention (FII), an agency of the BC government that helps to maintain, create and diversify markets for BC forest products, for a week-long work placement. We sat down with Celine and Sonya to discuss the experience. 

When Michelle Kwok graduated from Crofton House in 2016 her path was clear: pursue a degree in medical science at Western University with the end goal of becoming a doctor. 

Soon after starting at Western, Michelle began to experience a shift in thinking that led her to explore new opportunities. In her words, “it was the first time I saw different avenues that I could go down, avenues I hadn’t even realized existed.” 

We are delighted to have another class of inspiring young ladies in Grade 12 who are preparing for the final year at Crofton House School. Amanda Lee, Head Girl shared her words of ‘vision’ for her class’s final year.

Vivian McCormick ’99 is a co-founder and owner of Flax Sleep – a Vancouver-based bedding company that offers a range of simple, beautiful French linen sheets, quilts, robes and bedding for babies, online and through pop-up stores. Vivian joined forces with two other women to start Flax Sleep in the fall of 2017 and two years on they are going strong.  

In my 19 years as Head of Crofton House School I have had the privilege of watching more than 1500 girls walk across the stage at Chan Centre. Every class has been amazing, each with its own personality – and this class is no exception.

This is the first class to include 31 girls out of the 36 who came to Crofton House School in grade 1 and blossomed under the watchful eye and tutelage of Mrs. Hutchison – our great storyteller. They are also the class who welcomed 66 new girls over the intervening years and who have made unity their mantra.

Graduating classes at Crofton House often choose a name for themselves – and this years’ class chose L19tning McQueen from the children’s movie Cars. For those unfamiliar with Cars, it is an animated film where the world is populated with talking cars and other vehicles, each with its own distinct character.

The Class of 2019 ‘L19htning McQueen” have now graduated and are our newest members of the Alumnae Association.  One of the first events for their grad season was the annual Mother/Daughter Tea – Be Inspired!  Jointly hosted by the Alumnae Association and the school the event welcomed alumna Bryn Hyndman ’96 who spoke to the group about creating their own identity as they move forward in life.  She gave the graduates a valuable piece of advice:

“Honour yourself.  If you try to be someone else you’ll only get a hybrid of what you could be.  You might be good at being someone else but you should be great at being you.”

The Alumnae Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an alumna in recognition of her outstanding dedication and accomplishment toward her life’s work. The Crofton House School Alumnae Association is pleased to award Ann Farris ’55 the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in expanding the roles of women during her long career as a leader in arts management, developing programs and organizations in the performing arts.

After graduating from Crofton House in 1955, Ann received her BFA from UBC and MFA at the Yale School of Drama, a graduate professional school of Yale University. In 1963, Ann began her long career in arts management, providing leadership in program development for a number of theatres, operas and national arts organizations across the United States. Over the years, Ann has held positions of executive director, consultant and producer to organizations that included Opera America, Expo 82, Central City Opera House Association, the National Endowment for the Arts and San Francisco Opera. In 1984 Ann returned to Vancouver as producer of the Royal Bank Expo 86 World Festival, developing an acclaimed 6-month entertainment program of dance, theater and music from around the world. Following Expo, Ann returned to the US, consulting in organizational management and later working as a recruitment manager. Since 2009, Ann continues to volunteer as an archive associate for the San Francisco Opera. Amidst her accomplished career, Ann discovered she had dyslexia and became involved with Discover Dyslexia. Through writing a book and speaking at educational workshops and conferences, Ann has provided support and insight to many by sharing her personal story and struggles with dyslexia.

The Distinguished Alumnae Achievement Award is presented to an alumna in recognition of her achievement in a particular field or industry and for her role in advancing women in leadership in society and/or workplace. The Crofton House School Alumnae Association is pleased to award Jennifer Johnstone ’78 the 2019 Distinguished Achievement Award for her dedication and accomplishments in non-profit management and community resource development

Following Jennifer’s graduation from Crofton House in 1978, Jennifer received her BA from Queen’s University and pursued graduate studies at the Institute of Soviet and East European Studies and in Women Studies at Carlton University. Since the late 1980s Jennifer has developed an extensive career in non-profit management and community resource development, holding key leadership positions with organizations such as the Vancity Community Foundation, Battered Women’s Support Services and Ballet British Columbia. Jennifer currently holds the position of President & CEO with Central City Foundation, leading innovative investment in social purpose real estate that improves the lives in Metro Vancouver’s inner-city communities. Jennifer remains passionately committed to social justice and community investment and volunteers in many capacities with various organizations at the local, provincial and national levels. She is the founding member of the Social Purpose Real Estate Collaborative and the Vancouver Women’s Fund. She has most recently served on the Board of Alliance for Arts and Culture, Battered Women’s Support Services, Yaletown House Foundation, Westcoast LEAF and Aurora Institute. She also volunteers as a trainer with the Leadership Development of Volunteer Vancouver. In addition to her role in advancing women in leadership in society, her work creates lasting impacts on entire communities in need within our city.
 

The Alumnae Junior Achievement Award is presented to a young alum, under 40 years of age, in recognition of her accomplishments in making a difference in the lives of others. The Alumnae Association is pleased to award Emily Ma ’99 the 2019 Junior Achievement Award for her outstanding accomplishments in science, technology and engineering.

After graduating from Crofton House in 1999, Emily attended Stanford University where she received Bachelor and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Emily started her career as a mechanical engineer and roboticist at IDEO, a global design and innovation consultancy. Emily then returned to Stanford to pursue her MBA to bridge the language of design and business. In the past decade, Emily has taught at the business school, engineering school and “d.school” at Stanford. Currently Emily is a lead at X, formerly Google [x], a stealth group focused on developing high-impact technologies that have the potential to massively improve hundreds of millions of lives. She currently heads a portfolio of investigations aimed at drastically reducing waste in the global food system. In her time at [x], she has helped develop multiple early stage programs which have involved revolutionary technologies including self-driving cars, smart eyewear, internet balloons and energy kites.