Dear Parents,
I hope that you have enjoyed a wonderful summer with your family and friends and that you had an opportunity to find time to relax, rejuvenate, and enjoy the warm summer weather. For those of you who travelled, welcome back to beautiful Vancouver. Upon returning from my vacation with family in Montreal and New Brunswick, I felt so grateful and fortunate to be returning to one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
As I reflect on my last year two years at York House, I am thankful to all of you who make up this vibrant and strong community. I would like to thank each of you for the contributions that you make to the success of the school and your daughter’s education. I am grateful for your thoughtful responses to our parent survey this past June. Your feedback has provided us with an opportunity to reflect on our strengths and areas of growth. This important information will guide us in making decisions about our school priorities and help us, as we begin to implement our strategic directions (YHS 2030). In the near future, we intend to share with you highlights gleaned from this survey. Community has always been the greatest strength of this school and will continue to be an area of focus as we move forward.
As I begin my third year as Head of York House School, I feel confident that we (from staff, faculty, students, parents, and alumnae) have set the groundwork for our future directions. This year, we will begin to implement our YHS 2030 strategic priorities. Closely aligned with the new BC curriculum, these priorities focus on personalized learning, providing students more opportunities for voice and choice, integrating authentic and experiential learning opportunities, and developing global competence and will prepare our girls to be successful in post-secondary studies and beyond.
We have already begun implementing the BC curriculum from Kindergarten to Grade 9. Through ongoing professional development, our teachers continue to deepen their understanding and sharpen their skills in order to implement the new curriculum. We are excited to begin this important work and look forward to sharing our progress with you and your daughters throughout the year.
As always, we have been busy over the summer preparing the grounds and facilities for another exciting year. We are all looking forward to welcoming back our students on Thursday, September 8. I hope to see you at the Welcome Back Barbecue on Friday, September 9. Here is to a great year ahead!
Warmest regards,
Chantal Gionet
Head of School