Celebration of Community

This year, thanks to the hard work and creativity of many people both in front of and behind the scenes, we reimagined our annual Celebration of Community. Our extraordinary music teachers – Dawn Haylett, Ellie Jung, and Benila Ninan – designed two distinct concerts that would allow us to gather together at the school to enjoy wonderful performances from our talented students across all of the grades.

Julie Rousseau, our Head of School, began each concert by inviting parents, grandparents, relatives, and friends watching in the gymnasium to reflect on the shared experiences, journeys, and stories that define our community. 

Thank you to our students, for sharing their creative talents with us on the day and giving us a reason to come together in the spirit of joy and celebration. There were so many inspiring and heartwarming performances in each of these shows.

We are grateful to so many behind the scenes including our Facilities & Maintenance team, our A/V and Technology team, and our Communications team, who worked tirelessly to transform our gymnasium and create some holiday magic.

If you were unable to attend this year, you can view some highlights from both concerts in this five-minute video.

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Celebration of Community

Thank you to all the families who joined YHS staff and students for our annual Celebration of Community at the Chan Centre on Wednesday, December 12. Each year, we begin the holiday season with this festive event, which invites our community to share in the gifts and talents of our students.

The afternoon featured performances from Grades 1 to 12, including renditions of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” (Grade 7), “Imagine” (Ragazza), and “From a Distance” (Chorista and Ragazza). In the finale, all students joined together to perform “Peace Round/Shalom Chaverim”.

Interspersed throughout the afternoon of performances were sing-a-long carols, readings, including multilingual readings in Spanish and French, as well as a presentation by our Sr. Improv Drama group.

Thank you to Ms. Ninan, Ms. Froese, and Ms. Haylett for their work with our very talented music students; thank you to Ms. Harrigan and our Improv Team; and thank you to our Modern Languages Dept for the inclusion of French and Spanish in our celebrations this year.

A special thanks to Leith Wheeler Investments, our sponsor of this event for 20 years. We truly appreciate their commitment to York House as well as the broader community. Donations from those who attended the concert went to the Quest Outreach Society.

The impressive venue, carol singing, and festive atmosphere continue to make for a wonderful holiday tradition. Thank you to Annie, one of our new Student Social Media Ambassadors, for covering the event on Instagram stories (@YorkHouseVan). See the highlights under the Celebration of Community icon.