SCHOOL STORY

šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət Crosstown is a dynamic urban elementary school in the heart of Vancouver. It opened for Kindergarten to Grade Seven enrolment in September 2017 and now has 21 divisions and 480 students. We are the neighbourhood school for families living in parts of Yaletown, Chinatown, and the Downtown East Side. Our school population reflects this wonderful diversity of place. Welcoming brand new immigrants to Canada, as well as Indigenous students whose families have lived on these lands since time immemorial, šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət Crosstown is a very diverse community. There are over thirty different home languages spoken, with the most common being English, Spanish, Russian, Farsi and Korean. Forty-four percent of our students speak a home language other than English.

The šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət Crosstown community is very proud of our henqimenum name, šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət [shwa quwa set], which was gifted to us by the Musqueam Nation on March 9, 2020. Elder Larry Grant gifted the name and explained its meaning: “šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət references a mode of transportation used by Musqueam people whereby they caught the tide as a shortcut from False Creek to Burrard Inlet. The meaning of this name is generally translated as ‘the place from which one can catch the tide.’” Since March 2020, we have been working to honour our name, learning about its meaning, spelling and pronunciation. This is an important part of our reconciliation work. We have created two sets of Indigenous hand drums and some students can be seen each morning drumming and singing to acknowledge the local Nations and to welcome the day.

As a school community, we want all students to feel included, respected and seen. We value care, community and kindness. We have a well-established school wide positive behaviour support program (PBIS), which forms part of our Code of Conduct and helps us explain expectations and problem solve when needed. We are the šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət Crosstown CROWS – Caring, Responsible, Optimistic, Wise and Safe. Staff give CROW cards to students ‘doing the right thing’ as a way to make these values visible. Our CROWS matrix which sets out positive expectations, supports the social and emotional well-being of all students.

A key part of our school community are our parents and care-givers, including the active and supportive Parent Advisory Council (PAC). The šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət Crosstown PAC provides additional resources, such as our library book bags, events like dances, support for our wonderful Sun Run team and much more. Many parents and care-givers, including grandparents, foster parents, aunties and older siblings, can often be seen on the playground, chatting with staff and other students before and after school.

We have valued community partnerships with Vancouver Society of Childcare Centres, which runs after school care as well as summer child care on site. In addition, the Vancouver Firefighters and Backpack Buddies provide us with valuable food support throughout the year. T To help support families there is after school programming such as sports, yoga and science programs. The school itself is situated adjacent to Andy Livingstone Park, a City of Vancouver park, which serves as our playground.

Our unique location allows us access to many opportunities including ready access to the seawall around False Creek. Habitat Island is within walking distance, providing outdoor learning opportunities with a small stand of trees and shoreline environments. We also have easy access to Concord Pacific Park, Chinatown, Hogan’s Alley, Dr. Sun Yat Sen Garden, and Science World. We have valued community partnerships with BC Place which allows us periodic access to their field as part of the Field of Dreams program.

The šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət Crosstown students are very enthusiastic about opportunities offered to them. The committed staff team volunteer to run a wide variety of sports teams including basketball, soccer, badminton, track and field and cross-country. Our teams are big! More than 90 students joined the track and field team and more than 100 ran cross country this year. In addition, thanks to parent volunteers, we also have a very special Sun Run team, which, at 103 registered members, won the prize two years in a row for largest elementary team. In addition to these athletic opportunities, many students are involved in caring for our roof top garden and annual events like our Talent Show and Terry Fox Run.