šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət Crosstown Elementary School is now the full name of our school as gifted to us by the Musqueam and Tsleil-Watuth Nations on 2020-03-10 in a beautiful and heartfelt ceremony where all the children and staff gathered to witness the gift of the new name and to learn about the history of the area.
šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət means where the water meets the land, the place where one can catch the tide. When the land was used by the indigenous peoples expo blvd would have been a beach used by many nations, but the Musqueam nation lived where Gastown is today. Instead of taking their dug out canoes around what is now Stanley Park to get back home they would plan to go home at high tide when a creek would appear to take them from the beach back home. So if you ever see Andy Livingston park flooded, now you know why, that used to be a high tide byway home.
