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Family Bulletin
- December 2017 -
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Message from the Principal
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The season of Advent is the harbinger of renewed hope and the expectation of great things to come. At the school level, the start of this holy season coincides with the period immediately following the distribution of our November Progress Reports and our fall Parent-Teacher Interviews. It is a time where students and our staff are able to hit the 'reset' button and recalculate the academic GPS that we have independently set for ourselves before we hit 'pause' and head away for the Christmas Break. Students that were able to get off to a good start are able to readjust the benchmarks and goals that they established at the beginning of the school year to see where further improvements can be made. Equally important, it also affords those that have not got off to the start that they had hoped for to be able to wipe the slate off and begin anew.
The impending Christmas Break is the tonic that many need at this point in the school year. It is a chance for all of us to reconnect with those people and things we love most. It also affords us a chance to rest-up and recharge our energies for that long stretch of hard work that we all know awaits from early January, to preparation for the Mid-Term Exams, and through to the middle of March.
On behalf of our entire staff I would like to wish all of our STMC families a joy-filled and blessed Advent and Christmas. May God keep you and guide you.
Steve Garland
STMC Principal
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Message from the President
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In the lead up to Christmas, we are caught up in the hubbub of preparations for all the activities that happen during this time of the year. Once December arrives it moves quickly (okay - maybe not when you're 8 and you can't wait to see what Santa brought!) but for most of us it passes in a blur. We find ourselves sitting in mass on Christmas Eve wondering where did the time go? Am I ready?
In the Christian calendar, we are given the gift of Advent - those four weeks before Christmas when we as Christians are called to live a "season of devout and joyful preparations for the coming of Jesus into the world". We aren't called to wait passively for Christmas to arrive. We are called to "active waiting" - preparing ourselves to be "receptive and attentive" to how God is working in our lives.
Each day at STMC, God works through the many people who make STMC a special community. Thank you - to our Knights who inspire with their curiosity and wonder in their desire to learn and to make the place a better world - to our faculty and staff who give tirelessly, inside and outside the classroom, to be role models for our Knights - to our leadership team who fosters an environment of excellence with unwavering enthusiasm and support - to our many volunteers who coach, cook, drive, decorate, govern, and respond when called - to our parents who believe in the value of a Christian Brother Education - to our alumni who continue to be in touch and support the work of STMC - to our donors who through their philanthropy entrust resources to our care and use - to our chaplain Father Smith who is a constant presence for us all - and to the men in whose home we learn and work and play, Brother Bassett and Brother Cassidy, thank you for your steadfast dedication to living the charism of Blessed Edmund Rice and your support of the STMC community.
Thank you for taking the time in this busy season to read this Family Bulletin.
May God bless you and your family with a wonderful Christmas.
Live, Jesus, in our hearts ... forever.
Neysa Finnie
STMC President
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Last week, we launched our first Knights Annual Fund annual giving campaign, which involves an appeal directed to our current parents, staff and board members. This annual fall appeal is an opportunity for active members of our STMC community to contribute to the current and emerging needs of the school that are not covered by tuition and government funds. Giving to the Knights Annual Fund means that you are helping our students benefit from up-to-date teaching and learning tools and equipment, new and innovative curricular and co-curricular programs, upgraded learning facilities and environment, and professional development so our staff is able to respond to the demands of 21st century learners - our young Knights.
A Knights Annual Fund giving package was recently mailed (via Canada Post) to STMC parents, staff, and board members. If you have not received yours by the end of this week, please contact Jacqueline Doering or Alice Roder in our Advancement Office at [email protected] or call 604-521-1801 ext. 131 or 133.
For more information or to learn more about the impact of your giving to STMC's Knights Annual Fund, please visit:
https://www.knightsannualfund.com/.
Check out our campaign's presentation video, which you will also find in the Knight's Annual Fund home page.
This campaign runs from November 2017 to May 2018. You may wish to make a one-time gift or pledge a monthly gift from December to May. Gifts received by December 31, 2017 will be issued 2017 charitable donation receipts for income tax purposes. Together, as a community, we can accomplish great things for our Knights and make STMC an even better to place to be.
A heartfelt thank you to members of our STMC community who have already responded to this call to action by making a gift to the Knights Annual Fund!
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School Advent Mass Celebrant Archbishop Miller, CSB
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We invite our entire community to join us for the school's Advent Mass, Thursday, December 21st at 10:45am in the StanJean Centre. We are blessed to welcome Archbishop Michael Miller CSB as our celebrant. You can also enjoy the annual Christmas Carol singalong right after Mass.
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A Message from the Varsity Head Coach Steve De Lazzari
The Varsity football team had an outstanding season this year. It was a season in which the character of the players in the program shined in a way that made us all very proud. They encompassed everything we would want in a Knight.
Facing the adversity of losing our beloved leader, coach and mentor - Bernie Kully, the boys dedicated the season to him, and were undefeated up until the semi-final game. It was a heartbreaking loss against Terry Fox where the team once again had to face major adversity in competing without one of our star players on the offensive side of the ball (Tyler Eckert), and losing the provincial defensive MVP (Sam Steele) to injury for the entire second half. The players still battled hard to the end in a 28 - 21 loss.
The success of the season would not have been possible without an amazing coaching staff. Dan Simone, Anthony Carteri, Felix Gacusana, Eric Bauer, Drew Belgrave, and James Belgrave were all instrumental in leading this team to the success that they had - so a huge thank you to all of them. A special thank you also goes out to all of the parents who helped out with the pre-game pasta dinners.
Finally, I would like to thank the players from the bottom of my heart for making this such a special and meaningful season - one that I will cherish forever.
Together.....Family,
- Coach De Lazzari
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The Varsity Knights' Volleyball Team had an outstanding November, finishing the regular season undefeated in league play and then winning the LMISSVA league championship with a 3-0 convincing win over West Point Grey Academy. Many of the team members were recognized after the finals with the following awards:
League Finals Player of the Match: Maya Mistry
Team MVP: Gigi Janes
League All-Star: Vanesa Gatto
Top League Libero: Anika Gatto
League MVP: Elizabeth Bilawey
The team continued to work hard and finished an extremely close second to York House at the Lower Mainland Championships (14-16 in the final set), which qualified the Knights for the AA provincial championships as the 5th seed.
The AA Provincials took place November 30 - December 2 in Vanderhoof.
HISTORY WAS MADE! The Senior Girls Volleyball team finished 2nd in the province! They had an outstanding provincial tournament and a phenomenal season. We are so proud of all of our Knights! Elizabeth Bilawey was named 1st team all-star and Vanesa Gatto 2nd team all-star in the provincial tournament. STMC couldn't be more proud of this achievement.
A special congratulations and thank you to Miss Lang and Mrs Bilawey for coaching our girls this season. What a performance by all! It's a proud day to be a KNIGHT!
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STMC Holiday Basketball Shooting Camp 2018
There are still a few spots left in our STMC Holiday Basketball Camp. The STMC Holiday Shooting Camp is a 2 day camp (Jan 2 + 3, 9am - noon) designed to introduce players to the fundamentals of shooting in a fun and competitive atmosphere. It is open to boys and girls currently in grades 3-7. Please click on the link for more info
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Presenting the 2017-18 Sr. Boys Basketball Team
The 2017-18 edition of the Varsity Basketball Knights are excited to get going! This year we have a nice mix of seniors and juniors, with Grade 10 Gabe Nacario playing up as well. This year's team has shown it will be very hard working and expect to have a great season. We hope to see you at some games, with the highlight being our Chancellor tournament January 10-13. Go Knights!
2017 - 2018 Sr. Boys Roster:
Cedric Ducharme, Josh Cruz, Gabe Nacario, Nate Nacario, Dario Vas, Matteo Mauro, Andrew Brzovic, Finn Carolan, Dave Osho, Christian Comuzzi, Cedric Alvarez, Dario Ciccone, Matt Ponis, Zack Gaspar, Sajjan Shokar.
ALSO: MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE SR. GIRLS CHANCELLOR BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT THIS WEEK IN THE STANJEAN ATHLETIC CENTRE (7TH - 9TH DEC)
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Spotlight on Mr. Kinal's Guitar Building Course
Guitar building is a full year course which gives students the opportunity to build and design the guitar of their choice. Students will learn every processed involved in guitar construction. Check out our students mastering everything from neck shaping to fret board inlays!
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Make sure to check back in 2018 to see the final projects!
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Junior Knights Take First Place at the Kwantlen Science Challenge
On Saturday, November 25th, STM returned to the Kwantlen Science Challenge after an eight year absence. Both the junior and senior teams competed in 5 challenges, ranging from a BC science curriculum version of Jeopardy, to building a solar powered boat to several challenges that only gave them an outline for preparation, requiring them to put their science skills to work.
The senior team put in a strong performance in their challenges, particularly in biology, where they were required to build a pedigree charts to assess the risk of genetic diseases. The senior team consisted of: Krystal Go, Ula Langdon, Yousef Mian, Genevieve Olson, Ava Slotman, & Bronwyn Williams.
The junior team had a very successful day, finishing first in their pool in Jeopardy and having the highest score in the pre-built competition that tasked them with building a remote control vehicle to clear washers off a course. With strong performances in their geology, physics and math challenges, they finished with the highest point total of the twenty-five junior teams competing! The junior team consisted of: Maya Becher, Olivia Becher, Zoe Chung, Beatrice Gonzales, Josh Onukwulu, Julianna Pathyil & George Wang.
The next science challenge event will be the UBC Physics Olympics, taking place in early March, with preparations beginning in January.
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STMC Students Compete in the Beaver Computing Challenge
Math Contest Published by the University of Waterloo
In November, STMC participated in the Beaver Computing Challenge published by the University of Waterloo. This contest focuses on the mathematics that is required in the field of computer science. Across Canada, 5888 students wrote the grade 7/8 challenge and 6615 students wrote the grade 9/10 challenge.
All of our grade 8 students participated in the grade 7/8 challenge. Certificates of Distinction are awarded to the top 25% of participants at STMC. Certificates are awarded to Jonas Del Rio, Daryl Chung, Jenna Bevacqua, Julian Selormey, Michael Oetomo, Cynthia Wong, Cameron DeWith, Rhianna Parcon, Dylan Rai, Quinn Walters, Zachary Chimko, Isaac Knoll, John Perales, Wesley Stajduhar, Tia Boulanger, Danica Chang, Jasmine Cruz, William Kong, Evan Mak, Jeffrey Pacholko, Thomas Reilly, Nicholas Rizzuti, Nicholas Scaglione, Christian Martinez, Keira Simmons, Autumn Johnston, Nancy Lam, Matthew Lee, Jillian Castillo, and Alyssa Jung.
The enriched grade 9 and 10 students participated in the grade 9/10 challenge. Certificates of Distinction are awarded to the top 25% of participants at STMC. Certificates are awarded to Alicia Bremer, Luke Bilawey, Brianna Espena, Maxine King, Matt Mrzljak, Logan Stimson, Vanessa Salzano, Rebecca Teskey, Catriona Yu, Julian Lui, Adarsh Bajaj, Joshua Onukwulu, Luca Casellato, Denzil Chung, Allison Luna, and Jessye Olaybal.
The mathematics department would like to congratulate all challenge participants on a job well done!
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Important Upcoming Dates in December 2017
Use the quick guide below and check out our online calendar for more information:
7th: Monthly Knights Club Uniform Sale
7th - 9th: Sr. Girls Chancellor Basketball Tournament
13th - 16th: Curling Zone II Playdowns
14th - 16th: Gr 8 Girls & Boys Chancellor Basketball Tournament
15th: Japanese Student Visit
18th - 20th: Christmas Spirit Week
19th: Toy Drive
21st: Advent Mass (10:45am)
21st: Last Day of Classes
22nd: Start of Christmas Break
Please see the
online calendar to keep abreast of new and changing calendar events
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Parents Association Year End Message
Another year has passed by so quickly and the Parents Association (PA) would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
It has been a transitional year with several new members coming on-board and we have worked hard to keep the momentum handed over to us from the previous members of the PA. The PA and parent volunteers work hard to raise funds for the needs of the STMC community. We distribute those funds to areas or programs in need to build our Centres of Excellence around the five areas of education which are the foundation of a well-rounded education: Faith, Academics, Athletics, Arts, and Sciences. The PA believes that by helping to foster excellence in each of these areas we will be supporting meaningful opportunities and help all Knights truly make a difference in the world.
We are the Parents Association and we are also parents and volunteers.
STMC is such a wonderful place for our children to learn and all of the parents, students, alumni and staff are an integral part of that community. We wish all the best for all of you over this holiday season and may the joy of Christmas fill your homes with peace and joy.
Please note that the PA will be taking Christmas holidays from December 19, 2017 to January 7, 2018. Returning to full activities on January 8, 2018 with the rest of the STMC family. If there is an urgent need, please contact us at
[email protected]
. We look forward to working with everyone again in 2018.
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Knight Club Uniform Sale
Thursday, December 7th | 2:30-4:00pm
Just a reminder that we hold Knight Club uniform sales the first Thursday of every month, except September and June!
RUGBY SHIRTS ARE IN!!! We are now fully stocked with all sizes of rugby shirts! Come by on sale day to pick yours up! Also, lanyards and cinch bags make great stocking stuffers! hint, hint! Also, the Knights Club just receiving the "coveted socks" - a perfect stocking stuffer! Supplies are limited!
Our next Knight's Club uniform sale will be from 2:30 to 4:00 pm on Thursday, December 7th . If you'd like to skip the lineup, feel free to fill out the 2017-2018 Knight Club Order Form and drop it off at the front office (with payment or credit card information). We will fill your order and have you paged at the end of the day (on sale day) to pick it up: Easy Peazy!
Check out the
Knight Club and Dress Code page for more information about uniforms.
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A Message from Your Hot Lunch Coordinator
It's been an amazing year at the STMC kitchen. Looking back at the 49 hot lunches thus far, I can't believe what we have been able to accomplish. We have served 21 different menus on 50 individual hot lunch days thus far. Building up from the solid foundation for this program set up by Chris Rickaby, I feel we have accomplished some of our immediate goals these last 3 months like adding more protein and vegetables to the selections.
So many people to thank especially our hot lunch leaders Kathy Petts, Laura Durand, NIshani Rajkumar, Sarah Cepeliauskas, Karen Peterson, Danna MacKenzie, Shar Hayek, Ms. Lauang, Bingle Del Rosario, Annabelle Olaybal, Lorena and Brian Arriola, Art and Elvie Gorospe, Jonathon Ng, Mr. Polych, Mrs. Cirillo, Karla Gomez, Amy Taraviras, Suzanne Sachinidis, Chris Rickaby, Sonya Scaglione, Tami Comuzzi and Tina Benedet.
The program can't function without our dedicated regular shoppers Jilian Stadjuhar, Marika Wasaznik, Georgenia Tran and their kids tasked with getting the groceries to the kitchen in the morning. Much appreciation to you all.
As well, thank you to the people who clean up the cafeteria after recess and lunch, Mr. Iquin, Mr. Bulaoro, Mr. Polych and Steve.
And in no particular order, all hot lunch volunteers who come weekly or once in a while. It has been fun sharing laughs and good food with the following families: Friesen, DiTosto, Pugliese, Sawyer, Rodriguez, Bremer, Walters, Bencze, Lee, Jiang, Takacs, Lashmore, Jarman, Tengku, Tarelli, Rukavina, Hernandez, Figueroa, Tran, Dadson, Mones, Prado, Napolitano, Olarte, Chay, Chimko, Li, Martin, Silveira, Wong, Peloso, Tittoto, Casellato, Sheenan, Westman, Dulay, Christiansen, Yang, Semilla, Blanco, Shar Hayek team, Pizza team and Aunt Bonnie, Sonya Scaglione team, and our hardworking student council 2017-18! I am sure I forgot to thank somebody. So sorry!
Thank you PA Exec and STMC staff and administration for your continued support and encouragement.
Last but not least, thank you parents who entrust us with feeding your children.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everybody. May your home be filled with love, laughter, good friends and good food this Christmas. God bless you all!
Carisa Del Rio
STMC Hot Lunch Coordinator
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The Knights Christmas Market - Thank you!
A huge thank you to all the students and parent volunteers that worked so hard to ensure The Knights Christmas Market was such a success!. There was close to 3000 visitors to the market over the two days. The small army of volunteers supported the amazing Bistro, Book Sale, Parking and assisted all the vendors.
Thank you again and we look forward to your support in 2018.
2017 Knights Christmas Market - Planning Committee
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