Summer is right around the corner as more bees can be seen collecting pollen in the school courtyard |
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Message from the President |
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I have a growing sense of being in a time of TRANSITION and I suspect many of you share that feeling.
The 2020-21 school year is transitioning to the final weeks. Our graduating class will be making a huge step towards independence and adulthood as they experience the significant milestone of leaving high school to pursue the next chapter of their lives. I trust and pray that their time at STMC has equipped them to be the citizens, advocates and leaders our world needs.
Our Incoming Grade 8’s are also thinking about the transition from elementary school to high school; from being the oldest students to the youngest, and from being with trusted friends to making new friendships at STMC. I know our current students will welcome and support them.
We are transitioning out of our year of 60th Anniversary Celebrations. I hope everyone enjoyed the look back over the first 60 years and in particular the 60th Anniversary Gala on May 15. Thanks to everyone who participated. Our goal was to have a fun, engaging event that profiled past achievements, and honored people who have contributed so much to make STMC such a special place. We will use the energy, support and engagement of so many from the STMC community as we begin to look forward to the next 60 years. “We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us“... and those shoulders are strong and broad. STMC is well positioned to continue excellence in teaching and learning as we build on faith, academics, arts, athletics and advocacy and enhance our ability to LEARN, LEAD and SERVE.
Our lives outside STMC are also in transition.
The limitations of COVID are beginning to lift and we can envision more opportunities to be present with each other, but arguably our world has shifted forever. The pandemic reinforced the interconnectedness we have with a global community and reinforced the inequities that exist politically, socially, economically and environmentally. Our role as a faith based community calls us to respond in new ways and to educate and prepare our students for that new reality.
Other realities cause us to rethink our privileged and protected lives. The impact of Black Lives Matter, Asian Violence, Colonization and Residential Schools, Isolation and Mental Wellness, ongoing conflicts and displaced people are all examples of why advocacy and action are needed to reshape our global society. STMC cannot shift the world on its own, but the collective impact of our community can be significant. Transition is a good place as it has a sense of motion and it is always easier to steer something in motion, than to start from a point of inertia.
I leave you with a few reflections on TRANSITIONS:
"Look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else." -- Tom Stoppard
"When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny." -- Paulo Coelho
"Times of transition are strenuous but I love them. They are an opportunity to purge, rethink priorities, and be intentional about new habits. Incredible change happens in your life when you take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t” -- Steve Maraboli
Dianne Doyle
President, STMC
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June
5: Knight Club Uniform Sale
12: Grad ’21 Family Photo & Formalwear Photo-Shoot
24: More and Rice Graduation Assemblies
25: More and Rice Graduation Ceremony
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The cafeteria's new look with ceiling tiles removed, acoustic painting for sound absorption, and new paint |
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Dear STMC Community,
The members of the Development and Community Relations Department are filled with gratitude this month.
As you all know, STMC Celebrated 60 years of Teaching, Learning, and Serving on May 15th and the evening couldn’t have been more successful. We had 1,800 members of the STMC Family come together in a virtual environment, experiencing all that STMC has to offer. We always saw this format to be a COVID-19 "silver lining". It allowed us to make the Gala available to all members of our community by providing a complimentary experience. It also allowed us to celebrate with our international guests, many of whom provided submissions for the show itself.
For those who haven’t had the opportunity to see the show, please watch it here:
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And for those who wish, please consider making a contribution to the two main funding priorities of the show, you can do choose either of these:
Thank you all for an incredible month and please reach out at any time to discuss STMC’s Development Opportunities.
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Live Jesus in our Hearts... Forever!
Brent Christensen | Class of ‘89
Director of Development and Community Relations
brent.christensen@stmc.bc.ca
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MATHEMATICS
Congratulations to Gaia Mendoza who won the Grade 11 Fermat Math Contest this year. Gaia also receives a Certificate of Distinction for scoring in the top 25% of all students who wrote in Canada.
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SCIENCES
Students on the Beamlines
Our 2021 synchrotron research group finished off their participation in the Canadian Light Source's Students on the Beamlines program by winning three of four categories in the 2021 Students on the Beamlines Poster Competition. Our students conducted their research at Canada's national synchrotron remotely this past February, examining the effects of pesticides on the chemical composition and crystalline structure of beeswax. They presented the poster that summarized their work to the competition Judges and were awarded first place in the Judge's Competition. They were also awarded first place in the CLS Staff Vote and the Peer Review Competition.
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Much more information on our Students on the Beamlines teams can be found on our website.
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CanSat 2021
This month, our CanSat team completed work on their project - a soda-can sized space probe that collects data during descent from a height. This year's team chose to put an infrared camera in their CanSat as their secondary mission, to go with their primary mission of collecting temperature and altitude data.
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The 2021 STMC CanSat team. From left - Mr. Muise, Samuel Cheng, Howard Cheng, Hongzip Kim, Angelina Chen, Eric Zhang and Dante Romey |
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Their CanSat is set to be dropped by helicopter from a height of 800 metres this week as part of the first ever Canadian CanSat competition, organized by the Canadian Satellite Design Management Society. The winning team will represent Canada at a virtual version of the European Space Agency's CanSat competition in the fall. |
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The completed CanSat ready for launch |
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We’ll be featuring our senior athletes that have signed to their chosen post-secondary education school where they’ll be continuing both their education and their athletic journey.
For the month of May, here are the 4 featured knights to be featured:
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Ezawa Malish
Post-secondary school: SFU
Sport: Volleyball
Academic Program: Business
Favorite STMC Athletics Memory: Hosting the 2018 Volleyball Provincial Tournament in our home gym
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Bryson Vanloo
Post-secondary school: Waterloo University
Sport: Warriors Football Program
Academic Program: Honours Mechatronics Engineering Program
Favorite Memory of STMC Athletics: 2019 Quarterfinals STMC vs Mt. Douglas
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Logan Stimson
Post-secondary school: University of Guelph
Sport: Wrestling
Academic Program: Psychology Co-op
Favorite Memory of STMC Athletics: Playing no holds barred slap-back during warmup
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Kaya Crescenzo
Post-secondary school: SFU
Sport: Soccer
Academic Program: Business
Favorite Memory of STMC Athletics: Winning the 2019 AA soccer Provincial Championship
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SUMMER READS
All current gr. 8-11 students will select a book to read over the summer in preparation for a discussion led by staff or sr. students one afternoon in early September. This list of books offers lots of variety for you to choose from! If you are looking for additional books to read over the summer, why not read a few from the list?
Sign up will take place from May 31-June 3. The earlier you sign up, the more likely to receive your first choice! You will be notified of your assigned book by June 11.
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SUMMER READING PHOTO CONTEST
Take a photo with a digital device for our "GET CAUGHT READING" photo contest for a chance to win a prize.
The submitted images must be captured then shared during the contest time frame, July 1-September 10. (the images may then be displayed on the STMC Instagram and/or Learning Commons Website)
SUBMIT YOUR PHOTO WITH YOUR NAME, GRADE (for Sept. 2021) AND PHOTO CATEGORY TO: yvonne.dewith@stmc.bc.ca
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Summer is a great time to put down your devices and read! Benefits from regularly reading are backed by so much research. Why not commit to reading at least 20 minutes a day this summer and stretch your mind! |
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Walkathon
Thank you to everyone who helped fundraise over the last few months! We successfully raised $45 000 for our cafeteria refresh, grad scholarships, and to build a house in Jicamarca, Peru.
On May 17 and May 18, our students walked a modified route around the neighbourhood and despite a literal roadblock by the City of Burnaby, we were able to safely complete our walk.
A huge thank you goes out to all of our parent volunteers who were able to ensure our students' safety along the route and to our top fundraisers:
Spencer Kaustinen '23, Oxford - $2,538
AJ Caspillo '23, Waterford - $1,700
Nathaniel Blanca '25, London - $1,300
Throughout the next two weeks, students will be entered into draws for prize giveaways! Keep your eyes on Instagram (@stmcknights) to check out our winners and our fun prizes.
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Run for Peru
This summer, in normal circumstances, we would have been sending a group of 12 students to Lima, Peru for a service and advocacy immersion trip. However, due to COVID-19, STMC students have pivoted, taken part in a virtual immersion trip during the Grade 10 retreat, and fundraised by hosting a relay which represents the distance between the Christian Brothers' house in San Juan de Lurigancho and the immersion center in Jicamarca.
12 student runners ran a distance of 50 laps or approximately 20 km and some students and staff walked as well to "bank" laps for our runners.
As a community, we ran and walked 575 laps and fundraised over $3000 for Brother Casey and our missions in Peru!
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Thank you to all our runners: |
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Kate Stewart-Barnett, '21
Milena Kalisch, '21
Alicia Bremer, '21
Sean Hernandez, '21
Sophia Wong, '22
Cameron DeWith, '22
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Jenna Bevacqua, '22
Aly Jonasson, '22
Hannah Van Spaendonk, '22
Christopher Fok, '23
Raphael Ysonza, '23
Anthony Cheng, '23
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Grade 8: Community Building
On May 17, our Grade 12's organized an afternoon of games and fun for our Grade 8's. Lead by Ezawa Malish '21, our Grade 12's facilitated kickball and a rowdy game of Connect 4.
Thank you to our Grade 12 volunteers:
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Sean Hernandez
Logan Stimson
Kate Stewart-Barnett
Bryson Vanloo
Elizabeth Irving
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Casie Cayabyab
Natalia Sawyer
Christian Sison
Luka Buljevic
Marcus Taylor
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This year, Marcus Taylor, Grade 12, participated in the 2021 WHL regular season games for the Regina Pats. The Pats played 24 regular season games over the course of six weeks, which began on Friday March 12 and ending on Tuesday, April 27. |
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We'd love to hear about all the wonderful and exciting things in which our Knights are engaged! If you have something you would like to share on our social media feeds or in the monthly newsletter send an email to communications@stmc.bc.ca
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