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Family Bulletin
- June 2017 -
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As we approach the conclusion of the 2016-17 school year our thoughts and prayers are with the STMC community in a very special way. In particular, we want to pray for our Gr. 12 students who are concluding their time with us and that they complete the year off on a strong and safe note.
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Mich DesLauriers
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We pray for our remaining students, as they prepare for the upcoming exams, that the Holy Spirit provides them with the comfort and confidence to do their best. We pray for our staff, and Board of Directors, particularly those who leaving our community, that God bless them with good health and guide them in their future endeavors. We pray in thanksgiving for the return of both Mr. Steele and Mrs Balouchi and continue to keep in our prayers a return to full health for Mr. Kully. Please continue reading
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Thank you, Mr. DesLauriers
Message from the President
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| Neysa Finnie |
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Romans 8:28: We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
When setting about to write this final Family Bulletin submission for the school year 2016-2017, I knew the focus would be on Mr. DesLauriers and the gratitude we have for Mr. DesLauriers and his service to STMC over the past decades.
Please continue reading
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Transitions
Message from the STMC Board Chair
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Dan Eisner
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June is finally here and at last we are seeing some good weather after a terrible winter. With June's arrival, we are entering a time of transition at STMC. We will soon be saying good-bye to our Grade 12 class and we wish you well in your next endeavours. While we will miss them next year, we are very confident that they are moving on to become great members of society and will represent STMC well. Please continue reading
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For all team schedules, please consult the
calendar.
The
Golf team
travelled to Castlegar this Sunday to compete in Provincials (which continue till Wednesday)
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The team qualified for Provincials by coming in second place in the Lower Mainland Zone tournament, as well as finishing
second in the Independent league, competing against Vancouver College, St George's, West Point Grey and St John's.
Special congratulations to Mary Parsons, who has a full scholarship to Indiana University and she is also part of the Junior Canadian National Golf Program.
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The
Track team had a very successful season, wrapping up this past weekend with our qualified athletes competing in the Provincial Championships in Langley, attended by over 300 schools. Our athletes produced a number of personal bests and Top 10 finishes and we can be proud of all of them, most especially our Grade 8s who accumulated enough points to top the Grade 8 Team Points list.
Outstanding achievements include: Grade 8s Kate Stewart-Barnett (3 gold, 1 bronze), Alicia Bremer (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze), Milena Kalisch (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze), Janelle Chhun (1 gold) and Grade 9 Michelle Dadson (1 gold, 1 bronze). Congratulations also to the Sr. Boys 4x100m relay team (EJ Escobedo, Eman Dadson, Aaron Field and Devon Hayek), Shiloh Corrales Nelson (Grade 10 - Shot Put) and Giovanna Janes (Grade 11 - Javelin) on their silver medals, and the Grade 8 Boys 4x100m relay team (Shaun Hernandez, Marcus Taylor, Angelo Labrador and Carson Wong) on their bronze medal! Click for a full listing of our Top 10 finishes.
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The
Senior Girls Soccer team finished the season undefeated in 20 games and won all 5 of their games at the AA High School Provincials (this past weekend in Nelson) to claim the banner as BC's top team. Congratulations to the hard-working and dedicated players, as well as coaches Mr. Carlo Zavarise and Mr. Doug Corbett, on their outstanding accomplishments this season!
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The
Junior and Senior Ultimate teams had a very successful season, with the senior ultimate team finishing 4th in the province the last weekend in May at the BC High School Ultimate Championships! They narrowly missed out on the bronze medal by one point. The junior team also had a strong weekend, improving on their initial 15th place seeding, to finish 8th in the province at the junior level. Congratulations Ultimate Team!
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The
Tennis team season was unfortunately the victim of Metro Vancouver's rainy spring, with all games washed out. The team is looking forward to a *hopefully* brighter season next year!
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Highlights in June include:
Please see the
online calendar to keep abreast of important dates in summer and the 2017-2018 school year.
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Night of the Knights
Thursday, June 8 | 6:30-9:00pm | Croatian Cultural Centre
Night of the Knights is a celebration, with students recognized for their participation and achievements in sports, academics and extra-curricular activities. The prestigious Spirit and Knight of the Year Awards are also bestowed on exceptional students as decided by their peers and teachers. Please purchase your tickets ($15 per person) in the Main Office.
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Jazz Knight
Saturday, June 10 | 7:00pm-9:00pm
Join our talented jazz bands and choirs for a beautiful evening of music. Tickets are $10 and can be bought this week at school or at the event. Children under 3, seniors, STMC students and STMC alumni are all free. Light refreshments will be served.
Doors open at 6:30pm and the show begins at 7:00pm in the Stan Jean Centre. See you there!
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"Thank You Mr. DesLauriers" Event
Monday, June 12 | 6:00pm - 8:00pm
After decades of dedication to STMC in a wide range of capacities -- and especially as Principal over the past 6 years -- Mr. Mich DesLauriers is leaving at the end of the school year to become Principal at Greater Vancouver's newest Catholic High School, St. John Paul II Academy. We are incredibly grateful to Mich for all of us service to the STMC community, and we invite all of you to join us in celebration at our "Thank You Mr. DesLauriers" event next Monday, June 12 from 6:00pm - 8:00pm at STMC. Light refreshments will be served.
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New Parents Meeting
Tuesday, June 13 | 6:30pm - 8:00pm | Multi-Purpose Room
A mandatory meeting for all parents of students coming into Gr. 8 for the 2017-18 school year. It provides an opportunity for the parents to meet and hear from both the President and Principal of STMC and for them to receive a copy of their son or daughter's schedule and a copy of the Student/Parent Handbook.
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For your chance to spend some quality time with ol' Bonhomme, make sure you inquire with
Mme. Astorino or
Mme. Bilawey about the Quebec Trip, scheduled for next February 2018.
Some places are still available, make sure to sign up now!
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Summer Basketball Camp
July 31 - August 4 | 9:00am - 12:00pm
Run by Coaches Zimmerman and Mitchell, the annual Basketball Camp
is currently accepting applications for students in Grades 4-9 . Spots do fill up quickly, so please ensure you
register soon.
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Summer Volleyball Camp
August 28 - September 1 | 9:00am - 12:00pm
Run by Coach Paloposki,
the annual Volleyball Camp is currently accepting applications for students in Grades 5-7. Spots do fill up quickly, so please ensure you register before the July 20 deadline.
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Math News 2017
STMC students excel in national contests
The Mathematics Contest Season for 2016-2017 is now complete, and the Mathematics Department is pleased to announce the results.
Please continue reading
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Grade 9 student rides to victory
Zoe Vallée in Grade 9 attended the Thunderbird Show Park last month and won High Point in the Equitation and overall Champion in the Children's Hunters division with her horse Lebrett Z, AKA Yogi. Congratulations, Zoe!
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Club Volleyball
Grade 12 continues her success on the court
Congratulations to Grade 12 student Bianca Te, whose club volleyball team won the gold medal at the U18 Provincial tournament held in late April. Bianca also received a season all-star award. She was also voted 12th in The Province's "Super 15 Volleyball Athletes". She will play for SFU next year.
According to her proud mother, Bianca's achievement in volleyball comes from her passion and commitment to the sport. She developed the love for the sport as early as 9 years old, and her elementary school journals were filled with stories about volleyball and how she would like to play at the university level. She set a goal, worked hard towards it and accomplished it! Congratulations, Bianca!
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Club Volleyball
U15 crew win bronze medal
Congratulations to five STMC Grade 9 students (Arianna Figueroa, Maxine King, Mia Lopes, Eunice Tamayo and Alex Tarazi) as well as STMC alum Stephanie Tarazi ('15) as Assistant Coach, earned a bronze medal in their division at the BC Provincial Championships at Tradex in Abbotsford over the last weekend in May.
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Theatre Under the Stars
Grade 11 student joins the ensemble
Congratulations to Grade 11 student (and 2017-2018 Student Council member) Bronwyn Williams for landing a part in the ensemble of TUTS' The Drowsy Chaperone this summer. Come on out and enjoy live theatre in the beautiful setting of Stanley Park - and see Bronwyn pull off her best dancing monkey, slithering snake and tapping "Wing Girl"! Break a leg, Bronwyn!
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Spotlight On...Game Development Club
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With Communications Assistant
Bianca Te
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New this year at STMC is the Game Development Club, wholly founded and run by students! Just as the name suggests, the club works together in different departments (programming, art, sound, and marketing) to develop their own games. No experience is necessary, just devotion and a willingness to learn!
Bianca caught up with the founder, Angela Lu (Grade 11), to find out more about the club:
BT:
How did the Game Development Club start?
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Angela Lu
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AL: A bunch of kids I knew had always loved playing games and creating works of art. They were passionate in what they did and I was no different. The idea had been building in my brain for a long time, but it was when I took a good look around that I realized the potential that all of us held. Therefore, i began making a club proposal for what would become STMC's own Game Development Club!
BT:
Why should people play the game?
AL: It's a 100% high-school-student-made game! That's cool! And it's a game...who doesn't like games, whether they're classics from the NES or N64 consoles or ones with stunning graphics from the PS4? The games that we make are a start of that wonder that captured the hearts of all. Not to mention, STMC students created it!
We call ourselves M-GAP Development. Everything from the art, music/sound effects, programming, etc. was done and created by students just like you and me. No experience was necessary! Nobody is left out! The even more exciting thing is that anybody can join us: any of you reading this right now can be a part of our next game! (We tend to make story-driven games, so there's opportunity for writers as well.)
Click for
more details and please
download our game! (Download the zip file and then, after unzipping, open the .exe file). We hope you enjoy it, and we hope to see you all with us next year!
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Back-to-School Knight Club Sale
Wednesday, August 30 | 12:00-5:00pm
Mark you calendars! As one school year ends, we are already thinking about the next one beginning! The annual Back-To-School Knight Club Uniform Sale will take place on Wednesday, August 30th, from 12-5pm, in the school cafeteria.
If any parents or students would like to volunteer to help out at the sale, please contact Amelia Crarer at [email protected]. It's a great way to get a head start on service hours for the next school year!
HAVE A GREAT SUMMER EVERYONE!!!!
Check out the
Knight Club and Dress Code page for more information about uniforms.
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Hot Lunch
As the weather warms up, the cafeteria empties out! As such, we have finished our hot lunch offerings for this year. We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge all the dedicated hot lunch mums and dads that helped us this year. Please continue reading
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A Look Back at May Events
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In order to help develop dialogue between public and independent, faith-based schools, STMC and Byrne Creek Secondary conducted a "day in the life" - style switch for participating students from each school.
Participating students were connected with a student from Byrne Creek, and helped guide and support each other while at their respective schools. On Wednesday, May 3, Byrne Creek students attended STMC, and on Thursday, May 4, STMC students attended Byrne Creek. We hope that this event offers our students some perspectives on differences and similarities of the two school systems, and, more importantly, helps break down stereotypes.
For more on the switch, please enjoy the Burnaby Now article on the subject!
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Juliana Casas
Speech Night Champion
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I really had no idea what I would write my speech on this year, I aim to speak about topics that the majority, if not everyone, in an audience can relate to so that they're captivated by what I have to say.
Public speaking is something that has allowed me to feel empowered because people listen to the message I want to get across. Although some might see this speech as edgy due to their pride in their accomplishments, I believed it was something unique that had to be shared. As my time at STMC is growing to a close I hoped this speech would allow my peers, younger students and even the adults in our lives to realize we've just begun our journey. What an honour it has been to win Speech Night again, and in my final year to go out with a bang!
Click for the
full transcript of Juliana's speech
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Luke Bondi
THINKfast Leader
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Thinkfast is such an important event that happens each year at STM. It provides us with a perfect opportunity to reflect on the privilege that we have in Canada. The money that we raised will go to help our Christian Brother missionaries across the world. This year, we decided to focus on South America, as this region has a significant connection to STM due to or missions to Peru. By participating in this 20 hour fast, we learned so much about ourselves and the struggles faced by the impoverished people of the global south.
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Cassie Lauang
Student Council Moderator
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While the rest of the province was eagerly discussing the provincial election, the race that dominated the hallways of STMC was the race for the 2017-2018 STMC Student Council! Twenty-four brave students put their names forward as candidates as the format for the election changed; students were now running independently instead of teams.
All the candidates campaigned hard to win votes. Posters were plastered on walls, catchy slogans were made and election day speeches promised voters everything from bubble tea to puppies. A tight race, however, culminated in victory on May 26th, Election Day, for: Carson Wong (Gr 8), Kaishaun Carter, Luca Casellato, Bella Gaspar, Gigi Gaspar, Julianna Pathyil (Gr 9), Yousef Mian, Sofia Napolitano (Gr 10), Ricardo Desjardins, Kayla Hayek, Tessa Longo, Julia Spagnuolo and Bronwyn Williams (Gr 11).
Congratulations to the 2017-2018 Student Council and we look forward to a year of serving the student body and the community of STMC.
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March For Life
May 11, 2017
This was an amazing opportunity for students to become involved with social justice issues such as Reverence for Life, as they joined thousands of others in the 10th Annual March for Life in Victoria BC.
After leaving from STMC at 7:30am to catch the ferry, the festivities began with a mass at St. Patrick's Parish, followed by a march from Centennial Square down Government St. to the BC Legislature. On the front lawns of the legislature was held the Rally for Life which featured inspiring speakers and lively music, and despite the deluge the sun did come out just as the closing prayer was being said.
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The last dance of the year gave students the opportunity to don some white duds and enjoy music, dancing and each other's company. Here are some photos from the event:
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