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Annual Dinner Recognizes Two Outstanding Alumni
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A great turnout for Mass in Our Lady's Oratory, the St. Bon's Chapel.
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Zac Dobbin '09, His Grace, Archbishop Currie, and Fr. Schuck, S.J.
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Our 2017 Annual Alumni Dinner was a wonderful evening of fun and friendship. Mass, celebrated by Archbishop Martin Currie, was held in Our Lady's Oratory on the third floor of St. Bon's. For the first time, this Mass was live streamed so that all guests had the opportunity to participate and observe the liturgy. Adding to the beautiful ceremony were our talented music students - Jane Hynes '25 and Ella Hickey '26 cantored while Rachel Howells '18, Jacob Bennett '18 and Liza Konstantinova '21 played a moving instrumental piece during the Offertory.
During the reception in the Aula Maxima, alumni enjoyed catching up and sharing stories in a casual and relaxed setting. Thank you to the Knights of Columbus for catering a delicious meal, which preceded the presentation of awards to our honoured guests, Magis Award recipient Dr. Lesley Bautista '05 and Alumnus of the Year Mr. Kevin Breen '62. Dr. Bautista delivered an inspiring address, calling us all to push ourselves to serve others in need and to be men and women for others. Mr. Breen followed with a touching tribute to his alma matter, reminiscing and describing how his time at St. Bon's has positively affected his life path.
Fun was had by all and we look forward to another successful dinner in 2018. If you would like information on nominating an alumnus for the 2018 awards, please contact Jessica Whalen at jwhalen@stbons.ca or 726-0024 Ext. 288.
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| Principal Annette Mallay, Magis Award recipient Dr. Lesley Bautista '05, Alumnus of the Year Kevin Breen '62, and President Mr. Tom McGrath |
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| Fr. Bill Browne '45, S.J., Grade 12 student Connor Milks and Derm Whelan '57 lead the school song "On the Hill" to conclude the wonderful evening |
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"Fallen 51" Dinner $7,500 For Bursary Fund
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Gerry Puddister '74 presents a cheque for $7,500 on behalf of the Alumni Committee to Mr. Tom McGrath for the St. Bon's Bursary Fund.
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After another successful "Fallen 51" Dinner, the Alumni Committee was able to make a generous donation of $7,500 to the St. Bon's Bursary Fund. This fund is vital, as we strive to ensure that no child is turned away from the school for financial reasons. This year, one in twelve of our students receive some form of assistance. We wish to thank the Alumni Committee for continuing to support this important initiative. If you would like more information on donating to the bursary fund, click here.
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Students giving thanks at our Harvest Ceremony as Grade 12 student Cullen Miller speaks.
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Br. Joe celebrates 60 years as a Jesuit with students and Frankie the Phoenix.
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- Our annual Harvest Ceremony was held on Friday, October 6 to help our students prepare for the Thanksgiving weekend. Our K-12 students participated in a prayer service, family group activities and a food drive, which provided hundreds of food donations to the Gathering Place.
- Brother Joe Frechette, S.J.,who has been an important fixture at St. Bon's since 1999, celebrated 60 years as a Jesuit on October 12.
- October was a big month for sports at St. Bon's! Our junior boys, junior girls and senior girls soccer teams just finished a successful season. Our students made impressions at the Cross Country Regionals, with several wins, including Grade 8 student Ashlyn Miller taking first place! Also, our brand new St. Bon's Hockey Skills Academy kicked off this month under Coach Shane Skinner.
- Though we are early in the year, we are off to a great start academically. Many high school students are taking distance courses through the Jesuit Virtual Learning Academy including C++ Programming, AP Music Theory, AP Spanish Literature and Culture, Mandarin, Digital Photography, AP Psychology and AP Microeconomics.
- This month staff celebrated the retirement Director of Facilities Jim Haley, who has dedicated 18 years of service to St. Bon's since it reopened in 1999. We wish Jim and his wife Gloria a happy and relaxing retirement. Thank you, Jim!
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The 2017 Girls Soccer Team
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Christian Service Program in Full Swing
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Our Christian Service Program continues to grow each year. As a Jesuit institution, service to others is an integral component of the education provided at St. Bon's. An essential element of the Christian Service Program is that students are given time to reflect and discern the significance of this service for others. For the next several months, a Christian Service program placement will be highlighted in each edition of the newsletter.
The Computers for Seniors program was initiated last year and is held in the Aula Maxima each Friday at noon. Led by math teacher Ms. Kim Hull, grade 10-12 students give up their lunch hour to help senior citizens learn how to connect with the world through e-mail, internet exploration and more. Not only are our students serving others through this program, they are also learning to appreciate our senior citizens and are learning so much from them through many interesting conversations. We even have a couple of our alumni benefiting from this program!
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Polina Konstantinova '19 with a weekly participant in the program.
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Nathaniel Roberts '19 with Robert Thorne '50.
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Luke Moores '18 with Fr. Bill Browne '45, S.J.
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Alumni Engagement Survey - We Hear You!
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Thank you to all those who provided feedback in the recent Alumni Engagement Survey and congratulations to Kathleen Mason '17, winner of the $100 draw! We are continuing to consider all the data, but would like to address some of the most common comments and concerns.
- Many alumni were interested in the following: an alumni service day, guest lectures and returning to the school to give presentations to the high school students in their field. We will be working on these initiatives. For now, we would like to hear from you if you are willing to present at a Career Day, which we will hold in the spring (April or May). We have a diverse alumni population and would love your expertise to let our current students know the options available to them for a post secondary direction.
- Many people expressed a desire to see more in the newsletter about what is currently going on in the school and with our students - you can expect to see more of that moving forward.
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Mark your calendar for the following events:
- Remembrance Day Service - Thursday, Nov. 9th, 10:30 am at The Basilica of St. John the Baptist. All are welcome.
- Annual Alumni Christmas Social - **DATE CHANGE** Due to a conflict with the larger of two Hey Rosetta! concerts, we have decided to move the Social to Thursday, Dec. 21, 7pm-9pm. More information will follow in the coming weeks.
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We regret to inform you of the passing of Rick Harris '62.
If you have any alumni announcements such as births, marriages, accomplishments or deaths please send the information to Mrs. Jessica Whalen at jwhalen@stbons.ca
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St. Bonaventure's College Alumni Goes Social
See updates, event info, school news and flashbacks of St. Bon's History!
Click the links below to reconnect with us today!
If you know of an alumnus that has not received this email, but would like to be included on our mailing list, please contact Jessica Whalen at jwhalen@stbons.ca or (709) 726-0024 ext. 228
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