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Mark Your Calendars
Important Upcoming Dates
Dec 06 Staff Meeting
Dec 12 PJ Day
Dec 14 Christmas Character Day
Dec 14 PLC Meeting (late start)
Dec 15 Advent Mass
Dec 16 Christmas Holidays begin!
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Upcoming Sporting Dates
Girls Basketball
Chancellor | Dec. 8-10
Boys Basketball
Check the
online calendar
for more details and times. Come and support our student-athletes! #rednation
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Student Council News
S'mores is making sure December will be filled with Christmas Spirit!
First up, we have already started selling candy-grams for $3 and singing-grams for $5 at lunch. The last day to buy one is Friday Dec. 2nd, so make sure you purchase one for your friends! They will be given out during the last week before Christmas break.
Next, Christmas Spirit Week begins on Monday, Dec. 12 with Pyjama Day! Tuesday is Tacky Sweater Day and Wednesday is Christmas Character Day. Don't forget to dress up and show your Christmas spirit!
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Brushes & Easels
Art Department
The Grade 8s have been putting together tape sculptures in Art 8, using their own bodies as the molds. Needless to say, it's led to lots of laughter!
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Student Highlights
Grade 9 student Alexandra Manis has prepared a little update on her figure skating accomplishments:
My name is Alexandra Manis and I am a new grade 9 student at STMC.
I have been skating since I was 2 years old. This year has been a transformative year for my skating.
First of all I had to leave home in Ontario and move to BC in order to train in a high performance skating school. I had to change schools and be able to handle many things on my own and be more independent. I also had to be in a new school set up and environment, get my every day things done without help (prepare my lunch/do laundry/ and so on), use the bus to go to school, and manage my school work and the skating schedule so I don't fall behind.
My dream was to make it the next level of skating where the best skaters of each province go to compete for the Top 18 spots, so I was dedicated and committed to make it. I went to the rink everyday with a positive attitude ready to make no mistakes in my skating routine.
The past weekend I went to Ontario to compete at my sectionals to make it to Challenge, which is were all the top girls in each province compete to be top 18 to compete at Nationals. I ended up coming top 6 and I made it to Challenge. My coach and my Mom who was my coach up till now helped me to make my dream reality.
Now my next goal will be to make it Nationals.
Good luck Alexandra!
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Grade 12 student-athletes Bianca Te (volleyball), Cam Morris (basketball) and Mary Parsons (golf) all signed this past month with SFU, UBC and Indiana University respectively. Congratulations to all of you, and good luck next year!
Bianca with volleyball coaches Mrs. D. Paloposki, Ms. B. Lang and Mr. J. Borthistle
Cam with Principal Mr. M. DesLauriers and President Mrs. N. Finnie
I've been playing basketball since as long as I can remember. My dad put a ball in my hands at a young age and I started from there. I chose UBC because it's a great school which provides academics and athletics.
Mary with golf coach Mr. J. Thierman
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If your son or daughter has any news worth sharing in the monthly newsletter, please contact Communications Manager Mark Bradshaw at mark.bradshaw@stmc.bc.ca
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Bright Night Dance
November 10, 2016
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FRIEND, FOLLOW, VIEW, LIKE!
If you're interested in receiving
instant STMC news and updates, as well as seeing silly pictures and/or photoshopped images of Ms. Webber, all you have to do is like us, view us, friend us or follow us (or all of the above).
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The mercy of God is made flesh in the birth of the Lord of Mercy - our salvation is brought to fulfillment in the love of Jesus.
As we enter the beautiful season of Advent, as a Church, we wait and yearn for the Promised One to be born again in our hearts. On behalf of the staff and teachers I want you wish you and your families a wonderful and blessed Christmas holiday.
This past month was an extremely busy one for both the parents and the students with Remembrance Day Mass; Christmas Craft Fair; Post-Secondary Night; parent-teacher interviews; and the band and choir Christmas concert. I want to thank all the parent and student volunteers and to those parents who attended any or all of these events. Your presence is important to your sons and daughters and to our overall sense of community.
Just a word about our PLC meetings that you may notice occur at the end of each month. PLC stands for Professional Learning Communities and directly involves our teachers meeting in their various department groupings and discussing a variety of things that impact the learning environment - the most notable is the new curriculum from the Ministry of Education which is being implemented for Grades 8 & 9 as of Sept. 2016 and for Grades 10-12 in Sept. 2018.
I want to extend my congratulations to all our fall athletic programs and their coaches. We had another wonderful season and I am very proud of all of our accomplishments.
Finally, I want to inform you about a few upcoming events:
- Dec. 13th - STMC Annual Christmas Toy Drive & Ugly Sweater Day - all students are asked to contribute a new, unwrapped toy which will be donated to the Salvation Army and participate by wearing ugly sweater attire.
- Dec. 15th - Advent Mass @ 10:45 am in the Stan Jean Centre. At the conclusion of the Mass staff and students will participate in our annual Christmas sing-a-along. Parents and alumni are invited to attend. All students will be dismissed for the holidays following the Mass and, unless they are here for a specific purpose (a team or group sponsored event), will be asked to go home for the holidays by 1 pm.
That's it for now. Thank you for all that you do for STMC. God bless you and your families.
Sincerely,
Mr. Michel DesLauriers
Principal
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Advent: Abundance of Love and Charity
Message from the President
A few short weeks ago, Christmas seemed so far away. It felt like there was lots of time to accomplish everything on the list. Here we are already in the first week of Advent - the beginning of the new liturgical year in the Church.
In the busyness of our Christmas preparations, let us not lose sight of the people around us who are in need - spiritual, emotional or physical - a kind word, letting someone else have a parking spot at the mall, including someone who will be alone to share a Christmas celebration, inviting a friend or family member who has fallen away from the Church to attend Mass with you and your family. Christmas is not about the abundance of presents. It is about being present with an abundance of love and charity we can show to one another.
As the calendar year draws to a close, I would like to thank everyone for their support and gifts of time, talent and treasure in fulfilling the mission we live here at STMC. Thank you to our parents who made the choice and sacrifice to give their children the lifelong gift of a Christian Brothers education; to our donors and supporters whose philanthropic investments allow STMC to serve the needs of our students; to our dedicated staff who give tirelessly both in and out of the classroom; to our Christian Brothers who, after 56 years continue to be an integral part of the community; to our dedicated volunteers whose countless hours from serving hot lunches to serving on the board allow the school to thrive; to our alumni who live out their Edmund Rice education by making a positive contribution to the Earth and its people; and finally to our students, who are the reason we are all here, who inspire us to make sure we give our best to help them be their best.
May God bless you and your family with a wonderful Christmas.
Live, Jesus, in our hearts ... forever.
Mrs. Neysa Finnie
President
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Christmas Toy Drive
Tuesday, December 13
We're seeking support for the school's 7th Annual Toy Drive, in support of the Salvation Army Toy Mountain.
It will take place on Tuesday, December 13 and involves over 700 students and staff. The Toy Drive was initiated six years ago by an STMC alumnus, Miguel Ramos, while he was in Grade 10. Miguel wanted to make a difference so many more kids would have a merry Christmas. We ask everyone in the STMC community to donate an unwrapped toy to our drive, and in turn Student Council and the BERT Team will provide a pancake breakfast to those participating. This event grows every year, and we have had the pleasure of the Salvation Army and the Burnaby Fire Department all join us on this exciting morning.
We can use your help and support, if you could provide us with any of the following suggested items it would be greatly appreciated:
Toy Suggestions
Ages 0 - 1
Diapers
Sleepers
Soft Toys
Musical toys
Mega Blocks
Blankets
Bottles
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Ages 2-3
Dolls
Blocks
Playdough
Puzzles
Trucks
Kitchen Toys
Colouring Books
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Ages 4-6
Dolls
Power Rangers
Art Supplies
Mickey Mouse
Mechanical Toys
Books
Thomas the Tank Engine
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Ages 7-8
Bike
Lego
Keyboard
Pokemon
Remote Control
Flying Toys
Hot Wheels
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Ages 9-12
Games
Board/Card Games
Books
Clothing
Mittens, hats
Sewing Kits
Sports Equipment
Lego
Pokemon
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Ages 13-15
Jewellery
Make-up
Nails
Lotion
Art Supplies
Perfume
Sports Equipment
Video Games
Gift Card
Clothes
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STMC Music Knight
Nov. 25, 2017
On Friday, November 25th, students in the STMC music department were
given the opportunity to display their talents at the annual Christmas Music Knight. The groups who performed include the Elementary Band, the Grades 8 and 9 Bands, the Senior Band, the Grades 8 and 9 Choir, the Chamber Choir and the Senior Choir. These groups rehearse around 3 times a week and are constantly improving and growing together. Being a part of the Music Department has allowed students to express their musical creativity and work together to create the best sound possible. Thanks to the music council for organizing the night and especially to Mr. Shoe and Mr. Lui for inspiring us to work hard and be the best we can be!
By
Ula Langdon
Grade 11 Communications Assistant (& alto saxophonist)
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Shaping the future of STMC Communications
A message from the Communications Manager
When we spoke to parents, alumni and stakeholders in the strategic planning process last year, one of the biggest issues that kept coming up was communications, or lack thereof.
Obviously that's something we would like to improve on.
We've given it a start by creating an online
school calendar, striving for more modern branding/design, and making sure all our pdf forms are online and electronically fillable.
Still, the first step in ensuring consistent, coherent and contemporary communications is to find out how exactly the greater community interacts with our main information distribution channels (website, social media, emails, newsletters, etc).
And to do that, it all starts with a survey. Yes, one of those things you've taught yourself to ignore, like tip jars in a cafe or Vancouver weather forecasts!
However, this is your opportunity to make things better, to get the kind of tailored communications that work best for you. I'm interested in your experiences, your opinions and your preferred means of communication.
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An example of an antiquated medium of communication
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In the next few days I will be sending out a small survey to the greater STMC community by email. I ask that you please take an extra 15 minutes out of your day to respond. It's a small gesture that will have enormous impact. And as an aside, remember that Santa is compiling his list this time of year, and nice people are definitely survey takers...
Please feel free to email me at
mark.bradshaw@stmc.bc.ca if you have any questions, comments or ideas to improve our school communications.
May you all have a very merry Christmas.
Mr. Mark Bradshaw,
Communications Manager
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STMC Holiday Shooting Camp Registration
T
he STMC Holiday Shooting Camp is a 2 day camp 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. We are still looking to fill some spots, so for more information, please click the picture below:
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Baby Bottles for a Cause
Campus Ministry Outreach | December 5-9
STMC's Faith and Liturgy team will be collecting donations from December 5th-9th for the Options Centre in Burnaby, which supports young mothers. Mission money will be collected in baby bottles during this week. We are also collecting any baby items you would like to donate. Donations can be dropped off in the Campus Ministry office in the library.
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Grad Pub Night Fundraiser (Save the Date)
Saturday, January 28
The Grad 2017 Committee has set a date for our Pub Night fundraiser!
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28TH
Great Bear Pub
5665 Kingsway (At Lane Street)
Tickets are $25.00 each and include either a beef, chicken or veggie burger and a house beer or wine. At this time we are gratefully asking for donations for the silent auction. If you have any ideas or suggestions or donations, please contact Pub Night Co-Captains Dave Walker (davewalker99@shaw.ca) or Gwen Harder (gwenypenny@gmail.com).
All proceeds will be going to the Class of 2017 grad activities. The Grads appreciate your interest and support!
Ticket information will follow soon. We look forward to a great night where parents of any grade can meet and socialize!
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Parents Association Corner
The Parents Association was involved in two major events in November:
On November 10th, the Remembrance Day Mass and reception was held. The reception was held in the Multi-Purpose Room upstairs with many guests and staff attending the luncheon. Many hands were involved in the preparation. A very big thank you to June Perkins for leading the team and many thanks to all who helped with this event. The room was beautifully decorated and set up and our guests truly appreciated the efforts that went in to making this day special for them. Thank you to all for making this a beautiful annual event!
On November 18 & 19 the famous STMC Craft Fair was held. This event takes months and months of preparation and some aspects of the craft fair literally begin as the previous fair ends! Thank you to the co-chairs of this event - Danna Larsen, Marina Roma-March, and Iris Lowe. As well, thank you to all the leaders of the many areas - from the bistro and bake sale table to the parking lot - literally hundreds of volunteers and students giving it their all! The music was piping through the halls, 50/50 tickets were being sold all over, yummy baked items were literally flying off the bake table, poinsettias, raffle baskets, book sales and so much more! This on top of all the beautiful and varied craft tables made for a very successful weekend. Thank you to everyone who made this craft fair such a success!
If you have any questions or concerns about volunteering, how to get involved, or volunteered for something and have not heard back from a coordinator, let us know and we will make it right! Rickabys@shaw.ca
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Get those Lunches While They're Hot!
December
The Hot Lunch Program is pleased to continue to add in some new menu items: this past month, on top of some of our usual favourites, we added teriyaki rice bowls, pulled pork, perogies, and chili dogs. December includes that famous Filipino Friday, Quesadillas, as well as Hot Soup and Bun Day.
We are always looking for help - whether it is just once in a while or if you want to be attached to a certain day. If you want to volunteer for hot lunch, haven't been contacted, or find yourself with some spare time, please let our Hot Lunch Coordinator, Chris Rickaby know!
Rickabys@shaw.ca
Chris is also looking for "guest" Hot Lunch Coordinators for just a day once in a while. Do you have a good recipe or idea? Why not step up and volunteer to be the menu setter and lead for a day? You don't have to be a permanent fixture on the schedule, but we are always looking for ways to shake up the schedule - so give it a try!
Please see the hot lunch page on the website for more information on hot lunches.
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January Knight Club Sale
Just a reminder that we hold Knight Club uniform sales the first Thursday of every month, except September and June!
Our fourth sale of the year was held on Thursday, Dec 1, and our first of the new year will be on
Thursday, Jan 5, from 2:30-4:00 pm.
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