Message from the Principal
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“
In like a lion, out like a lamb
” has always seemed a straightforward enough proverb for most of the rest of Canada beyond our Lower Mainland: when March starts, it is still winter, and by the end of the month spring has begun. Given the record average-low temperature February we just experienced, I'm serious when I say that I hope this old adage applies to us too!
The break-neck pace of the last few months invariably takes its toll on mind, body, and spirit. It is my sincere hope that the impending Spring Break provides everyone associated with STMC with the opportunity for respite and to recharge all of the above for that last stretch before Final Exams and Graduation celebrations are upon us.
Wishing you all a safe and happy Spring Break!
Blessings,
Mr. Steve Garland
STMC Principal
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Message from the President
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The Power of Prayer and Math
Many of us of a certain age will remember as children that our parents recited the Rosary every day. Families would gather, often on their knees, and with well worn beads in their hands recite 5 decades. As the children became old enough to recite the Hail Mary and count to 10, they were invited to lead a decade. The Rosary would only take 15 minutes (half that time if your parents were Irish!). It was important family time.
It seems universal, as children got a bit older, they would start hoping their parents might forget or there would be something to interrupt this daily ritual. Alas, they never forgot and there was rarely something more important.
The Rosary is a very powerful prayer as evidenced by countless testimonies and attributed miracles.
My mother recently passed away. She was devoted to Mary and the recitation of the Rosary. At her funeral, the priest shared what gave me cause to pause. In reciting the Rosary, the Hail Mary is said 53 times. The prayer ends with “pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death”. Praying the Rosary on a regular basis over the course of one’s lifetime means the person would have recited the Hail Mary over a million times. Yes, over a
million times. Do the math. That means you would have asked Our Lady to pray for us now and at the hour of our death over and over and over.
If you were asked for something a million times – actually a million times and not “if I’ve asked you once, I’ve asked you a million times” – don’t you think you'd respond?
I invite you to give the Rosary a second look, perhaps as part of a Lenten observance, to gather your family in prayer (over the numerous objections and excuses) and to ask our Blessed Mother to pray for us sinners. Miracles happen.
Live, Jesus, in our hearts … forever.
Mrs. Neysa Finnie
STMC President
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Walkway of Angels plaque in recognition of the generous gift from the Kully Family, in memory of Coach Kully
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Did You Know?
Giving to St. Thomas More Collegiate has never been easier. In our
Support STMC’s Ways to Give
page you have the option to sign up as a monthly donor through Canada Helps - STMC’s secure online giving platform provider. Monthly gift donors are vital contributors to the sustainability of St. Thomas More Collegiate. As a monthly donor, you sign up once for pre-authorized payments through credit card or through PayPal and receive a consolidated tax receipt at the end of the calendar year. If you prefer to give monthly through pre-authorized electronic funds transfer (EFT), please contact our Advancement Office for assistance. To set up a monthly online gift:
STMC Online Monthly Giving Page
Our online donation page is also set up for
memorial or tribute giving
- a wonderful way to honour or remember someone and make a difference at STMC at the same time. Celebrate occasions such as birthdays and graduations, or express sympathy or a thank you by making a memorial or tribute gift to STMC. When you make a gift, you may request STMC Advancement to send an electronic or printed card to notify a person that a gift has been made in their honour or in their loved one’s memory. To make a memorial or tribute gift:
STMC Memorial/Tribute Giving
A friendly reminder that our
Knights Annual Fund
campaign for 2018/2019 school year is well underway. Thank you so much to those who have already responded to this annual appeal by already making a gift. Great things happen at STMC when the whole community joins together in support of our school and our Knights.
STMC Advancement Contacts:
Jacqueline Doering
Alice Roder
Thank you for supporting STMC!
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March
6:
Re-registration deadline, Term 3 electives begin
18-29:
Spring Break
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SCIENCES
EGBC Bridge Competition
On February 9, several of our junior students took part in the Engineers & Geoscientists of British Columbia's Popsicle Stick Bridge competition and nearly swept the awards! Competing at Kwantlen Polytechnic's Surrey campus, they were tasked with building bridges out of popsicle sticks and glue only. The goal of the competition was to support as much mass as possible. Grade 8 student, Nathan Rajkumar, finished 4th in the event with a bridge that supported 144 lbs. Grade 9 students, Eric Zhang and William Kortzman, took home second place with a bridge that supported 173 lbs. Grade 9 students, Cameron DeWith and Rhoswen The, won the competition by a wide margin, with a bridge that supported 508 lbs! Congratulations to all of our young engineers!
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Students on the Beamlines - Synchrotron Research Trip
From February 11-15, a group of our senior science students travelled to Saskatoon, to conduct research at the Canadian Light Source - Canada's national synchrotron. A synchrotron is a particle accelerator, and in this case, it is used to produce brilliant light in the X-ray spectrum as the near-the-speed-of-light electrons change direction (as bremsstrahlung radiation!). The X-Rays are then shone down a beamline to illuminate a sample, allowing scientists (our students!) to examine chemical properties. The $300-million facility has dedicated a percentage of available beamtime to student research projects. The program is unique world-wide in terms of allowing students to conduct their own research at a light source synchrotron facility.
Our group of Grade 11 and 12 students worked with Light Source staff to design their experiment, examining the dendrochemistry of BC Interior Douglas Fir trees, with a special focus on comparing the chemical composition of tree rings during forest fire years. The students wanted to build their project on a topic that would be relevant to British Columbia and quickly recognized the importance of the BC forestry industry. Due to the parameters the IDEAS beamline could study, the group felt forest fires would be an issue they could readily examine.
Our students were inspired by the opportunity to do research at the CLS. "It was amazing to walk out of the conference room and be faced with a giant, humming particle accelerator!" said Grade 12 student, Mackenzie Pereira.
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Students on the Beamlines
participants: Maya Becher, Olivia Becher, Victor Chen, Beatrice Gonzalves, Tess Grindlay, Gabe Manansala, Yousef Mian, Izundu Onukwulu, Julianna Pathyil, Mackenzie Pereira, and Ryan Rizzo
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Grade 12 student, Tess Grindlay, found the program useful. "It's a rare opportunity to do this kind of work as a high school student. It has strengthened my interest in science and research."
Special thanks to our sponsors for this project: Canfor Corporation, Dakeryn Industries, NSERC PromoScience, the STMC Parents' Association, and TEMEC Engineering Group Ltd.
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MATHEMATICS
The Math Club has started competing again in the Mini-Madness Math Competition running for the next 6 weeks. Wednesday's play was a collaboration round where our students can work together while at the same time playing against other Canadian or International Schools.
Shown below is one of the schools the Math Club competed against. It is a school down in Tucson, Arizona, which the Knights beat! Way to go!
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STUDENT HIGHLIGHT OF THE MONTH
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Congratulations to Aly Jonasson in Grade 9, whose artwork,
The Tower of Knowledge
, won the Teen Art Contest at Burnaby Public Library! Her artwork will be used on all of the posters and flyers for BPL Teen Summer Reading Club. Make sure you look for her artwork when you sign up for the summer reading program. Great job Aly!
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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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Daniel Auld, Dario Ciccone, and Michael Simone
Three Knights have officially been recruited for their prowess on the football field. Daniel Auld and Dario Ciccone both signed with the University of British Columbia while Michael Simone signed with Simon Fraser University.
Each of these young men were instrumental in leading the varsity football team into the playoffs. While there was no trophy held at the end of this year, the skills, abilities, athleticism, and effort that these three displayed every day on the field did not go unnoticed by the recruiting team of these universities.
Congrats, and keep doing STMC proud!
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Basketball season is over. The Grade 8 boys basketball team finished 4th place in the independent schools playoffs. Placed in a very competitive league, featuring several high schools that are in the top 10 rankings in BC every year, the boys constantly fought hard and always put up a good match. Throughout the season, there were many successes. They won 3 out of 4 tournaments which is no simple accomplishment, including the Terry Fox Basketball Tournament and the North Delta Secondary Tournament, both of which featured some very successful basketball programs.
In the end, while the season didn't end the way everyone had hoped, there is tons to look forward to in the coming years, especially with this young group. They have talent, skill, athleticism, but most of all, they have what it takes to be an STMC Knight. With a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work, this is a promsing basketball team in the making that can be very successful in the near future. We are looking forward to watching the contributions to be made by this special group of Knights.
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Tournament champions at the Terry Fox and North Delta competitions
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The Girls Basketball banquet will be held on April 8, 2019, 6:30pm at STMC's cafeteria. Tickets are $20.00 and can be bought from Mrs Farano. All girls basketball players are encouraged to be there with a parent.
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*There will temporarily be a separate newsletter from the PA coming out near the end of March. Stay tuned!
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Everyman
St. Thomas More Collegiate's Drama Department is proud to present:
Everyman!
Everyman is a morality play written in the late 1400s about a man unexpectedly called to give an accounting of his life before God, and his desperate attempts to find companions for the frightening journey he must undertake. This contemporary retelling of Everyman - with translation by Lindsay Price - is a sobering and at times humorous reminder of what is truly lasting.
STMC Multipurpose Room
7450 12th Ave, Burnaby
March 7 @ 4:30pm
March 8 @ 7:00pm
March 9 @ 2:00pm & 7:00pm
Tickets: $15 Adults, $12 Students (limited seating)
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