A Message from the Board of Governors & President

We hope your holidays gave you time to relax with those dear to you, and reflect on the Easter mysteries. 

On behalf of the Board and the President's office, we want to provide you with an update before the return to classes on Monday. We have retained the national accounting firm of Ernst and Young (EY) to perform a forensic audit.  During the Easter Break, a team of Board members and school staff have been working to support the investigation.
 
During this time, we had a special response team in place to answer queries from parents and vendors. Starting on Monday, the President's Office will continue to respond to inquiries.  Please understand we are doing our best to respond in a timely fashion. The Board of Governors and President continue to work on a variety of investigation related matters. 

We express thanks to those who dropped by the school, sent emails or called to offer assistance.  Each of your expressions of support are sincerely appreciated. 
 
As Easter break comes to a close, we are looking forward to the reopening of the school on Monday, April 9th.
Easter Plus Program So Successful; 
Summer Program to be Offered
 
St. Bonaventure's College held its first Easter Plus; a camp offered for boys and girls during the Easter break.  Program was designed for students ages 5-9, both inside and outside the St. Bon's community.  While at camp, children learned and played together with opportunities to create, explore and have fun with friends.  Easter Plus  offered two sessions, operating daily from 9:00 a.m-5:00 p.m with drop off beginning at 8:30 a.m.
 
Children were divided into groups according to g rade level. Each day, a wide range of physical and enrichme nt activities were offered along with opportunities for outdoor play and unstructured time in the gym. 
 
Due to the overwhelmingly positive feedback from parents and campers, we are pleased to advise we will offer a SUMMER PLUS program for the month of July. Four one-week sessions will be offered for students aged 5-12. Full program information will be distributed soon.
2018 El Salvador Service Trip 
Back row (l-r): Liam G., Evan H., Michael P., Sam A., Aaron G.
Front row (l-r): Ms. Martin, Sarah C., Ashley S., Anna J.
On March 23 rd , I along with eight adventurous and dedicated grade 11 students, departed for El Salvador. This amazing opportunity was brought to us through a partnership with St. Paul's Jesuit High School and St. Boniface Diocesan School in Winnipeg. We were welcomed into the tiny community of El Faro with the words "Welcome to you all, this is your home" from the president of the community's council. During our time in El Faro we were treated as honoured guests; really more as family. We participated in a community project designed to repair a section of road prone to washing out in the
rainy season. Funds for the project were provided through fundraising efforts at all three schools. The expertise and knowledge necessary to co mplete  the project was provided by the community members, while we were able to contribute by speeding up a great deal of the heavy lifting. We spent our week moving large rocks into position so that they could be used in the road. Despite its many
Anna and Ashley spend time with local children
economic and political challenges, El Salvador is a country of tremendous beauty, faith,  and generosity. The people we met welcomed us openly into their homes and their hearts. We are most grateful for and humbled by this opportunity. It was a truly remarkable and life changing experience for us all.

- Ms. Gabrielle Martin
Dominican Republic Cultural Immersion Trip
2018 Loyola High School Dominican Republic Trip Group
Each year, Loyola High School in Montreal offers their Grade 10 students the opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic on a cultural immersion trip. St. Bon's is hoping to offer a similar trip to our students in the future, and thanks to a generous benefactor of Loyola High School, I was able to participate in this year's trip to gather information for our school.
 
On March 16, sixty-four Grade 10 students and eight adult leaders arrived in the Dominican Republic. Upon our arrival we were split into 2 groups. The group that I was with was brought to the neighbourhood of San Pedro, where we stayed with a local family with two or three participants per home. This gave our group an opportunity to experience how other people in the world live and to learn that the infrastructure that we take for grant here in Canada is not available to everyone. The majority of our homes did not have running water (buckets of water were used for cleaning) and the electricity was out every afternoon.
 
We also had the opportunity to visit other areas of the Dominican Republic. We visited
Group members working alongside Haitian workers
 in the sugar cane fields
Haitian Bateyes, which are shanty town camps where sugarcane cutters and their families live, as well as a slum in the capital city of Santo Domingo. Both of these communities are populated by undocumented people who are unable to leave these areas. The poverty that they live in is heartbreaking and was shocking for many in our group to see firsthand. We also spent an hour working alongside the Haitian workers in the sugar cane fields. These men work 12 hour days cutting down the sugar cane and then loading the cane into trucks, while making only $3 a day.
 
While we saw a way of life that is so different from what we experience here in Canada, one of the things we took away with us was how happy and joyful many of the people we encountered were, despite how little they had. They welcomed us with opened arm and they took care of each of us like we were their family. It was an eye-opening experience, and one that I am eternally grateful to have had.

- Ms. Krista Cardwell
2018 Ignatius Society Dinner 
President Tom McGrath and His Grace Archbishop Martin Currie present Mr. Ted O'Keefe  with the  2018 Ignatian Spirit Award
On March 8th, 2018 we held our 5th Annual Ignatius Society Dinner in the Aula Maxima of Mullock Hall, St. Bonaventure's College under the distinguished patronage of Most Reverend Martin W. Currie, D.D., Archbishop of St. John's.

The Ignatius Society Dinner is held each year to thank the members of the Ignatius Society who have pledged to donate $5,000 over 5 years to our Bursary Program.  Guests were treated to an amazing dinner prepared by Mrs. Annette Mallay, our Principal with service provided by our wonderful Grade 12 students.

Guests gather in the Aula Maxima for the  
5th Annual Ignatius Society Dinner
The evening also saw Mr. Ted O'Keefe receive the 2018 Ignatian Spirit Award.  The Ignatian Spirit Award honours a person who has made an invaluable contribution to their community and who truly demonstrates what it means to be a "Man or Women for and with Others."  The recipient embraces the ideals of St Ignatius Loyola and reflects the characteristics and qualities inherent in a Jesuit education at St. Bonaventure's College.  Mr. O'Keefe has contributed extensively as a volunteer in the St. Bon's community as Board Chair, Parent's Auxiliary member and St. Bon's Forum Corporation member.  He continues to be an active participant in the St. Bon's community by serving on the numerous selection committees and is a member of the Ignatius Society.
"Ted O'Keefe has been an extraordinary volunteer and supporter of the school's mission and he is a tremendous role model for our students," said President McGrath.

If you would like more information regarding the Ignatius Society, please click here or contact Ms. Jessica Whalen at jwhalen@stbons.ca or 709-726-0024 ext. 226
2018 Arrupe Leaders Summit

Our St. Bonaventure's College students engaged in thoughtful and practical planning for Social Justice among friends from across the Eastern United States. 
From March 8-11, 2018, seven Grade 10 students - Ben McCarthy, Doyle Stone, Abbey Moores, Zoe Baker Pike, Maggie McCarthy, Madison Hull and Jessica Casey  - and teacher, Ms. Jessica Whalen, participated in the Arrupe Leadership Summit  in Sparks, MD, led by the Ignatian Solidarity Network. Students were involved in fun and engaging activities to help develop their leadership skills, along side students from five other Jesuit schools from the eastern United States. The weekend was led with a strong focus on social justice and actively working for change in our world. Though charity is important, true leaders seek to promote and create changes that will empower marginalized populations and decrease the need for charity in our world. This amazing group of students has already begun to form ideas for some local changes - we cannot wait to see them come to fruition. 

After bonding with students in other schools at the retreat, these Grade 10's learned about the realities of gun violence in the United States. They led a prayer and moment of silence on March 14th to stand in solidarity with their new friends and to respect and recognize those 17 students who lost their lives in the Parkland shooting earlier this year. 

The group arrived in the area a day early on March 8th. After flying into Washington, DC, they had the opportunity to spend the afternoon and evening taking in the sights and sounds of the capital. A twilight bus tour allowed the students to experience many of the major monuments in the short time they had to spend in DC.

From left: Abbey M, Jessica C, Madison H, Ben M, Zoe BP, Maggie M and Doyle S took in the Washington Monuments before heading to Maryland for the Summit.
Once home, the students lead our school in a prayer for those who lost their lives in the recent Florida school shooting.
2018 Cash Lottery Winners

Congratulations to the following winners for our 2018 SBC Cash Lottery!

$10,000 First Prize - Fred Tulk (Ticket # 14437 sold by Michael Fagan)
$2,000 Second Prize - Amy Bishop (Ticket # 4141 sold by Lucy Bishop)
$1,000 Third Prize - Carol Ann MacDonald (Ticket # 4585 sold by Maggie Dobbin)

We'd also like to congratulate our top sellers:

1st Place - Jorja B (Grade 3)
2nd Place - Bon Fagan

Thank you to all who participated by selling or buying tickets this year. You have helped raise $43, 231.90 for the school!

Grand Prize Winner Fred Tulk receives his winnings from President Tom McGrath
Top ticket seller, Jorja B. donates $100 from her winnings