— March 2020 —
Guard duties don't change for this vigilant knight, even during trying times!
Message from the President
The COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of our lives! This is usually the time of year when we are preparing to have a school full of excited students returning from spring break and ready for the final stretch of the school year. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. I understand the disappointment of many students due to cancelled trips, cancelled school activities and the missing sense of community they experience when participating in curricular and extra curricular activities. You will know from the communications of Principal Stephen Garland that STMC is well positioned and prepared to ensure the continuation of our students' learning and development . Our ability to provide virtual learning and to continue providing the same robust experiences when students do return to “normal” in school activity requires your help. Your support for the teaching staff, encouragement for the students and general patience will be absolutely necessary.

The financial impact of COVID-19 is already being felt by so many. We want to ensure our parents and students that we will work with you to make necessary adjustments so that payment of tuition is not a barrier to our students coming to and/or returning to STMC. This is the basis of a Blessed Edmund Rice Education! STMC will prioritize our financial assistance even more and support families that need help to the best of our ability through the STMC Bursary program . We are also making a change in the 2020-21 tuition payment schedule to start from August 1, 2020 (instead of June 1, 2020) . Please contact Susan Silveira at Susan.Silveira@stmc.bc.ca to discuss your specific concerns.

Not everyone will be in a position to offer financial assistance to others, but for those who are able, we urge you to make a donation to a bursary or to the  Knights Annual Fund so that we can increase tuition assistance to those in need; and ensure support for ongoing teaching and learning activities.

The closure of in-school activities impacts on sources of revenue we have been relying upon in our operating budget. Things such as the rental of classrooms, cafeteria revenue and gym rentals, all fall under this category. At the same the most significant expenses continue, such as our commitment to salary & benefit for all staff and the maintenance and operation of the school facility that is also required over the course of this difficult time.

We are encouraging those families and alumni who have it within their means, to consider making further contribution in order to support our students by donating to our bursaries and to the Knights Annual Fund , of which we are currently at 47% of our $55k goal. As daily routines now look a lot different, perhaps you find yourself saving on areas you used to spend, such as on the daily coffee you used to get, the cost of commuting, or by not eating out. Please consider allocating these savings to appropriate charities to support a community in need and to STMC so that we can continue to provide excellence in our teaching and learning environment. Keep in mind that gifts do not necessarily have to be lump sum but can also be a recurring monthly gift, by direct debit to bank account or credit cards. Setup can be done through Alice Roder at the Development and Community Relations office, or on our website through our partners at Canada Helps.

There are endless ways in which we can all work together. Protecting the physical and mental health of yourself, your family and community is top priority so I urge you to follow the advice of our public health and government leaders. There are many ways our students can assist in maintaining a strong community spirit from home. Use of social media to share positive stories, share music, do virtual fitness groups, hold virtual meetings with family and friends, write letters to seniors in long term care, and share other creative ways to remain positive and retain a sense of community. Please let us know if there is anything that STMC leadership can do to support you and your families in this challenging time. My thoughts are with you.   Together we will get through this and come out even stronger!

Live Jesus in our hearts... forever!

Dianne Doyle - President, STMC
GIVING NEWS
Walkway of Angels plaque in recognition of the generous gift from the Kully Family, in memory of Coach Kully
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

In November we launched the 2019/20 Annual Knights’ Fund. This annual giving campaign allows STMC to enhance our students’ learning experience by augmenting the funds received from government and tuition fees. Currently we have a  12%  participation rate by our parents and  34 % by staff. The campaign continues until June 2020. Thank you to those that have given generously in the past years. We look forward to your continued generosity. Great things happen at STMC when the whole community joins together in support of our school and our Knights.

STMC Advancement Contacts:

Alice Roder
Advancement Services Officer | 604-521-1801 ext. 2133 | advancement@stmc.bc.ca

Thank you for supporting STMC!

IT NEWS

The COVID-19 crisis has presented a number of new challenges and objectives for the STMC IT Department. With in-class teaching and learning now suspended, we are working hard to scale up our IT systems and support procedures to meet what are sure to be unprecedented demands over the coming weeks. Ensuring the reliability of our electronic communication systems is a particularly important focus at this time. Currently, email is our primary mode of communication, and important messages were sent out last week. If any families did not receive an email update from the school last week, they should check their spam or junk folders, and if necessary, select options to allow all email from our STMC servers. Families may also contact Mr. Ken Olson, Director of IT, in this regard at ken.olson@stmc.bc.ca , if necessary.
 
Over the next ten days, further important information regarding access to Learning Management Systems and Video Classrooms will be sent out to families. Some of these educational platforms will be new to students and parents, but we will be working hard to provide easy-to-follow online guides, and personal support for anyone having difficulty with access or use.
 
As events continue to unfold in these extraordinary times, we are very optimistic that the spirit and love that defines our STMC Community will continue to shine brightly, even when channeled through the digital realm that will be connecting us as we move forward.
 
Ken Olson, Director of IT
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
All in-school learning has been suspended indefinitely as per the Premier of British Columbia and the Minister of Education.

Regarding graduation, events such as the Grad Mass, Breakfast, Ceremony, Dinner Dance, and Dry Grad, are To Be Determined. While no plans have been made to cancel these events given the current circumstance, expect changes to be made as the situation continues to unfold.
ACADEMICS ROUND UP
SCIENCES

BC Children's Hospital Research Open House
Several of our grade 10-12 students had the opportunity to attend the BC Children's Hospital Research Open House on March 9th.  At the workshop, they attended lectures on medical research and had the chance to take part in some hands on applications of the research done at the hospital, gaining insight into future careers in the process.
Creative Destruction Labs' High School Girls Program
Grade 11 students Alicia Bremer and Natalia Sawyer and grade 12 student Zoe Chung had the opportunity to attend the Creative Destructive Lab at the Sauder School of Business on March 5. Creative Destructive Lab is a mentorship program for seed
stage technology and science based companies. “We were able to shadow mentors all day and see what it took to have a successful business. It was inspiring to learn from women who were extremely successful in business, and exciting to meet so many experts in the field of technology based science," writes Alicia. All three students found the day to be enriching and informative.
Special Events
GKO Golf Tournament

After careful deliberation, we have decided to cancel the GKO for this coming June. Given the health and economic stressors on everyone involved, we feel that this is the best decision going forward. We plan on having our next GKO in June of 2021 where we can celebrate and honour Shane Van Vliet the way that we had planned. We will also use the 2021 GKO event to celebrate STMC's 60th Anniversary. 

Thank you,
Dominic Zimmermann
Doug Witzel
Steve Power
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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