Every Gr. 12 Students walked the stage in front of all their friends & family during this special Grad Ceremony |
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Message from the President |
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This is our final newsletter of the 2020-21 school year! It went so quickly and once again there were so many wonderful achievements by staff and students. STMC would not be successful without the love and support of our community. I want to express a heartfelt thank you to our parents, volunteers, alumni and donors.
We look forward to welcoming our incoming grade 8’s and to seeing everyone back in person in September. We are planning an exciting “Homecoming” on September 11 to celebrate together as an STMC community. Mark your calendar and plan to attend with the whole family.
To our graduating class of 2021, we wish you health, happiness and success in life as you continue to LEARN, LEAD and SERVE. The following is my message to you.
Congratulations. You made it!
I am sure you are sick of hearing references to the impact of COVID but the pandemic will forever frame your last 15 months of your high school education and memories of your graduation ceremony. As you transition to the next phase of life, with all the wonderful possibilities life holds for you, I encourage you to heed the words of Pope Francis who is urging us all to not waste the opportunity the pandemic has presented. His hope is that as we emerge from the pandemic we will reshape our world rather than trying to return to the pre-pandemic normal. The impact of COVID-19 put a spotlight on economic, social, ecological, racial and religious inequities. Privileged people and wealthy countries had fewer risks of economic impact, earlier access to PPE, hospital care and vaccines. The Pope’s vision is that with this increased awareness we will all be motivated to act in a way that addresses these systemic inequities.
So as STMC Knights, you were educated in the essential elements, with a call to action especially for Elements 3 and 5. Your education has prepared you to make a positive contribution to the earth and its people. As you transition from protected students to independent adults your responsibility to be advocates for the marginalized is strong. The marginalized present in many guises: People of Color, the mentally ill, the disenfranchised, the LGBTQ2S+, the lonely and the poor. They will be in your neighborhood, in your community and in every country around the world. If we have been effective in preparing you, we will see evidence not only that you continue to grow and learn, and have successful jobs and careers, but also that each of you will have a positive impact on social justice locally or globally.
On a lighter note… I wish each of you love, luck laughter and joy. There are so many adventures in front of you!
At the grad mass I referenced “Oh the Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss. So I will leave you with a quote from the book:
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Congratulations today is your day You’re off to great places You’re off and away
You have brains in your head and you have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself any direction you choose
You’re on your own and you know what you know
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go
And you will succeed, Yes You will indeed
98 and ¼ percent guaranteed
Kid you’ll move mountains
So be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
Or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’ Shea
You’re off to great places
Today is your day
Your mountain is waiting so… get on your way
- Dr. Seuss, 1990
Dianne Doyle
President, STMC
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Message from the Board Chair
Dan Eisner, Board Chair of STMC, had written a short word of thanks to all the staff of the school. It was heartwarming and truly put into perspective what working at St. Thomas More Collegiate is all about. Here is his message:
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As the Board Chair, I would like to pass along our sincere gratitude to each and every one of you, on behalf of all members of the STMC Board. To say that the last year was difficult is an understatement! We fully acknowledge all the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic put on the operations of STMC and we received regular updates from Stephen Garland and Dianne Doyle on how you were managing and adapting to ensure our students received the best education possible.
However, we also know that each of you were also personally dealing with the stress and pressures of the pandemic as it impacted you directly, your family, friends and your personal network. Managing these stresses simultaneously on the home front and the work front has been very difficult and we want to thank you for your perseverance. We all hope that the end of the pandemic might now be within reach, we hope that you have an opportunity for some well deserved rest this summer, we hope that you will be able to sit back and truly reflect on and be proud of what you have accomplished for STMC, and we look forward to you coming back in September to a new and less stressful reality. Once again, thanks to all of you for what you do individually and as a team to make STMC a very special place!
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SCHOOL IS OVER, see you in September! |
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The cafeteria's new look with ceiling tiles removed, acoustic painting for sound absorption, and new paint |
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HOMECOMING
Homecoming is STMC’s annual reunion of Knights past and present. This coming September, we'll be having our big Homecoming for the first time in several years. It'll take place on September 11, 2021 right on our very own Power Field. Bring your family, watch the senior football game, hang out with student and teachers from the past! Here's a sneak peak of what you can expect:
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- Beer garden
- Pop-up eateries
- Door prizes
- Guest alumni showcase
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- Fan gear table
- Kids Zone
- 50/50 Raffle
- And so much more!
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GKO GOLF TOURNAMENT
Join us on Saturday, September 25th for our 21st annual GKO Family & Friends golf tournament. we will use this event to celebrate and honour Shane Van Vliet.
The event is always a fun time. Hurry to join as an individual or with your team as roster spots are limited.
Please visit our GKO webpage for more information on how to join and/or become a sponsor!
Contact Dominic Zimmermann at alumni@stmc.bc.ca for any questions
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CanSat 2021
Congratulations to our school's CanSat team on being named the winners of the inaugural Canadian CanSat Design Challenge organized by the Canadian Satellite Design Challenge Society. Our team's CanSat was designed to collect temperature and pressure data and take infrared (thermal) images as it descended from a height of one kilometre. The CanSat was dropped from a helicopter over the Abbotsford airport in early June. Data was analyzed and added to the team's final report on their progress.
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Competition organizer Lawrence Reeves (left) presents the competition trophy to Eric Zhang.
Team members include (L to R): Hongzip Kim, Samuel Cheng, Angelina Chen,
Howard Cheng and Mr. Muise. Absent: Dante Romey
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The STMC field and track as imaged in infrared wavelengths taken by the team's CanSat |
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The internal design of the the team's CanSat |
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By winning the Canadian competition, the team has qualified to represent Canada at the European Space Agency's (ESA) CanSat Competition that will run virtually this fall. The team will present their data and compete in virtual challenges with countries from around the world. This makes three consecutive years where our school team has been selected to represent Canada at the ESA competition, having previously qualified by direct application to ESA. |
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SUMMER BASKETBALL CAMP
St Thomas More Collegiate is hosting our Annual Summer Basketball Camp designed to introduce players to the fundamentals of basketball in a fun and competitive atmosphere. It is open to boys and girls going into grades 3-8 from Monday, August 23 to Friday, August 27.
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BAND
One thing that has noticeably been missing throughout the school year, are the performances by the STMC Band Program. Traditionally, they’ve always held performances over the course of the year including events like Spring Music Knight, Jazz Knight, Christmas Music Night, and the Chancellor Music Festival.
While these events were cancelled due to the pandemic, the band program was still hard at work. Although there were challenges and greatly reduced rehearsal time they managed to tackle some of the most challenging music they have ever faced. Here are some of the accomplishments of the students from the band program this year.
The link below will take you to a page of playlists for each one of the bands. In total there were 34 “performance” videos the student put together which is way more than at a regular concert.
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September Orange Shirt Day & Welcome Pole Raising
September 2021 will be an important time for STMC’s journey toward Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. For the first time, students and staff will observe Orange Shirt Day, and the Coast Salish Welcome Pole carved for the school by artist Ray Natraoro will be raised in a formal ceremony.
More information about both events will follow over the summer and at the start of the school year in September.
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STMC JUMP START 2021 - SOLD OUT
It's Back! An annual STMC tradition! Jump Start 2021 for Incoming Grade 8 Students is now bigger and better than ever!
We will cover Math, Science, English and Learning Strategies. Plus we will have fun and introduce the Class of 2026 to life as a STMC Knight.
Things are off to a good start as the program is now completely sold out!
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SPIRIT WEEK
We were thrilled to end the year with celebrations and the spirit typical of STMC. Our Student Council organized Spirit Days like PJ day, Dress Like Mr. Dawson Day, Monochrome Day and Tropical Day. During lunch time, fun events were hosted such as the Dunk Tank, dying Mr. Garland's hair pink, and shaving Mr. Steele's hair into a mohawk!
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STAFF vs. GRADE 12 KICKBALL
The staff would briefly like to mention that we defeated the More 12's and lost to the Rice 12's in a rowdy game of kickball. Thank you to all the staff that sacrificed life and limb and to the Grade 12's for showing that competitive nature which embodies the STMC spirit!
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STUDENT COUNCIL 2021/2022
As the school year closes, our student body elects representatives from their grade level to lead and become a significant part of developing school spirit as we transition into the next school year. After a rigorous campaign and a very close election, a huge congratulations goes out to the following students:
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With Gratitude...
Despite a challenging year, the graduating Student Council members of Grad 2021 have lead with a true servant's heart. A huge thank you and congratulations goes out to: Carson Wong, Brooklyn Coletta, Leire Coloma, Sean Hernandez, Ryan Tengku, Chayze Deza, Sophie Sutherland, and Ezawa Malish
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Summer is a great time to put down your devices and read! Benefits from regularly reading are backed by so much research. Why not commit to reading at least 20 minutes a day this summer and stretch your mind! |
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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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