There's never a shortage of amazing costumes during Halloween at STMC! |
|
Message from the Principal |
|
Dear STMC Students & Parents,
Like most, I am also drawn into the daily news briefing by the our Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry and the Minister of Health, Mr. Adrian Dix. And just like you… I too am concerned at the rising number of positive case numbers for COVID-19 throughout the Lower Mainland, B.C., Canada, and indeed, around the world. As we complete Week 7 of our new school year… now is the absolute perfect time to remind everyone in our STMC Family to continue to be on-guard. We implore ALL to not become lax in your behaviours – both here at the school, as well as within the wider community.
Our STMC COVID-19 Health & Safety Plan is very good! But only a fool would suggest that it is fail proof. Ultimately, it is completely underpinned by the need for everyone to do absolutely everything within their power to ensure not only their own safety… but the safety of everyone else too! If we are to safeguard our two Christian Brothers, my staff, and our entire student population we MUST all take measures to “control the controllables”, as Mr. Bernie Kully (’94) was famous for saying.
There are a number of things that EVERYONE can do to partner with us during this time:
- Be caring and compassionate with your fellow STMC students and families. As a faith and learning community – more than ever – let us model our values of Care, Comfort, and Compassion for our every single person in our STMC Family.
- Complete the Daily Health Check prior to coming to school each morning (and report any concerning changes). Staff or students who exhibit any of the symptoms listed or feel unwell, should not come to school.
- Please be mindful when gathering with family and friends when you are not at school
- Limit your bubble outside school. Keep your inner circle small.
- While we can do our best at school to implement health and safety protocols, we are all at risk of inadvertently exposing ourselves to COVID-19 through work, socializing, and sports/arts activities. Be mindful in limiting these engagements as much as possible and take all precautions that you can.
- Continue to remind our young Knights about the Health & Safety Protocols that we should all be following (i.e. physical distancing, hand hygiene, wearing masks where and when required, and most notably, stay home when sick).
The restrictions placed on community sports and fine arts programs are not the same as they are for schools. I honestly wish they were! Rightfully so, schools have had far more stringent requirements placed upon them in terms of the size, composition, and the mixing of their learning groups for contact tracing purposes. We are well aware that many of our students – students in different Families of House (MORE/RICE) – both socialize and practice/play on the same outside teams and clubs outside of school. All the more reason for us to be vigilant in our behaviours!
As the Holy Father, Pope Francis proclaimed on an overcast and (fittingly) dreary, rainy day in his Urbi Et Orbi address to an empty St. Peter’s Square at the beginning of the lockdown back in late March… we are all in the same boat… in the midst of an unexpected, turbulent storm. To survive it we must band together… and row in the same direction. Let’s each of us do our part and “control the controllables”!
Yours in Christ,
Steve Garland
Principal – STMC
|
|
Message from the President |
|
The year is in full swing and our STMC students, staff and community have once again shown their commitment and creativity as we work together to make this a memorable year for everyone. Thank you to everyone for your patience, collaboration, humor and commitment to keeping our school a safe environment for all.
In the September Newsletter I asked for input into our 2021-25 Strategic Plan. I am delighted to say that I received 291 responses to the survey with input from Christian Brothers, staff, parents and alumni.
|
|
I thank each of you who took the time to respond and I value the thoughtful input. The final draft of the Strategic Plan is now being formatted and will be presented to the Board in December and then out to the STMC Community. My hope and expectation is that the Strategic Plan will provide an impactful roadmap as STMC continues its pursuit of excellence in all our endeavors. It will guide the development of specific annual plans. Clearly, we can only advance our vision and aspirations with a united vision, agreed to priorities and an engaged community.
A big thanks to the Parent Association members who have taken on the task of decorating our lobby as part of our 60th Anniversary celebrations. October took us back to the 60s when the school first opened with 3 teachers and 110 students. Some world highlights from the 60s include: The first LASER is created leading to fiber optic technology, first artificial heart implanted, Vatican Council opened by Pope John 23rd, the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan show, Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon, campus uprisings due to related social issues such as segregation and the Vietnam war and Bob Dylan's first performance. November will feature the 70s!
I again invite everyone to participate in any way with making the 60th celebration fun and informative. In particular, we hope you will submit video clips (60 to 90 seconds) sharing memories and telling us how STMC has impacted your life. Submit your videos, memories or other ideas to Alice Roder, the 60th Anniversary point person at alice.roder@stmc.bc.ca and Jason Wong, Communications Manager at jason.wong@stmc.bc.ca.
Stay Healthy, Stay Safe, and Stay Connected.
Live Jesus in our hearts forever
Dianne Doyle
President, STMC
|
|
November
9: "More" Mass Schedule, Parents Association AGM
10: "Rice" Mass Schedule
11: Remembrance Day - NO SCHOOL
12-13: Jeans Day
16: Term Break - NO CLASSES
23: Post-secondary Info Night
|
|
Walkway of Angels plaque in recognition of the generous gift from the Kully Family, in memory of Coach Kully |
|
Dear STMC Community,
The Development Team hopes you’re doing well during these uncertain times. This month we’ve been busy working on the Development component of STMC’s 5-year Strategic Plan and coming up with new ways to be Bold, Daring, and Imaginative.
In the 2019/2020 school year, we exceeded our fundraising targets by raising almost $60,000 for our Knights Annual Fund, receiving generous contributions towards STMC’s programs, and continued support for our bursary and scholarship funds. Our parents, alumni, staff, students, and friends of STMC showed generous support for our ongoing priorities, during unprecedented times, and we’re extremely grateful. One thing is for sure… there is a lot of love within our community and for our community!
Moving forward, the Knights Annual Fund will be a year-round effort with new opportunities for our donors to contribute to an Area of Focus represented on STMC’s Knight’s Cross.
|
|
Please visit our new Priority Areas of Support Page for more information. Donors can contribute to an Emerging Needs Fund which allows the leadership team the flexibility to direct funds to our greatest needs OR direct funds to one of our Areas of Focus – Faith, Academics, Arts, Athletics, and our newest area - Advocacy & Action. If you’re passionate about one of these areas, we ask that you consider initiating a monthly recurring contribution to the fund of your choice. A large number of small monthly contributions will provide the greatest impact to funding STMC’s ongoing needs.
Thank you very much for all of your support during the start of this school year.
Live, Jesus, in our hearts… forever.
Brent Christensen, Class of ‘89
Director of Development and Community Relations
604-720-2517
|
|
The IT Department has been a busy place recently, as the STMC Community continues to deliver outstanding educational programs through the COVID-19 pandemic. Technology upgrades have been provided to many teachers recently, allowing for further improvements to both in-class and asynchronous content delivery. Classroom audio-visual systems are also being updated across campus to facilitate better learning experiences.
A new and improved online application process has also been brought online recently. Based on our existing PowerSchool platform, this new system will allow prospective STMC applicants to provide information and documents in a timely and efficient manner. For families of current STMC students who will be applying for admission of a younger child, the system will bring new Knights into existing PowerSchool portal views early in the process, allowing for easy and secure submission of data. If you will be applying for the 2020-21 School Year, please contact the Front Office for more details on this new system.
Ken Olson,
Director of IT
|
|
*Anyone interested in staying up to date on extra-curricular science opportunities should join the Google Classroom where announcements are posted. The code is: xtyotzj
Gairdner Symposium
Like many events, the BC Children's Hospital Research Gairdner Symposium has moved to a virtual format. Three of our grade 11's took part - Jenna Bevaqua, Hannah van Spaendonk and Sophia Wong.
|
|
Here are their thoughts on the experience:
This Monday, the three of us had the opportunity to take part in the 2020 High School Gairdner Symposium virtual trainee session. In this event, hosted by the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics (CMMT), four PhD applicants shared personal stories about their past experiences in university and how it influenced their career choices in research.
We learned about the unique projects each were researching, one of which who is currently working in the Hayden Lab at UBC discovering how abnormalities in protein fatty acylation contributes to brain diseases such as Huntington's Disease. Although we still do not know exactly what we want to pursue in the future, this session has given us insight into possible career opportunities in the field of research and raised awareness to new studies currently being conducted in British Columbia.
Students on the Beamline Update
Our Students on the Beamline group is progressing on their project with their research experience likely shifting to a virtual format. We recently received beeswax from a lab at UBC that will form the majority of the samples for the groups experiment. Once this group has completed their experiment, work will begin on a 2022 run - stay tuned for application details!
|
|
On October 28th, members of the More Family of Houses competed in a BC high school cross country virtual meet. It was a great experience that also reflects the changes of how this pandemic has affected all parts of our lives.
The Rice team will be running next Wednesday.
Go Knights!
|
|
Textile Club
The Learning Commons is excited to begin a new Textile/Sewing Club this year. With the help of funds raised last year, STMC was able to purchase three sewing machines and one serger. Students are eager to learn these skills and many have signed up for our initial meeting on Oct. 1. Throughout the year, we hope to sew a variety of projects including masks and drawstring bags to fill with toiletries for the Breakfast Club Ministry. We are looking for cotton fabric donations and good quality thread to help keep our costs down. Please spread the word!
Thank you!
Mrs. DeWith
Teacher-Librarian
|
|
Student Vote: Mock Elections
On October 21 & 22, the students at STMC joined over 82, 000 students in the province in a mock election which ran parallel to the Provincial Election. Students filtered through the Polling Station (in the Learning Commons) to cast their vote in the Burnaby-Edmonds Riding.
Prior to the election, Mrs. DeWith (Teacher-Librarian) talked with several classes to highlight the importance of democracy, our responsibility to exercise our right to vote and the three levels of government in Canada. As seen below, the results at STMC were almost evenly distributed between the NDP’s and the Liberal Party, with a significant percentage for the Green Party.
|
|
The students enjoyed the experience and gained confidence in the voting process.
Mrs. DeWith
Teacher-Librarian
|
|
Happy 60th Birthday, STMC!
This year is a big milestone for the school. Since the school's inception in 1960, the spirit of St. Thomas More and Blessed Edmund Rice have continued to drive the school forward, overcoming challenges and helping us grow as a school and as individuals.
Many of you may have noticed that the display case in the foyer has been transformed into a celebration wall. Last month we started off with some happy birthday messages. Now, every month we will be celebrating a different decade for each one that STMC has lived through, starting with some Flower Power from the 60's!
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
