- Senior Band Performing at MTCS and St.Mary's
Mitchell Poirier and Julianna Mawko shown giving families a sneak peak of the fabulous Gr. 8 Drama Production, Greater Tuna
Vice Principal Eva McHenry and some of our wonderful parent volunteers hard at work at the Help Lesotho BBQ.
Kylie Knap and Hailey Collins proudly stand by their awesome Balloon Popping Machine!
Mr. Zandbelt would like to thank the students who assisted with building the shelving and soccer ball rolling storage bins for the Russell Soccer Club. This community project will provide a significant improvement to equipment accessibility and storage. Another job well done students!
Front Row: Mme Bourdon, Jennifer De Jong, Claire Gosselin, Kaitlyn Heuvelmans, Megan Beehler
Back Row: Trevor Dubois, Mason Rodden-Aubut, Matthew Spence
On Saturday March 9th, 2013 the mission team left for Guatemala for a 10 day trip. During our stay we worked at the N.P.H orphanage that has over 350 orphans from all ages. Our work schedule ranged from construction, painting, gardening, kitchen help, babies house and special needs assistance. We also had the chance to visit three nearby ancient Mayan market towns; Chichicastenango , Panajachel and Antigua. There, the students and I were able to shop and tour the towns.
On April 25, 2013 the mission team hosted a spaghetti supper. The supper gave us a chance to share with all of you our beautiful pictures, and students were able to speak about their life experience in Guatemala. We would like to thank Ian at Red Lobster located at St. Laurent for donating the food.
This trip would not have been possible without the help and generosity of Mrs Koekkoek, Mrs McHenry, students, school staff, community partners, parents and local business. A big thank you goes out to all of you.
I would also like to thank Jennifer, Claire, Megan, Trevor, Mason and Matthew for their help and enthusiasm during the fund raising process. Good job guys.
Congratulations to Spencer Ellsworth (Grade 8), shown below and Tamara Hamilton (Grade 11), above, for being the 2012-2013 STA Bravo Breakfast Award Winners! Both students were recognized by their teachers as being unsung heroes in the school. Spencer and Tamara go out of their way to say a kind word and to make others feel welcome - overall, making their classrooms and school a better place to be. We are proud of Spencer and Tamara and appreciate everything they do for our school.
STA students took part in the amazing and educational Europe trip last March Break with EF tours. They had the opportunity to visit historical sites such as Brandenburg Gate, a WWII concentration camp, the Berlin Wall (as shown in the picture), and then went on to visit the beautiful city of Amsterdam and the Anne Frank museum. Other historical sites included a visit to Normandy and Juno Beach where our Canadian soldiers took part in the D-day invasions. Finally, the trip concluded with the visit to Versailles and a tour of historical and famous sites in Paris.
STACHS students represented our school community at the Eastern Ontario Skills Competition held at the St. Lawrence College Cornwall campus on Wednesday, April 10, 2013. Our four participants competed in the Photography Skills category and were challenged to produce a number of images reflecting the designated theme: pattern and rhythm. Rhiannon Digweed, Justine Erdelyi, Alexis Mawko, and Makenna Reid gave competitors a challenging run as they produced strong, energetic and well-crafted photographs. They represented St. Thomas Aquinas CHS with dignity and professionalism. Special recognition is attributed to Alexis Mawko who placed third amongst 30 competitors. Well done team!
The Senior Band did a fantastic job at this year's Kiwanis Music Festival, performing 'African Festival' and 'Variants on a Shaped Note Tune'. Dr. Jason Caslor, the adjudicator, worked with the musicians following the performance, giving fun tips and suggestions of looking at and performing music. He awarded the band with silver, and the band should be very proud of their efforts, and how they represented St. Thomas Aquinas! Bravo!
Congratulations to the Girls Junior volleyball team on winning the eastern Catholic Cup before the March Break!! The girls played well all day pulling it off in the finals against Holy Trinity. They won the first set convincingly, lost the second set in a close one and won the third set by two, giving them the victory. A special thanks to all the student helpers and to Mr. Lafleur who helped with the set up, we couldn't of done it without you. We look forward to next year girls!!
Recently, STA had the opportunity to listen to Andy Thibodault, a motivational speaker. Andy is pictured above, with some of our students.
You can contact Andy regarding his events at: www.andypresentations.com
In the fall, students from the environmental science class collected leaves which were then pounded to extract the chlorophyll onto small squares of fabric. Teacher Ann Jackson, with her sister, Elaine Gariepy, who is a teacher in the Kingston district, quilted together the pieces of fabric and created a beautiful tapestry entitled "October's Party" (from the poem by George Cooper). The students are very proud of this beautiful piece of artwork. The quilt is currently on display in the front foyer of the school, along with a "wood and trees" display as part a local "Trees for Tomorrow" campaign.
The Girls Varsity Hockey Team went undefeated in league play to capture their second Prescott-Russell championship in the last 4 years. The won by scores of 3-1, 7-1 and 13-0 in round robin play and defeated Casselman 7-1 in the semi-final game. In the final game, their opponent was Embrun. The girls demonstrated excellent forechecking and backchecking skills and Kaitlyn Johnson was solid in nets to give STA a 2-0 victory.
The team is now off to EOSSAA in early March.
From left to right: Monte Hill, Spencer deJonge, Ryan Beaudette, Garry Curtis, Michael Laveau.
Mr. Garry Curtis, teacher, spearheaded the Movember fundraising activities at St. Thomas Aquinas CHS which raised $1,300.00 for prostate cancer research.
Ms. Turner and Mr. Beacon’s Grade 9 English classes, along with Ms. Kuseler’s Grade 10 English class, were pleased to welcome MASC: Salamander Theatre group to St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School, for two “Discovering Shakespeare” workshops, Thursday, November 15, 2012. Students learned how to de-mystify text, explore character and employ classical acting techniques in order to gain a better understanding of Shakespeare. Enjoyable day!
Mr. Longval was voted as one of nine finalists named for the 2012 NFL Youth Coach of the Year Award, the NFL announced today. The award, now in its 14th year and run in conjunction with Football Canada, is designed to recognize community or high school level coaches across Canada who dedicate themselves to the development of young players both on and off the field. The award is not based on wins and losses.
Six hundred and eighty seven submissions nominating more than 350 different coaches in nine provinces. Current and former players, volunteers, fans, parents, administrators, fellow coaches and even professional athletes submitted short essays recognizing the positive impact a coach in their community has on young players. Nominators were asked to consider how their coach teaches respect, leadership and appreciation for community and the game of football when drafting nominations.
Allie has been actively public speaking and fundraising for Cystic Fibrosis since the age of seven. Two years ago, her wish to meet Justin Bieber was granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Justin gave Allie an autographed guitar and she immediately set her mind on teaching herself to play. It has been two years since her wish and she has played and sung to audiences on many occasions at fundraisers such as golf tournaments, galas, and even at the National Gallery of Canada! She is always thrilled to share her experiences and lend to her talents to raise funds so that other children with life-threatening illnesses can also have their special wish granted.
Our Junior boys team finished 1st overall with a 6-0 record. In the finals they met St. Joe’s of Cornwall. With no home field, the team had to play St. Joe’s in Cornwall. The boys pulled away with a victory, and capturing St Thomas Aquinas's first ever High School football championship. The Junior team moves on to play the winner of Brockville Friday November 9th to continue their quest of an EOSSA championship. Congrats to all team members!
Our senior boys team cruised to a 4-1 overall record. In semi-final the boys beat CCVS 33-7. In the finals the senior boys played undefeated Holy Trinity and lost 33-3. Cograts on a great season.
The Grade Twelve students in Ms. Landry and Mr. Soares' classes recently visited St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal where they were given a first hand look at the works of one of Canada's most recent Saints-Brother Andre. Students had a chance to view the Oratory's stunning architecture, Saint Brother Andre's Tomb, and the spectacular Crypt Church to name a few
STA staff and students participated in the annual “Justin McKenna Wheelchair Basketball Challenge” on Friday, October 19, 2012. The day was a success as you can see from the smile sported by principal Donna Koekkoek. She dominated the court with her free-wheeling and competitive style, stopping only to pose for this photo op. All proceeds from this fun and educational day went to Justin McKenna's "Brain Matters" event held the following evening - an event created to raise money for Justin's rehabilitation, and to raise awareness of Traumatic Brain Injury. Congratulations STA and Justin McKenna!
These are grade 9 students in the integrated technologies course. They are starting to take apart engines in order to learn about the internal parts then they will be reassembling them. These are also old recycled engines we have accumulated over the years. Next they will be moving over to the wood working section in mid November to learn some wood working skills for the remainder of the semester.
Students at STA help get food drive donations ready to be sent to the local Food Bank.
Pictured are students in the Grade 10 Rural Transportation class striping and sorting different metals from old equipment and projects to be sent off for recycling. Another way STACHS keeps "green"!
Here’s Ms. Castonguay's Grade 10 MFM2P class investigating trigonometry while measuring different heights using their clinometers.
STA golf team comprised of Adam Fillion, Brendan Harris, Brady Harris, Mason Aubut and Andrew Harding captured the PRSSA title after coming from behind in the final nine holes. Congratulations team!
Grade 10 construction technology class helped to build a community project for the Metcalfe Fair Beef Committee. The picket fence was used this past weekend to add a beautiful background to the variety of photographed beef class winners at the Metcalfe Fair Beef Show held September 29, 2012.
