Student Government

Athletic:

STL’s Athletic Council has been off to an amazing start! Early in September, we travelled up to Muskoka Woods with all of student government. These three days were filled with interesting workshops, team bonding activities, leadership building, and many laughs. It was a wonderful way to welcome new members to the AC family and a great way to get to know one another. In October, the STL Tennis team won the Senior YRAA Championship for the second year in a row and at present. The Senior Boys Soccer Team played an amazing game in the YRAA Finals! Falling just short of the title. With December coming soon, Athletic Council’s annual Basketball Buy-In is also fast-approaching. On Friday, December 6, students will be invited to come down to the Lion’s Cage to watch the senior lions play an intense game of basketball against the teachers. This event will be hosted by our very own council, with games and prizes to be won at the half time show. This year, all proceeds will be going towards helping fund charity work overseas. The athletic year seems very promising so far, and we can’t wait to see what else this year will bring!

Written by: Sarah Lei & Maevis Meadows

Chaplaincy:

School Supplies

From October 8 to October 15, Chaplaincy Council held their bi-annual School Supplies drive. This year, all STL students were encouraged to bring at least 2 school supplies items to their homeroom classes. In light of the Thanksgiving season, the school supplies drive was a wonderful opportunity for students to be reminded of the many different things in life they have to be thankful for-- with one of those things being the access to education. Together, we were able to raise 3227 school items! When the STL staff and students travel to Guatemala for their annual service trip, these items will be shared amongst the children there. Thank you STL for demonstrating St. Theresa’s Little Way!

Opening Liturgy

“Turning Over a New Leaf” was the theme of the opening liturgy held on November 1. With the help of student volunteers and custodians, Chaplaincy Council transformed our gym into a sacred sanctuary. The mass, led by Father Peter Choi, allowed us to embrace the new school year and to take on opportunities that will help our school community and beyond, during the academic year. On behalf of Chaplaincy Council, we would like to thank Father Peter Choi for celebrating the mass, Ms. Doria’s Choir for their beautiful voices, the school board trustees for their endless support, the custodians and student volunteers for helping set up the gym, and the whole student body for their reverence and cooperation during the liturgy.

Written by: Rubey Wong and Tobi Adesipo

Cub:

Cub Council works towards putting a spotlight unto the new members of the STL community: the grade nines! As the month of November comes to a close, Cub Council is proud to announce that it has been a very productive and exciting season.

First, they kicked off the school year with the annual student government Muskoka Woods field trip. The trip was an amazing leadership building experience, and the perfect refresher to get all council members back into the school spirit. After learning from and engaging in insightful experiences at Muskoka Woods, Cub Council was able to start off the school year with an eager, determined, and passionate attitude!

Next, the Cub Council members, led by their president Nethmi Illamperuma and vice president Emily Baldesarra, conducted their council elections. Once their council’s executive member positions had been set, Cub Council then promptly opened their doors to the grade nines, the cubs themselves! Cub Council took in a total of 14 grade nines, a group of outstanding kids scheduled to join in on their first official meeting on November 18^th.

Lastly, Cub Council also carried out their first event of the year on October 30^th. This event, called “Halloween Paws” aimed to congratulate STL’s grade nine students on completing their first two months of high school with Halloween treats and an adorable Cub Council sticker. This event was a success, as the grade nines were smiling and enjoying their snacks for the rest of the school day.

Overall, Cub Council has had an astounding start to their 2019-2020 year, and they are keen on making the rest of the year just as marvelous, as they have so many more great ideas in store!

Written by: Jennifer Serbanescu

Diversity and Equity:

D&E kicked off the 2019-2020 school year with their annual “Where You At,” helping students to explore the diverse cultural makeup of the STL student body. A map of the world was set up as students dropped by to place a sticker on their country of origin. This three day event involved games in the cafeteria, where students played games like matching flags to countries, and more. Following this event, D and E introduced a new “World Kindness Day” event encouraging students to follow in St. Theresa’s footsteps and practice the Little Way. The council distributed paper to classes and encouraged students and teachers alike to write kind messages that would make someone smile. We teamed up with volunteers to fold all these messages into hundreds of origami paper hearts. These paper hearts were sent out to classes on November 13th, reminding everyone at STL to share a little kindness on this day, and all days. What a great start to the year!

Written by: Leya Tawfik and Renee Wu

Environmental:

STL’s 2019/2020 Environmental Council is off to a fantastic start! This year’s group of environmental leaders is excited to make serious changes to our STL community, and beyond. With President Jake Birkness, Vice-Presidents Sarah Shum and Ethan Yoon, and our amazing teacher advisor Mrs. Caldaroni at the helm, we are aiming towards another year of making STL a certified Eco-School. The initiative was re-introduced last year, and we were able to achieve a Silver certification! This year, Gold is the goal. Environmental Council will be running repeat events like Recycling Awareness Week (late November), Christmas Movie Night (Late December), Natural Living Week (April), and Earth Week (May), along with exciting new initiatives like our Eco-Schools Week, which we hope to run in early February. It is without a doubt that this coming year will be one to remember for Enviro!

Intramural:

What is Intramural Council? We are a group of sports-loving, friendly, and enthusiastic leaders dedicated to promoting inclusivity within the STL community through sports. Our first event of the year was our annual Junior Dodgeball Tournament geared towards our Grade 9 and 10 students and designed to welcome our “Cubs” into the STL community. Many students had the opportunity to meet and create friendships with new people to encourage their involvement in the community. This will soon lead to the infamous “Basketball Drop-In”; which will allow students to show their team spirit and get involved. This event will take place in mid-December and all students are invited to bring their friends and energy to enjoy a game of basketball. Lastly, our annual Floor Hockey Drop-In will take place on November 21st and is another way to involve the students of STL in a fun and friendly manner in the spirit of family and friends. Intramural Council would like to thank our teacher advisors for encouraging these council activities and the STL community for participating and creating these memorable experiences.

Written by: Jonathan Shenouda

Social Justice:

Social Justice Council is off to an amazing start this year! During the week of October 25-27, we held our monthly awareness booth: The Water Crisis. During all three lunches, STL students were encouraged to search the school for cardboard cutouts of raindrops, each of which had a question related to the Water Crisis. Once these raindrops were returned to our booth, they could win a prize if they answered the question correctly based on information in our presentation. Engagement was phenomenal and Social Justice Council was proud to educate our student body about the dire need for better water systems around the world.

Outside of school, six members of our council visited 360 Kids on Saturday, November 2. This community outreach gave our members a unique opportunity to devote time to some of the most disadvantaged people in our society. We cooked breakfast for homeless youth and helped with some of the general responsibilities of the organization. This rewarding experience served as a great bonding experience for our council, building upon the relationships we forged back in September in Muskoka.

To build on this strong start to the year, Social Justice Council is diligently working toward ensuring success for Peace Days, our next event. It will occur in the school starting on Monday, November 11 at all three lunches. The goal for this event is to encourage more discussion about injustices in our world by using a message board to which all students will have the opportunity to contribute. We will also raise money by organizing a bake sale. Social Justice Council hopes to continue to inform STL students about both local and global issues, and to encourage them to take action!

Written by: Mark Maulucci and Jinal Rajawat

Spirit:

Our council started off the year with two big events ─ Halloween and Battle of the Sexes. Halloween was a very busy time for the council! The festivities started off with a bat hunt in which members of Spirit Council hid bats around the school for students to find and redeem for treats. Spirit Council also hosted a photo booth on Halloween day where students could come take pictures in costumes and then print them out to cherish. Finally, and most famously, the council hosted STL’s Annual Costume Contest where groups and pairs, as well as elected individuals from period two classes, could come down and participate to show off their amazing costumes and win prizes along the way. The contest was a great success and brought out the spirit in every student. Students in the group category were particularly impressive. From a Mario Kart team, to lifeguards, to skeletons, each group came out to win. The effort put into the costumes was outstanding. The makeup, costumes, jewellery and overall effort proved the spirit our school has to show. More recently, Battle of the Sexes brought students together in competition. Events like Celebrity Imitation had students cheering in the cafeteria, and Mario Kart brought teens to the edge of their chairs. The Popularity Contest put contestants to the test in seeing how up-to-date they are with what’s trending, and Don’t Forget The Lyrics proved whether we really remember all the lyrics to our favourite tunes. The week was a massive success and had everyone participating and cheering each other on ─ a little competition never hurt anybody. The winner of the Battle of the Sexes, once again, was the girls' team. They received a civvies day for their efforts and spirit!

Written by: Andrei Banica

Student:

Muskoka Woods Retreat 2019

From September 9th to 11th, our Student Government members travelled to Muskoka Woods for our third annual retreat. All 9 councils, along with their amazing teacher advisors, got to experience the amazing Leadership Program provided by the camp. The trip started out with an entertaining sports-themed activity. Members in groups of three were tasked with creating dynasty teams. Our student leaders were able not only to create star-studded sports' franchises, but they also learned about communication, negotiation, and strategy. To close our first night, the Muskoka leaders led us in an epic indoor campfire. Students were able to show off their comedic skills, dance and learn how to sizzle!

Bright and early the next day, students were split into 10 different groups for some exciting activities. Half the students were tasked with creating a new idea through their Design Thinking Lab! Our students developed innovative problem solutions, learned about the importance of prototyping, and created hilarious skits. Other activities that filled our days were Hungerball, Skateboarding, Escape Rooms, and Beach Volleyball! Although the weather was not the brightest, that did not stop our student leaders from dancing in the rain and having an amazing time. After a wonderful dinner, the students headed back to the hanger for their Shark Tank Presentations. Many new, innovative, and exciting events were proposed by the councils. Look out for these new events this year! Of course, the most anticipated moment of each Muskoka trip followed soon after Shark Tank. Our nine councils battled it out cheer style, in our outdoor campfire hosted by STL’s Presidents’ Council. Each council brought out all the stops with rap battles, dance moves, skits, and props. It was a night to remember, with performances that were unforgettable.

For our final day, the Muskoka Leaders brought out all the stops for the NASCAR pit stop challenge. Through this experience, members were able to learn about what aspects of teamwork were important for a group to succeed. STL posted some very impressive sub 4 minute times; well-done students! In addition to this activity, we worked individually with our councils to determine the different leadership personalities that exist. The day concluded with a group photo on the lakeshore and an amazing meal. All in all, the 2019 Muskoka Trip was a wonderful experience for all our students. Each council is excited to bring the information and leadership insight gained from this experience to our STL culture. Student Government would like to thank our Catholic School Council for their generosity in funding this amazing leadership experience.

Written by: Adrienne Lee & Jake Birkness