Student Government

Student Government did not forget about those in need.

STL Food Drive to the Richmond Hill Food Bank:

Covid-19 does not stop staff and students from donating items to the Richmond Hill Food Bank. Wearing masks and gloves, staff and students dropped off food items to help those less fortunate. We will all get through this together.

Thank you Front Line Workers!!!

Athletic Council:

Basketball Buy-In

On Friday, December 6, 2019, Athletic Council hosted one of STL’s favorite events, the basketball buy-in. Students gathered together in the Lion's Cage to watch a thrilling basketball game played by our STL teachers versus our senior lion’s basketball team. This year's event sold out almost immediately and all proceeds went towards the 2020 STL Guatemala Service Trip and Social Justice Council’s Sponsor a Child. The gymnasium was filled with energy, enthusiasm, and school spirit. From tip-off to the final buzzer, students in the stands cheered and chanted as our teachers and senior lions faced off. The score was close throughout the game, however, the teachers missed a critical shot late in the game to seal the victory for the students. It ended up being one of the most exciting games in Buy-In history ending in an 87-85 victory for our senior lions. As the students and staff of STL came together, lasting memories were made and fun times were shared. The Athletic Council would like to thank everyone for their support to make this event so successful!

Health Awareness Week

During the week of March 9th, Athletic Council hosted Health Awareness Week, with the goal being to promote a healthy, active lifestyle in an engaging and interactive way. Throughout the week, informative announcements containing health facts about sleep, exercise, and the national food guide were broadcasted. Our council members hosted mini-games, including ping-pong and balloon keep up in the main hall during lunches to help students get active. Finally, Booster Juice was sold in the main hall during lunches to provide students with a healthy snack to enjoy!

Stay at Home Challenge

To encourage physical activity during distance learning, the Athletic Council introduced a new event for students and teachers. It was held on our Instagram, @stl_lions_athletics, between March 24 and April 5. The "Stay at Home Challenge" encouraged members of the STL community to remain in quarantine and search for different ways to remain healthy and involved. Our Lions were encouraged to participate in Jersey Day, Spirit Day, Saturday Yoga, Keep it up Wednesday, and Breakfast Sunday. On the final day of the week, the account displayed inspirational, stellar highlights of STL's hard-working athletes displaying hard work and success. Highlights of the STL community participating in the events were posted as well to promote students' positive attitudes. While distant from one another, the Athletic Council hoped to encourage active living while being stuck at home!

Athletic Awards

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced school closure, it seemed inevitable that the 18th Annual Athletic Banquet would be canceled. In response, the Athletic Council worked hard to strategize alternatives as we still wanted to celebrate the STL Athletic program and the Fall and Winter teams, as well as recognize our STL athletes, especially the graduating students. During the week of June 8th, Athletic Council hosted the 2020 Athletic Awards on the STL Athletics Instagram page with a Tangled theme titled: “Let’s hear it for our quaran-teams!” Throughout the week, video montages of each of the Fall and Winter teams were posted and MVPs and MIPs were announced; Letters of Merit and Distinction were announced and the Outstanding Contribution Awards were distributed to senior athletes. A bittersweet farewell was bid to retiring STL coach, Mr. Legace. Athletic Council would like to congratulate the winner of the 2020 John Spicer Award: Sam Shearer; 2020 Junior Female Athlete of the Year: Elizabet Kasyanenko; Junior Male Athlete of the Year: Robert Pemberton; 2020 Senior Female Athlete of the Year: Rianna Oh; 2020 Senior Male Athlete of the Year: Ritchie Xu.

Thank you to our advisors—Mr. Savo and Mrs. Veitch—as well as our dedicated senior members for their time and effort in making this year truly unforgettable!!

MVP & MIP:

BASKETBALL SR GIRLS: MVP: DiPanfilo, Mikayla; MIP: Izarra, Amaru

BASKETBALL JR. GIRLS: MVP: Achinoso, Amarachi; MIP: Vaccarella, Alicia

CROSS COUNTRY MG: MVP: Bentrovato, Vanessa; MIP: Hollander, Michael

CROSS COUNTRY JR: MVP: Pacitto Potapczuk, Dylan; MIP: Jiang, Yolanda

CROSS COUNTRY SR; MVP: Kure, Sebastian; MIP: Berezyuk, Nikita

GOLF VARSITY: MVP: Pemberton, Robert; MIP: Villani, Alexander

RUGBY SEVENS JR BOYS: MVP: Meadows, Grant; MIP: Wang, Bruce

RUGBY SEVENS SR BOYS: MVP: Azar, Nicolas; MIP: Nikolic, Nikola

RUGBY SEVENS JR CO-ED: MVP: Ribeiro, Olivia; MIP: Jafari, Hediyeh

RUGBY SEVENS SENIOR GIRLS: MVP: Oh, Rianna; MIP: Meadows, Maevis

SOCCER JR BOYS: MVP: Canale, Matthew; MIP: Sanchez Lovato, Diego

SOCCER SR BOYS: MVP: Farzaneh, Shayan; MIP: Perillo, Michael

VOLLEYBALL JR BOYS: MVP: Bajenaru, Daniel; MIP: Lampiris, Nicholas

VOLLEYBALL SR BOYS: MVP: Tohme, Steven; MIP: Chan, Howard

SWIMMING JR: MVP: Kasyanenko, Elizabet; MIP: Marcoccia, Sofia

SWIMMING SR: MVP: Xu, Ritchie; MIP: Baronow, Andrei

TENNIS JR: MVP: Zaika, Daniel; MIP: Dyadchenko, Anastasiya

TENNIS SR: MVP: Cristiano, Alex; MIP: Krut, Peer

INDOOR TRACK FIELD: No MVP; MIP: Oh, Rianna

Chaplaincy Council:

In light of recent events, Chaplaincy, like many other councils, was not able to follow through with the events we had planned for the rest of the year. That being said, in a short amount of time, our council was able to accomplish so much. For instance, we successfully held an opening and advent liturgy, both of which had great participation from the STL student body. To show support for war veterans, we beautifully decorated the school on Remembrance Day, and to signify the start of Lent, we went around distributing ashes to students and teachers. Most notably, we were able to hold two different charity events. Firstly, a school supplies drive which collected several supplies for less fortunate students in Costa Rica, and secondly, our annual Change for Jesus Drive. Although we were unable to tally our donations, we are thankful for the proceeds the STL community was able to collect for ShareLife, a charity that truly helps those in need. We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to spread the little way of our patron saint, St. Theresa, within the few months we were in school. We pray that you all have a wonderful summer, stay healthy, and stay safe.

God bless,

Chaplaincy.

Cub Council:

During the quarantine period, Cub Council continued to strive to engage students within the STL community in the comfort of their homes! By means of social media (Instagram), the council was able to post weekly activities for students and families to enjoy, including baking, crafting, exercising, and more! Despite the school year’s unconventional end, Cub Council’s goal was to continue to shed light on the STL community and inspire hope, support, and joy in the lives of others.

In addition, members of Cub Council and Social Justice Council engaged in a mask-making initiative. Initially organized by Nethmi Illamperuma and Githmi Illamperuma, the process of cutting and sewing masks became a wonderful team effort, in which the primary goal of 500 masks was reached! The amazing members of both councils took part in such a meaningful cause in giving back to the surrounding community of our heroic frontline workers. Masks were donated to Highland Farms, Mackenzie Health Hospital, the York Regional Police, the Toronto Police, the Richmond Hill Fire Station, and various clinics and pharmacies.

With a vision of embracing the continuity of kindness, love, and goodwill during these unpredictable times, Cub Council’s team of leaders grew in sharing the passion of dedicating their time to give back and provide service for our inspirational community. Our successes as a family are attributed to our devoted and enthusiastic advisors, as well as our driven and incredible members! We surely look forward to another fantastic year next year, with more ideas to come!

Diversity & Equity Council:

Early in the quarantine period, Diversity and Equity Council was very busy bringing STL students fun and family friendly recipes from around the world in our Culturalicious At Home social media campaign. Council members showed off some of their favourite home recipes, such as pork buns, dumplings, churros, pakora, and more! More recently, we at Diversity and Equity have always been passionate about defending against racial inequity and injustice, so with the recent social dialogue against institutional racism against black people, police violence, and more, our council has put out a few resources and own-voice books and movie recommendation, all while being incredibly proud of the STL students using their platform on social media to take action. We want to congratulate and offer a major thank you to our graduating members, and wish everyone a restful and happy summer!

Environmental Council:

This year has been a short yet transformative year for Environmental Council. We took on new events, made exciting changes to current events, and worked hard on planning for our eco-schools certification goals. While Covid-19 has put a pause on our major events, Environmental Council has brought weekly sustainability tips to our school community using social media.

We are looking forward to an exciting new year, with new members, events, and initiatives. A huge thank you to our wonderful advisors, Mrs. Caldaroni and Mr. Garreffa, and to our graduating members, Armon, Darya, Dylan, Ethan, Hanan, Ryan, Kaitlin, Ritchie, Rose, Sarah, and Jake.

Have a great summer everyone.

Intramural Council:

During Covid-19, Intramural Council has been working through these hard times. We have been helping other councils and supporting the school in any way we could. We helped in making posters to support the essential workers for all that they do. It has been an amazing year and we would like to thank everyone who has attended Intramural Council events and helped make them so successful.

Have an amazing summer!

Social Justice Council:

During the 2019-2020 school year, Social Justice Council’s twenty-one dedicated members worked tirelessly to promote values of equity, compassion, and global citizenship throughout the student body. Through Monthly Awareness Booths, the STL community was informed of numerous concerning issues such as mental illness, the water crisis, and the lack of access to education. During wintertime, through Operation St. Nick, the council was once again able to collect over 11,000 items for underprivileged families who often go hungry during the holidays. Furthermore, the council’s Valentine’s for Vets event provided students with the opportunity to design and write thoughtful cards for Canadian veterans on Valentine’s Day. Most importantly, the council kicked off its new Sponsor a Child initiative and generated hundreds of dollars to continuously support the growth of a child in Burundi. Overall, Social Justice Council is proud of the positive influence they have left on the STL community and aspires to continue demonstrating St. Theresa’s Little Way for years to come!

Spirit Council:

As the year draws to a close, Spirit Council looks back on the fun-filled year we’ve had, and they cannot be more proud of Student Government and the school as a whole for all their participation, cheer, and school spirit. Whether it was the Halloween Costume Contest or Christmas Spirit Week, STL’s students made every event of this short year amazing.

Though this unprecedented situation has thrown Spirit a curveball, the council’s cheer and spirit never wavered. Though the council was unable to put on much anticipated events like Spirit at Sports and Spirit Week, the council never let this disappointment beat them down. Instead, Spirit’s amazing student leaders, along with the rest of Student Government, contributed their time, effort and leadership to a school wide initiative to address the pandemic. Together, these student leaders decorated the school with messages of hope and love, thanking front line workers for their continued contribution and commitment to helping others. The council also tried to contribute their part to helping others by donating to the school food drive, which collected supplies for the Richmond Hill Food Bank and helped them address the needs of the community during this difficult time.

Next year, Spirit is eager to come back stronger than ever before and is ready to get back to spreading spirit and cheer within the school. Spirit would also like to thank their graduating members: Sara, Simona, Serena, Pe’er and Aparna for their continued dedication and hard work throughout the years. Once a part of the Spirit family, always a part of the Spirit family. A special thank you also goes out to Spirit’s dedicated and caring advisors 一Ms. Meschino and Ms. Cammalleri一for nothing would be possible without their support, thank you! Spirit wishes everyone an amazing summer, stay safe and they hope to see everyone in September.