Student Government

COUNCILS

Muskoka Woods

Passion. Leadership. Family. These are just a few attributes that drive the continued hard work and dedication by all of STL’s student government members. From November 8th to 10th, over 120 student government members spent their days in the beautiful Muskoka Woods. There, the student leaders were able to bond, grow, and learn how to become the change they wish to see not only in their school community, but in the world. Not even the rain or hail could bring these student leaders down. Councils were able to work together in a multitude of tasks and challenges, that allowed them to gain valuable leadership skills. From working as a team to pitch a new idea to a panel of judges, to supporting each other on the high ropes course, they never failed to show their spirit and the power of the little way. Throughout the three unforgettable days, all nine councils learned that leadership is looking at the world and saying, It doesn’t have to be this way, and doing something about it. On behalf of Student Government, we would like to thank all of our amazing teacher advisors and Parent Council for their endless support!

By Melissa Lo

Presidents' Council

Presidents' Council is made up of the president of each council: Melissa Lo of Athletic Council, Hannah Donnafe Mercado of Chaplaincy Council, Bardia Naderi of Cub Council, Liz Kim of Diversity and Equity Council, Adriana Bianco of Environmental Council, Meghan Oakes of Intramural Council, Max Rabiner of Student Council, Justin Tang of Social Justice Council and Anna Katyukhina of Spirit Council. They all work together under the leadership of Presidents' Council Advisors, Ms. Ah-Chin, Mrs. Balkovec and Mr. Ganuelas to coordinate student government. Presidents' Council meets every other Tuesday morning at 6:45 a.m. with Ms. Faraone to plan events such as the grade 9 orientation day, Getting Parents Ready for High School, and Parent Council meetings. It also represents STL students at YSCPC. Presidents' Council runs homeroom delegate meetings and other events to keep the STL student body engaged and active in extracurricular activities.

By Meghan Oakes

Athletic Council

Athletic Council strives to promote the importance of living a healthy and active lifestyle. We host many events throughout the year that inform the students about sports and health, in many fun and engaging ways. We host a myriad of exciting events, including our annual Teachers versus Students Basketball Buy-In, Body Break, Health Awareness Week, and our much anticipated end of the year Athletic Banquet. Not only this, but we work hard constantly in support of our amazing student athletes! We are famous for our annual Booster Juice sales, which take place during Health Awareness Week. You can look forward to our Basketball Buy-In coming up on Friday, December 1st. Fourth period classes can pay $2 per student to attend this fun and entertaining event! There, you will be able to to enjoy games, prizes, treats, and of course, a great game of basketball!

By Sophia Cornacchia and Melissa Lo

Chaplaincy Council

Chaplaincy Council is made up of a group of students who are dedicated and passionate about spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ in our school community. Our mission is to celebrate the Catholic faith and to promote St. Theresa's little way. So far in this school year, our council has hosted the Opening Liturgy, a School Supplies Drive, and Remembrance Day Decorations Setup and Poppy Distribution. We have three more liturgies this school year, as well as a coin drive we call “Change For Jesus.” We are always looking for ways to help our brothers and sisters in the community just how Jesus taught us. We want to spread our love to those around us and to serve our whole community with respect, kindness, and compassion.

Opening Liturgy (October 3)

“Together in the Little Way. United in the Little Way. We are the Little Way” was the theme of the Opening Liturgy held on Tuesday, October 3^rd, 2017. The evening before the liturgy, Chaplaincy Council received a great amount of volunteers who helped transform the gym into our STL church. The STL Community then had the great privilege of celebrating their Opening Liturgy with Father Peter Choi. The mass allowed the students to reflect on their faith, as well as ask God for help in their time of transition into the new school year. On behalf of Chaplaincy Council, we would like to thank Father Peter Choi for celebrating STL’s Opening Liturgy, Ms. Doria and Ms. Buffa’s Choir for their lovely voices, the school board trustees for their utmost support, the custodians and student volunteers for helping set up the gym, and the whole student body for continuing to carry out St. Theresa’s Little Way.

School Supplies Drive (October 23rd - October 31st)

Every school year during October, Chaplaincy Council hosts a drive, alternating between a Toiletries Drive and a School Supplies Drive. This year, they hosted a School Supplies Drive. Students were asked to bring in items to their homeroom classes every morning from October 23^rd to October 31^st. These items include unused pens, pencils, and rulers, as well as, gently used pencil cases, lunch bags, and backpacks. Altogether, the STL community raised over 2,500 items! All donations received will be sent to Costa Rica on STL’s missionary trip during March Break 2018. We thank each and every student for contributing to the drive, and exhibiting such passion and enthusiasm throughout. This truly goes to show that St Theresa’s little way is alive within our student body.

Remembrance Day Decorations and Poppy Distribution (November 3 - 10)

November is the month to remember all the lives lost and lives saved during the World Wars, not only for those outside our STL community, but those inside it too. To acknowledge this, Chaplaincy Council and some student volunteers decorated the Main Hall and Bulletin Board with poppies, soldiers, and stories and photos of war heroes inside and outside of our STL family. During this time, homeroom classes were asked to reflect on what Remembrance day means to them and were also asked to give a small donation for their poppies. Chaplaincy Council hopes that all the students and teachers will remember that although the lives lost are now gone, they will never be forgotten.

By Hannah Donnafe Mercado, Virtues Serrano, Mary Angel Bandolin

Cub Council

Cub Council is one of the nine councils that make up STL’s Student Government. Our council is focused on ensuring the grade nines feel welcomed and get involved with the STL family. We give the ‘cubs’ an opportunity to build their social network, explore their passions, and get a taste of the great STL Student Government! We also focus on teaching our cubs what it means to be a leader, and all the important skills necessary for event planning and public speaking. Being the council with the youngest lions in the STL Pride, we leave our Cubs feeling proud! And yes, we love to be orange!

One event that Cub Council is proud to be a part of is the new Halloween Paws. Cub Council understands that it is difficult and maybe even stressful when transitioning from elementary to high school. Therefore, on Halloween, Cub Council set out to give a special treat to all the grade 9’s in the STL family. We knew that our brand new event was successful when we saw the faces of all the cubs. It truly means a lot to Cub Council when we know that our dedication to the school community is well received. We want all the grade 9 students to feel welcomed into our Lions family and feel that they are never alone.

By Samuel Zhao

Diversity & Equity Council

Diversity and Equity Council is a prominent part of Saint Theresa of Lisieux’s Student Government. We are a council which strives to both preserve and inform the school population about the many cultures that come with the over 1800 students attending our school.

From September 27th-29th, Diversity and Equity’s annual “Where You At?” event took place. Students and staff all over STL had the opportunity to anonymously post their place of ethnic origin for the school to see. The results were truly fascinating, revealing that STL has people from virtually every corner of the globe!

Diversity and Equity had shed light on STL’s cultural vibrancy, and we aren’t done yet!

Diversity and Equity Council is currently planning Christmas Around The World, an event which sheds light on the many different ways cultures celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The event spans the globe in 5 days, tying in fun and engaging activities such as scavenger hunts and puzzles in an effort to educate the student population about various Christmas traditions.

With a diverse palate of cultures to show off and a masterpiece of an event planned ahead of us, the community is only left with one question:

What will Diversity and Equity do next?

By Jude Lobo

Environmental Council

Environmental Council had an astoundingly successful event to the kick off the 2017-2018 school year! Through passion, the members united as one to become an even stronger team from last year. Each member’s great idea, effort, and contribution were all gathered in order to make the events even better. The council started off with our traditional event, RAW: Recycling Awareness Week. Not only did we welcome the grade nines to the idea of weekly recycling, but we reminded the entire school community to be conscious of the decisions we make with our waste and resources. Students were able to learn these helpful methods of contributing to the environment through fun activities in the hallway as well as an interactive trivia game in the cafeteria. The entire school participated, making the event successful and our goal even more meaningful. Environmental Council has still not lost sight of our ultimate goal, which is to help all students leave a positive ecological footprint. The members will continue to work hard in order to make this goal come true, and will plan even more events and activities in order to encourage the community to take care of our planet.

By Lizzie Kim

Intramural Council

Intramural Council works to provide an environment for students to get actively involved in our STL community. We have monthly drop-ins, such as our recently hosted dodge ball drop-in, where all students can participate in competitive, yet inclusive sports all year round. Our dodge ball drop-in took place on November 15th and had close to 50 Junior participants all eager and ready to compete for the title of “2017 Dodge ball Drop-in Champion” and a chance to play against our Intramural Council in the final game. Intramural Council also hosts interactive nights out such as “TFC Night” in which all students have the opportunity to travel downtown with the school to watch Toronto’s Professional Soccer Team. Intramural Council has kicked off the beginning of the school year this month by launching its first ever junior-only event as well as bonding with the entirety of Student Government during our amazing 3 day retreat to Muskoka Woods!

By Sacha Lund

Social Justice Council

What is the ultimate desire of human beings? It is not material wealth. It is not…. The ultimate desire for all individuals is love: to know one has self worth and to know one has unification with others. Social Justice Council focuses on fulfilling St. Theresa’s little way—acts of love in an extraordinary way—through the cardinal virtue of justice. This delivery of justice is done through two ways: awareness and direct involvement. Ignorance is the first barrier to unity, and the Social Justice Council focuses on the destruction of this ignorance with the provision of truth. The council provides a number of hands on events in which students are given the direct experience of service for the less fortunate.

A very popular event that the Social Justice Council runs is Operation Saint Nick. This is a week long Christmas donation drive that raises a variety of food and clothing items. The event involves the participation of all members in the St. Theresa school community and over 15000 items are raised. Such donations are distributed to a number of local food banks and shelters such as 360 Kids, the Richmond Hill Food Bank, Red Cross, Rose of Sharon, the Scott Mission and the Good Shepherd. Operation Saint Nick initiates the right spirit during Christmas: one of love and charity.

Spirit Council

Setting out with a goal to make our school a more lively and belonging community, and of course, to raise school spirit, Spirit Council is always working hard to put on the best events possible.

We began our year with STL’s annual Halloween Costume Contest where we were able to see the inner imagination and cleverness of our STL Lions through their costumes. The competition was a great success as amazing costumes were seen in all the singles, pairs, and group categories. The creativity and originality of the costumes of STL students never fail to impress us. Congratulations to all winners of the costume contest; we look forward to seeing everyone’s costumes next year! We also had our newest event, lunchtime mysteries! Students were sent on stage to feel a mystery item in the box and identify it. It was a lot of fun to see their facial expressions as they attempted to guess the mystery item in the box.

Following Halloween, we hosted Battle of the Sexes in which the boys and girls face off to earn points for their respective teams. Activities included Mario Kart, Family Feud, the Best Friend Game, Pictionary, and Don’t forget the lyrics. The girl’s team accumulated the most points overall winning a free civvies day on November 30th! Spirit Council would like to thank all students for their participation and the administration, teachers, and advisors for their continued support.

Next, the most wonderful time of year is celebrated with Christmas cheer during the much anticipated Christmas Spirit Week. Festivities include Christmas sweater day and the door decorating competition! We also will have our annual classroom Christmas Idol competition, where classes write and perform their songs. A school-wide vote will take place to pick a winner.

Spirit Council makes sure to keep the spirit alive while the weather grows colder, and we can’t wait to keep doing so for the rest of the year!

By Sara Tonini

Student Council

Illuminate - Semi-Formal

Student Council is comprised of a group of hardworking student leaders determined to make STL a better school environment for everyone. As the messengers of STL, Student Council represents the student body, voicing their concerns and bringing awareness to overall student well being. This is reflected through the many events they run, the most notable being Semi-Formal. Friday, November 3rd, 2017 was Illuminate, yet another successful Semi-Formal organized and made possible by Student Council. Semi-Formal is a night all Grade 11 students look forward to as a time to let go of their stress and mark a milestone during the four years of their high school journey. As a result, the hardworking team of Student Council was dedicated to planning a remarkable night that would not be forgotten by the students. During Illuminate, students were given the opportunity to form lasting memories and great friendships that would remain in their hearts forever. After students checked in, they were welcomed into a gorgeous and well-decorated banquet hall that was carefully selected. Midnight - blue and metallic - silver filled the room, creating a feeling of being underneath the stars. Many aspects like the DJ’s energetic music, the galaxy photo booth, the delicious meal accompanied by appetizers and the dessert bar allowed the Grade 11 students an opportunity to relax and enjoy an entertaining night with their friends, celebrating their accomplishments. Overall, Student Council spent many hours of hard work with preparations and ticket sales, but in the end, it proved to be worth the effort and a great experience for all students.

By Mani Pahlevani, Jericho Dacillo

Getting Ready for High School

St. Theresa of Lisieux’s annual Grade 9 Orientation took place on Tuesday, September 5, 2017. Eager, nervous, and curious Grade 9 students set foot into their new home for the first time, welcomed by the many smiling faces of Orientation Leaders! The day was filled with fun activities designed to break the ice and have our Cubs make new friends, meet their teachers, and experience high school for the first time! A long, jam-packed first day of school left STL’s youngest Lions feeling a little less nervous about starting the next chapter of their lives, as well as feeling excited for the four years to come!

By Max Rabiner