St. Benedict C.S.S.

St. Ben’s Robotics Team Mentor Rookie BAC Team

On November 14th, 2013, seven St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School students along with the teacher lead, Julianne Falconi, conducted grade level presentations to Bishop Alexander Carter students.

St. Benedict was the first school in the Catholic Board to participate in FIRST Robotics, an innovative competition that combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits, teams are challenged to raise funds, hone teamwork skills, design, manufacture, and program robots to perform prescribed tasks againstt a field of competitors (www.usfirst.org). Last year, team ‘RoBenedicts’ attended a regional competition in Toronto as well as the World Championships in St. Louis, Missouri.

St. Benedict is excited to announce that there will be two new schools joining in on the robotics program: Bishop Alexander Carter and St. Charles College. St. Benedict will be mentoring and guiding these two teams throughout the off-season, robot build-season, and competitions. “We are happy to be mentoring other schools that are participating in FIRST Robotics. The experience is incredible and it’s exciting to see more people getting involved,” said Team Captain, Mark Abantao.

The goal of the presentation was to spark student interest and recruit members for the newly formed BAC team. Overall, it was very successful, and the St. Benedict students will be attending St. Charles on Monday November 25th.

In attendance from St. Benedict were Mark Abantao (Team Captain), Max Bennett and Brendan Sullivan (Engineering Leads), Elisa Basik and Francesco Modesto (Business Leads), Carter Bourette (Programming Lead), Owen Sarmatiuk (Strategy Lead), and Ms. Falconi (Teacher Lead).

“Check….mate!”

Students in Grade 7 and 8 at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School have come up with a great way to spend part of their lunch break. Several of the students have formed a Chess Club and each Tuesday and Thursday they battle againstt each other for chess board supremacy. New students can join, and all skill levels are welcome. The students in the chess club would like to thank Richard Ouellette, the grade 8 French Immersion teacher, for helping them get this club started and making sure they have everything they need for this game of strategy.

St. Benedict Remembers

On Monday, November 11th, the staff and students at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School paused to remember the thousands of men and women who fought and who fought and died, defending Canada. Using the monthly virtue of Justice as a theme, the students were invited to consider the connection between Justice and Peace. Without Justice there can be no Peace. There were poignant songs to remind the school community that even though the brave have fallen, we will see them again one day and we will have the opportunity to say “Thank You”. The school’s librarian, MaryBeth. Miller, read “In Flanders Fields”, which has a special significance for her as she is related to the author, Col. John McCrae. Through prayer and song, the entire school community offered thanks for the bravery of our Canadian Forces for the gift of freedom won for us on distant battlefields. To conclude the service, as students departed they were invited to place their poppy on the “Justice” banner between the crosses, as in the poem “In Flanders Fields”.”

St. Benedict Photography Club Out and About

On a chilly Monday morning, the St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School Photography club headed out to shoot some pictures in the local neighbourhoods. Teacher Angela Hodgins and chaplain Rob Pappin led the students on a walk about the Mallard’s landing area and captured many stunning images of the beauty of an Autumn morning. The photography club is a newer club in the school and students and staff are excited to display some of their work. They also work closely with the year book club to capture the various sports and other activities that are happening at the school. The club is open to all students and new members are always welcome.

A Beary Scary Halloween

On October 31’st 2013, students from St Benedict Catholic Secondary School visited Holy Cross Catholic Elementary School. Student Council president Brendan Sullivan, vice president and student trustee Mackenzie Connelly, and beloved mascot, Benny the Bear represented St Benedict as they read to grade 1 and 2 students in both English and french. “We thought this would be a great opportunity to bond with the students who share our campus and spread some Halloween cheer,” said Connelly.

After reading the books, Benny and the students donated them to Holy Cross and gave out Halloween stickers and high fives from Benny. “This experience has been very rewarding for us. We were able to practice our bilingualism and meet the students who will become future Bears,” stated Sullivan. “I look forward to continuing to connect our two school communities.”

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