Around St. Mike’s

SO LONG AND FARE WELL At the conclusion of the current academic year, St. Michael’s Around ST. MIKE’S bid adieu to longtime librarian, Sandy Gray, and the school’s longest-serving sta member, Frank Trentadue ’84. Trentadue has packed away his double blue aire in favour of the guidance counsellor, and director of St. Michael’s Internabalance gut reaction with research or evidence to help chart schools. Mrs. Gray joined the SMCS sta in 2008 and retires Jake Lee ’24, Roberto Saverino ’24, and Mahew Kmecz ’24 purple and gold of his new home on the west coast. VIRTUAL ATHLETIC BANQUET On May 22, SMCS hosted the annual Athletic Banquet “Aer being at St. Michael's for so many years, virtually, which was a rst for this 60-plus I never thought my exit would come as fast as it year tradition. e 2020 Virtual Athletic did,” says Trentadue, who leaves aer 31 years Banquet, themed on overcoming adveron sta to assume the role of Senior School sity, featured Team Canada athlete, Justyn Assistant Principal at Vancouver College, in Knight ’14, as the keynote speaker. More September. “My wife and I are looking forward than 70 awards in 25 categories were to a new beginning in new surroundings, and presented to student-athletes by 28 all of the natural beauty that this part of the presenters, including school sta, alumni, country has to oer.” professional and amateur athletes Frank Trentadue most recently held the position of Director future), sports broadcasters, and representatives of all major of Student Aairs and prior to that worked as a teacher, North American professional sports leagues. tional Summer Academy, providing students with various "Sometimes some things in life just don't go your way and opportunities to study abroad. Active in athletics, Trentadue sometimes it is inconvenient. Even though it might be hard coached football, hockey, soccer, and track and eld, capturand it might not be fair that it is happening to you, you have to ing eight provincial high school football championships, put yourself together and nd that strength to keep pushing including a three-peat from 2006-08. and keep going because there is something that you can “Frank is forward-thinking, open-minded, direct, and Team Canada athlete competing in track and eld, who thoughtful - one of the best bosses I've had in my 40-year shares a time he felt adversity during a race in 2017 when he career,” says departing SMCS librarian, Sandy Gray. “He can won his rst NCAA championship. the best course to address a challenge. Frank embraces DEBATING GLOBAL TOPICS – MODEL UN change without sacricing tradition.” In February 2020, the SMCS Model UN team aended a Like Trentadue, Mrs. Gray departs St. Michael’s e students spent time learning while remaining at the top of her game. important and relevant topics Sandy was honoured with an award from the such as climate change, immigraAssociation of Independent School Librarians tion, the state of democracy, (AISL), which is a rst for Canadian librarians. sanitation in West Africa, and e Marky Award is the highest honour oered cyber-security in developing by AISL. It is given to members who display nations. SMCS delivered a strong showing with one Best exemplary service to the association. e AISL Delegate (1st place), one Outstanding Delegate (second represents 700 librarians from across North America, includplace), and three Honourable Mentions (third place) ing 42 from Canada, covering approximately two dozen nishes. having evolved and innovated materials and resources along CHESS TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP with the design and layout of the Odee Library. On March 2, the Blue Knights chess INTERMEDIATE SPEAKING COMPETITION School Chess League Team ChamSince 1998, the annual Intermediate Speaking Competition has pionship for the fourth consecutive been essential for St. Michael’s College School. In March, Grade 7 year. e Blue Knights had junior and Grade 8 students presented their speeches in front of their peers. Students had the chance to record and produce a video that was shown to the audience during the intermission. Grade 8 students and senior teams competing against more than 100 students from across the GTA. (including Olympians past, present, and celebrate once you pass that nish line in life," says Knight, a conference at Havergal College. club hosted the Toronto Secondary were the three winners of this year’s competition. OUR ST. MICHAEL’S COLLEGE SCHOOL COMMUNITY WILL BE STRONGER BECAUSE WE FACED IT TOGETHER i 9

HOLODOMOR – THE UKINIAN GENOCIDE On March 4, the Holodomor Mobile Classroom, a 40-foot bus, arrived on the SMCS campus as part of a national awareness tour, giving history students the opportunity to learn about the starvation of millions of Ukrainians in 1932–33 as a result of Soviet policies. Students received a deeper understanding of genocide, complementing their study of the Holocaust in Nazi Germany during WWII. Students also watched videos and interactively completed group work on iPads, while engaging in discussions about genocide and its consequences.

STEM AND CODING Since the 2018-19 academic year, SMCS has been working with the Logics Academy, a leader in K-12 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education, to deliver the programme to intermediate students. is curriculum component is helping beer prepare Grade 7 and Grade 8 students for high school in the digital age. e intermediate coding and robotics sessions occur weekly in January and February and students could be seen working in small groups on shared laptops or utilizing the room’s ample space to test out their current projects.

STUDENTS MAKING AN IMPACT DURING COVID-19 St. Michael’s students have been helping from the safety of their homes to produce face shield holders, which have been in high demand amongst healthcare professionals and many others during the COVID-19 pandemic. e students, working with instructions from their design technology teacher, Mrs. Shin, have been using the SMCS 3D printers to produce the much needed piece. e three 3D printers and supporting supplies were dropped o to the students’ homes through contactless delivery. e students have completed their rst batch of 120 face shield holders. SERVING THE COMMUNITY DURING THE PANDEMIC Nicholas Gaetano ’22 began to volunteer for Meals on Wheels during March Break, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. He has continued to give back and make a dierence to the community. Gaetano underwent training and began volunteering every Sunday. He would start at 11 a.m. delivering hot meals to his assigned clients. Safety during this time has been a concern and Meals on Wheels has responded by providing masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer for the volunteers. e delivery methods have also been adjusted to accommodate physical distancing.

WELLNESS EDUCATION FOR THE WHOLE PERSON In the middle of a worldwide health emergency, the Basilian educational model of Teach me Goodness, Discipline, and Knowledge has become more important. e SMCS student wellness, athletics, and spiritual life sta have compiled important online resources within the SMCS website to support students and their families while continuing to teach and care for the whole person: the mind, the body, and the spirit.

DONATIONS BENEFIT THOSE IN NEED Although the school campus has been temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there have still been many things to do, including guring out how to deal with the cafeteria fridges and freezers full of food. e idea came to SMCS President, Fr. Leung, CSB and Chief Operating Ocer, Greg Hook ’80 to donate the food to St. Basil’s Parish in support of its Out of the Cold program. Out of the Cold was founded in 1987 by former faculty members Sr. Susan Moran, OLM, OSM and Fr. John Murphy, CSB, OSM, along with several SMCS students. e donated food was served almost immediately to those in need. During the pandemic users of the program have increased by more than 50 per cent.