On Saturday, February 2, STS hosted 330 people for the Provincial Speech Tournament. This final tournament of the year qualifies students for both the junior and senior national speech tournaments. For the first time this year, Alberta is able to send 14 representatives to the National Tournament and we are pleased to announce that 9 of the 14 students attending will be from STS and in the senior division, 4 of the 7 students representing Alberta are from Strathcona-Tweedsmuir!

STS hosted over 250 young basketball players and their coaches from independent schools across Canada. STS is the ONLY Canadian Accredited Independent School(CAIS) to host and billet these many athletes! It is a true testament to the strength of our community when we have well over 60 families open their homes to host these 11 and 12-year-old boys visiting our school. Almost one-third of our entire school faculty and staff were directly involved in this fabulous event.

As anyone who has hiked pathways with young children will attest, children, with their boundless curiosity, see much that their older companions miss. They can spend an entire day on a journey that travels deep rather than far. Watching bugs on the ground, picking and devouring wild strawberries, wondering how birds fly... their questions know no end. So many wonders and so much to learn. 

It is our pleasure to announce that Mrs. Sloan Pipella-Clark '81 has been selected as the recipient of the Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School (STS) 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award – the highest honour the School bestows upon its alumni. 

Computational thinking is a fundamental skill that is developed through the STS curriculum – a skill where students view the completed product and work backwards to fully understand the process leading to the finished product. As part of this skill, students must understand the five steps of the design cycle –ask questions, imagine, plan, create, and improve. These steps guide students as they design a solution to a problem. 

We received some exciting news just before the holiday season from the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association (ASAA) that our Senior Varisty (SV) Boys Volleyball Team were awarded the Sportsmanship Banner for their performance at the 2A Provincial tournament!

Throughout Grade 10, students work on a personal project as the capstone for their International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP). Personal projects focus on a passion that revolves around a challenge that is motivating and interesting to the individual student. Each year, students produce unique projects that are completed during a six-month independent research process with the ultimate goal being that students appreciate the process of learning, create a project that meets their learning style, and produce a product or outcome they can take pride in.

The wide variety of co-curricular clubs and activities offered at STS allows students to discover their passions. This can definitely be said for athletics. Many students who choose athletics may do so to explore their abilities, compete and challenge themselves, but joining a sports team also fosters growth and development in character and leadership. 

It's the feeling STS alumna Aimee-Jo Benoit '97 has every time she comes to the School that has kept her coming back. And it's the memories of her experiences and the nostalgia it creates that spurred Aimee-Jo to take on the role of Chair of the Alumni Events Committee. 

In support of this season's winter giving campaign, STS collected goods for Stephen's Backpacks Society. An initiative that began 10 years ago in Calgary, Stephen's Backpack offers hope in a Christmas backpack gift for children in need.

On December 6, Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School hosted Paul Davis, nationally recognized expert on social media and online safety.

Congratulations to Ali Poonja '12 who was awarded the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award in late November.

This past weekend the Senior Boys and Girls volleyball teams travelled to Camrose, AB to compete in the 2A Provincials tournament.  The teams left on Wednesday afternoon and managed to get to the venue in time to have some practice time in the gym and then settle into their hotel rooms. Following the opening ceremonies the next morning, the boys got to work on their pool play. The Thursday games against Our Lady of Mount Pleasant (25-20, 25-22) and Immanuel Christian (25-20, 19-25, 15-6) were hard fought and we came out victorious. The day was followed by a beautiful banquet for all the players provided by the tournament organizers.

The Senior Varsity Girls Volleyball team successfully extended their season by winning the South Central Zone banner and advancing to Provincials, held for both the boys and girls teams in Camrose, Alberta.

On Friday, two Middle School teams: Lakhshan Amin’22 and Shaheena Shajani ’22 and Lucy Coleman ’22 and Emma Mason ’22 competed at the Western Canada High School Debate tournament.

In recognition of National Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, our students organized a number of events focused on bringing this important issue to the forefront, empowering all members of the STS community to play a role in building and reinforcing positive relationships and preventing bullying.

I have long liked this saying as it has inspired me in my work to find solutions to challenging situations and to dwell in possibility. Albert Einstein wrote: “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them”, and “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere”. 

Daring greatly and playing as a team, the Junior A Boys gave it their all this weekend as they played some excellent volleyball at Holy Cross Collegiate in Strathmore, representing the South Central Zone.