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.

This year, being committed to our own journey of Reconciliation, STS dedicated part of Marti McKay Week to hosting artists who spoke to our students about the impacts and legacy of Residential Schools in Canada as well as about the resiliency of Indigenous peoples.

On October 26, STS hosted representatives from 48 out-of-province universities for our annual University Fair. All of our Senior School students attended the fair and had the opportunity to talk with the reps about their institutions and programs. 

On a wintery October 10, STS hosted the South Central Zone Cross-Country meet, welcoming over 900 runners to our campus. It was a competitive day of running and the Spartans came out with their usual tenacity and grit to take on the challenging conditions. Notable top ten finishes came from Konrad K. ’19 placing 4th in the Senior Boys race, Kiyan S. ’21 and Ethan H. ’21 placing 5th and 6th respectively in the Junior Boys race, and Cooper P. ’20 and Bishneet S. ’20 placing 6th and 8th respectively in the Intermediate Boys race.

Dr. Linda Lambert, Professor Emeritus from California State University, is attributed as having said, "one good conversation can shift the direction of change forever." The power of meaningful dialogue, what Lambert refers to as "one good conversation," together with research and professional development, are what Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School's (STS') Centre for Excellence in Teaching strives to capitalize on in its ongoing efforts to create and share exceptional practices and programs for innovative teaching and learning. 

This past June, Hassan K. ’25 and his brother Khalil K. ’23 attended the annual general meeting of the RASC (Royal Astronomical Society of Canada).  They were presenters at the meeting and were going to present their projects. Khalil had done his project in 2017 and Hassan had done his this year. Both projects were presented at the CYSF (the Calgary Youth Science Fair) and won awards. 

The first BC Universities Tour took place in October, with 26 students from Grades 11 and 12 visiting six universities over the course of three days.

One may not normally think of tax law as a global community-minded profession, but STS alumna Miriam (“Ria”) Paul Thacker ’94 has made her role at Google just that. 

Think of every successful person, ever. J.K. Rowling, Shakespeare, Neil Degrasse Tyson, Carl Sagan… all of whom were able to run with their idea. J.K. Rowling led Bloomsbury Publishing and Warner Bros. to create one of the most successful fantasy worlds. Shakespeare led the King’s Men for the most impactful plays in history. Neil Degrasse Tyson led the Hayden Planetarium. Carl Sagan led the show Cosmos, which gave science more media attention. All of these people were leaders. To be able to have an impact and be successful, every child must develop their leadership skills.

Fall is surely upon us and it is one of my favourite times of year. I have had an amazing welcome to the community and want to say thank you for the kindness, good wishes and advice. The leadership of our school is in very capable hands.

I have the best job in the world - showing off "my school". As an STS alumna, it has been my absolute privilege to work with families on their important journey to choose the right school for their children. 

STS alumni Myles Chase '15 and Scott Wilson '15 want to start a conversation. The two university students have begun a non-profit organization, Open Arms, as a way to educate high school and post-secondary students on the importance of mental health and supporting friends through difficult times. 

When asked what words immediately come to mind about our former Head of School, Dr. William (Bill) Jones, responses include: ethical, visionary, focused, student-centered, excellence, and a wicked sense of humour. On June 30, 2018, Dr. Jones retired from Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School (STS) after 11 years of dedicated service as Head of School.