Accomplishments
Record of Achievements: 2007-2008
August 2007
- Student Council organized Welcome Day Activities for new Secondary I students
September 2007
- The Environmental Club launches their year-long ink cartridge and cell phone recycling initiative
- Secondary 1 Retreat Day
- Class Council Elections held in each homeroom for class President, Secretary, Athletic Rep, Publicity Rep and Pastoral Rep
- Secondary 5 annual Stratford Theatre Trip
- Girls for the Cure 12th annual walk - Villa Maria raises over $44, 000
- Extreme Villa has its inaugural outing – a canoe trip in Ste Rose
- Encounters with Canada – throughout the year 15 Secondary 5 students attend the 1 week program in Ottawa
October 2007
- Secondary 5 guides give Historical Tours to the new Secondary 1 classes
- Student Council organizes Halloween festivities – costume contest, scavenger hunt, lunchtime movies and class decoration contest
- Breast Cancer Walk Committee and Class Reps attend the Annual Breast Cancer Breakfast hosted by the Quebec Breast Cancer Society at the Sheraton Centre
- Girls for the Cure Organizing Committee attend the launch of St. Mary’s newly renovated Cancer Care Center. Highlighted at the launch is the special “Girls for the Cure Resource Room” dedicated to all the schools who have participated in the walk in the past 12 years.
- Collection of food for local food banks during the “Thanksgiving Can Drive”
- Secondary 4 Retreat (overnight)
- The Midget Volleyball team wins the GMAA Gold Medal & advances to the Provincials in Rimouski
- Secondary 2 students attend the play “The Diary of Anne Frank”
November 2007
- Secondary 5 students volunteer at the St. Mary’s Jingle Bell Fair
- Remembrance Day Ceremony commemorates the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the 65th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid and pays homage to soldiers lost in the past year in Afghanistan
- funds raised from the sale of poppies is given to the local NDG Legion for their Scholarship program
- Student Council “Treat Day” – the 7 members of the Student Council baked cookies and served hot chocolate to the whole school
- Governor General’s Academic Medal winner Kristina Kefalas is recognized at a special school assembly
- Secondary 5 students attend the play “The Enemy of the People”
- Extreme Villa’s second excursion is a rocking climbing trip to “Allez Up”
- Arts + raffle raises money to support the bursary fund
- Secondary 2 Retreat Day
December 2007
- Amnesty International group commemorate Human Rights Day at a special school assembly
- Student Council organizes “Christmas Week” activities - Tree Trimming, Christmas Accessories Day, Class Decoration Contest and a lunchtime movie
- Environmental Club ran a “Green Lunch” competition
- classes earned points by showing lunch bags that used little packaging
- the club also sold reusable lunch bags
- 40 + Christmas Baskets are prepared and distributed to needy families in Montreal
- Annual Christmas Band Concerts for students and parents – all levels participate by playing several pieces each
January 2008
- Villa Maria hosts the QAIS Basketball Tournament
- Secondary 3-4 students watch an in-school production from Geordie called “All the World”
- Career Day organized for Secondary 4-5 students by the PTA
- Keynote address by Tanya Krywiak
- Secondary 1 students present their end of session Band Concert for parents & friends
February 2008
- Extreme Villa’s third outing is cross-country skiing at Mont Royal
- The Student Council, along with the Mothers’ Guild” organize a combination Valentine’s Day/ “Teacher Appreciation” breakfast
- Indoor Track meet
- Student Council organizes and runs the annual Carnival along with Sacred Heart, QAA and Loyola
- events include Opening Ceremony
- Carnival cheer competition (Villa Maria won this year)
- Mountain Day (skiing and tubing) at Mont St. Sauveur & Mont Avila-CANCELLED DUE TO SNOW : (
- Junior & Senior Carnival Balls
- Annual Science Fair is held at Villa Maria
- Secondary 4 & 5 students depart for Europe
March 2008
- Nadia & Jessica Johnston (whose mother is undergoing treatment for breast cancer) organize a special bake sale and raffle to support their sister’s participation in the “Weekend to End Breast Cancer”.
- Secondary 5 students participate in their overnight retreat
- Secondary 1-2 students see an in-school professional production of “Romeo & Juliet” by the Montreal Shakespeare Company
- Secondary 3 students participate in a theatre excursion to see “I, Claudia”
- Senior Drama Club presents “Arsenic & Old Lace”
- Black History Month – students organize and international food display
- Ski Trip to Mont St. Anne
- The swim team had members place well in each of their events at the Championship meet
- Rebecca Sciotto - 4th in the 100 m freestyle & 10th in the 50 m freestyle
- Leana Sciotto - 10th in the 50 m breaststroke
- Villa sends delegates participate in the Bell Montreal Regional Science Fair
- Sanjida Hoque & Metara Rehman then went on to the Provincial & the National Science Fairs
April 2008
- Katherine Belisle wins a Badminton Silver Medal & Sanjida Hoque placed 4th
- Villa participates in the QAIS Essay Contest
- Secondary 5 World History students visit the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Center
- Villa Maria presents it annual Talent Show entitled “Beyond the Pleats”
- This is the first year that the Talent Show is held in the Thèrése Casgrain Hall
- $2, 585 is raised to support the “Girls for Girls Scholarship” fund
- Secondary 4-5 students participate in the Model United Nations at The Study
- Kim Pare wins a “Distinguished Speaker” award
- Secondary 2 Band students perform for their parents
- Student Council help to animate Visitors’ Day for prospective Secondary 1 students
- Secondary 5 students celebrate their upcoming graduation at the annual Grad Dinner
- Villa mothers and daughters attend the “Girls for the Cure HPV Forum” organized by the St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation
- Students from Secondary 1 to 5 participate in the Interfaith Celebration
- Students from Secondary 4 & 5 participate in the LCC “Destiny Quebec” Conference
- The Development & Peace Club organizes their annual “Thinkfast” – an overnight fundraising campaign
- Secondary 3 students participate in their overnight retreat
- Student Council organizes a “Sports Jersey Day”
- The Environmental Club organizes a 2 week session of activities called “Earth Weeks”. Activities included
- Villa Maria Earth Hour – all non-essential lights were turned off
- “An Inconvenient Truth” was shown during lunch hours
- Class competitions for cell phone and ink cartridge collections
- An “Environmental Fashion Show” highlighting “green clothing” options
- Villa athletes participate in the Indoor Track Provincials at McGill University
May 2008
- Secondary 2 students participate in a one day trip to Ottawa
- Villa Maria participates in “Walkathon 2008” and raised over $14, 700 for WIAIH – the West Island Association for the Intellectually Handicapped
- Bantam Flag Football team wins the GMAA silver medal
- 9 student athletes are honored as MVP’s in their sports at the GMAA Banquet
- Secondary 3 Drama Class presents “Stagedoor”
- Over 70 cross country runners (students and teachers) participate in the GMAA Halo Road Race
- Track & Field
- Victoria Sabo places 1st in the 1500 & 3000 m races
- Ivana Mormina places 2nd in shot put
- Ashley Ta 4th in javelin
- Christina Mastantuono 3rd in shot put 4th in discus
- Sarah Iodice 4th in discus
- Alisa Knezevic 5th in 1500 m
- Student Council plans a “Spring Carnival Day” at school
- Villa participates in the Gauss Mathematics Contest
- Tennis team wins the GMAA team gold medal
- Elections are held for the 2008-2009 Student Council
- Amnesty International, along with 2 grads from 2007 (Megan Lydon & Amy Qi), organize an awareness campaign for the genocide going on in Darfur
- Secondary 5 student Victoria Sabo organizes “Shark Week” – movie, trivia contest and bake sale raises money for non-profit groups that fight depletion fishing practices
- Secondary 5 students participate in their “Grads ‘08” Sleepover”
- Student Council organizes a “Spelling Bee”
- Each class entered a team
- Costume prizes were awarded also
June 2008
- Extreme Villa’s final excursion is a hiking trip to Mont Tremblant
- end of year Band Concerts for students and parents
- Ashley Ta wins a Millennium Scholarship
- Graduation Activities
- Grad Assembly – slideshow retrospective of their 5 years at Villa
- Grad Breakfast - Alumnae
- Grad Mass & Tea – Mothers’ Guild
- Grad Ball – Marriott Chateau Champlain
- Convocation
- prizes and certificates awarded for each subject
- special awards (i.e. from outside the school):
- McGill University Science Award
- University of Toronto Book Award
- Lieutenant Governor’s Award
- Governor General’s Academic Medal (awarded the following year)
- A Special Recognition Assembly
- Awards Banquet honors academic and activity achievements throughout the year
- Special Recognition Awards selected by activity and sports animators
- Secondary 1, 2, 3 and 4 student who best combines academic achievement and her activity in the school is honored
ACHIEVEMENTS NOT CATEGORIZED BY MONTH:
- Students participate in ongoing volunteer activities through the CSP Program
- Secondary 5 students participate in the Encounters with Canada program in Ottawa
- Secondary 5 World History class fund raising
- A pin is designed and selected by the two classes
- Proceeds from the sales ($1, 307.56) of the pin are donated to Care Canada’s AIDs campaign
- Two delegates are selected to participate in the Forum for Young Canadians in Ottawa
- Amnesty International Committee has ongoing letter writing campaigns throughout the year
- Ongoing discussion group called “Girl Talk” is run by Desiree Brenner after at lunch hours and after school
