St. Thomas Aquinas High School

Dec. 7, 2022

                

By Nina Vanasse
Continuing an 18-year-long tradition, TA celebrated the season of giving by collecting donations for the Miracle Marathon. Hosted by CJRL, the Miracle Marathon has run every Christmas in Kenora for 32 years to bring holiday cheer to families in need. 

Chaplain Mr. Woodbeck, the face of the operation, elaborates on our school’s yearly mission to help the Miracle Marathon. “Because the Salvation Army is a Christian Church and because we are Christians, we want to help… And so it's a very Christmas thing to do, to make sure that all people can have access to something that's special”. This year, TA was able to donate around 2000 pounds of food and toys, thanks to the collective efforts of students. “We do classroom kind of competitions… fun competitions where the classroom that collects the most… they get a pizza party or something like that. Our hockey team has also been involved for a number of years now because all that stuff needs to get moved”.

This year, Mrs. Martin’s class was the winner of the pizza party, having contributed the most donations to this year’s event. “It's a nice thing for us to be involved in the community and it's a nice way of helping out where it needs to be helped”. So, as the Marathon comes to a close, TA is able to put a bow on another year of holiday cheer.

By Nina Vanasse

On October 13th, the Mt.Evergreen “Fall Classic” lived on as a new event: the Rock ‘n’ Root race. With a brand new location, name and course, the Rock ‘n’ Root includes both mountain biking and cross-country running. In attendance for the first race were participants from St. Thomas Aquinas, Beaver Brae Secondary School, Dryden and Fort Frances.

            The event was held around St. Thomas Aquinas High School, starting in the field and leading racers along a 2.5KM course. Students trek or bike behind the school, in the nearby snowmachine trails and beyond. Course Marshall and mountain biking coach Barry Kraynyk details some reasons for the event’s trail selection. “I've been riding those trails for 30 years now, I grew up around here so these are trails that I know very well. The course was designed to have a good variety but, at the end of the day the trails back there are technical in spots,” he explained. “One of the cool things is that they're right there and we have all these awesome trails on our back door… There's a lot of rock and there's a lot of roots so I thought it was a fitting name for it and it's also, I think, a pretty ‘rockin’ route to race on!” 

            Despite some less than “rockin” weather conditions, the event went off “without a hitch” and was well-received by everyone involved. As a new event, some of the biggest concerns came from being a first for everyone involved. “The biggest relief was the fact that it did go off smoothly and everybody enjoyed it and everything worked out the way we wanted to”. Thanks to this, runners and bikers will be happy to hear that the Rock ‘n’ Root race will be here to stay, and any students in grades 7 through 12 interested in both or either cross-country running or mountain biking will have a chance to race in the event in the future.

  

Students enjoyed a visit by the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra today and were treated to a wide range of tunes from Beethoven to John Williams!

By Nina Vanasse Last Friday, St. Thomas Aquinas students embarked on their journey in support of the Terry Fox Foundation. Starting at the school, students and staff walked a loop around the area in memory of beloved Canadian hero, Terry Fox. At the end of the walk, snacks were sold to raise money for the Terry Fox Foundation. Thanks to the collective effort of the whole school, Saint Thomas Aquinas raised close to $1000 for cancer research.

The school’s route was approximately 2 kilometers and passed through the Rabbit Lake trails, Garrow park, and the surrounding neighbourhood. Even though the skies were grey, hundreds of students participated. Friends walked in groups and had the chance to get away from their school work while doing something good. 

Students were also encouraged to engage with the event by writing the names of the people they were running for. Some students ran for Terry, others for family members and friends. In the end, students all made an effort together in the fight to end the suffering brought by cancer.

By Ari Gan

The Grade 7 Amazing Race on Friday September 16th was a hit amongst the newest students of Saint Thomas Aquinas High School. 

The Students were sent on a wild and competitive journey inside and around the school, completing challenges to test their skills in teamwork, communication, comprehension, math and more. While some challenges tested the Grade 7’s abilities to compare equations, others had students running across the outdoor athletic field and even down to Garrow Park.

After an hour and a half of fun challenges and rain, the students all gathered in the foyer to announce the winners. These lucky students won gift certificates for the school’s own Greek Monster Cafe. 

The Grade 7’s have shown their school spirit and enthusiasm for St. Thomas Aquinas and seem to fit right in with their competitive edge. Good luck to this year’s newest Saints!