2013 Final Edition - St. Helen's Elementary School
2013 Final Edition - St. Helen's Elementary School
2013 Final Edition - St. Helen's Elementary School
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
The<br />
Searcher<br />
sthelensschool.ca<br />
3894 Triumph <strong>St</strong>reet<br />
Burnaby, B.C.<br />
V5C 1Y7<br />
604-299-2234<br />
<strong>Final</strong> <strong>2013</strong><br />
Issue 3<br />
Community Celebrations<br />
Most Reverend Archbishop Michael Miller<br />
celebrating Fr. Tony’s Installation as<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Helen’s Pastor<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Helen’s Class of <strong>2013</strong><br />
celebrated with a special mass and dinner<br />
on June 20 th .<br />
By Angelica Parente<br />
This year’s annual year end barbeque was awesome, and the weather was no disappointment! As<br />
always we had the very famous bouncy castles, the adventurous rock climbing, the sporty mini golf<br />
course, the amazing face painting, and lots of very entertaining games for everyone to enjoy. In the gym<br />
we had some fantastic performances from <strong>St</strong>. Helens glee club and rock-band. There was also a fifty-fifty<br />
draw and the winner of the draw, the Hogikyan family donated the winnings back to the school. Hope<br />
everyone had an awesome time this year and will come back next year again to enjoy this popular school<br />
event.
Page 2<br />
The Searcher<br />
Triple Gold for Fine Arts Ensembles<br />
This year, all three of our fine arts ensembles won gold<br />
for the school for the first time in history at the Chancellor<br />
Music Festival! Our primary choir, intermediate choir, and<br />
handbell choir all did a phenomenal job to win gold.<br />
Our primary choir and intermediate choir sang two<br />
songs each for the judges. The intermediate choir sang ‘Prayer<br />
of the Children’ and ‘Pasta’ as their selections. As for the<br />
handbell choir, they had lots of fun playing ‘Ave Verum’ and<br />
‘Campano Sonos’, and they got their tenth gold in a row at the<br />
Chancellor Music Festival!<br />
By Phoebe Cheung<br />
Celebrating Our Grandparents<br />
By Angelica Parente<br />
Each year the Grade 3 classes have an<br />
event called Grandparent Tea”. This is an<br />
event where the Grade 3 students thank<br />
their grandparents for all they have done.<br />
The day started with a mass which the<br />
grandparents were invited to. During that<br />
mass the grandparents got a special<br />
blessing from father, along with a special<br />
performance by the Grade 3 students on<br />
their recorders. The rest of the day took<br />
place in the basement of the Church.<br />
There were delicious biscuits along with<br />
tea served by the students to their<br />
grandparents. The Grade three’s also got<br />
to have pictures taken with their<br />
grandparents.<br />
Some grandparents reported that this<br />
was the most personal event they’ve seen<br />
their grandchildren in. Grade 3 students<br />
reported that this was an amazing<br />
experience, and it was totally awesome! In<br />
the end everyone enjoyed it very much, and<br />
it was a very wonderful day.<br />
Thank you to all our Grade 3<br />
Grandparents who attended our special<br />
“Tea” and also everyone who helped<br />
organize this event.
The Searcher Page 3<br />
Easter Vigil<br />
By Amanda Silveri<br />
This year’s Easter Vigil was truly beautiful. It was my first time attending this<br />
celebration and I thought it was amazing. It began outside with a blessed fire. The priests<br />
marked the Paschal Candle, put the 5 nails in, and then lit the candle. Then everyone<br />
went inside and the altar servers lit everyone’s candles. When everyone’s candle was lit,<br />
the church looked beautiful. Following the readings, the lights turned on, the choir<br />
started singing, the bells were chiming, and the room was filled with joy.<br />
Easter Vigil includes the Celebration of Baptism. Four Catechumens came up to the<br />
altar for the Litany of the Saints. Father then baptized the water with the Paschal Candle.<br />
“The Paschal Candle is the main focus during the Easter Vigil because it represents Jesus<br />
as the light of the world.” After the Renunciation of Sin, the Anointing with the Oil, and<br />
the Profession of Faith, the Catechumens were baptized. This was followed by the<br />
Personal Professions of Faith. Three candidates were received into full communion with<br />
the Catholic Church. They professed all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches,<br />
and proclaims to be revealed by God.<br />
Following the Celebration of Baptism was the Celebration of Confirmation. Six<br />
candidates received the Holy Spirit on that glorious evening. The altar servers then lit<br />
everyone’s candle. Everyone then renewed their baptismal promises and got sprinkled<br />
with baptismal water. “In my opinion the Easter Vigil was breath-taking. I loved the<br />
feeling when I was there and everyone’s candle was lit.”<br />
Congratulations to the new members of our Catholic Community!!!<br />
Sharing Our Many Talents
Page 4<br />
The Searcher<br />
Future Engineers – Science Challenge <strong>2013</strong><br />
By Phoebe Cheung<br />
This year’s Science Challenge, which<br />
happened during the week of March 11th,<br />
was a great success. The students put a lot<br />
of time working on each of their projects.<br />
This year, the Kindergartens and Grade 1s<br />
made paper airplanes and flew them. The<br />
Grade 2s and 3s made tin foil boats to see<br />
which construction would hold the most<br />
pennies when floating on water. The Grade<br />
4s and 5s made balloon-powered cars. They<br />
were challenged to create a design that<br />
would travel the furthest on the gym floor.<br />
<strong>Final</strong>ly, the Grade 6s and 7s made bridges<br />
out of wooden stir sticks. Their challenge<br />
was to create a design that would withstand<br />
a maximum weight of 70kg (154 pounds).<br />
During this time, students got to have fun as<br />
well as learn many new concepts.<br />
Congratulations to all the students for their<br />
time and effort in the Science Challenge!<br />
By Amanda Silveri<br />
Kindergarten and Grade One-Paper<br />
Airplanes: The learning goal was how to<br />
create an aero dynamic airplane so you can<br />
get the greatest distance out of it.<br />
Grade Two and Three Science Challenge-<br />
Tinfoil Boats: The purpose of this was to<br />
create an aluminum foil boat that holds the<br />
most amount of pennies. <strong>St</strong>udents explored<br />
the concepts of buoyancy and weight<br />
distribution.<br />
Grade Four and Five Science Challenge-<br />
Balloon Cars: The concept of this was to<br />
experiment with reducing friction and<br />
weight when creating wind powered<br />
vehicles to attain maximum distance.<br />
Learning about the effects of tension and<br />
compression on bridge structures.
The Searcher Page 5<br />
Grade 7s “Sea” <strong>St</strong>ars in Bamfield<br />
By Phoebe Cheung<br />
Goals of the Bamfield<br />
Marine Science Centre<br />
• To inspire and<br />
connect learners with<br />
oceans.<br />
• To increase ocean<br />
literacy.<br />
• To encourage<br />
aspiring marine<br />
scientists.<br />
• To teach students<br />
about marine biology.<br />
BMSC<br />
- Located on the West<br />
side of Vancouver<br />
Island.<br />
- Home of the famous<br />
“Whale Lab” which has<br />
a touch tank and a real<br />
whale skeleton.<br />
- The Rix Centre:<br />
named after Donald<br />
Rix who donated close<br />
to $1 million dollars “to<br />
support BMSC as a<br />
world-class research<br />
and teaching facility to<br />
inspire discovery,<br />
innovation and<br />
excellence in marine<br />
and coastal sciences”.<br />
This year, the Grade 7s got to go to Bamfield, like they do<br />
every year, from April 3 rd to April 5 th . It was an incredible<br />
and memorable trip for all of us. During the three fun-filled<br />
days at Bamfield, we learnt a lot of things about marine<br />
biology. For students that were interested in marine biology,<br />
it was a great experience of what it is like.<br />
On the way there, we took a walk on the Cathedral<br />
Trail. We got to saw many trees that were over 800 years old!<br />
After a long and bumpy bus ride, we finally arrived at<br />
Pachena Beach to have lunch. From there, we started on our<br />
West Coast Trail hike. We walked only a small portion of it,<br />
but it was still very exciting. There were ladders going up and<br />
down so we had to be really careful. When we finished, we<br />
took the bus and went to the Bamfield Marine Sciences<br />
Centre. Once we settled down, we went to our first classes.<br />
Some students went down to the docks and some went to paint<br />
a t-shirt. We wrapped up the day by celebrating Marcus’<br />
birthday.<br />
On the second day, we also went to some more classes,<br />
but in the afternoon, we went to the other side of Bamfield to<br />
study some tide pools. We explored what we saw in it and did<br />
a little presentation on it. Some students rapped and some<br />
sang. Even though it was raining a little, we still had a great<br />
time learning about tide pools. <strong>Final</strong>ly on the third day, we<br />
had some classes in the morning and then went back home.<br />
Although we were sad to leave Bamfield, we were also happy<br />
to see our family again.<br />
In my opinion, I think that the best part of Bamfield<br />
was when we went whale watching. Some groups got a<br />
glimpse of whales and some groups spotted sea lions. Other<br />
parts of Bamfield were very exciting as well. Even though it<br />
was only a three day trip, it felt like a long, but fun, trip. We<br />
learnt many things about marine biology and we hope that the<br />
future Grade 7 students will experience the same when they<br />
go to Bamfield.
Page 6<br />
Raising Awareness through Fun Activities<br />
The Searcher<br />
By Amanda Silveri<br />
Whether through our Religion classes,<br />
Socials classes, or <strong>St</strong>udent Council<br />
activities, the staff and students of the<br />
school put effort into raising awareness for<br />
social justice. Term 2 ended with some<br />
fun and important events.<br />
Pink Day was a very important day<br />
because it is when we protest against<br />
bullying. Bullying is a problem in schools,<br />
workplaces, homes, and on the internet. Pink Day is when we raise awareness about<br />
bulling. We wear pink because it symbolizes that we do not tolerate bulling at our<br />
school. Almost everyone can remember a time when their feelings were hurt, or when<br />
they were being treated with disrespect. They want it to stop, but it won't just go away<br />
on its own. You need to speak up. Tell an adult what has happened. You shouldn't feel<br />
unhappy or threatened. Pink Day is the day when we stand up and say no to bullying.<br />
On Green Day, kids wore green to celebrate Saint Patrick. Saint Patrick is the patron<br />
saint of Ireland. He was captured, brought to Ireland and was sold as a slave to herd<br />
and tend sheep. During his captivity, he turned to God in prayer. Later, when he<br />
escaped, he began his studies for priesthood. A few years later, when he returned to<br />
Ireland, he was imprisoned by the Druids but managed to escape. There are also many<br />
legends which talks about the miracles and magical fights between him and the<br />
Druids. One of which is when he was confronted by a chieftain. The chieftain drew his<br />
sword to kill Patrick but could not do so because his arm became rigid until he<br />
declared himself obedient to Saint Patrick. Patrick began preaching the Gospel<br />
throughout Ireland, converting many.<br />
He used a shamrock to explain and<br />
symbolize the Holy Trinity to his<br />
followers. And another fun day we had<br />
in term 2 was Crazy Hats Day. This<br />
event was put on by the grade 7s for<br />
their fundraising.
The Searcher Page 7<br />
Celebrating the Sacraments<br />
By Phoebe Cheung<br />
April 21 st , <strong>2013</strong> was this year’s Grade 7s<br />
turning point in their Catholic faith – becoming<br />
an adult in the eyes of the Church through<br />
Confirmation. While preparing for this special<br />
sacrament, we learnt a lot about our Catholic<br />
faith, including the Apostles’ Creed.<br />
On the Thursday before the special day,<br />
we had a dinner with our sponsors. It was a good<br />
time to sit down and to know more about each<br />
other. After the dinner, we had our rehearsal.<br />
We were told how we would line up and where<br />
we would sit. It was pretty confusing at first but<br />
we figured it out afterwards. <strong>Final</strong>ly, it was the<br />
big day on Sunday. We all lined up under the<br />
Church and proceeded to the pews. During the<br />
homily, Archbishop asked us a few questions<br />
about the Apostles’ Creed. Then, we were<br />
Confirmed. When the Archbishop came up to me<br />
and ‘sealed me with the Holy Spirit’, I felt, and I<br />
knew, that my bond with God had strengthened<br />
a lot.<br />
Being Confirmed in the Catholic Church<br />
also brings responsibility into play. When we<br />
become adults in our lives, we are responsible for<br />
our family and our job. When we become adults<br />
in the Catholic Church, we have responsibilities<br />
as well. Some responsibilities include going to<br />
Church every Sunday, preaching the Catholic<br />
faith through words and actions, and following<br />
the guidance of the Holy Spirit.<br />
After being Confirmed in the Catholic<br />
Church, we can be even greater role models to<br />
the younger kids who will be Confirmed when<br />
they are in Grade 7s. Congratulations to all the<br />
Grade 7 students who got Confirmed this year!<br />
By Amanda Silveri<br />
This year, the grade 2s received the<br />
Eucharist for the first time. Celebrating their First<br />
Holy Communion is the highlight of their year<br />
because they are fully active in the Church because<br />
they can receive Jesus every Sunday. “Before my<br />
First Communion, I was very nervous because I was<br />
not sure what the Eucharist would taste like… but I<br />
was very excited because I was going to receive<br />
Jesus in another way.” “I felt very happy and<br />
relieved after my communion. I remember lying in<br />
bed that night telling my mom ‘I am so happy that I<br />
received Jesus, I can’t wait to take the Eucharist<br />
every Sunday.’” At the special mass, there were 70<br />
children that were given this sacred gift. “I will<br />
spread my love to others by being like Jesus, praying<br />
for others… and by donating money to those who<br />
don’t have as much as we do.” Now that they have<br />
received Jesus, they can fully participate at mass. “I<br />
will follow and live out Jesus’ example by loving<br />
everyone as Jesus has loved us, treating people the<br />
way I want to be treated, and by telling everybody<br />
about Jesus and how they could act like Jesus. I<br />
will pray for everybody, especially for those in need,<br />
and I will be kind and forgiving.”<br />
Holy Communion is one of the three<br />
sacraments of initiation. In Holy Communion, we<br />
receive the body of Christ which helps us grow closer<br />
to him. For us Catholics, there is nothing greater<br />
than to receive Jesus when he is truly present in the<br />
Eucharist at Mass. When we receive the Eucharist,<br />
we are to remember when Jesus sacrificed himself<br />
when he died on the cross for us. Through Holy<br />
Communion we spiritually connect with our saviour<br />
Jesus Christ, and we confess our love for him. In<br />
the sacrament of communion, we say that we truly<br />
believe and trust Jesus.
Page 8<br />
A Mission for Help<br />
The Searcher<br />
By Angelica Parente<br />
Here at <strong>St</strong>. Helen’s we have a mission group that does lasagna sales and helps ship a<br />
variety of donated items to third world countries. Some of the collections include: the candy<br />
drive, food drive, school supplies and other donated items such as clothes and household.<br />
The grade 6 classes have been involved in helping the missions this year. For<br />
example, the students helped collect food from all the other classes and then assisted in<br />
organizing the donations in the storage room beneath the Church. If you would like to<br />
participate in donating to the mission society please drop off your items underneath the gym<br />
in the garage, but only during office hours (Monday-Friday from 8am to 4pm). Also if you<br />
would like to help, the volunteers pack all donated items on the second Tuesday of every<br />
month. For further information about the missions and how you can help please call 604-298-<br />
6202 to contact Manuela, or 604-291-7016 to contact Annamaria.<br />
Earth Day <strong>St</strong>ewardship…more than just one day!<br />
By Angelica Parente<br />
Earth Day is a day that encourages us to show appreciation for God’s creation and<br />
raise awareness to take care of our planet. During Earth Day at <strong>St</strong>. Helens, we picked up<br />
trash around our neighbourhood; each class was assigned an area to clean up. Even though<br />
this action is small it still helps to make our planet a greener place. We should always<br />
remember to follow the three “Rs” reduce, reuse, recycle. Reduce: to use less of something. For<br />
example instead of playing on our electronic devices we could be playing outside getting fresh<br />
air, or doing some arts and crafts. Reuse: to use something over again. For example, instead<br />
of throwing a brown box away you could turn it into a mini space shuttle and pretend to be an<br />
astronaut. Recycle: reusing waste materials. For example, we can recycle our bottles to the<br />
“Return It” Centre.<br />
The energy of Earth Day continued with activities even after April 22. Just recently<br />
the grade 5 and 4 classes along with Mr. Ramalho and Mrs. Piperni cleaned the garden area<br />
and landscaped sections around the school. In May, Cara Moretto and Zoey Collins initiated a<br />
cleanup of the Burrard Inlet shoreline. Let’s keep working on making our planet a greener<br />
place!
The Searcher Page 9<br />
SHS Team Spirit Reigns the Soccer Field<br />
By Liam Ryan<br />
This year’s girls’ soccer tournament<br />
was a blast! They tried their hardest and<br />
displayed great teamwork. They were divided<br />
into Blue and Yellow. Practice started March<br />
30 th and the girls were divided into “Blue” and<br />
“Yellow”. Every week, they practiced with<br />
enthusiasm and hard work, developing more<br />
skill each practice.<br />
When the time came, the finals were<br />
tough. All games tested their skills. Both teams made it to the playoff tournament. The Blues<br />
lost their first two very close games in a shoot-out and placed 8th. The Yellows won their first<br />
game, tied their second and lost in shoot-out, even though they dominated the whole game.<br />
They had great sportsmanship and attitudes and were a pleasure to coach. The weather for the<br />
first two games was pouring rain. The weather for the third game was sunny. The weather at<br />
the tournament was beautiful, sunny and warm. A perfect day for soccer .They did amazing but<br />
couldn’t have done it without the determination of the coaches. Mrs. Drlje and Miss Battista<br />
had helped these girls until the finals, and did an amazing job of it.<br />
Waldemar Sambor<br />
Principal<br />
Diana Silva<br />
Vice Principal &<br />
Editor<br />
Nadia Piperni<br />
Editor<br />
Journalists:<br />
Phoebe Cheung<br />
Angelica Parente<br />
Liam Ryan<br />
Amanda Silveri