News Archives

Baccalaureate returned to Centenary Church on Saturday, June 18 after a two-year absence, with students in Grade 11 and 12 receiving diplomas and selected students receiving prizes of academic, extracurricular and athletic merit.

The 2021-22 sports season drew to an official close Tuesday evening with the Spring Athletic Assembly, with a number of the top prizes going to younger players.

You have marked your calendar, you are counting the days and have an end date in mind. It is the conclusion of yet another school year. These last weeks are stressful as they are spiked with exams, maybe prom, and packing up your room. There are lots of mixed feelings in your brain, stomach and heart, a lot of ampersands, which are represented by this symbol: “&”.

From Sackville, New Brunswick, Jamie was a force to be reckoned with at this past week’s junior badminton tournament. Stepping up to compete in two divisions, the Grade 10 student-athlete never left the court. She jumped between girls singles and girls doubles in two separate gyms all afternoon long. She never complained, made zero excuses and had perfect sportsmanship. In the end, she brought home a silver medal in singles and a gold medal with partner Emma MacIntyre in doubles. Congratulations, Jamie.

If you’ve ever written an “hour” at Stanstead College, you may have noticed the first line: “Hui Tzu said to Chuang Tzu: ‘All your teaching is centred on what has no use.’” I used to see it as an ironic preview, but over time, I realized that it’s, in a sense, a summary of everything. When you think about it, why are we here, and is anything we do truly useful or meaningful?  

This golfer from Nun’s Island had an impressive week on the course. In the second RSEQ event, Matteo was low gross of his division and second overall amongst all divisions. The next day, in the first ETIAC event of the season, he was low gross overall! Matteo is only in Grade 10, so the future is bright for him. Congratulations, Athlete of the Week, Matteo Paradis.

As we all know, the school year is quickly approaching the end. Whether you are headed off to university or coming back to Stanstead next year, we soon will be all entering a new chapter of our lives. New opportunities allow us to grow and try and better ourselves along the way. So here are three simple but inspiring quotes I thought were important to apply in one’s everyday life.

This senior boy rugby player from Tsurumaki, Japan was a leader on the field from start to finish. Playing in every single minute of the GMAA 7s tournament last week, Shun Hatano was instrumental in every success the team had over the day. He is the kicker, the play caller and takes all the penalties. For his consistent performance, he was recognized by the organizers as the tournament MVP. He followed that up with two more gutsy performances the next day at the opening RSEQ jamboree. Only in Grade 10, Shun plays the game the right way and loves his teammates. A student of the game, he has a bright future ahead of him. Congratulations, Athlete of the Week, Shun Hatan.

This week’s athlete of the week from Stoufville, Ontario scored the first goal of his lacrosse career then followed that up with eight more goals to finish the Montreal tournament last week. Jack also went above 90% on faceoffs in Peterborough and Montreal. The Grade 11 student has been practising a ton on his off time and it's paying off. This week’s Athlete of the Week, from boys lacrosse, Jack Treacy.

You are furious! Why did your boyfriend not call back? Why did the teacher give you a bad grade? Why can you NOT go home for break? You feel your blood boiling, your feel stressed and are just mad, mad, mad! These are all situations that are out of your control, that happened TO you, but now you are in your personal red zone. Your brain is not working at its best and you literally cannot think clearly now! You want to kick the wall, scream, or hit someone. (Please don’t.)

Closing a season that was interrupted by a COVID surge, only to see teams finish strong, the Winter Athletic Assembly Tuesday evening celebrated the triumphs, lessons and top performances of the past several months.

On March 20, I finished my last hockey game as a Spartan, ending a lengthy journey filled with memories that will be with me forever. Starting as a clueless Grade 10 who only wanted to learn and develop in the game he loved while having fun with his teammates, to a Grade 11 year filled with adversity, as many faced all over the world, losing the ability to play their sport due to the pandemic. It’s a memory that will never leave any of us.

Recently we all returned to school after a much-needed and well-deserved break. While all the breaks during the year are of great respite to everyone at the school, this past break was most likely the most refreshing of them all. With this break also comes the onset of spring, the temperature finally starts to warm, and sports move from the gyms and the rink to the grass fields. It truly feels like a final turning point for the year, with the end of the school year in sight.

Do you love to get to know other people? Well, what about getting to know yourself a bit more? Today, I would like to look at what a healthy and an unhealthy version of you look like.

Head of School Michael Wolfe and Associate Head of School Joanne Carruthers are pleased to release the list of students who have achieved mid-term academic success (January to March). For their efforts, these students have earned a place on the Academic Honours List, the Head's List and the Chair's List.

A family outing one day turned into an absolute tragedy as a family of three, father mother and a son, left the cinema through an alley way. As they exited, they found themselves being confronted by a mugger. First thing the father did was to move his wife and son behind him and tried to mitigate the situation by offering the mugger anything he could ask for: jewelry, money, car keys, all while prioritizing the safety of his own family.

Joanne Tracy Carruthers has been named the next head of school at Stanstead College, the first woman to hold the position in the school’s 150-year history. She will also be the first Townships-born head since Dr. Charles Flanders (1893-1908).

Stanstead College held its annual Junior Science Fair on Tuesday evening. After months of planning, hypothesizing and experimenting, students in Grades 7 to 9 were able to present their findings to judges. In all there were 48 projects on display. The following are the winners by grade:

Just like me, you might feel overwhelmed lately. The infamous COVID-19 seems like it’s taking control of our world. Practices, games and tournaments are being cancelled here and there. And it might feel like this chaos will never end. Well, I'm not here to tell you that it “isn’t that bad” or that it is “all over very soon.” And I am not here to downplay the whole situation and make you feel that there isn’t any problem and that it is no big deal. I am just here to say that there are other bigger deals.

From Laval, Quebec, this varsity boys hockey player put the team on his back in Saturday’s semi-final at the Canadian Prep School Hockey Alliance championship. Down 4-1 after two periods, Chaka replied by scoring the first three goals in what would be a 6-5 comeback victory. He didn't stop there, as he continued to lead the offensive charge in the final. A two-year Spartan in Grade 12, Chaka was determined to bring home the CPSHA championship to Stanstead. He was vocal in support of others, and the look in his eyes sparked confidence in the rest of his team the entire weekend. Congratulations, Chaka-Benjamin Ntumba-Muntu.

Championship wins, heartbreak losses, and regular season play fueled this weekend’s Spartans Hockey. Varsity girls competed in the JWHL Playoff Tournament in Boston, Varsity Boys competed in the CPSHA Championship Tournament in Toronto and both prep teams held down the fort at home. 

The best way to succeed in life is to have determination. The definition of determination is the ability to continue trying to do something even if it’s difficult. It is when you don’t care about people who want to discourage you, when you have a purpose and you do everything to achieve it. Determination is also the power to be able to ignore the opinions of others. The only important thing is to fulfill our wants.

This past week, the senior girls D3 basketball team traveled to New Brunswick, and this player from Montreal, Quebec made the most of it. Melissa is a calm, determined, focused presence on both the offensive and defensive end. When the ball is in her hands, she makes things happen for her teammates with some of the prettiest passes we have seen. Not to mention, she has an incredible floater! On defence, she reads the play and reacts quickly to disrupt whatever the other team tries to do. All this, and she is only in Grade 9! Mature beyond her years and an awesome teammate, this week’s Athlete of the Week, is Melissa Kakayuk.

This talented varsity girls hockey goaltender from Repentigny, Quebec had an incredible weekend between the pipes.  Saturday, she had a 38-save shutout and was instrumental in the victory with a depleted lineup. On Sunday, she made 35 saves in a 2-1 overtime loss (19 seconds left, breakaway goal, after making 2 breakaway saves in overtime to keep the game alive). All of this after a broken skate blade in first period. As the only goalie on the trip, Arianne (Grade 11) was forced to wear NAHA’s backup goalie's skates for the rest of the game. Not only were they not hers, they were half a size too small. These two performances came against a top 10 team in North America and #2 in independent school rankings. Congratulations, Arianne Leblanc.

I knew this past Saturday’s game was going to be eventful. Not only was I coaching it alone (Coach Van Dyke wasn’t able to make it), but we were playing at La Ruche, in a gym where we notoriously play poorly. I was admittedly a bit nervous, and to top it off I wasn’t even able to travel with the team to the game. This was going to be interesting!

The varsity boys hockey team, like all amateur sport teams and athletes, have had a trying couple of years. COVID-19 is well documented and has taken away much more than sport, but as a coach of young men, seeing sport taken away has at times been very difficult. As coaches, teachers and educators, we pride ourselves on being able to reach our students and athletes. We constantly seek ways to motivate and bring real life into the lessons that we are teaching on the ice.

Today I want to talk about the little things in life. The dictionary definition of the word “little” is something small in size, amount or degree. The word “little” has often been used in an undervalued way; “little” seems to mean something bad more often than good. What if I could change your mind?  

Little did we know, walking triumphantly off the court at Triolet last November, that it would be 86 days(!) before we would play another actual basketball game. Are we finally done with COVID now?

A lot of the time we hear our teachers, coaches, and parents saying, “You have got to be more mature.” So, what does it mean to become more mature? A lot of you may say, acting like an adult. But adults can also make mistakes, a few even wind up in jail. In my opinion, being mature is to become independent, take responsibility, and accept the result of your actions.  

As some of you may know, my biggest struggle is caring. Caring is one of the qualities that people usually use to describe me. Don't get me wrong, caring is a nice quality to have. However, I have come to realize that I over-care. I over-care about people, what they think about me, what they say about me and how they see me, and all of these bring me down.

I am back with one of my favorite topics: ANTs – automatic negative thoughts. In my previous posts, I outlined the 10 ANTs (also called cognitive or thinking distortions) that happen to all of us and then specifically looked deeper into “Shoulds” and “Mind Reading.” All these thinking patterns are normal but can get complicated when they become chronic, overtaking your life and putting you into a negative downward spiral. Today, I would like to tackle another favourite: All-or-nothing thinking, that is black vs white, right vs wrong, good vs bad.

Going to a new school can be scary. It might feel that way because you’re stepping outside your comfort zone. You might not know many people, or in this case, it might be your first time away from home. On top of it all, English might not be your first language. You might worry about what others think of you, or if you’re going to fit in. Personally, that’s what was going through my head my first year here.

“A solution to a problem” is the direct definition of the word “resolution.” The term “resolution” is frequently used during this time of year, during the new beginning, the start of a new year. When this time comes around, we sit down, take a pen and paper and write down our New Year’s resolution. In other words, the solution to our so-called problems.

Two Stanstead College alumnae have been selected for the Czech National women’s hockey team to compete in the 2022 Beijing Olympics next month.