Mother Marie-Rose Durocher, the foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (SNJM), was a visionary woman who believed that education must be grounded in faith, centred in justice, and that true learning happens in an environment where one's potential is seen and nurtured. Mother Marie-Rose founded the SNJM teaching congregation in 1843 in Longueuil, Quebec. She was born and died on October 6 (1811–1849). Each year at SMA, the week surrounding October 6^th is Mother Marie-Rose Week and this is a time of celebrating and learning. We affectionately refer to Mother Marie-Rose as “MMR” and coin the week “MMR Week”.

MMR Week included Masses on October 6 (MMR’s Feast Day), scavenger hunts throughout the school to find roses with clues to answer, and learning about the SNJM corporate stands of Human Trafficking, Universal Access to Clean Water and Immigrants and Refugees. Students sold homemade bars of soap to staff and students and $172.00 was raised which went to the Immigrant and Refugee Community of Manitoba (IRCOM), along with 50 bars of soap. Also, we hosted a lunchtime Kahoot in Alumnae Hall which challenged students to test their knowledge of MMR and the SNJM community. Read more about the SNJM Corporate Stands from the home page of https://snjm.org/en/.

Mrs. Joanne Steeves (Weight ’90)

Mother Marie-Rose Feast Day Mass

Promoting clean water and selling soap

Promoting reusable water bottles

National Truth and Reconciliation Week took place from September 27 to October 1. At SMA we devoted much of our learning time to raising awareness, having discussions and growing in our understanding of Truths and embracing a spirit of Reconciliation.

Over the course of two days our students and teachers took part in a Blanket Exercise. In this moving and informative learning experience participants walk through pre-contact, treaty-making, colonization and resistance. Every participant is actively involved as they step onto blankets that represent Turtle Island, and into the role of First Nations, Inuit and later Métis peoples. Facilitating the Blanket Exercise were Elders Katherine Thomas and Florence Sanderson, and Tammy Rempel and Lloyd Letkeman. SMA extends heartfelt gratitude to each for the knowledge, history and wisdom that they shared with us. Special thanks to Elders Katherine and Florence for opening up their hearts and sharing their personal stories with us.

Students, teachers and staff participated in virtual information sessions hosted by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, such as We are all Treaty People; Language, Music, Culture and Tomorrow’s Path, and Truth and Reconciliation Allyship.

All week our orange shirts gave us hope as we honoured and raised awareness of “Every Child Matters”. Orange Shirt Day takes place annually on September 30. It stems from Phyllis Webstad’s story of having her new orange shirt taken away on her first day of school at St. Joseph Mission Residential School. This story is an opportunity to keep discussions open about all aspects of Residential Schools.

On Monday, October 4 our grade 9 students participated in a two-part Truth and Reconciliation activity. First, students watched informational videos on the history of Residential Schools in Canada. After viewing the videos, students had a discussion about Residential Schools and the impact of the schools on our Indigenous community. Next, students along with their teachers, walked to the park behind the former Assiniboia Residential School at 615 Academy Road. Here, a series of group discussions and reflections took place. A former teacher from Kelvin High School, Mr. Raymond Sokalski, met the group at the site and gave a brief history and an outside tour of the school.

Later in the month of October SMA hosted the Assiniboia Residential School exhibit. The exhibit, created by the Indigenous Relations Division of the City of Winnipeg, informs and educates people about the Assiniboia Residential School that operated in Winnipeg from 1958 to 1973. All students experienced the exhibit and then engaged in reflection with their teachers. Staff and faculty also participated in the exhibit.

On November 26 faculty and staff came together in prayer for the land on which we settled. Inspired by our alumna, Katya Adamov Ferguson '03, our President and Mission and Charism team walked us through a living land acknowledgement. With our hands immersed in soil, we journeyed through the shared history of our land and peoples. Beautifully woven into the prayerful exercise was our commitment to reconciliation:

St. Mary's Academy is situated on the original lands of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation. We respect the Treaties that were made on these territories, we acknowledge the harms and mistakes of the past, and we dedicate ourselves to move forward in partnership with Indigenous communities in a spirit of reconciliation and collaboration.

Blanket Exercise

Assiniboia Residential School Exhibit 

Living Land Acknowledgement

In the spring of the 2020-2021 school year, Sr. Marylyn Gibney, SNJM, and Sr. Yvonne Massicotte, SNJM, partnered with the grade 11 Religion classes to teach students about social justice and the SNJM Corporate Stands. Inspired by these lessons, some students in Ms. Marasco’s class embarked on a project for a developing country that would help empower women. Students discovered Water With Blessings, an interfaith organization whose mission is to bring clean water to God’s thirsty children, and they set out raising awareness and funds to provide clean water to women in need. Students raised enough money to provide education and water filters to 10 Haitian women. In turn, those 10 women learned how to filter water and made a sacred promise to filter water for their families and neighbors. The education and filters will save many people from waterborne illnesses or a worse fate.

One of the women who benefited is Marie Vil. She is 54 years old and she became a ‘Water Woman’ in her community of Goj in Haiti. Marie has six people living in her household who benefit from her being a ‘Water Woman’.

Way to Hold High the Torch Emilia Banmann, Jasleen Chhina, Cadence Christie, Katya Cisneros, Nieve Degagné, Emily Hatlaghn, Gemma Hauser, Lauren Peeler, Tyla Turnbull, Kierra Wilfer and Ms. Marasco.

Find out more about Water With Blessings at https://waterwithblessings.org

It is so wonderful to have our hardworking Drama students back in the classroom, learning about all aspects of Theatre and Drama!  Our grades 7 to 12 students have been working on script writing, directing, blocking, monologues, scene work, historical Drama, script adaptations, tableaux, fairy tales, costuming, set designing and (of course) acting! Our senior students have been working on monologues to start off the year, while our grades 7 and 9 students have been working on group work and community building. In November, we were so lucky to have Mr. Edward Doiron come into our theatre to teach our grade 9 students about running the tech booth in Alumnae Hall! The students are learning about sound boards, lighting boards & spotlights. In the spring, our grades 9 to 12 students will be working towards major in-class performances to reflect all that they have learned in these first few months. We hope to have more announcements coming in the spring about our Fall 2022 school Drama production, so stay tuned! 

Ms. Laura Davey ’05

Senior Painting Project

Inktober Artwork

“Spirit” by Neha Mushtaque (grade 8)

“Moon” by Amandeep Sandhu (grade 8)

“Spirit” by Eleanor Eva (grade 9)

“Fuzzy” by Julia Vanstone (grade 10)

“Helmet” by Tori Alexander (grade 10)

The Debate Club at SMA is alive and well! We have both a Junior Club (grades 7, 8, and 9) coached by Ms. Taylor Martin and a Senior Club (grades 10, 11, and 12) coached by Mr. Rob McCaffrey. Mrs. Paula Fleury is the debate coordinator, responsible for enrolling students and recruiting judges. Gregoria Ginakes ’22 is our Senior Debate Captain and in this role she is able to provide special mentorship and guidance to our other debaters, particularly to those with less experience.

The Junior Debate Club has well over 30 students and the Senior Club has close to 20 students. Interest in debate is very high and with the opportunity for a combination of both online and in-person tournaments this year, we continue to regularly enroll students in competitive inter-school tournaments. Our SMA debaters have been proudly representing the school and “Holding High the Torch”. Students enrolled in debate have an opportunity to argue in favour and against a number of topical and important resolutions and the skills learned in debate are highly transferrable to so many areas of life, both in personal and professional areas. New debaters are always welcome! Finally, SMA Debate is proud to have its own Instagram account, follow us @smadebateclub.

Activity is picking up in the Durocher Library! Although masks and distancing remain a must, our students are—once again—able to browse the bookshelves, and use all the computers, comfy chairs, and board games that were off limits last year.

Library staff are excited to see increased interest in non-fiction titles. During the 2020-2021 school year we reorganized the entire non-fiction section and added signage and display spaces. In comparison to last year, we have seen an 82% increase in how many non-fiction titles students are checking out! (Overall library sign out statistics are up from last year by 78%).

This school year the library is beginning a large-scale Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) audit of our collection, starting with biographies. Both Ms. Jennings and Ms. Janzen are currently enrolled in a professional development workshop that is geared specifically towards this task. We appreciate the support of administration in our ongoing mission to create a library that supports and reflects our diverse community. 

Ms. Kelsey Jennings and Ms. Christina Janzen, Library Technicians

We have officially completed the volleyball season here at SMA. We had 98 Flames athletes in seven teams participating in training and practices. We are so happy to see school sports back in action! We had the pleasure of livestreaming our Varsity & Junior Varsity games and that made a positive difference since leagues were not allowing spectators.

The Grade 7 Developmental teams are coached by Ms. Nicole McGlenen with the help of other volleyball players at SMA. We had two teams entered in the Bumpers league with Pembina Trails Athletic Association. The teams competed in four Monday evening games over the course of two months. The girls developed great skills over the practices and games. A big thank you to our all of our volunteer coaches from the grade 9, Junior Varsity and Varsity teams. Your help does not go unnoticed. 

The Grade 7 Traveling team, coached by Mrs. Christine Rewniak, completed their league play with the Pembina Trails Athletic Association. The girls developed many different skills and increased their knowledge of volleyball. 

The Grade 8 team, coached by Mr. Denise Beriault and Ms. Kim Hildebrand, also completed their league play with the Pembina Trails Athletic Association. The team was able to participate in exhibition matches against other schools and had a great season. 

The Grade 9 team, coached by alumnae Ms. Amy Downs ’10 and Ms. Stephanie Bilan ’10, finished 2nd in league play gaining a semi-final playoff berth. The team lost a tight match to Arthur A Leach.

The Junior Varsity team, coached by Mr. Scott Koskie, finished 2nd in their league heading into playoffs. The JV team won the 3rd place game against Westwood to finish out the regular season. The team received a Manitoba High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) AAAA Provincial berth. The Flames won against Vincent Massey Brandon which allowed them to move on to the quarter-finals where they lost to Oak Park in a tight match.

The Varsity team, coached by Mr. Marshall Lawrence, finished 3rd in their league heading into playoffs. The team lost a tight quarter-final match to Westwood but did not give up. They practiced hard and received a MHSAA AAAA Provincial berth where they made it to the Provincial finals. The team played very well against JH Bruns in the finals but came up short losing 3-1. Congratulations go out to all our senior players, Ava Skromeda, Aleana Stevens, Shelby Mead, Megan Hooper, Taya Thoendel, Katya Cisneros and Lauren Vis. A special congratulations go out to Ava Skromeda, Lauren Vis and Katya Cisneros who were selected by fans for Volleyball Manitoba’s Graduating All-Star awards. Volleyball Manitoba’s banquet will take place on Saturday, December 11.

Congratulations to all of our Flames teams on a terrific season! Thank you to all the volunteer coaches; we are surrounded by fabulous role models, amazing dedication and commitment to improving and strengthening our volleyball program. 

Thank you for your continued support of the athletic department. For more information about SMA athletics, please contact Ms. Nicole McGlenen, Mr. Demetro Danyluk, Mrs. Jennifer O’Leary, or Ms. Adriane McElrea at 204-477-0244. 

Ms. Nicole McGlenen

The Flames Cross Country program had another tremendous year despite the Manitoba High School Athletic Association provincial championships being postponed until Spring. Both the Junior and Senior teams were competitive in conference competition and were able to increase their fitness and competitive edge at the Athletics Manitoba Cross Country Schools Championships. Cadence Christie was SMA's top performer on the senior team, placing first in all the high school cross country races she competed in. Lily Aiello, Evie Hall and Kennedy Chambers were stellar performers on the Junior team which helped the Juniors capture the Athletics Manitoba school championships.

Much joy came from the new hardworking runners that joined the program. Runners like Garcia Cabral, Abby Sigurdson, Laura Schwarz, Maria Dela Cruz, Aryanna Jones, Mariel Guaring, Anastasia Wilson, Maela Foulidis, Sophie Sierhuis and Alice Carey. The future looks bright if all these runners continue to work hard alongside all of the other great runners we have in this school. Myself and assistant coach, Mr. Rauno Russ, thank all of the parents and caregivers who support our running program. We appreciate you driving your daughters to early morning practices and getting them to races.

Mr. Demetro Danyluk

For families who chose Plan B for tuition payments, please remember that your final payment will be withdrawn from your account on or after January 1, 2022.

Charitable donation receipts for the 2020-2021 school year, for inclusion with your 2021 tax return, are being prepared and will be mailed in February. Receipts for the 2021-2022 school year, for inclusion with your 2022 tax return, will be issued in February 2023.

The Accounting Office will be closed December 24, 2021 to January 3, 2022.