The Houses of St. Thomas Aquinas High School
If you are a student, teacher, support staff or anyone belonging to St. Thomas Aquinas High School you are now a member within 1 of 6 distinct 'Houses', not unlike the Houses of Hogwarts where the teenage wizard Harry Potter attended wizardry school.
Teachers Bernadette Martin and Erin Hercun have been working closely with the students on the Student Council to implement the Houses of St. Thomas Aquinas High school.
"The vision of creating distinctive Houses came from our student council and student voice", says Bernadette Martin. "It's something our students came up with a few years ago to increase participation, a sense of belonging and pride so we are very excited to see the vision implemented."
Each House is named after a Saint that represents a social justice cause or value that also reflects the values of the school. At the beginning of this school year each staff member and student was given a t-shirt with their new House colors and the name of their Saint.
The Houses were grouped very carefully and strategically based on the member's personalities, values, diversity, gender, age and interests. The intention was to group the Houses into balanced teams.
"The students have been really enthusiastic about the idea, especially our "Super Saints" (grade 12 students who lead the Houses) and students in younger grades," says Erin Hercun. "It has awakened some healthy competitive banter throughout the school and has encouraged relationships among groups of students who might not otherwise have a chance to get to know each other. It's also creating a great climate for mentorship and teamwork for our students. Quite a few students have also approached us with ideas for how we can make the Houses even better for next year. There's lots of room to make it grow in the future."
After each challenge the House Cup is awarded to the winning House and that House gets to add something to the cup to symbolize the challenge. The Houses get a chance to 'make their mark; and everyone always gets and equal chance of winning with a fresh start each challenge. At the end of the year the House Cup should be filled with things that symbolize the events of the school year.
"We have a really amazing student council with dedicated leaders such as Bernadette and Erin," says Paul White, Principal. "This team has worked hard to implement this vision for our students and our school community. What we are seeing already is that our students are really engaged and enjoying being part of their Houses. St. Thomas Aquinas is a really fun place to be and the students are enjoying the laughter, competition and joking. We believe this initiative will translate into student success in academics and increased engagement."
The Houses of St. Thomas Aquinas High School:
St. Francis of Assisi: Environmental Issues
St. Kateri: First Nation, Metis and Inuit Social Justice
St. Cecelia: Arts and Music
St. Peter and St. Paul: Evangelization
St. Mary: Charitable Giving
St. Vincent de Paul: Poverty