Kenora Catholic District School Board

Stellar Awards Honours Arts Students at St. Thomas Aquinas High School

Posted on 06/13/2018

It was time to celebrate the arts last night at the annual Stellar Awards at St. Thomas Aquinas. The banquet recognized the hard work, dedication and achievements of the students at St. Thomas Aquinas in the arts including culinary, drama, visual, instrumental and vocal.

This was a fantastic year for St. Thomas Aquinas including such achievements as putting on the production The Butler Did It, the senior band taking home a silver award at the 46th annual MusicFest Canada Nationals in Toronto, and students rocking the gym with the vocal show Jukebox Heroes.

Grade 10 student Jesse McIsaac was honoured with two awards at the ceremony and he spoke about the support he's received from his teachers.

"The music teachers are awesome. I wouldn't be the musician I am without their leadership and the time they put into helping me and all the other students in the music programs," he said.

McIsaac won the Entertainer Award and Leadership of the Crew Award for the school's drama production.

"I think it's awesome to have an evening celebrating the arts. We all work so hard throughout the year and it's nice to have something celebrating everyone," he said.

Grade 9 student Jordyn Gravelle-Fortes won the Drama Dedication Award and was also a presenter as one of the organizers of the Drama Club at STA.

"With the Drama Club it's a lot of fun. You get to see the people who will be running the program in the future, so that's fun to see it's in good hands," she said. "With the drama production this year it was a small cast which I'm not used to, but it was a lot of fun because you got to know people a lot more. This year I also got to play the villain which was a lot of fun."

Renowned Canadian stage director Edward Franko was this year's guest speaker. He focused on both the achievements and obstacles he's faced throughout his career encouraging students to persevere.

"The saying really is true. When one door closes another one opens," said Franko during his speech.

The evening was capped off with the presentation of the Renaissance Award. Bob and Kathy Valentini were this year's recipients of the award, which recognizes a community member who supports the arts community at St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Click on the link below for a full listing of 2018 Stellar Award Winners:

2018 Stellar Award Winners