ST. MOTHER TERESA
Founded in 1998, St. Mother Teresa High School serves students from grades 7 to 12. Sitting at roughly 1,500 students, it’s known for its athletics and art programs.
JA OTTAWA: "SCRUNCHIES" AT MOTHER TERESA
January 24, 2026
On Monday, January 20, JA students at Mother Teresa presented their success to a group of grade 7 and 8 students alongside local members of the business community.
Since the fall they have been working on their Scrunchies product which had the goal of reducing waste by collecting old clothes.
“We called on the school population to help donate old clothes and fabric which we successfully used for our product,” said Kayla DaSilva, President of the company. “These donations and smart shopping at local thrift stores such as Value Village helped ensure that our company was true to its commitment to reducing textile waste.”
The group worked diligently throughout the semester to keep up with the demand throughout the school year, coming up with a final revenue of $890, with a profit $453. The shareholders received a 200 per cent on their investment following a donation of over $60.00 to Greenpeace, a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over 39 countries.
The production of the product was one that wasn’t necessarily difficult, but students had to find a system which worked for them. It consisted of cutting the fabric into strips, gluing both ends of the fabric together, and then use elastics and glue to shape it into a scrunchie.
“We found that the use of an assembly line model for production worked most efficiently,” stated Grace Cosgrove, VP of Production. “The use of an effective production plan allowed us to fully understand all processes and procedures for a successful production run. Having a production plan helped us to clearly see identify milestones and deadlines such as selling events.”
To find out more about their product, check out their Instagram page at: @smt.scrunchies
About Junior Achievers
JA recruits’ volunteers from the local business community and post secondary institutions to lead hands-on experiential learning activities for students from grades 5 to 12.
JA Programs teach entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and work readiness skills by giving students real-world tasks like goal-setting, building a personal budget, exploring interests and career pathways, and working with a team to start a small business.
LEARNING IN THE WORKFORCE
December 6, 2025
Students in St. Mother Teresa High School’s co-op program have had a busy few months in their placements.
Co-op is an opportunity to gain real-world life experience while in school. Most students are given two high school credits during the semester, with the course taking place for roughly three hours a day.
Here is what some of the students have been doing…
Chantal and Emily have been doing their placement at Cedarview Animal Hospital, where they have been assisting with the animals.
Meanwhile, Mohammad has started a new placement at Colonnade Pizza, where George, the owner, has made him feel very welcome,
Emma on the other hand, has been learning how to treat sport injuries and had the chance to learn with a pro rugby player.
Logan Treurniet, who was apart of Mother Teresa’s co-op program in 2013, has recently completed a three-year business program at Algonquin, and is now a Business Development Representative at MicroMetrics!
HANDS ON LEARNING IN HEALTH AND WELLNESS
November 27, 2025
A new program has been started at St. Mother Teresa High School this year which is directed to students who want to get into the health and wellness industry.
That could include careers in the social work/medical field like doctors, nurses, chiropractors, firefighters, and social workers.
The group is made up of 20 grade 11 and 12 students, who all say this has been a great way to get hands on experience in an industry they one day hope to be apart of.
“I saw it as a good opportunity to experience things that have to do with the health sciences field,” said Angela, a grade 11 student in the course. “I heard about the first aid training and the CPR things because my family already has a background in it, so I just decided that I should do it as well.”
“I find a lot of things interesting and when opportunities come up such as this one, I feel like I have to do it,” echoed grade 12 student David. “It is something that I thought might be fun and engaging for me to participate in.”
It is also a great way for them to see if these careers are a fit to them. The students are provided opportunities to fill their resumes with experiences, certifications, and mentorship from people and businesses in the Health and Wellness industry. All students are also enrolled in the school’s co-op program where they are gaining experience in their desired field.
Already this year they have completed their Standard First Aid, CPR C, and AED as well as their Wilderness First Aid. The students say one of their favourite parts of the program so far was having the chance to go out into the bush and live off the grid for three days. They learned how to survive in the elements if they were to ever get lost in the woods.
“We all went forever away out into the forest and did marine and first aid and wilderness survival training where we pitched tents the first night and made shelters with sticks and rope the second night and camped in them,” said grade 11 student Elly. “We made fires, learned how to do first aid when we are away from emergency services.”
Students are now completing their Infection Control Certification and will finish this part of the program off with a field trip to the Paramedic Headquarters for a tour and some engaging opportunities. Other outings which will take place this year include trips to Ottawa U, Carleton, and Algonquin College for tours of their Health and Wellness programs, leadership training, and stress management training.
The students do all of this on their own time, on top of their regular school work load. The program usually takes two years to complete, but any grade 12 students in the program this year will complete it in one year because it did not exist at Mother Teresa last year.
Sue Ragaisis, the Health and Wellness SHSM Lead, said the program is designed to help students who have expressed curiosity in a career in the health and wellness industry gain experience and certifications in their field of study.
“They become experienced and employable in a growing industry,” she said, “and gain exposure to either confirm their interest in this field of study or expose the challenges so they don't spend a lot of time and money after high school only to find out too late that it isn't a good fit.”
REPRESENTING CANADA ON THE WORLD STAGE
October 21, 2025
Recent St Mother Teresa High School graduate Kate Morency has always been interested in the field of business. It was in her blood after all. Her mother Sally is a business teacher at the same school she attended.
So, when the opportunity came up to receive a grant through the Ontario Summer Company Program three summers ago, she ran with it. She started her own business making bath bombs and became so successful she couldn’t keep up with the high demand.
Since then she has been able to travel the world representing Canada’s business interest on the world stage, all through working with Global Vision Canada.
This spring she travelled to Peru to take part in a mission which helped promote economic and cultural ties between the two countries and was sponsored by some big organizations including the Ottawa Catholic School Board, Scotiabank, and the University of Ottawa.
“It was a really great experience because you get experience in sales and marketing,” Morency stated. “I got to experience a different culture and got a lot of experience in national relations. It was just a very different experience from everything I have ever done.”
But the world travelling didn’t stop there. This summer Morency went on a ten-day mission to South East Asia and got to experience the cultures of Singapore and Malaysia. She then attended a digital citizenship conference in Fredericton this September.
“That was put on by Global Vision to help youth from Canada become more aware of digital citizenship,” says Morency. “We talked about topics like fake news, click bait, and stuff like that. The program was designed to equip youth with the skills to navigate through the big sea of internet that we have these days.”
Recently, the 17-year-old was invited by the founder of Global Vision Canada, to attend the APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Corporation) conference in Chile this November.
Every year they host a summit where 21 countries get together to discuss issues affecting their economies and help promote economic wealth and collaboration. While there she will also be among six Canadian youths attending the Voices of the Future conference, where youth delegations from 18 countries will be meeting to discuss issues.
“We will get together at this program and we will discuss issues affecting our economy and will create a youth declaration that will be presented to all of the nation leaders,” she said. “Along with attending that we will also be attending the CEO summit, which is a big networking event with all the CEOs of the leading companies.”
After the summit Morency says she would like to get more involved in the University of Ottawa community, where she is currently studying business management. She would like to join some of the business clubs in the school community and see where that takes her.
Many opportunities have come her way since Morency first went on the trade mission to Peru, and she is excited to see what is next. She said one of her biggest takeaways from running her own business was the importance of networking and making connections, and says it helped give her more confidence.
“Mine is still growing, but it comes with time,” said Morency. “I am still definitely nervous to walk up to some specific people at APEC and to talk to the Prime Minister of Canada, but it is getting better, and I have gained a lot of confidence with experience.”
She has started a Go Fund Me page to raise money for Global Vision Canada. It can be found at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/voices-of-the-future-program-apec-chile-2019?rcid=r01-156989626803-cbcc4a3932d44fef&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w
MAKING IT BIG: ONE LOCAL TEEN'S JOURNEY TO ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
June 28, 2026
She's been playing soccer since the age of four, and has now went on to win Athlete of the Year at her school.
Vittoria Gallivan has just graduated from high school at St. Mother Teresa, and will be starting a new chapter of her life playing soccer for Ryerson University in Toronto.
"I'm more excited than nervous," the former grade 12 student said. "I've met the team at Ryerson, they are a great group of girls, and I'm super pumped to get started."
When Vittoria started grade 9, she knew she wanted to join as many sports teams as possible, and almost joined them all. She joined track and field, basketball, and soccer to name a few. Winning this award was always on her radar, but the meaning behind it has changed.
"My goal was always to get athlete of the year, but then once I received it, I realized I didn't just do it for the title," Vitoria said, "I did it because all my friends are on the team, I have so much fun on the teams, the experience and I also learned a lot as well."
Vittoria says she has always enjoyed sports - especially the game of soccer because it's an opportunity to eat new people, and work collectively as a team. Playing sports in and out of school, Vittoria admits she's sad that school sports are coming to an end, but says she's happy for the memories she made, and the friendships she created.
"I enjoy the community that is around sports (and) I enjoy the people," she said. "I love being a part of a group and having those relationships with my friends and just having a blast playing the sports we love."
The recent high school graduate will now be going on to Ryerson University where she will play for their soccer team, while taking commerce in business. Vittoria is not fully sure what she wants to do besides playing the game she loves, but is interested in the idea of maybe one day becoming a chief marketing officer, before climbing the ranks to a CEO position of a company.
"I'm not really sure what I want to do, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing," she said. "I'm willing to take whatever opportunity comes my way and I have the confidence to believe that I can do anything. When a door opens I'll walk through it."
Vittoria currently plays for the Ottawa South United Soccer Club located in Barrhaven, and plans to spend her summer spending time with friends and family before moving away to a new adventure full of hope, dedication and passion.