YCDSB ScrabbleFest 2018 was held on the last two Saturdays in April: April 21 (2nd Annual Elementary) and April 28 (5th Annual Secondary).
One hundred and eighteen scrabblers from thirteen YRDSB and YCDSB schools converged to compete in the pairs French Scrabble Tournament, with all proceeds going to Toronto’s SickKids Foundation.
St. Theresa of Lisieux CHS played host to the fundraiser for the fifth year – and provided the following for participants: complimentary t-shirts, gift bags and Certificats de participation; keeper metal Coupes for winning and finalist pairs; and an impressive Draw Bundle of 54 prizes worth over $1,500! While enjoying complimentary pizza, players, volunteers, and visitors were treated to a lunchtime set by the St. Theresa duo of Sonali Goel, on vocals, and Cole Misola, on guitar.
The Grade 7 and 8 Tournament saw Leo J. and Ronin O., from Pleasantville Public School, take home the Coupe d’or, while Louis S. and Joanna S., from St. Justin Martyr Catholic Elementary School, captured the Coupe d’argent.
In the seven-hour secondary Tournament, St. Augustine captured the Coupe d’or in both the Junior category (Aidan Chin, Jason Ho) and Senior category (Emily Sodhi, Alison Borch), while St. Theresa garnered the Coupe d’argent in each (Mustansir Pindwarawala, Mani Pahlevani [Junior], and Nicole Coman, Emily Mitchell [Senior]) « Félicitations! » to all participants, finalists, and winners!
The two-day word event was a celebration of camaraderie, learning, and communal generosity; not surprisingly, many first-time scrabblers vowed to return for next year’s edition of the Tournament. The best part of ScrabbleFest, though, was the collaboration that was witnessed on two efforts: organizationally, by the ScrabbleFest Organizing Committee (SOC) and the volunteers that had been assembled; and the bigheartedness that rallied people of all ages and means: from sponsors to teachers, to parents, to students.
An outstanding $4,000 raised in the 2018 Fundraising Campaign, and a total five-year gift of over $14,100 in aid of the SickKids Foundation!
A huge thank you to our team of 26 Sponsors, without whose support ScrabbleFest would not be possible; elementary and secondary teacher and administrative colleagues, for their commitment to furthering the success of ScrabbleFest; and to everyone who contributed without fanfare.
For 2019, ‘YCDSB ScrabbleFest’ will be renamed ‘York Region ScrabbleFest’ (YRS). The Grade 7 and 8 Tournament is set for Saturday, April 6 (9 am start); the Secondary Tournament is set for Saturday, April 13 (9 am start.)