Holy Spirit Catholic School (elementary--Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8)

3530 Sheppard Ave. E., Scarborough, Ontario M1T 3K7

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History & Tradition

Holy Spirit Catholic School is built on a 3.08-acre site behind Holy Spirit Church. It opened in September 1961 with 498 students. Surrounded by fields to the north, east and west as far as eye could see, Holy Spirit was the only Catholic school north of Highway 401 and east of Bayview.

Holy Spirit School has a history of striving for excellence in serving students form junior kindergarten to grade 8 in the Catholic community. The school serves the community in the area bounded by Huntingwood to the north, Pharmacy to the west, highway 401 to the south and Kennedy to the east. School buses run along four different routes to transport children to the school each day.

A plethora of exemplary practices has become established over the years: e.g., the safe arrival program, flower day for first communicants, celebration with the confirmed, awards at monthly divisional assemblies, athletics, environmental responsiveness, volunteers' luncheon, seniors' tea and “NBC” for non-violent body contact. Staff, students and parents collaborate to maintain a positive and nurturing environment at Holy Spirit Catholic School.

How We Meet the Diverse Needs of Our Students

The professionalism, dynamism and diverse experience of the staff bring a rich and global dimension to our multicultural community:

• A safe, well-organized and inviting learning environment
• A Christian community formed by Catholic beliefs and values
• Effective communication between staff and parents
• An empowering atmosphere among the staff, between teachers and students and among the students themselves.

Holy Spirit Catholic School recognizes that an education in the most enabling environment must be provided for all students. It is a shared responsibility among school, home, church and community to provide the opportunity for all students to achieve their maximum potential and strive to be the best they can be. To this end, we engage the support of all stakeholders in facilitating the spiritual, social, academic, physical and effective development of the students.

Besides the use of a balanced timetable, current resources and technology, we advocate the principle of integration and modification of programs to meet individual student needs and to ensure learning outcomes. Throughout the year, many opportunities are provided for students and parents to collaborate with teachers in collecting and reviewing assessment information for programming purposes.

In addition to the regular programs from kindergarten to grade 8, Holy Spirit Catholic School offers: enrichment opportunities for gifted students, special education classes for those with learning disabilities, the developmentally and the physically challenged, English as a Second Language for new Canadians, vocal music from junior kindergarten through grade 8, instrumental music for grades 7 to 8 and lessons for students with speech impediments.

Interdisciplinary resources, such as guidance, social work, psychology and educational consultation/assessments are also made available to the school. The school-based support process draws on the expertise of the interdisciplinary team and when necessary, utilizes the identification, placement and review committee (IPRC) to address the individual needs of students.

School News

School Calendar 2010-2011

PA Days 2010-2011

• September 2, 2010 (Faith Development/Provincial Education Priorities)
• November 19, 2010 (Parent Teacher Conference)
• January 21, 2011 (Assessment and Evaluation)
• February 18, 2011 (Parent Teacher Conference)
• May 20, 2011 (Assessment and Evaluation)
• June 30, 2011 (Provincial Education Priorities)

2009-2010 Exemplary Practice Award Winner
Holy Spirit Catholic School for “Comics Unlimited”
Comic’s Unlimited was a program designed to engage boys (and girls) with a unique and “different” reading opportunity (via Graphic Novels/Comics and e-Comics were acquired and loaded onto Desktop and Laptop computers that were used in the classrooms and leaned to students for use at home (eg 1 week loans).   As part of the Library Renewal process, Graphic novels suited to various grade levels were purchased for the Library.  As an adjunct, technology was incorporated into the Language, Arts, Drama and Family Life programs in order to go beyond the reading of comics – Students were engaged in software utilization to produce original comics for one another, using Comics Unlimited and later BitStrips, as part of the Language program and to augment other curriculum area.  (Social Situation Comics as part of the Family Life Program).  Students reading levels (mainly the students in the primary and early junior divisions) were measured before, during and after the project by way of the running records reading assessment.  In all cases, there was significant improvements not3ed in the reading levels of the subject group, through the level of improvement could not be solely attributed to the project alone.

School Learning Improvement Plan -- 2009-2010

Safe School Plan -- 2009-2010

EQAO Assessment Results

EQAO: