Our Lady of Guadalupe
Catholic School (elementary)

3105 Don Mills Road, North York, Ontario, M2J 3C2

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History & Tradition

Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School, located at Don Mills Road and Seneca Hill Drive in North York, offers a full curriculum of Catholic education to Roman Catholic students from Junior Kindergarten (age 4) to grade 8.  Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School is one of three Catholic elementary schools within the St. Timothy Catholic Church Parish. 

Opened in September 1971, the school was officially blessed on April 30th, 1972 and dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas and Protectress of the unborn. The vision of Mary, the Mother of Jesus appeared to Juan Diego in 1531 at Guadalupe, Mexico, requesting that Juan Diego ask the Bishop to have a church built in Guadalupe.  The Bishop refused Juan Diego’s request two times.  On Mary’s third appearance to Juan, she presented him with roses to be delivered to the Bishop as a sign.  Since it was the middle of winter, the roses were a miracle.  When Juan knelt before the Bishop for a third time, he threw the roses on the floor and the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared on Juan’s cloak.  Immediately, the Bishop approved the building of the shrine on the spot where all the appearances occurred.  Today, within the shrine at Guadalupe, along with the roses, is Juan’s cloak with the image of Mary on it. 

Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School was built as an open concept school and has since undergone renovation to build individual classrooms.  Currently there is one portable, which houses the Professional Learning Centre on Literacy.   Our Junior Kindergarten room has access to a separate play area for the Junior Kindergarten students.  The single gymnasium has large separate change rooms for boys and girls and also has a kitchen.  In addition, the gymnasium  has a dual purpose as an auditorium with a full stage.   Furthermore, our gymnasium is used as a congregated lunch room facility for all the students from grades 1-8.  The library on the second floor also serves as a computer lab. 

How We Meet the Diverse Needs of Our Students

Education, at Our Lady of Guadalupe, is a tapestry of the collaboration between the parish, home, community and school.  Together with the church and home, we create and celebrate a Catholic community where all proclaim the Good News of the Gospel and where Catholic beliefs are modelled and integrated into the whole learning experience.  Every effort is made to meet the unique needs, abilities, and interests of each individual child so that all students become happy, responsible and Christ-centred life- long learners.  The staff organizes Liturgies of the Word, Play Day, Carnaval, morning readings and prayers, and the events of the school day. 

In our mission of creating a safe and welcoming learning environment, all students are encouraged to take risks, learn and respect self and others.  Our motto is Live, Love, and Learn.  We celebrate diversity and uniqueness and encourage everyone to achieve their full potential in mind, body and spirit through a well balanced program rooted in Gospel Values.  Administrative procedures and classroom practices at our Lady of Guadalupe are built around this notion.  An extensive variety of materials, management of curriculum, professional activities and support services are set up to achieve this aim.  Classroom teachers draw on special training and on their own resources and talents to bring this together for each student.  To ensure safety at all times, the staff and students practice various emergency procedures such as Fire Drills, and Lockdowns throughout the year.  Exterior doors to the school are usually locked and all visitors are required to sign in at the office.  Currently a video display system hooked up to the administration computers is installed at the front door of the school.   Thus, we have security 24 hours a day as the video is hooked up to Security at the Catholic Education Centre (CEC) 80 Sheppard Avenue East.   Parents of students with allergies, or who require medication are encouraged to notify the office to ensure the safety of the student while at school. 

Curriculum initiatives ensure learning expectations which take into account the varied learning styles of our students.  The programme changes, develops and adapts based upon the needs of the students within each classroom.  Our teachers are committed to the belief that every student has a right to learn and provide and document modifications and accommodations to the programme in the Individual Education Plan (IEP).  In order to ensure improvement and better results teachers attend professional development workshops that focus on broadening their range of skills, practices and activities.   

French is a mandatory subject for all students in grades one to eight.  The interests of our students are accommodated through extra-curricular activities in sports, the arts, technology, enrichment and computer literacy.  All students in grades one to six receive Vocal Music on a weekly basis and students in grades seven and eight receive Instrumental Music.  More specialized programs include Enrichment, English as a Second Language, Learning Disability, and Special Education.   Our students participate in various sports teams – Volleyball, Basketball, Soccer, Cross Country, Track and Field.  Our choir and Instrumental band are often showcased in the Music Festival. 

Professional Learning Centre:  Focus on Assessment

Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School hosts one of the thirty Professional Learning Centre/Networks within the Toronto Catholic District School Board.

Officially launched in 2002, the Professional Learning Centre provides ongoing professional development opportunities for teachers in the area of literacy and assessment.  The Professional Learning Centre teacher provides literacy support and strategies to schools throughout the board.   Teams of teachers meet throughout the year to learn literacy strategies, effective assessment and instructional methods, share best practices, and collaboratively develop strategies to enhance student learning.  The Professional Learning Centre also provides year-round access to professional resources and educational materials.

Arrowsmith Program

The Arrowsmith Program at Our Lady of Guadalupe offers an alternative program designed for students identified with a Learning Disability.  The Arrowsmith program is founded on an innovative brain-based technique of repetitive mental exercises designed to strengthen weak brain areas.  Extensive diagnostic testing is used to identify specific learning capacities of the students who then work on individual programs of exercises that are designed for their areas of difficulty.  Students in the program typically spend several periods per day on the Arrowsmith Program exercises and still participate in part of the regular academic program.  

Faith and Character Development and Power of Positive Students (POPS)

The Power of Positive Students (POPS) Program focuses on helping students, teachers and parents build positive attitudes, life skills and character.  Each month, a key virtue is introduced, defined and modelled at a school assembly.  The school community focuses on the virtue of the month through school activities and class discussions.  At the end of each month, students are recognized for demonstrating the virtue in their interactions with peers and adults.   We follow the TCDSB’s Faith and Character Development Monthly Themes.

On Thursday, December 6^th , 2007, at the TCDSB event, Faith and Character Development:  A TCDSB Celebration, held at the Metro Convention Centre, students, parents, clergy and staff gathered as one “…community of Faith, anchored in Hope with love in Charity.”  The following Faith and Development Themes were chosen by the 1200 participants at the event:

FAITH AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT MONTHLY THEMES

September                   Hospitality

October                       Gratitude

November                   Peacemaking

December                    Charity

January                        Courage  

February                      Love  

March                          Forgiveness

April                            Justice

May                             Compassion

June                             Faithfulness  

School News

June 26
PA Day

The parents Reaching Our Grant awarded to Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School, by the Ontario Ministry of Education in February 2007, enabled our students and staff the opportunity to share family recipes with one another.  The Our Lady of Guadalupe Multicultural Cookbook was given to each person who submitted a recipe.  Our community will share many special moments in the kitchen preparing and eating many of the delicious recipes.   

School Learning Plan -- 2007-2008

EQAO Assessment Results

EQAO: