St. Aidan Catholic School (elementary--Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8)

3521 Finch Avenue East, Scarborough, Ontario M1W 2S2

• School News

History & Tradition

St. Aidan Catholic School is operated by the Toronto Catholic District School Board. Opened in 1973, the school continues thrive and be active in the community.

The main focus at St. Aidan Catholic School is the children. This definitely relates to our school's patron, Saint Aidan, who had a real love for children.

Aidan was born in Ireland. We first heard of him as a monk on the Scottish island of Iona. He studied under St. Senan and became a monk at Iona Monastery. He was soon called to Britain by King St. Oswald of Northumbria, who sought to convert his kingdom to Christianity. Having received consecration from the bishop in the monastery of Iona, Aidan chose the island of Lindisfarne as the seat of his bishopric. He soon became known for his knowledge of the Bible, his eloquent preaching, his holiness, his distaste for pomp, his kindness toward the poor and the many miracles attributed to his intercession. In many ways the island resembled Iona, and here was erected the first Christian church of the whole district.

He founded the Benedictine Monastery at Lindisfarne to educate many missionaries in their own country and established many missionary centres, wholeheartedly supported by his patron, the king. Aidan received from the kings and rich men many gifts, all of which he gave to the poor and the needy. He always traveled on foot, far and wide, visiting his flock, and he kept none of the gifts of land bestowed upon the church by the Saxon kings and nobles, being content with Lindisfrarne. He took a keen interest in the education of children, and the emancipation of slaves. Every church and monastery founded by him became a school where the English children received from Aidan's monks a comprehensive education.

St. Aidan made his teaching acceptable by his practice. King St. Oswald died a martyr in 642; his death was greatly felt by Aidan, but his successor, Oswin, who was also martyred in 651, was also dear to him. St. Aidan fell sick on one of his missionary journeys, and died the same year, on August 31, 651 at the royal castle at Bamburgh. His body was laid to rest in his monastic cathedral of Lindisfarne.

How We Meet the Diverse Needs of Our Students

As indicated in jour community profile, Saint Aidan Catholic School has a diversified student population which means, as a staff, we must be prepared to meet the needs of our student population. 

It is essential to sense the pulse of the community based on our major objective to ensure the Catholicity of the school in addition to providing a safe and welcoming environment.  To this end, we have adopted a Code of Conduct that clearly outlines the expectations of all students to treat one another with respect and kindness at all times. 

Many leadership opportunities are provided for all students especially the Grade Eight students in the school. Empowering students to not only reach their full potential academically but also as respectful individuals in society is an important goal.

St. Aidan Catholic School prides itself on the delivery of curriculum to all students in all grades. The staff is an extremely hard working and qualified group of dedicated teachers that work co-operatively with their divisions.  They are continually demonstrating that they are life long learners as well, as they attend workshops and courses to receive the latest strategies in education and implement them fully into their teaching.

Our early Language program meets the needs of all children in the early grades JK-3, which is called “Balanced Literacy”. The approach is designed to scaffold instruction so that young students are continually growing and learning at their own personal level of instruction. The day is balanced with 30 minute blocks of Writing, Self-Selected Reading, Guided Reading, and Word Study lessons. In this manner, all students receive an optimal start with Language as a priority.  Mathematics is also delivered on a daily basis and is divided into various strands such as Numeration, Patterning, Data and Probability. The teachers use the Nelson Math series along with other support materials and manipulatives to re-enforce skills. 

In Grade 4-8, the Language and English programmes are taught in a similar manner, however longer periods of time are dedicated to the core subjects.  The delivery of the Language Arts curriculum may take a variety of forms such as Novel studies, Independent Reading, Literature Circles and Reader’s Theatre.  The Mathematics program is delivered using textbooks, handouts and manipulatives.  The grade 7 and 8 students have different teachers for rotary subjects such as Science, Geography and History.  This introduces them to the concept of having many different teachers in High School as well as allow teachers to have expertise in one subject. 

The students at St. Aidan Catholic School derive benefit from a wide variety of activities within our co-curricular program. The following are some of the activities offered:

• Special Education classes
• Terry Fox Run
• English as a Second Language Classes
• Primary Reading Specialist Groups
• Junior/Intermediate W5H club
• School choir
• Play Day
• Christmas Concert
• School Masses
• Liturgical celebrations: Advent, Lent, Pentecost
• Sacramental preparations: First Communion, Reconciliation, Confirmation
• Athletics: volleyball, basketball, primary indoor soccer, track & field, tennis, cross country, badminton, chess, yearbook committee
• Best Start Early Learning Centre and On-site Daycare

These activities are coordinated and supervised by staff on a voluntary basis.

The St. Aidan Catholic School advisory committee meet during the evening, many times throughout the year to discuss ways to share ideas and support school initiatives.  We are very thankful for all of their support and volunteer work.

The St. Aidan Catholic School community is a vital and enthusiastic group where the school and home link is valued as an important tool to benefit all members.

School News                                                                                                  

PA Days 2008-2009

• October 10

• October 24

• December 5

• February 13

• March 13

• June 26

“Kiss the Fish” for Adopt a Village
The staff and students of St. Aidan Catholic School recently gathered to witness the SOOPAR Squad's Kiss the Fish Event.  The SOOPAR Squad (Students Optimizing Opportunities for Potential Awareness Raising) consists of seven Grade 8 students who have taken on the leadership role of bringing environmental, social, and global awareness to the school community.  A week prior to the Kiss the Fish event, the SOOPAR Squad sold ballots to the students to vote for their favourite staff member to “kiss the fish”.  The three staff members with the top number of votes were obliged to 'kiss the fish' in front of the entire school.  All proceeds have been donated to the Adopt a Village campaign founded by the Free the Children Organization.  Their goal for the month of May is to bring awareness to the students about the daily challenges of children living in poverty. 

Left to Right:  Madison Drummond, Thema Perez, Dorothy Manuel, Camela Fejer, Davy Diane Black, Wynton Gregoire, Antonistan Gunasingham

St. Aidan Catholic School Receives The Barb and Marek Brodzki Literacy Award 
The Angel Foundation for Learning and the Toronto Catholic District School Board congratulate St. Aidan Catholic School for winning The Barb and Marek Brodzki Literacy Award. The $500.00 award will be presented at the Annual Literacy Tea on April 15, 2008 in the Atrium at Catholic Education Centre, 80 Sheppard Avenue East. 

The proposal, formulated by Erin McTernan, Special Education Teacher at St. Aidan, outlines that the funds from The Barb and Marek Brodzki Literacy Award will be used to purchase a combination of resources that will not only foster a literacy program inspired by the Four Blocks of Literacy, but will also help build social skills in oral communication.   

The Barb and Marek Brodzki  Literacy Award honours the memory of Barb Brodzki, who devoted many years of her life to special needs children. Barb was passionate in her love of special needs children and providing them with quality literature.  Marek’s name was added to this award posthumously in recognition of his support of Barb’s dedication and his own interest in literacy. 

School Learning Plan -- 2007-2008

EQAO Assessment Results

EQAO: