St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School (elementary--Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8)

80 Clinton Street, Toronto M6G 2Y3

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History & Tradition

The original school was built in 1886, and is one of the six original parochial schools in the Archdiocese. The addition, built in 1965, was built to accommodate the great influx of Italian and Portuguese immigrants to the area. We are proud to have our school dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi.

The Story of St. Francis of Assisi

In 1182 a boy named Francis was born in the Italian city of Assisi to wealthy merchants who gave him all he wanted. Young Francis led a carefree life, but always gave money to beggars.

When he became a soldier, he soon saw how cruel war was and how poor people suffered. Francis abandoned his career and his wealth and began to serve God and the poor. He begged for food and then gave it to the hungry. His loving nature drew many followers and in 1209 the religious order of Franciscans was started.

St. Francis spoke about God in simple words so that everyone could understand. He started a tradition of having a crèche, a nativity scene at Christmas, so that people could see the joy of Christ's birth in a poor stable.

Our school is proud to bear his name.

Meeting the Diverse Needs of Our Students...

Within the Catholic environment of daily prayer and religious instruction, our students are given many opportunities to participate actively in our Catholic faith. Daily, one or two children read a prayer or Bible passage over the public address system and each class takes a turn preparing for these readings and prayers. Our liturgies and celebrations are very child-centered, and children are involved in the preparation as well as in the celebrations themselves. Daily prayer, both formal and informal, is an integral part of every class program.

On a cyclical basis, specific initiatives are targeted for intensive development. For the next few years, special emphasis will be put on mathematics, science and technology, reading and school culture.

Children lean and develop at different rates and we strive to meet their individual needs, given the resources available to us, through program modification. Programs are further modified for exceptional students as prescribed by identification and placement review committee or teacher determination.

One of our primary concerns is to provide our children with a safe and welcoming environment and to this end we take very seriously our safe arrival program. We will call the home of each student who is absent after 9:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. Please help us by calling the school when your child is going to be absent or late.

As well, our school has set out a very clear set of expectations in regards to student conduct and behaviour. The children are very familiar with these expectations, and a copy is sent home each year.

St. Francis' staff and students are expected to:

• Show respect for yourself by the way you speak, dress and conduct yourself
• Be courteous and respectful towards all others; children and adults alike
• Show respect for school property and the personal property of others
• Come to school every day, arrive on time, bring required materials for full participation, and complete all assignments to the best of your ability
• Notify the school when absent
• Comply with classroom, school and board rules, and be very cooperative during all school activities
• Wear clothing appropriate to an educational and Catholic environment. This includes no wearing of make-up or offensive slogans or caricatures on t-shirts
• Contribute fully to the Christian climate of the school by taking pride in being a good citizen of St. Francis of Assisi

Consequences: Inappropriate behaviour may result in:

• Verbal reminders
• Writing a reflection paper or student action plan
• Detentions
• Removal of privileges
• Communication with home
• A meeting with parents or guardians
• Making amends and repairing the damage to property and relationships
• An assignment in a supervised area
• A meeting with the principal
• Formal suspension in keeping with the Ministry of Education and school board policy

School News

PA Days 2008-2009

• October 24

• November 14

• December 5

• February 13

• March 13

• June 26

Students Reach Out to Developing Nations
Students at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School hope to make a lasting difference in the lives of other children by donating funds towards school kits, clean water and goats for families in developing nations. Organized by a group of grade 7 students who were inspired by National Me to We Day, the school community raised over $1000 through bake sales, candy cane and bell sales as well as donations in lieu of traditional teacher gifts at Christmas.  Sara Young, Outreach Coordinator for Free The children’s Youth Programming Department was on hand at the school to accept the cheque, which was presented last month at the school. As well as their work for Free the Children, this motivated group of grade 7 students also organized “Halloween for Hunger, with which they collected food for the food bank while trick or treating, and collected more than 80 coats for Coats for Kids and Adults in Toronto.

School Learning Plan -- 2007-2008

EQAO Assessment Results

EQAO: