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

396 Spring Garden Avenue, North York, Ontario M2N 3H5

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History & Tradition

St. Gabriel Catholic School is named after “St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin”, who was born in Assisi, Italy in 1838. St. Gabriel was a clever, loving, talented and accomplished marksman who had a profound devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He recognized early in life the desire to follow God's will by becoming a Passionist priest. St. Gabriel died in 1862 at the young age of 24. He was beatified in 1903 and canonized in 1920. His feast day is February 27th.

St. Gabriel Catholic School first opened its doors in 1953. The first six classrooms and other facilities of the school housed 210 students. Over the years, as North York grew, so did the school population, and several additions to the physical plant were made in 1956, 1963 and 1966. As the enrollment fluctuated and space became available, the North York administrative offices of the Toronto Catholic District School Board (formerly Metropolitan Separate School Board) occupied the original section of the building. A day care facility was added in 1986. The school population grew and reached 490 in 1993, creating a need to reclaim the original building.

On May 3, 1995, a re-blessing celebration of St. Gabriel School took place. The community was pleased to welcome back Mother St. Albert, the first principal of the school.

Our community, which encompasses home, school and parish, is active and dedicated to realizing our school mission statement. The staff endeavours to nurture the development of the physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs of the students in a Christ-centered environment.

How We Meet the Diverse Needs of Our Students?

The St. Gabriel Mission Statement is as follows:

“Acknowledging the Mission and vision statements of the TCDSB, we at St. Gabriel Catholic School will strive to create an environment in which the meeting of the individual's intellectual, spiritual, emotional, social and physical needs will foster academic excellence, peaceful co-existence, creative problem-solving and personal community and global responsibility.”

In keeping with the statement, our school is committed to the collaborative development, implementation and review of programs to ensure that they are excellent, equitable and reflect an individualized integrated learning experience for students. This is achieved within the framework of a Catholic education philosophy.

Of paramount importance is the necessity of providing a safe and welcoming learning environment for our students. Programs and practices have been devised to ensure that this happens. Not only does St. Gabriel have a clearly defined code of behaviour, it also has an organized safe arrival program. We continue to stress the need for effective conflict resolution strategies and self-esteem programs.

The staff and parents of St. Gabriel recognize the uniqueness of every student. Individual needs of students are met in a variety of ways including access to:

• Special education programs
• Enrichment/gifted programs
• Guidance/social work
• English as a second language and French as a second language
• Speech and language assistance

St. Gabriel School places a high priority on diversification within the regular program. Appropriate adjustments are made to program outcomes to reflect the school culture, linguistic diversity and student learning styles through:

• An integrated curriculum
• Excursions
• Computer literacy programs
• Special art and drama productions
• Teaching/learning activities that meet student needs
• Individual and group activities
• Paired reading
• “Be free” program
• Prime mentors

Our school day is enriched and enhanced by many co-curricular activities. Students are involved in religious celebrations, young authors programs, mathematics projects, choir, a drama club, play day, carnival, W5H, curriculum fairs and athletic activities including very successful ski excursions and Toronto-wide swim meet.

School News

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)

Intermediate W5H Tournaments
The Toronto Catholic District School Board hosted its annual Intermediate W5H Tournament on May 3^rd at the Catholic Education Centre. Intermediate students from elementary schools across the TCDSB competed in the annual general knowledge quiz. The tournament gets its name from the 5 Ws of Who, What, When, Where and Why, as well as the H, which stands for How. St. Gabriel and St. Vincent de Paul were joint City third, St. Maria Goretti finished as City finalists and Father Serra Catholic School were awarded as the 2010 champions.

ME TO WE- BRICK BY BRICK, ST. GABRIEL SCHOOL REACHES ITS GOAL
In the autumn of 2007 St. Gabriel School decided to “be the change” and support the TCDSB in its partnership with Free the Children. Along with hundreds of other schools across Canada, St.Gabriel School was proud to join the Me to We youth movement.

A school “Me to We committee” was formed and our students embarked on a journey of new awareness and social change.        

As their first goal in 2007, the Me to We committee decided on the water and sanitation component of the Adopt a Village programme. The student committee chose Kenya as the country on which to focus. Fundraisers included dances for the intermediates, Halloween activities for the primary and juniors and school-wide raffles (with excellent prizes donated by our parent community.) In June of 2008, St. Gabriel was able to present a cheque in the amount of $3120.00 to Free the Children to fund the provision of a clean water source to a village in Kenya.  

In September of 2008 a second, more ambitious goal was established: to raise $8500.00 to fund the building of a school in Kenya. In 2009 a major fundraiser was the sale of Advent “candle kits” at St. Gabriel Parish. In June 2009 the first installment of $5064.00 was given to Free the Children.  

At Christmas 2009 a school-wide art project “Paint for Kenya” was undertaken. Each student created an original acrylic painting and the art work was sold on two gallery nights around parent-teacher interviews. Student Council and CSAC donations as well as weekly beverage sales on pizza day provided additional revenue. In mid-April the goal of $8500.00 was reached.  

St.Gabriel School prepared to celebrate and to present the balance of the funds to Free the Children on May 6, during Catholic Education Week. Samantha Bourdon, the Me to We Youth Coordinator for TCDSB schools, arranged for a very special guest speaker to address the students on this special occasion.  

Spencer West, is an inspirational and charismatic speaker who talks candidly about the struggles he overcame after losing his legs at the age of five, and how he never lost the hope or courage he needed to overcome personal obstacles.  Filled with both humour and humility, his thought-provoking message motivates people to find opportunity in every challenge.  The St.Gabriel community was truly inspired by Spencer’s presence and message.  

With great thanks to the students, families, staff and parish community, St.Gabriel School was able to raise over $12,600.00 in under three years. Our appreciation is extended to the TCDSB and to Free the Children for offering the opportunity and structure that the students needed to make a contribution to the global community.

School Learning Improvement Plan -- 2009-2010

Safe School Plan -- 2009-2010

EQAO Assessment Results

EQAO: