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

230 Humbercrest Boulevard, York, Ontario M6S 4L3

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History & Tradition

St. James was the son of Zabedee and Salone, brother of Saint John the Apostle, and may also have been the cousin of Jesus.  He is called “the Greater” simply because he became an Apostle before John the Lesser.  Saint James was a fisherman who left everything when Christ called him to become “a fisher of people”. James was a close confident of Jesus. It is believed that he preached in Samaria, Judea and Spain.  He died a martyr. (refer Matthew 4:21, Mark 1:19 and Luke 5:10) 

St. James is the Patron Saint of pilgrims and rheumatism.

We celebrate the Feast of St James on July 25^th. 

St. James Catholic School was built in 1960 to meet the needs of a community, which at that time, and  had a large Maltese population. The school was named after St. James the apostle, and is one of two schools in St. James Parish.

St. James School, is located in the City of York and near the intersection of Jane and Dundas Streets.  It was originally established as a junior school (kindergarten to grade 6) but now includes grade 7 and 8 because of the increase population.

Our students come from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds.  They learn and grow in a caring school community environment which stresses commitment to our Catholic faith, acceptance of others and high academic standards. We provide all programmes consistent with the Ontario Ministry of Education and the Toronto Catholic
District School Board.  We are committed to creating a positive Catholic atmosphere within our school, and we also realize that parents are the first and foremost educators of their children and we as Catholic educators are “partners of the parents”  The third essential part of this triad is the Catholic church.

We are one of the 2 schools that share in celebration of our faith at our parish “St James Catholic Church” We work with our parish, as we help our students’ develop their faith via monthly liturgies, sacramental preparation and classroom visits.

How We Meet the Diverse Needs of Our Students

St. James Catholic School Community is Christ-centred and encourages all to learn to the best of their ability.  We pride ourselves as being a safe and welcoming environment for our students as we build our Catholic community, this is a vital part of our mission statement as a school part in the Toronto Catholic District School Board. We begin with a strong focus on the curriculum and make adjustments for individual needs

Our programs include but are not limited to:

·        Instruction for students from Junior Kindergarten to grade 8

·        Vocal music

·        Instrumental music grades 6-8

·        Classes for pupils identified with learning exceptionalities

·        Assistance for students requiring English as a second language

·        An enrichment programme on a withdrawal basis for pupils identified as gifted

·        A school-based support team (SBST) and interdisciplinary team, for assistance with programming

·        Exceptional students are integrated into regular programmes, and withdrawal for individual and small groups as required

·        Instructional is provide to serve the differentiated learning styles of our students

·        FSL-French for students for grade 1-8

·        Co-curricular activities

·        Extra-curricular activities 

We strive to keep all stakeholders informed via this website, our monthly newsletter (which informs the community of upcoming celebrations, reports and events), monthly calendars, classroom letters, email from the office, and phone calls.

Our aim is to build a community that:

·        Is based on openness

·        Equality

·        Respect

·        A sense of belonging

As we journey together as a faith community, consisting of students, parents, staff and church, we:

·        Strive for excellence

·        Commit ourselves to live our vision

·        Acknowledge our uniqueness, gifts, and talents of our diverse community

·        Strive to create an atmosphere which nurtures our Catholic Faith.

As a Catholic community, one of our foremost tasks is to provide an environment in which we model our action, words and beliefs on the life of Jesus.

 In our diverse population, we work to meet each student’s spiritual, academic, social and emotional needs. We realize that all our students learn at different rates and in different ways and we strive to ensure that all our students achieve success.  To help our students achieve success, certain lessons may be modified, accommodated or enriched to suit their learning needs.  These programmes are discussed and implemented via our on site staff (SBST) and our readily available special services team (JTM)

Students with special needs are identified formally, via an assessment process, and students’ needs are met in our community.  Our parents are constantly kept aware of programme modification via verbal and written communication from staff and principal.

School life fills and important social/emotional need for our children.  Relationship is an important value. We also realize that our students need to be active and this is provided in our DPA-Daily Physical Activity programme as well as interschool and extra-curricular sports.

As any community we grow, develop, and change.  This growth and development always includes all stakeholders- students, staff, parents, church and the community at large.

I encourage you to check our website monthly for updates, photos and celebrations as we grow and develop as this special community of St James as a community of life long learners.

Let us go forth and celebrate our successes!!!

School News

St James student heads to Queen’s Park
Tristen Groves, one of our grade 7 students has been selected to serve as a Legislative Page at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in Toronto.  He was chosen as one of 20 students from across the province.  He will serve on the floor of the legislative messenger on the floor of the Legislative Assembly, meet key parliamentary figures and learn about Ontario’s parliamentary system.

Tristen earned this spot in the programme by submitting an application that included an essay, in which he outlined his achievement, involvement and his suitability for the programme.  He also had to show an interest in current affairs, have an 80% or higher average and get along with peers and adults.

Tristen’s assignments will include an 8:00am until 4.30 or 6:00 pm workday.  He will learn how the province is governed, how laws are made and how they assist in this process.  He will also be required to memorize the Chamber seating plan (107 MPPs), become familiar with the day to day activities of the legislature and know the functions of key legislative personnel  (e.g. the Speaker)  He will also be required to spend 2-3 hours weekly on math assignments and materials assigned from the school.  Language arts will be integrated in the page programme—including reading, writing and oral communication components.

Tristen will begin this exciting endeavour next month for a 4 week period.  Congratulation on being selected to take part in this positive and enriching educational experience.

St James Catholic School is the proud recipient of the Garfield Weston Award for Excellence in Education
We were chosen for the "remarkable academic accomplishments of our students. Results of 2742 elementary schools were analyzed on three dimensions. (90 schools were selected in total. 30 in 3 categories)

St James award "recognized school teams whose unparalleled dedication to teaching ensures their students succeed academically regardless of the fact that these students do not have access to the same privileges and resources as others." Congratulations to all our students, their families and our dedicated staff. The staff was applauded for their dedication to excellence and above all their willingness to give so generously of themselves for the sake of the students. Well done!

School Learning Improvement Plan -- 2009-2010

Safe School Plan -- 2009-2010

EQAO Assessment Results

EQAO: