|
||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total enrolment | 731 |
| Principal Vice-Principal |
Maria Bernardi Vince Stellato |
| Superintendent | Josephine
Nespolo Tel: 416-222-8282 ext. 5371 |
| Parish | St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church 649 Glenholme Avenue York, Ontario M6E 3G9 416-782-8943 |
| Local Trustee |
Maria Rizzo Tel: 416-512-3405; Fax: 416-512-3405 e-mail: maria.rizzo@tcdsb.org |
| CSAC Chair | Paula Pedro Voice Mailbox #88236 |
| Transportation | For information, please call 416-229-5313 |
History & Tradition
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School began as a two-room annex to St. Clare School in 1921. It grew to eight classrooms and 400 pupils in the present building in 1945, with leadership provided by the Loretto Sisters. Immigration in the 1950s and 60s caused unprecedented growth which brought the school population to 1880 students in 1964. Additions were made to the school in 1954 and 1960, culminating in the present school of 27 classrooms.
Our school is named after St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the greatest teachers of the Catholic church. He was born in 1225 in Italy, in the town of Aquino, and as a boy he attended school at the great monastery of Monte Casino nearby. When Thomas decided, as a young man, to become a Dominican monk, his powerful family, angry that he was rejecting their lifestyle for a life of poverty, took him back by force with a troop of soldiers, and kept him at home for two years. Thomas used this time to study scripture and philosophy on his own. When his family finally let him become a monk he studied in Germany and France, and became a very learned and respected professor with the title of “Doctor of theology”. Thomas Aquinas was consulted by popes, kings, scholars and students from many countries in Europe until his death in 1274. His great theological work, “Summa Theologica” was an important source of religious thought for many centuries, and is still highly respected today. St. Thomas Aquinas School tries to honour this great saint in its Catholic teaching and in all school activities.
How We Meet the Diverse Needs of Our Students
A Catholic environment
St. Thomas Aquinas provides a learning environment where models of Gospel values and Catholic doctrines, teachings and beliefs are an integral part of the daily life of the school. The religious education and family life programs provide students with a firm foundation in their faith development. Some examples of faith activities planned throughout the year are: daily prayers, liturgical events, participation in ShareLife, Christmas basket programs, and several food drives for the Good Shepherd Refuge, Caritas and St. Francis' Table.
A safe environment
We are continuing to work hard to foster a truly Christian environment where every child feels safe. In addition to our safe arrival program (in which absence precipitates a telephone call home) and our code of behaviour which focuses on the golden rule and good manners, we use student conflict managers who are trained to diffuse social problems in the schoolyard. This year the curriculum focus will be on impulse control and anger management.
Curriculum initiatives
Technology
Over the summer of 2005, the library has had a cross-curricular computer lab installed with 32 networked computer stations. With this lab, teachers will provide additional support of students' curriculum with the help of various software and on-line programs.
Services for exceptional students
Regular meetings are held by our school-based support team to identify students with special needs. At these meetings with parents decision may be made to modify or change a student's program. We have classes for gifted students, for student who are learning disabled, developmentally delayed or language impaired; we have a behavioural program, a program for multi-handicapped students and regular special education classes. We have support programs for students who require specific assistance in speech and language, students who are hearing impaired and who need remedial lessons.
Early literacy
Our early childhood development program begins in junior and senior kindergarten programs. Several strategies exist to promote student literacy in the early years: teacher reading, parent reading at home, reading by volunteers, peer reading (by older students), paired reading, remedial reading, etc. The partners in action program (classroom teacher and librarian) assists in our literacy focus and student-produced books are celebrated in our young authors festival. Many of our students are enrolled in our Italian language program.
Co-curricular programs
Students participate in school concerts and music festival and compete in track and field and cross-country competitions. Most are active in our skating program and all participate in the technology fair.
School News
School Calendar 2010-2011
| School Begins | September 7, 2010 |
| Thanksgiving Day | October 11, 2010 |
| Christmas break | December 20-31, 2010 |
| Family Day | February 21, 2011 |
| Mid-Winter Break | March 14-18, 2011 |
| Good Friday | April 22, 2011 |
| Easter Monday | April 25, 2011 |
| Victoria Day | May 23, 2011 |
| Last day of classes for elementary students | June 29, 2011 |
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)
CSAC Minutes - December 2009
CSAC Agenda -
October 2009
CSAC Minutes -
October 2009
St. Thomas Aquinas receives TCSB Employees Credit Union School Community Award.--Details
School Learning Improvement Plan -- 2009-2010
EQAO Assessment Results
School Year |
|
|
| 2008-2009 | ||
| 2007-2008 | ||
| 2006-2007 | ||
| 2005-2006 | ||
| 2004-2005 | ||
