About Us
With a rich tradition of excellence dating back to 120 years, Holy Family Catholic School continues to be a community of caring and committed staff, compassionate, dedicated students, and cooperative, involved parents.
Developing skills in our young people to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world within the context of Gospel values is our primary focus. As such, we place a large emphasis on literacy and numeracy skill development, with outlined goals as shown in our School Learning and Improvement Plan. We strive to provide a safe and secure learning environment to enable all students to achieve results that reflect their potential.
How We Meet the Diverse Needs of Our Students
The teachers at Holy Family strive to meet the individual needs of our students by providing comprehensive programming and a safe learning environment.
Catholic Foundation
Holy Family School 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.
Religious instruction, family life programs and values of education provide students with a firm foundation in their faith development. The following are living the faith activities planned throughout the year: paraliturgical celebrations, masses, participating in food drives, the ShareLife campaign, performing for and working with the sick and elderly in hospitals. Our peace education/peer mediation program offers students the opportunity to resolve conflicts in a reconciliatory fashion.
Holy Family School is developing programs from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 which are consistent with Ministry of Education documents. Programs consist of a combination of teacher-directed and student-centered activities in small and large group settings. Programs are planned for exceptional and English as a Second Language students.
Enrichment
Enrichment activities are part of classroom programming. These provide students with the opportunity to work at advanced levels not only in the classroom but in cocurricular activities as well.
Science & Technology
Hands on experiences with building materials, manipulative and other technological tool provide our students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 with the opportunity to apply mathematical and scientific principles to their day-to-day activities.
Computer literacy is a major focus in all classes at Holy Family. Computers can be found in every classroom where students integrate computer activities and work processing with their daily work.
Co-Curricular Program
Work and activities in the immediate and extended community form a vital part of our experiential approach to teaching. Overnight trips to outdoor facilities have been part of our Grade 7 and 8 programs.
Several large cross-curricular activities are planned during the year and rotated among the divisions on a yearly basis. These include science, mathematics and technology fairs, arts festival, concerts, musical or drama presentations.
Other optional activities are planned on the basis of student interest and availability of staff. These may include entry into athletic tournaments such as volleyball, baseball, basketball, cross-country, track and field and soccer or academic tournaments or festivals such as W5H, spoken arts, visual arts, vocal and instrumental music presentations.
Safe Arrival
Our safe arrival program assists us in making sure all our students are accounted for. Parents are asked to call the school to inform us of their child's absence. Students must have a note signed by a parent or guardian in order to leave the school during school hours.
Our History
Holy Family Catholic School opened in 1902 with three rooms to serve the needs of Parkdale’s Catholic community. The school was under the direction of the principal, Sister Ernestine, and two Loretto sisters. Additional rooms were added in 1911 as the community grew. In 1933 an additional teacher was hired to assume teaching duties, as one class had 64 students. As enrolment continued to increase, additional rooms were added in 1957 and 1965. A major addition in 1982 added the current gymnasium, library and more classrooms. Finally, the school in its present form was completed with the addition of classrooms and a community centre in 1999.
To read the original corner stone which is enclosed on the west face of the current structure - “School of the Holy Family” - reminds us all of the indelible influence of the Loretto Sisters on the early students of our school and their continuing legacy. As pioneers in education in their time, the Loretto Sisters fostered and nurtured Catholic education and the pursuit of academic excellence. Our school community today bears witness to their dedication through kindness, compassion and concern for each other.
Code of Conduct
A code of conduct, developed by a committee of staff, students and parents, is available upon request from the principal.
