About Us
For over 50 years, St. Catherine Catholic School has served our community by recognizing and meeting the diverse needs of our students. Like a family, our community has demonstrated the willingness and commitment to work together to support one another to improve the lives of those entrusted to our care. Together, through the combined efforts of our families, Precious Blood Church, and our own St. Catherine staff collaborating in harmony as one voice, we develop, celebrate, and nurture the wholeness of the human person, as reflected in our Catholic Graduate Expectations:
A discerning believer.
An effective contributor.
A reflective, creative and holistic thinker.
A collaborative contributor.
A self-directed, responsible, lifelong learner.
A caring family member.
A responsible citizen.
Our staff is proud of our faith-filled learning environment where Gospel values, teachings and beliefs are an integral part of our daily life. It is an important part of our mission to provide our students with a firm foundation for their faith development alongside promoting a growth mindset, a focus on mathematics, and care for the mental health and wellbeing of our children.
How We Meet the Diverse Needs of Our Students
St. Catherine 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 value education provide students with a firm foundation of their faith development. The following are living the faith activities planned throughout the year: organizing liturgical celebrations, participating in food and toy drives, participating in ShareLife and Remembrance Day poppy campaigns, and "Me To We" events.
We are constantly striving to provide a safe and welcoming environment throughout our community. Our Health Action Team and Safe Schools Committee highlight health and safety in our communications with staff, students and their families. Children are made aware of, and frequently reminded of, specific school rules, which have been established for the benefit of all our students. Our Code of Conduct, based on dignity and respect for all, is communicated in a front insert of the school agenda, at assemblies, through the Catholic School Parent Council (CSPC) and through personal interactions.
Enrichment activities are part of classroom planning. This provides students with the opportunities for individualized attention to meet their needs. Modifications in program continue to be of great importance, given the diversity of language, learning needs and social considerations. This is addressed in the regular program and though our special education services. Student success is recognized and celebrated at monthly assemblies and in the monthly school newsletter. As well, we host a Withdrawal Gifted Program three days of the week with students from Grades 5 to 8 attending from twelve different schools.
The staff members of St. Catherine believe in the value of instilling the importance of a healthy lifestyle. In addition to lessons during Health and Physical Education classes, good nutrition and daily exercise are modelled on a regular basis by staff members. St. Catherine staff and students have a long tradition of participating in Daily Physical Activity.
In order to develop and enhance the many talents and diverse interests of our students we offer a variety of co-curricular and extracurricular activities. Some of these are a liturgical choir, drama sessions, Intermediate W5H, theme dances, Spirit Days, Spring concert, and Library Lunchtime Café where students can choose to play scrabble, chess or read and talk about books. Sports activities include soccer, volleyball, Knights of Columbus Free Throw basketball, cross country, track and field, swimming lessons, and skating.
Our School History and Tradition
St. Catherine Catholic School is a small elementary school located in an established suburban community in north-central Toronto. It was opened in 1967 and provides educational services for children from Junior Kindergarten through Grade 8. Demographically, the community consists of a mixture of single-family residences, townhouses and high-rise rental buildings. A majority of our families are from Middle Eastern heritage. In the late 80s, enrollment was on the decline and at that time the boundaries were changed to include former Precious Blood students. September 1994 saw the total number of students exceeding 200 for the first time in the history of St. Catherine.
Our patron saint is St. Catherine Labouré, whose feast day we celebrate on November 25 with a school Mass.
St. Catherine is associated with the parish of Precious Blood in Scarborough. The pastor, the school and the home, work closely to administer to the sacramental needs of the students. As well, we work together to prepare and celebrate monthly school masses and an Advent Family Mass. Members of the Rosary Apostolate visit each classroom on a monthly basis and lead the classes in praying the rosary. In May, they plan a celebration for the crowning of Mary involving many of the students.
Students presently enrolled in the school have parents who are former graduates. In 1992, celebrations were held to mark 25 years in the life of St. Catherine School. In September 2007, 40 years of Catholic education was celebrated with an outdoor Mass, dance and other activities. A DVD was made by committee members to commemorate the 40 years in the life of St. Catherine. The event was well attended by present and former staff and students, family members, and clergy.