About Us
St. Henry Catholic School places an emphasis on holistic learning. We aim to educate our students following the Ontario Catholic Graduate Expectations.
First and foremost is the goal to create a discerning believer. This is accomplished through an emphasis on the virtue of the month and during school liturgies at Epiphany of our Lord Catholic Church. A second major goal is to create effective communicators. This is reflected in our past and current school learning improvement plan that aims to continue developing student skills in literacy and numeracy, with a particular focus on clear explanation of ideas. In the area of extracurricular development, our goal has been and continues to be to have students that are engaged in all parts of the day. Our Roadrunner program, our plan to create a house system, and our regular spirit days all work towards this goal.
Our recent focus on professional development has aimed to address areas for improvement as indicated from the EQAO test but more importantly the data that staff has gathered through our own school assessments. Recent initiatives towards this have been to focus on helping staff develop and implement guided reading programs and writers workshop programs as part of our board’s comprehensive literacy program and piloting the Daily Five program that focuses on five key elements – read to self, read to others, reader response, work on writing and word work. Our belief is that by continuing to focus on current educational initiatives, we are exposing both staff and students to strategies that will lead to success, and align our instruction to the Ontario Catholic Graduate Expectations of creating effective communicators. Another element of our staff professional development is the secondary school learning network (SSLN).
St. Henry Catholic School continues to work at developing environmental leaders through our Eco club that has achieved Eco Gold three years in a row. We continue to work toward developing an ethic of healthy living by focusing on daily physical activity, which gave rise to our Roadrunner program that gives students in Grades 3 to 8 a chance to run three times a week, and which has been embraced by many students and staff alike.
We continue to work at infusing the virtues of Christ throughout our school by school assemblies, daily announcements and by immersing our day to day school life in the Virtue of the month. Our Catholic School Parent Council (CSPC) continues to help us provide learning and extracurricular opportunities for our students through their support of scientists in the school, bussing for trips, and dramatic presentations for our students to watch.
We are proud of the work we continue to do at St. Henry Catholic School. The goal remains to help nurture students who succeed at reaching the various elements of the Ontario Catholic Graduate Expectations. By continuing to communicate (via newsletters and our homework website) and working towards our shared goals with the help of staff, students, parents and the Church, our students receive a well rounded education that reflects our Catholic faith, and our commitment to academic development and healthy living. We are confident that through our collective efforts, we are helping our young people to become responsible citizens of the future.
School History and Tradition
St. Henry Catholic School was established in September 1980. During the first year, the students were in shared accommodations at St. Cyprian Catholic School on Pharmacy Avenue while a permanent school building was being constructed. The students moved into the present building in 1981. The official school opening took place with a solemn blessing by Rev. M. Robbertz - Pastor of Epiphany of Our Lord Parish - on April 29, 1982.
St. Henry Catholic School has an established history of “striving for excellence” in serving the Catholic community. Our school presently serves the Catholic community in the area bounded by Steeles to the north, Pharmacy to the west, McNicoll to the south and Kennedy to the east.
St. Henry Catholic School is proud to be one of six schools in the Epiphany of Our Lord Parish. The patron saint of our school is St. Henry II, whose feast day is on July 13. St. Henry established numerous pious foundations, gave liberally to worthy organizations, and built the cathedral of Bamberg.