Our School
At St. James Catholic School, we are called to celebrate and nurture the God-given talents of each student as we serve with excellence in the light of Christ. We recognize our call to love and serve from our Master teacher Jesus Christ, and we are committed to creating a Catholic learning community under the protection of Mother Mary.
The Catholic Graduate Expectations are our foundation as we strive for academic excellence and the acknowledgement of those who achieve it. We recognize God as the source of all life and actively work to focus on social issues within our local and global communities.
Child Care services
We are pleased to partner with PRYDE and the Boys and Girls Club of Durham to provide before and after school care and recreational programming at St. James Catholic School.
History
When St. Bernadette Catholic School, one of the only Catholic schools in the Ajax area, became overcrowded, the School Board decided that another Catholic school would be needed in the growing community of south Ajax.
The St. James Catholic School site was purchased on March 30, 1973. At that time, the Superintendent of Business, Grant Andrews, was the principal of St. Bernadette Catholic School. He felt strongly that the community would be better served by expanding St. Bernadette Catholic School on its own site.
It was not until November 1982 that the Board of Trustees formally requested a capital allocation for the site to be developed. Two subsequent requests were made in November 1983 and October 1984. Finally, the allocation was announced in April 1985 and construction began in the fall of 1985. St. James Catholic School formally opened in September 1986.
Patron Saint
Our patron saint is St. James the Less, the author of the first Catholic Epistle, who was the son of Alphaeus of Cleophas. His mother Mary was either a sister or a close relative of the Blessed Virgin, and for that reason, according to Jewish custom, he was sometimes called the brother of the Lord. The Apostle held a distinguished position in the early Christian community of Jerusalem. St. Paul tells us he was a witness of the Resurrection of Christ; he is also a "pillar" of the Church, whom St. Paul consulted about the Gospel.
According to tradition, he was the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and was at the Council of Jerusalem about the year 50. The historians Eusebius and Hegesippus relayed that St. James was martyred for the Faith by the Jews in the Spring of the year 62, although they greatly esteemed his person and had given him the surname of "James the Just."
Tradition has always recognized him as the author of the Epistle that bears his name. Internal evidence based on the language, style, and teaching of the Epistle reveals its author as a Jew familiar with the Old Testament, and a Christian thoroughly grounded in the teachings of the Gospel. External evidence from the early Fathers and Councils of the Church confirmed its authenticity and canonicity.
