Mission Statement
St. Francis of Assisi School is committed to creating, in partnership with home, school and parish, a caring Catholic environment dedicated to the development of individuals with a life-long love of learning who will contribute positively to society.
Pope Francis to Our Young People
Pope Francis serves as an excellent role model for our staff and students. When he selected his name after our school’s patron saint, Pope Francis reminded us to not be afraid, and to serve. He encourages us to be humbly attentive to the truth, goodness, and beauty that come from God alone.
With inspiration from Pope Francis, each day at St. Francis of Assisi School our students are reminded to use the gifts that God has given them, and to not be afraid to dream of great things!
Our Patron Saint
Francis was born around 1181. After two illnesses and other adventures, Francis realized that he was wasting precious time and became aware that he should be serving Jesus. He began by praying more and making sacrifices to grow strong in spirit. Francis put all his trust in his Father in heaven. Everywhere he went, he urged people to stop sinning and return to God. Soon many men began to realize how close to God this man was, and they became his disciples. That is how the great Franciscan order of priests and brothers began. They helped the poor and sick and preached everywhere. St. Francis had the power of working miracles and even of making birds and animals obey him. Toward the end of his life, he became very sick. He was told he would live only a few more weeks. Then he urged his brothers to love God, to love being poor, and to obey the Gospel. “I have done my part,” he said. “May Jesus teach you to do yours.” Francis died on October 3, 1226. He was proclaimed a saint a short time later by Pope Honorius III. St. Francis wanted to be happy more than anything in life. He found happiness when he made Jesus the center of his life. We can ask St. Francis to show us what is really valuable in our lives and what is not.
Programs
At St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Elementary School, we pride ourselves in not only providing quality education as prescribed by the Ministry of Education, but quality Catholic education as witnesses to Jesus in our world. Gospel Values, our Focus on Faith theme, and the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations are at the core of everything we do.
We also strive to foster within our students an understanding of the Indigenous Grandfather Teachings, and how these teachings can compliment and support the understanding of our students of the importance of upholding our Catholic social teachings.
We remind our students daily of the importance of working for the common good, helping build a just society, upholding the dignity of human life and lifting up the poor and vulnerable.
We are committed to enabling all students to reach their potential, and to succeed. We recognize that every student is unique and each must have opportunities to achieve success according to his or her own interests, abilities, and goals. We have set high academic expectations and standards for our students. With rich learning opportunities and appropriate support, our students have proven their ability to rise to the challenge.
Our Catholic perspective has always been that student are life-long learners, and so it is with this in mind that teachers program for every student based on the Board and the School Improvement plans, daily work results, benchmark, report card and EQAO data. This information, in turn, is used to inform instruction through the construction of appropriate pathways and differentiated instruction within these pathways to match every student’s learning needs and interests. Teachers are always vigilant in ensuring that every child is achieving to potential and advocating for their students in ensuring they receive the required supports for success.