St. Francis Xavier School, Vancouver

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saint Francis Xavier School
Address
428 Great Northern Way Vancouver, British Columbia, V5T 4S5, Canada
Information
School board	Catholic School Board
Religious affiliation	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver
Principal	Brenda Krivuzoff
School type	Catholic elementary school
Grades	K-7
Language	English, Cantonese, and Manderin
Area	Mt. Pleasent
Motto	Initium Sapientiae (to seek the beginning of wisdom)
Team name	SFX Dragons
Colours	Navy and Light Blue,White,and Black
Founded	1933
Enrollment	300- 349
Homepage	http://www.sfxschool.ca

About St. Francis Xavier School:

St. Francis Xavier School(or S.F.X.) is a Catholic Independent School of the Vancouver Archdiocese. It is a dual stream elementary school, established by St. Francis Xavier Parish, and it follows the policies and procedures recommended by the Catholic Independent School Board. Our school enrollment consists of 396 students with a class size of approximately 25 students. St. Francis Xavier school offers education from kindergarten through to grade 7. ST. Francis was originally located at the corner of Georgia Street and Princess Avenue in Chinatown,Vancouver, b.c. but is now located at 428 Great Northern Way,Vacouver,B.C. The current principal is Ms. Brenda Krivuzoff.

Independent school status:
St. Francis Xavier School is classified as a Group 1 school under British Columbia's Independent School Act. Schools in this category receive partial funding from the Ministry of Education. As of 2006, that consists of 50% of their local school district’s per student operating grant, based on full-time equivalent (FTE) student basis. Under the Act, the school has the "freedom to approach the curriculum from their own perspectives." However, Group 1 schools must:

"...employ BC certified teachers, have educational programs consistent with ministerial orders, provide a program that meets the learning outcomes of the British Columbia curriculum, meet various administrative requirements, maintain adequate educational facilities, and comply with municipal and regional district codes."

History of the School:
The Grey Sisters of the Immaculate Conception from Pembroke, Ontario, founded St. Francis Xavier School in 1933. From a donation, a house and land was purchased at the corner of Georgia Street and Princess Avenue in Chinatown.

A Kindergarten was opened in one of the rooms of the house. The first class consisted of 30 kindergarten students. The Kindergarten was moved to another building across the street in 1934. The grade school started in 1938, housed in three rented classrooms on the third storey of a bank building situated at the corner of Main and East Pender Street in Vancouver. There were three grades in each classroom with a total enrollment of 30. In 1940, the first school building, located at the corner of East Georgia Street and Princess Avenue, was constructed to accommodate about 70 students.

Over the years, the school population had outgrown the school building to such an extent that more than half of the students had to be housed in various rented buildings. Another building was acquired on East Pender Street. The parish and school fundraised for 20 years to build a new school. The construction took two years to complete. In 2001, the school building at 428 Great Northern Way was completed. Operations began in September 2001. Most Reverend Adam Exner, OMI, Archbishop of Vancouver blessed the new school on December 2, 2001. The school has 16 classrooms and currently serves 396 students.

School song
Pray for us, Saint Francis Xavier,
The patron saint of our church and school,
Help us to see all the things that we can be,
For our church, our country and the world,
For honour, wisdom and truth,
God is the light for to do what is right...
Saint Francis Xavier be with us today,
In all that we do and in each word we say,
To prepare for the furture, remember the past,
Each moment's golden, forever-
Saint Francis Xavier be with us today,
In all that we do and in each word we say,
To prepare for the furture, remember the past,
Each moment's golden, so make each day last.

Awards:
- 2nd place runer up for the Garfield Weston Awards for Excellence in Education( in 2006)
- BC CEC 2006 Yes I Can! Award
Info from: St. Francis Xavier School webpage
St. Francis Xavier Schools in Canada