St. Francis Xavier School, Vancouver
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| St. Francis Xavier School | |
 to seek the beginning of wisdom |
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| Address | |
| 428 Great Northern Way Vancouver, British Columbia, V5T 4S5, Canada |
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| Information | |
| School board | Catholic School Board |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver |
| Principal | Brenda Krivuzoff |
| School type | Catholic elementary school |
| Grades | K-7 (co-ed) |
| Language | English |
| Area | Mt. Pleasant |
| Mascot | Dragons |
| Team name | SFX Dragons |
| Colours | Blue and White |
| Founded | 1933 |
| Enrollment | 326 (2006) |
| Homepage | http://sfxschool.ca/ |
St. Francis Xavier School (a.k.a. S.F.X.) is an Independent Catholic School of the Vancouver Archdiocese. This school is a dual stream elementary school, established by St. Francis Xavier Parish in 1858, and it follows the policies and procedures recommended by the Catholic Independent School Board. The school enrolment consists of 326 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 near Chinatown but is now located north of Mount Pleasant. The current principal is Brenda Krivuzoff.
Contents |
[edit] 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 districts 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."[1]
[edit] History
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 story 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 enrolment 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 326 students.
[edit] 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,
So we can stand tall, St. Francis Xavier,
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 future, 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 future, remember the past,
Each moment's golden, so make each day last.
(Created by Mr. Adam Kozak in 2004)
[edit] Children Helping Children
In September, 2004 a call for help was expressed to SFX school. Immediately, administration, teachers, and students offered to help in meeting that need. The need was to help homeless African children, the same ages as St. Francis Xavier students.The first of many, many Spirit Days for Amani (Peace in Swahili) took place that November. With ongoing support from SFX and other committed donors, the dream of building a home and school for the Amani children was realized. On April 28th, 2007, the Amani children spent their first night in their new home in Moshi, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. The Amani house grew in the number of children from 16 in 2001 to over 200 by 2007. In addition to providing a new home, the money from St. Francis Xavier School helped provide the children with physical rehabilitation, emotional counseling, and basic education.
St.Francis Xavier School also sells Fair Trade Certified Chocolates to help farmers get fair wages.
[edit] Concerts
They released their first CD project, SFX Forever, on December 15th, 2004 at AMANI NOEL, a primary Christmas presentation. All profits from the CD went to support the Amani Centre. At only $10, this CD is a great keepsake and gift. Messengers of Light Trilogy is a school product made purely by their teachers, Mr. Dela Luna and Mr. Kozak. [look below to read more]
[edit] Messengers of Light Trilogy
In December 2006, the entire school performed in a completely original Christmas production. Conceived and written by school staff, Messengers of Light chronicled the angelic visitations surrounding the traditional Nativity story from the unique perspective of the archangels in a boardroom setting. Filled with soaring melodies and classical orchestration, more than 25 actors and soloists were accompanied by two massive angelic choirs with 150 singers in each. By the end of that school year, a DVD intitled "Messengers of Light" was issued of the performance preserving the memorable event for the school community for years to come.
The sequel, Messengers of Light II, will take place on Wednesday, February 27, and Thursday,February 28 at the SFX gym. The performance will begin at 5:00 pm and will last approximately 90 minutes. Admission is by donation with the proceeds going towards equipment rentals and the Amani Children’s home (suggested donation $5.00 per adult).
Messengers of Light III will take place in 2009.
[edit] Sports
Saint Francis Xavier has teams for the following sports:
- Soccer (boys only)
- Volleyball (girls only)
- Basketball
- Badminton
- Track and Field
- Cross country running
[edit] Clubs
At SFX, they have many clubs to be a part of such as:
- Leadership Group (elected in grade 5 by classmates)
- Library Club
- Young Authors Club
- Pray Group
- Craft Club
- Drawing Club
- Yearbook (Grade 7s only)
- Tutoring Club (Grade 7s only)
[edit] Notable Alumni
- Hollie Lo -actress in the movie "Eve and the Fire Horse"
[edit] Awards
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- St. Francis Xavier School official website
- Messengers of Light Article 1
- Messengers of Light Article 2
- SFX Amani article
- Amani Center
