St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School

18 Regalbuto Ave. Petawawa, Ontario K8H 1L3

Tel. 613-687-4167

Fax 613-687-2686

Thank you,

Gerard Boyer

Principal.

If you already come from an Ontario school, you don’t need to read this section.

If you are from outside the province, you should know that Ontario offers two public systems, one non-denominational and one Roman Catholic.

St. Francis of Assisi is part of the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board. Our schools offer a full range of subjects within a Catholic Christian value system. This means that we apply Christian principles in the day-to-day functioning of our school; we offer religious education instruction as part of our regular curriculum; and we work closely with St. Francis of Assisi Parish on base to assist in the sacramental life of our students.

We teach Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies ( or History and Geography in Grade 7), Science, Music, Art, Drama, French, Health and Physical Education, Family Life and Religion. Our instruction is based on Ontario’s curriculum documents. Our Family Life and Religion courses are recommended by the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops.

School starts at 8:40 a.m.

Lunch goes from 11:45 to 12:45.

Bus students are dismissed at 3:10 p.m. and walkers at 3:15 p.m.

There is a morning recess break at 10:05 a.m. and an afternoon break at 2:05 p.m.

Thanks to the extra dedication of staff and parent volunteers, our school provides the following extra-curricular activities, sometimes at lunch time, sometimes after school until 4:00 p.m.

Cross-country running and volleyball in the fall

Broomball, chess and

basketball in the winter

Badminton and

softball in the spring

We also prepare a Christmas concert in December, a talent night in the spring and two outdoor activity afternoons, one in the winter and one in June.

Our school offers Catholic education from Junior Kindergarten ( 4 year olds) to Grade 7. At that point, almost all of our students transfer to Grade 8 at Bishop Smith Catholic High School in Pembroke (to which busing is provided). They usually complete their High School education there as well.

In the fall of 2004, Grade 2 students will be prepared for the sacrament of First Reconciliation (First Confession) which will be celebrated during Advent in December. They will then prepare for the sacrament of First Eucharist (First Communion) after Christmas. Students in Grade 6 will prepare for the sacrament of Confirmation all year.

Student leadership is actively developed in our school.

We have structured our school into 13 spirit teams, led by students in Grade 7. Students from Grade 1 to Grade 7 are grouped into these spirit teams for activity days and special events.

We also expect our Grade 7 students to run the St. Francis milk company (managing accounts, placing orders and making bank deposits), to participate in students’ council, to organize spirit days and to plan the spring talent night. Christian shared leadership is also infused into all of our competitive sports events.