Mission Statement

St. Joseph the Worker School shares in the mission of the Church to proclaim and build the Kingdom of God in a unique way through our Franciscan charism that inspires and guides us to reach out to the community and its needs.

St. Joseph the Worker Parish School, as a faith community, is committed to excellence in Catholicity and in all areas that promote the development of the whole child to his or her full potential.

St. Joseph the Worker Parish School is an integral part of the parish family working together in a shared vision with all parish ministries.

St. Joseph the Worker Parish School strives to develop Christian leaders, responsible citizens and life-long learners.

History

The request to build a school by Archbishop Carney in 1983 was initially met with some reluctance in the parish because of the costs involved. However, a Steering Committee was first established in January 1984 and planning proceeded throughout the year. On January 24, 1985, Father Paschal wrote to the Archbishop requesting his formal approval in principle to proceed with the project, and received the go-ahead in February 1985. Several Committees worked on different aspects of the new School/Parish Centre project through 1985. One of the difficulties was the method of funding of separate school operations by the Provincial Government. They would only provide funding in the third year of operation. St. Paul’s was approached to see if we could operate as annex to their school for 2 years before moving into our own school, and they agreed to this.

In November 1985, Fr. Paschal wrote to the Archbishop for his approval, which was received the following month. This resulted in the purchase of the first of the two portables which came into use as Grade 1 classroom in September 1986. At the same time the kindergarten began in St. Paul’s school. The second portable was ordered to be in place by July 1987 for a Grade 2 class. On October 5, 1986, the portable was blessed, the teachers commissioned and the formal agreement with St. Paul’s signed.

Request for proposals were sent to architects in March , 1986 resulting in Oberto Oberti Inc. being awarded the project in June 1986. In November 1986 the site plan was accepted and preliminary sketches of the new school were progressing. At one point, a two storey structure was considered for the school which would have allowed a larger school, but this was changed to a single storey structure to satisfy the neighbours objections.

By mid-1987, the plans were starting to come together and the ground breaking ceremony took place on Sunday May 24th. The site for the new school was consecrated by Fr. Ken Cienik while the official sod turning was a joint effort by Fr. Paschal and Fr. Damien, Vicar General at the time. The contract to pre-load the site was signed in late May 1987.

The architectural plans were finally completed in July 1987 and tenders were sent out resulting in Artuso Brothers being chosen for the construction contract. Work commenced on the building on November 2, 1987 and the opening of the new facility for the parish was on June 19, 1988. The school opened in September 1988 with Kindergarten and Grades 1 – 3 and an additional grade was added each year for the next four years.

The School/Parish Centre was blessed and dedicated by Archbishop Carney on September 19, 1988.

The School/Parish Centre cost under $2M of which $750,000 was carried on a demand loan. On November 15, 1992, the Friars announced at each mass that the final payment on the School/Parish Centre was paid on November 2nd – the news was received with enthusiastic applause!