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St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School

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St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School Durham Catholic District School Board St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School Motto: “Learn More, Teach More, Love More!” In the Beginning The summer of 1982 saw a great debate over the possible development of a new separate school within the 10 acres of Shady Brook Park. Originally, the land was designated as a future public school site, but when the Durham Board of Education turned down its option to build on these 10 acres, the town picked up the land for park purposes. During this time, the closest separate school, St. Isaac Jogues Catholic School, was over capacity just one year after opening. Two hundred and four Dunbarton/ Amberlea students were being bused to St. Isaac Jogues C.S., so the Durham Catholic District School Board proposed to purchase three acres of Shady Brook Park to build a new school to relieve the overflow from St. Isaac Jogues C.S. Divisions were quickly established. The Preserve Our Park Committee wanted to maintain the current status of the park, and to continue with the city’s plan to add more trees, a tobogganing hill, jogging trails and a baseball diamond. Proponents for the new school wanted a building within walking distance for the whole family that would be available for the entire community. This would allow a facility to be 1 used during the regular school day for classes, and at all other times be available to the community for its own use. After much debate, heated at times, the residents voted. They agreed 162 to 146 that a separate school should be built on the 10-acre park site. A school/park agreement was established between the City of Pickering and the Board, allowing three acres of the site to be devoted to the new school, while the remaining seven acres would contain the original park and would be open to the addition of any new park projects. The new school was scheduled to open in September 1983. What’s in a Name? Now that the plans were finalized to build the new school on the Shady Brook site, it was time to select a name. During this time, Pope John Paul II announced the canonization of Blessed Marguerite Bourgeoys. As she was the foundress and teacher of the first school in Canada, it seemed very appropriate to name the new school after her. This name also fit nicely into the community, since the new school would help to alleviate the overcrowding of St. Isaac Jogues Catholic School, named after one of the Jesuit martyrs who had been active in the Great Lakes area around the same time Marguerite first came to Canada. The new site for St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School in June 1983, just three months before the scheduled opening. 2 Construction had begun and the site had already changed as of June 28, 1983. As originally scheduled, Phase I of St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School was completed by September 1983. This was quite a feat, considering that the actual site was marked by only a few stakes as late as June 30 of that year. However, on September 6, 1983, St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School opened its doors and heart to 300 students and 15 staff members. The school became home to students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 4. There were 12 classrooms, a science room and washroom facilities. Plans were made to have Phase II completed by the following September. Meanwhile, during the previous summer, principal John Brown was visiting Montreal. While there, he went into a store selling religious articles and admired a statue of St. Marguerite Bourgeoys. He told the storeowner that he was the principal of a new school that would open in September and that he would love to have this statue for the school to honour our patron saint. Imagine his surprise and dismay when the statue arrived soon after school began! He had not realized that his comments were taken as a request to purchase the statue, and now he was faced with a sizeable invoice. When relating the story to a small group of parents, he said that finding the money to pay for the statue would be a problem, since much of the start-up budget had been spent on school supplies. The mothers told Mr. Brown not to worry. They would find a way to get 3 the needed money. And that is how St. Marguerite Bourgeoys C.S. Hot Dog lunches began. This small but tightly knit community had the support of the original “pioneer” parents who worked with founding principal John Brown and his staff to provide the students with many traditional school activities, such as lunch days, athletic teams and the infamous Christmas concert on the hill (described later in this history). Phase II was completed as planned by September 1984. The school was now home to 24 staff and 450 students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8. The addition of a foyer and office area, gym, Kindergarten wing and art room made the school complete. The official opening and blessing of the school was celebrated on December 4, 1984, with the Most Reverend Robert Clune officiating. The school continued to grow in the spirit of St. Marguerite Bourgeoys. In September 1985, the school population grew to 570 students, and saw the addition of its first portable. Founding principal John Brown enjoying a strategic game of chess with some of the students. My, How St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School has Changed As the City of Pickering continued to grow, so did St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School. An increase in the student population saw the addition of a four- classroom port-a-pac along with numerous portables as the need arose. In the spirit of St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, the school welcomed the students of St. Monica Catholic School in September 1987 as they waited for the construction of their school to be completed. Other additions over the last 30 years have included the addition of the Peace Garden at the front west corner of the school in 1998. This school-wide project turned an empty space in the schoolyard into a peaceful, more natural place 4 where students and community neighbours alike can come to relax and be close to nature. It has also been used as an outdoor classroom and a special setting for many school liturgies and celebrations. The site of the new Peace Garden in the front west corner of the schoolyard. The new Peace Garden was ready in time for the primary students’ Mary Celebration in May 1998. 5 In 2000, the “Chapel” was created in the front foyer as a space where staff and students could pray, celebrate their faith and gather as a community of believers. It is the first thing you see as you enter the front doors of St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School, and is a constant reminder of the warm, inviting and caring values that Marguerite demonstrated in her first school in Ville-Marie. The Chapel at St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School on the occasion of the school’s 25th anniversary Changes to the school also included the removal of the brick wall that separated the parking lot from the school’s east sidewalk. As the student population began to decrease, a number of portables were removed from the site. The spring of 2009 saw a major change to the school when the four-classroom port-a-pac was removed, leaving behind the original building that was completed during Phase II in 1984. Just as there have been structural changes to the school, the St. Marguerite Bourgeoys C.S. community experienced changes to its stewardship values. St. Marguerite Bourgeoys C.S. was extremely proud to become an EcoSchool during the 2009–2010 school year. Thanks to a lot of hard work, dedication and education, the school was awarded Silver status in its very first year of participation. This tremendous accomplishment was repeated in 2010–2011 and the school received Gold status in 2011-2012. 6 Traditions …. Traditions … Traditions … It all began that first Christmas in 1983. The community of St. Marguerite Bourgeoys C.S. wanted to have a Christmas concert, but since the school did not have a gym, the concert was held outside. It took the form of a nativity play and was held on the back hill – an outdoor stage. Parents arrived with flashlights in hand, bundled up against the winter weather to watch their children perform. The outdoor nativity play became so popular that in time, neighbours – both Catholic and public ratepayers – would gather together to celebrate the birth of Christ. In later years, the Christmas concert moved indoors, but memories of those first few years on the hill remained in the hearts of many. Recently, the school choir has continued this outdoor tradition with Christmas concerts outside, weather permitting. Once again, many neighbours come over to join our school community to celebrate this happy and holy season. Over the years, numerous activities have become traditions at St. Marguerite Bourgeoys C.S. As mentioned earlier, student lunch days hosted by the Parent Council began that very first year to help pay for the new statue of St. Marguerite that graced the foyer. Many more fundraising events have been held over the last 30 years. The school has sold candy, chocolates and wrapping paper; participated in walk-a-thons, read-a-thons and dance-a-thons; had fun fairs, and bingo nights; all to support the needs of students and the school. Monies raised purchased the school-sponsored stained glass window above the altar in St.
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