We are pleased to partner with YMCA to provide before and after school care at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic School. Call our child care partner at 289-923-8259 to learn more about their services.
About Our School
At St. Isaac Jogues Catholic School, it is our mission to be an inclusive Catholic learning community that inspires every student to achieve their full potential through faith and education. We recognize our call to love and serve from our Master teacher Jesus Christ, and we are committed to creating a Catholic learning community under the protection of Mother Mary.
The Catholic Graduate Expectations are our foundation as we strive for academic excellence and the acknowledgement of those who achieve it. We recognize God as the source of all life and actively work to focus on social issues within our local and global communities.
We celebrate the diversity within our community with a collaborative approach to learning, in cooperation with parents, the Catholic faith community, and other organizations that recognize the value of our mission. Within the context of Catholic teaching and Sacramental living, our school community strives to demonstrate respect and reverence for all life, thus nurturing a safe, Christian environment for the entire school community.
Our school shares the title of the adjacent parish church. Saint Isaac Jogues, a man of learning and culture, taught literature in France. He was a Jesuit Missionary who worked among the Huron people. He was martyred in 1646 and canonized in 1930. With the other seven Jesuit Martyrs he was named Patron Saint of Canada by Pope Pius XII in 1940.
When Isaac Jogues was growing up, he attended a school run by the Jesuit Fathers in his home city of Orleans, France. Isaac was attracted by the priests' good example and their dedication to God and those in need. He also felt drawn to the missionary life they led. Unlike the parish priests that he knew, the Jesuits could be called to serve God's people anywhere in the world. At the age of seventeen, Isaac joined the Jesuits. After he was ordained a priest, his greatest wish came true. He was sent to work as a missionary in Canada, which was called New France at the time.
Father Isaac was very tall and strong. The Huron respected him because he could row a canoe for many hours, sleep very little, catch many large fish and hunt for moose and deer. He also learned the Huron language very well and was able to teach people about the Catholic faith and baptize many of them.
At the time Father Isaac lived, some of the Indigenous tribes were enemies of one another. The Iroquois warred against the Hurons. Once Father Isaac and a group of his Huron friends were ambushed by the Iroquois. Some members of the group were killed. Others, like Isaac, were tortured.
After finally escaping from the Iroquois, some of whom wanted to kill him, Father Isaac sailed back to France. He could have remained there and lived a comfortable life. Although he had suffered so much, Isaac's only desire, once he had regained his health, was to return to Canada. He wanted the people to come to know and love Jesus. After spending a year in France, Father Isaac received permission to return to Canada. Two years later, he was killed by an Iroquois brave who was angry that he was teaching about Jesus.
Saint Isaac, help us to be courageous and patient in difficult situations.
As Catholic educators, we live according to our Father's code and to lead our students, by example, to live the basic truths of the gospel message. This is an awesome, yet inspiring challenge which we share with the parents of our young men and women.
Children learn what they live. Each day we have the opportunity to teach our students:
- to love by the way we love;
- to be generous by our generosity;
- to be passionate by our compassion; and
- to be forgiving by the way we forgive.
However, a person cannot give what he or she does not have. Unless we are living the Gospel message, we cannot lead our students to do so.
There are many hallmarks of a Catholic educator, including:
- Prayer - The challenges of our vocation, and indeed life in general, are great. To meet them we need to follow Christ's advice that we "ask the father in My name". Each Catholic educator has a duty to expose students to his or her particular style of prayer in order to assist students to recognize the value of prayer in daily life.
- Eucharist - Parish, school, and staff liturgies provide opportunities to celebrate our faith. Our example can testify to the Eucharist as a joyful source of strength and community building.
- Social Justice - This is the heart of the Christian message, that we "love one another as I have loved you". As our brother's and sister's keepers, we must be concerned about the aged, the poor, the oppressed, and any other marginalized group - both at home and abroad.
St. Isaac Jogues Catholic School opened in 1981 and has been a cornerstone of Catholic education and community life for more than four decades. Named after St. Isaac Jogues, a Jesuit missionary and one of the Canadian Martyrs, the school reflects his legacy of faith, service, and dedication to others.
Before St. Isaac Jogues Parish was established in its permanent church building, the school served as the gathering place for parish celebrations and worship, strengthening its deep roots in the local Catholic community. Expanded in 1988 and 2002 to support its growing enrolment, the school continues to honour its rich heritage while inspiring students to live out Gospel values each day.
St. Isaac Jogues’s Feast Day is September 26.
Our school hours are:
9:00 a.m. - School Begins
10:25 a.m. - Morning recess
11:45 a.m. - Lunch Recess
12:25 p.m. - Lunch
12:45 p.m. - Entrance Bell
2:10 p.m. - Afternoon recess
3:30 p.m. - Dismissal
God our Father,
Watch over us at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic School.
Help us to use our special gifts to grow in knowledge,
And make our school a place where
Peace, love, caring and friendship
Can be seen and felt
In all of our words and actions,
So that we can be faithful followers of Jesus
and good examples to others.
Amen.
Our board's School Year calendar is now available. We encourage parents and guardians to visit our school calendar webpage to learn more about activities happening at school.
We welcome your questions, comments and concerns.
1166 Finch Ave.,
Pickering, ON L1V 1J6
Tel: 905-839-1844
Fax: 905-839-4677