St Thomas of Canterbury School
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Mission Statement
Philosophy Our school offers a special learning experience. It is a place where young people gradually learn to open themselves up to life as it is and to create for themselves a vision of life as it should be based on the Good News of Jesus Christ. Parents are the primary and best educators of their children, teachers assist parents in this role. The faculty is composed of people who are dedicated to furthering the spiritual, emotional and intellectual growth of the students. The emphasis in the classroom is on promoting respect for the individuality of each student in a Christian learning environment. The school is blessed with families representing many communities from all over the world. This richness of culture, language and social setting provides us with a broad view of the human family that can be matched by few schools. It is our responsibility to instill in each child an appreciation of this unique wealth which is ours and to form in them an openness to others and respect for their way of thinking. As a Catholic school, we believe we must strive to build a community centered around the Good News of Jesus Christ, which must not only be taught, but enacted. Motivated by this ideal, we are particularly sensitive to the call from every part of the world for a more just society and try to put these demands into practice into the daily life of our school. Finally, because first and foremost the Church offers its educational services to the poor and those who are deprived of family help and affection, we will not limit our program only to those who can afford a private education but will seek ways to assure that the benefits of a Catholic education are open to all in the community who need it. This Catholic education helps each child strive to attain his/her fullest potential and reach excellence.
About This Cause
St. Thomas of Canterbury School was founded in1916. The primary population of the school in1916 centered around Irish immigrant families. In the 1960's Uptown began to diversify to include many different immigrant groups. One of the primary groups that settled at St. Thomas of Canterbury after the war were the Vietnamese, the Laotians, and the Cambodians. The Archdiocese established a specific pastoral center in the parish and many of the Vietnamese children were enrolled in the school by the early 1980's. These immigrants were quickly joined by newly arrived immigrant children from many countries in Western Africa. By 1990 St Thomas school had a strong presence of Eastern Africans, largely from Ethiopia, Eritrea and the Sudan. In the past ten years we have had an influx of students who were born in refugee camps in the Sudan. Our school is still the home to immigrant children. Our school provides not only English language instruction, but with it a very high caliber education. Nearly all of our graduates attend either Loyola Academy or St Ignatius College Prep on scholarships. Each year we have a number of students receive the Daniel Murphy Scholarship which has helped our graduates attend such schools as Philips Exeter. 99% of our graduates go on to finish high school and most finish at least a Bachelor degree with many entering such professions as law, medicine, engineering and finance. Our families are achieving the American dream through the success of their children. Education and faith are the two things that our families treasure. We are very proud of this !Our graduates show that despite poverty, limited English and minority status ,great success is possible and dreams can come true. St. Thomas of Canterbury School has opened our door to assist many families too. In addition to the traditional school services the we work with families to help them secure benefits and medical services. Our staff provides translation services to help the adults navigate the world of technology. The school seeks to ensure that all children have the basic necessities of food, housing and clothing. We accomplish this the assistance of many outside groups . Despite being a school community of more than 37 languages our common goal is to respect and appreciate the cultural diversity that is embodied at St. Thomas of Canterbury School! We hope to continue this mission. Our school receives no subsidy from any agency of the Archdiocese, but we survive and help children to continue to thrive with the help of many donors and friends.