Vision and Guiding Statements

A School with a Heart

At St. Mary’s, every child finds a place: each and every one is taken care of, listened to, loved, and motivated.

Poster for St. Mary's Strategic Vision & Foundation Statements

St. Mary’s International School Guiding Statements

Our Mission Statement

St. Mary’s International School is founded on the Mennaisian mission to Instruct, Educate and Impart Christian Values in a safe and nurturing environment. Our students learn to challenge themselves in a rigorous academic program based on best practices and 21st century pedagogy. They grow and mature through education focused on the whole child—personal, social, emotional, ethical and spiritual—and by participating in enriching co-curricular opportunities. They become responsible global citizens by exposure to Christian values and core beliefs that build character and foster compassionate action in our world. Through this process of self-discovery and personal growth, our students become life-long learners who embrace diversity, lead by example and have the flexibility necessary for success in a world of accelerating change.

Our Beliefs

As a Catholic international all-boys school:

We believe that education integrates the acquisition of knowledge with the development of free and responsible young men and the deepening of personal faith.
We believe that education is based on love and respect for the person, in full recognition of the dignity of humankind created in God’s image and destined to live in union with Him.
We believe that an all-boy environment creates a place wherein positive self-esteem and expression can be fully achieved and where learning meets the developmental needs of boys.
We believe that personal development, characterized by empathy and trust, will engender beliefs and actions conducive to global citizenship for the betterment of humanity through the promotion of peace, justice, freedom and truth.
We believe that rigorous and challenging academic programs meeting the diverse needs of students within a safe, caring and respectful environment best prepare them for higher education.
We believe that a comprehensive and enriching co-curricular program nurtures individual expression and fosters growth, enabling students to reach their full all-round potential and enhance their self-worth.
We believe that learning best takes place in a school community that enables its members to establish an identity respectful of both cultural and religious differences in an atmosphere that values diversity.

The all-boy environment creates a place wherein positive self-esteem can fully develop and where learning is promoted at a pace appropriate for boys.

Statue of Father de La Mennais with student

Schoolwide Learner Expectations

The St. Mary’s community is committed to developing self-directed, life-long learners who are:

Of Good Character: Reflecting values consistent with Christian principles
Knowledgeable: Demonstrating a firm foundation in the academic, physical and artistic disciplines
Globally Aware: Showing sensitivity and compassion toward human and global concerns in a multi-cultural world, and exhibiting initiative, reliability and perseverance in their response to these concerns
Critical and Creative Thinkers: Confidently using appropriate resources and current technology, either independently or collaboratively, to reason, make decisions and solve problems in a variety of contexts
Effective Communicators: Receiving and expressing ideas and information competently and precisely

St. Mary’s Core Values

Respect
Compassion
Honesty
Fairness
Responsibility

Schoolboys in a huddle on the athletic field

Schoolboys drawing with crayons, pens and scissors

High-Quality Learning at St. Mary’s

Through a broad, knowledge-rich and inspiring curriculum, learning is designed to be active, personally meaningful, productive, socially valuable, and to accommodate the diverse learning needs of all of our students. Our teaching motivates students and nurtures their desire to learn in a safe and supportive environment. We strive for a culture of innovation that enables students to express their learning through solving complex problems in authentic, real-world situations with opportunities for risk-taking, enquiry, critical evaluation, creativity and performance. Our students are empowered to be self-directed learners by being aware of where they are in the learning process, where they need to get to and how best to get there. As a result, our students become collaborative problem-solvers and positive contributors to the local and global communities.

A High-Quality Learning Environment Includes:

An environment that is suitable for the learning purpose.
Accessible and flexible learning spaces that reflect the age of the students and their learning needs.
High quality equipment that is designed for and suitable for the task.
Working walls and other relevant displays that celebrate students’ learning and support the curriculum.
A welcoming, safe, calm, purposeful and supportive environment where students can take risks.
A controlled buzz of student activity with a ratio of 20-30% teacher talk and 70-80% student talk.
Learning that is enriched with technology and appropriate, accessible resources.
Well-lit, climate controlled, well-maintained room along with clean/fresh air.
Respect between student and teacher and between peers.
Class sizes that allow for individualized learning, student discussions, questioning, exploring and taking risks.

High-Quality Teaching Includes:

Lessons that are designed for students to be engaged and active in their learning.
The use of a variety of instructional strategies.
Collaboration with colleagues.
Knowledgeable, self-reflective teachers who continually develop as professionals.
Meeting individual student needs.
Assessment for, as, and of learning to ensure student progress.
Technology as a tool to enhance learning and facilitate collaboration when appropriate.
Explicit learning targets and success criteria.
High learning expectations for all students.

High-Quality Learning for Students Includes:

The acquisition and development of new knowledge and skills.
Being productive, confident, independent and working at a good pace.
Student-centred learning targets developed with student input to enable them to understand what they are learning, how well they have learned it and the next steps that they need to take in their learning.
Applying strategies learned in the classroom and transferring learning to other subjects and different situations, including expressing complex ideas in simple ways.
Showing enjoyment and engagement in learning, respectfully asking questions and listening to others’ opinions, and articulating ideas elegantly.
Students being aware of the local community in a global context, incorporating core values and appreciating ethical concerns.
Meaningful, authentic, differentiated learning tasks wherein students are challenged in ways appropriate to their ability levels in an inclusive learning environment.
Encouraging higher-level thinking which builds critical thinking skills and the ability to make sound arguments based on evidence.

Brochure page entitled %22Global Citizen%22

Brochure page entitled %22International Education%22

Brochure page entitled %22Intercultural Learning%22