Faith is a vital part of learning for the students, staff and families of St. James School.
“Our faith enters into all our subjects and activities. This is important for me as a teacher. I went to Catholic schools and my faith is a part of my life. I have the freedom to share my beliefs and to be a role model for young people,” said Vivianna Monaghan, vice-principal and Grade 3/4 teacher.
“We are allowed to pray here and to try to live our lives as Jesus lived his. We learn how to live when things go well and when we face difficulties. Parents like having the freedom to choose St. James and some of our students are from families who are not Catholic.”
Monaghan and the staff and students are proud of a recent External Evaluation Committee report which wrote: “The general tone of the classrooms was one of respect and a genuine caring for one another,” and commended the school on the high quality of instruction, the building, equipment, staff and support programs, including the involvement of the church community.”
The school follows the same curriculum as provincial public schools, and has just finished celebrating Catholic Schools Week.
“We are really happy with the report and the recognition for our work. We strive for an atmosphere of respect, love and caring,” said Monaghan.
St. James School has just under 100 students in Grades K-7, with eight teachers, plus support staff. The school provides child care for students from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., as needed.
Families who have had children in the school are pleased with their choice. Ruby and Nenette Sharma’s three children, now all adults, Sareena Nickoli, Sarah Blundell, and Justin Sharma, all attended St. James School.
“I remember that the school was really welcoming and warm and I always felt comfortable there. I liked the small classes and the individual attention from the teachers. They say children cannot learn unless they are loved and we were loved,” said Nickoli, who went on to attend Trinity Western University and get her business degree from Okanagan College. She works in the family business, City Furniture. “I felt very well-prepared for going to Kal school in Grade 8 and I have good memories of St. James.”
She and Blundell said they have fond memories of school field trips which included camping to Silver Lake, and visits to Barkerville and Victoria.
“There was a good influence from the older kids,” said Blundell, referring to the school’s buddy system which has older students help younger ones. She went on to become a certified cosmetologist and teaches a religion class at St. James.
“We had religion classes, and faith was part of everything we did. The school has so much to offer. You can’t say enough about the teachers. And the school is very up-to-date in every way.”
She and her husband have decided to send their children, Hayden, four, who will start kindergarten this fall, and Gage, two-and-a-half, to St. James.
Justin Sharma still remembers his first day of kindergarten at St. James.
“The teacher made me so welcome that I couldn’t wait to go back the next day,” he said.
There were many more good days to come at the school.
“We had prayer partners. We were teamed up with older students who would guide us and that made us feel really cool and part of everything. Having our faith as part of our education was very important and my faith is one of the strongest aspects of my life and has helped me to be at peace with myself in all situations and appreciate every opportunity that I have had,” said Sharma, in a phone interview.
He attended the school from kindergarten to Grade 10. He has a degree in business administration from UBCO and works for a bank in Hamburg, Germany, where he lives with his wife, Hanna.
“We had prayers in school every day and learned about our own religious background and how to interpret other religions. A child needs to grow up in a faith to be able to make informed decisions about faith in their life as an adult.
“One of the best things about St. James is that we were not limited by political correctness. In our religion class, as well as other classes, we were allowed to bring up questions and have discussions about certain topics as long as they were appropriate, without the inhibitions of being acceptable or not by society. Religion is as much about interpretation as it is about belief. Without the influence of religion, I imagine it to be difficult to have conversations about how to become a better person. It has helped me in understanding why I should have the values that I have, to believe in what I believe in, and the importance of knowing why I have the thoughts that I have, and do the things that I do.”
He is grateful to his parents for giving him the opportunity to be educated in his faith and would want the same for his own children.
“It was a quality education. The teachers were always there for all activities and I remember them all warmly and like to see them when I am in Canada. The school also helped me understand the value of community involvement,” said Sharma, who plays the piano and co-leads the choir in his church in Germany and is a member of Rotaract, a Rotary Club for young business and professional people.
Ruby, who was raised as a Hindu, and Nenette Sharma, who attended Catholic schools and university in the Phillipines, decided together that a Catholic school would provide the moral education they wanted for their children.
“For me, it was faith and education integrated. Faith is the laws of God, and education is the laws of the world. We wanted our children to learn the same values at school as we were teaching at home,” said Nenette. “The spiritual emphasis is on love of God and neighbours, where stem virtues like respect, humility, others above self, compassion and kindness. It was a privilege to send our children to St. James School.”
Ruby also wanted an education that would provide guidance and a good example for the children.
“We wanted them to have God as the centre of their lives and to have the best chance to develop a conscience to make good decisions. I think a private school takes good care of children, with smaller class sizes and more individual attention. I think the children learned to respect themselves and others in society and that they are called to be servant leaders,” he said
