Catholic Graduate Expectations

Catholic education views human life as an integration of body, mind, and spirit. Rooted in this vision, Catholic education fosters the search for knowledge as a lifelong spiritual and academic quest. The expectations of Catholic graduates, therefore, are described not only in terms of knowledge and skills, but in terms of values, attitudes and actions.

As a student on a journey toward graduation from a Catholic school, therefore, you are challenged to meeting the following Catholic Graduate Expectations:

• A discerning believer formed in the Catholic Faith community who celebrates the signs and sacred mystery of God's presence through word, sacrament, prayer, forgiveness, reflection and moral living.
• An effective communicator who speaks, writes and listens honestly and sensitively, responding critically in light of gospel values.
• A reflective, creative and holistic thinker who solves problems and makes responsible decisions with an informed moral conscience for the common good.
• A self-directed, responsible, lifelong learner who develops and demonstrates their God-given potential.
• A collaborative contributor who finds meaning, dignity and vocation in work which respects the rights of all and contributes to the common good.
• A caring family member who attends to family, school, parish, and the wider community. A responsible citizen who gives witness to Catholic social teaching by promoting peace, justice and the sacredness of human life.

A Vision of Our Catholic School Communities

Catholic Curriculum and resource materials, at all grade levels, contribute to achieving these expectations for all students in our Catholic schools. Teachers in Catholic schools have used these expectations to make curriculum decisions concerning program planning, instructional strategies, evaluation and assessment. Administrators and trustees have used them to develop policies and practices that support not only the essential work of the classroom but also the broader Catholic culture of their schools. Parents and parishioners, recognizing in the language of the OCSGEs the distinctive elements of Catholic education, have been assisted not only in their celebrations of the successes of our Catholic schools, but have supported them in their efforts, in the broader civic arena, of promoting the value and contribution of our Catholic schools for all Ontarians. They underscore the fact that religious and moral education is not, and must not, be one subject among many in students’ timetables.