In September 1967, St. James began as a full parent participation pre-school. Ann Reynolds was the first president of the executive and Pam Bottrill was our first supervisor, with Barbara Freeman as assistant supervisor. Since the school was using the church’s name in its title, a church warden attended executive meetings for the first three years to act as a liaison between the church and the school. Once the credibility of the school was established, this practice ceased, and the school has operated independently ever since.
We have been located in our current facilities since 1980. Prior to that, we were housed in the church when in 1978 a disastrous fire destroyed much of its interior, with significant damage to the basement. From January to May 1978 we used the Dundana Kindergarten room, and from September 1978 to May 1980, we used the former Dundas Baptist church on Park St West.
In the first year of operation, the school had 30 children who came 3 mornings as week. The following spring, the waiting list was so long that an afternoon program was established. This format continued until the 1995-1996 year. We now offer a toddler program, a pre-school program for 3 and 4 year olds as well as enrichment programs for junior and senior kindergarten children.