Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Francois Xavier School No. 1027 / St. Francois Xavier Centre School No. 2387 / St. Francois Xavier School (RM of St. Francois Xavier)

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Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

The St. Francois Xavier School District was formally established by the Roman Catholic School Board at some point between 1870 and December 1875. In 1898, the name was updated to St. Francois Xavier Centre School, to better differentiate from the nearby St. Francois Xavier East School and St. Francois Xavier West School. Its mid-range district number was representative of the later integration of the French schools into a single Department of Education district numbering system, with this district gaining its District No. 1027 designation around 1900. Classroom education was previously held at the St. Francois Xavier Gren Nuns Convent (built 1850, burned December 1915, replaced with St. Francois Xavier Convent) prior to the construction of any dedicated local school facilities.

To replace said destroyed quarters, the first school was erected in 1916 on Lot 183 in the Rural Municipality of St. Francois Xavier and served the community until destroyed by fire in 1937. A two-room school was next built on Lot 182. Although both St. Francois Xavier East School renamed as Todd School and St. Francois Xavier West School renamed as Pigeon Lake School, this district retained its Centre School name until consolidation. Classes were held in the school and also in the Parish Hall until 1960 when consolidation of this, along with Todd School, Pigeon Lake School, and Morgan School took place as the St. Francois Xavier School District No. 2387. A new four-room school, St. Francois Xavier School, was based upon designs of the Watchler Manufacturing Company and opened on this site in 1961.

The White Horse Plain School Division No. 20 erected the larger St. Francois Xavier School here in 1992. A monument was erected in 1992 by the St. Francois Xavier Historical Society.

Principals

Period	Principal
1905-1909	Eugenie Desautels
1909-1911	?
1911-1914	Sister Anna Bourin
1914-1915	?
1915-1921	Sister Clara Nadeau
1921-1923	Sister Marie-Antoinette Boulet
1923-1924	Sister Sadie Neumann
1924-1925	Sister Eugenie Marion
1925-1927	Sister Lucie Boulet
1927-1928	Sister Maria A. Benoit
1928-1932	Sister Georgianna Marie Bisson
1932-1933	Sister Anna Maria Lussier
1933-1934	Sister Georgianna Marie Bisson
1934-1935	Sister Lucie Beaudry
1935-1936	Sister Lizzie Kristoff
1936-1937	Sister Antoinette Normandeau
1937-1938	Sister Anna Maria Lussier
1938-1939	Sister Cecile U. Tougas
1939-1944	Sister Marie Antoinette Boulet
1944-1947	Sister Sadie Neumann
1947	Alice Marie Rousseau Perras (1918-1983)
1948	Vivian Clarkson “Clark” Hardy (1897-1982)
1948-1953	Sister Gaecelia Agnes Dunlavey
1953-1960	Jeanne Alice Monchamp
1960-1961	Sister Anna Maria Lussier
1961-1965	Marie Rose Reine Trottier “Irene” Dauphinais (1906-1983)
1965-1966	Keith Martin Wyenberg
1966-1967	Louise Elizabeth MacDougall Andrieshyn
1967-1968	?
1968-1971	Jake Giesbrecht
1971-1973	Marguerite Marilyn Janz
1974-1979	David John Campbell

Teachers

Period	Teachers
1894	Rosalie Genthon (Fall)
1895	?
1895	?
1896	?
1897	J. L. C. Jacolet? (Fall), ? (Spring)
1898	Sister Samson, Sister [Vinet] Vinnet
1899	Sister Samson, Sister [Vinet] Vinnet
1900	Eugenie Desautels (Fall), Sister Louise Samson (Spring), Sister Hermine Vinet
1901	Eugenie Desautels (Spring), Sister M. Lauzier (Fall), Sister Hermine Vinet
1902	?
1903	?
1904	?
1905	Kate Barton (Spring), Eugenie Desautels (Fall), Sister Eugenie Valade
1906	Eugenie Desautels, Sister Eugenie Valade
1907	Eugenie Desautels, Sister Eugenie Valade
1908	Eugenie Desautels, Sister Eugenie Valade
1909	Eugenie Desautels (Spring), Sister Josephine Maurice (Fall), Sister Eugenie Valade
1910	Josephine Dupuis (Spring), Sister Josephine Maurice, Sister Eugenie Valade (Fall)
1911	Sister Kate Barton (Fall), Sister Anna Bourin (Fall), Sister Josephine Maurice (Spring), Sister Eugenie Valade (Spring)
1912	Spring only: Sister Kate Barton, Sister Anna Bourin
1912-1913	Sister Anna Bourin, Sister Eugenie Valade
1913-1914	Sister Anna Bourin, Sister Eugenie Valade
1914-1915	M. Robertine Rosselin, Sister Eugenie Valade
1915-1916	Sister Victoria Lamiche (grades 1-4), Sister Clara Nadeau (grades 5-8)
1916-1917	Sister Clara Nadeau (grades 5-8), Sister M. G? Roy (grades 1-4)
1917-1918	Sister mary Murphy (grades 1-4), Sister Clara Nadeau (grades 5-8)
1918-1919	Sister Clara Nadeau (grades 5-7), Sister Margaret Owens (grades 1-4)
1919-1920	Sister Clara Nadeau (grades 4-6), Sister Margaret Owens (grades 1-3)
1920-1921	Sister Marie-Antoinette Boulet (grades 1-3, March-June), Sister Clara Nadeau (grades 4-7), Sister Anastasie Vinet (grades 1-3, September-March)
1921-1922	Sister Marie-Antoinette Boulet (grades 4-8), Sister Anastasie Vinet (grades 1-3)
1922-1923	Sister Marie-Antoinette Boulet (grades 4-8), Sister Clara Nadeau (grades 1-3)
1923-1924	Sister Clara Nadeau (grades 1-3), Sister Sadie Neumann (grades 4-8)
1924-1925	Sister Anna Bonin (grades 1-3), Sister Eugenie Marion (grades 4-8)
1925-1926	Sister Maria A. Benoit (grades 1-4), Sister Lucie Boulet (grades 5-8)
1926-1927	Sister Maria A. Benoit (grades 1-4), Sister Lucie Boulet (grades 5-8)
1927-1928	Sister Maria A. Benoit (grades 5-8), Sister Marie Elodie Vauchon (grades 1-4)
1928-1929	Sister Georgianna Marie Bisson (grades 5-8), Sister Marie Elodie Vauchon (grades 1-4)
1929-1930	Sister Georgianna Marie Bisson (grades 5-8), Sister Marie Elodie Vauchon (grades 1-4)
1930-1931	Sister Georgianna Marie Bisson (grades 5-8), Sister Marie Elodie Vauchon (grades 1-4)
1931-1932	Sister Georgianna Marie Bisson (grades 5-8), Sister Marie Elodie Vauchon (grades 1-4)
1932-1933	Sister Anna Maria Lussier (grades 5-8), Sister Marie Elodie Vauchon (grades 1-4)
1933-1934	Sister Georgianna Marie Bisson (grades 4-9), Sister Marie Elodie Vauchon (grades 1-3)
1934-1935	Sister Lucie Beaudry (grades 4-8), Sister Marie Elodie Vauchon (grades 1-3)
1935-1936	Sister Lucie Beaudry (grades 1-3), Sister Lizzie Kristoff (grades 4-8)
1936-1937	Sister Marie Anna Bisson (grades 1-4), Sister Anna Maria Lussier (grades 5-8)
1937-1938	Sister Anna Maria Lussier (grades 5-9), Sister Antoinette Normandeau (grades 1-4)
1938-1939	Sister Antoinette Normandeau (grades 1-8), Sister Cecile U. Tougas (grades 9-10)
1939-1940	Sister Marie Antoinette Boulet (grades 9-11), Sister Antoinette Normandeau (grades 1-8)
1940-1941	Sister Marie Antoinette Boulet (grades 9-11), Sister Antoinette Normandeau (grades 1-8)
1941-1942	Sister Marie Antoinette Boulet (grades 11-12), Sister Emilienne Marie Deschambault (grades 9-10), Sister Antoinette Normandeau (grades 1-8)
1942-1943	Sister Marie Antoinette Boulet (grades 11-12), Sister Emilienne Marie Deschambault (grades 9-10), Sister Antoinette Normandeau (grades 1-8)
1943-1944	Sister Marie Antoinette Boulet (grades 11-12), Sister Emilienne Marie Deschambault (grades 9-10), Sister Antoinette Normandeau (grades 1-8)
1944-1945	Sister Jeanne Alice Monchamp (grades 9-10), Sister Sadie Neumann (grades 11-12), Sister Antoinette Normandeau (grades 1-8)
1945-1946	Sister Jeanne Alice Monchamp (grades 9-10), Sister Sadie Neumann (grades 11-12), Sister Antoinette Normandeau (grades 1-8)
1946-1947	Sister Jeanne Alice Monchamp (grades 9-10), Sister Sadie Neumann (grades 11-12), Sister Marie Irene Richard (grades 1-8)
1947-1948	Vivian Clark Hardy (grades 11-12, January-June), Sister Sadie Neumann (grades 11-12, August-October), Sister Marie Irene Richard (grades 1-8), Alice Marie Rousseau (grades 9-10, August-June & grades 11-12, October-November), (grades 11-12 closed in December, teacher ill)
1948-1949	Fleur-Ange Cormier (grades 1-8), Sister Gaecelia Agnes Dunlavey (grades 11-12), Sister Anna Maria Lussier (grades 9-10)
1949-1950	Sister Gaecelia Agnes Dunlavey (grades 11-12), Eleline Fournier (grades 1-4, August-May & June), Sister Anna Maria Lussier (grades 9-10), Sister Hermance Edmee Lussier (grades 5-8), Sister M. E. Vauchon (grades 1-4, May)
1950-1951	Sister Gaecelia Agnes Dunlavey (grades 11-12), Gerard J. Gagne (grades 1-4), Sister Anna Maria Lussier (grades 9-10), Sister Hermance Edmee Lussier (grades 5-8)
1951-1952	Laurette Alarie (grades 1-4), Sister Gaecelia Agnes Dunlavey (grades 11-12), Sister Anna Maria Lussier (grades 9-10), Sister Hermance Edmee Lussier (grades 5-8)
1952-1953	Sister Aldea Agathe Alarie (grades 1-4), Sister Gaecelia Agnes Dunlavey (grades 11-12), Sister Hermance Edmee Lussier (grades 5-8), Sister Jeanne Alice Monchamp (grades 9-10)
1953-1954	Sister Michelle Monchamp (grades 1-4), Sister Dolores Lussier (grades 9-10), Sister Jeanne Alice Monchamp (grades 11-12), Sister Louisa M. Anne Sabourin (grades 5-8)
1954-1955	Sister Irene Gagnon (grades 1-4), Sister Dolores Lussier (grades 9-10), Sister Jeanne Alice Monchamp (grades 11-12), Sister Rosanna Anna “Rose” Ritchot (grades 5-8)
1955-1956	Sister Irene Gagnon (grades 1-4), Sister Dolores Lussier (grades 9-10), Sister Jeanne Alice Monchamp (grades 11-12), Sister Rosanna Anna “Rose” Ritchot (grades 5-8)
1956-1957	Sister Irene Gagnon (grades 1-4), Sister Jeanne Alice Monchamp (grades 11-12), Sister Marie Irene Richard (grades 9-10), Sister Rosanna Anna “Rose” Ritchot (grades 5-8)
1957-1958	Sister Aldea Agathe Alarie (grades 9-10), Sister Jeanne Alice Monchamp (grades 11-12), Sister Jeannine Parent (grades 1-4), Sister Rosanna Anna “Rose” Ritchot (grades 5-8)
1958-1959	Sister Jeanne Alice Monchamp (grades 11-12), Sister Marielle Mathilda Moreau (grades 9-10), Sister Aurise Normandeau (grades 1-4), Sister Jeannine Parent (grades 5-8)
1959-1960	Sister Jeanne Alice Monchamp (grades 11-12), Sister Marielle Mathilda Moreau (grades 9-10), Sister Jeannine Parent (grades 5-8), Evelne Anne Marie Prescott (grades 1-4)
1960-1961	Sister Irene Gagnon (grades 5-8), Sister Anna Maria Lussier (grades 11-12), Marcel Louis Joseph Marchildon (grades 9-10), Sister Simonne Rene (grades 1-4)
1961-1962	Irene Marie Dauphinais (grades 7-8), Mrs. Ellen Eliza Finegan (grades 5-6), Sister Irene Gagnon (grades 3-4), Sister Simonne Rene (grades 1-2)
1962-1963	Sister Cecile Champagne (grades 1-2), Irene Marie Dauphinais (grades 7-8), Mrs. Ellen Eliza Finegan (grades 5-6), Sister Irene Gagnon (grades 3-4), William Patrick Joseph Zimmer (grades 3-8)
1963-1964	Sister Cecile Champagne (grades 1-2), Irene Marie Dauphinais (grades 7-8), Sister Helene Desrosiers (grades 3-4), Mrs. Ellen Eliza Finegan (grades 5-6)
1964-1965	Sister Marie-Rose Bouchard (grades 1-2), Irene Marie Dauphinais (grades 7-8), Sister Helene Desrosiers (grades 3-4), Mrs. Ellen Eliza Finegan (grades 5-6)
1965-1966	S. Allard (grade 1, February-March), Sister Marie-Rose Bouchard (grade 2), Sister Rosa Marie Desmarias (grades 3-4), Mrs. Ellen Eliza Finegan (grades 5-6), Muriel Hanson (grade 1, September-February & March-June), Keith Martin Wyenberg (grades 7-8)
1966-1967	Louise Elizabeth MacDougall Andrieshyn (grades 7-8), Sister Rosa Marie Desmarias (grades 5-6), Sister Annette Gauthier (grades 3-4, September-December), Leslie Alison Harburn (grade 2), Donna Elaine Jarvis (grade 1), Andrew Morrison King (grades 5?-8?, September-December; grades 3-4, January-June)
1967-1968	Eleanor Patricia Bachewich (grades 3-4), Sister Rosa Marie Desmarias (grades 5-6), Sister Annette Gauthier (grades 7-8), Shirey Dianne Hopps (grades 2-3), Donna Elaine Jarvis (grade 1)
1968-1969	Eleanor Patricia Bachewich (grade 3, September), Sister Rosa Marie Desmarias (grade 4), Johanna Irene Froese (grade 3, October-June), Jake Giesbrecht (grades 5-6), Anna Margaret Hatfield (kindergarten), Donna Elaine Jarvis (grade 1), Olive Marie Touchette (grade 2)
1969-1970	Johnanna Irene Froese (grade 3), Jake Giesbrecht (grades 5-6), Anna Margaret Hatfield (kindergarten), Sister Evelyn Anne-Marie Prescott (grade 4), Shirley Agnes Rasmussen (grade 1), Sister Celine Vermette (grade 2)
1970-1971	Odile Pauline Bourrier (kindergarten), Wilma Carol Enns (grade 2), Jake Giesbrecht (grades 5-6), Therese Marie Melnic (grade 3), Sister Evelyn Anne-Marie Prescott (grade 4), Shirley Agnes Rasmussen (grade 1)
1971-1972	Vyonne C. Belliveau (grade 4), Odile Pauline Bourrier (kindergarten), Marguerite Marilyn Janz (grade 6), Tina Pauls (grades 2-3), Sister Evelyn Anne-Marie Prescott (grade 5), Shirley Agnes Rasmussen (grades 1-2)
1972-1973	Vyonne C. Belliveau (grade 4), Odile Pauline Bourrier (kindergarten), Margaret Therese Giesbrecht (grades 2-3), Marguerite Marilyn Janz (grade 6), Sister Evelyn Anne-Marie Prescott (grade 5), Shirley Agnes Rasmussen (grades 1-2)
1973-1974	Carol Anne Abrahams (grade 1), Bette Louise Birss (grade 4), Odile Pauline Bourrier (kindergarten), David John Campbell (grade 6, January-June), Marguerite Marilyn Janz (grade 6, September-December), Sister Evelyn Anne-Marie Prescott (grade 5), Anna Schell (grade 2)
1974-1975	David John Campbell (grade 6), Rosemarie Campbell (grade 3), Edith Mabel Hobson (kindergarten), Sharon Lynn Kent (grades 1-2, half time?), Eva Helen Kingdon (grade 5, September-December), Brenda-Gaye Darlene Paley (grades 1-2, half time?), Sister Evelyn Anne-Marie Prescott (grade 4), Henry Reimer (grade 5, January-June)
1975-1976	David John Campbell (grade 6), Edith Mabel Hobson (kindergarten), Sharon Lynn Kent (grade 1), Deborah Jean Mogk (grade 3), Brenda-Gaye Darlene Paley (grade 2), Sister Evelyn Anne-Marie Prescott (grade 4), Henry Reimer (grade 5)
1976-1977	Brenda-Gaye Darlene Paley Beer (grade 2), David John Campbell (grade 6), Edith Mabel Hobson (kindergarten), Sharon Lynn Kent (grade 1), Deborah Jean Mogk (grade 3), Sister Evelyn Anne-Marie Prescott (grade 4), Henry Reimer (grade 5)
1977-1978	David John Campbell (grade 6), Doreen Gretta Marie Emms (grade 1), Edith Mabel Hobson (kindergarten), Donna Irene Meighen (grade 2), Deborah Jean Mogk (grade 3), Sister Evelyn Anne-Marie Prescott (grade 4), Henry Reimer (grade 5)
1978-1979	David John Campbell (grade 6), Rosemarie Campbell (grade 3, pt September), Doreen Gretta Marie Emms (grade 3, pt September), Betty-Ann Heron (grade 1), Edith Mabel Hobson (kindergarten), Mohsin Bin Hussain (grade 5, September-December), Donna Irene Meighen (grade 2), Judith Lynn Porter (grade 3, pt September - June), Henry Reimer (grade 5), Lois Marlene Schoemper (grade 5, January-June)

Photos & Coordinates

St. Francois Xavier School (no date) by E. D. Parker Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-2, page 42. St. Francois Xavier School commemorative monument (2010) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.91071, W97.53723 denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

Board of Education registers (A 0050), GR7643, Archives of Manitoba.

Summative half-yearly returns for school districts (A 0051), GR0571, Archives of Manitoba.

Board of Education meeting minutes and office files (A 0052), GR1622, Archives of Manitoba.

School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, St. Francois Xavier School District #1027 - Daily Registers, GR0645, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, St. Francois Xavier Consolidated School District #2387 - Daily Registers, GR0645, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, White Horse Plains School Division #20 (St. Francois Xavier School) - Daily Registers, GR0645, Archives of Manitoba.

One Hundred Years in the History of the Rural Schools of Manitoba: Their Formation, Reorganization and Dissolution (1871-1971) by Mary B. Perfect, MEd thesis, University of Manitoba, April 1978.

Our First Hundred Years: A History of St. Francois-Xavier Municipality. St. Francois-Xavier Municipality Historical Committee, 1980. Manitoba Legislative Library, F5648.S234.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 6 August 2022

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