Family Services York

Region

York Region Transit

+ Toronto Transit
Commission

Saint Davids Parish

Maple GO Station Rail

Maple Library

Community of Maple
Child Care Services

Vaughan Maple
Supercentre
(Walmart. Lowes)

St. David
Catholic
Elementary
School York Regional Police and
Vaughan Fire Dept.

Baitul Islam Mosque

Maple Community
Centre

Vaughan Mills Shopping

Centre

Canadas Wonderland

Vaughan Community
Health Care Centre

Subdivisions in Relation
to Maple, Vaughan:
Thornhill, Woodbridge,
Concord, Kleinburg

For the school community observation and mapping, I chose to

observe St. David Catholic Elementary School. It is situated in Maple,
which is one of the several subdivisions of Vaughan Ontario in York
Region. St. David is home to students from JK to Gr. 8. Other
neighborhoods in relation to this school include Thornhill Woodbridge,
Concord and Kleinburg. I chose this elementary school due to the close
proximity to York U as I currently live in residence and am commuting
from campus.
At first I thought the neighborhood and area was going to have a
similar feel to Yorks geographical area as it is only 10 minutes down
Keele Street but I soon realized this was not the case. On route by TTC,
it felt as if it was going to be situated in an industrial/commercial area
as the bus drove down Keele St. because of all of the businesses and
open land. It didnt feel like a subdivision or let alone a community
would be located here.
Through much research and by using Google maps, I prepared
myself for the observation of the community. Based on my findings I
learned that the city of Vaughan has a population close to 300 000
people and Maple is a high-growth suburban community centered at
the intersection of Major Mackenzie Dr. and Keele St. in Vaughan with
approx. a population of 50 000 (2011).
Maple's proximity to Toronto and its major transportation
corridors, and Vaughan's own political support for development, have

led to the heavy development and heavy population growth. In 1993,

housing development began in the area and recently there is a new
subdivision being developed in the eastern part of Maple. In regards to
facts about the population, visible minorities make up 26.6% of the
population while the three biggest ethnic origins that make up the
population include Italians, Jewish, and Canadians. Residents are also
fairly religious with 60 % adhering to Christianity.
While observing, I noticed how clean and nicely landscaped the
community is which surrounds the school with a big-lit soccer field
beside the school. The 4 lane streets confirmed the population size. I
first observed the school because it was right on Keele St. and then I
went further into the subdivision to observe. The school is much bigger
than what I would have guessed, mainly because the school
accompanies grade sevens and eights. The homes and brands of
vehicles made me think that is a well to do community. Even the
apartments seemed high end. I would classify the community as
middle to upper class.
I noticed a couple strip malls, one across the street from the
school, which has a Macs Milk, Dry Cleaners, Beauty Salon, Pizzeria,
and an Italian Bakery, which emphasized the majority of the population
being of Italian ethnic origin. The other one had a local bank, gym,
lawyers and dentist offices, etc. The majority of stores and resources

seemed to be very convenient and they were more local and family
owned compared to having big box stores.
The community has a variety of resources including The Maple
Community Centre, Vaughan Mills Shopping Mall, Baitul Islam Mosque,
Vaughan Community Health Care Centre, Maple Supercenter with
several stores including Walmart, Community of Maple Child Care
Services, Maple Library, St. Davids Parish, etc. In addition, Maple is
home to a few other places including one of the largest mosques in
Canada, Baitul Islam Mosque, which is located on Jane Street in Peace
Village, and is open to the public. Maple is also home to Canadas
Wonderland.
Throughout the year, placement has provided me a way of
understanding a surrounding community and has allowed me to do a
more thorough observation with this school community. It has signaled
to the importance of bringing families, schools, and communities
together to establish support that promotes educational success.
Schools do not work in isolation and therefore the surrounding schools
and community must work together.