Seventy Years of Saturdays: Inside St. Sahag & St. Mesrob Armenian Saturday School
Every Saturday morning from September to June, a public school on Forest Manor Road in North York fills up with Armenian. Children arrive in uniform at 9:30, parents stand in the hallway trading news, and somewhere down the corridor a class of five year olds is working through the alphabet one letter at a time. This has been happening since 1956.
We are Ernest and Nina, the two people behind Tomsak, and we both grew up inside that Saturday morning. St. Sahag & St. Mesrob Armenian Saturday School is the oldest Armenian language school in Toronto, and it is also the place where each of us learned to read Armenian, met the friends we still have, and figured out that being Armenian in Canada is something you do with other people rather than something you keep at home.
The 2026-2027 school year opened on Saturday, September 26, 2026. If you have been meaning to enrol your child, or you have a teenager who could pick up a high school credit in Armenian, this is the post we wish someone had written for us.
Why this school matters, from two people who went through it
Our memories of this place are ordinary, which is exactly the point. Learning the letters. Being nervous before the year end concert and then not wanting it to end. Lahmajoun on fundraiser Saturdays. Teachers who knew our families. The specific noise of a hallway full of Armenian kids at 1:30 when class lets out.
What stayed with us was not the grammar. It was the friendships. The people we met on those Saturdays are still in our lives 10 years later, and a fair share of the community we now write about on Tomsak we first met in that building. Tomsak exists because we kept noticing how much is happening in Armenian Canada and how easily people miss it. That instinct started here, at a school where the whole point is that you show up and find each other.
So this is the honest pitch. One morning a week will not turn your child into a scholar of Armenian literature. What it will do is give them a room full of people who share something with them, and a language they can come back to for the rest of their lives.
What St. Sahag & St. Mesrob Armenian Saturday School is
The school was founded in 1956 under the auspices of the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church of Toronto, and by its own description it is the oldest Armenian language school in Toronto. Counting from that first year, 2026-2027 is its seventy first.
It runs as part of the Canadian Armenian Community Services Centre, also known as the Barev Centre, a not for profit organization that is itself part of Holy Trinity Armenian Church, whose parish priest is Rev. Archpriest Fr. Zareh Zargarian. The principal is Dr. Arpi Panossian Muttart and the vice principal is Mr. Ara Ter Haroutiunian.
Classes are held at Forest Manor Public School, 25 Forest Manor Road, Toronto, ON M2J 1M4, a Toronto District School Board building. The school's own address sits with the church at 920 Progress Avenue. The Toronto District School Board supports the morning programme through its International Languages Program.
Enrolment in 2024-2025 was 369 students, which for a Saturday school is a substantial number. That year 21 students graduated from Grade 8, 20 finished Secondary Level 3, 18 graduated from senior kindergarten, and 12 Grade 1 students received their alphabet diploma.
The programme, kindergarten through high school credit
Classes run from kindergarten to the high school credit levels. Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian are taught in separate classes from kindergarten to Grade 8, which matters in a city where some families speak one and some the other, and where nobody should have to pick a side to enrol. Students study the Armenian language along with literature, history, music, arts and culture.
The hours are straightforward:
Kindergarten to Grade 8: Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Secondary and credit courses: Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Thirty Saturdays in total, September to June
There are extracurricular activity sessions in 2026-2027, https://www.barevcentre.com/event/sassoun-junior-dance-ensemble-first-practiceSassoun Junior Dance Ensemble and https://www.barevcentre.com/event/barev-chess-for-children-first-sessionBarev Chess Classes for Children
The high school credit courses, and why they are worth knowing about
This is the part most families outside the school do not know about. Through the Toronto District School Board's Saturday credit programme for international languages, students in Ontario high schools can earn credits in Armenian at Forest Manor, at no cost. The school lists Levels 1, 2 and 3, taken in order, under the TDSB course codes LYRBD1, LYRCU1 and LYRDU1.
The courses begin on Saturday, October 3, 2026 at 9:00 a.m., run through to May 2027, and are open to current Ontario high school students from any school board, ages 14 to 18. There are no fees for credit courses. Registration for this year closed on September 18 at 10 a.m., so if your teenager missed it, the school office is the place to ask what is still possible. Course details and future registration sit with the TDSB's Saturday international languages credit programme.
A credit in Armenian on an Ontario transcript is a small thing that says something real. It is also the rare case where the community programme and the provincial system line up neatly.
Registration and fees for 2026-2027
For kindergarten to Grade 8, registration is open and the form sits on the school's own registration page. The high school credit course registration, which runs through the TDSB, closed on September 18.
Kindergarten to Grade 8: $700 per child. The early online rate of $650 ended on August 31, 2026.
Credit courses: no fees.
Uniform: $45 each, bought from the school office. K-8 students are expected to wear it.
Payment: cash, credit or debit, PayPal, cheque payable to St. Sahag & St. Mesrob Armenian Saturday School, or e-transfer to stsahagstmesrob@outlook.com.
The school issues an official charitable donation receipt for the portion of the fees that qualifies.
Classes have already started. If you are reading this in late September or October and wondering whether it is too late, call (416) 431-3001 or write to info@armenianschool.ca and ask. Saturday schools are used to families arriving mid stream.
The rhythm of the school year
Only the start dates are published for 2026-2027. What follows is the shape the year has taken in recent seasons, drawn from the school's own past announcements and its last published calendar, so treat everything after October as the pattern rather than a confirmed date:
Late September: classes begin. This year it was Saturday, September 26.
Early October: high school credit courses begin. This year, October 3.
Winter: Vartanantz, the commemoration of Vartan Mamikonian and the Battle of Avarayr, marked at school. Class picture day and a Christmas gift drive and party have appeared in past years.
April: the Armenian Genocide commemoration, marked at school on a Saturday in April.
May: the annual school concert, the event the whole year points at. The 2023 concert sold out.
June: senior kindergarten graduation and the alphabet programme, Grade 8 graduation, and the year end recital.
Through the year: lunch days and lahmajoun sales, run largely by parents, which are the reason a lot of this works at all.
Grade 8 graduates also have the pilgrimage to Armenia, a trip the school has been running since 1998, usually in the first week of July for twelve to fourteen nights. For many students it is the first time they see the country they have been studying since kindergarten. Current details are on the school's pilgrimage page.
Once the school publishes its 2026-2027 dates, they will appear on the Tomsak events page alongside everything else happening in the community. If you run a school or an organization and your dates are not there yet, send them to us.
Saturday afternoons: chess and dance in the same building
Barev Centre has two programmes in the same building on Saturday afternoons. Both start on Saturday, October 17, 2026, from 1:45 to 2:45 p.m., fifteen minutes after class ends:
Barev Chess Classes for Children,
Sassoun Junior Dance Ensemble, first practice the same afternoon
Both are listed on the Barev Centre events page. For a family already making the Saturday trip, an extra hour is an easy yes.
How this fits into Armenian Toronto
The school is one node in a network that also includes Holy Trinity Armenian Church, the Sassoun Dance Ensemble, and the wider Barev Centre programming, from the Armenian Voices choir to chess tournaments. Students who go through the Saturday school tend to turn up in all of it, and in the camps and youth groups beyond it, which is how a community of a few thousand manages to run a calendar this full.
If you are new to the city, or new to looking, our Toronto page and the Ontario community guide are the fastest way to see what else is on. Camp Ararat, where a lot of Saturday school friendships turn into summer ones, is covered in our week at Camp Ararat. The national guide covers the rest of the country.
What we would tell a parent standing in the hallway
Enrol them younger than you think you should. Come to the concert even when you are tired. Say yes to the lunch days. And do not worry too much about whether your child's Armenian will be perfect, because that is not really what is being built in that building on Saturday mornings.
Seventy years on, the school is still doing the same thing it did for us.
Register: armenianschool.ca/registration-2 · Call: (416) 431-3001 · Email: info@armenianschool.ca · Where: 25 Forest Manor Road, Toronto
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Frequently asked questions
What is St. Sahag & St. Mesrob Armenian Saturday School?
It is an Armenian language Saturday school in Toronto, founded in 1956 under the auspices of the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church of Toronto. It teaches Armenian language, literature, history, music, arts and culture from kindergarten to high school credit level, and describes itself as the oldest Armenian language school in Toronto.
Where and when does the school meet?
Classes are held at Forest Manor Public School, 25 Forest Manor Road, Toronto, ON M2J 1M4. Kindergarten to Grade 8 runs Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and secondary and credit courses run Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The school year covers thirty Saturdays from September to June.
When did the 2026-2027 school year start?
Kindergarten to Grade 8 classes began on Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. The high school Armenian credit courses begin on Saturday, October 3, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. and run through to May 2027.
How much does it cost?
The fee for kindergarten to Grade 8 is $700 per child for 2026-2027. An early online registration rate of $650 was available until August 31, 2026. The uniform costs $45 and is bought from the school office. The high school credit courses have no fees.
Is it too late to register?
For kindergarten to Grade 8 the registration form is open on the school's website, and since classes have already begun, families joining now should contact the office at (416) 431-3001 or info@armenianschool.ca to confirm placement. Registration for the TDSB high school credit courses closed on September 18 at 10 a.m.
Does the school teach Western or Eastern Armenian?
Both. Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian are taught in separate classes from kindergarten to Grade 8, so families can enrol in the variety they speak at home.
Can high school students earn an Ontario credit in Armenian?
Yes. Through the Toronto District School Board's Saturday credit programme for international languages, students in any Ontario school board can take Armenian at Levels 1, 2 and 3, under the course codes LYRBD1, LYRCU1 and LYRDU1, at Forest Manor Public School on Saturday mornings at no cost.
Who runs the school?
The school is part of the Canadian Armenian Community Services Centre, also known as the Barev Centre, which is part of Holy Trinity Armenian Church in Toronto, whose parish priest is Rev. Archpriest Fr. Zareh Zargarian. The principal is Dr. Arpi Panossian Muttart and the vice principal is Mr. Ara Ter Haroutiunian.
How many students attend?
Enrolment in 2024-2025 was 369 students. In that year 21 students graduated from Grade 8, 20 completed Secondary Level 3, 18 graduated from senior kindergarten, and 12 Grade 1 students received their alphabet diploma.
What events does the school hold during the year?
In recent years the school has marked Vartanantz in winter and the Armenian Genocide commemoration in April, held an annual school concert in May, and ended the year in June with senior kindergarten graduation and the alphabet programme, Grade 8 graduation and a year end recital. Parent run lunch days and lahmajoun sales run through the year. Dates for 2026-2027 had not been published at the time of writing.
Is there anything for students after class on Saturdays?
The Barev Centre is holding children's chess classes and the Sassoun Junior Dance Ensemble at the same building on Saturdays from 1:45 to 2:45 p.m., both starting October 17, 2026.
Do Grade 8 students really go to Armenia?
Yes. The school has run a pilgrimage to Armenia for its Grade 8 graduates since 1998, usually in the first week of July for twelve to fourteen nights, with the participation fee estimated at $3,500. Current details are published on the school's pilgrimage page.
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