St. Brigid Catholic Elementary School has existed since 1889 as part of St. Patrick's Parish. the north east end of St. Patrick's parish began to grow very rapdly in the early 1880's and soon school accomodation was demanded of the Separate School Board to meeting the needs of the children who had to treavel long distances to either St. Patrick or St. Mary Schools.

As a result of this need, St. Thomas School was built on Smith Avenue near Cannon Street. The cornerstone for this school was laid in 1889. By the early 1900's the population in Hamilton continued to expand necessitating the construction for more Catholic schools, one of which was St. Thomas Aquinas. in order to prevent confusion with this "new" school. St. Thomas on Smith Avenue was renamed after St. Brigid. The original St. Brigid School was a "very smart looking two story school." It had four classrooms with two grades to a classroom. The entire interior was made of wood.

In 1959 the current St. Brigid School was constructed. It had three floors that contained 5 classrooms, a library and office space. In 1962 an addition was made to the south side of the school that increased the available classroom space. Another addition was made to the north side of the school in 1965 and finally, in 1967, a gymnasium was added to the back of the school. And thus you have the St. Brigid that we see today.

St. Brigid is an active and vibrant school community, with much to be proud. There has been such great improvement in overall academic performance that, in 2004, the school was one of the only three schools in Ontario recognized for special commendation for the gains that had been made academically.

The students, staff, and families of St. Brigid School are proud of past accomplishments and look forward, with excitement, to the challenges of the future.

St. Brigid Cross:

St. Brigid and her cross are linked together by the story that she wove this form of cross at the death bed of a pagan lord, who upon hearing what the cross meant, asked to be baptized. One version goes as follows:

A pagan chieftain from the neighbourhood of Kildare was dying. Christians in his household sent for Brigid to talk to him about Christ. When she arrived, the chieftain was raving. As it was impossible to instruct this delirious man, hopes for his conversion seemed doubtful. Brigid sat down at his bedside and began consoling him. As was customary, the dirt floor was strewn with rushes both for warmth and cleanliness. Brigid stooped down and started to weave them into a cross, fastening the points together. The sick man asked what she was doing. She began to explain the cross, and as she talked, his delirium quieted and he questioned her with growing interest. Through her weaving, he converted and was baptized at the point of death. Since then, the cross of rushes has been venerated in Ireland.