St. Charles Borromeo School :: Academic Program

Saint Charles Borromeo School

Academic Program

In a Catholic school we can truly educate the “whole” child. Here we can integrate spiritual development along with the educational, physical, and social development. Students learn about who Jesus is and what it means to be a Christian in today’s society. We are here to support parents in their responsibility to educate their children in the faith. Together, home and school collaborate to produce children who are committed to a Christian lifestyle. “Head” and “heart” knowledge contribute equally to a person’s success in life—in careers, in life choices, and in all social interaction, and at Saint Charles Borromeo we are committed to helping students integrate Jesus into their daily life. This is why I have made Catholic education my life commitment—I believe in Catholic education and what it offers to students in the twenty-first century.

Preschool
      Saint Charles Borromeo currently has two different sections of early childhood education. The Preschool class, ages 4-5 years, meets three days a week. The Early Childhood class, ages 3-4 years, meets two days a week.

      The children are exposed to extraordinary, active, hands-on environments that foster the highest level of personal intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development possible. The goal is to include a variety of materials and opportunities and adjust such environments to best suit the needs of the children in the class. Combining assistance from the school, the families at home, and the experiences in the classroom, it is Saint Charles Borromeo’s hope to give each child the very best possible avenue for personal learning and development.

Kindergarten
      The kindergarten program uses the Rowland Reading Foundation early reading program called “Superkids”. This is an exciting program, which has been very successful. The students begin blending sounds together and decoding during the 6th week of kindergarten. By the end of the first semester, many are reading, writing and comprehending what they read! We do Superkids every morning.

      In addition, every morning the class has calendar math. Students learn about the calendar, days of the week, months in the year, seasons, and telling time. Other math curriculum is taught first thing in the afternoon. Sorting, writing numbers, addition, subtraction, and money are some of the concepts the students are learning.

      Small group learning centers allow the students to interact with each other. It is also an excellent opportunity for the teacher to work with 2-3 students at a time on reinforcement skills or enrichment skills. There are learning centers in the classroom everyday for all subject areas.

      Science, Social Studies, Health, and Religion make up the rest of the day. These subjects are taught in the afternoon. Using mostly hands-on activities, the students are exposed to many different ideas. They are given many different ways to express themselves.

      The students are involved in their learning process and learn to be responsible for their behavior.

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1st Grade
In first grade Reading, Phonics, Spelling, and handwriting are all integrated. The computer program, called Waterford Reading is used to enhance the Reading and Language Arts. We always participate in the Pizza Hut Book-It Program. We celebrate with a pizza party in the spring after everyone has completed all six months.

2nd Grade
Second grade is an exciting year for students because they come in already with the foundations, so they are eager to learn more. It is also the year they learn how to multiply and write in cursive. Much of our day is spent working at centers with partners. Students develop a wider vocabulary and are challenged in various subject areas. When students leave my classroom they enter third grade feeling confident, self-reliant, and successful.

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3rd Grade
Third grade is an exciting year for the children. They feel more grown up now that they are on the second floor of the building. The students learn about different genres of literature and explain story elements in book reports. The children personify characters after they read their biographies during a Wax Museum project. One important part of the morning is reading a Bible verse. This helps the children and the teacher focus on what is important.

They have daily practice with language and math skills and are challenged with problems of the day. The children are also exposed to different continents and countries. They are given clues and then guess where in the world the teacher is located. Students create dioramas of ecosystems and write research papers about ecosystems, traditions, and animal life, among other topics. The children then create posters and present their information to the class.

4th, 5th, & 6th Grades
Grades 4, 5, and 6 are taught in a team teaching format.

     Indiana History (4th Grade) – Students do as many hands-on activities as possible to make the topic come alive. There is a life-size tipi in the room which gets used daily for many things. The students do projects, reports, skits, and take field trips to enhance the program.

     Math (4th through 6th Grades) – Math is a lot of practice: at the chalkboard, on the computers, on the Smartboard, on calculators, and on dry-erase boards. A math competition is held in March. Participating students practice for about 45 minutes after school three days a week beginning in January. It is a great way for the students to learn even more Math.

     Reading (4th through 6th Grades) – Students explore age appropriate novels of different genres and interests. They also do projects, plays, and actually read for fun!

     Spelling (4th through 6th Grades) – In Spelling we spell! Spelling is considered not only on weekly tests, but also in the daily work. We also participate in the Miami County Spelling Bee.

     Science (4th through 6th Grades) – Science is taught with as many hands-on activities/experiments as possible. Students also learn through science about the world that God made.

     Writing (4th through 6th Grades) – Students write about articles they’ve read in Time for Kids. Students also write on an assigned topic, or they use different styles such as descriptive writing, narrative, persuasive, directional.

     Grammar (4th through 6th Grades) – Students learn about sentence structure, punctuation, and other grammar things. Writing and grammar are important for communication of the Good news that we have.

     Social Studies (6th Grade) – Students mummify chickens during the ancient Egypt unit. They also do an explorer project, where the teacher is the queen of Spain and the students are explorers trying to convince her to send them back on another mission to the Maya, Inca, or Aztec.

     Latin (6th Grade) – The students learn about ancient Rome, the many Latin based words in English, as well as the Latin that is used in Church.

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Music
Music at Saint Charles Borromeo is more than just singing. Children learn about rhythm by playing games. Musical symbols and conducting patterns are displayed on the blackboard for the children to see. Keyboard and piano concepts are taught by a teacher-developed-program. The children also memorize songs using hand signals. 4th graders learn to read music by playing recorders. 5th and 6th graders learn to play band instruments.

Non-violence Program
Jesus taught by His words and by His actions. Jesus spread the message of love and caring for all people. He also taught about how much His Father in Heaven loves us. Jesus spread the word in a non-violent manner. At Saint Charles Borromeo, we believe that our students must learn that there are going to be problems in their lives. These problems are at school, home, and among friends. The non-violence program helps them understand how to deal with these situations in a non-violent way. We would like all of our students to value the importance of empathy and help give them the skills to deal with their problems in a non-violent, Christ like manner.

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