Religion

In Kindergarten the students discover God’s love and recognize they are lovable and unique individuals. They develop a habit of prayer and foster a respect for life by developing attitudes of justice and peace for all. The First Grade program is designed to provide a simple overview of the mysteries of our faith. Children learn the importance of daily prayer through a variety of prayer forms. In Grade Two the primary focus is on the Sacraments and the role they play in the life of the Church and its members. Students in Grade 3 learn even more about their Catholic faith and how to express it. They are given the opportunity to experience community and learn the many ways in which they can show their love to God and their neighbor.

Language Arts

The primary Language Arts program is integrated and includes reading, phonics, english, handwriting, and spelling. Our literature-based program has a heavy emphasis on comprehension, creative writing and cross-curricular activities. Language and vocabulary play a key role, and reference materials become an important study tool. The children participate in annual writing assessments from the Diocese of Pittsburgh and are evaluated using specific rubrics in the areas of focus, content, organization, style and conventions. Students also spend time learning grammar, including sentence structure and parts of speech.

Mathematics

Students in this department use the Bridges in Mathematics Curriculum which is conceptually oriented and activity-based. It facilitates the development of children’s mathematical thinking, and reasoning abilities by providing age-appropriate problems and investigations in the areas of numbers, geometric data, analysis, algebraic thinking and measurement. Children are encouraged to explore, develop, test, discuss and apply ideas; to see mathematics as something that is fluent, vibrant and very relevant both as a discipline and as a tool to benefit humanity.

Science

The “Developmental Approaches to Science and Health” (DASH) teach the primary children a variety of concepts using hands-on techniques. It provides the children a way of formulating their own questions and deciding on an appropriate avenue to discovering the answers.  Major topics of study include, matter, mechanics, living creatures, energy, our planet and space. These classes are fun to teach and provide high interest learning for the students.

Social Studies

The primary Social Studies curriculum is a literature-based program that tells the stories of people and events through literature, art, and music. The text books provide a variety of cross-curricular activities based on history, geography and human development including maps, graphs, charts, diagrams, current events and mini programs. The curriculum encourages the students to recognize that they are members of a larger, global social structure.

Fine Arts

Our primary children sing a variety of delightful songs in music classes that not only provide enjoyment but also increase understanding of musical concepts.  They spend time exploring various rudimentary elements of music such as short and long tones; high and low, and loud and soft. The development of the voice is often our key focus and is achieved through the use of games and musical activities.  During music classes, students enjoy singing, playing rhythm instruments, dancing, and listening for enjoyment and analysis. The art program in our primary grades encourages students to develop individual expressions in various art modes and to work with colors, lines, shapes, textures, and variety of materials.