Curriculum

Developing the Whole Child

St. Rose Grammar School assists in developing the whole person, spiritually, physically, socially and intellectually. Therefore early childhood education experiences should provide the opportunity for unifying all aspect of a child’s life.

The Early Childhood Program offers time and space for young children to be children where they are free to play, explore and imagine.  It is designed to lead them from wonder to discovery and from investigation to affirmation.  It provides the opportunity for all children to associate pleasure with learning. Children have a tremendous potential for growth.  Their God-given imagination and minds are eager for stimulation.  In a warm, caring, risk-free environment, teachers manifest Catholic beliefs, values and attitudes.  Young children are encouraged to develop a positive image of themselves and others.

Pre-K Curriculum for 4 year olds includes: an introduction to letters, numbers, colors, shapes and patterns, computers, art, music, physical education, and Spanish, all geared toward the development of the whole child and aimed toward Kindergarten readiness skills.

Our primary grade classes provide an opportunity for children to develop intellectually, emotionally, socially and spiritually, within the nurturing and loving environment of a Catholic school. The curriculum consists of religion, art, mathematics, science, social studies, reading, phonics, Spanish, technology, and physical education.Reading

St Rose has created a highly effective reading achievement environment that focuses on accuracy, fluency and comprehension, where students learn the basic skills necessary to become effective communicators. Its strong phonetic component assists in developing a predictable progression, early success with text, and an efficient way to give children a command of language.  This all works with systematic instruction, so that there is an even flow of student acquisition of reading skills. This all correlates to the important integration of grammar, writing, spelling and handwriting - a Catholic school tradition that separates us from the rest.

Moreover, a literacy/reading specialist is on hand to provide teachers and students with the tools they need to grow student literacy skills through established reading levels, growth data, and self-challenging reading libraries.

• Math  Mathematics spans many skills that are equally important to life skills and provide a strong foundation for the future.  Understanding data through sorting, comparing, number graphing, shapes, time and money are all vital as a prelude to high order thinking.  This leads to additional number sentences to comprehend measurement, weight and capacity. Our strong belief in building basic math skills is evident and attested to by providing a challenging mathematics curriculum in the middle and upper school grades.

• History  Understanding the world around us provides a global perspective on working in our community and a clear perception of our Earth, land, water, and landforms in a geographic setting.  Not only do our students in the primary grades learn to compare those settings with integrated math bar graphs, but they also accumulate a sense of history for our world and country. This leads to an understanding of economics through the need for citizenship, the movement of commerce, and the types of jobs Americans perform to make our economy work effectively.  Comparing how other countries around the globe run their governments and trade provides a true understanding of the global world they face.

• Science  Science explores and allows our students to immerse their growing minds in understanding plants, animals and the human body.  Habitats, weather, pollution and recycling are all understood as students realize how important their surroundings are to making their world a better place.  This further explores the need to understanding Earth’s resources through rocks, minerals and matter. Even the insight into space beyond our Earth is explored.  This is all further reinforced in our maker-space facility where our students can construct and create in a hands on environment.

• Religion  Our Sadlier religion program provides an opportunity to have a clear understanding of Christianity and the Catholic faith.  Giving children a true meaning into the importance of prayer, love, caring and kindness are vital to comprehending the teachings of Christianity.  Helping those around us and the teachings of Jesus are all integrated into the religious program. Most importantly, the children are prepared to receive their first sacraments through meaningful lessons and activities.

Basic skills continue to develop through structured activities, hands-on experiences and small and large group instruction. Students develop an awareness of their role in a community of faith and learn to experience and rejoice in God's world. Every student receives the support of our gifted staff of faculty, utilizing the latest academic tools and technology, to reinforce each day’s lessons.
 

• Reading  Our students in the middle school are exposed to a new “Wonders” reading program.  This comprehensive approach provides instruction for connected language arts, English language development and intervention. It also provides high interest literary and informational text across various genres.  Most importantly, we provide an opportunity for students to zone in on comprehension. The program makes a home and school connection through purposeful technology and enhanced instruction in the classroom.  In order to make this happen, all classrooms receive interactive LCD projectors that will allow the students to use their Chromebooks to connect with the publishers’ sites for a 21st century learning experience.

• Mathematics In the middle grades steps up basic acquisition of data with a clear understanding of place value, decimals, equations, problem solving and a vital comprehension of fractions that provides an avenue for pre-algebra.  Geometry takes on a role through lines, angles and figures, comparison and order of integers, and implementing the use of customary and metric systems to understand both domestic, scientific and global measurements.

• History  Extending student comprehension of our nation’s history, students in the middle grades have an opportunity to meet early explorers, timelines, early settlements in the new world, and of course America’s revolution and the impact it had on our own nation and the rest of world.  Forming a government and building a constitution provides a base for understanding our own democracy and make crucial decisions in life when connecting to elections and the process of branches in government.

• Science  Building on the science learned in the primary grades, middle grade students reinforce their understanding of cell formation, the human body and inherited characteristics, as well as energy, ecosystems and photosynthesis.  Even our fourth grade creates a magnificent indoor rainforest that students build to display for the St. Rose community to grasp and encounter. In the physical science area, our students are exposed to matter, light, sound, forces and motion.

• Religion  On the religious side, students expand their understanding of the liturgical year and ordinary time.  Lenten season is provided with time for prayer and reflection that leads to the celebration of Easter. Most importantly, these grades focus on how Jesus taught us to love and serve.  The fact that the Church is the body of Christ and the Holy Spirit is the source of its life is studied. A focus on the Sunday Gospel is emphasized as well.

The focus of our curriculum in the Upper School is to prepare our students for a successful future in high school and college.  These are the years our students prepare for their final sacraments and learn to be thoughtful citizens in the future. This is also the stage in their academic achievement  to polish and excel in the skills they acquired previously. These years provide an opportunity to expand to higher order thinking.

• Reading & Literature Students use anthologies as a springboard to analyze and comprehend literature through novels and classics.  This comes twofold: Imagine a student reading and analyzing Chekov while writing a composition with thought-provoking feedback.  In addition, and in Catholic school tradition, a grammar book will accompany the process to gain knowledge of the English language and polish it with distinct language in preparation of becoming effective communicators.

• Math  As mathematicians, the students prepare for the understanding of exponential equations, mental math, analyzing functional relationships, scientific notation, geometric measurement, as well as pre-algebraic studies.  This also leads to the opportunity for our students who need to be challenged further to partake in a high school level algebra course at St. Rose High School across the street. Our campus-like atmosphere comes in handy when students need to pursue a higher level of thinking by utilizing our secondary math curriculum.

• Science  Science focuses on the biological aspect including photosynthesis and cellular respiration.  The classification of living things and the Earth’s system including minerals and conservation.  This also leads to a more creative and hands on environment when it relates to engineering. The level of the builder becomes intertwined with the level of the thinker.

• History  The world of social studies turns into a journey through America from the English colonies to the road to independence, the study of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.  The civil war is analyzed as well as the industrial revolution. The study of our judicial system turns into a mock trial in our local municipal courtroom that brings to life the way our system works on a daily basis.  This also provides an opportunity for our students to study ancient history through an Egyptian museum that students create and implement their public speaking skills.

• Religion  In religious studies, our students prepare themselves for Confirmation, the study of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the study of vocations and virtues, as well as living as disciples of Jesus.  The Catholic Church in the modern age and Church service and Holy Communion are examined. Students also prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation.