Curriculum
School wide programs: Religious
Education, Spanish, Music, Physical Education and Art.
Religious
Education
- The threefold purpose of Christian education for
Catholic schools is to foster growth in faith, build
community, and to serve the human community. Each
class has daily experiences which include prayer
and lessons. We observe Holy Days and special feast
days by attending Mass or prayer services. Most
federal holidays are preceded by a prayer service
or other celebration. Advent, Easter and Lent include
school-wide activities to enrich the seasons.
- Faith First incorporates a spiral approach that weaves Scripture, Catholic doctrine, and seasonal celebration into each year of the curriculum. Children reinforce and expand their knowledge of the timeless truths of our Catholic faith each year and are called to participate in the mission of the Church. .
Spanish
- Viva
el Espanol : This Spanish curriculum
is designed to accomodate a beginning level group
and grow with their needs. This program will allow
our school to expand the curriculum as our students
develop their Spanish language skills.
- Preschool (3 year olds):
These students will have 1 Spanish lesson a week
which will be devoted to learning Spanish songs,
games and beginning words.
- Pre-Kindergarten (4 year
olds): This group of students will have a Spanish
lesson 1time weekly and will begin to develop
a vocabulary as well as the songs and games.
- Kindergarten, 1st &
2nd grade: These students will meet with our Spanish
teacher 2-3 times weekly and will build on their
current skills as they broaden their vocabulary
and begin to explore customs and geography of
the Hispanic Culture.
- Third Grade and beyond will begin learning Spanish Grammar and techniques. These grades will also learn to conjugate verbs, as well as speak Spanish.
Music
- Music has quickly become the soul of our school community. Our students learn songs to sing each week at Mass while focusing on the fundamentals of Music itself. St. Thomas Academy also has two major musical performances: Christmas Program and Spring Musical. Third and Fourth Grade also learn to play the Recorder, while younger grades focus on rythm and key.
P.E.
- The Physical Education Program at STA incorporates many different aspects of personal wellness. Physical Education not only includes physical activities, such as sports and fitness, but also our Health Program. We focus on the "whole child", promoting a lifetime of physical awareness.
Art
- Our Art curriculum is SRA's
Art Connections. This program will be implemented
school wide by each classroom teacher. It is
designed to give the students an introduction to a
wide variety of styles of art and artists. This program
will facilitate the little artist in each of our students.
Community
Service
Service is part of our Mission Statement and Catholic
belief. It is recommended that students give service
to our community in age appropriate ways. These activities
will be coordinated through the classroom teacher.
Our
school is fortunate to be credited with the Oregon Department
of Education. That means that we are required by the
State to follow the Oregon State Benchmarks in every
class and subject. It is our goal to go above and beyond
those requirements to create the optimal learning environment
for our students. We feel that we have chosen the top
curriculum that will allow our teachers to diversify
their lessons and accomodate the many levels and strengths
of all our children.
For information
on individual classroom curriculum, please click on
the grade below.
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