Kindergarten
Academic: Because this may be your student’s first experience with school I want it to be as positive as possible. Based on our faith we are all given gifts that God would like us to develop and so I will encourage your student to always give me their best work. I will set high expectations, but I will also keep in mind that practice is what they need.
Social: Building friendships at this age is exciting but requires guidance to help foster sharing, compassion, and cooperation. Through a character building and empathy training I will instruct your student on ways to communicate and develop skills necessary to build great friendships.
Classroom Culture
Emotional: I believe that all children need to feel loved and accepted by their peers and their teachers, but they also need boundaries to keep them safe. It is important that students know that everyone makes mistakes and that these mistakes are viewed as a part of the learning process. I will teach them to act as Jesus would when conflicts arise and encourage them to offer and accept forgiveness.
Spiritual: Every week we will attend Mass with the rest of the St. Louis community and eventually plan and take part in a Mass. We will learn our prayers and even write some of our own. We will hear stories from the Bible and learn about God's love for us.
Communication: I believe that communication between teacher and parents is vital. I will communicate through letters that go home on a weekly basis as well as through the school’s website.
First Grade
Academic: First Grade is a time of great growth for your child. Students begin generally recognizing 32 sight words and end reading, spelling, and writing over 132. They usually begin with books with one or two lines on a page but end reading beginner chapter books of 10 chapters, about 70 pages and text of 18 lines per page. In Math First grade must learn addition and subtraction facts to 10 as well as being introduced to the Math concepts of shapes, time, measurement, fractions, place value, money, estimating, and graphing. Your child will work diligently every day, but they will amaze themselves and you with all they can accomplish.
Social: First Grade is a community of learners who support and assist each other to be successful, holy, and happy. Working as teams motivates good behavior and cooperation. While students are tight friends in First, all students are taught to welcome and assist all students.
Emotional: First Grade teaches and practices the value of all students, using how Jesus behaved as our guide. Students are also taught problem-solving techniques so they are enabled to work through problems and make wise decisions.
Spiritual: Each day, your child will begin and end their time at St. Louis with God in the forefront. Prayers, the Rosary, Stations of the Cross, and weekly Mass make the Catholic faith part of your child’s daily routine. At St. Louis, Religion is much more than a subject; it is a way of life and a source of strength, comfort, and support.
Second Grade
Academic: Second graders continue to build on the basic skills and apply those skills to all subjects taught focusing on Reading fluency and comprehension. Homework will be given to reinforce skills learned and to help develop good study habits and responsibility both in the classroom and at home.
Social: Second Grade students continue to develop the ability to work cooperatively, to become independent learners, to solve problems, and to make collaborative choices.
Emotional: As a class, we will strive to act as Jesus did in response to the emotions and the needs of others; “Love one another as I have loved you.”
Spiritual: Second graders prepare for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist during daily Religion lessons. As a school community we attend Mass weekly, pray daily, participate in the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, and May Crowning, as well as other religious activities. We also help out with service projects throughout the school year.
Communication: Communication between teacher and parents is vital. Parents and teacher communicate with each other in various ways throughout the school year; Sycamore, NewsNotes, and conferences to name a few.
Third Grade
Academics: Students are to work to the best of their ability every day. We have high expectations at St. Louis and believe that with hard work and dedication students will be successful.
Social: We believe it is important for students to work together as a team to solve problems. We help students with their communication skills so they can be a team player and interact well with others.
Emotional: We know that students learn differently and at various speeds. It is important that students understand that this is Ok and they don’t need to worry about being the same as everyone else. As a class we need to remember to respect each other along with ourselves.
Spiritual: As a school community we begin each day with prayer, attend Mass weekly, participate in the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, and May Crowning. We also have service projects throughout the year.
Communication: We believe that communication between teacher, students, and parents is very important. We have parent-teacher conferences throughout the year and always available to talk with parents.
Fourth & Fifth Grades
In 4th and 5th grades, we strive to treat each student as a unique individual with different needs. We work as a class to take our individual talents and work together to make our classroom a special, safe place for all. We have high expectations for all students and try to encourage students to do their best at all times. Most important of all we strive to explore connections between our curriculum and our faith. We pray at the beginning and end of the day, before and after lunch and at other times during the day. We pause often to remember that our belief in God is the reason we are at St. Louis Catholic School.
Middle School Grades 6-8
The following are the expectations for all St. Louis Middle School students:
Respect- Students will respect themselves, others, and property.
Spirituality- Students are expected to carry out the teachings of Christ and participate in the faith community of our school.
Responsibility- Students will take responsibility for their education, actions, and well-being to be effective members of this institution.
Physical Education
Students will receive a wide variety of large muscle experiences involving locomotive, manipulative, and non-manipulative skills. Proper development contributes to hand-eye, eye-foot, and eye-hand-foot coordination with an eventual acquisition of a wide variety of sport related skills and physical fitness.
Health
Students will develop a balanced holistic lifestyle through the study of the 7 dimensions of a balanced life style: spiritual, physical, emotional, career, intellectual, environmental, and social. Throughout the year, students will learn information and techniques that can be used in order to live a happier and more fruitful lifestyle.
Art
Art education at St. Louis Catholic School is more than an Arts and Crafts class. In addition to art projects, students are exposed to art history, explore different famous artists and art styles. St. Louis students experiment with a wide variety of art mediums. During the 2011-2012 school year, St. Louis will proudly host the annual Catholic Schools Art Show!
