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Instructional CurriculumSaint Patrick School, grades kindergarten through eight, is an accredited elementary school according to the standards established by the Board of Education of the State of North Carolina and the Diocese of Raleigh. Curriculum includes the study of religion, a top priority in the Catholic School System. Importance is also placed on the reading program throughout the school. Mathematics, language arts, social studies, and science classes are held daily. More time is allotted to these subjects as students progress through the grades. Classes in art, music, computers, and physical education are also scheduled throughout the week. The school library is available to each class on a regular schedule and at other arranged times.
ARTThe purpose of the art program is to produce growth and expression; to stimulate thought, originality, and self expression; and to encourage independence and the use of imagination.
HEALTHHealth education includes dental health; disease control; environmental health; family life and human development; mental health; nutrition; safety and accident prevention; use of alcohol, drugs, and tobacco; consumer health and communicable diseases. These topics are distributed throughout the various grade levels according to the developmental level of the child.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENTA major priority of the Church today is the preservation of the fundamental importance and sacredness of the family. Recognizing this priority, our bishops have asked for the preparation of courses that will help young people develop the healthy attitudes and values of Christian family life. It is important that parents and teachers work together for this purpose so that the total needs of the child are met.
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 | To acquire necessary skills to use language effectively; to acquire language facility in order to participate completely in society. |
| To appreciate what is significant and beautiful in spoken and written language. |
| The study of English, reading, spelling, and penmanship are included in the language arts program. |
The English program includes:
| Writing and speaking activities such as informal talks, story writing and telling, interviews, drama, role playing, compositions, journals, letters, poetry, proofreading for punctuation and sentence structure. |
| Presenting a system of modern grammar. |
| understanding the nature of the language students hear, speak, and write. |
The penmanship program provides techniques for developing, strengthening and refining good handwriting skills, both manuscript and cursive.
Reading is viewed as an integral part of a total language arts program. Its purpose is to provide for systematic and sequential development of reading competencies and interests for all students.
Students are given large group instruction. Remediation and enrichment are provided for the needs of each student. Instruction includes:
| skills development |
| vocabulary development |
| use of basic and literary readers, magazines, etc. |
| use of library materials. |
The spelling program provides a variety of discovery activities, practical techniques for word attack; reinforcement; enrichment activities; review and evaluation.
The mathematics program for grades K - 8 is systematically structured to help students master the important computational skills and problem solving skills they will need in today's world. The program is based on the belief that students should be able to compute efficiently and accurately, and that they should be able to apply these skills.
A further dimension of the program is that of maintaining and reinforcing critical thinking skills at all grade levels.
The purpose of the music program is to help the student discover that music is a part of his/her heritage, a vital part of life, and a means of expression. It should help the young person to develop a knowledge of the literature of music, to understand its structure and to gain skills of musical performance and response. The students are required to participate in two performances per year.
Physical education makes a significant contribution to the continuous process of growth and development of each individual. It is the purpose of the physical education program to understand, recognize and develop the physical, psychological, emotional, and social development of the individual.
"The primary responsibility for the religious education of their children belongs to the parents. They are the first to communicate the faith to their children and to educate them.
By work and example they train their offspring to Christian and apostolic life." (Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity)
Parents should be systematically involved in the preparation of their children for the Sacraments of Penance, Holy Eucharist, and Confirmation.
God is a vital and ever-present reality. God is revealed especially through Christ in Sacred Scripture, in liturgy, in doctrine, and in the life experiences of each person. People respond freely to God's presence in their personal lives and in and through the faith community.
Through education, the Church seeks to prepare its members to proclaim the Good News and to translate this proclamation into action. It seeks to enable persons to hear the message of hope contained in the Gospel, to base their love and service of God upon this message, to achieve a vital personal relationship with Christ, and to share the Gospel's realistic view of the human condition which recognizes the fact of evil and personal sin while affirming hope. (To Teach as Jesus Did)
In the science program students are helped to:
| develop skills in scientific research; |
| gain understanding of facts, laws, principles; |
| build concepts with which to make applications; |
| develop the processes of observing, describing, investigating, organizing, quantifying and generalizing; |
| develop methods of research and original thinking. |
The concepts of humans as social beings and the values that guide human actions are the substance of the program.
The content is drawn from the social sciences: anthropology, geography, economics, sociology, and political science. The structure used for instruction is the five themes of geography: location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region. They are introduced in grades K - 3 and form the foundation for the social studies curriculum throughout all grades.
The computer program will deal with the following areas: keyboarding, word processing, spreadsheets, computer terminology, proper usage of hardware / software, programming, and ethics and moral issues. Grades K - 3 will meet once a week and grades 4 - 8 will meet twice a week for computer classes in the lab. Computers will be used throughout all curriculum areas.
Page last updated: 02/03/99
