Religion
Catholic faith is reinforced by Bible stories and interactive spiritual encounters. Children spend time visiting the chapel and learning religious vocabulary. Using the Christ our Life textbook series, students review the liturgical church calendar, the Sacraments, and how God loves us and our community. Students live out their faith and Christian charity by attending school prayer services and Mass. They also participate as a class and with their friendship partners in various community outreach projects throughout the year and regularly visit our Sisters of Notre Dame.
Math
Foundation in math continues to strengthen as first graders develop their knowledge of addition, subtraction, geometry, place value time and money. Bridges Math coupled with math manipulatives, math story problems, collaboration with peers, manipulatives, iPad apps, and songs promotes valuable critical thinking skills.
ELA
Reading, spelling, English and penmanship introduces and enriches reading comprehension through differentiated instruction and various skills and strategies. Students continue to build on kindergarten phonics skills, vocabulary and sight words. Students engage in whole group and small group lessons that incorporate Wilson Fundations and Phonics in Motion learning activities. Quality children's literature is used to build a love of reading while also allowing the teacher to integrate comprehension strategies and new vocabulary into instruction.
Students strengthen their writing and critical thinking skills through journaling. They also learn to edit their writing by applying the COPS Strategy which allows students to focus on their capitalization, overall writing, punctuation and spelling.
Science
Exploring the environment through outside classroom experiences, various experiments and field trips reinforce Science Fusion learning activities and resources. The inquiry-based exploration curriculum examines Natural Resources and engineers. In further chapters, students focus on the food chains and plant and animal life. The year completes with with a study of rocks, soil and the weather.
Social Studies
Students explore the communities in which they live, and
the world surrounding them. Children learn about many themes such as American
symbols, maps, holidays, and different communities. An emphasis is placed on learning to appreciate our
heritage and the differences in our world.