Curriculum

At St. Mary’s our curriculum goal is to provide a daily experience that is directed at joy filled Christian learning and living.

It will include the development of skills in:

  • Basic academics
  • Work
  • Play
  • Wellness
  • Relationships
  • Stewardship
  • Christianity
  • Life

It will be:

  • Child centered
  • Parent and staff partnered
  • Church supported and community based, with members collaborating to develop the educational plan.
  • It will be grounded in FAITH and will provide a research based, enriching, supportive, safe, nurturing and stable foundation for quality education.

Design
… will be authentic, with interwoven content and meaningful work.
… will provide opportunities for adults and students to serve as both learners and teachers for others.
… will be based on a child’s strengths and develop all aspects of the individual.
… will be challenging with no barriers to the rate of learning.
… will value diversity and provide a global perspective.
… will be a model for society, not a reflection of what is.
… will provide opportunities for remediation and enrichment.
… will be active, dynamic, and responsive to new research and information.
… will encourage cooperative and collaborative work and play.
… will be spiraling with ample practice for increased depth of understanding.
… will be exciting and motivating.
… will provide ongoing assessment, feedback and evaluation.

Philosophy
We believe that each individual is unique and has an important contribution to make to society, to our school, and to the church.
As a staff, we feel that we all have equal responsibility in helping each of our students grow spiritually, academically, emotionally, socially and physically.

We expect that all students will do their best work toward reaching their full potential.

We pledge
… to create a learning environment that is: relevant, developmentally appropriate, challenging, accepting of diversity, safe, organized, positive, success-oriented, productive, caring, supportive, and designed to meet individual needs.
… to help each student learn.
… to act in accordance with Christian values and beliefs.
… to set goals and celebrate progress.
… to make responsible decisions and accept consequences.
… to be accountable for work and behavior.
… to become an effective communicator and listener.
… to develop a healthy self concept.
… to develop respect for self and others.
… to develop effective work skills and an attitude of lifetime learning.
… to become an effective problem solver and leader.

As a staff we believe
… that all curriculum should be carefully analyzed, logically sequenced and constantly updated to meet individual needs.
… that all teachers should work to consistently teach to their objectives and to monitor student’s progress in order to make learning as efficient as possible.
… that all students should be carefully and continually diagnosed, so that they work at their correct level of difficulty.

We aim…
… to be good Christian role models for our students.
… to be positive and proactive in working with our students and parents.
… to be open to new ideas and to sharing those ideas.
… to support, accept and respect the individuality of all others.
… to maintain an attitude of personal, spiritual and professional growth.
… to be firm, fair, and consistent in helping students move toward self discipline and independent learning.
… to help students develop higher level thinking skills and positive attitudes toward change and growth.
… to facilitate rather than dictate learning.