Academics | Classical Education | Curriculum | Reading List | Greek & Latin

Reading:

The modern debate over how to teach reading is met at Providence Academy by admitting the benefits of the “whole-language” approach.  Our students are placed in a language rich environment, read to, and asked to read.  However, unlike the whole-language approach, we diligently teach Phonics.  This method dramatically improves children’s ability for reading.  All our students are reading by the end of their Kindergarten year.  The Phonics approach also gives the student the tools for better spelling and reading comprehension.  The complexity of the texts they are given increases with each year so that they are constantly challenged by and exposed to beautiful English and beautiful translation. 

 

English:

Teaching and reinforcing the rules of English grammar begins early here at Providence Academy.  From simple punctuation in Kindergarten, to sentence diagramming in Middle School, to the composition of the various essay formats in High School, all our students are taught to write and express themselves well.

 

Memory/Poetry:

Having a good memory is a key to success in whatever field your child enters.  We test our students in regular memory work so that their minds get used to memorizing and so that the student learns what methods of memorization work best for them.  Knowing how to memorize is just as important as regular memorization, and one will not learn what works best for them until they try to memorize.  Our memory work is accomplished by having the student memorize poem, prayers, and catechetical answers.  In every grade there is a component of memorization, and in almost every subject, there is something to try to remember.

 

Mathematics:

Using the Saxon Math system which is rigorously consistent in repetition and the overlapping of concepts, we are devoted to challenging our students.  From understanding the basic concepts of addition and subtraction in pre-K and Kindergarten, to knowing how to multiply larger numbers without a calculator, to working out the geometric propositions of Euclid in High School, Mathematics is an end in itself and a means to better memory, greater ability to focus, and self discipline.  Our schedule is structured, also, to make it easier for gifted and struggling students of Mathematics to work at that level of Math that best suites them and keeps them challenged.

 

Science:

The study of Science in the early grades is as simple as exposing children to the wonders of creation.  By Middle School a more ordered exposure to the world around them is introduced.  Life Science and Earth Science dovetail into Biology and Anatomy.  Chemistry and Physics in High School lead to a course on the Philosophy and History of Science, a class unique to Providence Academy, which deals with the various controversial ethical and moral questions in contemporary Science.  It also introduces the students to the philosophy of science and how being a great scientist also means having a proper philosophy about the world and the human person.

 

History:

History and not social studies is taught at Providence Academy.  Geography, historical facts, and great literature are all part of our History curriculum over and above socializing our students.  The Classical Curriculum is designed to return to and deepen knowledge in a particular subject.  Beginning with the Ancients, moving through the Medievals, including European History, and ending with American History, students at Providence Academy cover these ages in three separate cycles during their careers here with ever increasing depth.  Learning about the great figures of history in the lower grades becomes reading the words of those persons in original texts in Middle and High School.

 

Art:

Art projects for the Lower School are fun and creative, allowing students to express themselves in a way that does not involve language but rather form, color, size, and texture.  In Middle School the students begin a formal art program with calligraphy, perspective, sketching, color theory, and water color painting, which develops in High School into simple sculpting, art history, art appreciation, and acrylic painting.  The arts are part of the Classical Curriculum, and being able to speak intelligently on the purpose and meaning is crucial to the production of an Art that lifts the spirit and the soul, Art that can transform culture.

 

Music:

Music class is provided for all the grades and involves learning Catholic traditional hymns as well as more contemporary choral music.  Middle School sees the introduction of the recorder, where the students learn to read music and are taught the basics of music theory.  By High School, the students are provided a sense of the history of musical ages and are taught the fundamentals of Gregorian Chant.

 

Drama:

Being able to speak or perform in front of a crowd is part of the Rhetoric Stage.  All students in Tenth and Eleventh Grade are encouraged to take part in the performance of a dramatic play, in order that they might be used to performing.  The benefits of this are obvious and immediate both on an academic and on a social level.  This class also involves exposure to the history of Drama and the great plays of human history.  Film, our modern art form, is also covered.

 

Latin:

The study of Latin has long been considered not just a perk to education but a key to the great minds of human history.  The Latin prayers of the Catholic Church help the younger students learn and know their Catholic Faith.  The structure of the language helps the student learn grammar.  The multitude of English words from Latin helps the student improve their vocabulary.  The discipline of translating aids one in the subtly of all language.  From Kindergarten to Twelfth Grade, Providence Academy students reap the benefits of learning Latin.

 

Greek:

Greek is the other wing to the Classics along with Latin.  Scientific language is firmly rooted in Greek, and the Sacred Scriptures were originally written in Koine Greek.  The structure of the language helps the student learn grammar.  The multitude of English words from Greek helps the student improve their vocabulary.  The discipline of translating aids one in the subtly of all language, and Greek’s many subtleties make it a perfect language for logical thought and philosophy.  From First Grade to Tenth, our students are exposed to this tongue which has produced some of the greatest literature of all time. 

 

Religion/Theology:

Using the Faith in Life series up to Sixth Grade, our religion curriculum is serious and devotional.  Our students are prepared for the sacraments, and the tools we use are all approved by the Diocesan Office of Catechesis.  In Seventh and Eighth Grade the students work through the Scriptures, so that by High School they are ready for Theology.  In Theology, with the Didache Series of texts, students are taught Dogmatics: the Trinity, the Sacraments, Ecclesiology, etc.  Church History, Moral Theology, and Apologetics round out their career in religious instruction.