CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION

Religious Education and Religious Services

Religious Education takes place in the home and in the school.  Parents, by their interest and example, play a vital role in the religious education of their children.

Our program is concerned with initiating children into the sacramental life and mission of the Church, explaining to them the Church’s nature, history and teaching.  We must foster in each person Christ-like love and dedication to all.  This will result in practical service to whoever is in need.  Students attend Spirituality Day and/or retreats and participate in service projects.

One’s religious development is essentially the on-going development of a relationship with God, a relationship which affects not only how one acts toward God, but also how the person relates toward his/her neighbor as well as oneself.

The children of St. Francis Cathedral School are given every opportunity to grow daily in the practice of this faith.  Liturgy is the focal point of our Catholic belief and children of all grades are given varied opportunities to prepare and take an active role in a monthly liturgy.  The traditional devotions of the church such as the rosary, Advent/Lenten devotions, May Crowning and an in-depth exposure to the history of the church are an intricate part of the religious education given to all the children.

The Sacramental Programs of Penance, Holy Eucharist, and Confirmation have been structured in such a way as to provide student and parent participation.  The reception of the sacraments is done on a parish level.

The universality of the Church is touched upon by encouraging the children to be mindful of the role of the Missions.  Children are motivated to make sacrifices and pray for all missionaries throughout the world. 

The non-Catholic student is welcome at St. Francis Cathedral School.  The non-Catholic student is expected to understand and agree that the school exists to educate in the framework of Catholic values.  Non-Catholic students must participate in the religion classes and liturgical services scheduled for students during the school year.

Family Life Program

In compliance with the mandate from the Metuchen Diocese, the Benziger Family Life program is taught in Grades 1 through 8.  Family Life is a value based human sexuality program. As a Catholic school we integrate Family Life with the other curriculum areas, such as science, religion, and social studies whenever possible.

Language Arts

This program consists of Literature/Reading, Writing, Spelling/Vocabulary and Oral Language.

Reading – A variety of genres is incorporated in children’s literature.  Reading encourages children to think, write and discuss others’ ideas about literature.  It offers a variety of instructional approaches that help teachers meet the needs of all students.  The emphasis is on developing higher level thinking skills so students will become more critical and analytic readers.  The program provides both holistic and objective based tests.

Writing –The writing component of the language arts program is incorporated as a cross-disciplinary approach.  The emphasis is to learn to develop higher-level writing skills that focus on grammar, punctuation, proper sentence structure and vocabulary.

Spelling/Vocabulary – A variety of exercises is completed in order to encourage the children to spell words correctly and completely understand their meanings.  There is frequent review and assessment in both the student text and supplemental materials.  Students learn the correct pronunciation and expand their vocabulary.

Oral Language – Oral language is developed so that all students will speak in clear, concise, organized language.  Assessments include oral presentations, role-playing, choral reading, and supporting one’s position in debate.

Mathematics

This program recognizes that every child must have an understanding of the four fundamental operations as they are applied to whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and variables.  Along with computation skills, critical thinking and problem solving are an essential part of the successful mastery in math.

At St. Francis Cathedral school students in middle school are placed in math classes 6-1 or 6-2, 7-1 or 7-2, Algebra 1-1 or Algebra 1-2.  We carefully review each student's class work, report card grade, bench mark tests and standardized test results to determine the math class that will best serve the student to be successful.  Please note that both sections of math classes work on the same grade curriculum.

Science

The framework of the science curriculum includes topics equally distributed in the areas of life, earth and physical science.  Other disciplines such as language arts, math, and social studies are integrated into the science experience.

Skills stressed within the science program include observing, classifying, inferring, and predicting.  These skills are developed through hands-on experimentation, cooperative group work, teacher demonstration and paper/pencil activities.

Social Studies

The study of history traces the story of humankind for an understanding of the influences that have contributed to its development.  Early levels focus on pupils themselves and the program expands its realm to include families, communities, regions of the earth, our country and the world.

The awareness of good citizenship, honor, and responsibility is immersed in the social studies curriculum, as the study of history, civics, geography, and current events allows for proficiency in analyzing, interpreting, inquiry, and problem solving.

Art

Art classes are intended to stimulate creativity among all students. The type of projects varies with each grade and uses various media.  The students’ projects are displayed throughout the school.

Music

The classroom music program consists of theory, appreciation, and vocal music.  An instrumental music program is available for any student from Grade 1 through 8.  This is over and above the school tuition.  Recitals are presented at the end of the year.

Physical Education

Physical Education in the elementary school is the vehicle through which a child learns to move and moves to learn.  Broad movement experiences, games of low organization, rhythms, and manipulative activities develop body competency and management for the primary grades.          

Specialized sport skills, concepts, positioning and organized play make up the bulk of the intermediate and upper elementary grades program, along with the Presidential Physical Fitness and the National Fitness programs.