The kindergarten program at St. Thomas the Apostle provides your child with a well-rounded introduction to a structured classroom setting. Each classroom is under the guidance of a dedicated and nurturing teacher and full time classroom aide. In this setting, your child will develop the skills necessary to grow and flourish. The students receive daily instruction religion, mathematics, technology, language arts, science, and social studies. The students attend weekly courses in computers, science lab, physical education, library, art, music and Spanish.
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First grade at St. Thomas is bustling with learning and play. This is accomplished through the utilization of the room as a fun and exciting place for the students to spend their day. There are reading areas with books that are age appropriate and teach genre, author’s purpose and critical thinking. The math center is an extension of the teacher’s daily lessons, using games and activities that are fun and challenging. Writing is taught using daily journal entries that pique the interest and curiosity of the students. Technology is used throughout the day with the use of the Smart board, iPads and computers. We cook, create and communicate with each other in a loving, caring environment. We “travel” to the Arctic, catch leprechauns, sail on the Mayflower, learn about saints and become first time authors and illustrators. First grade is a fun and fabulous year!
Second grade at St. Thomas the Apostle School is an exciting year for our students! Preparation for the sacraments of Penance and First Holy Communion is an integral part of the religion curriculum. In Mathematics, the Core Curriculum Standards are the guideline for what is taught. Students are encouraged to utilize a variety of strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems, count money and tell time. The Core Curriculum Standards are also followed in English Language Arts. Students are encouraged to become independent readers and writers. Learning cursive handwriting is another milestone of our school year.
Third grade is a year of great educational achievement. In Religion, students learn more about the Sacraments, Mary, Saints, and the special feasts and seasons of the Liturgical Year. Multiplication and division, as well as fractions, graphs, measurement and time are all covered in Math. Students enjoy reading chapter books and begin to make the transition from learning to read to reading to learn. Some new skills to be covered include genre, using context clues, and interpreting text. Students are expected to write more in all subjects and to use cursive writing. Students use the writing process to write personal narratives, explanatory, descriptive and persuasive paragraphs, as well as seasonal writing pieces. Using the Lab Learner Science program offers the students a hands on approach to learning about electricity, matter, the solar system, and the human body. Social Studies centers on community and the way people work, play and live together. It is a very busy, but fun year in third grade!
The Fourth Grade is the beginning of a more challenging curriculum: textbooks and subjects challenge students to think deeper, at times go outside the box. Students write more across the curriculum, and see that much of what they learn in each subject dovetails into other subjects. Commandments, Beatitudes, and saints are key parts of the students’ study, and they look for ways that they live these integral parts of our faith. Mass, prayer services, holy songs, focus on Sunday Mass readings…all help students become immersed in the Faith. There is much hands-on learning in Science Lab with Triple Beam Balances, microscopes, circuits, and nutrition. Fractions, multiplication, division, and accompanying word problems assure that students can meet the standards of today. Fourth Grade studies PA history and field trips and projects that tie in with the curriculum to ensure that students enjoy history while learning.
Fifth grade is an important year. It is a bridge to middle school. The students are given much more responsibility. They now have two teachers and change classes. They are beginning to read novels in ELA, and they are writing, writing, and writing! The students are excited to compete in the First in Math challenge each day and work in the hands-on science lab. They are studying the Western Hemisphere in social studies and learning about current events in our world/community. Fifth graders are practicing their Catholic faith in all that we do. They participate in Mass, prayer services, and service projects. They are truly living out their faith in everyday life.
Sixth grade is a new and exciting adventure for St. Thomas students. It is the first year of middle school and the year of Confirmation. Much of the focus in sixth grade is on service to others and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The 7th graders at St. Thomas the Apostle School have many roles that promote responsibility. As future leaders of the school, they are expected to promote our Mission Statement – which is to serve others to make a positive impact in their lives. In addition to academics, the 7th grade participates in liturgies, student government and also sports activities. They strive to be the best they can as all around good, Christian children. In Religion, they have been learning about Parables and the Kingdom of God. They have been growing spiritually to become better models of God’s children. In Social Studies, they are learning about the Thirteen Colonies, where they will travel down the road to the Revolutionary War. They are searching for terms through a word search assignment. Through the LabLearner Science Curriculum, the 7th graders have been learning about Biology, which is the main focus of this year. Mathematically, they have been working on rational numbers – the creepy, the crazy, the positive, the negative and the fractional, which they will use to apply their skills in solving equations. They began the year with ratios and proportional relationships.
The final year of the Saint Thomas experience brings growth in all areas of development. Academically, the students travel through a time machine as the history of the United States unfolds. Through the Lab Learner Science curriculum, they explore the Earth's ecosystem, and are introduced to new concepts in physics and chemistry. Mathematically, the students delve into all sorts of new equations as their minds are challenged through pre-algebra and algebra. The main goal in ELA is to fine tune all of the skills taught in this area from the beginning of their education. Exposure to various forms of literature is also an essential element in this area. Spiritually, the students become familiar with the human side of our faith in Church history and through Heritage Day, the history of our parish church. Later on in the year, morality is the focus. However, in the last year, the students branch off from the academic in religion in the interaction with prayer partners and their re-enactments of the Living Rosary and Stations. The eighth grade retreat and the May Procession bring to a climax their religious experience as a student here at STA. The social aspect of student life is not forgotten. There is participation in community service, the yearbook, the Christmas show, and the talent show. Let's not forget the class trip to New York and the tributes to the parents through the Mothers' luncheon and Donuts for Dads. Saint Thomas the Apostle School educates the whole individual from head to toe!