KINDERGARTEN — 5TH GRADE
St. Clare Catholic School offers a solid learning foundation for the primary and intermediate years of formal education starting with Kindergarten through fifth grade. During the critical developmental years, we offer a nurturing environment to encourage cognitive, emotional, and spiritual growth in an academic environment in the following core subject areas.
READING/LANGUAGE ARTS
Strong reading skills are a foundation of academic success. Our reading curriculum includes Houghton-Mifflin Journeys Series. With Journeys, readers are empowered by skill mastery; inspired by authentic, award-winning text; and confident that they are building the skills needed for college and careers. Backed by proven results, Journeys is the most widely-used reading program in the country. Journeys is a research-based, comprehensive English Language Arts program designed to provide solid instruction that is clear and focused with realistic pacing and manageable resources.
MATHEMATICS
Sadlier Math provides rigorous content focused on building deep conceptual understanding of key math skills and concepts at each grade level. With Sadlier Math you will:
Provide students with the foundational skills needed to become proficient in math
Use a consistent instructional approach with stepped-out lessons, to help students gain confidence and master skills
Strengthen students’ comprehension levels with ample opportunities to implement the Standards for Mathematical Practice
Find on Sadlier Connect: bonus online resources
Support concrete lesson presentations with Manipulative Kits
Critical Thinking for Active Math Minds: This supplemental program provides step-by-step guided instruction and extensive practice in critical thinking that equips elementary students with test-taking strategies that get results.
SCIENCE
No matter their inclination to explore science, our goal for all students is to encourage an appreciation and understanding of science and its applications in daily life. St. Clare School uses the Science Fusion Series curriculum. It is a state-of-the-art science program designed for building inquiry and STEM skills and optimized for learning in the classroom or at home, on a laptop, tablet, or using a science textbook. The digital curriculum, virtual labs, hands-on activities, and write-in science textbook develop important critical-thinking skills that prepare students for success in future science courses and in the workplace. Highlights of our program include field trips to Butterfly World, the Palm Beach Zoo, Loggerhead Marine Life Rehabilitation Center, and High Touch High Tech visiting scientists. High Touch High Tech offers Science Programs that tap into children’s natural curiosity to help make learning FUN! Our supplies and equipment encourage hands-on learning for all children.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Social Studies is integrated into the curriculum at each grade level as our students explore the world in which we live. Our students utilize the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Kids Discover Social Studies program which is a comprehensive K–5 curriculum designed to engage and motivate every student. Through stories of intriguing people, exciting places, and fascinating events that make social studies relevant to their lives, students gain a global perspective. They also learn the social studies themes and skills they need to become informed, participating citizens who consider diverse points-of-view, use critical thinking skills, and are active in their communities. This program includes American history, Florida history, as well as exploring other cultures and continents. Highlights of the program include field trips to the South Florida Museum, the Little Red Schoolhouse, and the Jupiter Lighthouse.
RELIGION
Religion is a daily component of the curriculum at all grade levels. Our religious education program follows the Diocesan curriculum and standards. Our second graders spend the year preparing for their First Communion and Reconciliation. We utilize the Sadlier series in K through Second grades and Spirit of Truth in grades 3-5th. Both programs reinforce our learning about our religion and virtues through participation in class, Masses, and by receiving the sacraments. St. Clare Catholic School believes that Religion is taught 24 hours a day, and we are proud of our Catholic morals and values. We not only prepare our students for high school, we prepare them for Heaven.
MUSIC
Music classes for smaller grades are multi-sensory in scope. We incorporate singing, stories, drama, props, small percussion instruments, creative movement and finger play to engage imagination and to introduce basic elements of music: sound/silence, beat, pitch (up and down), tempo and dynamics. As students progress through the years, they encounter more in-depth aspects of music and how it's made, singing in tune, different instruments, music reading, and exposure to different composers.