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“The Catholic school’s proper function is to create for the school community a special atmosphere animated by the Gospel spirit of freedom and charity, to help youth grow according to the new creatures they were made through baptism as they develop their own personalities, and finally to order the whole of human culture to the news of salvation so that the knowledge the students gradually acquire of the world, life and man is illumined by faith.”
– His Holiness Pope Paul VI, October 28, 1965
Philosophy of Curriculum
Saint Augustine School, Incorporated seeks to lead its students to understand it is their responsibility to serve as God’s representatives, executing His will in all areas of life. In order to achieve this, they must master the basic academic skills needed in a civilized society and if they are to avail themselves of the cultural treasure of the past and present, their minds must be formed in the required academic disciplines.
The grade school curriculum stresses Bible and Catechism memorization, English grammar, diagramming of sentences, vocabulary from Greek and Latin roots, reading comprehension, the lives of the Saints, penmanship, music, the fundamentals of mathematics, and basic facts of history, science and geography. Furthermore, beginning in grade six, students will be introduced to Latin, the language of Holy Mother Church. Physical and health education are incorporated into the curriculum throughout primary and secondary levels, so that children may learn to be proper stewards of their bodies as gifts from God and vehicles to serve Him. In addition to the standard disciplines of science, mathematics, and history, our high school offers challenging courses in theology, philosophy, literature, and Latin in order to transmit the sacred truths of Holy Mother Church. In addition to the standard disciplines of science, mathematics, and history, our high school offers challenging courses in theology, philosophy, literature, and Latin. In order to transmit the sacred truths of Holy Mother Church, SAS students will utilize sound texts and resources including the Catechism of the Council of Trent, the Douay-Rheims Bible, passages from the Summa Theologica of Saint Thomas Aquinas, papal encyclicals, the writings of the saints, Doctors of the Church and Patristic Fathers.
Saint Augustine School's vision for students of a Catholic Classical Education
Saint Augustine School's vision of education then, in summary, is a commitment to educate the student in the perennial traditions and teachings of the Catholic faith, cultivating a truly virtuous soul whose end in all things is God. This student upon graduation is prepared to encounter the challenges of life with a fully developed Catholic worldview with a firm belief in the importance of the role they have to play in the building up of the kingdom of God on earth.
SAS, in addition to cultivating virtuous habits, also seeks to cultivate the faculties of reason in a student through rigorous academic training. The student is not viewed simply as a container to be 'filled' with knowledge, but is taught 'how' to think by being trained in the traditional skill levels of a classical education: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The classical philosophy of education, developed and practiced for over hundreds of years in the Catholic tradition, seeks to educate a student to seek the true, good, and beautiful in life, and be able to recognize it when it is to be found. A student whose faculties have been trained in the basic skills of language, grammar, reading, writing, and speaking, will be well-equipped to educate themselves in any path they pursue upon graduation.
Thus, this is how SAS embraces and blends together both the Catholic philosophy of education and the classical philosophy of education, which have both been successfully adopted by Catholic schools for many centuries.
Grammar Stage (K-6th grade)
At this age children learn best through song, memorization and repetition which is why we focus on mastering the basics.
Logic Stage (7th-9th grade)
At this stage students have mastered the basic foundation and are at an age where they begin to think critically. At this point we focus on teaching students to think critically and how to reason.
Rhetoric Stage (10th - 12th grade
Having built a solid foundation and learning to think critically our students spend their sophomore through senior years learning the art of effective communication and rational thought.
Reach out today to learn more about Our Classical Education