The Lower School (K-5) curriculum at Saint Thomas More Academy has eight fundamental components:
I. Faith & the Virtues
Each school day begins with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Sacred Scripture, lives of the saints, prayers, and hymns are woven into the fabric of each day. Two periods a week are formally devoted to formal religious instruction (catechesis). Students in Grade II prepare to receive their first Holy Communion and make their first Confession.
Throughout Lower School, and across all grade levels, students learn about and practice the virtues, and our discipline policy incorporates the language of virtue.
II. Integrated Humanities
We use core elements of The St. Patrick’s Curriculum developed by Diana Philpott and Lisa Kearns. Salvation history provides the spine of this curriculum, and it includes geography, art, architecture, religion, music, literature (with read alouds), poetry, and science.
Children are introduced to historical lands and cultures as the story of the people of Israel interweaves with great civilizations. They recognize the Incarnation as the center of history, and follow the birth and growth of the Church as she spreads the Gospel to all lands. Children also grow to see that this story of salvation is their story. They learn that God has a plan, life is meaningful, and how they live matters greatly. Stories of saints and heroes develop strong imaginations and inspire virtuous ideals of goodness, nobility, and holiness.
III. Language Arts Skills
Every day, students study phonics, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, or writing with their teachers in a formal way. Skills learned during this time are reviewed and practiced throughout the rest of the day.
IV. Latin
Early learners are exposed to the Latin language through hymns and prayers, and our students begin to formally learn Latin in Grade II. Latin is an extremely logical language, and as students learn their grammar and syntax, they better understand the workings of the English language, and learn to think more logically.
The study of Latin has a privileged place in our curriculum because it is the language of the Roman Catholic Church, and the root of modern Romance languages.
V. Mathematics
By the end of Grade V, students at Saint Thomas More Academy have mastered arithmetic and are ready for more advanced mathematics in Upper School.
VI. Science
Twice a week, students use James Partridge’s Natural Science Through the Seasons, as well as Anna Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study and Nature Notebook Series, to learn to observe what is seasonally happening in the natural world around them, and begin to deduce the order intrinsic in the universe.
Grades IV and V students begin their study of Bernard Nebel’s Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding.
VII. Music & the Arts
Students have dedicated time for Music four times a week. At Saint Thomas More Academy, in addition to learning modern music theory and folk songs, students learn to sing hymns and Gregorian chant through the Ward Method so that they can sing at Mass as an all-school choir.
Students have dedicated time for Art twice a week in the first two trimesters, and dedicated time for Drama twice a week in the third trimester. The Fine Arts have a privileged place in our curriculum in order to develop the students’ creative powers, train their aesthetic sense, and properly order their affections.
VIII. Physical Activity
Children need to exercise their bodies in order to exercise their minds. Saint Thomas More Academy has at least two recesses daily, punctuating blocks of study. Lower School students practice playing organized games and sports during a weekly Gym period.