The wonderful world of Nursery and PreK will help your child begin to socialize and adjust to the school environment. We’ll learn colors, number, and letters as we celebrate lots of special events. We’ll listen to stories, play, and use our creative imaginations as we learn to love learning!

Oh what fun we will have as we learn in kindergarten! We will capture autumn smiles on the hayride during our annual fall trip to the pumpkin farm. Field trips will enrich our learning in winter and spring as well. We’ll also celebrate the 100th Day of Kindergarten—in a hundred different ways! We will continue to develop out reading readiness and will participate in special classes, gym, art, music, computer, and library. These classes will help to open our imaginations to the wonderful world of school!

First graders are engaged in exciting activities throughout the year. We will read, write, rhyme, spell, report, create, count, add, subtract, tally, graph, measure, estimate, listen, sing, dance, draw, color, cut, paste, participate, compute, recite, classify, sort, work, play, socialize, and pray. Whew! It’s a good thing we are going to be having so much fun that we won’t notice how hard we are working, and how much we are learning! Some other highlights: In September, we will learn about apples, and make applesauce. December will teach us about Jesus’ birth, and we will get to act out the gospel story at mass. In March, we will learn about wind and make kites, and in April we will wave palms at “Jesus in Jerusalem.” There are special events for all months, culminating in our special trip to McDonald’s in June (our parents can come too!), when we will look back on the year’s events and all that we have learned.

Cooking is a fun highlight of second grade—we will learn about fractions, amounts, and measures as we cook up a variety of delights. We will reinforce our language skills as we read, write, speak, and listen about our cooking adventures, as well as a host of other learning experiences. And of course, we will get ready for the big day—First Communion!

Third grade has many interesting aspects of curriculum. In language arts, we are applying our knowledge of story writing to the four different types of paragraphs. In the fall, we write descriptive paragraphs about a scarecrow, and we all get our own scarecrow to take home! In math, a highlight is an activity based on the story, How Big Is A Foot: using some creative group work, we build a bed for the queen using our own feet as a unit of measure! We’ll report on our favorite states in social studies, and we will visit a planetarium as part of a scientific study of our solar system.

In fourth grade this year, we will be learning about so may exciting topics! We will be exploring the planets, studying about New York State, and perfecting our multiplication and division skills. We will be having so much fun learning that we won’t even notice that we are getting excellent preparation for NYS tests in ELA, math, and science.

In fifth grade, we begin to introduce students to departmental classes. They will have Mrs. Walsh, Mr. Senatore, and Mrs. Cowan for their major subject areas. Highlights in some of these subjects include:

• ELA : Each child in our classroom is an author, illustrator, editor and reader. They create their own descriptive writing pieces, and will experience many adventures through the variety of literary works we read. The students will be writing in their “Writer’s Notebook” to help in building these skills.
• Math : From place value to percent, various learning tools and different methods help the children learn new mathematical techniques and concepts. The children are encouraged to ask questions and take chances as they become independent problem solvers.
• Social Studies: We’ll tour the many wonders of the Western Hemisphere as we make frequent use of interdisciplinary units combining language arts, math, science, and art. Our “explorations” will truly make us ready for the NYS exam in social studies, and more importantly, help us to make connections about our lives and lives of our friends and neighbors around the globe!

As we begin our transition into middle school, we start to have the opportunity to participate in middle school events and programs, as well as an advanced study program in Oceanography. Mrs. Cowan, Mr. Senatore, and Mrs. Walsh provide instruction in our major curricular areas. Highlights include:

• ELA : Our classroom will be one where student reading and writing occur daily. We will be surrounded by good literature and model our craft of writing upon it. We will learn to read our own writing and grow into the literate writers we need to be.
• Math : As they begin their middle school years, sixth graders will be encouraged to integrate carious mathematical topics to help them see math as a whole. They will learn problem solving methods, work with decimals and fractions, algebra, geometry, and much more.
• Social Studies: Oh, the places we’ll go and the people we’ll meet! Our study of people living in the Eastern Hemisphere focuses on geography and economics and will bring us too many of the wonders of the world up close and personal. Our year will include many interdisciplinary units combining language arts, math, science, art and music as we delve into Egyptology, discover the grandeur and power of ancient Greece and Rome, and become one with the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, just to name a few of the highlights. Videoconferencing will truly remove the walls of our classroom as we work and learn with others from around the country and sometimes around the globe. Hold on for a fabulous ride.

Our seventh graders continue their middle school transition as they begin to look toward high school. Our classes become more rigorous as students prepare to leave SSCM. Advanced students have the opportunity to study law through our Interscholastic Mock Trial Program. Highlights of our subject area classes include:

• ELA : Seventh grade ELA will encompass reading, writing, speaking, and listening as we explore several genres of literature, and strengthen our vocabulary and grammar skills. Students will begin to become expert writers as they explore the writing process. The power of poetry will be explored and students will be encouraged to find their own poetic voices as a means of self-expression.
• Math : Seventh graders will explore algebra, geometry, measurement, statistics, and probability, as they grow as mathematical problem solvers. Students will be encouraged to apply their mathematical expertise to real life.
• Social Studies: Throughout the year, students will complete educational and fun projects that will help them to better understand American history. We will begin to focus on primary sources and documents, and will begin our preparation for the state exam in grade eight.
• Science: In seventh grade we will be using the microscope extensively to study a variety of things, including frogs and owl pellets. Another exciting highlight is Technology Day at Adventureland, where we will study the physics of amusement park rides.

Our final year at SSCM brings to culmination all that we have learned here as we prepare to move on to high school. With NYS exams in all subject areas, eighth grade is an academically rigorous year. Still, students who are ready for a challenge can participate in advanced math, and a science research program with mentors from Stony Brook University Medical School. There are lots of fun activities too, as we celebrate the many friendships and memories of our grade school years. Highlight of some of our curricular areas include:

• ELA : The students will refine their skills as writers, readers, listeners, and speakers as they continue to explore different aspects of literary expression. We will prepare extensively for both the Catholic High School Entrance Exam, and the New York State Test in ELA. Our students will leave SSCM well prepared for the demands of high school.
• Math : Eighth graders will deepen and refine their skills as mathematical problem solvers as we delve deeply into algebra and prepare for the NYS Math Exam. We will also prepare for the Catholic High School Entrance Exam as our math class begins to function very much like high school.
• Social Studies: Students in grade eight cover the second half of American history, with exciting projects on World War I and World War II. We will continue our preparation for the state exam, working on a weekly basis with documents and document-based essays. Classroom discussions will encourage students to think “outside the box,” to view the understanding of history as a key to creating a better future.
• Science: Eighth grade science includes a number of hands-on activities. For example, after studying solar energy, we will construct our own solar powered cars.

Our physical education classes are always a favorite among the students, who learn a variety of skills as they work off some energy and play favorite sports and games. Phys. Ed. enables students to combine motor and manipulative skills as they learn specialized sports skills. Teamwork, cooperation, and healthy competition are cultivated as students learn to identify and demonstrate the social and psychological benefits of physical activity. This year we’ll also introduce a fun unit on ballroom dancing to coincide with dance craze stirred by recent movies about dancing.

All students will be encouraged to develop their creative talents in the visual arts as we work in different media, study the styles of great artists, and develop our own artistic techniques. Our spring art show will showcase our best works!

Our new and expanded music and drama program will introduce students to basic music theory and appreciation while building their skills as performers. We will study all aspect of music from the great composers of the Baroque Era right through the development of rap and reggae. We were learn the basic principles of acting and theatre, and will learn how to create and edit music electronically. Our school music program will be complemented by extracurricular offerings in dance, drama, chorus, band, and violin. All students will participate in concerts at Christmas and in the spring. We will all also participate in our annual school musical!!

Grades 4-8 will be learning to use the vast databases in our state-of-the-art, electronic gateway library to research topics from sports to viruses. Our library is stocked with print resources to aid our students as they become expert researchers. In grades K-3, we will be exploring fiction through author studies. We’re looking forward to a year filled with reading and research adventures.

¿ Habla español? ¡Claro que sí! Our students in grade 4-8 will begin to study Spanish vocabulary, grammar, and composition. We will also learn about the culture and traditions of Spanish-speaking countries, helping to prepare us to live in the diverse global community.

Mrs. LaMura will again offer academic support in reading for students in grades K-6. Students in this program work on all aspects of reading skills, including letter identification, consonant and vowel sounds, phonics, syllabication, main ideas, and inferential reading. AIS services begin at the child’s present reading level and continue until the child is reading at grade level.