Readiness for Middle School
Our St. Mary Catholic Virtue School 5th Graders prepare for Middle School by practicing the Core Virtues of Concord, Industriousness, Magnanimity, and Wisdom.
Our St. Mary Catholic Virtue School students in Kindergarten through 5th Grade prepare for moving on to Middle School by engaging in projects that put into practice the Core Virtue of Concord.
Fine Arts performances call on students to work together for the achievement of a great goal. In addition to the Polaris Project theatrical productions, students also perform in classroom skits and a Christmas pageant. Playing in the Orchestra is another opportunity for St. Mary Catholic Virtue School Elementary Schoolers to go above and beyond in developing their gifts and talents and contributing to the wider community.
Field Trips build Concord by providing opportunities for students to have new and exciting experiences as a class. In 5th Grade, for example, our St. Mary Catholic Virtue School students travel to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Denver, to attend Holy Mass celebrated by Archbishop Aquila with other 5th Graders throughout the Archdiocese.
How our students discovers their greatness: CONCORD
How our students discovers their greatness: INDUSTRIOUSNESS
Our commitment to academic excellence is supported by standardized testing and personalized learning paths. At St. Mary Catholic Virtue School, we use a combination of evidence-based assessments and teacher insights to monitor student achievement and growth:
Renaissance STAR Testing is used in Grades 2-5 to help track achievement in Math and Reading throughout the year. This objective measure, combined with teacher-collected anecdotal data, helps us ensure progress towards the Educational Covenant's goal of excellence, the Trimester Targets for the "Way of Words," Archdiocesan standards by subject, and growth in our Core and Classroom Polaris Virtues as well. Recently, our St. Mary Catholic Virtue School students scored well on STAR testing.
The annual Spelling Bee gives qualified students a chance to compete against each other, and to move on to competitions in the wider community. Contestants include 2nd through 8th Graders, all working from the same list of words.
Low involvement with technology characterizes our pedagogical approach. At. St. Mary Catholic Virtue School, assignments are submitted in cursive from 2nd Grade on, because the practice of writing things out promotes hand-eye coordination and is shown to improve cognitive ability as well.
How our students discovers their greatness: MAGNANIMITY
In Middle School, students are called upon to go above and beyond what they have achieved in Elementary School. Our St. Mary Catholic Virtue School students practice the Core Virtue of Magnanimity to prepare them for the new challenges that 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade will bring.
While the Fountain Pen Club is primarily for Middle Schoolers, teacher-recommended 5th Graders are also invited to belong. With their 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade fellow students, the Elementary School "Inkspillers" also contribute pieces of original artwork and literary compositions to our magazine, "The Quill."
A new initiative at St. Mary Catholic Virtue School, through our "Way of Words" Fleets, is an upcoming Debate. For this event, Elementary Schoolers will be called upon to practice the Virtue of Magnanimity by collaborating with the Middle Schoolers in arguing about whether King Arthur–and by extension, his valiant knights of the Round Table–actually existed as historical figures at all. This event will take place at the end of March, 2025.
How our students discovers their greatness: WISDOM
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that "God's truth is His wisdom, which commands the whole created order and governs the whole world" (no. 216). In addition to learning about the Faith and participating in the sacramental life, St. Mary Catholic Virtue School 6th through 8th Graders practice the Core Virtue of Wisdom by contributing to the life of the parish and community as well.
A notable feature of the practice of Wisdom in our Elementary School is the inclusion of the subject area of Philosophy in "Fleet Saint John" in the 5th Grade. There has been a resurgence of interest in teaching Philosophy to these lower grade levels among pedagogical experts generally, and here at St. Mary Catholic Virtue School, an introduction to the outstanding philosophers of the Ancient, Medieval, and Modern worlds is featured through the "Anchor Texts" of the "Way of Words."
Socratic Discussions during class time itself call on students to go beyond the memorization of necessary facts, demonstrating and developing the Core Virtue of Wisdom by connecting what is being learned to universal truth. While some schools conduct Socratics from 9th to 12th Grades, our St. Mary Catholic Virtue School Elementary students are already participating in modified versions of this exercise. A Socratic is a form of assessment in which, instead of presenting students with a testing page to fill out, the teacher presents students with a thought-provoking prompt to talk about. Students are required to speak respectfully and correctly, which becomes a part of their overall Socratic grade. Building off of the comments of their peers, students are able to reach a deeper understanding of the topic under discussion than they might have reached working entirely on their own.
Reading at Mass is a classroom commitment, taking place on a rotating basis. Students also distribute worship aids, and also bring up the gifts when it is their Homeroom's turn.
Sapientia Sunday takes place once a month. Students attend Holy Mass at the parish in Mass uniform, to take part in the parish family and to be a witness for St. Mary Catholic Virtue School.
“In 5th grade we performed a play about the Revolutionary War. I learned so much about our founding fathers and it’s an important part of our history”
Garrison Bet | 5th Grade Student