Religion

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Readings: Scripture,  Didache Textbook Series, Scott Hahn's Bible Basics, Catechism of the Catholic Church

  

 Theology, in the words of Thomas Aquinas, is the “queen of the sciences”, and any educational endeavor properly begins here. All other truth flows from correct theological principles, especially the correct understanding of the human person—made in the image and likeness of God—and finding her purpose in knowing, loving, and serving God in this world and being happy with Him forever in the next.  

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Topics incude doctrine (with an emphasis on the universal call of holiness), Scripture (the history of salvation, culminating in Jesus Christ), Church history (God's intervention in human history, from the Incarnation till the present day), and moral theology (moral decision-making in light of the ten commandments and teachings of Christ). 

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Integrated Humanities​      

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The study of history, literature, and art coaxes us away from the self-centered and ephemeral, pointing us to eternal, shared realities. A thorough understanding of history, in particular, gives us a firm foundation as we evaluate where we stand in the debates of the day. Ancient, medieval, modern, and American civilizations are studied, taught in an integrated way modeled after the Integrated Humanities Program pioneered by John Senior at the University of Kansas. The study of American civilization includes civics and economics. Writing and public speaking, review of English grammar and vocabulary, and making ordered, logical arguments are incorporated.

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Mathematics

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Readings: Making Math Meaningful Textbook Series, Schneider's A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe, Euclid's Elements

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Mathematics is indispensable to a classical education. Math describes the reality of God’s creation and is essential to the pursuit of the good, true, and beautiful. Mathematical reasoning trains the mind to proceed from the practical to the abstract, from the visible to the invisible. Mathematics should be taught in the context of the intellectual heritage of the West–Xeno, Pythagorus, Descartes, Newton, etc. A four year sequence includes two years of algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and advanced math. 

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We believe a thorough high school education should culminate with calculus. While not everyone has the aptitude to understand complicated calculus computations in high school, all girls can and should leave high school with an appreciation of limit, derivative, and significance. These ideas are some of the most important of Western civilization, standing at the pinnacle of Western science and philosophy. Appreciating them is an attainable and worthy goal for any high school girl. 

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A final note: Test preparation is not the source or summit of a good education. But standardized tests will play a role in many girls’ lives during high school. For that reason, it is reasonable for parents to expect that their girls will be prepared for standardized tests such as the PSAT by the end of sophomore year and the SAT by the end of junior year. 

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Natural History and Science 

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Readings: Selections from Jean-Henri Fabre, Novare Textbook Series

 

Careful observation of creation awakens wonder and develops attentiveness, helping girls to grow in knowledge of the Divine Creator. A four year sequence includes natural history (including local trees, birds, soil, and rock formations), physics, chemistry, and biology. All levels include labs. 

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Latin

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Readings: Latin by the Natural Method Textbook Series, the Vulgate

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The study of Latin offers both norms and nobility. Besides being the liturgical language of the West for more than a thousand years, the language of Virgil, St. Jerome, and St. Thomas Aquinas, Latin offers the student unparalleled mental training. Being immersed in the deep structure of language in a highly disciplined, ordered way is both a worthy end in itself and a priceless foundation for logic, science, law, medicine, and modern languages.  

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