Saint Andrew Catholic School provides a quality education through a comprehensive and challenging curriculum that is aligned with Pennsylvania and Archdiocesan standards. Students are actively engaged in learning and continually challenged to apply higher order thinking skills as they compose, create, experiment, and discover.
All lower school grades are enriched with classes in Spanish, Music, Art, Computer, Library and Physical Education. Technology is integrated in many areas and students learn to use approved, grade-appropriate search engines for research and learning.
Grade Highlights
First Grade
First grade is guided by establishing the fundamentals in learning and faith. Our first graders develop a real love of reading as they become independent and confident readers and writers. Writing skills are integrated into the classroom with seasonal and curriculum based activities. Focus on addition and subtraction helps the children to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills that can be applied to real life experiences.
The Saints' Day Pageant introduces children to the saints and public speaking. Children dress as their saint and perform in the Saints' Day Pageant for the school, family and friends. First grade celebrates Church Fest in the spring. Parents accompany their first graders to a 9:00 a.m. Mass at the church. After Mass, the first graders go from station to station around the church learning about the Baptismal font, vestments, vessels, etc. The parents retreat to the cry room for a special presentation.
Second Grade
Religious growth is highlighted throughout second grade with the preparation and reception of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Eucharist. Throughout the year, students will learn to realize God's great love for them and strive to live out Jesus' commandment "to love God and to love one another as God loves us."
Students grow as independent readers and transition from learning-to-read to reading-to-learn, while practicing the art of cursive writing to express themselves and develop critical thinking skills.
Students are introduced to new tools for learning such as interactive whiteboards, computers, apps and specific websites used to enhance instruction and engage students to learn in today's technical world.
Third Grade
The third grade classes are guided by the Founding Fathers throughout the year. A focus on leadership and the history of our country culminate into a "Patriotic Revue" where the children "become" a famous historical figure in a show for parents, family and friends. A creative revue incorporates public speaking, art and music. Science and social studies become graded subjects in third grade. Students are encouraged to write exclusively in cursive. Fluidity with addition, subtraction and multiplication facts is emphasized.
Fourth Grade
Fourth grade is a transitional year as it is the first year that students change classes and have subject-specific teachers. Academic challenges in fourth grade include an emphasis on multiplication and division, a more enriched and in-depth science program, including classroom experiments, and novel-based reading. The integrated language arts curriculum utilizes excerpts from children's literature.
The fourth grade social studies curriculum focuses on the study of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and culminates with a field trip to a local historical landmark.
Fifth Grade
Our fifth grade students utilize Google Chromebooks every day and across the entire curriculum. Students collaborate in pairs or small groups, to think critically as they gather information on various topics from land formations to planets, to create presentations that demonstrate their understanding of a concept and to communicate effectively with their peers. It is a time for growing in responsibility.
In religion the students deepen their knowledge of the sacraments, learn about the sacred vessels and vestments from a parish priest and celebrate Bible Fest with their special person in the spring. In math students develop the core fundamentals of fractions and applying that knowledge to experiments with color, light, and sound in our science lab. English Language Arts explores a comprehensive study of the Holocaust through literature, witness testimony, and our own written expression.