In middle school, students are presented with courses that are both engaging and rigorous.  These classes immerse the students in the Catholic faith and teach Catholic values.  Middle school students also participate in a wide variety of extracurricular activities.  St. Catherine begins its honor curriculum in the 6th grade offering English and mathematics honors courses.  In 6^th and 7^th grades students have honors courses in all core subject areas including Latin.

Courses in the middle school curriculum include:  religion, language arts, math, science, social studies, computer, art, music, Latin, physical education, and library.  Extracurricular activities give students opportunities to shine intellectually, athletically, and spiritually.

Religion

All students of St. Catherine of Siena participate in daily prayer and attend Mass every week.  The children are actively involved in Mass planning and contribute by serving as lectors during the Mass.  The students have the opportunity to be a part of the Living Rosary, Reconciliation, Stations of the Cross, Celebration in the Oaks, Live Nativity, Grandparents’ Mass, grade-level retreats, May Crowning, Catholic Schools Week, service activities such as Coats for Kids, the annual Thanksgiving food drive, Caps for Kids, the Mardi Gras beads collection for St. Michael’s School, and Mass on Holy Days of Obligation regularly as a school community.  Middle school students are required to complete service hours by serving their community, school, and home.  Each year a Christian theme is chosen that the entire school embraces.  The faculty and staff encourage all St. Catherine students to use Jesus as their role model by loving, encouraging, and respecting one another.

In the pursuit of intimacy with our God, we engage each student’s heart, mind, soul, and strength as follows:

Heart:  Students reflect on Christian and secular music, participate in songs, join in meditations, express their faith in art forms, and log their insights in journals. 

Mind:  Students read, study, and utilize the Christ Our Life textbook as a prime resource, watch content-related videos, analyze, discuss, compare lessons from parables, and participate in class discussions including “Who do people say that I am?” and “Ask the experts.”

Soul:  Students discover the depths of their relationships with God through personal and communal prayer, participation in the sacraments, and reflection through personal prayer journeys.

Strength:  Students are given opportunities to put into practice their faith by reaching out to others in their school, church, and local communities.

Fifth grade - The Blessed Trinity, Jesus, the son of God , who became one of us, the Church and its history and teachings, the Mass and Liturgical year, the Seven Sacraments, our call to be a disciple of Jesus, review of the new translation of the Mass, review of common prayers, an introduction to the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Sixth grade – The study of the Old Testament and its meaning for Catholics, recognizing Jesus as the fulfillment of all the Father has promised, understanding the connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament, encouraging a response to God’s call to enter into a loving relationship with God and with the church, recognizing our call to be a covenant people

Seventh grade - Examination of the Catholic understanding of the New Testament, the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the life and teachings of Jesus, the origin of the Church, morality and the gift of free will, formation of conscience, the Ten Commandments, review of the new translation of the Mass, the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Mathematics

The math department of St. Catherine of Siena School focuses on the student’s ability to perform math in the real world.  Manipulative materials are used at all grade levels to help facilitate the concrete understanding of skills and concepts.  There is a concentration on basic skills and problem solving while also integrating technology.  Several topics in middle school math and science overlap, such as scientific notation, slope, and dimensional analysis.  Knowledge of fraction and decimal operations is crucial to building a solid mathematic foundation.  The middle school curriculum begins preparing students for high school in the fifth grade with basic algebraic notation as well as giving them a strong understanding of fraction and decimal operations. Sixth grade continues to develop the student’s skills needed for algebraic understanding.  Seventh grade targets pre-algebra skills in order to be successful in high school.

Fifth grade - operations with decimals and fractions, algebraic notation, geometry, real-life word problems, introduction to percent

Sixth grade – solving one step equations, ratio & proportion, applying percent, introduction to integers, geometry, and real-world problem solving

Seventh grade – pre-algebra including operations with integers and rational numbers, linear equations, solving multi-step equations, and real-life problem solving

Seventh grade students utilize the ALEKS assessment program, Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces. ALEKS is a ground-breaking technology developed from research at New York University and the University of California, Irvine, by a team of software engineers, mathematicians, and cognitive scientists with the support of a multi-million-dollar grant from the National Science Foundation. At the heart of ALEKS is an artificial intelligence engine that assesses each student individually and continuously. Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces is a Web-based, artificially intelligent assessment and learning system. ALEKS uses adaptive questioning to quickly and accurately determine exactly what a student knows and doesn't know in a course. ALEKS then instructs the student on the topics he or she is most ready to learn. As a student works through a course, ALEKS periodically reassesses the student to ensure that topics learned are also retained. ALEKS courses are very complete in their topic coverage and ALEKS avoids multiple-choice questions.  Because students are forced to show mastery through mixed-question assessments that cannot be predicted, mastery of the ALEKS course means true mastery of the course.

Social Studies

Social Studies is more than a memorization of names, dates, and map locations.  A great importance is placed on student understanding of the far-reaching causes and effects of historic events that impact our world as a whole and our country in particular.  Credence is also given to the investigation of the relationships that races, cultures, and states have with each other.  We pride ourselves in our mission to turn out well-informed students who will one day have the privilege of affecting change in our society.  We prepare them for this purpose through the latest information, strategies, and technology available.

Fifth grade - Foundations of Government and World History

Sixth grade - U.S. History I - “The First Americans” through the Louisiana Purchase

Seventh grade - U.S. History II - The Missouri Compromise through the Korean War

Science

The science department at St. Catherine of Siena School promotes student learning through a variety of classroom techniques. We believe that students learn by doing.  Students are exposed to a variety of learning environments in an attempt to enhance each student’s potential while increasing his/her love of learning and science.  Through cooperative learning groups, students learn how to use a variety of science and technology equipment to facilitate critical thinking and problem solving skills.  This type of learning experience accurately mimics real life working environments which involve teamwork and communication. This environment is achieved through a variety of resources:  traditional consumable textbooks, interactive web-based textbooks, computer laptops, whole and small group discussions/debates, group and individual experiments, demonstrations, cooperative group learning, and project based learning. These techniques are used to introduce, develop, and master science skills.

All classes are designed to foster a student-centered environment which strives to maximize the potential of each student.  In conjunction with the specific content for each grade level, all middle school students engage in scientific inquiry, graph analysis, and the modeling of concepts to apply classroom content and transfer knowledge to real world experiences.  Students use the Prentice Hall Louisiana Interactive Science textbook with its complimentary online components and materials.  A variety of supplemental external resources are continuously incorporated into each topic.

Fifth grade

PHYSICAL SCIENCE - properties of matter, force, motion, and energy

LIFE SCIENCE - cells, body systems, classifications of living organisms, ecosystems

EARTH SCIENCE - Earth’s spheres, natural resources, climate, cycles, and space

Sixth grade

PHYSICAL SCIENCE- scientific skills and attitudes, tools, matter, The Periodic Table of Elements, chemical reactions, motion, forces, energy and heat, electricity and magnetism, waves and sound, electromagnetic waves and light, work and machines, and resources

Seventh grade

LIFE SCIENCE - practice of science, mathematics in science, chemistry of life, cells and their components, life cycles, the human body, ecosystems, biomes, genetics, health, and cycles

All topics progress in classroom and assessment rigor to meet and surpass the requirements set by the state of Louisiana.

Language Arts

In middle school, the English/Language Arts curriculum emphasizes the careful analysis and interpretation of literature from various literary genres as well as exposes students to a variety of writing styles and techniques geared toward real-world application.  We strive to bring literature to life for the students so that it becomes meaningful and relevant in their everyday lives.  Our goal is to instill and nurture a love of independent reading.  Comprehension, fluency, reading strategies, literary devices, and speaking and listening skills are fostered and strengthened in a cooperative learning environment. Students will apply critical/analytical thinking skills while exploring narrative, descriptive, expository, and persuasive/argumentative writing. Students are able to access classroom laptops as a resource/tool in their journey through the writing process. They will continue to broaden their vocabulary and to refine their understanding and application of formal English grammar, mechanics, and expression. Through daily oral language (daily editing), sentence classification (Shurley method), modeling and practical application, students will effectively bridge the elements of the English/Language Arts curriculum. 

The department’s goal is to develop a writing community of students through immersion, modeling, communication/debate, technology, and daily application.

Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Grades

WRITING - All students embark on a journey through the writing process which builds in rigor and structure from one grade level to the next in preparation for real-world experiences. This journey includes exploration and immersion in descriptive, narrative, expository, and persuasive/argumentative writing techniques using technology.

LITERATURE - Required works of literature are carefully selected by the reading department to best suit the developmental/academic needs of the students at their particular grade level. Beginning in fifth grade, students are taught comprehension strategies to compare and contrast fictional/informational texts.  As students progress through sixth and seventh grades, the rigor of skills/strategies deepens as students model and practice supporting inferences/claims by citing textual evidence using fiction and nonfiction works.  Students are immersed in a wide range of literature/informational texts:  traditional classics, modern works, poetry, plays, monologues, short stories, articles, editorials, etc. The students are exposed to and practice annotation, paraphrasing, strategic discussions/debates, presentations, and speeches which nurture and develop crucial skills practiced in high school and beyond.

GRAMMAR/MECHANICS - Instruction in grammar and mechanics builds and intensifies in rigor and complexity as students progress through middle school.  These vital skills are the building blocks which lead to effective, successful communicators and writers. The following parts of speech/skills are developed, and mastered in middle school:  nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, verbals, adverbs, sentence structure, clauses, phrases, prepositions, conjunctions, interjections, punctuation, capitalization, daily oral language, and sentence classification.