Overview:

We have created a curriculum that recognizes every student as a unique individual with his or her learning style. All are given the opportunity to succeed in their own individual way. With our hands-on approach, we are able to instill in students a love of learning, independence, and the desire to achieve.  As always, please contact your student's teachers for specifics on assignments or log into Jupiter Ed for secure messaging directly to our staff. 

Language Arts:

We have adopted the highly successful and proven curriculum, Fundations for PreK through third grade. This program is researched based and multi-sensory. The emphasis is on reading strategies, vocabulary development, fluency, comprehension strategies, and writing skills. The implementation of this program will allow our students to build a solid foundation and ensure future success in subsequent grades.

PreK:

Level Pre-K Activity Set forms a foundation for kindergarten. The focus is on letter-sound associations, alphabetical order, and manuscript letter formation.

Kinder:

A very strong foundation for reading and writing is established. St. Francis students are exposed to poetry, narrative, and informational text.

First Grade:

Students study word structure and are exposed to various text experiences. Stories are read with fluency and understanding.

Second Grade:

Students continue to study word structure. They learn how to skim for information and understand the relationships of characters in a story.

Third Grade:

The emphasis is still on word structure. Spelling rules and morphology are introduced. Students understand that there is a connection between words and their uses.

Fourth Grade:

 Language Arts is broken into vocabulary, reading, grammar, and writing. Vocabulary comes from content areas and focuses on furthering our students’ understanding of various concepts. Reading focuses on building fluency, comprehension, and reading a variety of texts and classroom novels. Grammar and writing go hand in hand by focusing on multi-sensory grammar, proofreading skills, grammar rules, parts of speech, and all the steps of the writing process.

Mathematics:

We have adopted the widely-acclaimed Singapore Math program that teaches “the whys” of math. The foundation of this program focuses on developing problem-solving strategies, an understanding of mathematical principles, and a strong number sense. Mental math is greatly emphasized and concepts are reinforced using a variety of math manipulatives. Instruction moves from the concrete, to the pictorial, and then to the abstract. We use the Dimensions Math version of Singapore Math.

Some of the concepts covered are as follows:

PreK:

Social Studies:

Our curriculum emphasizes inquiry and diversity. Inquiry develops an understanding of how local, state, national, and global communities work. Diversity pays attention to who is speaking and starts historical understanding. Our curriculum is further enhanced by Project-Based Learning, which provides St. Francis students the opportunity to explore their individual interests.

Kinder:

The emphasis is on local and global communities.

First Grade:

The emphasis is on citizenship and making change.

Second Grade:

The emphasis is on movement and displacement in US History.

Third Grade:

The emphasis is on contributions made by racial and cultural communities.

Fourth Grade:

The emphasis is on immigration and Texas History.

The St. Francis science curriculum engages students with meaningful active learning experiences. Our curriculum is hands-on because we believe that students learn by doing. Our students are encouraged to be active investigators, and not just spectators. With this in mind, we have adopted the FOSS Next Generation program.

Our St. Francis Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum consists of the five core competencies of Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision Making. We are engaging our students in school-wide programming such as grade-level chapel presentations, an anti-bullying campaign, compassion/outreach projects, and family involvement.  In addition, our students in grades K-4 will have regular visits from the counselor for specific guidance lessons on various SEL topics and mindfulness. Students in grades 5-8 participate in workshops on topics specific for middle school. As an educational community we have embraced both the Nurtured Heart (Howard Glasser) and Conscious Discipline models and draw from these models to inform our classroom management and teaching practices. These SEL models are embedded in our student learning standards and expectations.