Primary Curriculum

The primary program, kindergarten through second grade, is dedicated to providing a sound spiritual and academic foundation for each child. It does this through approaches and techniques developmentally appropriate for the primary age child.

The basic religious education program provides the student with the doctrinal, scriptural and moral aspects of their faith at a primary level. Students are introduced to the traditional prayers of the Church. Daily prayer, celebration of the sacraments, and special liturgies enrich the curriculum. Prayer corners, service activities to help the poor, introductions to some of the basic beliefs - creation and God the Father, the life of Jesus, the role of the Holy Spirit in their daily lives, Mary and the saints are all part of a multi-faceted program which builds a firm faith foundation in the life of a child.

The primary literature-based language arts program, primarily through the OPEN COURT reading series, provides enriching reading and writing experiences with strong emphasis on phonics. The child is introduced to quality literature, to phonetic strategies which help in decoding materials and to insuring spelling ability, spelling, vocabulary, grammar skills such as punctuation, capitalization, and sentence meaning, and to handwriting skills. Daily journals, creative writing projects and class newspapers also develop the child’s writing skills. Art is integrated into these activities when appropriate. Favorite activities are the “Book It” reading program and the “Reading Bag” Virtues and Values Through Reading and Writing series. This is a book-bag-journal take home kit and involves both student and parents(s) in creative reading and journaling exercises.

The primary math program is designed to introduce the skills designated by the Archdiocesan Curriculum such as patterns, number concepts, formation of numerals, basic math operations (addition, subtraction etc), introduction to geometric shapes, money values, place value, time, problem solving, estimation and other fundamental math concepts. Concepts are introduced through a hands-on, experiential approach. Computers are being introduced in this and other subject areas throughout the primary level.

The primary social studies program is structured to help the student grow to an awareness of being a member of a wider community- family, school, church, neighborhood, city, country, world. Some specific foci are map study, holidays (religious and civil), community helpers, countries of the world and ethnic differences, family structures and appreciation of the United States. Community service projects, weekly visits to the elderly, and Christmas projects for the poor concretize the classroom study.

The primary science program deals with basic concepts- earth, weather, ecology, living and non-living things, energy, and the five senses. These concepts are developed through a unit method and sometimes integrated with the language arts program.

The staff is committed to address, in coordination with the parent(s), the unique needs of each child to be aware of and integrate when appropriate, new insights and methodologies and to provide a holistic foundation for the MPB primary student.

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CORE CURRICULUM: Math, Religion, Social Studies, Reading/Language Arts/Spelling/Vocabulary/Handwriting, Science, Art, Physical Education, Technology, Library, Music, Spanish.

ACTIVITIES AND ENRICHMENT: Mass and Prayer Services, Community Service projects, Archdiocesan Art Fair, Destination Imagination.

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