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The primary purpose of St. Cecelia School is to provide instruction of the Catholic Faith. Religion is not looked upon as another subject but rather as a way of living, a process of developing a lifelong relationship with God. The school is an extension of the Catholic home in supporting the instruction of Catholic values. Daily prayers, religious instruction, liturgies, and community service are part of the total experience for grades Three through Five. Sadlier, We Believe provides the necessary text and religious support materials. The Fourth grade curriculum is enhanced with the Venture newsletters that help prepare students for the Sunday gospel.

The Language Arts curriculum at St. Cecelia School is an integrated literature-based program that stresses academic vocabulary, phonemic awareness, reading comprehension, grammar, spelling, writing, oral and written communication, listening and speaking, and study skills. Third through fifth-grade students indulge in a wealth of fiction and non-fiction stories provided in Pearson’s Common Core Reading Street Program. This rigorous program focuses on text-based comprehension and writing across all subject areas, strengthening students’ foundational skills, and enhancing student vocabulary. This comprehensive program is supplemented with Sadlier-Oxford’s Grammar Workshop along with Accelerated Reader, and Daily Oral Language activities.

The intermediate language arts program promotes and develops critical and creative thinking skills and provides increasing levels of complexity and depth of subject matter. By the end of the intermediate grades, students will have experienced authentic literature in a variety of genres. The goal for the students is to develop a passion and love for reading and to become enthusiastic, lifelong, independent readers and writers.

Pearson’s EnVision Program is the primary source of instruction for our intermediate grades at St. Cecelia School. In addition, teachers have various supplemental materials that are used for planning and delivering instruction that meets the diverse needs and learning styles of all students. Students utilize Accelerated Math, a program which creates math assignments tailored to each student’s current level, which allows for differentiated math instruction, addressing each student’s individual needs. Students also utilize the IXL online math program to complete as a supplement to the topics presented.

Grades three, four, and five at St. Cecelia School continue from the primary grades with a curriculum which capitalizes on the information provided in the Pearson/Scott Foresman texts. Each grade level completes a unit in Life Science, Physical Science, and Earth Science. Beginning in the Third grade, students focus on Plants and Animals, Earth’s Place in Space, Properties of Matter, and Forms of Energy. In Fourth grade, students focus on Earth’s Rotation and Revolution, Rocks and Minerals, Plants and Animals of Florida, and Energy. Brain POP is frequently used for enrichment. In Fifth grade students focus on the Human Body Systems, Earth’s Water and Weather, Properties of Matter, Forces, and Forms of Energy. Each grade level also focuses on a hands-on approach to the scientific method, observation, and other process skills used by scientists. Recycling is a priority in each intermediate grade.

The intermediate grades at St. Cecelia School utilize the McGraw-Hill Networks Program, which focuses on helping students create enduring understandings about the world they inhabit. Skills that reinforce reading of nonfiction material are introduced and utilized throughout the curriculum. In Third grade, students learn about the regions in the United States. The Fourth grade classes study Florida History, allowing them to deeply engage in the historic people and places in our very own state. The Fifth grade classes tackle the Early Inhabitants of the Americas, the Discoveries of the Europeans, the Establishment of Colonies, and the Beginning of the United States of America. A wide range of varied online resources help to shape and deepen the student understandings of these concepts.