Academics
KindergartenOur Private Catholic Kindergarten Program
A variety of strategies and projects are used to teach the academic subjects within our kindergarten classroom at St. Mary Catholic School. These include: analyzing, writing, memorizing, performing, summarizing, sequencing, interpreting, and critical thinking. Special activities include: creating stories, poems, book reports, essays, recitations, dramatizations, and dioramas.
Specialized instructors in art, music, library, technology, Spanish, and physical education supplement instruction by classroom teachers.
In language arts, students progress from basic writing skills to full expression, from the ability to read to a love of reading. They receive continuing instruction in grammar, spelling, capitalization and punctuation and are also exposed to increasingly challenging literature in a full range of writing styles, topics and cultures.
In math, students develop number sense beginning with an emphasis on basic math facts. Manipulatives are used in mathematics to facilitate concept development and logistical reasoning and to apply mathematics to problem-solving.
Grade by grade, students’ knowledge, and skills become more sophisticated.
Special Events & Programs In Our Kindergarten Program
- Thanksgiving Celebration
- Christmas Program
- Grandparent’s Day
- Graduation Ceremony
Kindergarten School Subject Areas:
Found below is a listing of the areas of study in our kindergarten program along with examples and essential skills.
Religion
Released in 2011, “Bringing Good News” is the Archdiocese of Baltimore Religion Curriculum for Elementary Schools. This standards-based curriculum serves as a guide, a roadmap for both teachers and students as they embark on a journey, which will provide them with the knowledge and understanding of the faith as witnessed in the teachings and the traditions of the Catholic Church. The curriculum is built on the Six Tasks of Catechesis: Promoting Knowledge of the Faith; Liturgical Education; Moral Formation; Teaching to Pray; Education for Community Life; and Missionary Initiation and is aligned with the Assessment of Catholic Religious Education (IFG:ACRE).
By the completion of kindergarten, students will master a variety of skills including:
- Identify self and my family as belonging to God’s family.
- Identify the Bible as a special book about God.
- Dramatize the stories about Jesus from the Bible, i.e. The Last Supper, The Christ Child in the Temple, The Good Samaritan.
- Demonstrate how we show our love by using kind words and positive actions.
- Participate in prayer with the family, alone, in class and at Church.
- Identify the saints as God’s special friends who are part of the family of the Church in heaven.
- Discover that God has made each of them special and that individual differences are gifts from God.
- Understand when we help our family and friends we are showing love to others like Jesus did.
English Language Arts
Revised in 2014, the English Language Arts Curriculum for the Archdiocese of Baltimore is designed using the Catholic, College and Career Ready clusters as its foundation. Through literature, this course of study fosters students’ Catholic identity, shaping them to be models of Christian living for others. This curriculum is fully integrated with our Catholic faith. We provide students with a curriculum that is rigorous and rich in literature, oral and written language, grammar, writing, vocabulary, informational literature, and multimedia/technology.
By the completion of kindergarten, students will master a variety of skills including:
- Making connections to the text.
- Greater emphasis on the writing process.
- Memorizes and recite address, phone number, and birthday.
- Fine motor control in order to draw, color, and print.
- Ability to hold pencil and crayon properly, control pencil and crayon and scissors, and color within boundaries.
- Ability to sit properly and hold the paper in the correct position for writing.
Mathematics
Revised in 2013, the curriculum for all elementary schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore include the following units:
- Counting and Cardinality
- Operations and Algebraic Thinking
- Measurement and Data
- Numbers and Operations in Base Ten
- Geometry
- Numbers and Operations
Catholic educators never forget that our schools exist to bring our students to Christ. By continuing to implement new standards that are challenging, we work to fulfill the promise of quality Catholic education that educates the whole child, both mind and soul.
By the completion of kindergarten, students will master a variety of skills including:
- Know number names and the count sequence.
- Understand addition as putting together and adding to, and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from.
- Describe and compare measurable attributes.
- Classify objects and count the number of objects in each category.
- Analyze, compare, create, and compose shapes.
Additional Subject Areas
The following subject areas are currently under revision across the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and if you would like more information regarding these standards and essential skills please contact the school directly.
- Science
- Instructional Technology
- SEL
- STEM
- Social Studies
- Visual and Performing Arts
- Physical Education/Health
- Spanish
Interested in Learning More about our Catholic School?
In choosing St. Mary Catholic School, you are investing in your child’s tomorrow. For over 145 years students and families have been entrusting SMCS for educational excellence – spiritually, academically, and socially. We invite you to visit our campus in historic Hagerstown, Maryland to learn more about our school as well as our school community.