STEM in the Classroom at St. Mary’s Catholic School

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are taught in a way that reflects the Catholic understanding that the created world is intelligible, ordered, and a gift from God to be studied with wonder and responsibility. Students in Kindergarten through Grade 5 participate in STEM instruction once per week, engaging in hands-on exploration, problem-solving, and collaborative learning. Students in Grades 6 and 7 attend STEM classes twice per week, allowing for deeper investigation, design thinking, and application of scientific and mathematical principles. In Grade 8, students have the opportunity to earn high school credit through an advanced STEM course.

Throughout STEM instruction, teachers emphasize ethical responsibility, stewardship of creation, and the harmony of faith and reason. Students learn that scientific discovery reveals the beauty and order of God’s creation and that technological advancement must always serve the dignity of the human person and the common good. The lives of saints who were scientists, physicians, or patrons of learning are incorporated where appropriate, helping students see intellectual pursuit as a path to holiness. The Virtue of the Month is also reinforced in STEM through habits such as perseverance, cooperation, and intellectual humility.