Assumption Catholic School Elementary students strive for moral growth and academic excellence. Students actively participate in Mass every Friday at 9:00 am. Through prayer and Religion classes, teachers, students and parents share the richness of the Catholic faith. Through our faith life in school and through community service projects, we instill in our students the means to follow Christ and to care for those in need of our help in the school, the parish, the community, and the world.
Language Arts and Math
Kindergarten
The major milestones in Kindergarten reading and language arts are:
- Recognizing upper and lower case letters and their sounds
- Using upper and lower case letters in daily writing
- Awareness of the relationship of “letters to words” and “words to sentences”
- Grow as a reader
- Identify initial, final, and medial sounds in short words
- Retell the main idea of a story, identify details, and arrange story events in sequence
Major milestones for Kindergarten math include:
- Developing a strong number sense
- Identifying numbers up to thirty
- Count up to 100 by ones, twos, fives, and tens
- Compare numbers
- Add and subtract two digits up to 10
- Recognize, name, and sort 2D and 3D shapes
- Recognize and name coins and their values
First Grade
The major milestones in first-grade reading and language arts are:
- Knowing the names and sounds of all the consonants and vowels
- Understanding phonics concepts such as consonant combinations
- Following along, reading, and summarizing simple stories with pictures
- Developing an understanding of sentence structure
Major milestones for first-grade math include:
- Counting to 100 by 1’s and skip counting
- Knowing the addition math facts
- Adding and subtracting small numbers
- Understanding the value of money
- Knowing the units for measurement, time, and weight
Second Grade
The major milestones in second-grade reading and language arts are:
- Developing an extensive sight word vocabulary
- Applying more complex phonics strategies
- Writing competently for many purposes
- Using punctuation appropriately
- Experiencing a variety of literary genres
Major milestones for second-grade math include:
- Applying numbers sense to the four basic operations
- Understanding the use of money in real-life situations
- Developing spatial reasoning in relation to geometric shapes
- Applying the various methods of measurement
- Exploring probability and using data
Third Grade
By the end of third-grade language arts, students should:
- Learn the importance of prewriting strategy
- Understand the formula for the writing process
- Learned how to write for a particular audience
- Developed an expanded vocabulary to create more in-depth sentences
- Read with fluency, with focus on comprehension
By the end of third-grade math, students should:
- Multiply and divide multi-digit numbers by a single-digit number
- Understand and work with simple fractions and decimals
- Be able to manipulate and read basic graphs
- Understand the concepts of area and perimeter
- Be able to apply math to everyday activities
Fourth Grade
By the end of fourth-grade language arts, students should be able to:
- Read with a higher level of fluency and expression
- Utilize root words, prefixes, suffixes, and context clues to analyze unfamiliar words
- Apply comprehension strategies to literary and expository texts
- Formulate multiple paragraph pieces that focus on a specific purpose or audience
- Write chronological pieces, pieces focusing on cause and effect and pieces that draw from personal experience
By the end of fourth-grade math, students should be able to:
- Add and subtract large numbers with sums up to 1,000,000
- Complete basic multiplication and division problems
- Understand basic fraction and decimal concepts
- Recognize and identify basic geometric vocabulary and ideas
- Proficient in data collection and analysis
Fifth Grade
By the end of fifth-grade language arts, students should be able to:
- Use grade-appropriate vocabulary
- Apply comprehension strategies to a variety of literary genres
- Write and punctuate appropriately in research and composition assignments
- Speak and listen with grade-appropriate skill
By the end of fifth-grade students should be able to:
- Be proficient in using the four math operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
- Use basic algebraic functions such as exponents and order of operations
- Apply geometric concepts to solve problems
- Use various methods of measurement with skill
- Understand data analysis and basic statistical terms
Science
Guided by the principles of Catholic Social Teaching, students will develop an understanding of what science is, what science can and cannot do, and how science contributes to the culture of our society. Through a “minds-on,” experiential approach, students will become familiar with modes of scientific inquiry, rules of evidence, ways of formulating questions, and strategies for explanations. Students will practice applying both moral and ethical principles when evaluating advances in technology, the role of science in society, and personal decision-making.
Social Studies
Coursework in the Social Studies department will lead students to more fully understand their call to exercise the rights and responsibilities of participatory citizenship by instilling a comprehensive knowledge base in historical, geographic, civic, economic, psychological and sociological perspectives. Students will develop the skills needed to acquire, organize, and use information and to be an ethical decision-maker in an ever-changing world. Students will utilize their faith to acknowledge and respect the values of others and society through democratic and religious perspectives, applying the principles of Catholic Social Teaching as they act on issues in the community, nation and the world.
Our school uses the NWEA in order to monitor student learning.