Classrooms

• Pre-School

• Child Care

• Kindergarten

• First Grade

• Second Grade

• Third Grade

• Fourth Grade

• Fifth Grade

• Sixth Grade

• Library

• Music

• Physical Ed

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Updated: 6/10/2008

The Reading/Language Arts program works toward increasing vocabulary skills, phonic skills, and reading comprehension.  Students read three novels as a whole class to further develop reading skills   The Accelerator Reading Program allows the students to take comprehension tests on their independent reading books.  Students are also provided the opportunity to read aloud in weekly school masses.   

The fourth grade uses the McGraw-Hill language arts curriculum and in it they delve into many areas of written expression.  They hone their skills writing personal narratives, informal personal letters, and journal entries for their religion curriculum. They also work in more detail on grammar, by breaking sentences down into different parts of speech. The class completes extensive units in reading and writing poetry, and plays.  Each year they complete a written and oral project culminating their Boise class trip. 

 In the fourth grade Math program, the students will recite their basic math facts of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  The students are able to work at their pace with individualized instruction using the Accelerator Math Program.  They enjoy educational internet activities and games on the school computers through weekly centers.  The standard and metric forms of measurement are utilized so they need to understand how to apply them. Critical thinking and problem solving is a strong focus so the children are asked to solve more difficult story problems that involve multiplication and division.  Many of the science experiments that the fourth graders will perform require practical application of math skills and the math program is also integrated with Social Studies.

Computer technology is an important part of the Science program in the fourth grade.  The children work together to create a cookbook which gives them hands on experience with the different states of matter.  They use computer functions to create a cookbook for the Holy Spirit Auction classroom project. 

Social Studies are a big focus of the year because of the Boise trip.  The students will have a very good understanding of Idaho history when they’re done, enhanced by the study of maps and map symbols, geography, early people, Lewis and Clark, and fur trappers and traders.  There are various trips associated with these studies as well as guest speakers.  They also explore different peoples, cultures and time through these study units and field trips. 

The fourth graders participate in an extensive Art program.  They create realistic art as well as abstract art using various methods and mediums.  For example, they learn about pointillism, realistic drawing, water color painting, and abstract drawing.  Mediums used for their art projects include; pencils, chalk, oil pastels, paint, sculpture, collage, and clay.  They also study a variety of art masters such as; Picasso, Lois Sherr Dubin, M.C. Escher, Helen Frankenthayler, Michelangelo, Van Gough, Matisse, George Seurat, Paul Gauguin, Leonardo da Vinci, and Winslow Homer.

Fourth Grade Religion:  Students learn about the Saints and become more familiar with finding passages in the Bible.  Students also learn the parts of the Mass, the Ten Commandments, the Apostle's Creed, the Social Justices, and how to make an Advent wreath, Resurrection Eggs during Lent, and rosaries in May.  They explore the Stations of the Cross and then paint a representation of it.  In general, the religious instruction emphasizes living the Catholic Christian faith in everything we do and the teachers try to provide a Christian environment that is conducive to learning.