In the Diocese of Camden, elementary and secondary Catholic schools offer their students both faith-based traditional subjects and cutting-edge options, which allow learners to gain the skills they need to face future academia and employment. More than traditional STEM-focused courses, these new (and one very old) fields of study prove that Catholic schools excel in faith, excellence and service.
Benefits of Latin
“There is a logic to Latin,” said Kathryn O’Callaghan, principal in Saint Peter School, as she enumerated the reasons the Merchantville elementary school students receive instruction in the classic tongue. “The vocabulary helps them later in high school, increases their S.A.T. scores, their language arts skills improve, and it is greatly beneficial in fields such as science and the law. It’s good brain training, and it spills over into other subjects.”
Created in September 2016, the course offers students in grades five through eight four days of grammar-based Latin language instruction each week. Saint Peter School aims to instill basic reading proficiency with simple texts by the end of eighth grade.
The English language derives roughly 60 percent of its words from Latin, and study of Latin tends to improve English reading and writing. There is evidence to suggest that the study of Latin can aid those for whom English is a second language and accelerate the rate at which they master English.
Positive results abound, O’Callaghan said.
“We had 21 students sit for the National Latin Exam last year,” the principal said. “Of those students, three received the Gold medal Summa Cum Laude Award, two received the Silver medal Maxima Cum Laude Award, three received the Magna Cum Laude Award and one received the Cum Laude Award.”
Teacher Andrea Allen, who is also an instructor in Camden Catholic High School, maintains her younger charges are “hardwired to learn languages, even more than adults. From the beginning of our lives, we learn language,” she said. “This empowers all students equally.”
She continued, “The fact that Latin is not spoken every day makes it easier. It is not like English where there are constantly new idiomatic expressions. Most multisyllabic words have Latin roots, and it helps the students to increase their word power.”
Because of that, Allen added, Latin can also help with preparing for the SATs.
Fostering Imagination
The Higher Order Thinking Program, or H.O.T., allows students in Saint Mary School, Williamstown, to turn up the heat academically through its STEM-focused activities in all academic disciplines, which are designed to provide practice in critical-thinking skills.
“It’s similar to a gifted and talented program,” explained teacher John Bakley. “The activities go above and beyond the scope of the curriculum.”
The program meets every one to two weeks with activities limited only by the imagination. Students have learned the principles of mathematics examining the World Series, Super Bowl and Kentucky Derby statistics; utilized the laws of physics while working with crash test dummies; used a camera-mounted drone to explore their environment; researched and displayed U.S. presidents in a Hall of Fame; solved puzzles like Sudoku, Deal or No Deal, or Rubik’s Cube; explored logical thinking during a mock trial, and even dabbled in financial planning and scientific notation.
All students in grades kindergarten through four participate in the program through special classroom lessons. Students in grades five through eight may qualify to continue in the program depending upon test scores; performance and effort in the classroom, and teacher recommendation.
Bakley maintained the school’s H.O.T. program had duel rewards for the young academicians, saying, “It’s fun and educational at the same time, and the students meet other [academically-minded] people like them.”
‘Leading the Way’
Paul VI High School, Haddonfield, offers a program of study that emphasizes real-world applicability and forward-planning educational choices for its underclassmen by partnering with “Project Lead the Way (PLTW), an Indianapolis-based, nonprofit organization that offers teacher training and resources to empower students to develop in-demand, transportable knowledge and skills through pathways in computer science, engineering and biomedical science.
Michael Kelley, General Arts department chair, explained the evolution of the school’s computer science courses beginning with an advance placement option in 2012, then introductory and robotics courses thereafter. With the goal of setting up a course of study for students aiming to work in the computer sciences profession, PLTW was introduced to the school during the 2017-2018 school year.
“Previously, I had been finding free curriculum online,” said Kelley. “Now, with PLTW, I would have the opportunity to teach material centered on real-life experience. [The PLTW] has been a success so far. At a time when computer science affects how we work and live, PLTW allows students in grades nine to 12 to become creators, instead of just consumers, of the technology all around them. The program’s courses involve students in compelling, real-world challenges.
“As students work together to design solutions, they learn computational thinking – not just how to code – and become better thinkers and communicators,” he continued. “Students take from the courses in-demand knowledge and skills they will use in high school and for the rest of their lives, on any career path they take.”
The PLTW course “Principles of Biomedical Science” asks students to channel their inner medical professionals to solve real-world problems – investigate a crime scene; diagnose and treat patients in a medical practice; investigate an outbreak in a hospital; respond to a medical emergency, and develop technology to solve a global health challenge. Course teacher Samantha Sullivan explained the benefits to students in the science-driven curriculum.
“Each unit requires students to take on the role of various medical professionals, which helps them build skills that will translate to future careers in science and medicine,” Sullivan said. “The problem-based approach to the class allows students to perform hands-on labs and activities that typically wouldn’t be available to high school students.”
She added, “I think a class like this is so valuable for kinesthetic [hands-on] learners. The textbook approach doesn’t work for all students, and this class provides a unique opportunity for students who learn differently. I think it also makes the students more aware of why the content matters when it is presented in the context of a career or real-world scenario. Sometimes it’s difficult for students to make connections between content in a textbook and application, and this class brings it all to life.”
Another success: The school’s “Capstone” Program, which was instituted in 2016 as an advanced placement seminar, said Nicholas Markellos, director of technology.
“Students in teams write about a global, national, local or academic problem, do a presentation and share how they would solve the problem,” he explained. “They give a defense of their work, a very detailed one, like defending a master’s thesis. I am proud of them; it is interesting and rewarding.”
He continued, “Over the last three years, the school’s valedictorians were all members of the program and went on to Ivy League schools. They see the joy in discovery. This program makes our school shine. I give these kids a lot of credit.”
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