ACADEMICS
Common Core: The superintendents of Catholic schools in the six dioceses of Illinois have issued a statement regarding Common Core State Standards in an effort to clarify that the standards are a set of educational goals students should seek to attain – they are not a curriculum.
“Standards are not new to our instructional purpose,” the six superintendents wrote in the statement.” Curriculum in our schools previously focused on diocesan curricular standards and the Illinois Learning Standards, which we adopted and aligned to core academic areas. Similarly, the Common Core standards are an outcomes-based vehicle that seeks the best instructional methods for educating our children.”
The superintendents stress that hallmarks of a Catholic education – such as creativity, critical and analytical thinking, real-world application, academic rigor, and an authentic encounter with Jesus Christ – will not be compromised by Common Core standards.
"We will determine what to adapt from the Common Core standard according to what best fits our unique mission. We will never allow the faith and the education of our children to be compromised,” they wrote.
Assignments and Homework: School work is an integral part of learning and retaining knowledge through practice and application. Because homework is considered practice and reinforcement, the majority of a student’s grade will be determined by in-class assignments and assessment with only a minor focus on homework grades. Assignments are purposeful and constructive to the learning process. Good study habits result from well-planned work. Parents/guardians may keep track of students’ grades through a web-based gradebook called Option C. Students in grades 3-8 should utilize their weekly planner to record any work that needs to finished at home. An excessive amount of time spent on homework indicates a difficulty that should be discussed with the teacher. Below are guidelines for the reasonable amount of time a student should spend practicing skills, reading, or otherwise studying at home.
Primary grades (K - 2) 10-30 minutes
Intermediate grades (3 - 5) 30-60 minutes
Upper grades (6 - 8) 50-90 minutes
At least two days’ notice will be given to students prior to tests. Every attempt will be made to coordinate chapter and unit tests in grades 6-8.
Constitution Tests: A state and federal constitution test must be passed as a criterion for graduation from any state accredited school. This will be part of the junior high Social Studies curriculum and passing will be considered 65% or higher.
Standardized Testing: The Diocesan Office of Education requires that a Standardized Test of Basic Skills be administered in grades two through eight during the month of September-October. Students in grades 3,4,5, and 7 also take the CogAt test to determine cognitive abilities.
Reading Program Philosophy: The Reading Program of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School is based on core reading group per level with acceleration and deceleration of individual reading skills within the group. Each child is unique. Children work at their own rate. Their pattern of development and needs will be met through a variation of skills taught within the group.
A feeling of success in reading is an important base for a child’s self-concept and overall scholastic progress. Placing a child within an environment in which he or she is able to experience success is essential. A child who achieves at a level beyond or equal to his or her ability has made satisfactory progress. Students in fourth grade will be evaluated during the spring semester for placement in the Accelerated Reading Program to begin in the fifth grade.
Criteria for Acceleration:
1. Recommendations for acceleration will be made by the student’s home room teacher
and a
final decision will be made on the acceleration after consultation with the principal.
2. Students will normally be recommended for acceleration at mid-year and the end of each
academic year. A child may occasionally be recommended at other times if the situation
warrants consideration by the teacher or the principal.
3. A rubric/checklist has been developed which includes the student’s evaluation of potential
success in the program. It includes standardized test scores, work ethic and attitude, and
current grades and writing abilities.
4. Parents of students eligible for reading acceleration or in need of remediation will be notified in
advance by the classroom teacher.
Criteria for removal from program:
1. Students can be removed from the accelerated program following parent
consultation when
areas of criteria fall below standard expectations.
Math Program: Students in fifth grade will be evaluated during the spring semester for placement in the Accelerated Math Program to begin in the fifth grade. Students enrolled in the accelerated program will move through their last four years of math at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School at an accelerated pace, finishing with Algebra II in eighth grade.
Criteria for acceleration:
Students will be considered for acceleration during the spring semester of the fourth grade. Additional considerations will be given in future years if recommended by the classroom teachers. Students will be recommended for acceleration based on the following:
1. Iowa Tests in the area of math.
2. Students’ cognitive ability scores are based on their CogAt tests.
3. Teacher evaluation: Home room teachers will complete a rubric which evaluates
the student’s
attitude, work habits, attendance, etc.
4. Students’ fourth grade math scores from the first three quarters are considered. Students
with grades of A- or better all three quarters will be considered.
Criteria for removal from program:
If the following apply, the students will be removed from the accelerated program:
● If math grade falls below 87% at the end of any grading period.
● Teacher evaluation that the student is not able to keep up with the demands of the
accelerated program.
Music Program: Participation and a positive attitude are required by all students. The second quarter of the school year is dedicated to preparing for the annual Christmas programs. Each class has an assigned role in one of the programs; therefore, it is important that all students attend. If your child will not be able to attend the program, please contact the music teacher in advance regarding the absence.
Religious Education Program: The school curriculum includes a program of Religious Education in which all students, Catholic and non-Catholic are required to participate. The program includes daily religion classes, daily classroom prayer, and attendance at school masses (usually twice a week). The program further includes participation for receiving the Sacraments of the Catholic Church. Non-Catholics are not expected nor permitted to receive these Sacraments.
As an additional part of this program, all full-time teachers, Catholic and non-Catholic, participate in ongoing Catechist Certification Programs of the diocese.
It is presumed that all parents who enroll their children in Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School do so with the awareness of both the philosophy and the required education of the school.
Spanish Program: Spanish is recommended (if available) for grades six through eight and allows our students the added opportunity of learning the Spanish language and culture.
Intervention Program: Every child is unique and every child learns differently. Children need different academic and behavior strategies for success. In order to monitor the academic needs of our students, we have implemented STAR 360 testing in reading and math in grades 1-4. The assessments help us identify students who may be at risk of falling behind their peers. Interventions generally follow the pattern below:
● Classroom teachers use strategies and materials within their own classroom to help students
to gain skills
or knowledge.
● Students may be pulled out in small groups for additional assistance with another teacher or
an aide.
● For students who still experience difficulty, one on one instruction in a separate learning
environment for a portion of the day may be used.
● If needed, Williamson County Education Services may be called in for evaluation.
Honor Roll Qualifications:
● Honor Roll applies for grades 4-8 only
● Average taken from 12.0 system
• Categories for achievement:
High Honors..................average of 11.0 and up
Honor Roll……...............average of 10.0-10.99
Honorable Mention…….......average of 9.0-9.99
● Any C- or lower grade in any academic subject will make a student ineligible for Honor Roll
during that
quarter.
Honors Night: Honors Night will be celebrated in the spring for students in grades six through eight who have accomplished the following:
1. Maintained an academic grade point average over the first three quarters of the school year
as defined in the Honor Roll Policy.
2. Average of the first three quarters academic grades will be used to determine the
academic
achievement of the student.
3. It is recognized that students are expected to perform well throughout the 4th quarter grading
period. Those graduating from 8th grade will have all 1st through 4th quarter grades
considered for purposes of determining honors and high honors awards at graduation
ceremonies.
Honor Society Induction: Seventh and eighth grade students only will be inducted into the Honor Society.
1. To obtain and maintain membership in the society, a student must earn a 10.0 (A-) overall
grade point average each quarter of the school year and
meet all other requirements of the
Honor Roll Policy. If a student’s overall average drops
below a 10.0 during any quarter,
he/she will be dropped from the Society.
2. All seventh grade students who have a 10.0 overall average each of the first three quarters of
the school year and meet the leadership and exemplary behavior requirements during the
school year will be considered for membership in the Society.
3. Any eighth grade student who does not presently belong to the Society but obtains a
10.0 overall average each of the first three quarters of the school year and meets the
leadership and exemplary behavior requirements during the school year will be considered for
membership in the Society.
4. Any seventh or eighth grade student who wishes to be considered for membership in Honor
Society must fill out and application and return it by the stated due date. To be
considered, students must promote leadership and exhibit exemplary behavior in the school
and in the community. Furthermore, in order to obtain and maintain membership in the
Society, a student must be approved by three of his/her current teachers at Our Lady of Mt.
Carmel School, indicating that the student has leadership qualities and has demonstrated
exemplary behavior at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School.
Leaders conduct themselves in a moral and Christian manner, influence others in a positive way and control their behavior in all situations. Leaders treat everyone politely, with respect at all times, and always demonstrate an up-stander attitude.
Exemplary behavior means following all school rules at all times. This means a student being considered for, or currently a member of Honor Society, cannot have any after school detentions and lunch detentions can be only for minor infractions. Cheating will disqualify a candidate and revoke membership of a current Honor Society Member. Students must demonstrate proper dress code and follow all handbook rules.
Report Cards: Report Cards are issued quarterly according to Diocesan policy. A mid-quarter report is sent home approximately four weeks into each of the four quarters for grades 4-8. Students in grades K-3 may receive reports at different intervals, due to Standards-based grading.
Retention Guidelines:
Grades K-2: Grades for students in K-32are standards-based assessment, based on a 1-4 scale with 1 meaning emerging and 4 meaning an extensive mastery of the skill. A significant understanding of each of the state standards for the grade level will determine advancement to the next grade.
Grades 3-8: Students may be retained with an F average in two core subjects. These averages will be based on in-class assignments, quizzes, tests and other assessments that the student has completed.
Individual consideration will be made when necessary, and adequate warnings will be made when it is first discovered that a student is in danger of being retained. Parents will be kept informed of the special circumstances when the need arises.