Kindergarten

The Kindergarten children will explore the fun of building words by blending sounds, writing sentences, and making illustrations, thus, opening doors to the wonderful world of reading!  They are also made aware of their surroundings and changes in nature, as well as patterns in nature, taking notice of changes in seasons, animal and plant adaptations, and life cycles.  Kindergarten has a small vegetable garden that the children tend.  What would be a better way of seeing changes in nature up close then doing hands on in the garden?  After all, kindergarten means child’s garden! 

1^st Grade

Excitement abounds in every subject in first grade at IHM.  Everything is new!  Literacy in reading is a big focus of the curriculum.  Reading, math and language are integrated into each subject area.  The children learn to write sentences on topics implementing the mechanics of writing.  Math is very hands on using manipulative, flashcards, smart board programs and games.  We touch on time and measurements in inches.  They can usually be seen measuring their toes, fingers arms and feet.  The children especially love the Author’s Chair.  They bring in a book of their choice and present it to the rest of the class.  This is important for reading practice, oral reading, and great for the others to become familiar with new authors and books.  First grade is also big on celebrating holidays.  We tie in books, art, and of course food with each holiday.  The children are like sponges and soak up information throughout the day.  We touch on every subject using media, games programs, and our senses.  The children who enter first grade in September leave in June with an arsenal of skills and fundamentals that they will build upon in future grades.

2^nd Grade

The second grade children will work on their reading comprehension skills using guided reading lessons on the SMART Board.  For enrichment the students will use third grade reading materials.  They are developing their writing skills through their journals; the students will also write and illustrate personal narratives.  In math, students use manipulative and make clocks.  The children strengthen their relationship with God by receiving the sacrament of First Penance and First Holy Communion.

 3^rd Grade

We emerged as readers and writers.  We filled our writing journals with all types of interesting and exciting “adventures”.  We took the next big step in math:  multiplication and division.  We had “math bees” to motivate the memorization process.  In science we have fun creating diorama of ecosystems we are learning about, and our dioramas of The Last Supper for religion are especially beautiful!  Finally, culture day in social studies is a special treat!  We get to sample different foods, listen to different music, hear stories and poems and get to know each other more!

4^th Grade

The fourth grade love reading Cricket in Times Square.  They become creatures trapped in a picnic basket.  Our end of year presentation takes us to many exciting locations in New York City.  Our yearly trip to the Hudson River Museum gets the children involved with the ecosystem and their environment.  They have even more fun creating their own river map!  Our daily visits to the science lab have the children enthused as they perform the different hands on experiments.

5^th Grade

The fifth grade is a time to foster independence.  Mastery of third and fourth grade computation skills is essential for learning how to use these concepts in higher learning mathematics during fifth grade.  A scientific nutritional project incorporating math graphs ends with more energy and focusing ability achieved by the students.  A favorite project in social studies is Historical Character Day in which students research and portray a character studied in class.  Fifth graders then have classmates and other students guess who they are.  March 14^th is our annual Pi Day in which we remember the math formula by eating delicious pies!

6^th Grade

Social Studies 6 - learns about the ancient world whose history comes alive on a class trip to the Cloisters or The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Language Arts 6 - gets involved with grammar and diagramming using their skills to unlock the mysteries of how words work together.  Writing a poetry book and enjoying classic writers is also a focus of L.A. 6.  Using Bibles, in Religion 6, student’s journey along with the Israelites in the Old Testament.

Science students learn everything from Physics, Life Science to Earth Science, participating in intriguing labs where they work collaborating with fellow classmates.  The Reading class gets involved in the Doll House Murders creating dollhouses using favorite scenes from the story.  Math 6 – In addition to mastering basic number systems and operations sixth graders are introduced to Algebraic equations and inequalities in Real World Math.

7^th Grade

Language Arts 7  -  Students learn the poetry of Carl Sandbury, Emily Dickinson and Langston Hughes and listen and discuss the prose of O’Henry and Agatha Chrisitie who all lend expression to the children’s’ creative writing. 

The Reading class will be exposed to many genres of literature this year.  The will be reading selections of poetry, biographies, folk tales, autobiographies, drama (plays) as well as fiction and nonfiction pieces.  In addition to reading, a new vocabulary series has been added to the curriculum.  Each lesson challenges the student to review and apply their knowledge of the words in various ways.

Religion 7 - The students will be learning more about how to live and nourish their faith. The special seasons of the Liturgical Calendar will be emphasized.  The Sacraments, the mysteries of the Rosary as well as Christian doctrine will also be covered.  The focus will also be on the life of Jesus from His time is Palestine to His Passion as well as the history of the Church.

Social Studies 7 focus is on the period in American history from colonization to the Civil War; in addition to emphasis on current events.

In the world of Mathematics the seventh graders will deal more extensively into Algebraic translations and evaluation of multi-step equations.

8^th Grade

Earth Science enthralls our Eight Graders.  Students work diligently throughout the year to prepare for the Earth Science Regents Exam.  They complete many labs that allow them to act like scientists from meteorologists to geologist. 

In Reading, Eight Graders read exerts from the following genres:  fiction, nonfiction, poetry, Greek myths, and Native American folktales.  A new vocabulary program has been introduced that reviews, extends and challenges the use of standard based words.

Religion 8 – Eighth Graders are preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation.  In addition, they take a look back at the history of the Church and the challenges and reforms She faced. 

Social Studies 8 focus is on the period in American history from Reconstruction to the present day; in addition to emphasis on current events.

In Language Arts, the Eight Grade students use newspaper articles and read prose by classic writers such as O’Henry, Hemingway, and Christie to encourage their own creativity in writing and foster appreciation for literature.  Their poetry writing is inspired by Carl, Sandbury, Langston Hughes and Emily Dickinson.