Academics

When our students graduate, we want them to:

• Understand Sacred Scripture as the inspired word of God and that it teaches “solidly, faithfully, and without error that truth which God wanted put into the sacred writings for the sake of our salvation”
• Understand the teachings of the Catholic Faith as derived from Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture. Students will demonstrate a knowledge of the articles of faith that have been handed on to them in the Creed. 
• Recognize that the transforming power of God’s grace is received primarily through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the sacraments. They will know that the sacraments are the God’s gift to us, instituted by Christ and entrusted to His Church. They will know that the Holy Spirit works through the seven sacraments to help us to live holy lives
• Understand that God graciously created all people to give Him glory and to have everlasting joy in heaven. Through His only Son, Jesus, God the Father invites us to become His adopted sons and daughters. The foundations for living moral lives are: the moral law, God’s grace, and a well-formed conscience.
• Participate in prayer as an integral part of life. They will develop the ability to pray through the presentation and experience of a variety of forms of prayer.
• Understand that by the virtue of their Baptism into Christ, Who came, not to be served, but to serve, they too are responsible for a life of service. This service encompasses life in the various communities to which they belong: family, school, civil, parish, diocesan, and universal. 

When our students graduate, we want them to:

• Develop the foundations of literacy: phonological awareness, decoding, sight recognition, background knowledge, vocabulary , language structures, verbal reasoning, and literacy knowledge
• Comprehend literature and informational texts independently and proficiently
• Cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
• Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
• Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text
• Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text
• Analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone
• Analyze the structure of texts in forms such as prose, poetry, fables, folktales, myths, legends, and dramas as well as informational text structures such as description, cause and effect, compare and contrast, problem and solution, and sequence/process
• Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text
• Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats such as text, audio, video, or visual representations
• Evaluate an argument for validity, relevance, and sufficiency of evidence
• Compare and contrast texts which address similar themes or topics or to compare the approaches the authors take

Catholic Faith Integration:

• Analyze literature through the lens of Catholic culture and worldview.
• Identify examples of noble characteristics in stories of virtuous heroes and heroines.
• Identify how literature interprets the human condition, human behaviors, and human actions in its redeemed and unredeemed state.
• Describe how poets and writers use language to convey truths that are universal and transcendent.

When our students graduate, we want them to:

Grammar and Vocabulary

• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
• Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words

Types of Writing

• Write arguments to support claims using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
• Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately
• Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

Writing Process

• Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task purpose, and audience.
• Develop and strengthen writing through the writing process: planning, revising, editing, and rewriting

Research Process

• Use technology to produce and publish writing
• Conduct research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject
• Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
• Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

When students graduate, we want them to:

• Reason abstractly and quantitatively
• Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
• Model with mathematics
• Use appropriate tools strategically
• Attend to precision
• Look for and make use of structure
• Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning
• Master grade-level skills and vocabulary

Students will learn grade level mathematics in the following domains:

• Counting & Cardinality
• Operations & Algebraic Thinking
• Number & Operations in Base Ten
• Number & Operations—Fractions
• Measurement & Data
• Geometry
• Ratios & Proportions
• The Number System
• Expressions & Equations
• Functions
• Statistics & Probability

Catholic Faith Integration:

• Students will understand that mathematics reveals the structure of the universe, pointing to an intelligent design and an omniscient Creator.
• Students will explain that mathematical truths reflect the nature of God and describes the order, symmetry, and beauty of God’s creation.
• Students will demonstrate the mental habits of precise, determined, careful, and accurate questioning, inquiry, and reasoning.
• Students will demonstrate how sound logical arguments and other processes of mathematics are foundational to its discipline.

Students will study in the following domains:

• Earth Space Science
• Life Science
• Physical Science

When studying a scientific phenomena, we want students to:

• Ask Questions.
• Develop and Use Models
• Plan and Carry out Investigations
• Analyze and Interpret Data
• Use Mathematics and Computational Thinking
• Construct Explanations
• Engage in Argument from Evidence - including dialogue.
• Obtain, Evaluate, and Communicate Information

Apply concepts such as:

• Patterns
• Cause and effect
• Scale, proportion, and quantity (how changes in scale, proportion, or quantity affect a system’s structure or performance)
• Systems and system models
• Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation
• Structure and function: The way in which an object or living thing is shaped and its substructure determine many of its properties and functions.
• Stability and change: conditions of stability and determinants of rates of change

Catholic Faith Integration:

• Describe the unity of faith and reason with confidence that there exists no contradiction between the God of nature and the God of faith.
• Explain how science properly limits its focus to “how” things physically exist and is not designed to answer issues of meaning, the value of things, or the mysteries of the human person.
• Describe the relationships, elements, underlying order, harmony, and meaning in God’s creation.
• Describe how science and technology should always be at the service of humanity and, ultimately, to God, in harmony with His purposes.
• List the basic contributions of significant Catholics to science such as Galileo, Copernicus, Mendel, and others.

Students will study in the following domains:

• History
• Geography
• Civics and Government
• Economics

Students will also learn to:

• Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
• Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
• Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.
• Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text
• Identify key steps in a text's description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).
• Develop vocabulary specific to the four domains
• Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.

Catholic Faith Integration:

• Describe how history begins and ends in God and how history has a religious dimension.
• Demonstrate a general understanding of the “story” of humanity from creation to present through a Catholic concept of the world and man.
• Demonstrate an understanding about great figures of history by examining their lives for examples of virtue.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the cultural inheritance provided by the Church.
• Explain the history of the Catholic Church and its impact in human events.
• Explain how the central themes within the stories of important Catholic figures and saints repeat over time.

STREAM is an educational curriculum that combines Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Art, and Math.  It is meant to be a comprehensive approach; instead of teaching each subject separately.  Our goal is to incorporate some of all elements of STREAM in each lesson.

Spelling Bee

Students in Grades 6-8 participate in the CYO Spelling Bee in the fall and Grades 5 through 8 participate in the Pottsville Republican Spelling Bee in the Spring.

Writing Contests

Students in all grades participate in various writing contests throughout the year.

Science Fair

Assumption BVM’s annual Science Fair, held in the spring, is an opportunity for the students to use the steps of the scientific method to conduct an experiment.  Students in Grades K-4 work on a class project that is displayed during the Science Fair Open House.  Students in Grades 5-8 complete an individual project.  Grades 6-8 are judged by current and former teachers and require the student to give an oral presentation and answer questions.  Ribbons are given out for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places as well as Honorable Mentions at each grade level

Mathletics

Mathletics is a Math completion held at Nativity BVM High School for its partner schools. Students complete complex Math problems individually and in groups. Ribbons are awarded to the winning teams. Mathletics provides a great opportunity for our students to compete with their peers in exciting and educational way!

Envirothon

Students in grades 4 through 8 participate in school test to determine eligibility for the Schuylkill County Envirothon. Students will then then compete against public & non-public schools in the spring at the Schuylkill County Fairgrounds.