Curriculum
 

Students and teachers attend Mass on the follow schedule: Monday grades 1-4, Tuesday grades 5-8 and Friday grades K-8. Parents are always welcome and are encouraged to participate in these liturgies with the school.

The sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Eucharist are celebrated in the second grade. The Sacrament of Confirmation is celebrated in the eighth grade. The parents of these students participate in the sacramental preparation of their children through the parent participation program conducted by the Director of Religious Education.

Students in grades three to eight have the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation periodically throughout the year.

Para-liturgies and prayer services are also scheduled throughout the year for all students as part of their Religion classes.

Resource Teacher

Counselor

Standardized Testing

St. Pius X School follows the program set up by the Covington Diocesan Department of Education. Results of each child tested are reported to parents. These results are not the only means of evaluating students.

Library/Audio-Visual

The library is one of the most important facilities offered to the students. The library is open during the entire school day, and one hour after school, for reference work, checking out of books, story hours, and browsing. The librarian, along with the volunteers who assist her, coordinates the entire library program.

Internet Access

St. Pius X School offers students to access the Internet as a technological tool to be used as a resource to enhance the teaching/learning process. To gain access, all students must obtain parental permission and must sign and return the handbook slip.

I will use the Internet for constructive educational purposes.

I will not visit sites that contain items that are illegal, defamatory, pornographic, or otherwise offensive.

I will observe the rules and laws regarding copyright and plagiarism.

I agree to help keep the network available to my fellow students by refraining from time-consuming downloads of large files.

I will use the Internet only under the supervision of a teacher or supervisor.

I will never give out personal information such as my home address, telephone number, or the name and location of my school without my teacher’s permission.

I will report to my teacher any information I come across that makes me feel uncomfortable.

I will neither remove school floppy disks from the computer lab, nor bring any floppy disks into the lab from outside sources.

I will observe rules of network etiquette. The following actions will result in the loss of access as well as disciplinary action:

The school reserves the right to review or monitor all activities, e-mail correspondences, and material created on school computers.

Accelerated Reader Honor Code

To help maintain the atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence among students and teachers, and to ensure that each student is judged solely according to his or her own merits, the St. Pius X School community has established the following Honor Code:

No student will unfairly advance his or her own performance in the Accelerated Reader Program, nor will he or she in any way intentionally limit or advance the performance of his or her fellow classmates using the Accelerated Reader.

The St. Pius X School community firmly believes in this honor code. The student signing the pledge confirms his or her belief in the honor code, and therefore is expected to report suspected violations of the Honor Code.

The scope of actions that would fall under such a code is very broad. The following are examples of what the community of St. Pius X School will consider cheating:

Maintenance: An academic honor system secures freedoms, conveniences, and privileges for students that would not otherwise be possible. It renders an atmosphere for learning without the constant surveillance that would otherwise be necessary. The system requires all students to accept the responsibility of maintaining the standards of the St. Pius X School community. Thus, each student must accept the responsibilities of the Honor System.

Mechanics: Any member of the St. Pius X School community suspecting a violation may:

Penalty: A willful violation of the Honor Code will result in suspension of the student from participating in the Accelerated Reader Program.

All parents are invited to become involved in the school program as volunteers in the cafeteria, library, classrooms, Parent-Teacher Guild, and in extra-curricular activities. 17

Study Habits

Students are to maintain a quiet attitude in the classroom, when entering and leaving the school, and in the hallways. Students must develop a sense of responsibility for their class work.

All work must be done neatly. Students will be asked to redo papers that are not neatly done.

Homework is an educational tool which reinforces a concept taught or reviews previously presented material. It is not necessarily written work, as studying and reading constitute homework also. Parents can assist the student by providing a quiet place and a regular study time each evening and by making sure that assignments are neat, complete, and accurate. Homework/Responsibility Alerts will be sent home when needed. These must be signed and returned to school with the missing work the next day.

Time allotments for various grade levels are not specified because of consideration for individual ability and rate of performance. However, if your child is consistently taking a greater or lesser amount of time than is necessary for his/her grade level in completing assignments, please consult the teacher. Our teachers would appreciate knowing this so that they can be of greater assistance to each student.

Field Trips

All students should participate in planned field trips. Proper conduct is expected on all class activities away from school. Fees and permission slips must be brought to the school in advance. All school guidelines, including gum and candy, are to be followed on field trips.

Students who have been behavior problems in school pose a liability to the reputation of the school and a potential safety hazard to other students when they are permitted to attend various field trips. If a child has experienced difficulty in self-discipline, parents will be contacted prior to the field trip, notifying them of our intention to eliminate their child from the field trip.

Students who are not permitted to attend a field trip after payment for buses and/or admission are paid will not receive a refund.

Promotion

Students are promoted to the next level on an annual basis. If a student does not attain satisfactory achievement, the possibility of retention will be considered. Parents are kept informed of the student’s progress through Report Cards, Progress Reports, parent-teacher conferences, and communications from the Principal. The parents are always consulted about retention and the best possible decision is made for the good of the student. In the final analysis, however, the school has the right to retain students who do not achieve at the given grade level.

Graduation Celebration

Ceremonies marking the successful completion of the work required of the eighth grade will take place at the end of the school year. The Diocesan Handbook allows only a simple ceremony. Requirements for participation in the celebration include: