Curriculum by Subject
- Business & Technology
- English
- Fine Arts
- Modern Language
- Mathematics
- Science
- Social Studies
- Theology
- AP Courses
Business Education and Technology Department
The Department goal is to assist students in developing a realistic understanding of the training needed to prepare for jobs in the business community. This is acquired through the mastery of sound techniques, the ability to understand world and personal economic concepts, the ability to communicate both orally and in writing, and the ability to establish desirable habits and attitudes in the workplace.
Curriculum
“If you do something once, people will call it an accident. If you do it twice, they call it
a coincidence. But do it a third time and you've just proven a natural law!”
-Rear Admiral Dr. Grace Hopper (the mother of computing)
English Department
The English Department at Saint Catharine Academy is devoted to helping students explore the vast intricacies of the English language through the study of and response to literature. The staff facilitates this goal through the use of many mediums including hypertext, multi-media presentations, audio and video components, and of course, analysis of text.
9th grade curriculum
Introduction to Literature, focuses on introducing students to literature through reading and writing.
10th grade curriculum
Appreciating Literature, in conjunction with 10th grade social studies curriculum expands the students' knowledge of world literature, delving more deeply for meaning and understanding. Students also begin to practice for Comprehensive Regents Exam in English during this year.
11th grade curriculum
Traditionally American literature, beginning with Native American folk tales and continuing to the present. Students are trained extensively for the Comprehensive Regents Exam.
12th grade curriculum
The course focuses on British literature. Students explore such epic poems as Homer's The Iliad, Beowulf, Spenser's The Faerie Queene and Shakespeare's Hamlet and Macbeth. In the second half of the year, seniors move into more “modern” literature from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
Advanced Placement in Language and Composition
This course is for dedicated juniors who are interested in receiving college credit. Students explore the various genres of non-fiction writing through reading and writing. Students must take both the AP exam in May and the Regents exam.
Honors
English 9
English 10
Advanced Placement
Language and Composition (Juniors)
Literature and Composition (Seniors)
New York State basic English requirements for graduation:
All students must pass the Comprehensive Regents exam in English.
Two electives are available: Mythology and Feminine Images in Literature
“Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.”
-Louisa May Alcott (Author of Little Women)
Fine Arts Department
11th grade students are required to take Exploring Visual Arts. Students will discover the elements of design. They will use a variety of art materials and consider which materials are best suited to particular purposes. Students will create art that communicates their personal responses to the themes considered.
11th and 12th grade students have a choice of three art electives. These courses are offered to juniors and seniors who show a serious interest in art. Each course is an introduction to courses offered in art schools.
Advertising Design
Students explore graphic design, printmaking and lettering, package design and illustration through the use of the latest Adobe programs.
Drawing & Painting
Students will develop their skills and understanding in drawing and painting. They will develop their own personal “voices” as artists through practice, experimentation, inquiry and hard work.
Fashion Design
Students will understand the basic principles of clothing design through the creation of their very own, full color clothing line.
Chorus
Grade 9 students will learn choral music in several styles from several periods in preperation for performances at Christmas and in the Spring.
Modern Language Department
Welcome * Benvenuti * Bienvenidos
The Modern Language Department offers a four-year sequence in both Italian and Spanish. Both languages offer native courses, as well as Honor Courses. All students in the third year of study take the New York State Comprehensive Regents Exam.
Our AP Spanish and AP Italian classes have consistently scored above the national average, enabling students to receive 3 to 6 college credits.
Our students have won national and local awards in the National Spanish Exam. This year one of our students was awarded the Premio De Honor from the Spanish Honor Society, sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.
Students of Italian have consistently won awards given by FIERI, FIAME and the Columbus Alliance.
Each year in May our top students are inducted into the National Foreign Language Honor Societies.
Contests * Scholarships * Awards
- Columbus Citizens Foundation Scholarship
- National Italian Competition
- AATSP Senior Scholarship
- Columbus Alliance Inc. - Italian Study Aware
- FIAME Scholarship
- FIERI Scholarship
- Martel Essay Contest for AP or Graduating Seniors
Clubs
- Il Club Italiano
- La Sociedad Latina
- Language National Honor Societies
Math Department
The Math Department at Saint Catharine Academy is committed to helping our students develop problem solving and critical thinking skills which are applicable to all areas of mathematics as well as to real life situations.
9th grade students are required to take Algebra unless they have already passed Math A in eighth grade. This course will present the fundamentals of high school algebra and geometry. The Algebra course is a double period class. This allows the students the time needed to build a solid foundation in math.
10th grade students, upon successful completion of the algebra course, will take Geometry which will fully explore geometric topics and will also include other integrated topics.
11th grade students take Intermediate Algebra, Algebra 2/Trigonometry, or Advanced Algebra with Trigonometry. These courses cover advanced topics from algebra and trigonometry. Students will also learn about function notation and function graphing. The Algebra 2/Trigonometry and Advanced Algebra with Trigonometry will prepare the students to take the Math B Regents exam.
12th grade students take Topics in Math, Math 12, or Calculus. The Topics in Math course will provide a thorough review of intermediate algebra and explore topics in advanced algebra including quadratic equations, complex numbers, trigonometry, and functions. The Math 12 course concentrates on advanced topics in algebra, geometry, trigonometry, mathematical and geometrical sequences, zeros of polynomials, and complex numbers. The Calculus course consists of one quarter of pre-calculus and three quarters of calculus, the latter being equivalent to one full semester of college calculus. Students will learn key concepts in differential and integral calculus, which includes limits, continuity, derivatives, and integrals.
Algebra Honors
Advanced Algebra and Trigonometry
Calculus
“If you do something once, people will call it an accident. If you do it twice, they call it a coincidence. But do it a third time and you've just proven a natural law.”
-Rear Admiral Dr. Grace Hopper (the mother of computing)
Science Department
The Science Department at St. Catharine Academy is committed to helping our students develop an appreciation for the beauty and complexities of the Earth by exploring the various life and physical sciences. The students engage in laboratory work and use the scientific method to analyze data and draw valid conclusions to make their science experiences relevant to everyday life.
The 9th grade curriculum focuses on preparing our students to take the Living Environment Regents exam at the end of their freshman year. Emphasis is placed on learning about the abiotic and biotic worlds in which they live. Laboratory experiences are an integral part of these experiences.
The 10th grade curriculum explores the Physical Setting of the environment by engaging the sophomores to study the fields of Chemistry or Earth Science. Students conduct numerous experiments in the Chemistry laboratory or experience many hands-on activities during Earth Science class.
The 11th grade curriculum offers the students a choice of paths to study in the Physical Setting: Earth Science, Chemistry or Physics. All courses offer laboratory experiences for the students.
The 12th grade curriculum continues to offer choices to those students who wish to take the fourth year of Science. The students may elect to take a third Regents course or, if they qualify, may take Advanced Placement in Biology. This is an intensive course with a great deal of reading and laboratory work. It is a college level course and students enrolled in this course are required to take the College Board AP exam in May. Human Anatomy & Physiology is an elective course also available to the seniors.
Honors Courses
Honors Physics is offered in 11th and 12th grade to students who wish to take it.
New York State basic science requirement for graduation:
All students must pass the Living Environment Regents exam.
“Something which we think is impossible now is not impossible in another decade.”
-Constance Baker Motley (First Black Woman in the US. To become a Federal Judge)
Social Studies Department
The Social Studies Department of Saint Catharine Academy strives to develop in each student an understanding of and appreciation for history and political science. In addition, the Social Studies Department assists each student with the development of different writing styles including the evaluation of primary sources, comparison/contrast essays, thematic essays, and free response essays in preparation for the Comprehensive Regents Examinations in Global Studies and U.S. History as well as the AP U.S. History and AP U.S. Government and Politics exams.
Furthermore, each member is dedicated to the Mercy tradition, established by Catherine McAuley, of educating young women so that they are independent and motivated to impact their neighborhoods and world.
9th grade students are required to take Global Studies 9. Ancient civilizations in India, China, Japan, Africa, Egypt, the Middle East, Greece and Rome are studied with an emphasis on geography, history and culture. European history from the Middle Ages through the Industrial Revolution is also surveyed.
10th grade students take Global Studies 10 which continues where Global Studies 9 leaves off, beginning with the Industrial Revolution and the Age of European Imperialism. It surveys European history from World War I through Russian Independence. The second semester deals with the movements for independence in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America and examines the present challenges of developing nations.
11th grade students are required to take United States History and Government. This course presents a survey of American History and Government from Colonial America to the present. This course enables students to recognize and study basic Constitutional principles throughout history and in contemporary life.
12th grade students take one semester of Economics. This course is a combination of macro and microeconomics. The focus of the course includes economic systems, trends, cycles and social problems that result from economic systems.
The second semester consists of a Government course designed to enable the student to develop an understanding of the important social and political issues confronting today's society. The focus is to encourage students to discuss, debate and research crucial societal problems and their possible solutions.
Honors
Global Studies 10
Junior & Senior Electives
Introduction to Psychology
Child Psychology
Advanced Placement
United States History
United States Government & Politics
“For what is done or learned by one class of women becomes, by virtue of their common womanhood, the property of all women.”
-Elizabeth Blackwell (first female American physician)
Theology Department
As an academic and pastoral presence in our school, the Theology Department strives to provide the atmosphere and opportunity for our students to experience God and a sense of the sacred in their lives.
Inspired by the charism of the Sisters of Mercy, we offer various types of prayer experiences, liturgical celebrations, retreats and participation in a service program which nourishes community involvement and personal growth.
While maintaining our Roman Catholic tradition, we enable each student to realize and respect the richness and diversity of the multi-cultural and multi-religious heritage we share at St. Catharine Academy and we emphasize the role of women's leadership in the church and society.
Required Curriculum
Theology 9:
Jesus' Message
Theology 10:
Morality and Decision Making
Theology 11:
Peace and Justice
Theology 12:
World Views: Understanding the world through ecology, other world religions and religious art.
“God will soon come with both hands filled with favors and blessings.”
-Catherine McAuley (founder of the Sisters of Mercy)
Advanced Placement Courses
Saint Catharine Academy offers a variety of Advanced Placement courses which allow students to earn college credits. School credits are also earned for these courses. Current offerings are as follows:
AP English Language and Composition
An AP course in English Language and Composition engages students in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines and rhetorical contexts and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Open to Juniors only.
AP English Literature and Composition
This full year course is the equivalent of a freshman year college course. Most colleges will grant 3 to 6 credits depending upon the score in the Advanced Placement exam. The class offers an in-depth investigation into the novel, drama, poetry and nonfiction of many literary movements. Open to Seniors only.
AP Spanish Language
Students will continue to acquire and develop the receptive and production language skills: listening, reading, speaking, and writing. The student will be able to express ideas, justify opinions, seek and give advice, comprehend and exchange detailed information summarize and article or broadcast, compare and evaluate different points of view, analyze and draw conclusions and paraphrase information from authentic edited and unedited materials. Open to Juniors and Seniors.
AP Spanish Literature
This course is intended to be the equivalent of a third year college Introduction to Hispanic Literature course. It covers selected authors and works from the literature of Spain and Latin America, and centers on the understanding and analysis of literary text.
AP Calculus
This course consists of one quarter of pre-calculus and three quarters of calculus AB, the latter being the equivalent of one full semester of college calculus. Students will learn key concepts in differential and integral calculus, which include limits, continuity, derivatives, and integrals. Open to Seniors only
AP Biology
A study of the biochemistry and metabolism of the cell leads to an understanding of the structure and function of plants and animals. Classification of life and continuity of life are then explored. Through the themes of evolution and ecology the fragility of life is understood. Open to Seniors only.
AP American History
The course is designed to provide students with analytical skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in United States history. Students will learn to assess historical materials and their importance and contribution to American history. Students can earn from 3 to 6 college credits depending upon the score on the Advanced Placement exam. Open to Juniors only.
AP Government
The course is designed to provide students with analytical skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in United States government. Students will learn to assess historical materials and their importance and contribution to American Government. Students can earn from 3 to 6 college credits depending upon the score on the Advanced Placement exam. Open to Seniors only.
