Student Life

Curriculum

The instructional program at St. Joan of Arc Catholic School reflects its belief in Catholic education. The following subjects are taught daily:

Religion
Language arts including reading, spelling, writing, handwriting, grammar
Mathematics including algebra for qualifying 8th graders
Social studies
Science.

Students are enriched weekly with: Music; Spanish; Art; Physical Education; Technology Class, and Library. All subjects are taught according to the guidelines of the Diocese of Cleveland, the State of Ohio and the needs of St. Joan students. Classroom and resource teachers will develop their own requirements and procedures based on the grade level/subject they teach.

Instrumental Music and Choir Program

Music provides many benefits to keep children engaged in school. It improves the learning environment by promoting critical thinking, problem solving and teamwork. Music fosters lifelong learning with its challenges and rewards.

Choir - Students meet once a week for choir. Choir is offered to students in grades 4-8. The choir happily performs at various venues around Northeast Ohio in addition to participating in school music concerts

Band & Strings - Instrumental Music is open to all St. Joan of Arc students in grades 3 through 8. No prior musical experience is required to participate in this fun, elective program which offers opportunities for Band as well as Orchestra. Students have the opportunity to learn an instrument for the first time or to continue studying an instrument they have already started.

Students participating in this program are given varied musical opportunities for performances including main concerts at Christmas and in the Spring, all-school masses, community outreach performances, school functions, pep-rallies, eighth Grade graduation, as well as other opportunities available throughout the academic year and those made by special requests by teachers.

St. Joan of Arc School is one of the few Catholic Elementary Schools in the Diocese to offer a String program in addition to the Band program. Students are given the opportunity to play within small string ensembles as well as within an orchestra setting with wind, brass, and percussion instruments.

Foreign Language

Learning a second lanuage offers many wonderful benefits. When students study another lanuage and culture, he or she gains a better understanding of the world around them, it aids their cognitive development, boosts their self-esteem and may provide life-long academic benefits. Students at St. Joan can take Spanish classes in grades first through eighth.

Art

Having a vibrant art culture at school is important to everyone. At St. Joan, we believe that art is a balance of creative experiences, skill development, and communication that connects across all disciplines. With a dedicated Art Studio space, the students are encouraged to explore and create through various media and techniques. Art is taught in all grades from Kindergarten through eighth grade.

Physical Education

A comprehensive Physical Education program is crucial to the overall well-being of each St. Joan student. Physical activity at all levels help students develop skills, attitudes, values and behaviors that will help them maintain an active lifestyle into adulthood. Kindergarten through 3rd grades students are taugh non-locomotor skills (throwing, striking.kicking and dribbling skills) and locomotor skills (walk, run, jump, hop, skip, gallop, slide and leap) through various activities. Students in grades 4th through 8th are taugh football, soccer, team handball, basketball, volleyball, lacrosse, and softball, and fitness.

STREAM

St. Joan of Arc embraces the STREAM initiative launched by the National Catholic Education Association. STREAM stands for science, technology, religion, engineering, arts, and math. It’s the idea of an integrated approach to learning instead of a “silo-ed” one.

Students in grades K-8 are placed in appropriate classes to explore, create and learn through hands-on project based activities. Students for example, can explore making lip balm, creating roller coasters, building with LEGOs, and cooking with kitchen chemistry. A more authentic learning environment can be created by integrating the principles of innovation, creativity, forward-thinking and inclusiveness.

Technology

Students in kindergarten to fifth grade, have one class each week devoted to learning about technology. During this time, students complete lessons, activities, and create projects that reflect the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland's Technology Curriculum. Our goal is to guide students in becoming technologically proficient in order to showcase their skills and abilities in the computer lab and when technology is integrated into their daily classes.

Recognizing the importance of technology in today’s world, St. Joan provides their students with the latest equipment – from our dedicated Mac computer lab to SmartBoards in every classroom to our wireless mobile laptop computers. Additionally, each student in grades 6-8 are each assigned an iPad Air for use at both school and at home.

Through a generous technology fund, the school’s equipment is updated annually. Recently, the school secured the latest state-of-the-art technology with the arrival of two ActivPanels. These devices are the next-generation SmartBoards that work seamlessly with any future or past tech-related investments because they include an external operating device to access and connect to other devices wirelessly. They facilitate collaboration which engages the entire class and brings learning to life

MakerSpace

St. Joan has transformed a portion of the library into a MakerSpace. A MakerSpace is a collaborative workspace inside a school, library or separate public or private facility for making, learning, exploring and sharing that uses high-tech to no-tech tools. These spaces are helping to prepare students with critical 21st century skills. The maker movement is about teaching and learning that is focused on student centered investigation. This is not the project done at the end of a unit of learning. The learning is in the process. At the core, MakerSpaces are all places for making, collaborating, learning and sharing. It's for making mistakes and trying again. They provide hands on learning, help with critical thinking skills and even boost self-confidence and resilence.