Denver Catholic

7 DENVER CATHOLIC | OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 10, 2017 9056 East Parker Road Parker, CO 80138 Preschool † Elementary School † Middle School C o l o r a d o C o m m u n i t y M e d i a school.avemariacatholicparish.org 720-842-5600 Open House & Campus Tours Tuesday, November 7, 2017 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM Financial Aid Available Work Hard, Pray Hard, Play Hard, and Take Care of One Another S. M' H S A Catholic college-prep family since 1885 INSPIRED BY FAITH EMPOWERED BY KNOWLEDGE UNITED BY COMMUNITY 2501 E. Yampa St. Colorado Springs, CO 80909 719.635.7540 www.smhscs.org St. Mary's High School seeks an innovative leader with a commitment to Catholic education and experienced in educational administration and development who will embrace the mission of our school and take it to the next level to ensure fi nancial sustainability and enrollment growth for the next 130 years. Join a Catholic college preparatory institution of unparalleled success as President of St. Mary's High School. For more information visit www.smhscs.org/employment. President of Southern Colorado's only Catholic High School – Could this be your calling? Closing Date: November 30, 2017 Position Start Date: July 1, 2018 Applications must be received by November 30, 2017 An Encounter with Beauty A Behind the Scenes Tour of the Cathedral Basilica Cocktail Reception and Fundraiser to Follow Adventure in Nature • Journey in the Spirit Thursday, November 9th at 7pm Registration: Creatio.org/Cathedral DUAL-LANGUAGE Escuela de Guadalupe is currently the only dual-language Catholic school in the archdiocese, but with an ever-in- creasing need for bilingualism, that number could very well increase.± Dual-language schools essentially teach students to learn in English and another language; in the case of Escuela, its students learn in both English and Spanish. Some classes are in English, others are in Spanish, and some switch languages between days.± "We know the benefits of kids who are bilingual; they test a little bit better, they can solve problems a little more creatively, and it's good thing to have," said Denver Catholic Schools superin- tendent Kevin Kijewski. MONTESSORI Sophia Montessori Academy is the first school of its kind in the Denver area.± The Montessori method has grown in popularity over the years with its emphasis in hands-on learning, but a Catholic Montessori school is a rarity.± "It's very unusual for Denver to incorporate the Catholic faith in its fullness into a Montessori school," said Pauline Meert, one of Sophia's co-founders. "Montessori teachers in general do incorporate a spirituality aspect, but without actually naming the Lord and the saints. We wanted to be able to talk about God and the saints." Founded this year by Meert and Irene O'Brien, Sophia practices the Byzantine tradition of the faith, adding to its singularity. Mixed age groups are one of Montessori's hallmarks, as is the hands-on approach.± "It's following Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas' observations that nothing enters the mind that does not first come through the senses," Meert said.± It also acknowledges that children learn in di"erent ways, and therefore should be taught according to their needs.± "Putting the child first is the basic tag- line of the Montessori approach," O'Brien said. "If children learn and grow in specific ways, then teach them in a specific way." S.T.E.M. S.T.E.M. is a model that places empha- sis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It was developed in response to the growing fields of engi- neering and technology in the modern age to help equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to suc- ceed in those fields. While there are presently no S.T.E.M. schools in the archdiocese, a few schools have integrated S.T.E.M. elements into their classrooms, including Sts. Peter and Paul and Blessed Sacrament. Fur- thermore, three schools within the arch- diocese are discerning the implementa- tion a S.T.E.M. program. HOMESCHOOLING If a parent would rather homeschool their child in a Catholic environment, there are resources to assist with that, too.± Groups such as the Denver Area Catholic Home Educators o"er support and encouragement to local Catholic homeschool families and help connect homeschooling communities to groups closer to their geographic area. Additionally, yearly home educators' conferences such as the Rocky Moun- tain Catholic Home Educators Confer- ence and the IHM Colorado Homes- chool Conferences are designed to help parents who double as their children's teachers develop their skills and learn best practices of being their child's aca- demic educator.± Kids are all di•erent, kids all don't learn the same way. Within the Catholic school system, we want to create options." ADAM DUFAULT Assistant superintendent of Denver Catholic Schools "

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