Student Activities

Activities

St. Alphonsus School offers a myriad of activites to engage the many interests of students.

After school clubs and activities include Science Clubs, Chess Club, Children's Choir, chaperoned Middle School dances, and Family Bingo Night. Middle School students are invited to participate in Beginning Band or Advanced Band, as well as Yearbook. The St. Alphonsus Ski Bus is up and running and gearing for its third season in January. Middle School students participate in a high-quality and extremely entertaining play in the spring.

Art
The integration of art into the K-8 curriculum provides the opportunity to teach creative expression, problem solving, and craftsmanship. Students will experience the enjoyment of creating art using different techniques and mediums such as pencil, crayon, watercolor, pastel, and paint. They also learn about ceramics and sculpture as well as art history.

The K-8 art curriculum is based on the elements and principles of art and is reinforced through discussions and presentations. Learning the language of art gives children an avenue of communication that will help them to know themselves better as well as build confidence in their creative expression.

 

The physical education program at St. Alphonsus encourages physical fitness, development of motor skills, social skills, and a positive self image.
 
 
Physical Education
 
 
 
Physical Education

PE classes focus on age-appropriate cardiovascular exercise, organized sports, cooperative games and the Run Across America program.  Students are also encouraged to incorporate knowledge of nutrition into their daily lives as well as recognize its impact on life-long fitness. 
 
In the process of learning new music, all grades will work to develop a music vocabulary to promote music literacy.
 
 
Music
 
Music

Elementary

 

The K-4 program incorporates use of voice and instruments to engage students in the study of music.  Students learn to identify and perform the spectrum of sounds from low to high, practice with and without accompaniment, and study different rhythms.

Through the music program, students gain an appreciation for music of many cultures and that of significant composers.  They learn how to perform with poise and confidence as well as be a respectful audience. 

 Middle School

Students in grades 5-8 participate in this engaging program to learn about and gain an appreciation for music in an interactive way.  Fifth grade students practice reading and performing music both through voice and use of recorders.  The sixth through eighth grade program focuses on choir and music theory.  Goals for students include being able to sing a varied repertoire both a cappella and with accompaniment, to practice proper singing posture, and to perform with confidence.

 

 

All students demonstrate their music skills by performing in both the Christmas and Spring Concerts.

 

Children are also encouraged to participate in the Children’s Choir for the parish.
 
The use of the library for students in grades 4-8 is incorporated into the regular Language Arts program.
 
Computer
 
 
 
Computer
The following are basic items of the computer curriculum at St. Alphonsus:

Kindergarten, First, Second Grades
Essentials of equipment care
Names of computer parts
How to properly turn on and shut down equipment
Vocabulary of computer in order to follow instructions (i.e., “desktop”)
Familiarity with keyboard
Introduction to home row and ten-key pad
Familiarity with bar menus
Use of educational software at appropriate level in consultation with homeroom teacher

Third, Fourth Grades
In addition to above:
Use all letters on keyboard, shift key, ten-key pad
Begin home row touch-typing practice
Begin saving work
Introduce word processing software and graphics
Print a document
Use software as stated above, navigate within program, select management choices

Fifth, Sixth Grades
In addition to all of the above:
Practice two-handed keyboard position typing
Increase speed and accuracy
Acquire expertise in word processing: format, edit, add graphic elements, insert graphics from clipboard, save, retrieve, print document
Learn use of tool box on screen; use of text in the Drawing mode; manipulate elements of the document

Seventh, Eighth Grades
In addition to all of the above:
Continue acquiring speed and accuracy in keyboarding skills
Extensive work with applications
At least two projects, using database and spreadsheet, including a personal budget
Learn to easily import and export to insert in various documents
For a significant number of normal students, traditional instruction fails to provide the means for the successful acquisition of language skills.
 
 
Multi-Sensory Program
Multi-Sensory Program

The MSL Student
For a significant number of normal (average or above average intelligence) students, traditional instruction fails to provide the means for the successful acquisition of language skills. When their classmates begin to read and write, the MSL student begins to fall behind and become frustrated. Even those aided by exceptional intelligence struggle through their school years with their achievement not at the level of their intellectual ability and apparent capacity to learn.

Students with average to superior intellectual potential who have not acquired language skills commensurate with their intellectual potential have weaknesses in auditory, visual, or kinesthetic sensory channels, or in the integration of these three sensory channels. For these MSL students, unlike most people, the auditory-visual-kinesthetic association does not occur automatically. As a result, these students risk failure, lowered self-esteem, and disciplinary problems in school.

 

Common Difficulties for the MSL Student
  • Delay in language acquisition
  • Difficulty in auditory processing, such as listening, sequencing, remembering what is heard, and self-expression
  • Difficulty in visual perception and memory such as letter and word reversals (i.e., b-d, on-no, girl-gril)
  • Directional confusion in time or space
  • Persistent reading and spelling errors
  • Labored and often illegible handwriting
  • Disorganization and lack of structure in school and personal goals and social relationships

Multi-Sensory Structured Language Program
The MSL program is a simultaneous multi-sensory approach which teaches patterns for automatic association of the auditory, visual, and kinesthetic modalities, all of which are necessary for oral and written language performance. The teaching is structured toward giving students patterns of response which cause these associations to occur. As the patterns become automatic, so do the associations. This approach differs from more traditional approaches. The student is taught how to learn while making use of his/her innate intelligence.

The MSL students are prepared for class by the continued use of the MSL multi-sensory techniques on tasks that are sequentially built upon daily. The level of difficulty for each assignment is determined by the student’s individual performance. The MSL class is generally divided into three main sections:

 

  1. Writing and Spelling Elements (penmanship, sentence structure - daily oral language, blending, and dictation)
  2. Language Arts (grammar, writing skills using the five step approach for writing, note-taking skills, and research and term paper projects)
  3. Reading Comprehension (vocabulary building skills, reading skill activities, sequential reading books, reading comprehension skills for understanding and critical thinking, reading for content and speed, and classical literature selections).
Library
Library
In K-2 students begin to develop a love for good books. They have a story time once a week in the library for each class. The students learn about different authors and illustrators. They also learn library procedures - how to check out and return books and how to care for them.

In the third grade, students continue to learn about how to use the library. They are also introduced to the main fiction section of the library. Students are encouraged to choose books on their reading level with more emphasis placed on story content and author’s background. They are given more individual guidance at this grade level.

The use of the library for students in grades 4-8 is incorporated into the regular Language Arts program.