Student Culture
Grammar School
Classical Celebrations: Each class has a celebration/costume day to bring to life its historical theme. For example, the Second Grade has an Ancient Egypt Day, the Third Grade has a Greek Day and a Roman Day, the Fourth Grade has a Medieval Feast, and the Fifth Grade actually takes a trip to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia!
Behavior: We believe that students rise to the expectations and standards which are reasonably set and consistently enforced. Therefore, we require our students to listen quietly in the classroom and participate according to class rules, to conduct themselves in a quiet, orderly manner in the hallways, to respect each other, to honor and obey the teacher, and to honor and respect adults.
Performing Arts: We have community assemblies each year (for example, Grandparents Day, Thanksgiving Celebration, the Christmas Program, etc.), where each class presents skits, recites chants, sings and recounts stories and poems.
Jazz/Blues Band: Situated in Saint Louis, we have a rich musical heritage. We invite all students to audition for our Jazz/Blues band, led by Mr. Stephen Paske.
Dress Uniforms: Although we value each student as an individual with individual gifts and talents, we require that our students conform to a dress uniform so that our focus is on our studies and not on what we wear.
Gender: There is a crisis in higher education: most boys are NOT interested in academics (the 2010 incoming freshman class in American colleges is projected to be 60% female, 40% male)! We are trying to encourage boys to pursue academic excellence as part of the male enterprise. Many of our teachers are male, and we encourage male activities. (E.g., We sponsored a “Turkey Shoot,” where our students could bring airsoft guns and compete to see who could shoot our Latin/Greek teacher in a turkey costume the most times. We also have the boys compete on trivia mornings for classic St. Louis Cardinal baseball cards). We allow and encourage our girls to express their femininity in their dress and in the celebration of feminine roles during our history festivals.
Chess Club: Our most popular student club is the Chess Club. Each week, students are mentored in chess strategy and participate in weekend tournaments with other schools.
Morning 10 Minute Assembly: We start most mornings with prayer, a Scripture/Catechism reading, and common school chants.
Upper School
Class Size: Because many of our classes depend on discussion, we limit our class sizes and keep the student to teacher ratio low. We expect every student to participate fully in classroom discussions. Of course, this also means that the teachers are more than just teachers; they are also personal mentors.
Daily Prayer: Our entire upper school meets each morning for Daily Prayer. These services are focused on Christ and His Word.
Uniforms and Dress Uniform Wednesdays: Most week days student uniforms consist of "dress casual". Basic polos with khaki or black pants or skirts for the girls is the standard look. Every Wednesday our entire Upper School student body attends in dress uniform. This is just one of the ways we demonstrate our respect toward the academic endeavor and each other.