The K-8 SCS Advantage

“This will be my 10th year here at Saint Catherine of Siena School,” is a comment we hear frequently from many of our 8th grade students. They are proud to have started in the Pre-Kindergarten Program and to have remained at Saint Catherine School through Grade 8. Nearly 70 percent of last year’s graduating class started in either Pre-K or Kindergarten. Many current students are very excited that Saint Catherine School now offers a Pre-School Program so children can enter at age 3. “Why not be here from the very beginning? You can even take Spanish in Pre-School,” stated one of our middle school students. “I didn’t start here in Pre-School. I came in Grade 3, but I still feel like I have made friends for life,” said Grade 8 student Christie Louis. These are just two of many advantages to being in a continuously challenging PK-8 setting – academic success from day one because of the continuity of the curriculum and instruction and making friends for life.

Saint Catherine of Siena School in Norwood, MA has many pluses along with its small class sizes. Diversity is one of them. Not all children are Catholic and not all are from Norwood, nor do they all have the same ethnic background. What they do have in common is the fact that their families are making sacrifices to benefit their children’s future by engaging them in rigorous academics, immersing them in Christian values, and keeping them in a safe and nurturing environment. These factors add up to better development, academically, spiritually, and socially. Children become active and eager learners and serve as mentors and leaders for their siblings or younger students. Continuity of curriculum and instruction through Grade 8 enhances a student’s achievement in school and plays an important role in creating opportunities for high school, college, and beyond. Adeline Jeneid, a Grade 8 student who also serves as an ambassador for the school, explained, “Things I have learned at Saint Catherine’s will follow me in my journey through life. I am so thankful to the teachers and my parents for giving me so much.”

Numerous research studies catalogue the enormous physiological, cognitive and psychological changes that mark the end of childhood and the beginning of adolescence for middle school students. Typically, the security of being in a school they know and love for their elementary years allows students to concentrate on academic achievement, good study skills, strong moral development, and fosters a sense of belonging to a larger, caring community.

One of the special ways Saint Catherine School celebrates the change from elementary to middle school is by showcasing the talents and accomplishments of middle school students to future Grade 6 students. Saint Catherine School holds an annual “Step Up” Day for Grade 5 students every spring. Besides understanding how iPads will be used in their daily instruction, Grade 5 students are excited about new uniforms, a separate building, and the prospect of having different teachers for each subject. Leading Morning Prayer for the entire school community gives students another advantage, as do cross-grade activities such as making gingerbread houses with Kindergarten children, reading a story they wrote to Pre-School children; or teaching a topic from their history or geography class to students in a younger grade.

According to Mary Beth Cox, Director of Advancement, “Saint Catherine alumni prove to us over and over again that friendships formed at the school remain no matter where these students go, and extend well beyond their graduation day.” One recent graduate of Saint Catherine School, Fiona Powers-Ozyurt, said, “When I left Saint Catherine School in Grade 8, I had all the tools I needed to be successful in high school. The only thing I needed to concentrate on in high school was making new friends!”

The advantages of remaining at a school from Pre-School through Grade 8 are very obvious to Mary Russo, School Principal, who commented, “When we see our Grade 8 students walking down the main aisle of Saint Catherine of Siena Church at graduation, there is a sense of pride in how far they have come. Watching them grow from young children into young men and women, confident in their academic achievement and well-formed in their faith, is truly a privilege. Their opportunities to excel are boundless!”

If you are interested in enrolling in Saint Catherine of Siena School, there will be an Open House for prospective families for 2016-17 on Sunday, January 31st from 12 noon - 1:00 p.m. and Tuesday, February 2nd from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 -8:00 p.m. Please contact Linda Canniff, Director of Admissions, at (781) 769-5354 ext. 262 or admissions@scsnorwood.org to reserve a time to tour the school.