Our curriculum follows the challenging Consensus Curriculum for the Diocese of Richmond. Our students consistently score well above the national average on the Terra Nova standardized testing. The strength of our academic program is confirmed each year as our graduates are accepted at high schools of their choice.
Many of our students qualify to attend the baccalaureate program through the Norfolk & Virginia Beach Public School Systems. A St. Pius X School graduate has the academic foundation and the intellectual discipline that ensures future success.
Literature stirs imagination and reason, while phonics, spelling, and grammar are emphasized as a base from which creativity and the writing process can flourish. Accelerated Reader reading management software is used to monitor and assess independent reading. STAR Reading computer-adaptive test is used to assess reading growth.
The logic and harmony of mathematical systems, critical thinking and problem solving skills are emphasized through the use of instructional methods and technology.
High School Algebra courses are offered in the eighth grade for excelling students.
The curriculum is taught through scientific methodologies that embrace both theory and experimentation.
A solid religious education program is provided and Catholic morality and values are integrated into the total learning experience. Students participate in regular school masses and daily prayer. A strong emphasis is placed on community service, the building of good citizenship, the development of positive self-image and an awareness of global issues.
The program includes the study of American and Virginian History, World Cultures, World Geography and Cultures, as well as Civics. The availability of the supervised use of the INTERNET in every classroom makes the process interesting and challenging and helps to facilitate an appreciation for our diverse, multicultural society.
The program includes instruction in basic keyboarding, word processing, spreadsheets, databases, presentations, and drawing. Instruction in the middle school expands these basics and covers necessary skills to complete the C3I certification. We are very blessed to have such a well-equipped lab in our school. We have established a local area network (LAN) that operates in a client/server environment using a Windows 2000 server. Cox cable facilitates Internet access. For teaching and demonstrations we have software that allows the teacher to duplicate their monitor on each of the student's monitors, or to view a student's monitor on the teaching monitor. What this means for our students is that we have the equipment that is needed to keep pace with technology.
Spanish is taught beginning in Kindergarten all the way through eighth grade.
All students will be assessed on a regular basis as to their physical fitness level and their ability level. The President’s Physical Fitness Test is administered twice annually (Fall and Spring). This provides the student and parent with a fitness profile to chart the student’s progress against national standards. Class fitness tests and batteries are administered throughout the year. In addition, the student’s ability to participate at grade/age level in the fitness component of each class is monitored continuously.
Depending on grade level, the student’s ability level will be assessed according to the content curriculum for that grade. Factoring into this are: locomotor skills, nonlocomotor skills, manipulative skills, perceptual-motor skills, fundamental sport skills, and game/sport play.
We offer a curriculum of music appreciation, theory and history. Using a wide variety of instruments in the classroom we encourage our students to make music a form of expression. All classes are designed to include theory, history, composition and performance. It is the policy of the Music Department to continue to teach music with new and innovative methods, strengthen our Christian foundation and help each student recognize the excellence within them.
Three choral groups are offered: Song Birds (1st and 2nd graders), Elementary School Chorus (3rd through 5th grade), and Middle School Chorus (6th through 8th grade). Middle School students not in chorus are offered general music. The following classes are offered in place of general music for an additional charge; band (trumpet, flute, saxophone, trombone, clarinet, snare drum), strings (violin, viola, cello), or dance.
Drama has become an integral part of our curriculum. Students may become a principle character on the school's stage or they may take part in the backstage works of the production. They also have the opportunity to be a part of the Pius Dinner Theater set up for this fun occasion.
The Visual Arts Department at St. Pius X School utilizes the Diocesan Curriculum for Fine Arts. It is an integrated curriculum that sees the fine arts as an integral part of all grade levels and recognizes fine arts teachers as major subject teachers essential to the development of cultural literacy for all children.
The goals of the Art Program are to unleash the gifts of each student by introducing them to the many ways they can communicate and express ideas and feelings through art. Art has a way of stimulating imagination, creativity, humor, joy, critical thinking skills, and curiosity.
The students are instructed in a variety of art forms. Drawing skills, painting, perspective, elements of design, print making, 2 and 3 dimensional projects using both addition and subtraction methods, and mixed media are just some of the methods the students use to create beautiful works of art. Various famous artists and art history are incorporated into most lessons to emphasize how art reflects social, cultural, and historical values.
The Terra Nova Standardized Test is administered once a year throughout the Diocese of Richmond beginning with first grade. Any standardized test is considered by the faculty and administration as one tool in the measurement of student progress.
The primary purpose is to provide educators with specific information that assists them in making professional judgments. The results can be of a diagnostic nature and assists teachers in their annual curriculum plan. Each June following the testing, parents receive a "home report" in the mail that presents a student's test scores and other relevant information. Each September a learning plan is developed based on areas of strengths and weaknesses.
STAR® is a Computer-Adaptive Reading Testing Program used to determine the appropriate reading level of each child. It provides norm-referenced reading scores which we use to measure growth. The tests are given at the end of each quarter.