What to Expect at QAS
Centered in Faith
Our Catholic faith is deeply embedded in our daily teaching and every day encounters with each other. Daily religion classes help us learn about our faith and weekday masses twice a week for each grade level promote and reinforce our faith. The many opportunities we are given to serve others and help the needy give us numerous opportunities to put our faith in action not only within our parish community but outside it as well. Service activities include serving at regular mass as well as masses for special occasions, assisting with parish functions, and participating in the St. Vincent DePaul Association projects (serving at food banks, filling hygiene kits for the needy, making blankets for the homeless, etc.).
Character
Many opportunities arise during the school day that help our students build character. Here at QAS, character development is influenced and centered in the teachings of our faith. Throughout the school, social skills development is actively taught and reinforced in every classroom. Students at QAS are part of a close-knit family comprised of active parent and community involvement in school functions and projects that are continually shaping their character.
Middle school students participate in Character Formation days each year designed to target topics current to that age group. In addition, we offer National Junior Honor Society, Ambassadors, QAS Helpers and STUCO. Each of these groups taps into the strengths and leadership potential of our middle school students.
Academics
We are pleased to offer a vibrant and challenging educational program to our students at Queen of All Saints School.
Reading - students learn to read for meaning and, with support, build the skills needed to read increasingly difficult texts. Our Balanced Literacy instruction uses research-based elements of comprehension, vocabulary development, fluency, phonemic awareness and phonics which delivers instruction in a combination of whole group, small group and 1:1 instruction in reading. The goal of our Guided Reading program is for students to develop the strategies they can use independently and become fluent, skilled readers. Student performance is assessed regularly and instruction is individualized to meet each child's specific needs in a timely manner. A partnership with Notre Dame High School allows for tutoring of targeted students which helps increase success in acquiring necessary skills for reading. At the middle school level, students have the opportunity to choose the literature they want to study using a literature circle model. Reading performance is monitored and analyzed with the STAR reading assessment. Assessment results are used to guide instruction.
Writing - we will be using a structured method to teach writing to all students K through 8th grade this year. It teaches writing skills that are developed and applicable across grade levels and across subject areas. It can be used with all forms of writing in various subject areas and fits any reading or language arts program.
Math - Guided Math in the elementary grades fosters mathematical thinking and understanding while meeting the individual needs of all students. Like Guided Reading, students are assessed regularly which provides individualized data on each student and enables the teacher to design instruction that meets their specific needs. With new staff and the purchase of new math curriculum materials at the middle school, we have strengthened our math instruction at that level. Our 7th graders take Pre-Algebra and our 8th graders take Algebra I. Additional tutoring offered to help students grow will have a positive effect on student performance. Math performance is assessed and analyzed using the STAR math assessment, a nationally normed tool.
Science - using federal funds available to us, we have been able to purchase science kits for each grade level. The summer months were spent developing a science curriculum at the middle school level that is engaging to students and meets the learning standards for this age level. In the middle school, students study Earth Science & Space Exploration in 6th grade, Life Science in 7th grade and Physical Science & Chemistry in 8th grade. Students in all grade levels will engage in classroom experiments. A Science Fair will be held in the spring.
Social Studies - well-developed reading and writing skills will positively impact instruction in social studies. Curriculum development at the Archdiocese level in all subjects including social studies and QAS alignment to these curricular expectations in all subjects, including social studies, will positively impact our program. Many of our middle school students will be involved in History Day projects this year.
MakerSpace - the educational objective of MakerSpace at Queen of All Saints is for all students to engage in hands-on learning tools, engineering, technology and robotics to enhance 21st Century learning skills. The QAS MakerSpace programs implements the engineering/design process with all students.
Genius Hour allows students in grades 6-8 one class period per week to explore, learn, pursue interests, and create a product to share with the community.
Discover - an accelerated program that is offered to students in grades 1st - 5th. Students must test into the program. The program offers cross-curricular learning experiences in collaborative and self-directed projects focusing on problem solving, research skills, creativity, and higher order thinking skills.
Project Lead the Way - Middle school students participate in Project Lead the Way, the nation’s leading science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) provider taught by a certified PLTW instructor. It seeks to develop the skills that will help make our students productive in a changing world. Through an engaging, hands-on curriculum, PLTW encourages the development of problem-solving skills, critical thinking, creative and innovative reasoning, and a love of learning. Our current courses include Automation & Robotics, Medical Detectives and Design & Modeling.
Spanish - our Spanish language instruction uses an immersion technique where students are taught Spanish using both English and Spanish during instruction.
Art, Music, PE, Computers - all students in K-8 receive weekly instruction in art, music and physical education. Students in K-5 receive weekly instruction in Computers and 6-8 students participate in PLTW (see below).
In addition…
We have numerous enrichment activities that enhance our focus on faith, character and academics:
Throughout the year, each grade level goes on multiple field trips that enhance our academics.
Each class participates in many service opportunities that enable us to be active in our faith.
We celebrate holidays and participate in the liturgical seasons of the Church.
QAS offers a variety of after school clubs.
We have many parent events that bring our community together.