Loved at Home.

Loved at School.

Loved by God.

2017-2018 Program of Studies

©Holy Name Central Catholic Junior/Senior High School

February 2017

144 Granite Street

Worcester, MA 01604

Our Mission

Holy Name Central Catholic Junior/Senior

High School educates dedicated students

in a community of love and respect to

fulfill their academic potential, to

accept personal responsibility, and to

use their unique gifts tobring Christ

into the World.

ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS

At Holy Name we are fortunate to have some key academic partnerships with institutions of higher learning, industry leaders, and secondary school associations. All of these partnerships exist for the benefit of our students by helping us provide cutting edge, research-based educational experiences for ALL of our students leading to exceptional opportunities for our students upon graduation.

PARTNERSHIP HIGHLIGHTS

In March of 2017, Holy Name was honored with associate membership in the National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools (NCSSS). Holy Name joins the ranks of a select group of about 100 schools and is just the third school in Massachusetts to be accepted for membership.“NCSSS schoolsgive students a competitive edge. The National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools(NCSSS) includes member schools (high schools), many ranked as the best in the country, along with affiliate members (colleges, universities, summer programs, foundations, and corporations), that share the goals of transforming mathematics, science, and technology education.” (NCSSS website)

AUTHENTIC, CUTTING EDGE, ENERGY RESEARCH

Our school’s authentic work over time with Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), which includes Holy Name student research experiences, continues as we expand our collaboration with the renewable energy storage study taking place on the Holy Name campus. With WPI, Vionx Energy, and National Grid, we will commission eight power storage units connected to the Holy Name wind turbine and the smart grid. This installation will be studied over the next two years by professors, teachers, and students from both WPI and Holy Name to discover the efficacy of this type of energy storage. At Holy Name we are committed to make this high impact practice of student research a reality for our students. At some level, this project will be part of the academic experience of all students at Holy Name which is something we are exceptionally proud to be able to offer.

FEBRUARY 2017

To All in the Holy Name Community:

It is with a sincere, grateful heart that I thank our God for our school and the blessing of being able to work in a place that He is so much a part of on a daily basis. Holy Name is truly a special place because God’s Holy Spirit is a constant presence in our school. We all know every day that we are Loved at Home, Loved at School, and Loved by God as Christ walks with us through every part of our life.

At Holy Name we work with God’s blessing to continue the work done by our founders, the Sisters of St. Anne, to provide a faith-filled, rigorous, college preparatory education and experience that ministers to the whole person: mind, body, and spirit.

Each year our Academic Leadership Team, along with all members of the faculty, work to review and revise our Program of Studies to insure that we are offering a program that is based on educationally researched best practice as well as being guided by the Holy Spirit to provide our students with the preparation they need in order to become successful adults who will bring the gospel values Christ has taught us into our world along with the critical thinking and problem solving skills needed to positively impact the world in which all live.

This year we have two new course offerings that we feel will continue to add richness of our academic program and will benefit many of our students: AP Spanish and Calculus level 2.

While we are not offering as many new courses as we have in past years, that is due to a couple of factors: 1) We feel over the past few years we have been introducing multiple new courses each year. As a faculty we now feel our offerings are very diverse and allow for deep and thorough study in all of our academic disciplines. 2) As a faculty we have been examining our current schedule for students and have identified a number of areas of weakness which we desire to improve upon. We feel our work in this area will continue to help us improve the academic experience for our students. We also believe we will end up with a schedule that will provide additional opportunities for student elective choices. We, therefore, have held off on developing additional electives until our work on our schedule has been completed. We anticipate finishing that work in the first quarter of next year. Much more information about this will be forthcoming as we complete this exciting work.

I thank all the members of the Academic Leadership Team for all their extra hours and effort to make our goals a reality by doing the needed work necessary to introduce continued modifications and improvement efforts. Our Academic Leadership Team is made up of the following instructional leaders:

Academic Achievement Coordinators / Department Coordinators / At-Large Faculty Members
Mr. Steven Haggerty, Academic Achievement Coordinator / Ms. Nicole Redmond, English Dept. Coordinator / Ms. Maureen Connolly, Math and Science Teacher
Mr. Jonathan Meagher, Academic Achievement Coordinator and Social Studies Dept. Coordinator / Mr. Dan Gabel, Music Director / Mrs. Karen Loin, Social Studies Teacher
Ms. Jennifer Palumbo, Academic Achievement Coordinator and Science Dept. Coordinator / Mrs. Kate Harris, World Language Department Coordinator
Mrs. Janet Howard, Technology Department Coordinator
Mrs. Susan Ivas, Director of Guidance
Mr. Greg Marcotte, Math Dept. Coordinator

On behalf of the entire Administrative Team, I thank all these instructional leaders as well as the entire faculty for their tireless efforts on behalf of the students of Holy Name. It is because of their efforts and constant drive to achieve excellence in every aspect of our school that Holy Name remains the largest co-educational Catholic school in Central Massachusetts and truly provides an outstanding educational experience to ALL our students.

We thank you for making the choice to send your sons and daughters to Holy Name.

May God bless you and yours,

Dr. Bernard Audette

Principal

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS:

A total of 22 academic credits are required for graduation. These credits are divided as follows:

Theology4

English4

Math4

Science3

World Language2

Social Studies3

Technology1.5

Art.5 (beginning with the class of 2018)

Electives(balance of course work beyond core requirements)

A chart of all courses that show which courses meet which requirements will be posted online. For some courses, although the credits are awarded once, the course satisfies the requirement in more than one curricular area.

COURSE SELECTIONS:

Courses that do not meet minimum enrollment figures will be cancelled and the students involved will be placed in their second course choice. The same process will be used should a student be involved in an unresolvable conflict.

IMPORTANT ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSE INFORMATION:

All students taking an AP course MUST take the AP Exam at the conclusion of the year. This includes students taking an AP course through VirtualHigh School. There are no exceptions to this rule. Students are also responsible for the fees for each exam they must take. Students not enrolled in an AP course are not eligible to take the AP Exams through Holy Name.

SUMMER ASSIGNMENTS:

Many of our courses have summer assignments. These assignments are listed on our web site by the end of the previous school year. Students, regardless of their time of admission and registration at the school, are required to complete all summer assignments for the courses they are scheduled to take.

IMPORTANT POLICY ON COURSE CHANGES:

  1. Student courses may be changed only under extraordinary circumstances.
  2. Level changes are initiated by the teacher. These changes may be made if the teacher believes a level change would be beneficial to the individual student and relevant student academic achievement data exists to support the change.
  3. Level changes are not allowed for the purpose of changing teachers.
  4. Students may not make same level changes.

THEOLOGY DEPARTMENT

GRADE 7 - CHRISTIAN FAITH

This course offers an introduction to the Judeo-Christian belief in Divine Revelation. The meaning of the Christian creed is analyzed with the intent that students understand the concept of the Blessed Trinity and the gift of faith. By examining “salvation history” students will come to a deeper knowledge of Jesus Christ and a deeper understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church and in their own lives. Also, a service project assignment involving 4 hours per year of community service is a course requirement.

GRADE 8 –THE CHURCH AND THE MORAL LIFE

This course will introduce students to the Catholic Church through its history and practice. The presence of Christ in the Church through the ages, and His presence within the Church today will be studied. Christian Morality, with special focus on the Ten Commandments, will present a process to enable the students to navigate through challenges in their lives with a clear and positive Christian moral attitude. Also, a service project assignment involving 4 hours per year of community service is a course requirement.

GRADE 9 – THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST IN SCRIPTURE

The first quarter is a course on the principles of the Christian faith. It incorporates the developmental stages of faith with the tradition of faith and also includes models of the church and images of the Trinity.

The remainder of the year is a course on the Hebrew Scriptures. This includes a study of the meaning of the Bible, its interpretation and Salvation History. Also, a service project assignment involving 2 hours per quarter of community service is a course requirement.

GRADE 10 – THE MISSION OF JESUS CHRIST

This course centers on a study of Jesus’ life and ministry, the early church and its continuing mission of spreading the Gospel. An analysis using historical criticism of the Christian Scripture emphasizes the role of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, parables, miracles and most especially the Paschal Mystery in Salvation History. Also, a service project assignment requires 3 hours per quarter of community service.

GRADE 11 –SEMESTER I: SACRAMENTS AS PRIVILEGED ENCOUNTERSWITH JESUS

CHRIST

SEMESTER II: CHRISTIAN MORALITY

Incorporated into this first semester course is a study of the seven sacraments. This study places the sacraments in the context and meaning of the church. It also includes the essential qualities and purpose of the sacraments and their effects through the work of the church under the power of the Holy Spirit.

The second semester morality course focuses on Christian moral principles and how to apply them correctly in making moral decisions and living by those decisions.

An integral part of this course is the 20 hour community service project that integrates classroom lessons with real Christian service in our community. This service project takes place over the course of the entire school year.

GRADE 12 – CHRISTIAN LIFE STAGES

This course will address some of the lifestyle issues students will encounter as they begin discerning their futures as men and women of faith. We will be discerning vocation, relationships and values by studying Church teachings regarding marriage, the single life, and holy orders. Students should be able to connect their study of Church totheir own lifestyle decisions.

We will also study all other aspects of Christian living “from womb to tomb,” including faith development, Christian prayer, Christian service, as well as end of life issues. An integral part of this course is the 15 hour community service project that integrates classroom lessons with real Christian service in our community.

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

NOTES:

  1. Writing Process is a required course for all freshmen in Levels 2 and 3. This is a full year course.

English III Level 1 is divided into two semester courses as follows:

Semester 1: Representative American Writers

Semester 2: Development of American Drama

  1. Elective Courses: one semester
  1. Creative Writing
  2. Short Story
  3. From Literature to Film
  4. Literature and Social Justice
  5. Women Writers of the 20th Century
  6. Shakespeare: Stage and Film

ENGLISH

Grade 7

Students will be assigned to one of three levels based upon student performance on the placement exam. These placements will be flexible as students will be moved to different levels as appropriate based on student achievement data as the year progresses.

This course is a study of literature by genre. Students will investigate various literary forms, including novel, drama, short story, poetry and various types of non-fiction.

Successful completion of this course will be based on the students’ mastery of the following concepts and skills: reading comprehension at the 7th grade level; knowledge and correct usage of parts of speech, sentence types, and phrase types, with potential for further grammatical study; knowledge of literary concepts such as but not limited to, plot, setting, characterization, symbol, etc.; and appropriate grade level spelling and vocabulary skills.

Students will also develop critical analytical thinking and writing skills, with special emphasis placed on writing grammatically correct sentences, as well as the various types of paragraphs, including narrative, descriptive, persuasive, and expository. Book reports and journal responses may also be required.

ENGLISH

Grade 8

Students will be assigned to one of three levels based upon student performance on the placement exam. These placements will be flexible as students will be moved to different levels as appropriate based on

student achievement data as the year progresses.

This course is a study of literature by genre. Students will investigate various literary forms, including novel, drama, short story, poetry and various types of non-fiction.

Successful completion of this course will be based on the students’ mastery of the following concepts and skills: reading comprehension at the 8th grade level; knowledge and correct usage of parts of speech and types of phrases and clauses, with potential for further grammatical study; knowledge and correct usage of literary terms such as, but not limited to, metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, irony, alliteration, etc.; and, appropriate grade level spelling and vocabulary skills.

Students will also develop critical analytical thinking and writing skills, with special emphasis placed on writing effective paragraphs of varying types, and incorporating supporting details. Book reports and journal responses may also be required.

ENGLISH I – LEVEL 0

(Participation in this course will be determined by a placement exam given to all incoming freshmen. Should a student choose to opt out of the course, s/he may instead choose English I – Level 1.)

This course is an advanced study of English grammar, composition, literary analysis, and vocabulary. Students will be expected to demonstrate advanced mastery of the various elements of literature and effective composition, exhibiting dedication to in-depth literary analysis, and demonstrating higher level thinking skills. Literature studied will include poetry, short story, novel, drama, and non-fiction. Students will be expected to complete a variety of written essays, with special focus on persuasive and analytical compositions.

ENGLISH I – LEVEL 1

This course offers an introduction to the study of literature, focusing on the short story, non-fiction, poetry, myth and legend, drama and the novel. A structured program of development in vocabulary, critical thinking, expository and creative writing are combined with the study of literature is used in this foundation course to further develop students as critical thinkers and writers. Grammar and composition work deals with such topics as sentence structure and variety, paragraph development and diversity and composition planning, organization and writing. Reading and writing will be coordinated. Independent work will be encouraged.

ENGLISH I – LEVEL 2

This course is based on the belief that classic literature endures for two reasons: it expresses concerns that are as real and vital today as when they were first recorded, and it expresses those concerns in a style that excites the imagination of the reader. Such literature gives people a holistic approach to thinking that reflects the development of civilization and, in particular, the American culture. At the same time, this literature introduces students to the elements and conventions of various genres of writing.

WRITING PROCESS I – LEVEL 2

This course is the study of English grammar, composition and vocabulary.

Successful completion of this course will be based on the students’ mastery of the following concepts and skills: reading comprehension at the 9th grade level; knowledge and correct usage of parts of speech, the parts of the sentence, types of phrases, types of clauses, subject/verb agreement, punctuation, and other grammatical constructions; writing effective sentences; writing effective paragraphs with supporting details; developing an effective thesis statement; and writing five paragraph essays in two or more of the following modes: descriptive, expository, persuasive, narrative.

Novels and short stories will be read to further develop reading comprehension skills as well as serve as models of effective writing, and as a basis for writing prompts.

ENGLISH I – LEVEL 3

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the major literary genres and to encourage the enjoyment and appreciation of reading. Emphasis will be placed on the development of reading comprehension, vocabulary and writing skills.