Archdiocese of Baltimore Catholic Schools
St. Philip Neri School

Kindergarten

Kindergarten Program

St. Philip Neri School follows state regulation requiring a child entering Kindergarten be five years old by September 1 of the school year.

Kindergarten is a full-day program, with the school day running 8:10 AM- 3:00 PM. Extended Day Care is available.

Schedule

Doors in the school open at 7:45 a.m. and dismissal is at 3:00 p.m.  Students start their day with the rest of the school in prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.  Afterwards, they are ready to start their academic routine which includes: Catholic curriculum of math, snack, morning recess, religion, phonics, lunch, rest time, afternoon recess, center time – where they re-visit in a hands- on way the academic themes of the day – and then the “special” class of the day.  Kindergarten students are blessed with the opportunity to have  six “specials” that happen once a week. These classes include:  music, Spanish, library (where the children can bring a book home for the week), gym, art, and computers.

School Activities

The kindergarten students will be assigned an eighth-grade buddy and will participate in  many school-wide activities including the Fall Festival, Santa’s Secret Workshop and Vince’s Flower-Walk, and Field Day. They will attend Thursday School Masses and holy days.

Parties

Kindergarten has small parties to celebrate holidays, including the following: a Halloween parade of costumes, involvement in a school wide Christmas program, Valentine’s Day & St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, an egg hunt at Easter, as well as a year-end class picnic.

Field Trips

Kindergarten students go on two field trips: a fall cultural trip chosen from many available programs in the Baltimore area and one in the spring to the Science Center.  Parents are encouraged to attend; however, all chaperones must be Virtus certified.

Rest Time

Due to the curriculum the rest time in Kindergarten has been reduced. 

Supplies

The school will provide a mat, tote bag, folder, crayons, scissors, and art supply box. Parents are asked to supply pencils, one large pink eraser, and a pack of black fine- point dry eraser board markers. On occasion, we ask for a box of tissues.

Outside Play

The students will go outside twice a day, weather permitting.

Snacks and Lunch

Children are to bring their own snack each day.  They can bring lunch from home or purchase hot lunch from the cafeteria.  School lunch will costs $3.75 per day and will consist of a main dish with fruit or vegetable and a drink (white/chocolate milk or water).

Specialty Subjects

Specialized instructors in art, music, library, technology, Spanish, and physical education supplement instruction by classroom teachers.

Kindergarten Graduation

At the end of the academic year, the kindergarten holds a graduation ceremony to celebrate promotion to the first grade.  The children wear pink and blue caps and gowns.  Parents, grandparents family and friends are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Strategies and Projects

A variety of strategies and projects are used to teach the academic subjects. These include: analyzing, writing, memorizing, performing, summarizing, sequencing, interpreting, and critical thinking. Special activities include: creating stories, poems, book reports, essays, recitations, dramatizations, and dioramas.

In language arts, students progress from basic writing skills to full expression, from the ability to read to a love of reading. They receive continuing instruction in grammar, spelling, capitalization and punctuation and are also exposed to increasingly challenging literature in a full range of writing styles, topics and cultures.

In math, students develop number sense beginning with an emphasis on basic math facts. Manipulatives are used in mathematics to facilitate concept development and logistical reasoning, and to apply mathematics to problem solving.

Grade by grade, students’ knowledge and skills become more sophisticated.

Subject Areas

Found below is a listing of the areas of study with example content and essential skills.

Religion

Released in 2011, “Bringing Good News” is the Archdiocese of Baltimore Religion Curriculum for Elementary Schools. This standards-based curriculum serves as a guide, a road map for both teachers and students as they embark on a journey, which will provide them with the knowledge and understanding of the faith as witnessed in the teachings and the traditions of the Catholic Church. The curriculum is built on the Six Tasks of Catechesis: Promoting Knowledge of the Faith; Liturgical Education; Moral Formation; Teaching to Pray; Education for Community Life; and Missionary Initiation and is aligned with the Assessment of Catholic Religious Education (IFG:ACRE).

By the completion of kindergarten, students will master a variety of skills including:

  • Communicate that God is Trinitarian by demonstrating the Sign of the Cross.
  • State that God made us to know, love and serve Him and to be happy with Him always.
  • Understand that God is always available to us in prayer even when we are afraid.
  • Understand that God has entrusted to all human beings responsibility for the world and its creatures.
  • Begin to memorize and pray those prayers from the Catholic tradition including the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.
  • Identify the church as a sacred place where the people of God gather to pray and to worship God.
  • Understand that our actions and words in every life situation should reflect that we are followers of Jesus.
Mathematics

Revised in 2013, the curriculum for all elementary schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore include the following units:

  • Counting and Cardinality
  • Operations and Algebraic Thinking
  • Measurement and Data
  • Numbers and Operations in Base Ten
  • Geometry
  • Numbers and Operations

Catholic educators never forget that our schools exist to bring our students to Christ. By continuing to implement new standards that are challenging, we work to fulfill the promise of quality Catholic education that educates the whole child, both mind and soul.

By the completion of kindergarten, students will master a variety of skills including:

  • Know number names and the count sequence.
  • Understand addition as putting together and adding to, and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from.
  • Describe and compare measurable attributes.
  • Classify objects and count the number of objects in each category.
  • Analyze, compare, create, and compose shapes.
English Language Arts

Revised in 2014, the English Language Arts Curriculum for the Archdiocese of Baltimore is designed using the Catholic, College and Career Ready clusters as its foundation. Through literature, this course of study fosters students’ Catholic identity, shaping them to be models of Christian living for others. This curriculum is fully integrated with our Catholic faith. We provide students with a curriculum that is rigorous and rich in literature, oral and written language, grammar, writing, vocabulary, informational literature, and multimedia/technology.

By the completion of kindergarten, students will master a variety of skills including:

  • Making connections to the text.
  • Greater emphasis on the writing process.
  • Memorizes and recite address, phone number, and birthday.
  • Fine motor control in order to draw, color, and print.
  • Ability to hold pencil and crayon properly, control pencil and crayon and scissors, and color within boundaries.
  • Ability to sit properly and hold the paper in the correct position for writing.
Additional Subject Areas

The following subject areas are currently under revision across the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and if you would like more information regarding these standards and essential skills please contact the school directly.

  • Science
  • Instructional Technology
  • Social Studies
  • Visual and Performing Arts
  • Physical Education/Health
  • World Languages