Overview
Mother Teresa of Calcutta Catholic School follows the curriculum as outlined by the Diocese of St. Petersburg Office of Catholic Schools. Mother Teresa of Calcutta Catholic School is first and foremost a Christ-centered school and a community of faith. Religious education and faith formation play a key part in the curriculum and form an integral part of our daily school life. All students attend religion classes that provide the foundation for understanding the Catholic faith and living a faith commitment. The student body attends weekly Mass. Stewardship is a way of life for Mother Teresa of Calcutta Catholic School students. Opportunities for stewardship and service, both within the school community and beyond, are afforded the students. Parents are encouraged to take an active role in their child’s faith commitment.
Curriculum
The Diocesan curriculum offers an excellent course of studies designed to foster the holistic development of each child. All lessons and daily life at Mother Teresa are infused with our Catholic identity in accordance with the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools. Math, Social Studies, and special area subjects are based on Florida Core Standards. Religion concepts are based on Diocesan Standards. Reading/Language Arts, Science and other subjects are based on Next Generation Standards.
The curriculum is divided into Core I Subjects with mandatory time allotments and Core II Subjects of enrichment with recommended time allotments. Core 1 Subjects are taught in self-contained classes for children in Kindergarten through grade two, and are departmentalized for students in grades three through eight. The Core subjects are:
- Core I Subjects: Religion, Language Arts/Literature, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
- Core II Subjects: STREAM, Spanish, Music, Art, Physical Education.
- Our wheel classes include: Creative Coding & Robotics, Technology, Painting
MTC offers High School Algebra Honors, in 8th grade. Students who attend public school for high school will have their Algebra Honors credit reflected on their high school transcript. This is the beginning of their high school GPA. Based on the needs of the students, we may offer algebra and geometry for those students in need of acceleration.
At all times there is thoughtful consideration exercised by the teachers and administration to ensure that each student is placed at the level where he/she will be appropriately challenged and able to achieve independent success. Data used to determine middle school course placement include:
- TerraNova scores
- STAR scores
- Report card final average in mathematics
- Teacher recommendations
Kindergarten
Kindergarten is a full day program following the guidelines set up by the Florida Catholic Conference. The purpose of the program is to foster a love of the Church and the school through the gentle discovery of the wonders of the world that God has made and given to us. The following subjects are taught: religion, reading readiness and phonics, handwriting, math, science, social studies, health, art, drama, music, and physical education. Several approaches are used in teaching skills in these areas. Manipulatives, textbooks, technology, workbooks and worksheets are only some of the mediums used in our program. To the extent that the teacher is able, methods are adjusted in the acquisition of skills to meet the individual needs of each child. Questions, curiosity and investigation are encouraged.