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The administration, faculty, and staff of Holy Name of
Jesus School believe the spiritual, intellectual, and
emotional growth of each child is a priority.
Religion
The Religion curriculum
carefully blends child development with faith and moral
development and promotes continuing growth in religious
literacy, understanding, and practice. The pre-kindergarten
and kindergarten students begin their Catholic education
with I am Special, from Our Sunday Visitor. We
Believe provides the basis of formation and instruction
from kindergarten-seventh grades. Knowing Our Faith
from Sadlier program draws middle school students into a
relationship with Jesus Christ and continues with the study of
New Testament, Liturgy and Morality.
Math
The Saxon K-4 series is a
hands-on, success-oriented program that emphasizes
manipulatives and mental math. This primary basal program is
designed for a multisensory approach to teaching, enabling the
students to develop a solid foundation in the language and
basic concepts of math. The Saxon 4-7 series builds
upon the hands-on, activity-centered approach and shifts the
focus gradually from the use of concrete objects to
mathematical modeling and problem solving using pencil and
paper. Saxon math is based upon incremental
development, continual practice and review, and cumulative
assessments at regular intervals. The program concludes with
Algebra 1/2.
Language
Arts
Grades kindergarten-fourth use the Open
Court reading series, which is a research-based curriculum
grounded in systematic, explicit instruction of phonemic
awareness, phonics and word knowledge, comprehension skills
and strategies, inquiry skills and strategies, and writing and
language-arts skills and strategies. Reading fine literature
is one of the founding principles of Open Court
reading. As the children read classic and contemporary
literature, they discover the importance of clarity of thought
and word. Middle school students explore classic and
contemporary literature in many genres, including the novel.
Prentice Hall Literature is the foundation of the
literature program. Holy Name also uses Holt’s Elements of
Literature, a writing and grammar series for grades
first-seventh, providing the instruction, practice and
reinforcement needed for students to master crucial writing
and grammar skills.
Science
Grades second, third and
fourth use The Harcourt Science Series, which is a
standards-based content program that provides a research-based
approach in teaching science. Research indicates that students
learn science best from direct experience in which they
describe, sort and organize observations about objects and
organisms.
Pre-Kindergarten, kindergarten and
first grade use a series of activity books from the Early
Childhood Edition of The Harcourt Science Series, which
correlates to our skills-based report
card.
Prentice Hall Science Explorer is a
middle school hands-on, content-rich program which enables the
teacher to lead students through exploration of specific
concepts within Life, Earth, and Physical
Science.
Social
Studies
The social studies curriculum, using
Macmillan's The World around Us, takes students from
the study of neighborhood and community to the study of cities
and states to the study of the world through history and
geography. This series is used by students in grades one
through four. Students have a variety of learning experiences
that develop the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes
necessary for full participation as citizens in a culturally
diverse, global society. The middle school uses the
Prentice Hall World Explorer series, which balances
history, geography and culture of the regions
studied.
Spanish
Holy Name of Jesus School has
a broad Spanish program, which starts in Kindergarten and
continues through seventh grade. Kindergarten and lower-school
students have Spanish once a week. Fifth, sixth and seventh
graders have class every day for one
quarter.
Kindergarten and first grade
students meet weekly. At this level, the children learn
daily expressions and basic vocabulary.
Second, third
and fourth graders have Spanish classes each week. The
students are gradually exposed to more advanced vocabulary and
complex sentences. All students have an illustrated workbook
which helps them practice the topics learned in class. In
addition, the children are constantly exposed to different
activities, such as computer and class games, handcraft
projects, dances and more--all in Spanish.
The middle
school students meet daily for a nine-week block, using a
textbook and workbook. They learn more complex topics, such as
verb conjugation, sentence structure, parts of speech and
dialogue memorization. Students who come from Spanish-speaking
families communicate only in Spanish with the teacher;
non-Spanish students are encouraged to communicate in the
target language.
Kindergarten through fourth graders
use a series called Teach Them Spanish, from Applause
Learning. Fifth Graders use Spanish Now!, from
Applause Learning. Sixth and seventh graders use
Spanish is Fun from AMSCO.
Physical Education
All students
participate in physical education at least once a week.
Pre-Kindergarten through first grade students have P.E. once a
week. Second, third and fourth graders have P.E. twice a week
and middle school (5-7) students have P.E. every
day.
The children learn competency in many movement
forms, with the goal of advancing to proficiency in those
forms. At all levels of development, a health-enhancing level
of physical fitness is encouraged, along with emphasis on
personal and social behavior expectations in physical activity
settings.
Art
The
goals of the Art Department of Holy Name of Jesus School are
accomplished by immersing the students in a quality art
education curriculum that follows state and national
standards. As students progress through the grades, they will
be challenged to develop their artistic skills, critical
judgment and communicate their own artistic
ideas.
Students are actively engaged in the
artistic process as they learn the use and care of a wide
range of art materials. Students are introduced to various
modern and historical artists, as well as art from many
different cultures.
The Middle School students have the
opportunity to work with a variety of media and techniques as
they develop and improve their skills and
abilities.
Computer
The computer education at
Holy Name of Jesus School prepares students to be proficient
in the use of technology, not only as they move on to high
school, but also as a lifelong skill. Students are challenged
daily with independent, educational, and creative assignments
that stimulate and promote the growth of their technological
skills.
Students learn to use the computer as a
valuable “tool” for learning. Every student has his/her own
computer in class. They are taught to keyboard by using the
“touch” method. “Hands-on” instruction and explanation of
computer terminology are both essential parts of this course.
Students use the Internet to gather information, target what
is relevant, cite sources from the World Wide Web, and learn
to identify plagiarism. The Internet is filtered by the
Archdiocese of New Orleans. The use of technology is also
reinforced across the curriculum in other
disciplines.
Computer is a required course for
students in kindergarten through seventh grade. Lower school
students meet once a week and middle school students attend
class daily for one complete quarter.
Music
Pre-Kindergarten and
kindergarten attend music class twice a week for 30 minutes.
In music class, they experience music in a variety of ways:
singing, playing instruments, listening to music, moving to
music, and playing games. The goal is to help develop a
life-long love of music, so classes tend to be active and
fun.
First grade attends music class once a week
for 30 minutes. Like Pre-Kindergarten and kindergarten, they
sing, play instruments, listen to music, move, and play games.
First grade also begins learning to read music. Second, third,
and fourth grades attend music class once a week for 45
minutes. They continue to sing, play instruments, play games,
move, and listen to and learn about various kinds of music, as
well as continuing learning to read music. This is
particularly emphasized in third and fourth grades, where the
students learn to read off the staff, as well as learning
about different elements of music.
Students in grades
two through seventh have liturgical music once a week. These
classes focus on developing proper singing habits and learning
a variety of songs appropriate for weekly Mass. Children
occasionally learn sign language to accompany church songs.
Students in grades third through seventh are welcome to join
the Holy Name of Jesus School Choir, which leads the music at
Mass and joins with the adult parish choir several times a
year. Choir members have opportunities to lead sign language,
announce hymn numbers, and sing as soloists and members of
small groups.
Library
All
students and faculty utilize our library, which contains over
12,000 volumes--including fiction, non-fiction, and reference
books. The card catalog is fully automated and can be accessed
from four computers in the library. An extensive video library
enhances and enriches our curriculum. An online database is
subscribed to annually and may be accessed from any computer
on the school network. The Accelerated Reader program
encourages a love of reading; the program involves each
student taking an initial reading assessment and then choosing
reading material appropriate for their specific reading level.
After finishing each book, the student takes a web-based test
to determine comprehension.
Extracurricular
Activities
Extracurricular activities include Altar
Servers, Beta Club, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Pep Squad, Chess
Club, Choir, Cub Scouts, Drama, Library Club, Mission Club,
Art Club, and Quiz Bowl.
Athletics
Holy Name of Jesus School
participates in the Metro Middle School League of New Orleans.
Boys and girls are eligible to participate beginning in fifth
grade. Fourth graders may participate on the fifth-sixth grade
level teams in some sports depending on roster
availability.
Sports
Offered:
Fall:
Flag
Football
Volleyball
Cross
Country
Swimming
Winter:
Basketball
Soccer
Spring:
Baseball
Softball
Tennis
Golf
Technology
Holy Name of Jesus School
is technology rich with a ratio of one computer to
every two students. All classrooms have at least one
computer and reading classrooms have access to Neo 2 Mobile
Labs for word processing and Accelerated Reader
quizzes.
The primary computer lab is equipped with 54
computers, digital cameras, and two interactive white
boards and projection systems. All classes are furnished with
projection systems, interactive “walk and talk” boards,
visualizers and student response systems. The weather station
on the roof is connected to computers and digital display
units around the school and to a worldwide network of similar
stations. Graphing calculators, microscopes, sensors and
probeware enhance the use of technology in the math and
science curriculum. Laptops are available for student use in
all middle school classrooms. Wireless Internet access is
available at all work stations and throughout the school.
Internet security and filtering are provided through the
Archdiocese of New Orleans.
The auditorium is equipped
with Internet access, a computer and projection system for
student projects and large group programs. The entire first
floor of the building is equipped with projection systems and
computers for student projects and small group programs, as
well as Internet access.
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