Academics

The Holy Ghost Catholic School Curriculum is in accordance with the curriculum of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe Catholic School Policy Manual.

Religion
The religion curriculum is based on Catholic doctrine and tradition, sacraments, Bible study, prayer, social justice, and preparation for the reception of the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist in third grade.
In addition, the religion curriculum has an emphasis on teaching students to be stewards of the Earth through our Caring for Creation program in accord with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Students in Grades 5 and 8 will take the ACRE (Assessment of Catechesis of Religious Education) test as required by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.


Prayer and Liturgical services are held on Fridays and/or Holy Days and for special events.  A student-led Prayer Service begins each school day.  All students registered at HGCS are required to take the religion course offered to their grade.  The religion curriculum is consistent with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and conforms to the guidelines of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.

• Sacramental Program The sacramental life of the students of the Catholic tradition is an important component of the religion program at HGCS.  Catholic students in the 3rdgrade receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) and the Sacrament of the Eucharist (First Communion) in the spring.  The sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist are only conferred on students baptized in the Roman Catholic tradition or baptized and received into the Catholic Church. Catholic students in grades 4-8 who have not received these sacraments and wish to do so may make arrangements with the principal and the religion teacher.  Parents are required to be active partners in the preparation of their children for these sacraments and are required to participate in the adult sacramental education program. Failure to attend the required adult sacramental program may result in your child’s inability to receive the sacraments with his/her class.

• Service Learning is an integral part of the religion curriculum.  Students participate in community service that fulfills a goal of Catholic education, "to learn to serve others as Jesus did." Student service benefits the home, parish, school local communities. Students complete a Service Learning Log each semester and fulfill the requirements for their grade level.

Art and Music
Students receive formal art and music lessons weekly from our qualified Fine Arts teachers.  Our Art teacher works collaboratively with all classroom teachers to relate topics in art to the content areas students are studying.  Our student art has been exhibited at the New Mexico State Fair and community buildings as well as during the annual All Catholic Schools Art Show.

In regular Music classes, students learn how to play boomwhackers, read music, sing and gain an appreciation for different kinds of music and composers.

Choir  Third, fourth and fifth grade students are members of the school choir.
Guitar students are encouraged to perform at Mass throughout the school year.

Computer Technology
Holy Ghost maintains a computer network of one to one chromebooks. All students in K-8th grade receive at least one hour of computer instruction per week.

Computer literacy is integrated into classroom instruction and supports school-wide goals. For example, students utilize computers to complete science fair projects, create Power Point presentations, conduct Internet research, and participate in an ongoing reading literacy program.  The comprehensive curriculum includes print and digital resources.

Language Arts

In 2019, Holy Ghost moved to a program built on the science of reading. Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts® (CKLA) sequences deep content knowledge with research-based foundational skills. We are also part of a national K - 3 study on Dibels and its ability to identify dyslexia and MOCCA and its ability to identify and remediate reading comprehension issues.

Amplify CKLA is the K–5 highest rated literacy curriculum (Ed Reports). It strengths include:

• focuses on all content areas (history, science, literature, and the arts) with systematic, foundational skills instruction.
• intentional in teaching students to apply background knowledge.
• focused on helping students build a robust knowledge base for accessing and unpacking complex texts so real comprehension can happen.
• filled with explicit lessons of all foundational skills, setting every student up to succeed.

In grades 6 - 8, students’ reading skills continue to develop in four essential areas:
 

1. Students are empowered to become critical thinkers.

Students can dive into complex texts and make observations, grapple with ideas, and make meaning for themselves, bringing personal relevance and previous knowledge to the table —especially given the freedom of thought that comes with knowing there’s no one right answer. 

2. Students receive opportunities and support to work “up.”

Students have multiple entry points and the right scaffolding opportunities so that every student can engage deeply with a rigorous curriculum. The challenge is to meet all students where they are, enabling access from any learning level, and also allow room for maximal growth to prepare students for grade-level expectations and year-end testing.

3. Students develop strengths with multiple feedback systems.

Well-delivered feedback can be useful for anyone. It’s particularly potent for middle schoolers, who are totally aware of learning differences among students, extremely vulnerable to ego blows, and frequently unwilling to ask for help when they’re floundering. For them, true engagement moments are born from a teacher’s ability to provide feedback in a way that clicks and helps them see opportunity rather than hear failure. 

4. Students learn in multiple modalities, with particular attention to collaboration.

All students benefit from experiencing text in a variety of ways, and certain students also respond particularly strongly to one or another modality. That’s the great thing about multimodal teaching strategies: everybody wins. Multimodal strategies also pair a middle schooler’s interest in variety to the challenge of working with complex text. Amplify’s research has also shown that students are more likely to continue reading beyond the assigned text once they have experienced that text in a different medium, such as through digital exposure or a dramatic performance in class.

Library

When Holy Ghost moved to improve its reading program, it looked at its library and students’ access to contemporary, relevant, and high-interest readings. Since then, the library has undergone a multi-pronged approach to improve the collection and services. It has moved to the elementary building to provide constant access to teh room and its collection.

The Program's successes since 2019 are as follows:

1. Identified and purchased 300 culturally appropriate and diverse books.
2. Identified and purchased 400 up to date and appropriate non-fiction books.
3. Identified and purchased 120 fiction books.
4. Identified and purchased 100 young adult books.
5. Purchased 24 child friendly rocking seats for students to read and feel comfortable while in the library. The chairs are plastic, durable, and able to be wiped down, thus COVID-friendly.
6. Signed up each Holy Ghost student for an Albuquerque public library card which allows students to reserve and pick up books at their local public library branch (18 branches from the East Mountains to the West Mesa). Having a public library card also allows students to access ebooks, audio books, and the many electronic databases for research projects.
7. Public library access also allows students to check out audiobooks to further engage students who benefit from seeing and hearing as they read
8. Taught each student and family how to access the Holy Ghost collection to be able to reserve books and pick them up during holidays and summer break.

The library will continue to expand by purchasing more of the following books:

• STEM-focused
• Multicultural 
• Spanish language
• Native American
• Local authors 
• As well as non-fiction, fiction and young adult. 

Library class goes beyond checking out books:  

• Students learn how to use a library, how to use reference resources, and how to cite the various sources they use in their research projects. 
• The middle school students are able to choose from a menu of comprehension building assignments to deepen their connections with literature such as book summaries, time lines, book talks, graphic novelization of a book chapter, or a main character interview.

Mathematics

Eureka Math® is the most widely used math curriculum in the United States. This rigorous math curriculum supports productive struggle with a goal in mind of developing conceptual understanding by sequencing mathematical progressions in modules of multiple standards into a related group of lessons. The following are key components to the program’s success:

Math Minus Memorization

• Students are taught to strategize and solve math problems in place of memorizing answers to math equations.  

• Eureka Math scaffolds key concepts over time through building a more involved and connected story, with a focus on creating enduring conceptual knowledge. 
• Students gain a complete body of math knowledge, of number sense and how they interact with topics like algebra and geometry. 

There are several interrelated components to the program:

Eureka Math In Sync™ allows teachers to access all the Eureka Math resources anytime including video lessons and fillable PDFs for students.

Eureka Math Equip™ provides teachers with a way to ensure students have essential math skills to succeed at grade level by offering a digital pre- module assessment tool, so that teachers identify and remediate knowledge gaps.

Eureka Math Affirm® is a digital mid- and end-of-module assessment and practice tool that provides educators with a database of assessment items and analytics tools to help track student progress and identify areas of need.

Physical Education
Promotion of healthy living is the focus of our Physical Education curriculum.  The physical education program involves movement, flexibility, cardiovascular exercise, games and is designed appropriately for each grade level.  The PE program teaches the importance of regular exercise and healthy eating habits. In addition, it stresses cooperation among the students and the development of physical coordination and individual skills.

All students receive a minimum of two 45- minute PE classes weekly.

Science
The NextGen National Standards in Science are the foundation of the school's science curriculum.  Critical thinking and hands-on learning are central to the school’s science instruction in all grades. We use STEMscopes, a digital curriculum brought to life through exploratory hands-on kits that promote inquiry and excitement as students engage in real-world scientific connections. It is built on the research-based 5E lesson model and aligned to standards.

STEM Fair
STem Fair is an annual event. Students in grades K-3 work on class projects; fourth through eight grade students submit individual projects. All middle school students have the opportunity to work with qualified mentors from the community. The mentors help expand the students’ understanding of the scientific method while helping them prepare their projects.

Social Studies
The emphasis in Social Studies is on understanding and appreciation of the richness of all cultures as well as preparing students to participate fully in our democracy. Geography and its relationship to the history of people is also an essential part of the curriculum. Students in grades 4 and 7 study New Mexico History as required.

Spanish
Spanish is taught from Pre-K through eighth grade. Students learn the Spanish language and culture through hands-on activities such as games, puppetry, listening activities, plays, cooking, and more, as well as writing and memorization. Middle school students learn vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure. Students in grades 6-8 with no prior Spanish language experience will need the approval of the teacher prior to enrollment in the middle school Spanish course.