Academic Policies

General Curriculum

The basic curriculum includes Religion, Reading, Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Art, Music, Band, Computers, Physical Education, and Foreign Language.

The school offers students the following educational opportunities:

1. Cultural Field Trips
2. Opportunity to participate in a variety of school performances
3. Involvement in the School Newspaper, Student Council and Yearbook
4. Participation of the Children's Choir. Students that are in grades 3rd-8th only. Any other participants must be approved by the Principal.
5. Sports Programs
6. Altar Servers

Religious Education

Pre-eminent among the school goals are those related to the living of religion, the experience of religion, the everyday expression of religion through service to others and the teachings of religion. The involvement of parents in developing such faith is through modeling.

1. Sunday Liturgy: It is important that families pray together each Sunday. It is the responsibility of the parents to instill the practice of Catholic faith in their children.
2. Weekly Mass: St. Jerome School will have their traditional Thursday Liturgies at 8:05 am. Kindergarten begins to attend mass in October. Preschool is always welcome and will be attending from time to time.
3. Instruction of Religion: Everyday, your child will have formal religious instruction that is taught at their appropriate grade level.
4. Prayer: Every Tuesday morning at 8:05 am, the entire school comes to the second floor for a short prayer service. The Principal is the leader of prayer and the students have a variety of parts during the service.
5. Sacraments:  The Religious Education Program involves students in preparation for community celebration of three sacraments: Reconciliation, First Communion and Confirmation. Before the reception of the sacrament, a parent meeting will be held regarding any information that needs to be communicated to all parents.

Student Achievement

Expectations

A student's work should consistently reflect individual ability. Complete and neat assignments, accurately and carefully executed are the norm. All class work and homework must be submitted at the time required. Each student is accountable for the completion of grade work to be eligible for the next grade level.

Grading

Letter grades will be given to all subjects including specials. Grades will be given all four quarters.

Homework

Homework gives an opportunity to help fulfill an individual student's needs by supplementing and reinforcing classroom teaching. Parents are expected to take an interest in their child's work. Students of all ages, but in particular the younger students will need additional help in drilling of math facts, spelling or vocabulary. We rely on parents to help in these areas. Under no circumstances should the parent do the work for their child. We remind parents that satisfactory completion of homework assignments affect a student's daily grades and ultimately the report card grade. As a general guideline, homework times should follow:

• Kg-3rd  30-45 Minutes
• 4th-5th  45-90 Minutes
• 6th-8th  90-120 Minutes

These are only guidelines. Some days their minutes will be less and others might be longer.

Suggestions for Parental Supervision of Homework Ways Parents Can Get Involved

1. See that books and materials come home regularly. Look at what your child is bringing home daily.
2. Don't accept the excuse that "I did it in school" or "There is no homework." There is not enough time to do homework properly/thoroughly in school. Even if there is no written homework, there is always study homework.
3. See that your child does their homework in an appropriate atmosphere.
4. Look over their homework.
5. Ask and talk to your child each day regarding the material they learned today in school.

Doing these tasks takes time and effort on your part. It is well worth the effort as it is the best way for you to keep in touch with what your child is learning in school. If you ever have any questions about an assignment please call the appropriate teacher.

Parental involvement is important. Parents are highly encouraged to actively listen to the readings and to provide guidance in spelling of words and usage of definitions. Also, to supervise when needed, the researching and problem solving process, while encouraging and directing, not just providing answers.

Homework can be given all days of the week including weekends.

Note: There is no scheduled study periods at the elementary level and homework is part of our educational program. Therefore, if your child is not doing homework on a consistent basis, it is important for you to contact your child's teacher.

Honor Roll

St. Jerome School has three honors: First Honors, Second Honors and Good Effort. First and Second Honor Rolls are based on grades received in each subject area.

• Grade A: Four Points
• Grade B: Three Points
• Grade C: Two Points
• Grade D: One Point
• Grade U/F: 0 Points

Students who earn 25-28 points will get First Honors

Students who earn 21-24 points will get Second Honors

Note: Students in grades 5th-8th: Checks in one area from two or more teachers disqualifies the student from First or Second Honors. To qualify for the Good Effort Honor Roll the student can have no checks. In determining the student's points, it is only the main courses. Art, Music, Computers, Physical Education, and Language are not included in the determination if a student makes Honors.

Perfect Attendance

Student who maintains a perfect record of attendance and punctuality for each quarter will receive an award ceremony at the end of the year.

Reporting Student Progress

Conferences, progress reports and report cards are the means of communicating a student's progress.

1. Conferences: There is a First Quarter Parent Teacher Conference that is held on Sunday. Each conference is ten minutes and all conferences are scheduled. During the Third Quarter, only students who are having problems have a parent teacher conference. At any time a parent can schedule a conference to meet with his or her teacher.
2. Progress Reports:  These are given out at the fifth week of each quarter. It gives parents a measure on how well their child is doing in school. These must be signed and returned to school the next day.
3. Report Cards:  Report Cards are given our every ten weeks. Pleas review the report card with your child and sign and return the report card by the next school day. The Principal or Pastor passes out Report Cards each marking period.

School Records

The Archdiocese of Chicago, Office of Catholic Education, adopted guidelines for school records. These guidelines describe your rights to your child records maintained by the Archdiocese of Chicago. These rights include:

1. Right to Inspect: You have the right to look at your child's permanent record at any time.
2. Right to Prevent Disclosure: The school will not disclose any information to any third parties from your child's record unless you give written consent, information is directory information, and information that a school your child will be attending.
3. Right to Request Correction:  You may present evidence to the school if any information is inaccurate. If the school decides not to change the record, you may insert an explanation in your child file.

Standardized Testing

Terra Nova Tests will be given to students in grades Kg-7th in March. These tests are important indicators of the student's progress in basic skills in Reading, Math, Language Arts, Study Skills. The teacher use the result of these tests in their instructional planning. The results also indicate the student's strengths and weaknesses as a measure of learning.

Summer School Policy

If a student receives a U in any two quarters of any major subject, they will have to attend mandatory summer school. Once summer school is completed, your child will be promoted to the next grade level. The 8th grade student will have to pass all their academic classes to receive their diploma. Failure to meet these requirements will result in attending summer school and then receive their school diploma.