Spotlight on St. Joseph Academy

St. Joseph Academy is celebrating 80 years of providing a world-class education. As a Christ-centered Catholic community rooted in faith, we utilize a relevant and rigorous curriculum to encourage students to strive for academic excellence and use their God-given gifts to change the world. AcademicsOur instructors provide activities and curriculum that are appropriate to each child’s age and developmental status, and we ensure that goals are equally challenging and achievable. Students receive differentiated instruction and each is honored as a unique child of God. We incorporate opportunities for students to enhance their cognitive, critical, and creative thinking skills. In the 2018-2019 school year, 100% of our students that applied to International Baccalaureate were accepted. Compassionate FriendshipsThrough our focus on educating the whole child, students become caring, compassionate, and capable leaders. Students learn the importance of working and walking alongside one another so that no one feels alone. For example, in our kindergarten class, instructor Mrs. Outlaw incorporated art and social interactions by having her students create scripts on how to handle difficult situations and using puppets they made to act it out.Think WorldwideStudents learn to think outside of themselves. They consider how they can use their knowledge, passion, and talents to solve real-world problems and make the world a better place. Our fifth graders spent the 2018-2019 school year as penpals with students in Spain who are learning English, and after some time writing letters, they got to Skype and meet each other face-to-face.ExtracurricularsStudents are encouraged to pursue their passions and join one of our varieties of extracurricular activities, whether it’s choir, performing arts, the Geography Bee, volleyball, basketball, or soccer. Through these activities, students build confidence to develop valuable lifelong skills. These skills include leadership, discipline, and teamwork.STEMWe are proud of our state-of-the-art science and technology labs, which allow us to correlate classroom lessons with technology. Our Computer Lab has 26 new Acer All-in-One computers, and in the lab, students build skills ranging from designing brochures to presenting scientific research. Our three-year-old class integrated math and science to investigate the life cycle of a frog, and first graders designed their own inclined planes and became acoustical engineers to dampen the sounds of instruments. Students also used their STEM skills to discover how they can repurpose plastics, understand polymers, engineer bioplastics from plants, and become more environmentally friendly.At Polk County Private Schools, we foster an atmosphere of care and an environment of high expectations and effective discipline. To learn more about what makes us different, contact us at 407-246-4800.