Specialists

ART

At Christ the King School all students attend art class.

Our art curriculum provides students with a fluency in a variety of media techniques, self expression, collaboration, critical thinking and creative problem solving.  The National Core Art Standards and the Elements and Principles of Art and Design underlie all art appreciation and art production.  Our curriculum integrates the genre of art with a variety of themes from the other academic areas of study.  Our curriculum incorporates historical and contemporary artists from a wide range of cultures.  Students learn a variety of media techniques not limited to drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and digital art. Our goal is to inspire an appreciation for and a celebration of the world, the life, and the blessings God has bestowed upon us, through art.

FRENCH

Students at Christ the King School begin their foreign language experience in preschool and continue their studies through 8^th grade. Through repetition of words, songs, and poems, students imitate vocabulary and use it in context. This method has proven that learning a second language in this manner increases students’ retention of the target language. In the middle school, students use a French I textbook in preparation for French II in high school.

HEALTH EDUCATION / SCHOOL NURSE

The school nurse provides a variety of programs and services to enrich the wellness of the total school community and of individual students. The school nurse completes the following responsibilities at different times of the year:

• Review immunization requirements and file the required immunization report to the Vermont Department of Health in the fall annually.
• Update emergency care plans for all students with chronic conditions or anaphylactic allergies and communicate the plans to faculty and staff.
• Perform vision and hearing screening in the spring as required by the state of Vermont.
• Teach age appropriate health education topics to all grade levels
• Facilitate CPR and first aid training to faculty and staff at back to school in-service. 

A school librarian is in the unique position of having a class that most students instinctively want to come to. Children love books it is ingrained in them from an early age. It is the goal of the Library/Media Center to ensure that this love of books extends past the age where children generally cease having books read to them and other activities creep in.

It is our goal this school year to incorporate books read aloud to each grade and include STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts, and Math) based projects to reinforce the central concepts of the books and engage the students with the story in a hands on way.

MATH

Christ the King School has a full-time math specialist on staff.  The math specialist offers math instructional support to teachers in grades one through eight and teaches Middle School math.  Additionally, we have a math enrichment volunteer who works with small groups in 2nd through 5th grade. 

MUSIC

The CKS Music Curriculum is a sequential program, based on folk and traditional songs and rhymes, classical music, and music used for worship.

For students in the Early Education Program through second grade, the curriculum is based on early childhood research related to the development of: musical intelligence, singing skills, sensitivity to the beat and beat groups, expressive movement, musical memory, preferences, and neurological connections.

Students in Upper Elementary (Grades 3-5) continue to build on the skills learned in the earlier musical years, by adding skills-appropriate repertoire, becoming more independent within a group of fellow musicians, as a singer, and utilizing pitched instruments.

Students in Middle School (Grades 6-8) continue to build upon the skills of the elementary years, expanding their knowledge of musical repertoire, music and cultures around the world, and the music of America. Students in these grades will also lend their musical abilities to aiding younger grades at Mass, by singing, playing accompaniments and solos.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

The physical education program at Christ the King School is devoted to the development of students in Catholic values, positive attitudes, and the commitment to and enjoyment of an active and healthy lifestyle. By providing a developmentally appropriate, challenging and fun program students can gain an appreciation and understanding of sportsmanship, games, sports and physical fitness. We believe that a meaningful physical education program forms the foundation of:

• values of sportsmanship and cooperation
• respect for self and others,
• improved motor and social skills
• importance of personal fitness and life-long participation in physical activities

READING SERVICES

The Reading Specialist provides reading support and general academic support to students in Pre-Kindergarten through 8^th grade. She assists in one-on-one and small group settings, both in the classroom and in the reading lab. This teacher also serves as the school’s Title 1 tutor and liaison between the Burlington School District and the CKS community. This work includes collaborating with classroom teachers to address the needs of individual students. When needed, we refer students for evaluations and testing for speech therapy, occupational therapy, or special education through the public school system. The teacher may also conduct reading assessments, offer the Wilson Reading System, and help implement assistive technology such as audio books, the NEO laptop, and the FM system.

SCHOOL COUNSELING/GUIDANCE 

The school counselor offers short term individual counseling to students in K-8th grade covering topics including but not limited to: anxiety, friendship, changing families, self regulation and general feelings. Weekly small group counseling centered on coping skills, social skills and friendship, and changing families is offered to students in K-4th grade. 

Middle school students are provided with a tobacco and alcohol prevention mini course during the school year. Small lunch groups centered around friendship and social situations are offered to middle school students as needed. 

The school counselor works closely with families and outside mental health professionals to promote student success at CKS. The counselor also works collaboratively across all grade levels K-8 to provide content when needed in concert with the school mission. The school counselor works to ensure that every student at CKS feels welcome, safe and free to express themselves at school.

TECHNOLOGY

As you read this text, somewhere new software is being written, new applications created, and new devices born that may change our world. Can we teach students everything they need to know about these? No. We can however, give them the tools to analyze software structure, the skills to make connections across knowledge bases, and the habit of critical thinking.

This is the basis of technology education at Christ the King School. From preschool coming in to familiarize themselves with the computers to the middle school students choosing the best program to complete their assignment, every student is asked to analyze their tasks and match it with the technological tool best suited for the task. As with any new tool, safety needs to be considered. Therefore, extra attention is given to Internet safety and surfing practices. Students are supervised when using computers.

We do not only teach technology, we teach students how to use technology for their own life’s journey. It is just as James challenges us: (2:17) “So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead.”