Specialty Programs
Art
In art class, students experience a variety of media and techniques, from painting and drawing to three-dimensional work with papier-mâché and clay. Students are taught the basic elements of art and principles of design, and learn to incorporate these into their work. Students are introduced to a variety of artists and techniques ranging from old masters to pop art to cultural craft and design. Funds from Run for Cathedral and Cathedral’s donors make Cathedral School’s art program possible.
Each spring the Cathedral community gathers to celebrate the students’ achievement in art during the school year at our annual April in Paris(h) event. Cathedral’s gym is transformed into an art gallery where all students’ work is featured and displayed. Parishioners, parents, students, and friends of Cathedral are invited to stroll and linger in the gym-gallery. The evening also includes a parish-school community building dinner, along with an online auction featuring class projects, and more.
Music
Music classes are offered to grades Pre-Kindergarten through Eighth grade and are closely tied with liturgical preparation. During music class, students select and rehearse music for Mass and prayer services. Children in Second through Eighth grade who are interested in furthering their music training and performance can participate in the Cathedral Children’s Choir that performs at school Masses and monthly parish family Masses.
Spanish
Recognizing a well-rounded Catholic education includes exposure to the discipline of learning a world language, an appreciation of diverse cultures, and development of a connection between faith and language, all Cathedral students in Kindergarten through Eighth grade study Spanish. Children in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade attend Spanish two times per week, often in small groups. In Middle School, Spanish is part of the core curriculum. The curriculum is tailored to each age group with each grade’s students progressively broadening their vocabulary and increasing the complexity of their language.
Communicative language use is a focus at every grade level with the youngest students learning to reply to simple questions and the middle school students engaging in full-length improvised conversations. The middle school curriculum is designed to give students a solid base in high school level Spanish 1. Many Cathedral School students are able to test into Spanish 2 in high school.
Throughout the school year, the connection between the Catholic Church and Spanish-speaking countries is explored through celebrating an annual prayer service in Spanish, honoring religious holidays important in Hispanic communities (such as the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe), and the learning and reciting of Catholic prayers in Spanish.
Physical Education
Physical fitness, sportsmanship, and athletic skill all come together in the physical education program at Cathedral. Throughout the year, students learn and participate in a variety of different team sports with the goal of exposing students to sports they may pursue outside of school and fostering teamwork and cooperation between classmates. All the while, PE is a time where the fun of physical fitness is celebrated and encouraged. At Cathedral, all students are athletes and student achievement in physical education is measured based on effort, participation, skill growth, cooperation, and most importantly, sportsmanship.
Library
Cathedral takes great pride in its library. In 2000, when a major expansion of the school was undertaken, putting in a state-of-the-art-albeit traditional-library was of paramount importance. The school and generous donors have continued to invest in the library keeping it up-to-date and fully stocked with books and technology to be a great resource for all students and faculty and a place of calm for the children during busy school days.
All students attend library two times per week. The librarian works in cooperation with the classroom teachers to engage the children in thoughtful curriculum that complements the focus of instruction in the classrooms. In addition, the librarian helps introduce and foster aptitude in research skills both with traditional paper resources in the library and online sources through guided direction on the proper and effective use of Internet research on iPads.
Children in Fourth through Eighth Grade have the opportunity to participate in a variety of programs (for example, Battle of the Books) that complement the literature curriculum of the classroom, provide additional opportunities for independent reading for the voracious reader, and foster a sense of academic camaraderie through teamwork and competition.
-
Birthday Book Program
The Cathedral Library Birthday Book Program offers parents, grandparents, and friends the opportunity to provide a lasting tribute to celebrate student birthdays. A $20 donation funds the purchase of a library book that has been selected with the honoree in mind. This book will be tailored to both the interests and reading level of the birthday celebrant, and will be presented during the student’s class. The celebrant will then have the honor of being the first student to check it out from the library.
To participate in the program, print and complete the Birthday Book form, and return it, along with the $20 donation, to the school office.
-
Battle of the Books
To enhance and complement the literature curriculum in the classrooms, the library supports many programs to challenge and nurture eager readers. Led by Cathedral’s librarian, Cathedral fields two Battle of the Books (BOB) teams every year: one comprised of Middle School students and one of Fourth and Fifth Graders. BOB is made possible with funds from Cathedral’s Run for Cathedral annual fundraiser.
Cathedral bases its program on the model by the Oregon Association of School Libraries. Cathedral’s teams compete against teams from other Catholic schools in two battles in the spring. The battles consist of quiz-show type questions challenging children’s knowledge of content on sixteen selected books. All children in the selected grades are eligible for the team and to qualify, must read eight of the sixteen books and demonstrate proficiency by passing a quiz on the Accelerated Reader Program or filling out an assessment form about the books. Practices for the team are led at lunchtime and before school in the months leading up to the Battles. The mission of the Battle of the Books program is to encourage and recognize students who enjoy reading, promote academic excellence, and foster cooperative learning and teamwork among students.
-
Library Catalog
The Oregon School Library Information System (OSLIS) is a database for student research. It provides access to reliable on line databases for students to guide students in in class and at home research projects. It includes encyclopedias, periodicals, opinion pieces, and many other credible sources. In addition, OSLIS works with iPads and can provide a tool for helping beginning readers master sounds and words. Cathedral students and parents may access OSLIS as follows:
OSLIS Database
User Name: cathed (case sensitive)
Password: oslis (case sensitive)